Rusty Rave Monday - Gorgeous Granddaughter!

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 Arielle.  She's so pretty...I am in love with this child!  Not only beautiful on the outside, but sweet on the inside.  I can't stand the fact that her parents live 1200 miles from me, and I can only see her about every three months!

 The Grandparent thing was not supposed to be like this!

 I have to miss out on so many special events in her life.  : (

BUT there is NOTHIN' better when I do get to see her, and I am going there next week!

Yay!

 





 

Rusty Rave Monday - Polished-Off Projects

It's been a long while...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and coming up on Valentines Day, already.  Well, how time flies...

Christmas was awesome!  I flew my Son, his wife and my granddaughter out for the week.  It was the best present ever for everyone in our family!  Then I flew to Calgary to be with my husband for a week until New Years, and my husband and I just got back from a business trip in Newport Beach last week...busy!

 

It has been in my plans to make a Valentine's Day bunting, but I hadn't gotten to it yet.  It may not have happened at all, were it not for my oldest daughter...she came for a visit this last weekend and brought the supplies to make them.  She and I hadn't even discussed it, but just must have been on the same wave length.  Cool, I can check that one off!

 Anyway, I hope you have a happy one!  I probably won't be posting again before then, I've got so much in the works...my life is crazy and unsettled, but I guess, I wouldn't want it any other way!

Also, here's my finished, $5, rickety, vintage ladder, that I was excited about in my last post.  

I tried home-made chalk paint and painted-over-the-paint in seafoam green, with a dry brush to get the blotchy coverage.  I love how it turned out...just what I had pictured in my mind.  Now on to the next big thing!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Rusty Rave Monday - Lovely Latent Ladder

 During the weekend my daughters and I braved the 50% off day at Goodwill...This is something I try to avoid, and rarely do, because it is so crazy on those shopping days!  (I would rather just go on a regular day, and use the 20% off coupon that you can get online!)  But, those girls, they talked me into it...

(For some reason, it seems that I always get LUCKY with some item, no matter when I pop in there.)

In any event, for several months I have been trying to find an old ladder for my living room, and have looked on Craigslist, and e-Bay.  But to no avail, either I couldn't find anything, or they were just really overpriced!

Well, just look what I found!!!  It's a perfect specimen, and was marked $7.99 @ 50% off, so I got this fabulous well-used, wonderfully blemished and rickety old thing for $4 bucks!  Woo hoo!  To good to be true...ohmygosh...it will just be amazing once I do a little make-over!

I will be going out of town for a week to celebrate my husband's big 5-0, but check back to see the reveal in a couple of weeks.  I will also be posting it on Pinterest!

Happy fall y'all!

Rusty Rave Monday - Awesome Aquisitions to Historic Heirlooms

My ever evolving Garden Room.  I love green and white with a touch of lavender...

M has always been a very important letter in my life...First and foremost, it stands for Margaret!  ...Also, Mom, MacCabe (my maiden name),  Merry and, M & M's!  When I saw this metal letter I was thrilled, and it was the perfect color, as well!

I'm all about "birdy" things!  (Eggs, nests, houses, etc., etc.)

Little shelf displays are everywhere in my decor...couldn't resist that little green plaque.

A fabulous framed metal grate!

I have been looking for a vintage christening dress for a long time and finally happened upon this perfect little gem.

The fabric is a very sheer, lightweight cotton with exceptional hand stitching and embroidery.

 

Aren't these darling sleeves.

I have never seen a lamp like this...it is so sensationally shabby, and has just the right color of green peeking through the white.

Fantastic base, right?!

Antique aqua bottles...what more can I say?

 

Rusty Rave Monday - Winning Walls

For the ON-GOING transformation of my current redecorating, I just "go shopping" in my home, and use items that I already have.  (I do that A LOT!)  The shelf was moved from my bedroom and I gathered together some of my silver creamers and vintage linens.  Added a collection of white buttons, and an old paperback bundle.  The silver tray is a family heirloom that was my mother's.

This is a vintage wedding portrait of my mother.  I sandwiched it between two pieces of glass in order to view the damaged corners and show the age of the photograph.  (She would be pleased!)

Another family wall in the hallway...it makes the thermostat control almost disappear, or at least, look like an additional element in the collage!

Love, love, speckled eggs...found more images from The Graphics Fairy...printed them up, painted some old frames and viola!

Off to do another project...so see ya next time!

Rusty Rave Monday - Silver & Salvage

It thrills me to find wonderful items and not have to pay very much for them. Following are some of my most recent "Fabulous Finds.

I love the colors, and unexpectedly beautiful things that are found in nature, and am so fond of incorporating those little details in my decor.  On a recent weekend excursion to a town not far from our home, I ran across this authentic looking nest for only $12!  Such a steal...I couldn't even buy the elements to make it for that so I was pretty excited!

I was in Texas the beginning of June to visit my son and his family and we, of course, went antiquing (my son and his wife are both into it).  SERIOUSLY...vintage and thrift stores in Texas are so awesome!  I couldn't resist these little olive/pickle forks, and small silver bowl.  I saw the idea to use old pattern pieces as filler in a couple of the stores we went to and just love the look. 

My current table display that I, kind of, threw together...this will definitely evolve!

I obtained some more cool items to add to my bookshelf "dish display", it now feels complete and I am finally happy with it.

The gravy boat is my most favorite recent find and was $3 at a little store outside of Houston.  It was owned by a nice old gentlemen named, "Bob" who preferred taking checks!  Wow!  (He told me, "you can just make it out to 'Bob'...they know me down at the bank"!)  So cool.

This is SO old and I love how the gold trim is perfectly worn...impeccable shabbiness!

The tag on this small milk pitcher said it was a "barn find", I love the profile, beading and exquisite patina!

This was my favorite little pitcher until the "barn find", now it's definitely a very close second for many of the same reasons.

Another item from "Bobs Antiques", he sold this to me for $1 because of the flaw on the left.  (That was one of the things that I liked about it!)  I have been on the lookout for black transferware dishes and couldn't believe my good fortune...I had seen a plate similar to this at an antique store in my area for over $35 bucks!  Once again my thrill from a "good deal"!

A cute little old jar that just made me happy, I like to think about the history behind the object...

Hope you're stumbling upon some "fabulous finds" of your own,

Rusty Rave Monday - Polished Off Projects AND Pillow Pride!

Over the last week or so, I have been in a project frenzy...trying to complete things that I have started and make some new things.  If any of you follow me on Pinterest you know that I have a ton of projects posted that I want to try my hand at.  Here are some of the results, and you just may recognize some of them...

I love this little gem of a wreath!  (It can be found here at Jones Design.)  I recycled some linen napkins that I purchased at the Habitat for Humanity Restore (the same linen napkins that I used in making the following pillows in this post). I created this very close to the original, but of course, made it my own with small silk flowers, an organza ribbon bow and opted for "non-sparkly" eggs.  Part of the beauty of it all was that I had everything on hand and just used whatever I found in my craft supply stashes!

 

I just adore wreaths...I have them all over the house, inside and out!  This one was from another Jones Design tutorial, found here.  I took the same linen napkins to wrap the form, then added the rolled paper flowers that I made with old sheet music.

After rolling my flowers, I "smushed" the top of them down a bit, so that they looked a little more like real petals, added the paper leaves, and then satin ribbon to finish it off (I wasn't about to spend all day making flowers to fill the whole circle!).

I made this for the entrance to my little "frenchy privy" facilities in the master bath

...and it just makes me happy!

Another idea I discovered on Pinterest found here, a stenciled pillow.  Here again, I made it with a couple of my linen napkins.  Of course, I too, had to have my own quote...that's the beauty of creating your own stuff from ideas that you see around you! 

Mine is actually a quote from Dr. Suess, and if you are a child of the 70's you would also recognize it as the words to the closing song that Carol Burnett sang at the end of her show each week!  I love what it says, as well as, have fond memories of watching that with my mother when I was growing up.

From my sister's blog here at Something Special.  I just love her pillow ideas and I am pretty sure that she got the images from the Graphics Fairy.  Once again, it's the linen napkin re-purposed!

I acquired 2 of these little wood boxes at a moving sale in my neighborhood.  They were painted "checkerboard country cutsey" which was okay, but I had a vision for them...

...so they got painted, and distressed, then the cute drawer pulls were added (purchased at one of my most favorite places, Hobby Lobby).  These will be so versatile for fabulous little vingette's over time...

Last, (but not least by any means) I whipped up this stool idea

found here.  I didn't use Annie Sloane paint, like the decor-chick, just got the idea for a stool that I already had.

I recently visited my son and his family in Texas and while I was there we, of course, went "antiquing".  I found this stunning handmade, scalloped edge, vintage apron.  (I should probably iron it...)  I didn't know how I would display it, but was just delighted with it...then the idea hit me...and I tied it to the stool!  Gotta have a bit of whimsy in your life, too cute!

Thanks for stopping by...until next time...

...here's to the little things that make us happy!