Pink Saturday 11/7/09

My friend, Lorena, is having a 200th post giveaway so please visit with her and sign up for her gorgeous items to be given away.
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Beverly from HowSweettheSound, is sponsoring Pink Saturday so go visit her and see all the PINK stuff, chicks!
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I mentioned in this post that I've wanted to do several things on my list that I made a long time ago. This is another one of those things. Read on...

First I assembled the letters and painted around them with white paint. Got out my Mod Podge, fabric and scissors and went to work. Roses, paint, ribbons, snippets of vintage lace, rick rack, etc. Can you guess what they spell?? Hah!!

Let me mention something here about these scissors as an aside. I have probably 12 pairs of scissors in this house and that is after going through the house about a month or two ago and throwing out pairs that just didn't "cut" it anymore. ;-) Five pairs are Gingher and one pair is Fiskars and the rest are just inexpensive scissors. The pair of Gingher on the bottom in the photo below are a relatively new pair that I bought and are incredible. The next photo shows the blade that is serrated. It works incredibly well in "holding" the fabric while cutting. I recommend this pair highly. They are dressmaker shears I think and are not inexpensive but will last a lifetime. And Love Bunny has been warned that if he uses them and dulls them, he's forking out $50 for a new pair of these.

See the serrated edge. Very, very sharp.

So here the fabrics are cut and glued onto the wood letters and then the embellishing began. Here are the finished letters that will go in the.......

...Laundry Room! Have you guessed what the letters spell out yet?

And here they are after hanging them in the laundry room. I think they're cute.

I changed out the embroidery that my daughter did for me years ago with this picture of a cottage that was behind the sofa in the family room and put it behind the washer instead. I think it looks fine there but now I'll have to find another place for the embroidered flowers.

Close up view of that area.

Oooh, and I covered the clothes rod with fabric also.
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I'm grateful for the health hubby and I have. No one believes we're as old as we are because we don't walk as if we were infirm. I'm a very spritely old lady but I recognize those who aren't blessed with good health and how blessed we are to have healthy bodies. Okay, so I could lose some weight! ;-) But by and large we are in excellent health. I thank God every time I think of it and ask for continued blessings with it.
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My 2nd Marie Antoinette Doll

Chicks, I have to tell you: you do NOT want to miss tomorrow's Pink Saturday post. It's darling! Would this face lie to you?!?! Hmmmm?????
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My 2nd Marie Antoinette doll was just as much fun as the first, but the final outcome was different from my vision. (Could it be that I'm a frustrated "gown designer"?!) I can't say exactly why but it just is. I'm not displeased with it. But when first I started I wanted it elegant so ended up using this "out-of-print" ribbon embroidered fabric hence I just used a small amount on the bottom. It doesn't seem to "drape" as I had thought it would. I also wanted BOLD colors and decided on red.

Originally, I had this bit of faux pearl trim around the waist but it added girth to the dress form so I took it off as you'll see in other photos.

See what I mean about the waistline? It's much wider than Marie would have actually had although it looks very pretty on the form. But I wanted a tiny waist effect.

I also used ribbon for the underskirt.

See how much better it looks with the trim removed. Just a vintage seam binding ribbon and a rose.

The bottom skirt also has a feathered stitch for interest. My understanding of Marie is that she was very extravagant in her wardrobe. She would have like this.

This red fabric is one I've been waiting to use on an apron I make but decided to snip off a piece and use for the bodice. I'll be making a pretty apron out of it and other fabrics very soon.

Here she is finished. She is now displayed on my family room coffee table. Probably soon to be put on my mantel if I can find some room there. ;-)

I already have a vision for my 3rd Marie gown.
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I'm also joining in with the 30 days of blessings over at this blog. Each time I post I'll state that for which I am thankful.

I'm grateful for each of my children and grandchildren. They all bring joy to me and hubby each time we visit them. They are all very good to us also. I can remember when each one of them was born and the joy we felt at being able to welcome them into our family. "Children are an heritage unto the Lord."
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White Wednesday 11/4/09

White wednesday is here again and I'm showing you just a few photos of some vintage linens in white as that is my "non-color" of choice. I love white. Outside of pink, I'd rather have white walls than anything else. They just look so fresh and clean. But linens? I looooove white linens.

Daydreaming of living in a place like this. Aaaaahhhh...

Perfection...

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I am joining in this blog event for the month of November to share some of my blessings with all of you. Join us if you'd like. I probably won't participate each day but just as I post, which is NOT every single day.
I am grateful for my hubby, affectionately known as Love Bunny and called Bunny by no other than me! This man has a special place in the celestial kingdom just for putting up with me I can assure you. He's the world's greatest temperate man...being married to me requires this! He'll have my love for all eternity.
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Show Off Your Cottage Monday 11/2/09

Join Cielo and the participants for "Show Off Your Cottage Monday" by visiting here.

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My desk in my kitchen/dining area where I take messages for Love Bunny or write out my grocery list and sometimes just chat on the phone. The table is my old sewing table, which is actually a vintage school desk from the 30s and a folding chair for which I've made a lovely chair covering for it. The tablecloth is a vintage Wilendur one that I'll never, ever part with because I had 2 of them and cut one up for pillows and sold. It is my favorite one of the old tablecloths. Looks perfect in my rose strewn home.

I made this folding chair cover about 7 or 8 years ago out of a barkcloth and really fancy lace curtain. I love it and will never part with it either. It covers an $8.00 blue steel folding chair bought at WM. See how you can jazz up things to look glamorous, shabby chic with minimum effort and cost?

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What's a house without more birdhouses?! Hmmmm?
A new birdhouse cottage I made just the other day with beaded lace, ribbon roses and clay roses I make, pearls, a little chick, a rhinestone button and mostly polka dot fabric with a black and pink roses roof. I'm calling this one "Polka Dot Rose Cottage."

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Random Thought:

Do you realize that most people under thirty don't use the phone book much and the "20somethings" and teens of today will probably make it obsolete because they are so used to computers and typing in—oooh, say "doctor San Francisco" and getting a list of doctors and phone numbers that they are going to make the Yellow Pages obsolete? Think about it.
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I'm also joining in with the 30 days of blessings over at this blog. Each time I post I'll state that for which I am thankful.

The first thing for which I am most thankful is my savior, Jesus Christ. I depend on him to get me through hard times and He does. With 2 tragedies in our family this past year I don't know how I would have done it without the strength He gives me. This might sound trite to some of you, but I can assure you without any equivocation that it's true!
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Random Thoughts 10/31/09 for Pink Saturday

First of all, there has been an update to my Blogging Tutorial on my side bar. If you'd like to add my button to YOUR sidebar, just copy and paste the HTML into your HTML/JavaScript gadget and to learn how to do it for your OWN sidebar just go to the tutorial, which I updated a few days ago, and it is explained in detail there.
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Happy Pink Saturday! I think these are my favorite things to do. Go visit Beverly at Howsweetthesound to visit all participants on this day. Last week I visited Riverside Studios as the one I hadn't visited before as per Beverly's request. Cute blog so give her a visit and say hello to a Texas gal!
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As you might have guessed by now if you've read "th' blog" a while I have a lot of random thoughts. Yessssss, I certainly do. I just never know what will pop into this head at the most inconvenient times let alone the "convenient" times.

Sometimes people ask me what I do all day since our kids are grown and have kids of their own (this has been discussed on here before so this is for the new readers because we ALL know no one goes back and reads the old posts but I have done that one time for a chick that was absolutely hilarious; I read every single one of hers from the beginning!) and all they need to do is follow me around the house one day and I promise you'll collapse either from fatigue or boredom and yes, young mothers, there is hope for you because the kids DO leave home and then you get all that time to yourself just like ME! Is that one of the longest run-on sentences ever or what?!

Anyway, I was doing this little birdhouse to either give away in a blog post, stash around the house with the other birdhouses or gift to someone who captures my heart. While doing aforementioned crafting (yes, this is what I do a lot of besides decorating "th' house" or cooking for Love Bunny, running to WM at least 3 times a week, working on blogs, talking to son or daughter, making the cutest aprons ever, thinking up things for "th' hubs" to do, perfecting my photography skills, making templates on my computer—squeeeeeeal, because I love computers almost as much as Love Bunny—or spray painting something to sit in my closet until I decide what to do with it or then give it away because I've decided I'll never get around to "doing" something with it), Second longest run-on sentence ever, right?! :-) I had several thoughts you'll read below while showing you how I do my birdhouses.

Cute, huh?
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Random Thoughts:

Why is it that just after you clean the medicine shelves and throw away all those things you just know are never ever going to be used again, the next week you need them and have to go buy more. This has happened numerous times and just the past week since that's why it is so fresh in my mind.
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I saw an ad in a magazine recently—full page ad—and it had a woman holding the item for sale. She had on a spaghetti strap top and saggy jeans but her bra strap was showing. Now, I ask you: would you buy something from a company who had a woman with her bra straps showing? I doubt that I would. Where has modesty gone in this country? I don't wanna see your thongs either. We were eating lunch out and a wedding reception was being held there. One of the guests rose from her chair and I saw a good portion of her thong. She was in jeans. Am I old fashioned or what because I dress up when we go to a wedding. The occasion calls for it!
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Uptalk! For those of you who do not understand what it is, "uptalk" is the common practice of the new generations to "upspeak" or HRI which is "high rising intonation." Ending sentences so as to sound like a question. All you have to do is listen to about 95% of the English language being spoken now but especially teenagers. They have no clue how to speak. I blame this on the educational system not teaching proper grammar among other things but we won't go into that. The voice rises toward the end of the sentence making it sound like a question. You'll hear it in every segment of society and it just seems to have seeped over to the older generation now. I watch how I speak very carefully and have to correct Love Bunny frequently as this is very contagious. Since I don't go out of the country anymore I just wonder if it is in other culture's language also.
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A couple of weeks ago I had my hair cut and I thought it smelled especially nice but when I asked hubby what he thought of the smell he thought it smelled like beeswax. Now, Karli always uses the best smelling stuff on my hair when she cuts it but this got me to thinking. What exactly does beeswax smell like? I don't know but I doubt it smells like my shampoo.
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I am a creature of habit; I admit it freely. When I want to read I get some pretzels and a glass of Pepsi and sit in my favorite chair, turn on the light and pick up the book usually sitting on my side table. The other day I sat down and didn't realize the light was on and switched it off because of my habit orderliness. I had to turn it back on. This has been know to happen when I groom each morning and brush my teeth out of order and have brushed them twice because of my "order of things."
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Once in a while we go out for a treat at Dairy Queen. Again, creature of habit! I order a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. Hubs orders his favorite thing every time also. Conversation the other night while sitting at DQ.

She: What did you get?

He: Blizzard.

She: Noooo no noooooo, I mean what flavor?!!!!

He always orders a blizzard just different flavors. He'll answer the question knowing that I know what he always orders and can recognize the cup. DUH!!! Men still don't get it!
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Introducing My 1st Marie Antoinette Doll

Recently while participating in Natasha's "It's All About Me" party I thought of all the Marie Antoinette dolls and dress forms that had been froufrou-ed up and have admired them for ever so long—not Marie Antoinette especially but the decadence of the gowns. I've wanted to do one for a couple of years now but never seemed to find the time, forms(!) or the creativity in my head to do one. Since I participated in the party I then thought enough time has passed to do one and started on it recently.

As will happen in cases like this I've become addicted to making these little dress forms froufrou-y and am going to do a few more but this is the first of them.

I used some vintage lace and some Laura Ashley trellis fabric for her skirt. The bodice is pink and white polka dots and rick rack with a rose on the top. I sewed on faux pearls to the skirt, added some lovely embroidered lace around her waist and let it drape over the open skirt and topped it with a ribbon. I think Marie would be proud to wear it...maybe. I love it!

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Something I've Wanted To Do

First of all, I'd like to say "thank you" to Susan of betweennapsontheporch for giving me some help recently. What a sweetheart!
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Ever since earlier this year when Natasha had a "refurbishing" party for a piece of clothing I've wanted to do something. I didn't participate then because of time—doesn't it always seem to get away from us? So recently I decided to commit to myself to do a bit of something to a vintage prom dress that I bought from Bertie. It isn't very much but it does kind of pizzazz the dress up a bit and it makes my heart feel good plus I just love looking at it here in my office.

A ribbon rose I made many years ago and took off a lamp shade that I refurbished a few years ago. Then some organdy ribbon tied at the shoulders.

Plus a pink ribbon at the waist line to add even more color. Then some white posies at the waist line also. It looks a lot different than it did when it was all white.

Hmmmm, I wonder what this will turn out to be?!?! You'll find out in a few days probably.
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Pink Living Room #2 For Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Be sure and visit Cielo to view all the houses in Show Off Your Cottage Monday.

When I'm not decorating the house, shopping, on the computer blogging, cleaning house, running errands, getting my hair cut, getting a massage, reading or doing church things, I'm crafting or sewing. I made these little cupcakes out of fabric and the little faux desserts. Actually, these were my first attempt into faux desserts. I'll leave it to others now that I know how to do it. I'd prefer to buy from them instead of making a mess that I'll have to clean up! That gives you some idea of what I'd rather do. ;-)

I covered the one vintage suitcase with fabric and the other one I painted and added decals. I got them at a garage sale for 50¢ each. Squeeeeeeeal......

This is my plant shelf. I have 2 of those old fence gates and they reminded me of when I was a toddler and my father was in the Navy on a ship at the beginning of WWII so we stayed with my grandmother. Her fence was like that. So when we moved to Idaho and bought our first house here in the 90s there were 2 of them in the shed. I kept both of them and use them in my decorating. I doubt I'll ever get rid of them either. But this one has ephemera on it. The 2 shutters I bought about 2 years ago and painted them white. They were a horrid green when I got them at a yard sale. More faux plants and decaled suitcases.

A close up of my sofa table. The little trio of pedestals hold roses and faux desserts I've purchased or made. The bride and groom are from our 2 receptions for our wedding. The bouquet holder is my actual one from my wedding but I've put in some paper roses I buy from Katie at Katiesrosecottage. The vases are some given to us by friends or a lady in Ireland who we gifted with something from the USA. She was a store owner and we bought a sheep skin rug and left her a SF Giants shirt. She ran out of the store and gave us that Belleek vase as a token of friendship.

I tried very hard to get a close up of Susan Rios' limited edition print called "Fiona's Place" but it isn't easy shooting with glass on the print but if you enlarge the photo you can see it better. It is my 2nd most favorite print of hers. It is a place in Carmel, where we made frequent trips to visit when we lived in the SF Bay area. Just love that place. Very quaint and romantic

This is my hubby's chair. It was originally for me but the soft leather chair became mine by default because it is much nicer on my back. That print behind his chair is Michel Delacroix's print and I love that one because I'd love to visit that house in the print in the snow. It's just gorgeous and reminds me of England in the 19th century.

I also have anything to do with roses on my coffee table. I can never have enough roses in my home: real or faux, I love them!

Going into our dining room—it's actually more an area and not a formal dining room because we had a formal dining room in our other home and rarely ever used it so we opted for just an eating area in this house. I don't like rooms that don't get used and are a waste. That house had 15 rooms and 5 of those rooms we hardly ever used or even walked into. Every room in this house gets used to its fullest.

So there you have it in its latest redo, chicks. Hope you enjoyed the tour.
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Pink Saturday 10/24/09

Recently I had to bring this exercise machine into my office to make sure I'd use it every day— which, btw, isn't happening every day, but I thought I'd at least try and am succeeding much better than I though. Anyway, nothing in here isn't froufrou-ed up at least if I can possibly do it. So I threw a shabby chic sheet over it and added some pillows because I really bonked my head on it 2 weeks ago and I can still feel the soreness where th' head met th' metal!

I think it looks just fine! So why does it remind me of a morgue slab, hummmm? Long and narrow? At least the sheet is roses covered.

Remember this little table from this post here when I bought this little vintage desk. Well, I recently had a man strip it, cut the legs down 2 inches but he also fixed the drawer and made a new handle similar to the old one but bigger. When hubs went over to pick it up the man apologized for some gouges that just wouldn't smooth out and suggested I might want to fill them in with wood putty before I refinished it. Nuuuuu, it's supposed to be a shabby chic romantic chippy vintage desk!!! What don't men get about that concept?! I kept telling hubs forget even telling me that because it's perfect just as it is. I love all the little gouges and chips in it. They still don't get it! I give up. *Sigh*......

I love it though and put the other desk in the dining area to hold the phone and stuff. I may leave this as it is for a while until I decide what I want to do with it. Truly though, I think I'll just give it a whitewash of paint and decal it with roses.

This desk is holding the old sewing machine so I can make ruffles without changing things for a while. I'm not getting rid of it, but I'll have to find some place else to put it because this just won't do. It's on my painting and craft desk! Ya think hubs would go for a room add-on??? I can hear the screaming now, chicks. *Sigh*........

Pretty sad at the moment, but I'll think of something.

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Random Thought"

I was in Joanns a couple of weeks ago waiting in the checkout line and a cell phone rang rather loudly and, may I say, with a rather obnoxious ring tone. She, of course, answered it and started speaking loudly enough that half of Idaho could hear her and the only reason the other half couldn't is because of the mountains! The checkout only had one person running it and there were 3 ahead of me and one lady was returning several items so we got to hear the "phone woman" talk about her life. Now, I don't know about you but there isn't much I hate to hear more than another person's life while waiting in line to check out. I loathe loud speaking and life histories of obnoxious people. She looked rather low class but that's beside the point; manners matter most to me and she was exceeding my limit of bad manners that day. I couldn't care any less if she was going to take so-and-so to Hawaii for his birthday, how many comps she had for a Las Vegas hotel or what she was going to do! Totally uncalled for. You just wonder how dull their pathetic little lives must be to have to announce to the shoppers of Joanns what she is going to be doing. Please, please don't be obnoxious to the point of rabid customers wanting to toss you through the plate glass window and crush that cell phone into the side of her head. It's rude, obnoxious and unmindful of those of us standing there wishing aliens would come down and beam you up! *Sigh*........ And for those of you wondering: Nuuuuuu, I DO NOT answer my cell phone in public. I let it go to voice mail or step outside (very, very infrequently, just in an emergency if I answer at all) to conduct personal business.
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For A Special Friend

A friend is going through some rough times lately with her hubby being unemployed for several months so I made her something special. It's been hard for them but they have faith that things will be alright and perhaps turn around soon. But she's been so wonderful to me with her generosity, kindness and faith and wanted a french country apron so I made this as a special gift for her. Maybe someone you know is going through rough times and you could make their days brighter by doing something wonderful. Isn't that what this life is all about? Hmmmmm....
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