Fishtail Cottage Giveaway.....Featuring A Pinch Of Prim

http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/fishtail-cottage-giveaway-19a-pinch-of.html

If you already aren't acquainted with Fishtail Cottage please check it out!  This blog is one of my favorites and inspire me quite often to keep on keeping on!  Also....I plan to do my own post about A Pinch Of Prim as soon as Christmas is over because Michelle has just finished two absolutely beautiful pieces for me!  They are gifts for my two daughters for Christmas!

Fishtail Cottage is celebrating their 1 year blogaversary and are  featuring Michelle's Blog " A Pinch of Prim" and Michelle is offering a super cute Christmas Bird as the giveaway!

Good Luck~

Thanksgiving day count down...

If you read my last post, you probably already guessed that I am "that" person that prefers to just skip over Thanksgiving and dive straight into Christmas.  I have never really been excited about this holiday and it still has not grown on me.  But....there are a couple of things about this holiday that excites me.  First of all I truly enjoy the time off from work that I get to spend with my family and secondly......wait for it......this needs to be capitalized....THE SHOPPING that follows!  I LOVE to shop!  Although purchasing "new" gifts as opposed to vintage or antique gifts is not on the top of my list....its still shopping!  So good luck to me and all of you out there that will be on the thrill of the hunt black Friday.

This past weekend I made it to a couple of yard sales.  Nothing too exciting to post, but I did get all four of these glass vases for $1.00!  I can use them for anything, right now I have glass Christmas ornaments in them.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe holiday!  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Josie

Christmas for Thanksgiving!

I made it to the new Hobby Lobby that opened up 20 minutes from my home and it was the most wonderful place that I have been to in a while!  It was so hard to contain myself and not to fill my basket full, after walking up and down each aisle I realized that I had been there for nearly 2 hours!  Their Christmas selection is super big and that inspired me to begin decorating for Christmas (We always have an artificial tree for various reasons, the biggest being that my daughter is allergic to pine!)  

Here is my Christmas tree.  My tree is very kid friendly with all of the traditional colors.  Our tree is filled with ornaments that we have made, bought or received throughout the 20 years that we have been a family.  It looks like we will be needing a bigger tree at some point because we are almost out of room for more ornaments....or.......maybe we can get a second tree!!  Great idea!!  Happy Holidays!

My favorite things part 2

I'm the type of person that could never buy great finds simply to re-sell them (although I wish I could).  Everything I find I keep which is a HUGE problem because I have filled a 4 bedroom home wall to wall in a little more then 2 years.  We moved from a small one story 3 bedroom home into our two story 4 bedroom home a couple of years ago and I told everyone that I loved the look of the plain white bare walls and the simplicity they spoke.  WHAT A LIAR I AM!  I cannot help myself, every wall is filled and I wish I had more space to keep adding.  Because of  my lack of space, I often pass up good buys :( and hate myself for it for days.  Truth be told, I do love the look of simplicity in a home but its just not in me.  My home is filled with inherited antiques and my own pieces that I hope that someday will be inherited pieces.  With that said here are a couple of things that I would like to share:

I bought this table at a yard sale for $50 about 8 years ago!  Nothing needed to be done to it, it was perfect as it was!  I love the detail, the chippy paint and the fact that it is "not perfect".

My  plates hang above my headboard in my bedroom.  This wall is and has been a work in process for about 10 years now.  As I find a perfect plate for my wall, I buy it and beg my husband to hang it up.

Finally...My new love for burlap.  I covered an ugly lamp shade with burlap ruffles for my nightstand.  Here is how I did it:

I purchased a burlap roll from Michaels craft store for about $4.

Then I cut strips or "workable pieces" about 1 foot long.  Next, I chose a burlap thread in the center of one end and pulled it gently.

Once the burlap started to ruffle I stopped it half way and pulled the middle thread on the other end.

Pulling the threads on either side gave me a ruffle.  Starting from the top of the lamp shade I used hot glue to attach the ruffles.

I glued and wrapped about 4 rows and then cut off any excess threads hanging.

Until the whole shade was covered.

Thanks for stopping by
Josie

Common Ground

If your not already a follower of Debra with Common Ground.  Please take some time out to check out her awesome blog!  She is one of the many that inspire me on my new blog, and she is hosting a giveaway!

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Some of my favorite things

I wanted to create a quick post to show you some of my favorite things.  These are  pieces that I have displayed in my home and they are just a few of the many things that make my home feel like home:

This is my teacup collection.  I love looking at them but hate to dust them!

These are desk drawers that were salvaged from a rickety un-savable piece.  I simply hung them up, with the drawer pulls facing down so that I can use them as mini shelves.

I just love this!  While out to dinner with my family at a local resturaunt, the resturaunt had a similar umbrella hanging from their wall.  I'm not a believer in superstitions so it was a perfect piece for me to re-create and hang in the empty space of  my walls (I have vaulted ceilings).  After drawing an umbrella top onto plywood, I had my brother cut it out.  I painted it black and distressed it to make it look old and worn.  Then I attached an old cane (another collection I have going) to the middle of the umbrella. I then "spotted" or shall I say "supervised" my husband while he hung it up.

This is my press printing drawer that I have converted to an old spice container holder (oh and anything else old and rusty).  I also have some antique sewing machine parts displayed in the nooks, finding spice containers to fit in these small nooks is sometimes a chore~

Thanks for stopping by!
Josie

Furniture Feature Friday

I am entering my really cool entertainment center for furniture feature Friday on Miss Mustard Seed's blog!  It used to be an old radio cabinet, that I decided needed some help.  After  painting it cream, removing the old tattered material and distressing the wood (even more then it already was) I didn't really have any use for it, but I really loved it.  So I had my husband knock out a couple of shelves and it was perfect for an entertainment center!  Our TV fit perfectly and behind the pull down drawer is our DVD player.  The cubby is  just enough storage room for my childrens video game console.  I use the gorgeous see through doors to hold black and white family photos!  It turns out that I really DID have a use for it after all!  Enjoy!

Fishtail Cottage Giveaway

Fishtail Cottage is having a 1 year celebration giveaway!  Enjoy!

http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/fishtail-cottage-giveaway-1common.html

Estate Sale Finds

I know that I said that I would post my finds on Sunday, but I was so exhausted I couldn't even bare to turn on the computer.  The last few days have been crazy (but fun).  I attended my youngest daughters Halloween Choir Concert, had tons of fun at a local Oktoberfest, took my kids to a local haunted house, took the kids and the dogs (photo attached) trick or treating and most importantly we celebrated  my daughters 19th Birthday!!

Gus was a submarine, and Ginger was a  blowfish!

Back to business.....here are the photos of my estate sale finds:

I bought this wonderful picture frame.  It was gold and dirty and wouldn't match anything in my home, but I loved the detail.

So I cleaned it up and painted it.

I LOVE the detail!

I decided to hang it above my entertainment center (previously a radio cabinet) and hung a vintage sign that I already owned in the center.

I also found this really cool 1950's radio faux telephone.

I didn't do anything to it other then clean it up and hang it on the wall.

and a pretty wine glass that I forgot to take a picture of, all for $2.  Using some glass glue, here is what I did with the four pieces:

After adding a couple of small touches, I have it sitting on my dinning room table.

Last but not least:

My oldest daughter loves cats.  We found this wooden cat jewelry holder. But it needed to be brought back to life.

I added a fresh coat of black paint.

And here it is, sitting on my daughters dresser, purring with happiness!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Josie