Saturday, October 29, 2011

Shabby Roses

l'm not sure what it's been like in your corner of the world but here the weather has been totally schizophrenic, rain and hailstones by the truckload, sunshine, heat and back to cold and that's just in a day...haha!! Despite all that the garden is thriving, the lettuces are just a few weeks from pickin', the silverbeet's rampant and the tomatoes are up and running.
The only disappointment is that the peony rose bud that l'd pinned my hopes of a bloom on was almost decapitated in the hail and rain....damn...maybe NEXT year.




 

l recently spotted a little gold perfume bottle in one of my favourite shops, and since l already had the paint (gold oil based enamel) and a plain bottle l thought l'd try and do something similar....so l painted the bottle (2 coats)  then waited a day or so for it to dry.


Next came the fun part of decorating....a religious pic from a mag, a string of vintage pearls cut to size and some diamentes for the neck were all glued on with craft glue. Finally a religious medallion was tied on with some gold string. l reckon they'd be a great idea for the kids (prob'ly just the girls) to make for their teachers....with a little help from Mum (or Dad).


l've been raiding the neighbors garden again, cos most of my roses aren't quite out yet. These pretty ones hang over our mutual fence into my garden and were just beggin' to be popped in a vase.


 
l scrounged around and found these clear vases in different sizes and popped a bloom or two in each one, and were then placed onto a tarnished silver tray.

  



Crab apple blossom in the garden...taken a couple of weeks ago.


Love this idea for a drinks cabinet.nskwood via pinterest.


Beautiful sheer curtains and more pink roses. acottageinthewoods via pinterest


Kitchen inspiration....... also from a cottage in the wood via pinterest.


More kitchen inspiration from dustyluinteriors. via pinterest.


Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Til next time,
Bron.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Afternoon Tea Time.

Another weekend over....they sure do fly by fast don't they... Last Friday Mum and l met her Sister and daughter (my cousin) at the train station, for a rare chance to spend the afternoon together.....anyway they are big into vintage like us, so first stop was the oppie, they were so excited to get some great bargain clothing. We then headed to Mums' where we sat under the wisteria to enjoy our cuppa's... but it was teeming with bees, Mum was like... ohh they won't hurt you, but WE weren't convinced and made a quick exit. l think we each enjoyed the chance to revisit old memories and were all a bit sad the afternoon had to end.




FINALLY yesterday l finished the petticoat tablecloth that l made from a queen size bed sheet, (it's been about 3 weeks in the making) though if l was to do another one l'd use a queen valance instead as it would have been great to have a little more fabric. l've left the edges of the ruffles unsewn which will hopefully fray a little as it's washed and worn.


Pink tin tray and glassware with pink lemonade.


New seasons roses and blooms from the snowball tree that hangs over the fence from my neighbors.
l did'NT make the cupcakes (l wish) but arn't they gorgeous....zsazsabellagio via pinterest.




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Cardboard storage box with unusual button closure and a selection of vintage cologne bottles.


Thought you might like to see a pic of Mums wisteria.... where the bees were abuzzing.
Old blue bottles are hung in old mattress springs.




She found this beautiful watercolour print card (prob'ly 30's) at the market on Sunday and kindly let me take a photo to share.


Wonder what the tablecloth's made from....pretty, hey...vintagerosegarden via pinterest.


Outdoor chandeliers...and lots of 'em. beimbued via pinterest.



Here l was thinkin' my weeping cherry was pretty...via pinterest.


Thanks for looking, have a great rest of your week.
Til next time.

Bron.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Dining Room.






































Over the past couple of weeks l've been working on a new look for our dining room. This area has been bugging me for ages, mostly 'cos of the different coloured timber stains of the furniture in there. The dresser shown below (right) is very yellow compared to the table and chairs and all of them are different from the skirting and architrave stain.







The boards that the dresser's made from are recycled and over a hundred years old (so it was said when we bought it) ...and it just seemed wrong to paint it. Once it was decided to swap it with a dresser from another room the plan fell into place, this one was already white so it was no big deal to give it a fresh lick of paint.



The chair coverings were scruffy and outdated so they also needed a change. After searching through every piece of vintage fabric l have, nothing was large enough that matched right, so it was off to Spotlight where l found these lovely Frenchy panels. Though there's only 6 chairs... l bought 12 panels, as each one needed to be cut larger...the chairs flare wide at the front so a single panel wouldn't have fitted.


The table and chairs were painted a warm white, but as you can see l've left the table top as it was.....The easy care top is practical and adds a bit of warmth to the room. Pretty bird pictures were added to each side of the dresser, the distressed frames go well with the wood carving on the chairs which l've deliberately left with some timber showing through.



It took a couple of tries to get the paint colour for the dresser right.... but eventually l settled on a pinky mauve which l'm happy with....My Sister supplied the perfectly matching lilac.
After a fair amount of fiddling around, l settled on pink and clear glass to display, keeping things light and simple.





Closeup of the glass display.




This very lovely kitchen... via pinterest.


Display cabinet is from gypsypurplehome. via pinterest.

Spring, florally room  strawberryshortcakexo also via pinterest.


 Simple rustic bench display. ehomegardening.com via pinterest.


Enjoy what's left of this week, holidays are half over already.
Thanks for stopping by, til next time.

Bron.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Small, bright and useful.

Following on from my tin post of earlier this week, it got me to thinkin' about button tins......when l was a kid it'd be great when Mum was sewing cos' she'd pull the tins out and l remember the fun of running my fingers through the buttons and letting them drop all over the floor, (not so great having to pick 'em all up), they were all shapes and sizes and sometimes l'd get the (important) job of finding her matching one/s. 



Having a button container is an absolute necessity for us crafters and l can remember back in the day my Mum would add to her collection by cutting the buttons (and zips) from any worn or outgrown clothing......rarely did she have to go and buy them. 



These buttons are vintage plastic but you may be able to see the bright green domed ones with white squares....they're lucite and are probably 50's.


Metal, acrylic, glass, shell and wood. Buttons of all types make for an interesting collection.


If you're out opshopping..... the cheap clothing rack/table can also be a great source for the button collector as often this is where the wornout or frumpy old clothes are, but the buttons on them are sometimes awesome.


l've also noticed that opshops don't always have their buttons out where you can see them...so you might need to ask for someone to pull their stash and show you. They're still generally dirt cheap and if you know what you're looking for even bakelite/lucite and glass ones can be picked up for a sweet song.




According to wiki.... the oldest button ever found was 5000 years ago it was a curved shell and found in the Indus Valley (Pakistan), but it wasn't until the 13th Century in Germany that buttons were used regularly for fastening clothing.....800 years and still going strong.



l found these lovely old hand painted 'flapper girls' that date back to the 20's in a library book.




l thought this white jacket with its plastic buckle was a great find this morning. lt looks  70's to me and cost a dollar as did the vintage plastic necklace.(70's maybe)
Right - Same jacket but different necklace. This one is made from wood and ribbon.(late 70's maybe). 





Not sure who had the most patience here....the applier or the applied. wendymag via pinterest.

Hope your weekend is wonderful, thanks for stopping by.

Til next time,
Bron.