Spring in the Garden Part 1

                                        Its Spring!

                                       Our little garden bunny welcomes you!

                                                 The Azaleas are already blooming

                                             The creeping phlox cradle emerging "pinks"

and the quintessential spring pansies are showing off their lovely hues...

The daffodils are already spent, and the tulips are earlier than usual

My beloved Hostas are coming up fast, so I am watching for frost warnings...

The little blooms on the vinca groundcover are so sweet!

                                I see the Hen and Chicks (and chickweed...) survived the winter too!


The window box is all decked out for Easter now...

 Can you believe I almost threw away this sweet bunny because one of his ears

was broken?  Of course I couldn't do that! I found a great spot for him anyway. Reduce, reuse, repurpose--- that's a junkaholics motto!

Last year I planted this tulip  in early spring

(I'm crossing my fingers it will bloom).

 The fern doesn't normally come out this fully until late April or early May. The oregano in the pot never died out this winter!  The unusually warm winter, and especially hot March temperatures have caused some strange happenings in the garden but have definitely put me in a gardening mood!

Just a little touch of spring on the porch...

... and an Easter wreath with a vintage stuffed pillow bunny hangs on the door to greet visitors. Why don't you come inside to see my other spring and Easter decorations? Just check out my next post!

Have a great spring!

Linking up with:

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/03/vintage-inspiration-81-repurposed.html?utm_source=BP_recent

FREE Antique Dress Form Find!!!!

Oh wow have I been busy! I have missed blogging so much but I certainly have still been junking and decorating like crazy. I am pleased to say that our antiques booth has been a huge success but it has been a lot of work. The business definitely has its perks though! Just look:

This lovely, extremely shabby, old girl was FREE!!!! YES FREE! Now I know all you bloggers out there are feeling my elation here! Nothing else quite screams vintage shabby chic like an old dress form. I have been hunting for one for about 3 years but I never could find one under $200.  I just happened to hear another vendor in the antiques mall talk about trashing this old one in her garage so of course I could not let that happen! That bronze color is absolutely perfect in our living room too.

I'll admit she does look like she has seen better days underneath all her lovely embellishements. She is duct taped in a few places and as you can see she is beautifully cracked and peeling,  all shabby and tattered---- just the way we vintage junkies love our stuff!

After I took some of the pictures with only the rhinestone necklace, I found some vintage keys at the flea market and made her a necklace. I just love vintage keys and locks don't you?

 
I love dressing her up!  If you followed my Halloween blog you might remember that large lace collar that I used to mimic a ghost when draped over my dining room chair. Recently I found the other doilie collar and that AMAZING pearl choker at the flea market for a dollar! The choker is in near perfect condition and dates to the 1920's. I topped it off with a gorgeous handmade bracelet by my best friend, Amanda Clark. She is using vintage jewelry to create unique "new" jewelry. I absolutely had to have this bracelet just for use in my decorating! She is going to be using items I find during my junking and thrifting excursions in her creations and I will be selling some of them in my booth.

 Here I am displaying the dressform on a gorgeous antique stool. As you can see its a bit rough but it has lots of possibilities. I had intended to paint the wood and change the fabric but its such a pretty vintage pattern and material that I think I may try to clean it somehow instead and leave the wood dark since its still in really good shape, especially since I have so many other projects on the to-do list.

I do have another vintage dress form in my booth that I am going to do another post on when I get a chance, but I am going to get started on my Spring and Easter posts next. I can't wait for all the parties coming up this week! See you soon!

Linking up:
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/03/feathered-nest-friday_29.html
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/

Ironstone And Old Lace

Here is just a quick post showing how a stained linen should not be passed over at a yard sale or flea market.

Here is an antique linen table runner trimmed in lace. I actually bought it for a quarter back in the fall for use in my Halloween decorating. I wanted something that was stained and ripped to add a creepy touch to my dining table. After Halloween I packed it away. As I was sorting through junk in the basement the other day I noticed the beauty of the lace embroidery, so I brought it right up to my kitchen and used it with my ironstone. Folding it over and putting something on top hides the really noticeable places and adds a delicate touch to the shelf and I love pairing lace with ironstone.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to look for more lace!

Valentine's Day!

Although the new antiques booth has been keeping me busy,  I did manage to do some Valentine decorating this week around the house. Somehow I was able put together something that has turned out nice despite not feeling well and being short on time. As usual, I started with my mantel:

Years ago I bought these little handmade Valentine ornies from my talented friend, Beth Hodson. They are so sweet!  I tied them all along my snowy pine and red berries garland. I added lots of vintage lace, red beads, a red heart garland and some glittered cardboard cutouts.

 I also threw together something for my table and the ledge behind the table, incorporating the "use what you have" strategy. For my centerpiece I used my feather tree in a tarnished urn. It was still out as part of my winter decor, so I just took off the snowy ornaments and changed it up a bit. It is now decorated with vintage valentines tucked here and there, along with red beads and vintage tinsel.

The old Hershey's box was a gift from my husband from this past summer when he went to the flea market by himself because I was directing a summer musical. He is such a great picker!

At Christmas I used wine glasses filled with glittered snow and figurines to make mini-snow scenes. For Valentine's Day I filled them with candy hearts and vintage valentines.

Truffle candles like the ones for sale in my booth smell just like chocolate

Find of the week... antique Meakin ironstone tea pot for $10!

Pretty vintage linen with roses

Sweet little lovey-doveys from Goodwill

A bottle of our homemade blackberry wine from 2007.

 

My great-grandparents on their wedding day...plus one of their friends photobombing in the background... One day I will photoshop him out of the picture but its kind of funny!

My Valentine and I, 12 years ago.

Have a wonderful Valentines Day!

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