Saturday, March 9, 2013

Featured at Dollar Store Crafts!


What a nice little surprise this week to discover that my "quick, cute centerpiece" project had been featured over at the Dollar Store Crafts blog



I had entered the project in the "30-minute Challenge" contest, and although I didn't win it's quite a thrill to see one of my projects "up in lights" at a blog filled with such creative projects! Wondering who won the Challenge? It's Suzi from Suzi's Crafts, who shared a cute, colorful night light cover

More soon,



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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Swooning over Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz


Remember my happy little tale about acquiring Old Country Roses last Fall? Well I am SO excited to report that today I had a similar experience with Rose Chintz by Johnson Brothers!



Here's what happened: This morning, while procrastinating during "get ready for work time," I noticed an Ebay auction for dinner plates in Rose Chintz, another pattern I have been really in love with but slow to collect. The auction showed three dinner plates available for a reasonable price per piece. The downfall, as always, was the additional shipping cost, which made the total more than I wanted to spend. 

But I did wonder what the combined shipping would for all three pieces together, so I set out to "ask seller a question." In doing that - SURPRISE! I learned that the seller was actually local - so, I quickly messaged her to see if she would allow me to pick the plates up in person and avoid the shipping charges, and she said yes! Suddenly, the price for all three plates was well within my budget AND I could make arrangements to meet up with her and get them this very day! 

I completed the purchase through Ebay, but didn't pay right away. Instead, I met this delightful gal in a grocery store parking lot and traded cash-for-plates. (I wonder if any law enforcement officials took photographs? LOL) So now I have three dinner plates and four dessert plates in this classic Johnson Brothers pattern. 

It's probably kind of silly to get this excited over dishes... but here was the message I posted on Twitter just before I set out to pick up my treasure: 



Squeeee indeed! 

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Monday, March 4, 2013

Sunday painting


I have a small collection of what I used to call "amateur paintings," all picked up for a couple dollars or less at area thrift stores. Later I learned another expression for them: "Sunday paintings," meaning pictures created by people who took up painting as a hobby or weekend pursuit. My collection centers around landscapes and still-lifes - barns, houses and floral arrangements. Here are a few of my favorites: 





I even tried my hand at painting one - yes, on a Sunday: 



Since I recently re-painted the Mom-cave, I've been trying to be really particular about how I arrange them. Slowly but surely, I'm getting many of them up on the wall. 




I recently acquired this charming little beauty - the colors and subject were lovely, but it was missing a frame. 



No matter, a few weeks later I spotted this 11 x 14 frame at a different store for just 99 cents. It has the routed edges on the insides so the canvas will fit down inside. 



Today I took on a different type of "Sunday painting" and just applied a few coats of my off-white acrylic craft paint to the 99-cent frame. I put it all together and really love the result: 



The tabletop above is still a work in progress, but I do kind of like the painting in its frame next to the creamy white pitcher. 

Are there any type of  "other people's artwork" that you like to collect? 

More soon,


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