raggygirlvintage

~just a little hi~

2012-02-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I hope you are having a relaxing and joyful weekend.

We spent our day cheering on our boys at volleyball and soccer. It makes for busy weekends but I love that they love to play! Plus I drew the volleyball straw today which means I got to sit inside a nice, dry gym rather then on the sides of a cold, wet soccer field!!

Then I even got some sewing done, some lovely blue ticking pillows which I’ll be showing you later this week. I heart ticking!

I picked up these gorgeous freesias yesterday, I simply adore freesias, especially these all white ones. Having fresh flowers in the house makes me happy!

Have a lovely Sunday

Tracey

~random happies~

2012-02-04T16:08:00.001-08:00

Yay it’s February! I always find January so bleak and wet, at least by February we are inching towards spring. Really we are, please don’t burst my bubble!! Today is gorgeous and sunny with blue skies and it just makes my heart sing!

I did get some decluttering and tidying done around the house in January, which feels good, though there’s a lot more yet to tackle. Isn’t that always the way, sadly I just don’t ever see myself becoming a true minimalist. Though I subscribe to a minimalist mentality, in reality I love collecting and grouping treasures. I would have to classify myself more as a hunter-gatherer, I know many of you can identify! And yet I do like a clean, uncluttered look. Guess I am a confused hunter-gatherer!

Comfort food was also high on the January agenda, after really feeling uninspired in the cooking department mamma got her groove back and I got to try some new recipes too. Since cooking, and specifically baking, are a large part of home life around here, I plan to do a few more posts on them this year, so look out for those coming up.

This recipe was Forty garlic chicken from Sarah at A Beach Cottage. Yes forty garlic cloves! I didn’t actually count them, and the great thing is you throw the cloves in with their paper skins on, no peeling them. I used a free range chicken for this and let me tell you, if you haven’t roasted an organic or free range chicken yet you are missing out. The flavor difference is awesome!

When the weather is gray I do what all good girls do {other than eat too much chocolate!}, I brighten up my home with flowers. I adore wax flowers, I’m not sure why they’re called that but they have such delicate little blossoms and last forever. If you don’t know them they are real flowers, not actually wax.

Here’s a super big bunch I put in a big white pitcher and plonked down next to my cute vintage kiddies chair.

Sometimes a single stem is enough...

sometimes I love a whole big bunch!

I guess this chair is one of my happies too! I have not been able to bring myself to paint it or part with it, so here it sits, perfect just as it is.

I love the simple flowers against the worn wood. I have a problem with cute little chairs.

Anyway, wax flowers, here’s a pink wax flower stem I popped in a favorite glass bottle.

don’t you love how it is reflected in the mirror…

chippy mirror frame, glass bottle, wax flowers = pretty

So, some random happies to keep me smiling!

Oh, and one last thing, yesterday I woke up and found these on my front porch.

Hmmm. Mr RGV has sighted a rather large racoon skulking around the neighbourhood, and clearly he spent some of his time skulking out on my porch {the racoon that is, not Mr RGV!}. It’s made me a little nervous to clean away the last of the winter greenery, just in case he is lurking beneath the porch waiting to pounce {I know, I know, I have an overactive imagination}.

So what are your random happies this ~~spring~~ February?

Tracey

~the never-ending chair story~

2012-01-27T16:51:00.001-08:00

Well friends, these chairs were a while in the making. Let me start at the beginning…

{this could be a longish post, grab a coffee}

Many years ago Mr RGV and I bought a handcrafted wooden farmtable and chairs. They have stood up to multiple moves and family dinners, but one by one the chairs were falling apart, literally. It was time to replace the chairs.

But new chairs are very, very expensive, and I’m not overly fond of new furniture anyways. So began the search, I had a budget of $100 and I wanted Queen Anne style chairs. Solid wood with tall backs and shapely legs.

Easy right? Not really, I found plenty on craiglist and such but they were either way overpriced or sold with the table, which we did not need.

Finally, finally around 18 months ago (yes really!) I found a set of four chairs while out treasure hunting one day with my friend Janis, they were $24.99 each. Even better, they were reduced to half price. $12.99 each.

Perfect. Well within the budget. They started out looking like this:

Good solid bones, shouldn’t take long. Only I had never actually completely refinished chairs before!

First step was sanding, BIG job, and I couldn’t figure out how to get the seats off them so eventually just pulled them off. BIG MISTAKE! In the process I basically stripped the screws right out the wood and wrecked the bases.

Soooo, Mr RGV decided we needed new wooden bases and kindly cut them for me. Then when I removed the fabric to reuse the foam cushions, the foam disintegrated into powder. So then I had to get new foam cut. My budget chairs were starting to get expensive.

Then on a whim I decided to use oil based paint, what a nightmare (this was before ASCP hit our shores, my BFF). Just my opinion and I know oil based paint has it’s place, but honestly it took forever to dry between coats and ruined my brushes. You get the picture. Now me and ASCP, we get along just fine!

Anyway, you get the picture, lots of work and extra steps along the way. To be honest around this stage they kinda got put on hold, the staple gun wasn’t holding the fabric and I was about done with the chairs.

Only problem was we were down to 3 of the originals, the situation was dire! I’d already pulled the bench in from the hallway and pretty soon we’d be perched on the floor!

So finally Mr RGV bought me a new staple gun, we upholstered them with a layer of osnaburg covered with a layer of burlap, so they’ll be easy and inexpensive to recover.

Now I totally love them! They have that classic french country look I was after and I love the touch the ruffles and ties give.

I ordered these awesome chair covers from Paula and Erika's etsy store {Check out their store, the quality of their work is awesome and their pricing very reasonable.}

Don’t they look fab!! Now if Mr RGV would just agree to me painting the table legs white it would be perfect, don’t you think….

I’m sure we’ve all had projects we start that become larger than life and we just have to walk away for a while. It was so worth finishing this one up! Plus now we don’t have to sit on the floor to eat dinner!!

Hope you enjoyed the never-ending chair story!!

linking up to Feathered Nest Friday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Furniture Feature Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Frugal Friday
Piece of work Wednesday furniture

Tracey

~ruffley lavender petals~

2012-01-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

So, how was your weekend? Mine was wet, wet, wet!! At least it is washing the snow away. I didn't find any peonies like I had hoped, well who looks for peonies in the middle of winter? A gal can always hope, right!

I did find these beautiful baby ruffley roses though, in the most gorgeous shade of pinky lavender, with raggedy, ruffley petals, which I love, and I thought I would share them with you!

Aren't they pretty!

Tracey

~to brighten the day~

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello peeps, we’ve had a lot of this around this week

and this

and while it’s pretty at first, after a while it does get me thinking about summer and warmth and pretty things….

Pretty things like peonies, my most favorite flower in the whole wide world.

dreamy whites via paperbowlsnlemons

I love how full the flower heads are, layer upon layer of petals. Sometimes they look almost ruffled.

via arosynote

The pink ones are pretty, but the white are breathtaking.

Reasonstobreathe via Megan Foster Corbett

In my own garden I have two peony plants, a pink and a white! I love to cut the blooms and bring them inside.

Don’t peonies make the most beautiful bouquets?

1.hanafloraldesign via Alexia Kedves

2.stylemepretty via Alanna Slusher

3.stylemepretty via Jocelyn Turcotte

Thinking pretty peony thoughts!

Tracey

~blog header problem resolved~

2012-01-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have my header back.
Mr RGV worked his magic.
Thanks sweetie:-)

If you missed the drama, my header disappeared from my blog. Vanished, just like that, all that was left there was this:

"403 Forbidden
This file removed due to violation of Imageshack Terms of service or by user request"

It would appear my header was deleted from the site the designer had uploaded it to, and hence it disappeared from my blog.

Which reminds me, I really need to back up my blog, have you done that yet?

Here's a link to a tutorial on how to back up your blog by Donna from Funky Junk Interiors.

Thanks for your comments, emails and advice, I appreciate you!

Tracey

~making french decor bottles~

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello peeps,

I wanted to show you a really easy and effective way you can transform ordinary thrift store glass bottles into elegant french bottles. I had fun making these ones up for a vintage market.

I don’t have step-by-step photos for you, but I’ll describe how I did it.

1. Keep a look out for nicely shaped glass bottles on your thrifting adventures. I especially like bottles with a squareish shape, but you can use any really. Give them a really good wash, I run mine through the dishwasher.

2. Make friends with someone who has an awesome vinyl cutter or buy yourself an awesome vinyl cutter. As I don’t own an awesome vinyl cutter I went the friend route! Decide what you want and pick out your fonts, sizes etc. I chose eiffel towers, fleur de lis, paris…..You could also use premade vinyl stickers if you find some you like.

3. Apply the vinyls to the bottles.

4. Wind jute tightly around the bottle neck and secure with a knot. I also added some wrinkled seam binding to some of mine for a more romantic look.

And that’s it, they look great with a couple of different sizes grouped together, or a single bottle on a mantel, and they also make a fab gift!

Have a great weekend!

Tracey

linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
wow-us-Wednesdays
Good Life Wednesdays

~a few random thoughts~

2012-01-05T14:57:00.001-08:00

Today was an interesting day, it was my day off, which really just means I get to come home and work! But I am very thankful that I only work part time as it’s busy, busy keeping on top of family life right now.

source unknown

On my day off I run errands, pick up groceries, all the usual stuff, and then my guilty treat, a SB! My reward. For something, not sure what. You probably think from my posts that I visit SB all the time, when actually it’s my weekly treat, and thankfully my habit is well supported by kind family and friends who buy me giftcards! Just as well…

So, a few random thoughts from my ordinary day:

1. I had a good hair day, why is that? On my day off? Why can’t we have good hair days when we need them. Well it was such a good hair day I decided to take a quick photo on my way out the door. Have you ever tried doing that, no tripod, no mirror, just an outstretched arm. It is hilarious, I was laughing my head off. The photos are all out of proportion! Doesn’t take much to amuse me.

2. My good hair day was over quickly once I stepped outside the door, it was a blustery day, as Winnie the Pooh would say.

3. I left my visa in the chip reader, second time in a couple weeks. Same store. Bad, bad girl. Had to go all the way back. Didn’t even buy anything nice, returned a sweater and bought micorfiber cloths to clean my kitchen cupboards. Good girl. HOWEVER, my local deli tell me their registers won’t allow them to complete the transaction if the client’s card is still in the reader, so maybe it’s not just me.

4. The microfiber cloths look so pretty in their package, I can’t bear to open them up, just yet. Sorry kitchen cupboards.

5. I actually kinda like being on my own on my day off, is that strange? Sometimes I’ll go for lunch with a friend, but I am really content pottering around doing my thing.

6.I bought a pomegranate, just so I can cut it open for a photo shoot. Ever done something like that? It’s good for the kids to try new fruit, right. Even if it is a little dried out by the time I’m done. Come on, ‘fess up, I know you’ve done it too.

7. Sun just peeked out, gotta run grab my camera and shoot those chairs I’m dying to show you, might not see the sun for another month or so round here.

8. Drat, it’s gone. Come back sunshine…

If you made it to the end, you earned yourself a SB too!

Tracey

~SB and fresh air~

2012-01-01T22:53:00.000-08:00

Hello peeps,

Happy New Year to you all! I am never too sure how to address my posts, and usually start with a “Hi Peeps”, but then my Mom was reading my blog and said that didn’t sound like me, which perturbed me as this blog is the real me!! What do you think?

Anyhoo, my vacation week was not quite what I had planned as the sniffles descended on our home and I basically only dragged my sorry self out of bed to feed the family or drive the kids where they needed to go. It was rough! So not much accomplished on the “to-do” list front, but I did get to spend tons of time reading all your lovely blogs, being inspired and amazed all over again.

I also played around a bit with Windows Live Writer so we’ll see how that goes, and I installed Picasa, which is so much more user friendly than I remembered, so we’ll see how that goes! And I got to think and think some more, sometimes life gets so busy there just isn’t much time to “think”!! Oh, and there was lots chocolate around being Christmas and all…

~~~~~~

Well we did manage to see the New Year in despite the sniffles, and by noon today when we were all still mooching around in our pjs Mr RGV decided we all needed to get some fresh air. What!!! Eventually with the bribe of a steaming SB I dressed my sorry self and off we went.

I’m so glad we did! We headed out to our local river, which is about 10 mins drive away. Okay, 15 if you factor in SB stop on the way Ooh look, Windows Live just did that smiley thing for me. {I think we’re going to get along just fine}. It’s a really popular spot in the summer, but today it was quiet, just a few folks out walking their dogs and kids. It was clear and mild and NOT RAINING and of course the boys all headed for the water to skip rocks while I wandered around snapping photos and taking in my fresh air, as ordered.

Picasa put my SB in the centre there, I promise. I do love my family, really. And my steaming SB. Isn’t that a cute shot of the guys all gazing out across the water, I think they were choosing their target. First the water. Then the log. Then the hole in the log. High tech stuff like that. It was the fresh air I think.

We headed back for a late lunch with my parents and brother and SIL, where we played some intense boggle. Good thing I’d had my fresh air. Then we ate more chocolate and to-die-for turtle cheesecake left over from last night. There was other stuff too but I’m sticking to the important details.

Hope your January is off to a great start!

Tracey

~week-after-Christmas~

2011-12-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hello peeps, how was your Christmas?

Ours was lots of family, food and fun!

Here are some photos of my handsome crew, it doesn't seem all that long since they were just toddlers around our tree...

So now we're enjoying some downtime this week before the new year begins.

I'm enjoying ~~lazing~~ sleeping in, catching up on my favorite blogs, browsing magazines and spring cleaning my closets. In that order!!

Which might sound like work, but I really feel better when my home is somewhat in order before it's back to our crazy schedule.

And I'm starting to think about what I'd like to shoot for this coming year, I'm not a big fan of resolutions, but I like to have some goals/projects in mind. Are you thinking about your year ahead?

Hugs,

Tracey

~christmas~

2011-12-21T22:42:00.000-08:00

Isn't Christmas the funnest time to "fluff"

smiles,

Tracey

~simple enamelware centrepiece~

2011-12-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back online after 3 days of computer woes, I was able to visit my bloggy friends from my ipad, but have all my photos stored on our main computer.

So with just five sleeps to go I wanted to show you the really simple centrepiece I put together for our kitchen table.

I picked up this awesome enamelware sometime this past year, and when it came to market time I pulled it out of my stash, knowing it would be awesome to use on the table. It's a shallow rectangular shape and just perfect as a centrepiece.

Filled it with a bunch of cut greens, just regular fir clippings. I'll probably have to refresh them before Christmas, they dry out really fast inside the house. Oh, and a few sprigs of fresh holly of course!

Tucked in some shiny red ornaments I've had for years, as well as some cute white pinecone ornaments. I'm noticing a few touches of red popping up in my Christmas decor this year. We have the kid's uber-colorful tree next to this table, so the red fits in just fine here!

We started that tradition some years ago, the kids just have SO many decorations so we put up a fake tree in early December and they get to decorate it however they want. Then later in December we cut a family tree for the living room, which Mamma has a bit more say in decorating:-)

{This year I have been really big on family involvement however, so decorating it was a combined effort....}

Anyway, back to the centrepiece!

Tucked in some candles!

I like these plain white candles from Target, they are truly white, fragrance-free and reasonably priced. They come in a set of 3.

And there you have it, simple but christmasy.

linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Tracey

~3 things I'm loving this Christmas~

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

here are a few of the things I am loving this year

#1. sweet little flocked forest deer

Yes, that would be sunlight streaming in, it was worth the shadow just to have the sun shining!!

#2. Vintage and vintage-style decorations

and #3. red and white baker's twine, love.love.love. it

what are you loving this year?

Tracey

~vintage style white trees~

2011-12-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

Made lots and lots of white trees this Christmas, they look soooo pretty grouped together.

dusted them up with some sparkle

some of them were put into shiny mercury glass pots

tucked them in with white feathers and shredded vintage sheet music

The smaller ones I glued to this awesome cardstock to make miniature woodland scenes

And as for this cutie, this one had to stay home with me! Isn't this the cutest container ever, it's apparantly a gravy server.

linking up to White Wednesday:-)
Funky Junk's handmade ornaments

Tracey

~christmas decorating with a red toolbox and rusty funnels??~

2011-12-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Like many of my blogging friends I am aspiring to a simple Christmas this year, and shopping my home first.

I especially like to keep things natural outside on the porch, and always cut tons of greenery and holly.

Rule #1

Always cut way more than you think you will need, especially holly!

So this year I pulled out this old bright red Husky toolbox, I picked it up for $2 at a garage sale in the summer, but as it had not yet been put into use I nabbed it for the porch.

Tucked in a great vintage funnel with red trim...

and filled it up with all different kinds of greenery

I like the pop of red on my front porch!

And here's another old funnel I filled up

Funnels are such an awesome shape for filling up and decorating with!

Here are a couple more shots on the front porch.

vintage sled and mailbox

and a few more pops of red

berries in white enamelware, those are snowshoes in the background

candle lantern and pinecones

hope you enjoyed my natural porch decorating, don't worry I saved some sparkly for inside!!

linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Funky Junk SNS

Tracey

~vintage Christmas inspiration from Fieldstone~

2011-12-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's the link to photos of some of the wonderful wares at Fieldstone, hope you gain some Christmas inspiration browsing through them:)

I love decorating with vintage ornaments, and am really enjoying all the creative handmade ornaments that are showing up this Christmas. I'll be showing you a few more of the vintage themed ornaments I made this year very soon! Promise!

shiny vintage ornaments, isn't this a neat way to display them? I also like them heaped in a big ol' tarnished silver bowl.

handcrafted woollen stars and balls

click on this link to see more : Fieldstone Christmas Market

all photos by Jayme Anne Photography

I just went out clipping more greens and holly, and tomorrow we plan to cut our tree and do some baking.

'Tis the season!

If you'd like to see some of my simple porch inspiration with greens and holly from last Christmas you can read about my
christmas decorating on the porch 101 posts

~the simple touch~
~decorating with greenery~
~using what you have~
~christmas wreath~
~white wednesday~

This year I'm using some of the same "props", but changing it up a little, so I'll post some updated photos once I'm done, it involves cool rusty funnels and an old red toolbox!

Hope you have some fun things in store this weekend!

Tracey

~fieldstone : fabulous, fun, freezing....~

2011-12-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

Well peeps, I would have had this post up earlier if my fingers weren't frozen...

Just kidding, kinda:-) It has seriously taken me several days to thaw out!

Fieldstone Christmas market was great, you have to really admire us northern gals who set up an outdoor market in close to freezing temperatures!

But then I especially admire the wonderful shoppers who came out to shop the market, a big thanks to each of you who stopped by to say hi.

We had a great cross section of vintage and handmade vendors, I'll post the link once the "official" photos are up. For now, here's a few shots of my wares.

Good sellers this time round were vintage kiddie skates, burlap garland,

small chalkboard frames

vintage sheet music ornaments

my stencilled glass dome servers

as well as my vintage style white trees, they were so much work they deserve a post of their own soon!

Have you ever made white trees? I'd love to know!

Tracey

~Santa's little elf and vintage decoration tutorial~

2011-11-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

That's how I'm feeling, like Santa's little elf!!

Inbetween the usual routine of life, and then some, I am painting and glittering up a storm,

and having lots of fun getting things finished up for the Fieldstone Christmas market next weekend.

christmas~vintage~handmade

doesn't get much better than that peeps!

here's one of the vintage style decorations I've been working on today

I usually start out with a general idea in mind, but then my decorations evolve as I go along, more fun that way!

If you'd like to make your own here's how:

VINTAGE STYLE CHRISTMAS STAR

Okay, pump up the Christmas music. I'm generally a not-before-December-1st gal, but if I'm gonna be doing Christmas all day, I need Christmas music!

First of all you need large stars. These ones were from Michaels, they actually came as a mini scrapbook kit so the holes were pre-punched. Handy. I don't have a photo of them before glitter, but they started out as stiff white cardboard stars. {I picked these up last Christmas but it should be easy to find similar stars, or you can make your own.} Chipboard stars would be awesome if you can find them large enough. These are around 9 inches across.

Spread them with craft glue and glitter them up. I used a small foamie to spread the glue, and then used a really coarse glitter here as I'm going for the vintage, vintage look.

Next you need to make your paper rosette. I have made dozens of these this year and they are so pretty. There are lots of good tutorials out there on how to make them, I hope to post my preferred method in a future post {ie. after market when I have a bit more time:-)}

Quick tip: glitter the edges of the pages BEFORE you fold them. I used an old hymnal for these, but you could also use dictionary pages.

On the rosettes I used a much finer glitter, this one is rose quartz from the Martha Stewart line. It's a much gentler color than it looks in the photos. My rosettes are 3.5 inches across to fit snugly in the star.

Be sure to secure the back. I like punches, can you tell?

Now you want to finish off your rosette. I punched white scalloped circles from white cardstock and stamped them with my very most favorite french script stamp.

Top it with a punched crown from glittered cardstock. I picked up my glittered cardstock in a couple different places : scrapbook stores, Michaels and even a $ store {look in the scrapbooking section}.

Now glue your rosette to the star - I use my trusty old glue gun for all the glueing.

Final step is to create the hanger. Take a silver pipecleaner and wind it fairly tightly around a pencil, like this:

Loooove me some sparkly!

Then attach the twirly pipecleaner to the star by twisting the ends through the punched holes, and securing at the back with a dab from the glue gun. It would probably stay without the glue. You can adjust the twirls and stretch them out a little if you like.

Ta-da, you have a lovely vintage styled christmas decoration, which is great as a stand alone gift or on the tree.

Let me know if you have questions about any of the steps and happy glittering!!

Enjoy the weekend,

Tracey

linking up to Feathered Nest
Funky Junks SNS - handmade gifts
Frugal Friday
Simply Christmas
Holly Bloggy Christmas

~cutest stocking hat evah~

2011-11-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

I just could not resist reposting this photo, is this not the cutest picture ever!!

it just makes me smile:-)

and smile some more...

check out Kids' Precious Couture etsy store, all the photos and hats are super cute!

Happy weekend!

Tracey

~pinterest passion and a little luggage inspiration~

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I confess, I'm addicted to Pinterest! I was "invited" to sign up a while back, but didn't activate my account until the summer; somehow I just knew how it would be:-) I lose myself in all these gorgeous images and time just flies away. Honestly it does. So now Pinterest is my sweet "reward" time, when I have a few carefree minutes to dream away!

So how do you explain what it is about Pinterest that is so captivating? For those of us who like to create and repurpose and stage and just enjoy beauty in even simple objects, it is pure bliss to lose yourself in this feast of visual images.

Plus it is an awesome way to organise your inspiration photos in a way that makes them easy to find at a future date.

I currently have relatively few boards, for two reasons. One, this is my carefree time, I don't want to feel the pressure to have all my interest boards up pronto, I pin to them when I want to; they are a work in progress. And two, there are so many images out there I try to narrow it down to photos that I really really love, they have to have great subject matter and still be awesome photos.

Many of you will know just what I'm talking about! If you have not yet taken the Pinterest leap email me for an invite, and be prepared for time to fly by!

So here's some vintage luggage inspiration via pinterest, swoon!

gorgeous outdoors vignette, love those lacy ruffles in the corner

awesome storage

this is how I use mine, stacked up in the hallway, wish I had that many, my stack is just 5 cases high!!

this is on my to-do list, paint a suitcase that's not in great shape

so romantic...

party time, use them for height and interest on a table setting

whimsical and totally unique

is there a Dr in the house??

a few of my favorite things...vintage luggage, galvanised flower bucket, glass cloche, gorgeous lilacs

Hope you enjoyed my round up of vintage luggage! How do you use your vintage luggage? Do you store things in your cases?

~Tracey~

to view or follow my pinterest boards click here

all images via pinterest

~a vintage Christmas~

2011-11-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm having a lot of fun making up some vintage styled decorations for the Fieldstone Christmas market . I have a million ideas I would like to make, but had to narrow it down to just a handful given the time I have available.

So here's a sneak peek....

vintage sheet music

rustic grainsack style ruffled stockings

and of course glitter, glitter, glitter

There is glitter all over my home and all over me!! Love the stuff!!

what are you making for Christmas?

Tracey

Fieldstone Vintage Market

~autumn flavors - yummy carrot cupcakes~

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love the unique treasures of autumn?
the colors of the leaves

the crispness in the air

decorating with pumpkins

steaming hot choc or apple cider after school, and....

~the yummy fall comfort food!!~

Some of my favorite recipes are the ones I pull out in fall. There is nothing better than coming home to the aroma of the slow cooker bubbling away, or the smell of cinnamon and spice in the air.

Today I've just got to share this most awesome recipe for carrot cupcakes. Carrot cake is a big winner in our home, but my regular recipe is pretty labor intensive, so it doesn't get made all that often.

Not so these carrot cupcakes, which are super quick and easy, and really more like a muffin. I love that they are choc~full of carrot and apple and raisins, and not too heavy on the sugar. The icing really makes them fab and they are great for lunchbags. I keep mine in the fridge so the icing stays nice and frosty.

{By the way, does anyone know why the carrot turns green once it is baked? Sunflower seeds do the same thing.}

This recipe comes from Joy of Baking

Yummy carrot cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 cups raw grated carrots
1 cup grated apple
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecans of walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
In another bowl whisk eggs, sugar, oil until slightly thickened ( I did this in my kitchenaid)
Fold in carrot, apple and raisins
Spoon into lined muffin cups and bake for 20 mins until baked through
(use the toothpick test)
Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter, room temp.
1/2 block cream cheese
1 1/2 icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy
Beat in icing sugar and vanilla
Pipe or spread on top of cupcakes
Cover and refrigerate
(This is half the quantity of the original recipe, but was more than enough to ice the cupcakes)

YUM!!!

Enjoy!!

Tracey

~french farmhouse giveaway~

2011-11-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out this awesome giveaway over at Junk to Joy, it's full of all kinds of wonderful french treasures...

French Farmhouse Giveaway

hope you're having a happy weekend!

Tracey

~repurposed treasure~

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm out treasure hunting I might find a treasure and know it will be good for something, just not sure yet what that might be....

Other times I see something and know immediately how I want to use it : this was one of those "other" times. I found this unusual tarnished silver vessel sitting on a shelf and well, I love unusual containers, they are great for flowers and staging vignettes and filling with all kinds of lovelies.

I especially like vintage silver with a simple monogram, this one has a large "K" on the front.

Nice shapely handles

I filled it with a big bunch of baby's breath and popped it on my mantel. It looks more springy than fall to be honest, but hey, the sun was shining up north so why not!!

How do you like to use unusual vessels?

linking up to Feathered Nest Friday
Frugal Friday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Tracey

~autumn in my home~

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Africa we had two seasons : summer and winter, with maybe a rainy season thrown in! So one of the things I really appreciate about living in North America are the colors and fragrances of fall, or autumn as I prefer to call it {it just sounds so much more descriptive, don't you think?}

Decorating with pumpkins was definitely a novel idea our first autumn in Canada! We might occasionally have eaten roasted pumpkin in Africa, but we certainly never got to display them in our homes!

Canadian Thanksgiving kinda snuck up fast this year {it was this past weekend} and so my autumn decorating is fairly minimal. I had my eye on white pumpkins this year, but they're not that easy to find around here...

This one is actually fake {shhhh}, but it's a great size, I got it to use in my booth at Fieldstone Market, now it has a home on my little chippy vintage chair in the front hallway.

I kept my mantel pretty simple, I love these white pumpkins with orange stripes, they're just the right size for a mantel, I'm thinking a mini garland strung on the mirror perhaps?

I did find a couple tiny whiteish pumpkins which I've tucked in here and there...

Outside on the porch I put up my {rather sad} fall wreath,

definitely due for a wreath makeover, the challenge is when it rains {often} this door gets very, very wet

a couple of gourds and a sugar pie pumpkin, which was promptly given some or other name by the kids. Why do they insist on naming their pumpkins, it makes it so much harder to actually carve them up!

One year I got minature pumpkins for all the cousins and we decorated them with googly eyes and hair and so on, it was a lot of fun. We definitely didn't carve them up, it's like they became part of the family!

Anyway, I digress, the porch : the boys asked when we were getting pumpkins for the stairs, like we always do etc.etc. So off we went and picked out more fat orange pumpkins.

I chose this guy, I like things that are a little different from the norm:-) Isn't he/she (nameless) a wonderful shape? I don't name my pumpkin.

The boys each picked out a big fat round pumpkin, my only criteria being they had to have a stalk and actually sit on the ground. It took a while, we inspected oh, maybe three hundred pumpkins before making our final choices!

We'd barely got them home when my youngest came rushing out the door clutching a sharpie and various knives all set to carve his pumpkin...

WHOA!!! slow down, let's just enjoy the pumpkins for a while (we're not into the halloween thing but they do like to carve their pumpkins)

I was given a bag of apples that weren't good to eat, so they made it to the front porch too. What is more "autumnish" than an enamelware bowl full of apples, especially when they have a leaf or two still attached.

So that's it for my autumn decorating so far, I like to think it's minimal but meaningful! Hope you're having fun with your decorating too! For a summer gal I find I'm quite enjoying the fall this year ~ all the gorgeous colors of the leaves and yummy fall goodies that get cooked up in my kitchen. But that's another post all by itself!

Happy autumn!

Tracey

~my other two cents on chalk paint and little provence nightstand~

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

i love furniture with shapely legs and that french provencale look

so i couldn't wait to get my paintbrush to this cutie-patootie

almost forgot the before photo

~almost, but not quite!~

gave it a dust and wipe down, then set to work

i did lightly sand a couple of spots on top where the paint was starting to peel off, for a smoother finish

and yes, you guessed correctly, Annie Sloan's "provence" chalk paint

so if you read my earlier post on chalk paint here, now you'll get my {long overdue} opinion after using it on multiple pieces

i debated lightening the paint up a little with some old white, but decided to use it as is

i simply ~adore~ this color

the first coat went on kinda streaky, and i was thinking, okay, we're looking at 3-4 coats here

but once that first coat dried, and i applied the second coat, the coverage was perfect

~yes, i was impressed~

buffed it up with a coat of clear wax

and an old t-shirt

here i ran into a bit of trouble, i left it overnight before buffing and the finish was kinda streaky...

after LOTS of buffing it came right and i love how it turned out

here it is at market shortly before it went to it's new home

~sigh~

sometimes it's hard to let go

as many other bloggers have commented, perhaps the most appealing quality of this paint is the time it saves prior to painting

{you still have to do the sanding/waxing steps afterwards}

in my world i don't have hours and days to devote to projects and painting

sometimes i wish it did, but i just don't

so when i can grab an hour here and there and get right to the painting -without having to sand and prime first-

that's HUGE!!!

{apple green vintage storage box, gave it a wash of old white, heavily sanded and stencilled}

so here's my verdict on Annie Sloan's chalk paint:

PROS:

~ no sanding

~no priming

~saves lots of time and mess

~dries relatively quickly

~sands easily {messy!}

~looks fab waxed up

~easy clean up

CONS:

~pricey, especially if you don't have a local supplier and have to pay shipping

~most of the pieces i've worked on {chairs, benches) have needed a third coat for good coverage

pine bench before

and after

painted with paris gray, washed with old white, sanded and stencilled

so will I continue to use it?

YES!!!

especially now it was recently released in pure white, and I haven't even played around with mixing colors yet...

before I go, take a peek at a couple more projects I recently painted with ASCP

"goldilock's chair"

before

and after in old white

yes, i get a little carried away when i fire up the mouse

stencilled "paris" and sanded it down to show wear and tear

rustic garden bench in paris gray, love how numbers transform just about anything!

kiddies chairs in provence

{did i mention i'm in love with this color?}

hope you enjoyed seeing some of my projects

Carrie at The Passionate Home is now carrying ASCP, yay!!

linking to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Take-a-Look Tuesday

Tracey

~french grainsack style pillow~

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I made up some french grainsack style pillows for a recent market

and they were such fun I just kept going!

~so now I'm listing a couple in my etsy store~

don't you love my vintage wire shopping cart, one day I'd like to make a pretty liner for it

anyways, back to the pillows, they have

barn red stripes front and back and a french graphic in black on the front

side ties, just because that's how I pictured them made up

they're a nice heavier weight fabric

$25 including the 12x16" insert

available at my raggygirl etsy store

i love them so much i'm keeping one for myself!!

Tracey

~fabulous fieldstone~

2011-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

well the fieldstone vintage market was just as fab as we'd hoped

we were blessed with a balmy summer's day once the fog burned off

and the collection of vendors were awesome, WISH i had had time to shop!!!

i didn't have a chance to get around and take photos of the other booths, but there are lots of photos posted by other vendors and visitors at the market

i just have some of my booth to share with you....

{try and ignore the writing on the tent, unfortunately there weren't enough white tents for us all}

a large chalkboard at the entrance, i meant to get back there and write something a little more inspiring, oh well, you know how it is! i loved the petticoat hanging there, it was part of my "decor" but i did sell it to a gal who wanted it real bad!

in the back corner you can see the rusty old screen i set up and i draped a loooong swag across the corner too

other than that i kept it pretty simple

lots of vintage goodies

rusty old birdcage on my paris bench, cast iron bathtub feet

the vintage wooden rolling pins were a hit! i had so many they just had to go...

i stencilled "paris" onto this chair, it looked really neat

it was painted with ASCP old white

had a lot of fun with my stencils actually....

kiddie chairs and rockers were a big hit

cute wicker picnic hamper

sold lots of frames and chalkboards

repurposed glass bottles au paris

love them

hey, did i even keep one for myself??

gonna have to check my boxes!

blue mason jars were a hot seller, kept my own collection of them safe at home!

pillows weren't such a hot seller this market, but they looked neat in my booth, loving the french grainsack look, the striped one at the back I hand-painted, maybe I'll have to put a tutorial together, such an easy way to get the french grainsack look

i used ruffled bedskirts on the tables

~thanks, i thought it was pretty genius too~

and how cute are these film reels hanging in the corner

finally i wanted to show you my awesome banner that sweet Janis of rust and ruffles put together for me in a crunch

isn't it gorgeous!!

well hope you liked the tour of my booth! i sure was happy to come home without any of the furniture i hauled out there! this was the first time i have done an outdoor market, it was a huge job and the morning fog was challenging as we tried to keep everything dry. if i do anything on this scale again, i definitely will take a partner along to share the load and so i can go SHOP!!

thanks to all the fantastic shoppers and bloggers who came out to visit the market

hope you had a fun weekend!

Tracey

~awesome vintage giveaway over at miss mustard seed~

2011-09-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

~raggygirlvintage~

{yes that's me!}

along with all the vintage market gals from Jami's Freckled Laundry

are participating in a huge vintage/handmade giveaway on miss mustard seed's blog this weekend

don't miss out ~ you have until Sunday

here's the runner I've donated to the giveaway

so hop on over and enter

Tracey

~old wooden drawers transformed~

2011-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

i've been wanting to work with some old wooden drawers for a while

but you know how it is when you're actually looking for something!

~it took a while~

i found this one at an antique mall, very ugly but i love how deep it is

{the pull was even uglier, believe me you don't want to see it}

painted it up with Annie Sloan chalk paint (ASCP)

"provence" on the outside, "paris gray" on the inside

buffed it up with clear wax

love the yellow of the sunflower against the blue...

added a sweet sparkly knob

old drawers are a practical (lots of space) and pretty way of storing or displaying things

~yup, i have a thing for blue canning jars~

wouldn't a drawer be great at a wedding filled with wedding favors or mason jars full of lemonade...

before...

and after

this one was a curbside find, also very ugly

{by the way, i gave them a good scrubbing before painting started}

~i'm a bit picky that way~

anyway, this one i left with the decorative pull, sans the pull part

i think it adds a classy and interesting detail on the front of the drawer

this drawer is super wide and got the "old white" touch

repurposed drawers are great in a studio for storage, to display your linens, used to showcase goods for sale

~yup, i have a thing for vintage crystal doorknobs too~

and vintage linens...

so before...

and after

i'd love to hear if any of you have transformed ugly old drawers

i'm still on the look out for old sewing machine drawers, they are the perfect size for desktop storage in a studio or workroom...

linking up to Take-a-look Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tuesday's Treasures

Tracey

PS. These repurposed drawers will be coming with me to Fieldstone Vintage Market next week Saturday

~fieldstone vintage market~

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

if you live anywhere near Vancouver don't miss out on the

Fieldstone Vintage Market

coming up in just two short weeks

if you made it out to the Old School Market, this market is being organised by the same dynamic duo, Rachel and Lily of Birch and Bird...

they have teamed up with Bakersview EcoDairy to host a large outdoor market

with 50 vintage vendors and local artisans, including moi

~raggygirlvintage~

i went and checked out the venue and it is fab, horses grazing in the field behind, gorgeous view of Mt Baker, nicely laid out "field" with walkways and grassy patches

~and of course the sun will shine all day~

click on the link above (click the bottom half of the poster - blogger gremlin), or click the link on my sidebar for more details

it's a family friendly venue, but you'll also find information there on local hotel deals and shopping spots if you're making it a girl's weekend:-)

it will definitely be worth it peeps, see you there!!

Tracey

PS. For the Washington gals, the market venue is just north of the Sumas border crossing

~bestest giant choc chip cookies EVAH~

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

i make a lot of choc chip cookies, so the

~bestest giant choc chip cookies EVAH~

have to earn their title!

in truth i probably have 3 or 4 favorite choc chip cookies recipes : the traditional ones, the oatmeal ones, the double choc ones...

and so on

but these truly are the BEST EVAH giant cookies

they are slightly crispy on the outside, and oohey-gooey on the inside

they are definitely best eaten warm, either straight out the oven or warmed in the microwave:-)

i found them over at Jamie's My Baking Addiction

{a blog that is fast becoming my addiction!}

here is her recipe as i made it {you can get the original recipe on Jamie's blog}:

Bestest Giant Choc Chip Cookies EVAH

2 sticks butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

3. Form large chunks on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake.

Jamie made hers in 4-ounce servings, mine were smaller but still made a large cookie. I just eyeballed the size. One of these cookies is like eating a whole meal, let me warn you!!

(I think they would be really good with milk chocolate chips}

enjoy!

Tracey

~this 'n that and ballet white~

2011-09-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of

~this 'n that~

as we try to squeeze in the last of the summer projects...

mr RG was on leave for a week and we tackled a couple of the bathrooms, they hadn't been painted since we moved in almost 6 years ago and the dark colors had to go...

{one was very dark brown, and the other sage green}

i had wanted to brighten them up for some time as they are small rooms, and truth be told it can be dim and rainy a good 9 months of the year here in Canada

picking a paint color was tricky, firstly I am super indecisive and would paint everything white if I could, mr RG - not so much

we eventually settled on Ballet White (Benjamin Moore) : it was the darkest I would go and the lightest Mr RG would agree to!!!

it doesn't actually look this dark on the walls

here it is in the paint can

hmm, neither of these really show the actual color...

anyways, we are liking it, it is cool enough to blend with the countertops, but warm enough to blend with the other neutral wall colors in the house

~if that makes sense~

it took three coats to get good coverage over the dark paint, and the color was a little truer with each coat

{should i tell you mr RG did not allow me to paint, said i make too much mess!

which i do, but it's all on me, completely washable

guess i'll stick to furniture for now:-)}

oh and then we also cleaned out the garage and reorganised it, that was a BIG job!!

believe me you don't want to see any photos of that!

inbetween painting/cleaning we had some stunning summer weather, which has been a rare occurence up north this year, so we took a couple of beach days

it's on days like this I am so happy to live in beautiful British Columbia!

this is on the ocean, at low tide there are huge starfish everywhere

this week has been all about appointments, shoe shopping , school supplies etc that we managed to avoid all summer, plus a nasty summer cold thrown in there!!

can't say we're really feeling ready to go back to school and the crazy schedule that goes along with it, but after two months vacation are we ever really ready?

well i'm off to the garage to finish up some painting projects...

enjoy the long weekend,

Tracey

PS. I'll post some bathroom aftershots once all the fixtures etc are back up...

~grandpa's chair~

2011-08-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

i found this old, old chair at a garage sale, it had belonged to the seller's grandpa

i tried to convince her to keep it, really i did

{drat, can't find the before photo}

anyway, it was a very old, solid wood chair, and very heavy!

i couldn't decide whether to keep it natural or paint...

but the peeling varnish had me a little concerned

so paint it was

lightly sanded off the loose varnish, and gave it just one coat of old white chalk paint

the brown of the varnish kinda seeped through as the paint dried, but that's okay, makes it look more authentic

gave it a light sanding here and there and finished with a layer of clear wax

love how the seat is molded from years of use!

{you can see the brown from the varnish seeping through on the seat}

then I had to play around a little of course

white roses from my garden in a favorite white pitcher

{these roses smell divine}

~and a little more ~

that is a child's vintage nightgown laying on the chair

i wonder if grandpa would recognise his chair??

linking up to one project at a time tuesday
tuesday's treasures
take-a-look tuesday
nifty thrifty tuesday
white wednesday
primp your stuff wednesday

Tracey

~vintage scale, yellow china and brown farm eggs~

2011-08-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

some of my very favorite vintage things...

old metal scale

real chippy patina

well used dial

my favorite vintage yellow china bowl

even love it's little chip!

full of brown farm eggs

just love these items that tell a story from the past

linking up to Vintage Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Farmhouse Friday

have a fab weekend,

Tracey

~bear in my backyard - seriously~

2011-08-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

today was CRAZY with a capital C

there was a big black bear in my backyard

that's right, in my little backyard

and this is suburbia peeps, small fenced backyards, trampolines, lots of kids

the province
in my neighbour's yard

there was a loud banging on my front door mid-morning

a neighbour told me to get my kids inside and close the doors, there was a bear in the neighbour's yard

~a bear~

seriously?

the door to my backyard was standing wide open.....

i rushed upstairs with the kids just in time to see the bear reach up and effortlessly hop over the fence into our very own backyard

with horror I realised the big window on our deck was still wide open

rushed down to close it and there was the bear, just feet away, paws up on our BBQ, licking and sniffing

~what a beautiful animal~

CBC news

i wish i could tell you there was a happy ending

sadly the bear was shot when it exited onto the street

here's what really got to me:

everyone rushed to get a look at the dead bear

my daughter and I were bawling that such a beautiful creature had been shot, and everyone just wanted to see the dead bear

what is with that?

it was a busy couple hours in our street after that, with police and media and fire trucks

and here's what i have to wonder?

where were the conservation people that were on their way?

could this bear have been saved? darted and relocated?

why do people hang out on the street when there's a wild bear on the loose?

why do the media report this bear as "rogue" and "aggressive" - I know he is a wild animal and potentially dangerous in a suburban setting, but from what i saw of him he was placidly going from yard to yard, not looking for trouble...

so not such a quiet day in my little piece of suburbia

~i'm still a little heartsore and just thought i'd share my day with you~

Tracey

~burlap and ruffles runners for sale~

2011-08-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

had your eye on a burlap runner?

with yummy white ruffles

i've just listed several handmade one-of-a-kind runners in my

raggygirl etsy store

~and~

it's free US shipping on all my burlap runners this week!

~here's a peek~

Extra long "Rue De La Couronne" burlap runner with shabby white ruffles 15x87" $45

"Rue De La Couronne" burlap runner with shabby white ruffles 15x64" $40

Burlap runner with shabby white ruffles 15x62" $35
SOLD

if you're interested in purchasing a runner click on the title of the one you like to go to my etsy store, or you can click on the etsy link in my sidebar:-)

Tracey

~be still my beating heart~

2011-08-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

~you know how it is~

sometimes you walk away empty-handed

other times you find

~TREASURES~

i spied this little beauty hiding away

i literally held my breath, then my heart started beating a little faster...

~know the feeling?~

yup, sturdy

and ~chippy~

and coming home with me!

it's the sweetest little child's chair, i'm just going to wipe it down and seal that chippy paint with a clear sealer

ever tried that?

i also picked up this sweet set of 1940's minature books

tied them up with a piece of jute

and then of course i had to play around

~just a little~

and a little bit more:-)

I've been looking at a lot of photos recently

and i am drawn to simple, clear photos

with limited subject matter and not too much clutter

does your heart beat a little faster when you spy those treasures?

linking up to Feathered Nest Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday
Farmhouse Friday
White Wednesday

Tracey

~french linen stool and other cool stuff~

2011-08-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

have you heard of Wuslu?

if you love french country with an industrial edge then you're going to want to check them out

they have a new online deal each day and i have loved most of their items

haven't actually bought anything yet.....

this is today's deal, a french linen stool with a french graphic printed on it:

~pretty cute~

i missed out on this awesome deal

piles of feedsacks...

these industrial light fixtures were pretty cool too:

there are still a few of these burlap noticeboards available:

shipping is a standard $5 per item

visit the Wuslu site to sign up for their daily deals

(I don't gain anything out of this, just like their stuff!)

Tracey

~sweet webbing pillow~

2011-08-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

~i always love feedback from my customers~

one of my customers sent me a photo of how she used this natural feedsack style pillow in her decor

i made it up in a 12x16" size for her

~doesn't it look great on her paisley upholstery~

the jute webbing goes well with just about any decor

16x16"

it looks fabulous paired with ticking too

here's another photo posted by a customer with my french chanticleer pillow

great work gals!

and finally i thought i'd show you the blue ticking pillows i made up in standard pillow size for a sweet customer

~big shabby ruffley ruffles~

sewing is so much fun!

Tracey

~paper and pen kinda gal~

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

~i am a list gal~

there, I've said it

and that means a "paper and pen list kind of gal"

i know, i know, i can do all that on my techie devices

but there is something inately satisfying to me in taking a pen and scratching things off my paper list

just the way i am:-)

~it helps me to feel like i'm on top of things

and to remember things i don't want to forget~

i always have a pad of paper and pen next to my bed

for on-going and daily lists

and those "just before you fall asleep" moments...

and then I have my notebook with all my etsy measurements and sketches and ideas of things i still want to make

yes, it's also stuffed with scraps of paper....
you just never know when inspiration stikes!

i won't even get into the notebooks i carry in my purse...

this summer i have three main lists going in my home :

~ my to-do list with projects like painting and sewing and fluffing for my home

~ the "things we'd like to do this summer" list

~and then there's the have-to-do list with yucky, but necessary things like filing paperwork, sorting mountains of kids school stuff, supervising cleaning out kids bedrooms etc.

i am trying, really trying to tackle the have-to-do list first, i figure once it's done i get to play for the rest of the summer, yay!!

but to be honest we've had so little summer this year that when the sun does come out, we're out playing too:-)

~so~

i'm working on finishing up these chairs

{a year later...}

and painting this bench

and my ol' rocking chair

maybe sew some dropcloth pillows

and hang this

now, where was i again?

better get back to those lists.........

anyone else identify with my need to make lists??

Tracey

~chippy pink paint and vintage doorknobs~

2011-08-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

~well peeps~

it has been way too long, why do i always think summer will slow down a little?

did i forget i would have my three wonderful, lively kids home!!

well i have been working on some projects here and there

but today i'm just gonna show you this charming shelf i found in an antique store

it was kinda pricey for something i could make, but it was just so charming

~and chippy~

and i can NEVER resist

~vintage crystal doorknobs ~

well, there's not a whole lot of pink happening in my home right now

{apart from sweet 17s totally pink bedroom}

so i just perched it here in an old milk crate

where i have a rag quilt, an old burlap coffee sack, one of my paris pillows....

an old wooden shoe form

and

~vintage doorknobs~

isn't it perfect?

linking up at feathered nest friday
and
vintage inspiration friday

Tracey

~shhh, don't tell~

2011-07-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

well peeps, look at this cache of old windows I found

pretty sweet huh!

lots of groans and moans about spiders and such from kids in the van

{same kids who refused to get out and help mom haul more junk!}

some of them still have glass, like this cute little door

others are just the wood, like this 3 pane

~lots of chippy paint~

~especially like this one~

love the curve along the top corner

hauled them round the side of the house till i can show them some love

~but shhh, don't tell~

Mr Keeper doesn't know they're there yet!!

Tracey

PS. i've been outed, traces of paint chips in the driveway.....