Treasures Found Today....... vintage pink roses postcard, old thread in lucious pastels, vintage rose butter pat......

Pastel Christmas ornaments...... (the seller said she could dig in the bottom to find red ones ~~ I replied, thank you very much, but I like the pink ones! :)

A vintage child's parasol in pink.....

And pretty floral biscuit and sugar jars for the kitchen.

Better not sit still too long around here, I just might paint a rose on you!! :)

This is my latest sign......... After I painted the tea garden sign (I shared a couple of posts back), I had a custom order. Having just finished that, I now have painted this Cottage sign for my shoppe. I love the color of this background, it reminds me of the beach.

I think the boys better lock their rooms...... I have a paintbrush, and I'm not afraid to use it!!

:)

Glass Lamps and Candlesticks

We attended another auction Saturday, and I bought these vintage glass lamps. My husband rewired them for me, and I placed them on the bedroom mantel to admire them, and liked them there so much, I decided that's their home.
The candlesticks are in the living room. They are very heavy with pretty glass prisms ~~ which was something else they were auctioning off ~ trays and boxes of vintage glass prisms. But they went very high, at around $80 a tray, so I was outbid on all but a little plastic container of a few prisms. I also purchased four other glass lamps that we haven't worked on yet, I will probably part with them for the shoppe.

I'm very happy with my new lamps; I think they are so romantic!

I made a sign for the Secret Garden!

I decided I wanted a sign for my secret garden, to put by the little table and chairs............ since I think it would be lovely to take tea there, I came up with "Tea Garden".

I found this old bread board -- big at 15 x 22 inches -- for a quarter at a yard sale, and I had the beginning for my sign!

I painted it pink for the background, then painted the letters in robin's egg blue.

~~Now I wasn't sure what to do about the roses, because I've never painted a rose in my life. So this afternoon, I taught myself to paint roses. Hmmm, not as hard as I thought! Kind of fun, in fact! ~~

I'm hoping tomorrow it will be dry enough to seal it, then hang it in the garden by the table and chairs. Then I'll share another pic of it in place.

Garage Sales & Antique Shoppes!!

Woo-hoo, I was able to hit a garage sale today -- only one, but look what I got! (above) Two Victorian Christmas ornaments, and all these pretty beaded trims for my projects!

I also stopped at an antique shoppe yesterday -- was just in need of some "retail therapy" -- and I found this cute little clip-on vintage angel -- I have one very similar already, and I love it, so now he has a friend!

Also found this pretty glass knob. I'm not sure what it was used for, but I really like the color of it.

This little pitcher is tiny and cute .... I don't know if you can tell that it has very pale blue at the bottom that gradually goes into white at the top, with a faded gold trim on the top and handle. The ladies at the antique shoppe were saying things like "look at this, did you see that out? I missed it." LOL!! I could still hear them talking about it as I headed out the door, little pitcher in hand! :)

I picked up this pretty rose swag at the garage sale today. It will probably find a place in the living room. She had some neat things there that I'll probably regret not buying, such as old shutters and glass doors, and a vintage mirror.......

Ah well, there's always tomorrow!

Sale at the Cottage!!

I'm having my very first sale at my new online shoppe. I've marked many items down to make room for more pretties.

www.ofbluebirdsandroses.com

If you were here for the sale, I'd serve you tea or lemonade, and little frosted cookies, and we'd sit and chat awhile, perhaps even in the secret garden, as it's quite the lovely day today.

I am sooooooo ready to go out treasure hunting tomorrow. Wonder what I'll find? :)

The Garden Path

This is right behind our house...... we have four acres of woods, and this path meanders throughout...... this shed is old and will come down -- not the quaint kind of old, the "how is it still standing-made out of pieces/parts" kind of old....... It is so peaceful to walk back into these woods ~ kind of like being transported into your own little private world. We've lived here four years, and every time I walk down this path, I still cannot believe it's ours!

I picked up this vintage piece of garden decor, below, at a little shoppe ~ I don't know exactly how it was used, but I just liked it. It's kind of old and rusty.... but I think I'll keep it inside; it's a nice and unusual piece of art.

There is a story about this chair.....

The auction we went to a week or two ago, had a lot of family members that were bidding -- I tried to be very respectful of that, as I think it's so sad when that happens. I would much rather they have the items that have sweet memories attached to them.....

Anyway, this old broken chair was in a lot of three that sold for around $3. The young man who bought it picked up one of the other chairs ~ that was in much better condition ~ and told his friend "this is the one I wanted, that Grandpa always sat in." I could tell this old broken one was probably destined for the trash, so I asked if he might sell it to me. He very generously and happily gave it to me, and I told him that it would find a good home in our gardens. He just seemed happy to have his Grandpa's chair to take home with him, and then to know someone wanted this broken one that he had no use for!
I think it looks nice holding this pot of flowers......

My Dad and Me......

This is my dad. Wasn't he handsome? And look at that smile. My dad always had this big smile on his face. He made you feel like he was absolutely overjoyed to see you, every time. And he smiled like this to everybody! Friends, family, store clerks......
He was tall, at 6'4", though he was slumped down to my level for the top photo. He was strong, smart, talented. He could fix almost anything. He kept my old cars running for me.

One of the best things about him was that he believed in me. He made me feel like I could do anything. He had the utmost confidence in me, and was proud of me no matter what...... I've said that he was my biggest fan in life...... there's no doubt I was his -- I still am.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you forever and miss you always.

You Take the Cake!!
One of the vintage covered cake plates I picked up at auction. It's a little more pink and less peach than it appears here. The plate it sits upon is glass. It will go atop my kitchen cupboards.

Here's a plate I bought recently, that is now hanging upon my kitchen wall.... I love the little cottage scene, so dreamy.....

And another cake carrier I picked up at auction. These cake carriers didn't go cheap; there were others there wanting them almost as badly as I did! :)
This one has pink flowers; though they almost look white here. Oh, and it has a pretty glass knob! (I hope my husband doesn't get the wrong idea and think this means I'm going to bake a bunch of cakes now! ;)

Here are a couple of items in my shoppe.......

the little lady is a gift tag; available in my etsy shoppe or at http://www.ofbluebirdsandroses.com/
which is where you'll find these two rose plates.

I cut these little "paper doll" tags out by hand; and then highlighted them with glitter. They are from a vintage postcard image. I really enjoy creating things like this!

Listening hearts hear angels (and birds) sing.......

I have been on the lookout for an old birdcage stand for quite some time ~ I could hardly believe it when I spotted this one at a yard sale my mom and I visited last week. I immediately knew I wanted it, no need to think it over!

I already had this great vintage-looking birdcage that went perfectly with it.

I added a little garden birdie and some pink roses.... and a little angel watches over them from above....

This little garden bird can be seen by the real birds from our front window, in front of which we've placed a finch feeder....... they are a beautiful vibrant yellow and have such a pretty song!

Thank You!!

First of all, a big BIG thank you for all the kind words and encouragement on my shoppe opening, and to all of you who left comments on here and/or in my guestbook there. I appreciate every one so very much; you added to my joy!!

Next I want to thank my friend Rosemary, who sent me this adorable vintage bluebird card you see pictured ~ it was within some of her flea market finds, and she said when she saw it, she knew she had to send it to me. It is a little wedding card ~ the bride and groom are chubby little bluebirds, and the card is mounted on a (stiff) lace background. Rosemary, I love it, and this is so incredibly thoughtful of you! It is now on my inspiration board in my studio area!

Speaking of my studio, look at this cute vintage sewing basket I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would look great holding ~ well, I don't know ~ holding something!! :) Buttons, or ribbons or some little baubles~and~bits! Whatever it holds, it's going to look cute doing so, don't you think?!

And I found these adorable vintage candleholders ~ they look like icing roses to me (my sweet tooth helps me see things that way! :) They are so delicate; in fact, they say "verithin" on the label, and they certainly are. They are now in my shoppe. And I am now hungry for cake with pink and blue frosting.

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend ~ my dear husband and I attended an auction yesterday, so it's been a delightful one here!! I'll be sharing my auction finds soon! :)

My Website is Now ....... Open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, here's a special invitation in this mail holder, just for you!!

Please do stop by and sign my guestbook! You will be my honored guest!http://www.ofbluebirdsandroses.com/

Here are a few pictures of the pretties offered on my website.....

I hope you enjoy looking!

Thank you again ever so much for your continued support and encouragement!

See You There!!

Coming Soon:

My online shoppe!

This is my big announcement!! I should be ready to open by this weekend, if not sooner! I will let you know!

Here is a little sneak preview of some of the pretties I will be offering.

Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement...... the sweet comments you leave about my finds&treasures and my makeover projects have given me the extra little nudge I needed to make this dream a reality! I appreciate each and every one of you!!

:)

Becca

Real Life

This is how our living room looks as I'm writing this, and I love it. My son (the blonde) is in a band and they are practicing here today.

So all the pretties got taken off the shelves or shoved aside to make room.
Our house is vibrating with the wonderful sounds of their music right now. They are kind of a blues/rock, and I enjoy them very much.

So this is real life...... and a very happy one at that!

:)

The Secret Garden is coming along....

Would you like to join me there for a cup of tea?

(This isn't the announcement ~ that's still to come)

Thought you might enjoy these pictures of how the garden is looking today!

Coming Soon ~ A Big Announcement

Stay tuned to this blog for further details......... :)

Happy June!!

I have a collection of May angels, but have decided to get one for each of the other months to display one at a time, because ~ well, you know, I need more stuff..... I found this one for a dollar recently. And she's trimmed in pink! :)

I am milking out this birthday thing for all it's worth ~ look what arrived in today's mail! A beautiful pink faux cupcake from another dear friend! I have admired such pretties online, but have never had the pleasure of actually owning one. Now I do!

Thank you THANK YOU!!

I just love the *sprinkles* on this cupcake! Too pretty!

I will keep it under this little bell jar I picked up recently......

I mentioned I would have a few flea market finds to show you ~ look at this cute skirt vase (I have a small collection of skirt vases ~ are you now wondering what don't I collect? ;)

This dealer was packing up her wares because it looked like rain...... this was marked five dollars, but when she saw me pick it up, she said "you can have it for three." SOLD!!

I found this adorable condiment set at a yard sale ~ on the way to the flea market ~

Can you believe my husband commented on the fact that it is "robin's egg blue"?!!!!! Wow, I was impressed! He DOES pay attention! :)