Apron in the Works

I found this 60s(?) era tablecloth and loved the color combo of grey, red, and brown. I thought it would make a cute retro-styled apron. I picked out a couple of equally vintage, but new prints to coordinate with it. I hope to start on it this weekend and will post pics when it is finished.



I'm afraid I'm burying the ArtsyMama party post and the giveaway post so keep on scrolling for the "big doings."

100th Post Give Away

This is my 100th Post and in honor of such, I will be giving away the cupcake stand with cloche scene below! Just leave a comment if you wish to have your name dropped in the hat. Thank you so much to all those who have stopped by, left encouraging comments and sent me friendly emails. It's nice to know I'm not talking to myself. I do that enough in my "real life." :)

I made this cupcake stand by gluing a Franciscan vintage saucer to a candlestick using China and Glass glue. The cloche is not glued to the paper base, nor is the vintage Easter ornament glued to the base. I left them unattached so that you could swap out the cart for your own scene to use year round. And the cupcake stand can be used with a cloche or used to serve pretty little petit fours at your next tea party. If you want a chance to win this Vintage Threads creation, leave a comment (on THIS POST)! I will be doing the drawing on Sunday.

And if you're looking for the Artsy Mama Party Stop...scroll down to the next post

Artsy Mama's Bloggers Tea Party

Thank you so much to Artsymama for putting together this blogging party. I'm fairly new to blogging so I hope I "do it right." We were invited to put together a post that represents our idea of "artful blogging" or to do a tutorial if we wished. What I have particularly enjoyed when traveling through the blogosphere are the gorgeous pics of people's creations. The eye candy. So I hoped to put together some photos that would be eye candy for my party guests. I'm already in the mood for Fall as you can tell and put together some centerpieces on primitive tray, at the base of candlesticks and on cake plate. The photo collage is followed by link to webpages that offer tips for creating fall centerpieces of your own!



Shades of Fall Centerpiece
Crackle PUmpkins
Pumpkin with Leaves
Pumpkin Garland
Harvest Turkey
Fall Topiaries
Natural Nut Topiaries
Fall Decorating
Apple Candle Holders
Pumpkin Centerpieces
Fall Crafts
Pumpkin Floral Centerpiece
Decorated Indian Corn
Holiday Centerpieces
Simple Fall Arrangements
Simply Fall Centerpieces
Burlap Cornucopia
Thanksgiving Centerpiece
Pumpkin Topiaries and Candles

Foyer Before

We are in the process of redecorating our foyer and living room. It was very shabby, cottage, romantic chic, which I loved. Buttercream yellow with white trim, floral and check prints, pink and blue accents. I loved it, but after 10 years I was ready for a change. I especially wanted something a little stronger and more masculine for my husband's sake. I will continue to satisfy my need for vintage froo-froo in one of the guest rooms, my studio and in the kitchen.

We bought this house while it was in the midst of foreclosure. It was in HORRIBLE condition. These are the before pictures of the foyer. We pushed back that exterior house wall (where the window is) in order to create a back entrance and room for shelves (for shoes( built into the hidden back wall. We created a bannister (there was just a hole to the crawl space with some primitive stairs). And we tiled the floor. You can see we still have the stairs to complete. At this time, it's just sheetrock on one side, open to the basement and still has primitive plywood stairs. We don't want to complete that part until the basement is finished as hauling supplies up and down the stairs would just bang up a finished stairwell.

BEFORE


AFTER


I am using a leaf print with a black background as the basis for the new foyer/living room decor. The color scheme will be mocha/olive/black/burgundy. The walls will be painted a soft mocha color with a touch of olive in it. Almost a clay color. Come to think of it, it's about the color of my blog background. LOL! I have recovered two of the pieces in the foyer, but still need to change out the window treatment at the back of the foyer to the leaf print.

This was a $7.00 thrift store piano bench. Black paint and black vinyl seat. I stripped it and gave it a cherry finish to match the banister handrail. I cut the legs down to make it the right height for taking off shoes. And I added a wood applique and decorative nailheads for a bit of pizazz. Total cost was about $15.00!

The bentwood ice cream chair was also a thrift store find. I can't recall the exact price at the moment, but it was most likely under $10. What can I say? I'm cheap. It had an ugly white vinyl seat that has been changed out several times to match new decor or my mood. The shelves above them were $3.00 for the pair and the rustic old architectural salvage rosettes were found at an antique store for $5.00 a piece. I love their chippy old paint.


The window's "stained glass" treatment on both the sidelight and the back window is Gallery Glass. I designed it myself in an attempt to match the front door. It will stay in the remodeling process. I like it. I want a slightly William Morris/Organic/Craftsman feel to the room (is that a style?) and I think the glass treatment is suitable to that end.



I will post the Foyer's After Pics as soon as we get the painting completed. Craig is heading back out of town, has a project lined up for his return and wont' be able to start until probably mid-September at the earliest. :( :(

This Is Not Me and Definitely Not My Kitchen

No, my kitchen is not that clean. And no, I am definitely NOT smiling at the moment.



I am cleaning the gas burners today. A chore I hate. I love the way a gas stovetop cooks, but scrubbing all those nooks and crannies makes me crazy. I put it off as long as possible. Which, of course, only makes the job worse when I finally do tackle it. Sigh...this is closer to my mood at the moment.



Oh well, whinefest over. My Brillo pad is waiting....

UPDATE: Finished today's allotment of household drudgery. To celebrate, I rummaged through some of my vintage goodies and redid some of my kitchen nook and crannies. THIS is my kitchen...or at least the best parts of it. :)

After the Rains

After days of rain and generally gloomy weather, I woke up to sunshine and these little delights which popped up seemingly overnight!


Mushroom

a poem by Emily Dickinson

The mushroom is the elf of plants,
At evening it is not;
At morning in a truffled hut
It stops upon a spot

As if it tarried always;
And yet its whole career
Is shorter than a snake's delay,
And fleeter than a tare.

'Tis vegetation's juggler,
The germ of alibi;
Doth like a bubble antedate,
And like a bubble hie.

I feel as if the grass were pleased
To have it intermit;
The surreptitious scion
Of summer's circumspect.

Had nature any outcast face,
Could she a son condemn,
Had nature an Iscariot,
That mushroom,--it is him.

That Cupcake Thang

I'm not sure what has caused the sudden proliferation of cupcakes on clothing, stationary, crafts, etc. Who can explain such phenomenon? Why poodles in the 50s? Owls and mushrooms in the 70s? I guess 2007 is the Year of the Cupcake. They are cute. And maybe because they are dimunitive, they are our society's health-conscious nod to portion control? Anyway...I decided to jump on this particular bandwagon. Here's my contribution to the cupcake craze. A set of 5 tags made from vintage Joan Walsh Anglund wrapping paper with paper-pieced cupcakes and pink crepe ruffles.




Charity