Don't You Just Love.....

Don't you just love friends that totally "get" you ? I mean, everything about you and what makes you who you are ? I'm teaching one morning and I hear a rap rap rap on the back door of my classroom. There's my friend Michelle with only this showing in my window. This gorgeous, patinaed silver urn that she'd found for a steal at a thrift shop. Totally my taste and totally made my day!





Then she drops this off at my doorstep another afternoon Army Rifle Competition 1960"
But too me that's part of the charm of it. And the fact that it was given to me with such thought !






I can hardly wait to fill them with white roses this summer. Then I'll use them as props in my paintings. Why wait til summer - white tulips will do perfectly !


May a little grace touch your day !

Bre

Look What the Mailman Brought Me

I was so happy to open my mailbox the other day and find these:



Aren't they simply divine ? I hardly ever shop on Ebay but when I found these original French vintage cards I knew I had to have them. The letter on the back are to "petit bon papa, grandmama et grandpapa from their grandchildren Paulette and Renee. They are often written in their mother's penmanship but as this one shows sometimes Paulette writes. This one is dated 1922. The closing is usually - des bons baiser - sending some kisses or: Recoit toutes les bonnes caresses de tes petits enfants qui t'aiment. Receive or sending you some good hugs from your grandchildren who love you.






This one I've added to my second wreath which started out with the name



.....Belle Neige. It was an Alfred Sung wreath and I fell in love with the name right away. I figured I could somehow use it for my Valentine wreath.This is it on my outside door before adding anything to it.



If you look at it closely it's slighlty pearly irridescent - with just the right amount of sheen to it.




Here's the finished wreath. Definitely more feminine with a bit of bling.



I had these blown glass, red hearts that I loved. I left one red and hung it with a favourite fleur de lis. I really wanted silver ones and had read somewhere that you could use hot water to take the red paint off. So of course I tried it - not quite as easy as it sounded on new ornaments but I was able to scratch alot off. Then I added one of the vintage, French card.



I added these tarnished stars to hang off the end of my wreath.



Now take a look what Barb from Treasures From the Heart treasuresfromtheheartgifts.blogspot did with some cones a customer dropped off to her.I think she did an excellent job. I'll try and post a bigger picture tomorrow. She had seen my original post and had been wondering what to do with them. Check out her blog in my comments. I'm still no good at the linky thing no matter how many times I try it.
She's also got an excellent tutorial on how to make little birds nests. They're adorable! Very talented !



If you've made a wreath - let me know. I'd love to post a picture of it. And if not, I hope you enjoyed watching me play !

We Interrupt Our Regular Broadcast....

We Interrupt Our Regular Broadcast.... to inform you that I've been MIA again . A volleyball tournament Saturday 7am - 8pm Saturday and a late family Christmas Dinner Sunday. Because of the snow my parents weren't able to get out for
Christmas so we had another one yesterday - fun but a wee bit tiring .

To top that off my charger cord for my laptop kicked the bucket so I wasn't able to use the computer (Our other computer died after 20 power surges last 3 weeks ago when the power went out) Anyway, I'm on borrowed time (borrowing my colleague's charger) so not sure how often I'll be able to post until I get another one.

Will try to post a picture of the second wreath tonight.The picture is a little tease:)

Wreath No. 1

Well, I finally got one of my wreaths made. I never have any idea how something is going to turn out until it's done and just go by instinct. I had a few wreathes to go off of and tried to match the feel of the wreathes. I came out with a a more rustic, nostalgic one and a more blingy, elegant one. Since the wreathes were smaller I decided not to add alot of vintage ephemera because it got too busy.

So, here's the first one:


I gathered supplies:


..bought some freesias (my favourite flowers) Just going to the florist and buying the freesias was divine. I loooove the smell!



..painted some letters and distressed them. Hot glued them to a white florist wire which I wrapped around a pencil to get curly cues.



...added a heart shaped tin container.




Inside the heart tin I place three floral picks with my freesias in them.I plan on changing the flowers for the month of February. I also dangled keys off of the heart.
I'm toast if I lose them because they're the keys to one of our armoires and my hubby doesn't know I "borrowed" them.



The ribbon is very special to me. We lost a very special lady a few months before Christmas. She had bought a gift for us and wrapped it but didn't get the chance to give it to us. This was the ribbon that was on it.





I had wanted to add some vintage pictures of my parents and grandparents but the wreath is too small. I've tucked this one of my grandpa in front of his car.



Overall I liked how it turned out....somewhat simple and not too overdone. I probably can't hang this one on the front door yet since the temp is still freezing and the flowers wouldn't last. So it'll stay on my armoire in the kitchen for now(our pantry)

Let me know how you like it.... and stay tuned for the next one - slightly more blingy :)

Just a quick note to let you know I will be posting a wreath update soooon ......just have to get through my daughter's 16th birthday party this weekend and a hockey tournament. Believe me, I would love to be blogging LOL !!

I've got all my goodies for my wreath , but I'm still looking for just the right "foundation" In the example on my last post, Elizabeth used an antique frame.
I loved this possibility but will keep looking.

I have very eclectic tastes. I love vintage, Paris Glam, Swedish Simplicity and French Country to name a few. I also love to blend rustic with sparkle.

Anyway, once I get through this weekend I'll continue the hunt.

Here's a few ideas ...although you don't need to stick to a heart shape.
This is from Velvetstrawberries Blog originally from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic book.






Personally, I just love the simple swedish heart vine wreaths ...will try and find a picture to post for that.Couldn't find heart shaped but this gives you the idea.




Once you have decided on your base , the fun begins - adding your treasured vintage photos and momentos. I have them all ovef my dresser right now LOL!

Wish I had this !!


Toodles and talk soon !

From My Heart to Yours

The Christmas Holidays are recent memories, the beautiful snow is slowly melting and here in the Pacific Northwest it's grey! I love seeing how other bloggers are dealing with the January doldrums - some are redecorating, some are hibernating and alot are dieting LOL ! I kind of wanted to cheer myself up with thoughts of spring.

I'd saved this article from February 2008 Romantic Homes - Making a Valentine Wreath "Heart Of The Matter" by Elizabeth Maxson. I know it sounds a little early but I would love it if many of you joined along. So I thought I'd post early to give us time to make our creations.

Elizabeth Maxson made this gorgeous Valentine wreathes to hang on her door. I totally love her style and find her articles in Romantic Homes soooo inspirational. Although you can't totally see it, she's used an antique frame, dried flowers, lace, and antique keys. Of course, you can uses anything you want. To me, the creativity behind making the wreath is half the fun.




Some things I may use: dried flowers



Antique keys



Old vintage postcards





Vintage Ephemera such as old love letters.




So, keep posted, I'll post what I've come up with this week and I'd love it if you'd like to join me in making a Valentine wreath. It would be so cool to see what such creative women come up with. Just leave me a post. Once I've posted my example, I'll set a date and then post the links. And if you just want to watch me play- Enjoy!! My creativity can be a curse sometimes LOL

Euro Trash

Ever since seeing Annie Brahler from Euro Trash (Home Companion Dec06,Jul08) I have fallen in love with her decorating style. She has such an elegant and luxurious but unique decorating style.








Her taste is quite ornate but she'll mix it with plain materials like canvas and burlap. I love that juxtoposition.




And I adore her use of armours! I've always had a passion for armours and remember having three in a 1050 sq ft house. My friends thought I was crazy! Hers are exquisite!







These drapes look expensive and luxurious but she's lined thin, inexpensive, silk ones with flannel. Touches like that make all the difference.




And while we're on the subject of pretty. Pop on over to here www.eleganceandwhimsy.com. Click on teh linkin the sidebar.



Catherine's decorating for Christmas was like a pink, fairy wonderland. Her new website is just as fairy-like. Although sold out, I love her blue fairy houses and the pink bottle brush trees. Oh, and did I mention her house was on the cover of December Romantic Homes. Take a peek. You'll be glad you did ! and if the linky thing doesn't work I'll try again.
I'm not so good at the techincal side of blogging LOL.

But I have figured out how to add the Follow this Blog. I would love you to join me on this journey and follow my blog. It's been so much fun! So, please do add yourself to Follow This Blog. I love comments and love reading and commenting on your blogs!

On another note, I'm sooooo lucky today and yesterday. We were supposed to start school Monday but we had two snow days !!! Yippee!! This has only happened once or twice in my career! Teachers had to go to work yesterday but today we were allowed to stay home. Off to do some yoga!

May a little grace touch your day,