Shabby, Pink and Pretty

Recent Finds And Scrappy Stuff...

2012-01-30T04:00:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls...

Long time no see huh?? Apparently, I still have a bad case of Bloggers slack going on and really, I just haven't had much to blog about lately. Must be those winter doldrums holding me hostage.

Well, I'm popping in today to show you a couple of my latest antique store finds and some scrappy stuff I've been working on when during those brief moments when my attention span will allow.

A recent trip to the antique mall netted me this darling vintage cream colored quilted hanky holder, which is in excellent condition for it's likely age.

And of course, I needed to pick up another pretty handkerchief to go along with it (excuse the wrinkled creases in the hanky)...

Now, for the scrappy stuff, I found these heart shaped chipboard book pieces recently in the $1.50 bins at Michael's and I picked up two packs of them (4 to a pack) with plans to turn them from plain to pretty...

And I believe I did just that using some of my scrappy embellishments...

Turning it into this...

One down, several to go. When I finally get the other ones finished, I'll be sure to take pictures of them to share with all of you.

See you soon.

Addiction To Pretties.....

2012-01-16T07:21:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday Girls...

Do you have an addiction?

Well, I will admit that I do. I definitely have an addiction to vintage pretties. And one of my biggest addictions is that for collecting vintage crochet potholders....

It's a good thing that my addiction hasn't left me broke...

Because I've become quite the hoarder of them that's for sure.

Well, at least it's not a dangerous addiction. Unless I have have to knock someone over to get myself another one before that person gets it first.

So beware my fellow bloggers. Better watch your backs if you find yourself in the same antique mall as me.. LOL..

Just kidding.

See you soon!!

More Crafting And More Pretty Boxes....

2012-01-08T15:35:00.000-06:00

Hi Girls.....

I'm back once again to show off another one of my crafty chipboard wall hanging creations. This most recent one, just like all the others I've made, has a very shabby, vintage look to it and I just love how it turned out.

A few close-ups to better see the pretty embellishments that I used..

I must say one thing. Being a crafter means that one ends up acquiring quite a lot of crafting stuff such as papers, embellishments, ribbons and trims and things of that sort and my crafting space seems to be shrinking by the minute. So I have been trying really hard to better organize all of my crafting stuff and make my crafting space a bit more tidy so it will be more functional and easier to use.

So imagine my delight when I recently found these pretty storage boxes at Michael's that I will definitely be putting to good use to hide some of my crafting goodies.

I was luckily able to use some money I received for Christmas to purchase these pretty boxes so it was almost like getting them for free. Something I think we all like don't we?

Well, maybe it's time to get busy doing some of that organizing and putting these new storage boxes to use. Let's see how much I can get done before the need to create more pretties takes over and leaves the organizing behind.

See you again soon !!

I'm Back............

2012-01-02T15:05:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness. It sure has been awhile now since I've done an honest to goodness blog post. I guess I needed a bit of a break from blogging as things had been so stressful in December with lots of stuff going on and with it being the busiest time of the year for me at work.

Now that the new year has begun, I hope to get back to posting more regularly. I sure hope I can keep that resolution.

Over the past several weeks, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of crafting when my attention span would allow and I created a few more of my shabby style chipboard wall hangings. I may have said this a time or two before, but I just love making these.

So without further ado, here are some pictures of two of my latest creations I made using beautiful images I found on the Internet, pretty scrapbook papers and some of my favorite embellishments..

And of course, I had to create one in my favorite colors of pink and pale blue...

I have one more finished, but I will wait a few days before I share that with you. Make sure you come back later to check it out.

See you soon!!

Merry Christmas ..........

2011-12-24T07:41:00.001-06:00

Wishing you and your families and loved ones a very Merry Christmas!!!

Enjoy the time with your loved ones and have a fabulous weekend!!

Pretty In Pink.....

2011-12-07T04:57:00.000-06:00

Hi Girls..

I don't know about you, but I never tire of my pretty pinks and pale blues so to have them surrounding me most of the time just makes me feel happy..

While I love seeing all the beautiful shades of white and cream around this wonderful world of Blogland and on Pinterest too, I don't think I'll ever be decorating my house with those colors.

So I'll just continue to surround myself with the colors I love and that make me happy while still admiring the beautiful homes and collections of others.

I find that old saying that we must do for ourselves what makes us happy and not worry about following the latest trends or worrying about what others think to be so true.

Don't you agree??

See you soon..

Time Flies.....

2011-12-02T04:26:00.001-06:00

Yep, that's right girls.

Time flies and once again, I've turned into a total blog slacker.

Well, I'm changing that up for today at least, popping in to say hello and to share some pretty pale pinks from my photo archives with you. Had to dig it out of my archives because I've been a picture taking slacker too.

Definitely not a Christmas themed blog post like most of you have been doing, but I think that's OK. We must not forget that we all need to see a bit of pink every now and then.

Have a wonderful weekend !!

More Crafting Goodness...

2011-11-20T12:09:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls..

Hope you all have been enjoying your weekend. While the first measurable snow was falling here in the Minneapolis area yesterday, I spent part of the day in my craft room creating some more shabby inspired pretties.

Pretties like this adorable little wall hanging that I created using one piece out of a pack of chipboard mini album pages I had purchased from the dollar bins at Michael's. Well, make that $1.50 bin because they recently upped the prices on those, but they were still a great bargain..

And as I usually do, I had to fancy it up a bit more with all the cute little embellishments.. My favorite on this one being the darling little posy in the right hand corner. So cute!!

Well, that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Now it's back the craft room for me to do some more shabby inspired creating.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and come back and visit again soon.

From Shabby Blocks To Shabby Birdhouses...

2011-11-16T15:30:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls...

I'm still on a roll with my crafty alterations. In my last post, I shared pictures of some of the shabby altered blocks I made using up some of my scraps of scrapbook paper.

Well, in addition to those shabby blocks, I also altered a small unfinished birdhouse that I had purchased from the dollar bins at Michael's.

To start, the birdhouse received a few coats of white craft paint just like the blocks..

Then, using some of the same scrapbook papers that I used for the blocks, I turned that little birdhouse into this...

I even added some beaded trim around the edges just to add a bit more detail.

Another fun and easy project. I will definitely be altering a few more birdhouses in the near future. I can already see a row of these cute shabby little birdhouses lined up on the window sill in my craft room adding a bit of pastel/shabby goodness to my crafting space.

I hope you are enjoying seeing all of my crafty creations and that I've inspired you in some way to dive into some artsy craftsy projects of your own.

Until next time...

Creating Shabby Blocks With Paper Scraps....

2011-11-13T06:42:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls... Happy Saturday!!

Have you ever wondered what to do with your paper scraps that are just too pretty to throw away? Well, if you have, it's a good thing you stopped by today because I have a great idea to share with you.

You can use those paper scraps to make some beautiful shabby altered wood blocks. An idea I had seen floating out in Blogland some time ago.

When I first saw the idea, I went to Michael's and purchased some unfinished 2 inch wood blocks which I painted white with some craft paint. I didn't cover the entire block with the paint, as I mostly just wanted to cover the edges.

Then, I cut the leftover scraps of the beautiful rose patterned paper I used on my altered wood box that I shared in my last post, cutting the pieces just a tad bit smaller than the wood blocks. I also cut some coordinating papers in the same size. All the cutting done with my handy dandy paper cutter.

Then using some of that wonderful Modge Podge, I glued the paper scraps onto the blocks, turning them into pretty and shabby looking blocks. They turned out so cute and were so simple to make. Just the kind of artsy crafty project I like.

After making these, I made a few more using some of my hoarded Melissa Francis scrapbook papers..

Oh, the endless possibilities one has when it comes to playing with paper, scissors and glue..

Well, that's all I have for today. I'm heading out now to go to Michael's to buy some more wooden blocks using the 25% off coupon I just printed of their website.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you again soon !!

From Bland To Beautiful .................

2011-11-08T17:00:00.001-06:00

OK, the alteration bug has hit me and I'm on a roll..

If you may recall, earlier this summer I picked up this small dark wood box at my local Goodwill store, paying just $5.00 for the box.

It took me quite awhile to get around to actually transforming it as I had intended, however, it's finally done and today you get to see the finished results.

The first step in transforming the box was painting it white, both inside and out.

Then, using some gorgeous rose patterned scrapbook paper which I had cut to size, I modgepodged the scrapbook papers to the inside and outside of the box..

Because the white paint was just a bit too bright and because I wanted to give it a more antique/distressed look, I used some Walnut Ink stain and a cotton ball to lightly cover the white painted areas.

I am so pleased with the end result and I'm loving how it turned out. It's definitely worth remembering that using beautiful scrapbook papers doesn't have to be limited to scrapbooking or card making. You can do all sorts of creative things with the paper.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest little thrift store transformation.

Another Thrift Store Transformation....

2011-11-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls..

Just popping in to say hello and to share with you another thrift store transformation.

What I found at the thrift store recently was a darling little two tiered metal basket stand (or whatever it is exactly that they are called) for just $4.00. When I bought it, it was black in color, but I knew I could quickly and easily transform it into something a bit more to my taste.

So I found that can of Ballet Pink spray paint out in the garage and went at it, transforming it from its originally ugly black color to a pretty pink.

Once the paint was dry, I used my Martha Stewart circle cutter to cut lightweight pieces of cardboard to use for the base in each "basket" which I then covered with some of my pretty rose patterned scrapbook paper.

I am not happy with how the bottom part turned out as I had to cut the pieces in half to fit in the basket around the center spoke, and now there's a large, unsightly gap between them, so I will be redoing that part of it using a different technique.

Once again, I find myself in love with the thrift stores and being able to transform a once slightly ugly and inexpensive item into something totally adorable.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest makeover. Have a great weekend and I'll see you again soon..

Oh Dear..........

2011-10-30T11:18:00.001-05:00

It seems that just like many of you, I too seem to have become totally addicted to Pinterest..

That's right girls. I signed up for Pinterest and I've become totally addicted to all the awesome creativity out there. I could spend hours and hours everyday perusing through everyone's glorious Pinterest boards to get some great ideas for crafting, decorating, cooking or whatever may strike my fancy.

The first crafty idea I jumped on came from this idea (photo courtesy of Pinterest)..

Wrapping your laces and trimps around some pretty paper covered pieces of cardboard which can be cut into whatever shape a person desires.

So using my not so great drawing skills, I drew my own template design, traced it onto a peice of heavy cardboard and I created these...

I must say, they did turn out quite cute and I will definately be making some more.

What another fun and simple idea. I hope this inspires you to do something similar with your pretty laces and trims.

Come visit me on Pinterest and check out my Pinterest boards and become a follower if you haven't already.

Just try not to let the Pinterest addiction catch you too..

No Fall Decor At My House...

2011-10-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm feeling like I must be the only one out here in Blogland who hasn't been busy redecorating my house for Fall in all those browns, tans, blacks and orange colors.

While I've loved seeing how all of you are readying your homes for Fall and Halloween, I'm just not a big fan of those darker, Fallish colors myself so it's still all about pretty pastels at my house. Just like it is during the rest of the year.

So, while most of you are sharing beautiful Fall decor, I'm here to throw in some pinks, yellows, pale greens and light purple to mix things up.

Wishing you all a wonderful Fall weekend!!

Chipboard Mini Album...

2011-10-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls..

Do you recall a few posts back where I gave you a sneak peak at another mini album I had just started working on?

Well, I finished working on this one last weekend and sadly, it took me another full week to get pictures taken of it, but now I have and I'm here to share them with you. So sit back, relax and I'll just let you enjoy a page by page stroll through the mini album.

And for those of you who asked me previously how I was planning on using the vintage Bingo cards that I purchased at Junk Bonanza last month in my craft projects, here's one way. I altered both the front and back of this one and added it to my mini album.

It makes for a cute addition to the album don't you think?

Now, let's continue with the rest of the album shall we..

Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest crafty creation. I had fun making this one and don't laugh, but I've already started working on another one too. I think I've become just a tad bit addicted to making these.

You'll get to see the new one when it's completed.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll be back soon.

Happy Friday !!!

2011-10-07T16:50:00.002-05:00

Hey there girls...

While I am totally dreading the upcoming long, cold and snowy winter months, I do have something to look forward to and that is to once again enjoy using my beautiful teapots to brew up some hot and tasty tea to chase the chill away....

That and some tasty freshly made scones still hot from the oven and I might actually forget for a short time just how nasty the weather outside may be.

But for the moment, I'm going to continue enjoying the gorgeous warm and sunny weather Mother Nature has blessed us with here in Minnesota this week.

Have a great day and a great weekend too !!

Thrift Store Find & New Tag..

2011-09-25T11:42:00.000-05:00

Hi there girls...

Want to see my latest lucky find?

Well, this one blew even me away and I couldn't believe my good luck. I stopped in at our local Salvation Army thrift shop last week, just on the spur of the moment, having had no plans to go there, but boy oh boy am I ever glad I did because I found myself another great buttery yellow vintage flower basket to add to my collection.

What makes it even more amazing is that I scored this little baby for less than $2.00 if you can believe it. It was originally marked for just $2.99 with a little blue sticker and when I got up to the checkout to pay for it, I found out that everything in the store with a blue sticker on it was 50% off that day.

I was so giddy with happiness that I almost couldn't stand it. I just could not believe how little I had to pay for this lovely basket. It was in nearly perfect condition except for some dirt that easily washed away with some gentle cleaning and these black smudges on the inside bottom of the basket.

They didn't bother me at all though and I may end up covering the bottom with some pretty scrapbook paper to hide the marks. There was no way I was going to let those smudges deter me from adding this basket to my collection.

Besides shopping the thrift stores, I've also been doing some crafting again after finally getting my crafting mojo back and I made another cute tag ...

And I've also started working on another mini album of which I'll give you a little sneak peak at..

It will likely take me another week or two to finish it, but when I do, you'll get to see the rest so stay tuned for that.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you soon!!

Junk Bonanza - Part 2 ............

2011-09-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls..

I'm back to share with you part 2 of my Junk Bonanza finds. If you missed part 1, you can check out my previous post to see the other things I scored at this wonderful event.

First up is a pair of vintage shoe stretchers.. These were only $1.00 for each if you can believe it. I love a great bargain don't you?

A bag of vintage spools in assorted sizes...

A perfectly distressed sewing box drawer in a wonderful shade of greyish blue..

A small bundle of vintage papers to use in my craft projects. If I can manage to tear into them that is. The stacked bundle of papers is so pretty just as it is that I might find it a bit hard to untie that string and actually use them. Maybe I'll keep them just as is and display them alongside some of my other finds...

And last but not least, the best find for me at Junk Bonanza this year was something I had been wanting to find for a very long time. Something I've seen all over blogland and had me envying those of you who already have one or two or maybe even more of your own.

Now, I myself have my very own vintage doll head...

Isn't it sweet??

Oh, I'm sure some of you might think these vintage doll heads are just a tad bit creepy, but not me and I am so happy that I finally found one of my very own and at a very reasonable price too. It has a few small cracks and such, but nothing I can't easily and happily live with. Those little faults just add to its vintage charm.

Well, that's it for this years Junk Bonanza finds. It was awesome once again and surprisingly, I didn't even spend all of the money I had been saving up for this fun event so I have no shoppers guilt whatsoever

A perfect way to end the summer I must say.

Well, thanks for stopping by for a visit today. See you again soon.

Junk Bonanza - Part 1 ..........

2011-09-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness...

Junk Bonanza was great again this year and lucky me, I scored some great finds. One of which is something I had been waiting to find for a long, long time..

I'm going to torture you and make you wait to see what that is though as I have so many things to show you that I think I'll have to split my awesome finds up into two posts.

I had been saving my money up for this event for some time and had a set amount of money I knew that I would be able to spend. These are just some of the great things I scored..

Beautiful lace altered bottles..

Some vintage spools and a clothespin wrapped with pretty lace trims to use in my craft projects, or maybe to keep just as is for display because they are so pretty..

A bag of old keys..

A pretty vintage floral pill box...

A bunch of Bingo cards to use in my craft projects. A great bargain at just 25 cents each..

And the metal basket holding them was another item I purchased.

And if you're liking the pretty papers I used for a backdrop, those are some of my new scrapbook papers I recently purchased at Archivers. The gorgeous rose pattern paper is from one of the "Lost & Found" collections and the green polka dotted paper is from Cosmo Cricket.

Well, that's it for part 1 of my Junk Bonanza finds. Stay tuned for part 2 to come soon..

Pretty Postcards...

2011-09-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls....

I know my blog posts have been few and far between lately, but I just haven't had much new to share. Today though, I thought I would share with you a few of my pretty postcards that I've collected over the years because we all need something pretty to look at each day don't we??

I'm on vacation for the rest of this week and part of next week as well and I'm hoping to get some crafting done so I'll having something new to share with you next time. For my vacation this month, I made sure I planned my days off around the amazing "Junk Bonanza" event that is taking place here in Minnesota starting on Thursday as I definitely did not want to miss out on it. I went last year with a very good friend of mine and we had such a great time that we both wanted to go again this year so we are going again on Friday.

I can't wait... I'm so excited to see all the wonderful displays and to find myself some new treasures..

Have a great day everyone!!!

September 11, 2001

2011-09-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

Where were you on that September day?

Like many of you, I was at work on that beautiful September morning when I learned of the tragedy that was unfolding in New York and my co-workers and I all watched in horror and disbelief at what we were seeing on TV. It was our countries worst nightmare and it was a day that none of us will ever forget.

I send my prayers out to all of those who lost their lives on that tragic day and for their families who live with the terrible memories of that day.

God Bless America!!

My Latest Obsession............

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

Oh Dear... I seem to have discovered a new obsession..

Can you tell what it is?

Well, if you can't, maybe this will give you a hint..

Yep... I've become just a tad bit obsessed with dress form stamps and they have become the "It" thing on the top of my "I Want" list.

Aren't they wonderful? I love the variety of the styles of the dress forms and I'll sure have fun creating with these.

The wood mounted stamps were all purchased online over a period of time and the Tim Holtz stamp set I purchased at Archiver's scrapbook store earlier this month when they had a one day, 40% off sale on all of their stamps. I had been wanting this set so badly for so long but it was a bit on the pricey side, but when it went on sale, I couldn't get to the store fast enough to finally make it mine.

What's your latest obsession?

If you'd like to acquire a few dress form stamps of your own, you must check out The Little Pink Studio. That's where I purchased 3 of the 4 wood mounted stamps seen above. There's lots of other great stuff in this shop too.

See you soon.

Happiness In A Box...............

2011-08-27T10:05:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday Girls..

As I promised earlier this week, I'm back to share with you the awesome goodies that my Aunt sent home with me after paying her and my Uncle a visit last weekend in North Dakota.

When my Aunt discovered that I had been doing a lot of crafting, she dug out an old box of miscellaneous sewing and crafting stuff that at one time belonged to my Grandmother and she told me that I could have it. Her words were that if I wanted anything from the box, I had to take the whole box as she knew she would really have no use for what was inside it and she didn't want to be left with whatever I didn't want from the box.

Well, lets just say that I on the other hand knew I would have lots of use for some of the goodies inside.

After weeding out the junk and putting aside some of the items that I knew a special friend may like, I was left with a stash of beautiful trims and beads for my own use.

Take a look at this yummy goodness..

Isn't it gorgeous ??? Look at all these beautiful trims..

And these pretty beads...

I'm going to have so much fun creating with my new stash of goodies and I think my Grandmother would be very happy knowing that I've come to share her love of crafting and that her leftover goodies will be put to good use.

Crafting While Traveling....

2011-08-24T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Girls...

Once again I've been a major blog slacker, but I'm back today to share with you some of the cute crafting I did over the weekend.

This past weekend, I traveled out of state to North Dakota with my Mom and one of my sisters to visit my Aunt & Uncle for several days and I decided before leaving that I wanted to bring some of my crafting stuff with me so I packed a small plastic storage case with some things that I could work on over the weekend.

If you recall, several months ago I had altered some plain wooden spools I had purchased at the craft store and I had been wanting to make some more and I knew this would be the perfect thing to do.

Once again, I started with just a package of the plain wooden spools..

And after painting them with craft paint and modgepoding on some pretty scrapbook papers (the strips of which I precut before leaving so I wouldn't have to bring my paper cutter with me), I quickly and easily transformed them into these...

Close up shots of the pink spool...

Blue spool...

Cream colored spool with hints of pink and blue..

And cream colored spool with pale purple....

My Aunt just loved them so needless to say I couldn't leave North Dakota without making one especially for her too. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that one to share with you.

And Oh my goodness.. Just wait until you see the goodies that my Aunt sent home with me. When she found out that I've been doing a lot of crafting, she dug some awesome crafting goodies out of her closet to give to me. I'll be back in a few days to share those with you..

See you soon..

Trying To Get Organized.....

2011-08-16T15:45:00.000-05:00

This my friends is why I did not feel worthy of joining in with last months Where Bloggers Create party...

While I myself love to be surrounded by lots of pretty things, even if it does look ~~a little bit~~ very cluttered, I have to say its a kind embarrassing to let others see what it really looks like most of the time. Although, I'm guessing most of your craft spaces/studio's probably look just like this quite a bit of the time too.

Beings my crafting space is pretty much just limited to 6 foot folding table in one corner of my spare bedroom (which has no bed), I have been trying to organize it a little better in my attempt to make it feel and look less cluttered, adding some new pieces like the brown computer riser/shelf thingy you see in the first picture above which I was then able to place items on top of, to create a bit more storage space..

And my transformed desk caddy that I altered last month keeps some of my smaller papers, etc more organized as well.

In addition to my crafting table, the only real other storage space I have in the room is a bookcase that I moved from my family room downstairs to the spare room upstairs and I am using it to display and store some of my crafting things, collectibles, magazines, etc....

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a "studio", but it's a place I love to spend time in when I'm feeling creative.

Maybe next year, I'll have to join in on the Where Bloggers Create bandwagon and share what I hope will be my more organized creative space with you.

Another Handmade Collage...

2011-08-14T15:39:00.000-05:00

Do you remember last month when I showed you a collage wall hanging I had done...

Well, I just love how that one turned out, so of course, I had to make another one to keep it company.

This ladies, is my latest crafty creation done once again in pinks and blues.

And of course, using some of my buttons and other embellishments to jazz it up a bit..

And just like the first one, I trimmed the top edge with some coordinating lace trim to finish it off.

Well, the first one is now hanging in my home office and I think I'll need to make a little room for this one in there too.

Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend.

See you soon..

More Shabby Finds.........

2011-08-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls..

Woo Hoo, its finally Friday and the work week is done for me, but here I am now still on the computer, but doing something much more fun than work.

I wanted to do another quick post to share with you the rest of the items I found at the antique malls last weekend.

Maybe it's kind of silly to have two nearly identical objects, but when that object is something like this, I don't think a girl should limit herself to one do you??

I just love these vintage flower baskets and I love them even more when they are in just the prefect shade of creamy yellow.

And resting in that basket are two vintage photos I found which were very inexpensive and which I plan on using to make a collage at some point.

While my other yellow flower basket currently resides in my spare bedroom where I do my crafting and is filled with ribbons and other odds and ends, this new one now houses part of my collection of vintage crocheted potholders and will be kept in my kitchen/dining room. A perfect way to display one of my favorite collections.

These potholders are one more thing I can never seem to have enough of. They are just too cute to pass up when I find them in my favorite pastel colors.

Well, that's all for my finds from last weekend. I'm thinking maybe I'll have to try and hunt up some more new treasures this weekend. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

See you soon!!

Pretty Paper Love..........

2011-08-03T04:50:00.000-05:00

Who can resist all the pretty scrapbook papers that can be found at your local scrapbook stores???

Not me, that's for sure. With all the paper crafting I've been doing over the past year, I find myself drawn to the craft and scrapbook stores on what seems to be a weekly basis to hunt down some pretty papers to use in my crafting.

Papers like these, with pink of course (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them and see the patterns more clearly) .....

And these.....

Or how about these .....

So many to choose from and the possibilities are endless...

I love to find papers that coordinate and will work well together in my crafting projects. And lately, I'm finding myself loving the papers that have that vintagy look.

I can't wait to see what I'll end up creating with with these.

Weekend Find...

2011-08-01T18:47:00.003-05:00

Goodness.. Here it is Monday already and the summer days are just flying by.

This past weekend, I visited one old antique store and one that is fairly new and I returned home with a few new treasures which I'll be sharing with you over the next week.

First up is this cute pale yellow vintage powder dish that I just fell in love with at first sight and I was thrilled to see that the seller was having a 50% off sale in her booth so what was originally marked for sale at $6.00 only cost me half that much...

I know I've mentioned several times in the past that I love to collect things that are a pale buttery yellow color, so needless to say, I was quite happy to bring home this little treasure to add to my collection of yellow.

Don't you just love the pretty knob on top??

Did you find any new treasures this weekend?

I'll be back in a few days to show what else I found. Until then, stay cool as we enter the dog days of summer.

Creating More Cute Things.........

2011-07-23T22:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday Girls..

Just popping in today to show off my latest crafty creation.

Some time ago, I had purchased a pack of large scrolled wood pieces intended for use in creating an altered album. Well I decided to do something just a bit different and use just one of the pieces to create a cute and shabby looking collage instead.

Starting with a blank canvas...

I quickly and easily transformed it into something just a bit more "me", once again using some pretty scrapbook paper, a new favorite rubber dress form stamp, and of course a pretty image, some buttons and lace trims.

And now that simple wood piece looks like this..

I think I'll be hanging this newest creation in my office here at home as the pinks and blues will go perfectly with the rest of the things I've used to decorate my work space.

I must say, this crafting thing is sure lots of fun and quite addictive once you start. Let's just hope it continues to be that way as I'm really enjoying it.

And I just want to say "Thanks" to those of you who left me such kind comments on my previous post about my transformed desk caddy/organizer. It really does mean a lot to me that you can appreciate my creativity, just as I do yours.

Have a great weekend!!!

Thrift Store Transformations....

2011-07-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hi there girls...

Do you enjoy transforming inexpensive thrift store finds into something more suitable to your taste? Well, I seem to have found a liking to it myself lately, so here I am today to show you my latest project. And yes, this is going to be another picture laden post.

The first item I transformed was this practical yet boring desk caddy/organizer made of a light colored wood that I found at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store for $4.00.

Pretty boring in appearance but I knew it had lots of possibilities. So after digging through my ever growing stash of pretty scrapbook papers I chose a couple of the patterned scrapbook papers that I knew would be the perfect choice to give it the look I wanted.

Once I chose the papers I wanted to use, I used some coordinating craft paint to paint the areas that wouldn't be covered by the paper. After the paint dried, I cut the papers to size and got out my big bottle of Modge Podge and a sponge brush and started gluing the papers in place.

And Voila... The end results...

A fun and easy project and I love the more antique and distressed look it has now. Much more suitable to my taste. Next up will be the transformation of this plain but nice wood box..

Stay tuned to see how this gets transformed.

Until then, stay cool...

Eeeeks........

2011-07-18T18:50:00.000-05:00

I've been a terrible and lazy blogger lately and haven't posted anything in over two weeks.

Have you missed me yet???

Well if you have, I'm glad to know that and I'm glad you've stopped by today to see what I've been up to. Honestly, I haven't been up to very much other than work and trying to survive the extreme heat wave that has settled over the state of Minnesota this week. It's definitely been the lazy days of summer for me.

Of course, I have been keeping myself occupied in the evenings and on the weekends sitting at my crafting table creating what I think are some darned cute things.

The latest being another mini album which started out as a plain five piece wood album which I transformed using some of my favorite images that I've found on the Internet and some pretty scrapbook papers and embellishments.

Lets take a look shall we ...

Don't leave yet because there's still more to see..

So what do you think ?? Am I the only one who thinks it turned out pretty cute??

Well, I know I'm bragging just a bit, but I think it did and I must thank all of you paper crafting bloggers out there for inspiring me to jump into the paper crafting world myself. It's been lots of fun and I look forward to being inspired even more and I hope that maybe I can even inspire someone else to begin creating beautiful papercrafts too.

See you again soon..

Yes, I Do Like Blue Too ....

2011-07-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

Hi Girls,

While most of you know that PINK is and likely always will be my favorite color, I also love the color blue. Most notably the pretty shade of robin's egg blue.

And having some of that pretty blue be part of my collection of ordinary office supplies sure makes doing even the most mundane office related tasks so much more enjoyable.

Don't you think so too??

Have a great weekend!!!

It's Monday ........

2011-06-27T05:06:00.000-05:00

And I'm just popping in to say hello and to wish you a rosy kind of day..

Hope you all had a great weekend. I spent some of mine playing with paper and glue and I'll be back soon to share with you my latest crafty creation.

Have a great day!!!

Spring Blahs .......

2011-06-21T08:57:00.001-05:00

Hey there Girls...

Yes, I'm still here.

I've just been dealing with a bad case of the blues thanks to Mother Nature seemingly only wanting to give us folks living here in Minnesota lots of cool, non-summer like, cloudy, wet and totally depressing weather and some other personal things as well and those blues in turn have given me a bad case of Bloggers block.

Hopefully things will change soon and I'll find myself more motivated to start posting again and visiting all of you on a more regular basis.

Until then, I'll leave with you a couple of old pictures from my archives of two different styles of vintage planters in my collection.

One of my lovely lady figure planters .....

And a cute little poodle planter (or is it a baby lamb ???) .....

Whatever it is, I love it..

See you soon

Yep... I'm Still At It...

2011-06-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

Creating more tags that is...

I can't seem to stop making these easy and fun tags.

For this latest batch, which all have one thing in common, I started off using a copy of this beautiful fashion print I had found a month or so ago at an antique shop. Thanks to my scanner, I was able to scan it and then print off a sheet of nine wallet size images on just plain white card stock paper.

And from that, came these....

And these....

And to shake things up a bit, I chose to use a different image for this one....

And last, but not least, I made another tag using the dress form template that Debi @ Life In My Studio was kind enough to share with me a while back... Thanks again Debi !!!

Well, that's how I spent a good chunk of my weekend.. How did you spend yours???

Oh yeah... If you feel like doing a bit of paper crafting too, please feel free to copy and save the beautiful fashion print for your own personal use. And if you do make something with it, I'd love to see what you created with it.

Fun With Paper..................

2011-06-05T17:56:00.001-05:00

OK, my crafting table may look a bit like this most of the time.......

But that's only because I'm having so much fun creating new things will all of my pretty scrapbook papers and embellishments. The latest of which happens to be this cute six inch by six inch chipboard book that I put together.

There are tons of pictures, so I'll keep the words to a minimum and will only say that I tried to keep the color theme for this book in the colors of green, blue and tan, with just a hint of pinky rose thrown in a few times. Enjoy the pictures....

Well, I hope you enjoyed the little trip inside the pages of my newest little book I've made. I sure had fun showing it off to you..

Have a great week girls and make sure you find some extra time to get your own crafty groove on.. :-)

Goodwill Finds..........

2011-06-03T18:16:00.000-05:00

Hi there girls...

I just had to pop in and say hello and show you my latest finds.

On Memorial Day, I decided to stop in at my local Goodwill store and lucky for me, they were having an awesome sale with 50% off everything in the store. Talk about good timing huh?? What's even better is that my combined purchase price after the 50% discount was less than $7.00.

I must be on a jewelry box kick lately, because both of the items I purchased were jewelry boxes. For some time now, I've had an idea stuck in my head of finding one that I could give a little shabby makeover to and I found the perfect one that I could alter to more suit my taste. I was so excited to get it done that I didn't take the time to take any "before" pictures so you'll just get to see the "after" shots.

The jewelry box was already the perfect shade of creamy distressed white so that didn't need to be changed. The only thing that I didn't like about it was the design on the lid, but that was of no concern because I already knew it was going to be covered up.

Using some of my pretty shabby floral scrapbook paper and some modge podge, I turned my little dresser style jewelry box into a cute little shabbified dresser.

With more of the pretty floral scrapbook paper now covering up the once ugly lid...

Here's a close-up shot of the drawers. I wasn't able to remove the little handles, so I was a bit limited on how I could add the floral paper to the drawers, so I just cut out small pieces to add to the center of each drawer.

Even the sides got a bit of a make-over too using some of my favorite printed word paper..

Don't you just love how cute it turned out?? I know I do.

The second jewelry box is one of those old vintage jewelry boxes that I seem to see all over blogland and which I have been hunting high and low for. I found it quite funny actually that it was just sitting on the bottom shelf at the Goodwill store, almost unnoticeable until I happened to glance down on my way to the register and I saw it sitting there. It's in great condition with just a few minor flaws, and I'm amazed that I had to pay so little for it.

Finding these new treasures sure was a great way to wrap up the holiday weekend.

Now, I wonder if I'll find any new treasures this weekend. I sure hope so..

Have a great one ladies.. :)

Pretty Vases.....

2011-05-29T09:19:00.001-05:00

Hi girls..

Just popping in to say hello and to wish you all a happy Memorial Day weekend. As seems to be the case lately, I haven't had much to blog about this past week so I unfortunately let the time slip by without a new post. And with the many issues that Blogger seems to be having lately, I wasn't even sure I would be able to.

For today's post, I just pulled a photo from my archives to share with you.

As you know, I love to collect things in the "cottage style" and one of my favorite items to hunt for are these pretty floral vases....

As you can see, they both have the same floral pattern, but their shapes are quite different which makes them each unique in their own way. Besides the fact that I love the look of these types of vases, and can typically be found very easily, they are also fairly inexpensive most of the time which makes them the perfect thing to collect when one must limit their fun money spending like I must do.

Well, that's all I have to share with you today. I just finished up my latest paper crafting project yesterday, so I need to get that photographed once the sun re-appears so I'll have better lighting and then I'll share it with you in a few days..

Until then, enjoy the remaining holiday weekend!!

Part Two Of My Mini Album .............

2011-05-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls...

I'm back to share more of my mini album with you. I'll keep the words to a minimum and just let you look at the pictures instead.

I didn't finish off the back of the book. The scrapbook paper is pretty enough all on it's own and I decided to leave it just the way it is.

With the button embellishments added on the inside pages, the book pages don't close together tightly, but that doesn't bother me even the tiniest bit. I love my little book of pretty papers and images and I hope you've enjoyed seeing it too.

It was definitely a fun project to work on... Who ever knew that a girl could have so much fun playing with paper, scissors and glue ???

My First Mini Album .....

2011-05-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

I've been dying to show off my latest craft project that I spent a few weeks working on. I have lots of pictures to show so I will split this up into two different posts.

If you've been reading my blog for sometime, you know that I only recently started getting into some paper crafting starting late last fall and I've been trying my hand at several different things using pretty much the same materials but just in different ways.

For my latest adventure, I put together my first mini album using some fabulous shabby vintage style scrapbook papers, free images I've found on the Internet and of course, all sorts of embellishments to go along with it.

OK, then, lets get started with the show...

First up is the cover that I've embellished using some small paper scraps, pink rick rack trim and a pretty paper rose embellishment . I also added some lace trims on the ring binder...

And I also stamped a small scrap of paper using a new set of clear, unmounted stamps I just recently purchased online from Papertray Ink.

Each page of the book was then put together in a similar manner to which I used in creating my tags, choosing the background piece of paper and then color coordinating the images I chose to use and embellishments to compliment the background paper.

In between most of the pages, I added a little tag using the smaller leftover scraps of paper on each side of the tag.

Another page of the book...

And the next page of the book with the mini scrap tag added between the pages..

Oh, and look at this cute dress form stamp. That's another new recent online purchase and I'm loving it....

Well, that's all you get to see for today. Don't worry though, I'll show the rest of my mini album in a few days so make sure you come back for a visit to see the rest of it.

Lovely Vintage Jewelry Box And A Sneak Peak.....

2011-05-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls...

Happy Tuesday.. It's a beautiful sunshiny day here in Minneapolis and I'm loving it!!!

Another thing I'm loving is this pretty vintage jewelry box I found at the antique store this past weekend. It was my final bargain buy of the day.

Don't you just love the soft shabby color of green?? And of course, those pretty hand painted roses to..

Here's a peak at the inside....

Goodness, I sure do love finding a great item at a bargain price. This new vintage treasure will be a welcome addition to my collection of "Stuff".

And now for that sneak peak... Here's just a little sampling of my latest craft project that I'll be sharing with you soon.

Stay tuned for more on that later....

Until then, enjoy your days and have a great week!!!

Thrifty Finds...........

2011-05-15T09:10:00.000-05:00

I just love going to the antique stores and finding some thrifty, budget friendly finds.

I lucked out yesterday and snagged myself a few inexpensive treasures. The first of which is this pretty vintage greeting card box.....

The soft and shabby colors and roses are so me.

And keeping with my usual rose them, I snagged this little beauty for just $1.00...

As you can, there are a few small chips along the upper rim of the creamer, but those don't distract from it's overall beauty and it will make a pretty display piece.

I found one more great item that I'll show later during the week. As you may have noticed, my blog posts have been a bit infrequent of late due to lack of things to blog about, so I'll keep the final item for another post to spread things out a bit.

Oh yeah, and just to the left of the creamer is a little craft project that I've been working on. It's almost completed and I'll be sharing more on that soon..

Hope you are all having an awesome weekend!!!

Weekend Crafting.....

2011-05-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

Hi Girls,

First, I would like to wish all of you mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you are having a fabulous day today as your children honor you and all that you've done for them.

I myself am not a mother, but I did get to spend some time with my own Mother today along with the rest of my siblings and a fun time was had by all.

Yesterday, in between running errands and spending some time outdoors enjoying the lovely weather that Mother Nature oh so graciously bestowed upon us here in Minneapolis, I managed to sneak in a bit of paper crafting time and I created another new tag using some pretty green floral patterned paper.....

And a coordinating image that I had found somewhere on the Internet.....

And I couldn't forget the backside. Even that received a color coordinated look..

Goodness, there are so many gorgeous scrapbook papers out there and I can't seem to get enough of them. I think I've got myself a pretty paper addiction. Is that a good thing or a bad thing??

Well, that's all I have to share with you today. As the clouds and rain have moved back in once again, I think maybe I'll squeeze in another hour or two of crafting time this afternoon and make another tag or two so this one won't be lonely all by itself.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll be back soon..

2011-05-01T08:22:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to say Hi and that I hope you're having a great weekend wherever you may be.

We've had a most cloudy and very wet weekend here in the Minneapolis area which isn't very fun. Even though the sun may not be shining outside at the moment, I can still bring a bit of sunshine and touches of spring to the inside of my house with some sunny yellow decor ...

And some pretty flowers

I'll even pretend that my pretty yellow crocheted potholders are the sun...

Isn't it fun to live in a world of make believe ??

Now if that make believe sun could give off some warmth, my little make believe sunny world wouldn't be so bad.

Have a great day!!!

Gloomy Days....

2011-04-28T15:59:00.001-05:00

Hi Girls,

It's been a few days since I last posted, so I just wanted to stop in and say hello. Not much to share with you today as the gloomy, dark and rainy days we are having here in Minnesota are making it awful hard to take new pictures, so I don't have anything new to share with. Instead, I just dug into my photo archives to dig out an old picture that you maybe have already seen once or twice.

I sure do love my baby planters and this is one of my favorites for the reason that it's high chair shape is not one that is normally seen and of course, it has my favorite colors of pale pink and blue. And just look at that adorable little teddy bear resting on the high chair.

Cuteness !!!

Are you all excited about tomorrow and the big royal wedding? I am. I'm glad too that I will be working from home tomorrow, so I'll be up super early in the morning to start watching all the news coverage. My sister is taking it even one step further. She actually requested a vacation day from work just to be able to watch the wedding. All that pomp and circumstance should be fun to watch and of course, I am dying to see the top secret wedding dress of Kate's.

It hardly seems possible that Prince William is going to be married as I still remember watching the wedding of his mother Princess Diana all those years ago. Lord, I am getting old

:-)

How many of you will be watching all the wedding day festivities?

Happy Easter ...........

2011-04-23T17:49:00.000-05:00

Me and my sweet little Bunny.....

Wish you and your families a very Happy Easter!!

I Love Pretty Things .........

2011-04-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

So I thought I would share some with you today while doing a test post using the more updated version of post editor than can be found under your "Settings" tabs. The updated version loads your photos a bit differently and allows for more options in the sizing and placement of your pictures within your posts.

While I love the larger picture sizes, I'm not sure if I will stick with this updated version or if I will revert back to the old one as I'm finding something already that I don't particularly care for and that is the choices for text colors. They took away the one I've used since the beginning and I'm not really liking the new choices all that much.

I know that may seem a bit silly to most of you, but to make the overall look of my blog be the way that I want it, I would much rather have been given the choice of the same text colors that were available in the older version.

Oh well, I'll give it a try and see if I like it. Just don't be surprised if things go back to the way they used to be.

Happy Friday !!!

Tags For Thursday ............

2011-04-21T10:37:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to say Hi and to share a few of my latest tag creations with you...

As you can see, I used the same image for both tags, but chose different papers as the background ...

For the first tag, I chose to use some scrapbook paper in a darker, more muted color tone, and for the second tag, a brighter, more vibrant springlike paper.

Which one is your favorite ???

Simply Adorable ........

2011-04-18T05:12:00.000-05:00

I recently found the most adorable pair of little baby shoes in a small specialty antique & gift shop near my home.

They are far from being perfect and show some wear and tear and discoloration, but for only $3.00, I couldn't pass them up.

It's fun to imagine what sweet little baby once wore these shoes...

A charming addition to add to my collection of blue.

Stuff .........

2011-04-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

Are you like me ??

Do you enjoy seeing other peoples stuff?

I'm guessing you do. Especially when that stuff just happens to be pretty.

I can't seem to get enough of it. My eyes are instantly drawn to pretty pictures, whether they be out here in blogland or in the pages of magazines or books. I love to see all the little bits and pieces that people collect and gather around them for their enjoyment.

Today, I'm sharing with you a few glimpses of some pretty stuff on my crafting table. Yes, it's a bit on the messy side, but it's still pretty in my minds eye.

Have you notice a certain theme here?? Lots of pinks and pale blues. My two favorite colors.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my "stuff". Now I'm off to hop around bloglond to look at other peoples pretty stuff.

Have a great weekend !!

Dress Form Tag ............

2011-04-11T21:11:00.003-05:00

Remember this pretty scrapbook paper that I found a few weeks ago?

Well as much as I hated to cut into it beings it was just so pretty, I took the leap and did just that to create a sweet and shabby dress form tag ...

Even the backside of the tag received a tailored finish to cover up the lace trim that was glued to the back of the tag.

Such a lovely springtime dress don't you think?

I would like to thank Debi at http://lifeinmystudio.blogspot.com/ for sharing with me the website link for the dress form template that I downloaded onto my computer and then printed. This dress form template is one I know that I'll be using over and over again.

If you would like the link to the dress form template, let me know and I will Email you the link. I tried including it here in my post but it wouldn't work..

See you soon !!

I Love Spring .....

2011-04-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota today with lots of sunshine and a balmy temperature of 63 degrees. It sure feels like spring outside today and it got me in the mood to share a bit more of spring with you.

What says spring more than cute little bunnies ??

How about this sweet little bunny that I first introduced you to last Spring. I named my sweet little bunny "Miss Bridgette". She is the sweetest thing ever and I just adore her.

Miss Bridgette and her sweet baby Flossie have been keeping me company all through the long, cold and dreary winter. She was just too cute to put away and I decided to keep her out all year around.

Miss Bridgette and Flossie wish you all a lovely Friday and they and I both hope you have a fabulously awesome spring weekend !!!

New Tags ........

2011-04-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Staying in my crafty mode, I've created a few more embellished tags over the past few days. These first two I made over the weekend....

And this one was made just today ...

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a peak at my latest paper creations. I hope you've enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

More Fabulous Finds....

2011-04-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of spending yesterday with one of my cousins browsing the antique malls in Stillwater, Minnesota and we both scored some great finds.

These are the lovely spring like items I was lucky enough to find.

A beautiful china lady figurine in the prettiest shade of pale minty green..

As you can in this close up shot, she's far from being perfect as it appears she must have had a tragic accident at one point in time and sadly lost part of her arm which was then glued back on, however, that didn't deter me at all from purchasing her at the bargain price I did. Even with her reattached arm, she's still just as lovely and will make a wonderful addition to my collection of lady figurines.

And of course, a few roses on her dress adds even more charm to her ...

In addition to the lovely lady figurine, I also found another pretty planter to add to my collection along with a crocheted potholder in my favorite colors.

I always find it to be quite interesting how my finds all seem to have a similar theme in colors ..

But then again, my eyes always seem to be drawn towards the pale pastel colors no matter what so maybe it's not so surprising after all that all of my finds yesterday were those in my favorite color palate.

Having the day off from work, spending time with my cousin and finding my new treasures sure made for a perfect day in my opinion. So much more fun that working don't you think ??

Pretty Paper Heaven ......

2011-03-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

Eeeeks......

I found myself in pretty paper heaven today.

After getting my taxes done bright and early this morning, I decided to stop in at one of my local Archiver's scrapbook stores to see if they might have some pretty spring like papers in stock. And my oh my did they ever. Check out these too die for gorgeous, girly, rosy papers from the "The Girls Paperie" collection. I love how they named it "Vintage Whimsy". So perfect for a girly girl like me...

My photography skills are not the best and these photos don't do justice to how pretty the papers are in person. I love the shades of pink and blue on these. So scrumptious.

It's going to be hard cutting up these beauties that's for sure..

If I can dare to do that, I'll have to save them for something special..

More Artsy Crafty Stuff ......

2011-03-28T18:29:00.001-05:00

Blogger is giving me fits today with spacing between my written paragraphs and photos, so I will keep the words to a minimum today and just show you some pictures of the two new shabby patchwork wall hangings I made over the weekend. Enjoy the prettiness ..

I am so loving these pretty paper flower embellishments that I've been using in my crafting projects. I can't seem to get enough of them.

Hopefully Blogger will play nicer next time..

Vintage Advertisments ...

2011-03-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

Hey there girls..

It's almost Friday. Are you has excited about that as I am??

Well, I'm hoping that this weekend I'll have time to get out and visit an antique store or two in my never ending quest to find new and beautiful treasures. I was lucky last weekend and found some great things, the last of which I am sharing with you today.

I must say that it sure pays to slow down a bit and dig through stacks of vintage advertisements and ephemera, because I definately scored on this find. A pretty vintage fashion print in some of my favorite pastel colors.

Isn't it pretty??

Because I was thrilled to find this lovely print and now have the ability to scan items such as this with my new printer/scanner/fax machine, I thought I would share my happiness over this lucky find and share this print with you as well.

Please feel free to copy and save this print for your own personal use. If you do create anything with it, I would love to see how you used it in your artwork.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

More Spring Pretties ....

2011-03-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still feeling a bit heartbroken over the loss of my pretty little "Pin Money" bank that I had found at the antique store this past weekend but broke before it even made it into the house, but I did find some other great things that have helped me deal with the loss.

Like this totally adorable pale buttery yellow wicker flower basket. So perfect for Spring decorating and I just love the shape and size of it ...

Keeping with the Spring theme, I've added this pretty Royal Copely planter to my collection. Amazingly enough, I already have a vase in this same floral pattern so now I have a matching set. These little planters are just the perfect size to use as pen holders on my desk.

These pretty new Spring themed items are just what I'm gonna need this week to keep a cheerful mood as Mother Nature has decided to play mean and tease us with another dose of winter again. Its pouring rain outside as I am writing this and parts of Minnesota will also be seeing snow over the next few days. Some areas farther north of where I live are forecasting close to two feet of the fresh white stuff with the rain possibly turning into snow here even in the Minneapolis area.

Can we say YUK !!

Happiness And Heartbreak ......

2011-03-19T17:46:00.003-05:00

Hi Girls...

I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far. My weekend has been going great, except for one little heartbroken moment which I will explain shortly.

I headed out early today to make an hour and a half drive down to the lovely town of Red Wing, Minnesota where they have some awesome antique malls located in an old pottery factory. The old factory is a huge building which currently houses some smaller specialty shops as well as four separate antique shops. Two of them are quite large and a person could spend hours and hours browsing through them looking at all the goodies for sale. The other two are a smaller in size but are fun to browse just the same. It's a one stop shopping experience right up my alley.

I found several great things today which made the long drive worth while.

First up is the "happiness" part of this post. I found this lovely china gravy boat that I couldn't resist. It was a great price too at less than $10.00 ....

Not surprisingly, it has some very pretty roses on it .......

Now for the "heartbreak" part of this post. I found a very cute "Pin Money" bank to add to my small collection, but before I even made it into the house after I returned home, I accidentally dropped the bag it was in and I could hear the sound of breaking china as it hit the garage floor. They had wrapped it in some newspaper at the antique mall and this is what I saw when I unwrapped it after getting inside the house.

I felt a bit like crying over this little tragedy, but I guess I can count myself lucky in the fact that I didn't pay too much for it. It had a few minor cracks already on the backside that decreased its value and it only cost me $5.00, but I still feel pretty bad about it as it was so pretty, even with its minor flaws. It would have made for a great display piece as those little flaws it originally had were weren't visable from the front. Now, it's another story and this sadly had to go in the trash..

I found a few more things on my trip today that I will share with you in another post.

Until then, keep on enjoying your weekend.

Another Room Transformation ......

2011-03-17T16:39:00.001-05:00

Would you like to see another magical room transformation ??

This first picture shows what my living room looked like about a week before I moved into my house. The old carpet had been ripped out as had most of the padding underneath (just a little bit remained when I took this picture) and the walls were getting ready to be painted before the new carpet was installed. The walls were an odd green color that I didn't particularly care for so they had to go ..

And this is what it looks like now. Well, not exactly. A few minor things have changed since I took this photo a year or so ago, but most if it looks the same.

I can sure tell that it was a nice, bright, sunny day when I took the photo. The big picture window faces east and I get lots of morning sunshine coming in this window which I love. I hardly ever close the blinds in my living room as I hate that closed in feeling. I love my living room to for the fact that it's nice and big. Most townhouses I toured before finding this one had very small living rooms so this one was a major surprise.

Much better don't you think ?

The Magic Of Paint ....

2011-03-15T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but I have lived in my town house for eight years now. I closed on my house near the end of January 2003, but I didn't move into my house until a little over a week later.

Why did I wait so long between closing and moving in? Well that's a simple thing to answer. It's because the interior of my home needed some minor cosmetic work to make it a little more me before I could actually move in.

Besides having brand new carpet installed throughout the home and new flooring installed in the kitchen, the most drastic change that needed to take place was in my dining room area.

I had to get rid of this before I could even think about moving in .............

Good grief. Who in the world ever thought that painting a huge old mural like that on the wall was a good idea ??? It totally overpowered the dining area made it feel closed in and like I was being attacked by that big old tree. And I hated the colors.

Thank goodness for the magic of paint. It made that ugly old painted mural disappear within minutes and turned that ugly space from the room you see in the picture above, to the more serene and soothing room you see below ....

Now that is about 500 times better don't you think ???

Stay tuned as I'll be sharing before and after shots of my living room next time.

Pretty In Pink ....

2011-03-12T09:42:00.005-06:00

Good Morning Everyone...

It's been ages and ages since I've participated in Beverly's Pink Saturday event and I have found myself missing it at times, so what better time to join in again than when I have pink on my mind and actually having something pink to show.

For your pleasurable viewing today, I'm sharing will all of you a little touch of spring with this pretty bouquet of artificial roses in the yummiest shade of pink.

More often than not, artificial flowers look just that. Artificial and not real. Well, not these. The detail on these is so amazing...

I found these pretty rose bouquet's at a local craft store a few weeks ago and they sure have brought in an extra touch of spring into my home..

I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit today. Please come back soon !!

Please visit Beverly's blog at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ to see even more lovey pinks.

Thanks Beverly for hosting such a wonderful weekly event.

Happy Friday ....

2011-03-11T05:26:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday Girls.....

Hope you all have a great day and an awesome, fun filled weekend !!

A Winner...

2011-03-08T15:05:00.001-06:00

Hi Girls...

Just popping in with a quick post today to announce the winner of my giveaway which I had announced last Friday.

Each person who left a comment on that post had their names placed in a hat for a chance to win one of my handmade, shabby patchwork wall hangings.

And the winner is ............

"Renegades"

If you can send me an email with your address, I'll try and get your prize mailed out before the end of the week. It won't be the one you see pictured here, but your prize will be just as nice :-)

Congratulations !!!

As for those of you who weren't so lucky to win one of my hand made creations this time, don't worry. I may just end up doing another drawing sometime in the near future.

I hope you are all having a great week so far. My week has been pretty good so far, but it may go downhill after today as we are in for more snow here in Minnesota overnight tonight and during the day tomorrow and then again on Friday and possibly over the weekend.

Will it ever end ???

Playing With Color ....

2011-03-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

Hi Girls...

What's a girl to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon ??

Well, how about putting together a sweet little vignette using a color theme of seaglass green.

The backdrop features some pretty scrapbook papers I found this weekend, a jar of buttons, a vintage engagement card, a little sewing tin and some vintage lace trim.

I found the cute little sewing tin at Junk Bonanza last fall. It hides a stash of Q-Tips that I keep on my crafting table for when I need a little something to dab away glue as I am creating my little art projects..

The pretty lace trim is a brand new find that I found this weekend at the antique store. The color matches perfectly with my jar of buttons and vintage tin.

Don't you just love to play with your stuff and create charming little vignette's like mine?

Time For A Giveaway ......

2011-03-04T18:09:00.001-06:00

Oh dear... I can't believe it's Friday already.

The week has just flown by and as usual I've been a bit neglectful of my blog. Likely because I really haven't had much to share with you other than showing off my crafting projects which I'm sure you are probably getting a bit tired of seeing.

This winter just seems to be dragging on and on and on, with snow storm after snow storm, many of them falling on the weekends and it's really put a damper on my antiquing. I haven't been able to get to some of the shops I've been wanting to so I don't have any new pretty treasures to share with you.

So... once again I'll bore you by showing off my latest shabby patchwork wall hangings. For the first one, I used a more bold color scheme with the deep pinks and reds ....

And one in more muted tones of pale green and creams with just a bit of pink added...

As you can imagine, I now have quite a pile of my finished creations that I'm going to have to start giving away as little gifts instead of hoarding them all for myself. Like many of you other crafters out there, I'm sure you can relate when I say that it's a bit hard to pass my creations on to someone else as I just love how cute they all have turned out and I'm finding it a bit hard to part with them. That may seem a bit silly considering they are just made with bits of paper and a few simple but cute embellishments and I have the supplies to make several more, but it's true.

Maybe it's time I did a little giveaway so my blogging friends can have a chance to win one of my cute little creations.

If you are interested in acquiring one my shabby patchwork wall hangings, leave a comment here on this post and let me know if you would like to be entered in a drawing to win one of them. It might be one of them that I've shown here today or one I have shown in the past or maybe even one that hasn't been created just yet.

I will do the drawing to choose a winner early next week...

Until then, have a great weekend!!

Vintage Easter Postcard....

2011-02-28T16:08:00.001-06:00

Because Spring is on my mind and Easter will be here before we know it, I wanted to share another one of my vintage Easter postcards with you.....

Feel free to copy and save this if you would like to use this in any of your crafting projects or even if you just wanted something pretty to look at..

If you do happen to use this in a craft project, I would love to see what you make with it.

Think Spring !!

A New Creation .....

2011-02-25T18:07:00.000-06:00

Hi Girls..

How are you today? Have you had a good week?

My week has been pretty good for the most part. Not much is going on here in my little world so there hasn't been much to blog about this week.

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing all of us upper Midwest folk complain about the winter weather so I won't complain about it here today. Instead, I'm showing off another one of my crafty creations that I made last weekend when I was snowed in during one of those dreadful Minnesota snow storms.

This project is very similar to ones I've shown before, but this time, I changed my color scheme up a bit, moving from the more muted pastel colors I used in my previous patchwork creations to a bolder color combination of reds, deep pinks, darker greens and beige.

Adding special little touches here and there with some laced edged paper scraps ..

And of course a button or two...

A simple and fun little project that anyone can do...

I'm going to keep on creating these cute little wall hangings until I run out of my chipboard pieces, then I will have to move on and find something new to make. My list of things I want to try and make just keeps on growing thanks to all the wonderful ideas I see when I am out and about here in Blogland so the possibilities of what I will come up with next is endless.

Thank you Blogland for helping me get my creative juices flowing...

Have I Mentioned .....

2011-02-20T05:30:00.001-06:00

That I LOVE buttons .....

Whether they be old .....

Or new.....

I LOVE them all the same. Especially when they are in my favorite dreamy pastel colors..

I love to display them in all sorts of ways until I used them in my craft projects.

How do you store and display your buttons?

I'm Feeling Generous ....

2011-02-14T18:00:00.001-06:00

So I decided to share another pretty vintage postcard from my collection with you....

Please feel free to make a copy for yourself to use however you may choose.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Something To Share....

2011-02-12T14:22:00.003-06:00

Hi Girls...

I'm testing out my brand spankin new printer/scanner/fax machine that I just bought today and I decided to share with you the very first thing I scanned.

It's a lovely vintage Easter postcard for you to copy and use in whichever way you choose.

My old scanner was not very user friendly as everything I wanted to scan needed to be fed through a feeder instead of just being able to lay it on the scanning tray like I can with my new one. That of course, restricted me from being able to scan nearly everything.

I'm going to have so much more fun with this new one!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Bedside Pretties ......

2011-02-11T19:36:00.000-06:00

A springtime bouquet of flowers next to my bed...

Such a pretty sight to see first thing on a cold and dark winter morning.

These flowers aren't real, but they sure are pretty aren't they?

It's Coming ..........

2011-02-08T11:47:00.009-06:00

Spring that is...

While it may be hard to believe considering what a long and nasty winter this has been, it really is coming and it will be here in just a little over a month.

Can't come soon enough for me. I need Spring to help chase these winter blues away.

Until it arrives, I'll just pretend its already here by admiring some more of my Spring themed home decor. Nothing says Spring to me more than some pretty florals and of course my favorite, much beloved spring like pastel colors.

For who wouldn't feel cheerful after gazing up a sweet little wooden blue bird nestled in a bed of pink and cream colored artificial roses...

Or gazing up some pretty pink and cream carnations just randomly placed on a shelf amongst a collection of other spring like decor...

And whoever said that artificial flowers couldn't be pretty??

Pretty Things Around The House ....

2011-02-06T21:35:00.001-06:00

What's a girl supposed to do on a gloomy, overcast, lazy Sunday afternoon?

Well, I myself walked around my house snapping pictures of some of my favorite things to share with you.

Nothing makes me feel better and cheers me up more than wondering around my house and being able to see all of the pretty things I have been lucky enough to acquire over the years.

Like pretty china found at the antique mall .....

Or a pretty, vintage style clock found at a specialty gift shop ...

Or even a sweet Christmas tree ornament found at a major retail store that was just too pretty to pack away after the holidays were over.

And of course, we mustn't forget about a darling little yellow wooden chicken on wheels who makes me and one of my dear blogging friends smile all the time.

Well, that's how I spent my afternoon. How have you been spending yours?

Still Crafting Away .......

2011-02-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness. I did it. I actually managed to get two posts up this week thanks to a bit of sunshine earlier in the week that made picture taking so much easier.

Give me a pat on the back for this accomplishment.

I am so glad you've stopped by for a visit today. I just hope I don't bore you by showing off my latest shabby crafty creations again.

These are very similar to the other ones I've made over the past few weeks. For these, I just used a different shaped chipboard piece to create the wall hangings.

I know I am probably bragging a bit, but I am so happy with how these crafty creations of mine have turned out. The pictures really don't do them justice. They look even better in person with their soft and shabby colors of pink, green and tan. It was so much fun and very easy to create these "masterpieces" using just torn up scraps of paper, some Modge Podge glue and then adding the embellishments.

These won't be the last of them that I'll be making. Thanks to me going a bit overboard and loading up on the chipboard books that I found a while ago in the dollar bins at Michael's, I have lots of blank canvases to use in making these. I'll likely run out of my pretty shabby colored scrapbook papers before I run out of the chipboard pieces.

When I showed these off to a male friend of mine, he kindly told me that he thought that even Martha Stewart would be proud of me. I'm thinking maybe he was lying because most guys just don't get this girly, crafty, artsy kind of stuff, but a girl can still dream can't she???

I Love Michael's .........

2011-02-01T23:30:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls..

Sorry for the long time between posts. Its' been so cloudy here lately that its hard to get some decent photos to share so I haven't been able to get a photo worthy new post up.

The sun finally made an appearance today as I was working at home, so on my lunch break I quickly took some pictures of my latest finds before the sun decided to go into hiding again.

I was at Michael's craft store this past weekend looking for some more crafting supplies when I happened upon an aisle filled with some pretty Paris/French inspired home decor items that I instantly fell in love with. Now, I'm a girl who loves pretty storage boxes so I was thrilled to find some that were just to my liking and they were on sale too. Woot, Woot.. Who wouldn't be happy about that.

These pretty boxes are made to look like books and are about the size of cigar boxes..

Even the "book spine" side of the box is prettily decorated. Perfect if a person wanted to display these on a bookshelf.

Very clever and practical too. I can use these boxes to store some of my scraps of paper that I am using for my crafting projects.

I saw lots more of these pretty Paris/French inspired home decor items that I would love to have, but I was a good girl and only bought a few, limiting myself to pieces which I knew I had room for and which I could use in practical way for storage.

With Blogland all awash in French inspired art and decor, I have a feeling that once those French themed loving bloggers realize what their local Michael's stores have in stock, these items will disappear very quickly, so if you're hankering for a few of your own, you'd best hurry to Michael's and see what you can find for yourself before they are all gone.

In addition to doing a little bit of shopping, I've continued to keep myself occupied during some of my free time by creating a few more Shabby themed scrap paper/decoupaged wall hangings. I'll share my newest creations with you later in the week.

Until then, have a great week.

See you soon!!

More Shabby Crafting ......

2011-01-25T07:16:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls....

Happy Tuesday.. How is your week going so far? Mine has been pretty good for the most part. Back at work again and being kept busy with that.

I was feeling pretty crafty over the weekend and on Sunday I showed you a craft project I did on Saturday. Well... I loved how that one turned out so much, that I made another one on Sunday using some of the left over scraps of paper and a few different embellishments.

I'm guessing this one won't be the last. I'll likely be making even more, using some of the different shaped chipboard book pages I have on hand.

Once again, I would like to thank all my bloggy friends for your kind words about my crafting projects and for your encouragement in helping me take the leap into the crafting world. I was a bit scared at first if you recall, but I am having so much fun now, I realize I had nothing to be afraid of.

Have a great day everyone !!!

Shabby Crafting ...

2011-01-23T11:17:00.000-06:00

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I showed these great clipboard books that I stocked up on after finding them for 50 cents each in the dollar bins at Michael's craft store ???

Well... yesterday, I took one of the chipboard pages and shabbied it up a bit using some of my hoarded scrapbook papers, modge podge, a flower embellishment and of course, some buttons and lace trims.

Even the backside was covered using some of the complimentary paper ...

I love how my latest little crafty project has turned out and now I have a cute little piece of my own personal artwork to hang for display...

I sure am glad I've taken that plunge into the crafting world as I am having so much fun creating all of these different projects I've been working on over the past several months. Tags, altered spools and now some decoupage art pieces. So, despite the still frigid cold we are dealing with here in the Minneapolis area, I am enjoying my time spent in my crafting room where the sun is shining brightly today and sending its warmth in through my window.

I was very happy yesterday when I stopped in at JoAnn's craft store and found some more of the wooden spools I was hoping to find. Yeah for me!! They come in a pack of six are are just waiting to be altered and turned into something cute.

I think I see glimpses of another fun crafting weekend ahead for next weekend...

Stay tuned to see what I do with these. Until then, enjoy your days and hopefully, I'll be back soon with some more crafty projects to share with you.

This Time They Are Blue ...........

2011-01-16T13:07:00.000-06:00

Hey there girls..

Are you having a good weekend?

Despite the still cold weather here in Minnesota, my weekend has been good. I was feeling crafty again this weekend so I have a few more things to share with you today.

Last weekend, I altered some plain wooden spools which I had painted a soft shade of pink and I loved how cute they turned out so I decided to make a few more, this time using a robin's egg blue paint to cover the wooden spools.

I used some of the same scrapbook paper as I did on the pink ones, but I also used some new paper to .....

As well as using most of the same types of embellishments. Gotta love those pastel buttons and little snippets of lace...

I even blinged one of them out with just a wee bit of sparkle...

I'd say for those of you out there who are like me and aren't super duper crafty, you should really give these altered spools a little try. They are so easy to make. All you need is some plain wooden spools, craft paint, some pretty scrapbook papers, modge podge, glue, small florals and some small embellishments like the buttons and bling. After you paint the spools and the paint has had a chance to dry, altering them and turning them into something cute like these will take you only a very short amount of time.

Definitely something you should try on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I have a feeling I'll be making even more of these, but I have to find some more of the wooden spools at the craft store first. Went to Michael's this morning to look for some, but they didn't have any there so I will have to try JoAnn's next.

Now, I must go clean up my crafting table and get it ready for the next project. Enjoy what's left of your weekend and have a great week ahead !!

Feeling Inspired......

2011-01-13T12:09:00.000-06:00

Taking that inspiration I've received from the recent issue of Somerset Life magazine, I altered some plain brown wooden spools that I picked up at Michael's craft store and I gave them a bit of a makeover to match my new blog makeover.

Now my simple little wooden spools are shabbied up in the yummiest shade of pink....

With a little bit of bling added in the form of buttons and pretty stick pins..

What a fun and easy project. Now I have the urge to make a few more using some different colored paint..

Am I getting creative or what ??????

A New Look ....

2011-01-12T19:43:00.002-06:00

My blog just got a wee bit of a makeover...

Can't go wrong when I find a new Blogger background in my favorite color with a bit of a shabby look to it.

And.. it goes perfectly with my current header photo.

I think I like it!!

New Finds..............

2011-01-09T15:28:00.000-06:00

Hi Girls...

I hope you are enjoying this lovely weekend. Even if it's a bit on the cold side like it is here in Minnesota where we are currently sitting at a not so balmy 13 degrees. Much better than the 9 below zero temperature I awoke to. Lots of sunshine though and that is very much appreciated.

Well, after forcing myself to stay away from the antique shops during the month of December in order to use my money for Christmas shopping and to pay down a few credit cards, I couldn't stand it anymore and was beginning to go through some serious withdrawal not being able to get out and hunt myself up a treasure or two. So today, I finally caved in and visited a few of my favorite shops.

I am proud to say that I kept within my set budget and found a few new things to bring home with me. Of course, the first thing that caught my eye, not surprisingly, was something PINK!! This cute tin flour canister in a very pale shade of pink.

I probably won't use it to store flour, but will keep it in my craft room to store odds and ends. And, I will likely cover up the "flour" wording with a pretty rose decal of some sort.

Another cute find was this cottage style china creamer. A great bargain at just $2.50. A girls gotta love a great bargain don't we?

And finding some inspiration with the always fabulous Somerset Life magazine, I found something today that could have been right out of the pages of the current issue of the magazine.

One of the articles in the magazine showed how the artist had altered some vintage clothespins and spools using paper, lace, ribbons and buttons...

When I saw these and read the article, I thought to myself how cute they were and how simple it would be to do something similar myself, so imagine my delight when today I spotted a small mason jar filled with 12 vintage clothespins for just $5.00.

Now I too will be able to alter some vintage clothespins just like those I saw in the magazine. They will be cute displayed in a china bowl, a wicker basket or maybe an apothecary jar.

Don't you just love finding inspiration everywhere? I know I do.. Blogland is filled with it and so is the always gorgeous Somerset Life magazine.

Something A Bit Different......

2011-01-07T14:48:00.002-06:00

As I've mentioned a few times over the past few weeks, I'm a bit short on ideas of new things to post about, so I thought I'd do something a bit different today and do a post to share a YouTube video that features an acoustic version of my new favorite song.

If your a fan of country music, I'm guessing you've heard of the Zac Brown Band. This video features an acoustic version of their new single called "Colder Weather" sung by the lead singer Zac Brown. There is just that certain something about this man's voice that draws me in and keeps me coming back over and over again to listen to more of their music.

The Zac Brown Band is a standout group in my opinion and a nice change from all the cookie cutter country bands that have popped up over the past few years.

So sit back, relax, listen and enjoy !!!

Pretty Roses.....

2011-01-05T05:06:00.005-06:00

Pretty roses will always bring a smile to my face, even if those roses only adorn some pretty fabric .....

Or some of my favorite china pieces ....

Hope seeing the pretty roses brought a smile to your face too !!

Have a great day..

Repeat..........

2010-12-29T22:00:00.002-06:00

Hey there Girls...

I'm must say I am sorry once again for the infrequent posts lately. Just like before, I haven't had much to blog about lately.

Sooooooo.. Just like in television, when I seem to run out of new things to show, it's time for some repeats.

The repeat you'll see today is just a slight alteration to a previous post from a few months ago when I shared with you a creative take on re-purposing an object for something other than it was intended.

I had found this cute jewelry holder at either TJ Maxx or Marshall's.....

But instead of using it to hold jewelery, I decided to use it in a more imaginative way by using it to hold and display a portion of my collection of vintage crocheted potholders .....

My cute display piece now sits on my kitchen counter next to the sink where I can enjoy seeing my favorite potholders everyday.

Can you believe it's almost New Years????? Time is flying by so fast. I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Having two nieces and a nephew all under the age of ten makes for fun times at Christmas.

Wishing you all a safe and Happy New Years!!!

I'll be back soon, hopefully with something new to share next time.

Merry Christmas .....

2010-12-23T16:37:00.002-06:00

The big day is almost here....

I hope you all have a wonderful time as you celebrate this very special and joyous time of year with your family and loved ones.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours !!!

Gotta Love The Dollar Bins ........

2010-12-21T11:45:00.000-06:00

Or at least that's what one should do when you can find some fabulous items like the ones I'm sharing with you today.

In my never ending quest to find inexpensive items to use for crafting, I was thrilled to bits last weekend to spot these in the dollar bins at Michael's craft store.

What thrilled me even more was that they cost even less than that. They were marked as clearance items for just 50 cents each. Yep, that's right. Only 50 cents each for these awesome five page chipboard books.

Ooooohh... The possibilities are endless as to how I will be able to transform these from just plain old chipboard pieces into something pretty..

Of course, I couldn't limit myself to just one or two at these drop dead prices, so I bought ten of them, spending just $5.00 for the whole lot..

You'd best hurry quick to your local Michael's craft store if you want to try and find some yourself.

Drive safely and Good Luck!!