More Mirror Magic!

It's official!  I'm obsessed with mirrors!  I've been on a roll lately, and have been busy transforming quite a few beautiful vintage mirrors.  I'm always on the hunt for interesting mirrors that I can make over with paint and some tlc.  So, I thought I'd share with you two of my latest creations, that I must say are my all time favorites (so far, anyway!)!

 I am in love with this one!  This gorgeous mirror came from my favorite consignment store.  Can you believe, I passed it up when I was there a few weeks ago.  Then last week, it was still there, and I just knew that it had to come home with me!  Well, I took a before photo of it, but wouldn't you know, I deleted it by mistake!

 Anyway, it started out life "gaudy gold".  What a transformation my favorite cream shade makes, I think!  Made in Italy of a Syroco type material, it's the first one like it that I've ever found.  I just love all of the gorgeous details.

 Of course I had to do a bit of distressing to give her that shabbylicious appeal!  I really, really want to keep this piece, but have put it my Etsy shop.  So now I really need to find another one just like it, that I can keep for myself!

 Love!

 Ok, this next beauty I am keeping all to myself!  My good friend gifted me with it, and I just love it!  Again, I'd never seen a mirrored sconce just like this one.

 This is what it looked like before I worked a little magic on it!  Made of Burwood (which is similar to syroco), it is just ooozing with shabby charm, don't you think?

 Just look at all of that gorgeous detail!  I can't stop looking at it!

 I know that so many of you would agree when I say "You can never have too many mirrors!"!!!!

 Believe it or not, I've got a few more mirrors that I just finished for my shop, that I'll be sharing with you later this week!

 Hope you all have a great week!
I'm joining Kathleen for White Wednesday, be sure to visit!
I'm also joining Myric for her Passion Parade!

Mirror Mirror

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.................... 

 Who's the Fairest Puppy of Them All?

Why, Miss Emily, of course!

I couldn't resist sharing these photos of you that I just snapped of our sweet Emily!  I had just gotten thru taking some pictures of this vintage Syroco framed mirror that I'm about to place in my shop.  I was sitting here at my desk, and looked over to see our furry girl admiring herself in the mirror!

I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots!
This is what the mirror looked like before I painted it and distressed it.

 I think Emily approves of the new look!
Have a great day!
Linking up with Kathleen over at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  Be sure to visit!

Picket Fence Plant Stand

Several years ago, to make room for a new retaining wall and landscaping in our side yard, hubby tore down an old, falling down and decrepit looking picket fence.  He was about to burn the fence, when I persuaded him to keep at least some of it, as I just knew that it held potential for a neat future project!  So, he reluctantly saved some of the better sections, then I came up with the idea of turning it into a plant stand that we could use on our deck.  A few hours later, and a handful of nails, this is what he came up with!

 The funny thing is, when I told my handy hubby about my plant stand idea, I didn't even sketch out what I wanted it to look like.  I just gave him a very brief description of what I had in mind.  Imagine my surprise when he finished, and it looked exactly like what I was thinking!  I've since given it a fresh coat of paint, and after several seasons on our back deck, it's held up beautifully.

 Much of what you see on my stand was collected over the years at garage sales.  This cute pot with the fun aqua glass "polka dots" was a thrifty yard sale find.  And so were the decorative birdhouses, that I spray painted aqua and bright teal.  My mom gave me this sweet little bunny a few years ago.

 The cute little watering can with a French label, and the minty green vintage pot behind it are also lucky garage sale finds.

 One of my favorite things on the stand is my grandma's vintage galvanized watering can, that I actually still use!

 And this vintage watering can, below, was super cheap many years ago at a yard sale.  I finally have been able to get around to planting a few flowers.  Love the bright pink geranium!

 Ok, I'll let you in on a little secret!  The ivy in this pot is faux!  Shhhhhhh, don't tell!  I did want to show you what the pot looked like without the ivy.  It's vintage (not sure who the maker was, as it's not marked) and I absolutely love it.  I managed to get it for free at a church rummage sale, as no one wanted it!!  Can you imagine?

 The blue and white pot to the right of this birdhouse was one of my first attempts at broken china mosaics a few years ado.  Lots of work and a bit messy to do, but fun to create!

 Every garden needs a guardian angel!

 Another cute little bunny, given to me by my mom years ago.  This one is made of soapstone, and I just love it!

 And here is a little surprise!  This tiny nest is faux, but the egg is real!  As we were walking the other day, I happened to look down, and found this itty bitty blue egg, still intact, right next to the road!  I felt bad that it had fallen out of its' nest, but had no idea where the nest could be.

 I've never seen a blue egg this small, it's definitely too small for a robin's egg.  So not sure what kind of bird laid it.  I placed a dime next to it, so you could see just how tiny it is!

 Here are a few more peeks at my plant stand!  I almost forgot to mention that I won a prize for it a few years ago, when I submitted the idea to a gardening magazine, "Backyard Living" that I used to subscribe to.  The magazine is no longer being published, but was from the creators of "Bird's & Blooms" magazine.

 Anyway, each issue had a feature called "The frugal gardener", where readers could submit money saving ideas and tips.  The reader that they featured won $100, and the title "The Frugalest of the frugal", and that was me!  I was so thrilled to appear in the magazine, and with my (and hubby's, of course!) "15 minutes of fame"!  Oh, and the money wasn't bad, either!

Syroco Heaven

Do you love Syroco as much as I do?  Well, I must say that my addiction with it is now officially an obsession!  One of my good friends, who loves thrifting as much as I do, is always on the hunt for beautiful Syroco pieces for me.

 If you visit me on a regular basis, you know how much I love finding and transforming these treasures with some paint and tlc.  So, I was thrilled when my friend surprised me with these beauties for my birthday, which was Sunday.  I was ooohing and aaaahing over not one, not two, but three beautiful Syroco mirrors!

 They are what I like to refer to as "gaudy gold", but not for long!  I've already stocked up on plenty of heirloom white, and can hardly wait for their transformations!  I especially adore the mirror with the attached candle sconces, below.  I've never seen one just like it!  My friend has quite the knack for finding treasures, and I think I've even turned her into a Syroco lover in the process!

 She also gave me these two gorgeous shelves.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to start painting everything, weather cooperating.  I'll be sure to share their transformations with you!  It's amazing what a difference paint can make.

 And if that wasn't enough excitement, she also found this pair of really unique candle sconces.  I've never seen any like them before.  Trust me, they will look totally different when I'm thru painting and distressing them!  Buh-bye gaudy gold!!

 And, she also found me a pair of these pretty sconces, below. Love!  I was literally squealing with excitement over all of my treasures, and have been in "Syroco Heaven" ever since!

 I also got a wonderful surprise in the mail for my birthday, from my sweet friend Cindy over at
Cindy Adkins Whimsical Musings.  She sent me the most gorgeous necklace, that I can hardly wait to wear!

 It features this beautiful watch, and lovely charms, too!  At first, I thought the watch was a charm.  But then when I realized it was a real watch, I was even more excited!  Love, love, love it!  Thank you so much, Cindy, you are so sweet!  Cindy had been very sick for several months, so it meant even more to me that she thought of me in the middle of all she is going thru.  I know that she would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers for her recovery.  She is a real gem, and it saddens me that she has been sick for so long.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Home Tweet Home

Hello everyone, and Happy Memorial Day!

Hope you all are having a safe and fun weekend!

Last week I shared with you our little baby mourning doves, that were nesting in a planter right outside our back door.  Well, the other night I checked on them, and they had finally flown the coop!

(er, nest, I mean!)

 I snapped this picture their last day in the nest, at about 12 days old.  Aren't they just the cutest?

 Mama dove was ever present and oh so attentive.  We noticed that the bigger they got, she gradually spent less time with them.  Maybe she was coaxing them to test out their wings?  Or else she was just taking a much needed break!

 I tried to snap their picture each day, to document their growth.  They were such a joy to watch, and it was amazing how quickly they grew up.

 Here they are at just a few days old.

 And their first day, how sweet is that?  I wish that I'd had my camera handy, as last night I was weeding one of my hosta beds just before dusk, and there they were, perched on a rock a few feet away, staring at me!

We will miss them, it was such a thrill to see them so up close and personal.

On a different note, the movers arrived last Wednesday with all of our things.  I was so happy to see our furniture and all of our other belongings.  So, we've been busy unpacking, organizing and cleaning, and trying to return our lives  back to "normal" (whatever "normal" is!!), after we found our home trashed and in shambles from our renter.

I'm sorry that I've not been around to visit for what seems an eternity.  I hope to get caught up in the next week, as I really miss seeing what you all have been up to!

Have a great day!

A Bit of a Bright Spot

Hello, hope you all had a nice weekend.  It's been a roller coaster week since hubby and I moved home to find our home totally trashed by our renter.  Amid all of the craziness, there's a little bright spot in the form of two adorable baby mourning doves, right outside our back door!  I first noticed mama dove sitting in the wall planter by our door when we got home.  The next morning, what a surprise to find this!

 Well, this is what they look like now, anyway, after one week!  Aren't they the sweetest?  We try not to disturb them any more than we have to.  I'm sure that mama regrets putting her nest so close to the door, now what we are home (and in the nasty cigarette butts that the renter put in my planter!).

 This is what they looked like on Monday.  Mama even cleaned up the egg shell:)

 They even have their very own guardian angel looking after them!  It has been such a thrill to watch them grow, I imagine before too long they will be ready to leave the nest.

 And here is just a small sampling of what hubby and I have been dealing with.  The renter had the nerve to say that we gave her permission to paint!  We were up past midnight the other night covering this mess up.  It took 4 coats of Kilz primer, and 3-4 coats of Valspar paint with built in primer, to cover it.  Some of the grafitti it still bleeding thru in a few areas.  I honestly don't know how people can abuse other's homes like this.  She eve tore down the beautiful floral Ralph Lauren wall paper border in my craft room, that I loved so much.  And she damaged the walls in the process.  So, that room will have to be repainted, and I need to find some new border as a replacement.

 I tried to get a good picture of some of the grafitti, but it's not showing up very well.  I think she used magic markers!

 This is what much of our yard now looks like, thanks to the renter who blew piles of leaves all over the yard, killing our once beautiful grass. Still trying to figure out how to get the nasty cigarette smell our of our master bedroom (yuck!).

 Stains on rugs and carpets from her dog.  We had new carpet put in most of the house on Thursday, and it feels sooooo much better already!  No more nasty dog pee smell or stains.  We are supposed to get our furniture delivered in the next day or so, can't wait for that.  Thankfully we've had our motor home to live in (parked in our driveway), thru all of this.  In all honesty, I am drained physically, emotionally, and mentally.  I am so ready for life to return to normal (whatever normal is, anyway!).
We did get our high speed internet, phone, and tv connected today, so that feels good.  I know that "this too shall pass", but walking thru it has not been a piece of cake, to put it mildly.

On a lighter note, I can't wait to show you how I've been decorating our pontoon boat, that we had launched a few days ago!  (hint:  I've used lots of pink, and it has a tiki hut feel to it!).  Thanks so much for all of your support and kind words during this difficult time.

Hope you have a great week!