Thrifting Treasures

I was able to sneak in a few minutes thrifting while I was out running to the bank......

Found a pretty plate, a pink rose *Mother* cup, and these two silk hydrangea stems for around four dollars total.

I will be beginning my fall decor now that tomorrow is September, and I will use these blue&cream hydrangeas in the more romantic shabby decor......

Hope you all enjoy a lovely weekend..... my dh has been working 12 hour days, and actually has a three-day weekend, so I might get to see him for a change! A girl can hope!! :)

You are Cordially Invited......

Fill your week with Tea Parties !!!

Starting Monday September 10, have a fun filled week with the

Make Mine Pink Bloggers as they host a virtual Tea Party.

Visit the Mine Pink Blog for all the information and a list of participating

Make Mine Pink Blogs.

Why Tea Party? Well what can be more fun, tea for two, tea for one, a princess tea, a mother/daughter tea, best friends tea, long lost friends tea, or to just take a moment to slow down and enjoy the tea.

Join in on the fun and host a virtual tea party too. We will be visiting all the Make Mine Pink blogs and yours too if you decide to host your own party.

You will see beautiful and unique tables set for tea; many will have a special theme. Will you join us and post a photo of your Tea Party on your very own blog?

Post a comment on Make Mine Pink’s Blog and we will include you on the list.

So expect many visitors~ please have cookies ready.

www.MakeMinePink.blogspot.com

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.....

Okay, I know, I know; it's not even quite September yet!! But for those of us who craft, it's definitely time to be making Christmas pretties. Since I've been super busy (which I'll tell why later in this post); I haven't had time to really take fresh pics of our house or my pretties, so I'll just share some pics of my Christmas goodies I've been working on!!

I've made some Christmas tags (above and below) for my Etsy shoppe....

Here's a little Christmas tree I remade to be more "shabby"..... I put a vintage rhinestone button on the very top, and added a vintage lace doily to the bottom.....
(available in my shoppe)

And here's the reason why I've been so busy this week. We added this new little guy to our family, and I've been spending lots of time with him as he adjusts to his new home.

I'd like to introduce you to Peyton, seven months old, full of energy but with plenty of snuggle too! (being held by my husband who supposedly "doesn't care for cats". yeah, right! :)

Hope you all are having a good week!!

For the Love of Books

I recently participated in a contest where we were to take pictures of books in a pretty setting. I didn't win the contest, but still enjoyed the project, and thought you might like to see some of the pictures I took.

I used a couple of my Victorian books .........

I still love the Victorian look in our living room, but combine it with some white/cream woods for a lighter feel (mixed in with a couple of medium-dark wood-toned pieces that I cannot bear to paint for sentimental reasons).
I refer to this look as Victorian Chic. (which coincidentally, is the name of a decorating book that is among my favorites ~ anyone else have that one? It's GORGEOUS!)

I ordered these pretty vintage card boxes from Beth's etsy shoppe ..... Sugar Pink Moon http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5074465

they are so nice to keep my glitter tags in at my studio area.....

Look what she included as a surprise for me! It's a vintage ad for a Bluebird Wringer Washer! This is doubly sweet ~ first of all, for obvious reasons that it has a BlueBird!! But also because my grandma had a wringer washer, so I associate very pleasant memories with it! It's hanging in my cottage kitchen. Thank you so much, Beth!!

My boys and I went shopping together yesterday, and we stopped at a thrift store to which I'd never been ~ I found these cute vintage wedding/dress-up pics ~ I seem to be finding lots of wedding themed items lately! These will go in my shoppe this evening.

Look at their sweet expressions!

This made me think of some other images of children I have, like this little girl giving her dolly a bath. This is in our master bathroom, as is this little pink rose arrangement, on which I've placed a vintage earring....

Just some random pretties today!

~~Lovely Linens~~

Pillowcases Guest Towels
Cutwork HankyChair Set

Tablecloth

Vintage Embroidered & Crocheted Linens....

From my linen cupboard; just listed in my shoppe for you.......

www.ofbluebirdsandroses.com

Last of the 127 Treasures ~ Until Next Year, Anyway!! :)

I was happy to find this bunch of chandelier crystals, as I still have a couple of chandeliers and lamps to redo....

My mother has a small collection of head vases, but this is the first one I've bought for myself. It is a miniature one..... I got it for a very good deal.

I thought about using her in my craft area, to hold small paint brushes or such ~~ you should see how many *clever* things I've designated for that purpose ~ I love interesting things to hold my craft supplies, but I do tend to go overboard!

The salt & peppers are tiny too.......

The seller had a bunch of *single* salts, that were sooooo pretty. I collect orphan salts/peppers...... but she was asking $10 per piece, so I passed. She did give me a deal on this set though; and the colors are perfect for my cottage kitchen!

I have a *thing* for pretty switchplates....... I will share them with you someday (I have all different sorts of them to "go" with each room)...... These two above actually match the vintage double one I have in our bathroom, but I have no more *empty* singles...... I cannot decide whether to part with them or switch them out with ones I have in other rooms. We don't have a lot of single switches in our home, do you?

This one will go in the living room....... it's not porcelain like the others, but the image will go perfectly in there, and it's hard (for me anyway) to find decorative triple plates.

This little sweetie with a parasol was found at one of the first sales we stopped at. I love how her parasol and skirt have real vintage lace. I might have to give her a little posy bouqet like her friend that I've shown you before.....

Uh-oh, do I feel a collection coming on? Yikes!!

Speaking of collections, I'm parting with some of my pretty embroidered linens...... I hope to have photos of them to share with you in the next day or two. (and yes, I'm still keeping a TON of them :)

Hope you are all having a blessed week!

Treasures from Sweet Friends

First of all, thank you so much to Penny at Lavender Hill Studio for nominating me for the "Nice Matters Award". Isn't that a pretty award? It's easy to be nice, you all are such lovely friends!

I received the sweetest package from Heather at Speckled Egg! I won this adorable pink goodie bag ~ it is filled with all sorts of wonderful little treasures that sparkle and glitter! Can you see the little ballerina, and the millinery flowers? It's fun looking at it, let alone when I begin using it!! Thank you, Heather!!

And here are the pretty pink and silver cards and tags I received from my swap partner Cheryl.

I hope you can see the precious vintage images!

(Also note the cute little pink birdie!!)

Look at this adorable box she made as an additional surprise for me! It is pink and fluffy and sweet, and has my initial on it! I love it! Thank you so much, Cheryl!!

Also, Cheryl has recently tagged me to play "fours", so here goes:

4 Jobs I've Had:-

Secretary

Receptionist

Medical Transcriptionist

Own Website
(these jobs sound incredibly boring when listed this way!! Maybe I should list some jobs I'd LIKE to have ~ such as a singer, or a writer, or an artist ~ there, that sounds better!! :)

4 Films I would watch over & over:-

It's a Wonderful Life

Christmas in Connecticut (old or new)

White Christmas

Holiday Inn

(Do you notice the Christmas theme here? :)

4 Places I have lived:-

Michigan

Ohio (several different cities in Ohio, does that count? Guess I like it here! :)

4 Favorite TV Shows:-

The Golden Girls

The Andy Griffith Show

American Idol

Jeopardy (we play along, and keep score ~ fortunately, we don't subtract points for wrong answers like they do on the show! :)

4 Favorite Foods:-

Chicken and Noodles

Turkey and Dressing

Pizza

Chocolate & Chocolate, with a side of Chocolate!!

Websites I visit everyday:-

My Google Reader to read all your blogs

Decorating groups

Make Mine Pink

MySpace (my son's band and my own ~ and yes, my boys think it's very UNcool that their mom has a MySpace ~ Picture much rolling of the eyes on their part! ;)

Places I love to be:-

In our own house at night when all are safe in bed (THE BEST).

Shopping with my mom.

Watching my son Brad's band, Midnight Son, or listening to my oldest, Andrew, announce sports.

ANYWHERE with my husband Chris.

4 Favorite Colors:-

Pink, Periwinkle, Sage Green, Aqua Blue

4 Names I love but wouldn't use for my children:-

Well, if I love them, I'd use them, if I had more children ~ Elizabeth, Anna, Grace, Evan

Christmas in July!

I participated in Angelina's Christmas card and tag swap, and thought you might like to see what I created. My swap partner was the very sweet and talented Cheryl of RoseyPoseyConfections, and I'll be sharing what she sent me in a future post!

We were to make four tags:

And four cards:
Here is a closeup of some of the tags I made:

And the cards:
The card below is the very first one I made for the swap, and probably the most fun to create. I made a *base* from vintage postcard images, then added the image of the couple at the piano. I aged a little scrap of paper on which I printed a copy of "The Christmas Waltz" music, and then added some 3D poinsettias, and the bits of velvet and netting, etc., on the left to appear as it was part of a corsage the lady might have worn that night.

I hand-painted holly around the border for the Santa one, and also hand-painted each of the envelopes to co-ordinate with the cards.


I added some hand-painted roses and such to the tag with the little pink girl (below right), too.




A very fun swap, since I LOVE Christmas!!

Thanks, Angelina, for organizing the swap, and thanks to Cheryl, my terrific swap partner!