Melony's Whimsy Daisy!

Vintage Look Bridal Shower Banner

Since my last post I've become addicted to the cake circles. You can see my post below about what I did with the bigger ones. I had to give the little ones a try. I have a Bridal Shower Brunch to go to in a few hours, and I wanted something personal and a little different to give the bride to be...other than a gift card.

This gift is different all right and the poor little bride-to-be will either love it or be wishing I'd been a normal person and given her a gift card. I'm going to suggest she write down a special memory or attach an anniversary picture for each year on the back of each disc. Anyhooooo....Happy Pink Saturday! There is enough pink in this project to make me feel very content about the whole thing.

This is what I watched tonight while I crafted. The Long Long Trailer, from 1954, with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Lots of wonderful colorful trailer decor, vintage fashion, and kitschy goodness. I highly recommend it and it is about newlyweds. I didn't plan to have a movie with the same theme as my craft project, but it worked out well!

I spelled out the couple's name...one cake circle at a time. I used fabric, vintage greeting cards, vintage buttons, ribbon, and other little bits and bobs I had. So, get out your pom-poms and give me and L!

How about an A? I still need to do something with the hole in the heart. Doggone it , I forgot all about that...run a ribbon through it or something?  

I'd like an N! (The N is my least favorite. I give it a Negative 5)

May I buy a vowel, please, Pat? How about an i? (Ignore those hot  glue stringies, please Pat.)

Give me an E, for we are almost to the End!

Give me an R to finish up this banner!

What does that spell?

This, of course, would NOT be the place to hang it, but I did it to show you the whole enchilada-so-you'd-get-the-idea-of-it-sort-of.  Hopefully, the couple-to-be will place it somewhere more appropriate and enjoy it for a time.

Happy Pink Saturday to all of you! Please go visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to get your pink fix from lots of girls who find pink quite the "it" color!  As Beverly has asked us to do, I also wanted to introduce you to a blog I just recently visited for the first time that is super cute and worth a look: Mis Mollye. Just  the banner alone on her blog is sweetness deluxe. How does one get that cute of a blog with ribbons and such? It's adorable and she is a great writer too.    

On and Off-the-Wall at the Craft Cottage

Happy Pink Saturday to all of you patrons of pink. I have a touch of pink here and there I would like to show you on one of the walls in my Craft Cottage.

I was tickled to discover an old chipped yellow feed store seed packet holder at an antique store. I spray painted it a perfect pink and have added some of my old patterns. No! Sigh. I have not sewed one of these patterns...not even one... but I think of it as art on the wall. I just enjoy the look of these wonderful ladies posing.

 

This holder is made where it can sit on a cabinet, but that kind of space is not to be had at the moment, so it was better to hang it. I'm not so sure what these two girlies think of it. One looks pretty miffed, but the other chicky is just concerned about her hair. Oh well...

 

I have had the little dress below for a long time. I cannot remember where I found it, but it really represents everything wonderful about vintage in one teeny tiny little dress. It combines sweet, the perfect shades of pink and aqua rick-rack, a frilly petticoat underneath, and an adorable old-fashioned brand name...Lucy Jane. What's not to love?

***Okay, right now, I'm daydreaming if I had a baby it could be a girl, and I would name her Lucy Jane and she would wear this dress.***  (By the way, that was the off-the-wall portion of my post today.)

 Ironing is not such a chore when I have this cute ironing board cover...or so I have tricked myself into thinking. I am one of those strange people who actually enjoys ironing, but I must admit it is more fun with these enthusiastic ladies.

 

and my old Goodwill iron with aqua accents and cord...

 

Also on this same wall stands my dress form wearing the vintage apron that was the color inspiration for my entire Craft Cottage. Look at detail in this apron and I think the combination of these colors are so cheerful.

 

Somebody had such patience with all these beautiful stitches. I like the little touch of pink.

 

On and off-the-wall adds up to this in my Craft Cottage. It could all change tomorrow!

 Please take the time to click in my sidebar and visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and all the other Pink Saturday participants...like pinkbuttercreme's blog. 

I showed restraint on Pink Saturday!

At a local antique store I discovered a homemade little chest or caddy that was supposedly made by a young son for his mother. The price was right and the story was appealing and I brought it home. Oh, how I longed to paint it pink. But, I wrestled myself and gave myself a talking to about trying to show some restraint and challenge myself to do something a little different with a touch of the pink I loved, but no so blatantly pink.

My goal is to have a cozy little guest room for a visitor. I want to offer a room that has the feel of comfort, sweetness, times-gone-by, and offers not necessarily entertainment...but hospitality. (Entertaining and offering hospitality are two totally different matters.) So, this little chest is going to be a Hospitality Chest to fill up with nice little treats and comforts for those who I might have the privilege of hostessing. It is the first step to providing a bit of a cozy retreat in a guest room. Visit The Inspired Room to read about other ways to enjoy a Beautiful Life.  

Here is what I started out with. Homely but with good bones. Even the photo is sort of sad looking.

 

I left the paint "as is". I still can't believe I was able to leave it alone. I got out my vintage cards and made some copies of my favorites. I cut out bits of the card and made little scenes that were pleasing to my eye. Using some Mod Podge I glued them to the piece.

 

 

and a little rose in the corner...

 

I added a Cath Kidston napkin to the bottom shelf and another kitty image from a vintage greeting card. I also hot glued some rick-rick for added charm, which will show up in a later photo.  

I did add a little pop of green...can you BELIEVE...green???? I really like it, especially with a Cath Kidston stationary sticker added to the center and a little pink rick-rack added through the latch. I take that back. I adde a Cath Kidston sticker to the center, but it just didn't go, so then I glued an image of a little boquet off another old card over the sticker and Mod-Podged over that.

 

I've been hoarding back some sweet perfumed drawer liner paper. I lined the inside of the piece with it, which was sort of tricky and isn't very neat. Oh well...I am not a perfectionist and I plan on filling this little chest!

  I just love this little wienie dog.He is a copy of an image on a vintage greeting card. I added some vintage buttons to the rick-rack frame. I think it's my favorite part of the little chest.

 

Using the drawer liner...I cut out hundreds of little roses and glued them to the chest. I still was fighting myself from stopping the whole process and painting the whole thing pink. Here is the finished chest empty. I plan on using it in a guest bedroom as a Hospitality Chest. The last picture will show it full of stuff that might welcome a guest and say, "I'm glad you're here. May your stay be blessed."

I threw this stuff in to give you the right idea. I think I will have to put some chocolate and other goodies in when guests come.

 

So, there it is Pink Saturday...restrained! Thanks for stopping by. Please go and pay a visit to all the other creative girls who love a splash or two of pink in their life at

Beverly's How Sweet the Sound! 

 

 

Happy Pink Saturday is running late...

I've got to go to bed girls. I want to get my Pink Saturday post up, but it is nearly one in the morning and so I'm giving up for the evening...morning...you know what I mean! I just finished putting the last little finishing touches on my project, but need to take pictures. Won't you please come back later today and see what I've done? I think it turned out pretty cute and I'm excited to show you. My project involved:

small piece of furniture

Cath Kiston paper tissue

vintage greeting cards

lots of glue

rickrack

roses

drawer liner

vintage buttons

paint

PINK!

Yawn....

No Sew Curtains, with No Curtain Rods

Still working on getting the Craft Cottage put together. Today I decided to ignore the tubs and boxes of stuff begging to be put away and do something creative instead of organizational. Too much organizing makes Melony a very dull girl.

Curtains were the fun of the day, but I did have some criteria.

* I wanted to use fabric I already had.
* The sewing machine has still not been found, so NO sewing!
* No curtain rods.

These giant clothespins were in my stash, and I'm using up spray paint. I gave them several coats of paint.

 

I used the glue gun, rick-rick, and hot glued them to the wall to hold my curtain. I also painted some small clothespins in white and added vintage buttons.

 

Baby pom-pom trim was hot glued to my fabric. Don't you just love hot glue? Although, I must admit, hot gluing on a stretch knit was a little tricky as the fabric wants to curl up and results in burnt fingers. 

 

So, here are two windows finished. Nothing fancy, but I like it and think it's cheerful. I also added scrapbook paper to the little nooks above the windows for some extra color. I'm not sure what little doo-dads I'll put up there yet.

 

 

Happy Wednesday to you!

A few more peeks through my sister's window.

 

Maw-Maw loved posing us grandchildren for pictures with all of her sentimental doo-dads. This particular day, my younger sister, Jill and I are posing with our grandmother's childhood doll, Frankie (bottom left) and DeeRay (her oldest son's rag doll). I can see my Skipper Barbie doll sitting beside me on the arm chair. The Barbie kitchen sits on the floor below.

Jill and I spent hours...no years... playing house together as children. Maw-Maw says I would never let Jill pretend to be the Mama, and when friends asked Jill what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would sigh sadly and pitifully answer, "I guess I'll be a daddy." Thankfully, I didn't warp my sister for life and she has a wonderful husband and is the mama, not the daddy, to three children. 

Here are a few more little peeks into my sister's home.

 Unless I have lost my mind, which is quite possible, I think I bought this sweet figurine as a gift for Jill. These girls sit on a shelf with other sentimental objects my sister has collected through the years, and represents our little visits to see each other and the fun we've shared over the years. Jill, if you read this and this is totally not true...well, I don't know what to tell you. I SHOULD have bought it for you! ha ha!

 

Jill doesn't have a huge kitchen, but I love the way she carefully displays what she has, and has had to go UP the wall with a lot of her decor because of space. Lots of eye candy...old cookbooks, tea pots, good vintage reds and greens. Jill's kitchen is very fresh looking and homey.

 

When Jill and I shop together we are often drawn to the same items. Somehow we have never had any catfights over a vintage item! Our mother raised us to share, right Jill?

Jill makes a lot of her stuff instead of buying it, and I think that gives her home lots of personality. She painted the friendly sign below. 

 Jill and her family lived in Australia for two years. She learned to love tea time with her friends over there. I'm pretty sure everything on this shelf is sentimental in regard to tea time, and I recognize the polka dotted album. I have one just like it that my Maw-Maw filled with family recipes.

 

I have two other younger sisters...Wendy and Lori. When I go visit them, I will have to ask if I can blog about their homes. That would be great fun, as they both have their unique personalities too.

Thank you, Jill, for allowing me to highlight some of your home's special nooks and crannies!

Clean Sheet Monday...again.

Well, if it all goes south on me, I've got clean sheets to crawl between tonight. I finally put away the flannel sheets and got out the cotton ones. We have a California King bed, and you don't just find these size sheets anywhere. Bob is 6 ft. 4 and needs the extra length of the bed. Anybody have a good source for pretty sheets in this size where I wouldn't have to auction off my first born to purchase them? I bought the below set new at Canton, Texas. They have a gigantic huge flea market the first Monday weekend of every month. The sheet dealers said once we slept on these sheets we would never want to sleep on anything else. I wouldn't go THAT far, but they are fine, and fit our bed.  

 

Remember, it's Clean Sheet Monday...not UNwrinkled Sheet Monday!

Buying clothes on the cheap for a big, tall guy is also a challenge. I've decided I would rather spend the money on a nice XLTall shirt and not have belly showing. Not an attractive look on a man or a woman. This man works hard and deserves to have shirts that fit even if he's tall. I found a new source for Tall Guy Shirts...western stores! I have also discovered that the George Strait brand runs tall so cowboys can tuck in their shirts and if they're bullriding...their shirt won't slip out at an embarrassing moment! If you are a local blog reader and this is of any interest to you...Baskins is cheaper than Cavenders.

 

The Gladewater Rodeo has a Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night for Breast Cancer Research and so I got Bob a pink shirt and decided I would get one too. He gets pink plaid and I will sport pink roses. In the same shopping center I discovered a new thrift store, Hope's Closet, and found another shirt with lavender flowers for 3.99. That is my kind of price and I'm almost positive I've seen this brand in Dillard's and Macy's.

Now on to the continued tour of my sister's Jill's house. I will move into her dining area. She has a fireplace across from the table where they eat family meals. I love the colors of the vintage print in the middle of her mantle. Beautiful rich pink, yellows, blues, and purples. She paid $3.00 for it at a thrift store called Helping Hands. I cannot visit her without running in there and trying to help my hands to some treasure. 

Next to the mantle is a little wicker sitting area. Jill used lots of vintage fabric with my favorite being the little quilt hung over the back of the settee' in an old-fashioned green with pinky flowers. The quilt on the wall is one she made herself. Don't you think my sister has a good way of blending old and new fabrics for a very cheerful look?  

I mentioned Jill and I both decorate with a sentimental touch, as I'm sure many of you do too. In the next picture you will see a sign she painted "Count Your Blessings". Each summer we would get to spend time with our grandparents in Arkansas. They lived in a tiny little rock house that looked right off the page of an old story book. We spent lots of hours listening to stories and singing together. We have sweet memories of our Paw-Paw singing this old hymn in his rich baritone voice..."Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done..." He would always assure us he counted us as blessings. I like how she incorporated these words into the dining area as a sweet reminder of her blessings, and I can't see these words without thinkin of my Paw-Paw!

 

The tour of my sister Jill's house is not finished, so please come back and join me as I show you a few more cozy little spots in her home.

 

Jill and her blessings...her husband (Robbie), Mallory, Grant, and Preston!

CLICK RIGHT HERE to help save children's lives through Love Without Boundaries Annual Ebay Auction. 100% of every penny spent in this auction goes directly to save the lives of orphans. There is less than 24 hours left to go!  

Happy Pink Saturday!

Thursday I had a lovely visit with two special dear-to-my-heart women...my sister, Jill, and my grandmother, Maw-Maw. Maw-Maw is 93 and has been such an inspiration in my life. My grandmother sparked our interest in creating by providing my sisters and me little projects to do when we had the thrill of getting to spend the night with her and Paw-Paw. I remember decorating a coffee can. I had great fun making a trash can by rolling magazine pages tightly on a dowel rod, and then gluing them to a Baskin Robbins ice cream container. She taught us how to embroidery and how to crochet. There was always some little crafty something to do at Maw-Maw's house. The food was good too. We crafted and ate. Ate and crafted. Played Scrabble. Watched Lawrence Welk. Ate.

For Pink Saturday I would like to show you a picture of my Maw-Maw and my sister. Maw-Maw is still a colorful character inside and out, and I love the way she spices up her outfits with a colorful headband or on our day together...hot PINK beads!  

 

Before Jill and I went to get Maw-Maw for our outing, I told Jill I wanted to blog some pictures of little creative spots in her home. She was totally unprepared, and said there was too much dust and she needed to put the finishing touch on some areas, but I told her it didn't matter. My blog visitors are nice folks and will just ignore the dust and enjoy the visit. Right?

Jill is like me in that she likes to decorate on the cheap, re-work found objects, make it herself, and incorporate sentimental objects into her home decor. Unlike me, she is a quilter, and I think she has a great eye for fabric combinations. Here is a little tour of her home. 

My sister is turning a corner of her bedroom into a sewing nook.

 

She was protesting it was far from finished, but most of us creative types like to see things in the midst of its transformation. She is using lots of aqua, pinks, and has some cute ideas for storage. I will have to post again when she gets it all finished. I am enjoying all the yummy colors before it's even finished.

   

Jill's eyes are closed, but I think it's still a cute picture. She was tickled about something and explaining how she had covered an old popcorn can with felt, added ribbon and was going to label whatever she decided to store. Hmmmmm....sounds sort of like Maw-Maw's coffee can project from years ago.

 

Here is one more little area at Jill's house which sports pink. I made this for Jill out of a standard screen I bought new (using a coupon of course) and vintage handkerchiefs and linens. Some are sewn completely on, and others are left sewn only on three sides so they are like pockets and things can be stored in them.

 

 

Will you come back and visit later this week? I'll continue the tour around my sister's cozy home. Happy Pink Saturday! Please visit Beverly's for all the other Pink Saturday participants.  

Yes, it's Monday...but...

 It is....

No matter what happens on Monday I enjoy knowing I have clean, sweet-smelling sheets to crawl into at the end of the day. The debate today was making the decision to keep out the cozy flannel sheets or get out the crisp summery cotton ones. I just couldn't put the flannels away just yet, so on went the polka dot flannels for tonight. East Texas weather can fool you. We could have a cool spell, or high winds, rain, or drought. One never knows.

 (NOTE: Clean Sheet Monday is NOT written on our wall.)

For those of you new to my blog...Do you wonder how in the world I ended up with this gigantic abstract painting in a black lacquered frame in my vintagey-cottagey old farmhouse? I promised my husband, when we married, I would not fill the bedroom or his office with my treasures and we could use his (cough, cough) art work for those rooms. My Bob LOVES this piece of art and finds it so soothing. I think it looks...disturbed and confused. But, I LOVE Bob and so I've grown adjusted to the painting as he has had to adjust to my (cough, cough) treasures. 

Plus, Bob didn't put up a fuss over polka-dot sheets. I'm sure he would rather be snoring on a basic, plain (boring) blue. He also accepted my homemade pillow even though I added one pink (heaven forbid) snowflake for embellishment. Marriage. Compromise. Give. Take.  

These petunias volunteered to come up again for me this year. So beautiful. I want to introduce you to a dear sweet friend of mine who is an amazing mama and now an award winning volunteer! Amy and I met each other online in 1999 as we were preparing to adopt. We became fast friends and our families were thrilled to travel to China together to meet our daughters. Oh, my. I can't even begin to tell you what an adventurous time in our lives that was. 

Amy grieved with me after my husband Kent died, and last year when I remarried, she was there to celebrate with me. She is a lovely dear person inside and out.

 

I want to celebrate with her, as she is in New York City tonight receiving an amazing award from Cookie Magazine ...along with Debra Messing, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, and others.   Amy came home with her daughter, Anna, but also a huge heart full of love for the children left behind in China's orphanages. She didn't just fret or wish or wonder...my friend got to work! She has poured so much of her life into helping the orphans of China. You can read her story on the link above.

Friends Forever... Anna (Amy's daughter) and Daisy at my wedding last year.

So, here is a big huge thank you to Cookie Magazine for honoring my very humble and much deserving friend. $35,000 will go to the foundation Amy began: Love Without Boundaries. Please read about this unusual charity that is operated entirely by volunteers because they want every donated penny to go to the children. 

 

Here is Amy's picture in the upcoming issue of Cookie, which hits news stands on April 22nd! Isn't it wonderful what God can do through one mama with a willing heart? Amy is so happy. Not that she is being recognized. Oh no. She is not a limelight kind of girl. She is so excited to know how many children's lives will be changed with the money she will receive.

I am so proud of you, Amy!!!

How Did This Happen?

I was looking at this little arrangement I have created on my dining room table, and the absolute ridiculousness of it hit me. What in the world was I thinking? What must these poor deer be thinking? If they were real. And, yes. They are not. Poor dears. It makes me laugh.

 

Father Deer: "I have never felt more foolish than at this moment..standing in front of bowls of disco balls! I may as well be wearing white platform shoes and dancing to the Bee Gees! I can feel my antlers curling as I speak."

Mother Deer: "We have Big Lots to thank for the cheap plastic disco balls. You think she might have at least posed us in front of some lovely glass ornaments. This is the tackiest photo shoot we've ever been involved in. I am totally undone."

Teen Deer: "If my friends at school see this, I'll be humiliated. Like totally. Like totally humiliated! I'm standing on plaid. Plaid! Who does plaid anymore? Oh the agony of it all!"

*************

This is the time of the season I have to stop, take a deep breath, and remind myself why I celebrate Christmas. The deer and the cheap disco balls are silly fun, but I surely do love the fact that Jesus was born. Last week I held a little newborn baby in my arms and was awed to be reminded so sweetly of my Savior who came into this world as a wee innocent babe. Thank you, Lord.