Just chillin

The Christmas rush is over and I am just chillin tonight. Sliced myself a big chunk of rum cake (Thanks Liz!) and made a cup of chai latte. Have been perusing many blogs and getting some craft ideas for project Destination Paris. Now that Christmas is over I will be getting busy on that...................after New Years weekend. Five couples are headed to French Lick Indiana to a log cabin in the woods. We will have so much fun and laughter. Hubby and I are on for the snacks duty so I will be preparing various finger foods the next several days.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Sending wishes your way for a blessed old-fashioned Christmas!!!!!!!

Last Sunday's Auction Finds

Here's all the loot from last Sunday's auction. The first time a friend took me I said, "This is not a safe place for me to be!" He thought it was funny at the time but it has turned out to be true! I can't stop myself at this point. The good thing is I can have a sale in the Spring (hopefully!) and make some moula for DESTINATION PARIS.

Above you can see the latest treasures with Grayson posing behind a picture easel and looks like he has a mustache on!!!!! Tee-hee......... he is so hilarious without even trying.

The treasures are a wrought iron plant stand, 4 quilts, some silverplate (pitcher, a couple serving plates, and a couple trays), the picture easel, a little stool, and a pair of lamps with bees on them. The lamps I will keep for the spare room upstairs I plan to redo into another guest room/studio-craft room for me. After finding the lamps I have already named this room the B HIVE. I have used a bee stamp for a while as 'my stamp' which is almost identical to the bees on the lamps so how perfect is that?!?! Even the BLOOM~N~Bottles I recently listed on etsy.com have my bee stamp on the label. I did not especially want the black metal chair but the lamp cords were wrapped around it so the auctioneer said it all came together. I will most likely paint the stool, easel, plant stand, and also the metal chair with something herby as it would look cute painted up in the garden.

Here are some of the gift bags I decorated for the office gift exchange. I wanted a very inexpensive way to wrap so I went to a party supply store and bought the brown insulated bags for eight cents a piece. Then raided my button box and used craft paint for the final touches. Folded the tops over and punched 2 holes and threaded with raffia and tied it all up. Very quick, easy, cheap, and cute!

Opened an ETSY Shop

Today I opened an Etsy shop. The BLOOM~N~Bottles are finally ready so I wanted to get some out there and see how it goes. Click on the link on the right hand side and take a peek!

Also Hubby and I braved the winter snow and ice storm and went to the Sunday auction. Got some goodies so I will have a pic of them in the next couple of days. I got a 'lot' of old bottles for more BLOOM~N~Bottles so now I need to find more old jewelery. That is the hard part as I have a price limit on what I will spend for it and can't seem to find much in that price range. I want to keep the bottles at a very reasonable price so they sell.

Please visit my Etsy Shop. I am slowly listing the BLOOM~N~Bottles that are done. I have completed seven so far so watch for my shop to grow.....................

Been Shopping Again

Monday on my lunch hour I stopped by Goodwill in Muncie. It was half-off day on anything with black tags which included the hand-painted goblets and the heavy white glass shaker jar. I got a set of seven of the goblets!!!!!! When I first saw them they were a set of eight . I went to go get a cart and went back to get them and a lady was looking at them and said 'Aren't these pretty"? And as I was grabbing them up I said "Yes!" Lady got one and I got the other seven!!!!

Also found this awful brass chandelier for $3.99. It will end up painted and will look really cute in the spare room upstairs. Right now the light in that room is a hanging light bulb so the chandelier will really be an improvement!!!! (Sorry the pic is dark. The flash would not go off even when I covered the whatyamacallit on the camera to try to make the flash go off!!)

Last Saturday my friend Liz and I went to Portland, Indiana to go to the antique mall. I needed to see the other half of the mall that hubby and I missed the first time we went. Found an old shaving mirror, some more old bottles, 2 silver chargers, and silver candlestick holders. I am getting quite a feel for the vintage items I like and don't like. I only want to buy and sell the items that I really love. Since yard sale season is several months away in this part of the country, it will be flea markets, auctions, and antique malls until then...................auctions though are truly the best way to find the deals!!!!!!!

This morning I polished up the silver pieces I have collected so far and wow do they shine!!!!

This pic is before polishing and also before I cleaned the shaving mirror. .............................

Just got up to go take a pic of the 'after' of the polished silver and remembered I already packed them up and carried them upstairs.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and come back soon!!! Also, I get really excited when a comment is left by a visitor so let me know what ya think!!!!!!!

ManWood

Remember you saw it here first, ladies!!! You all know what I'm talking about when I say 'manwood'. You know, that ugly wood that men rave about and all us women can think about is painting it! I have a house full of 'manwood'. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love the beautiful fireplace and staircase that is pretty wood but there is another breed of wood.....'MANWOOD'. Nothing pretty about it............Here are some examples....

This is a corner of hubby's den. The walls are 1970's 'manwood' paneling and the cabinet doors on left side of this photo are definitly 'manwood' doors. I envision the walls and doors being painted in this room and it is a much better, prettier, brighter version of the room. Hubby is so in love with this 'manwood' room though that I am sure the locks would be changed if I ever went through with painting it!!!!

This is a close-up of the 'manwood' wood grain door. Doesn't speak to me!?!........but I know there must be some secret testosterone code hidden in the grain and men can hear it loud and clear!!!

This is in my bathroom. I redecorated it a few years ago and painted the closet door white and applied the topiary stencil. The door on the right side of this picture is the entrance to the bathroom in it's 'manwood' glory. Let me just say that I painted the doors on Christmas Eve and that was the worst Christmas I ever had due to having to put with a hubby that lost part of his 'manwood' to pretty paint!!!!!!

Here is the trim above the painted 'manwood' door that I also painted that brave Christmas Eve.Here is an old dresser at the end of our hall that is OK for wood. (It would be pretty awesome painted white though).

Who loves 'manwood'? Only a man would!!!!!!!!!

Moving on now.............................Here are a bunch of old bottles that I have been gathering to do.............................................this to................................................................................They are not quite done though as I will be putting some seed from my garden in to them and selling them as BLOOM~N~Bottles!!! I am really too excited about doing these and think I may need to have them copyrighted or whatever and know they will make me rich enough to go to PARIS!!!!!!! I tea-stained computer paper, printed out planting and growing instructions and glued to the pages of the very old and very poor condition Shakepeares Macbeth book..........so one side is the book pages and the other side is instructions. I forgot to take a pic of them so I will do that so you can see how they turned out.

Awesome Auction

This past Sunday was rainy and dreary. Could have layed around all day or go to an estate auction. Hubby and a buddy and I decided to head out to the auction and it was a real good thing we decided to drive his SUV. We bid and won and bid and won again and again and again. Ended up spending a whopping $28 dollars and got ........................

3 big mirrors to hang in the bedroom once I get it redecorated. I have other mirrors I am gathering as well and will paint all the mirror frames to match once I decide on colors etc......

Mirrors in the bedroom are a very bad thing according to feng shui so I guess I won't worry about using the feng shui principles for that project!!!

LOOOOVE this really old picture frame!! It may end up in the bedroom too. It is big. Check out the detail in the close-up pic .

Here is a silver plate, a silver serving dish with a pyrex dish inside, old kitchen ware, and old books. One of the books is a 1898 Shakespeares Macbeth with a very nasty looking cover. The pages, however, will add a charming touch to the project I am coming up with for my Paris trip fundraiser. More to come on that in the very near future!

Hubby wanted this round wood table with the lions head details. It is really cute and I love that he is starting to get an interest in my vintage treasure hunts!!!!

Last is this vintage bedspread. I really like the flowers and flowerpots design. This may be a keeper or may end up being sold. Haven't decided yet. Could not pass it up though.

Destination PARIS!!!!!!!!

Stopped by a flea market in Muncie today after leaving work. I found some treasures for an idea I am putting together to make money for...........................destination PARIS!!!!!! A girl trip is in the making for Paris in 2009. I am soooo excited as it is a dream of mine to go there and we have finally narrowed it down to the year 2009. That is the closest we have ever been as we talk about it all the time. SO, be on the lookout for some beauteous surprises to appear on ebay in the very near future. You will be among the first to know. Here is what I found today at the flea market.........all to be used to make the beauteous somethings afore mentioned.