What I'm Loving Wednesday

Here are some things I've been looking at this week.

As if she wasn't already one of the cutest actresses

around, she shows up with the cutest haircut too.
If I were younger, this would be my hairstyle today.

Besides looking at haircuts, I have been

reading all the way back to the beginning in

a lot of blogs that I follow.

My most recent obsession is

155 Dream Lane

Quite a while back, Dream Lane painted two

craigslist chairs about the same time that I too

painted the upholstery on a chair. The only

difference is her chairs (shown above) turned

out perfectly and the setting she created with them

is highly pinned. My poor chair is still waiting

for that last coat of paint and a little wax to

make her, if not perfect, at least presentable.

Also, while you're at Dream Lane, be sure

to check out the Christmas décor she creates

each year. I truly love the Christmas balls she

created one year with old sweaters and buttons.

Another favorite blog for great inspiration:

Nell Hill's Blog

When I saw this Fall wreath on Nell Hill's,

I knew I had to find some fun ribbon and

make this for our front door. I have the

flat basket she used as the base, but have

never been able to figure out how to use it

until now.

Like most of you, I love Fall and find it

a time to get things done that have been

hanging around far too long. Just needed

a little inspiration to get me going.

Thanks for dropping by!

Stuck In Neutral Again

OK, I'll admit my title may not be understood
by anyone who never drove a stick shift car.
In the olden days, automatic transmissions were not
that popular. If you put a stick shift in "neutral"
you didn't go anywhere. 

I find myself in neutral a lot these days!

Recently I stopped at a garage sale and 

picked up this little cabinet with mail slots (?)

on the outside of the door.
At the same sale, I picked up several wood pieces

that look like they were part of a mirror or some

other piece of furniture. At 50 cents a piece, I
couldn't pass them up.

 I put them in the garage while I take time to think

 about what to do with them. Wild Bill asked me

"Whut the heck are ya gonna do with them there?"

This is always the question I dread...not just because
his Texas twang mangles the English language...
but because I usually don't have a good answer.

Honestly...for once he had me speechless.

I have no idea, but they do have potential

right? 

Just like this chair, which the ladies

in a painting class all loved -- but Wild Bill,

not so much!

 I painted it during the class, but due to the heavy

humidity that day (we were working in a large back

room without air conditioning), we weren't able to

age down or put a wax finish on our projects.

 Kay was the instructor for the class session.

She's the lady demonstrating on the right below...

 Kay is a local distributor for paints and waxes

from Vintage Market and Design products.

 During the class, Kay put some clear and dark

wax on the leg of the chair to demonstrate

how I could age it.

 This isn't what I had in mind, so it's still waiting
for a decision.
Here's what I had in mind...more of a white with
just rusty brown edges.

 

 So many projects, so little time!

 Like I said, I'm stuck in neutral...

I'm all ears for any suggestions on how to

use the wood, whether to take the slots off the

cabinet or not, and how can I get that rusty

brown finish on the edges of my chairs?

In the meantime, I'll be putting on another coat

of white paint and waiting for inspiration to strike.

Thanks for dropping by!

Adding Bling To The Chandelier

When we bought our builder's spec house almost

5 years ago, the builder used an antique chandelier

in the dining room.

It's kind of rickety, thin and wonky.

It's hard to get a good picture without the lights

on as there's only one narrow window and the 

ceiling is a dark brown.

 

 I wanted to replace the chandelier when we moved

in, but we have two eating areas so we use the

dining room as a sitting room.

Now we're thinking of selling the house next year,

so we don't want to spend money replacing any more

things in the house. We will need to change the room

back into a dining room though, so I decided to

spiff the room up a little before we do.

In a local shop, I found some faux crystals that

have magnets on both ends, which easily attach

to the metal on chandeliers.

See the end piece? That's the magnet.

 The magnets make it easy to add a little bling to

your chandeliers to beef them up...

 I bought some short and long chains and some

teardrop-type faux crystals and started playing

around with them. I need to buy a few more pieces,

but here's how it looks with a few of them attached...

I'm thinking of brushing some white paint on the

metal to shabby it up a little, so I'll be taking the

"jewelry" off again soon.

 The paint on the walls of the room has a green cast

to it so I'm thinking of re-painting the walls a

medium grayish-brown "griege" paint color.

 I have a little obsession with tables and chairs

(and bar stools) so we already have enough

furniture to fill the room and then some.

Hope you'll come back and check on my

progress, and feel free to give any suggestions

you have regarding paint colors or decor.

Thanks for dropping by!

 

 

Linking to the following:
Mrs. Olson's
http://jannolson.blogspot.com/2015/09/share-your-cup-thursday-165.html

The Dedicated House
http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2015/09/before-after-wednesday-week-61.html

The Charm of Home
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2015/09/home-sweet-home-237.html

 

 

 

Talking Pansies

One of my favorite flowers to plant is

the pansy. They're hardier than they look

and they don't require much fussing...

 especially if you buy them dried and framed.

 This was a purchase at Laurieanna's shop down

in Canton Texas. Recently I recommended you

buy "smalls" in pairs, not singles. I bought this

framed picture before I learned that lesson.

 It says:

Pansy: Viola

Used as a bedding plant in Victorian gardens.

They bloom profusely in spring and fall plantings.

Edible. Evokes faithfulness and modesty in

the language of flowers.

 Are you old enough to remember when we all

put flowers between newspaper or book pages

to dry them? 

Wild Bill's cousin created a sweet framed

dried floral arrangement back in 1994.

Not as colorful as the one from Laurieanna's,

but sweet and pretty just the same. 

 I found it in a box of family stuff in the garage.

I think it will look good on the wall with

a few other framed floral pieces.

 

How about you? Do you have any dried floral

masterpieces from you childhood?

 

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

 

Join Me Here...
Bliss:
http://www.bliss-ranch.com/2015/09/vintage-inspiration-party_8.html

Dwellings:

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2015/09/amaze-me-monday-127.html