A Love Collection

I'm nowhere near done redecorating my bedroom, but I wanted to get a shelf hung over the window before Valentine's Day.

It holds a collection of of objects that are unremarkable except for the pure love that came along with each one, when they were gifted to me.

On the right there is a bunny statue that lost an arm long ago.  It was the first gift my baby brother gave me and he was so proud of his present.  Beside it is an unglazed pottery vase that my eldest daughter made in grade two.  She missed the painting and glazing classes because she had chicken pox and I remember how bitterly she cried because her present wasn't finished.  I told her I didn't need a vase but I did need a holder for utensils in the kitchen and this was perfect for the job.  And so it was for 30 years, until she gave me a real utensil holder and it was retired.  The box on the left was a gift from my baby brother's daughter and she was just as proud as her dad had been, all those years before, to give it to me. I write wishes on scraps of paper and store them in her treasure chest to let the universe work on them.

When my daughter and grandsons lived 800 miles away, they drew Grandma in the sand and sent me the picture.  It sits on a box my daughter painted.  Inside the box is a geode that a scientifically minded little grandson painfully parted with to give me something extra special.  The Paddington statue is a craft done by my youngest daughter.  When her sister moved on to high school, she had to stay at home alone for an hour each day and was very nervous about it.  I bought her some craft supplies to keep her occupied for that hour and she made me the statue.

Every item recalls a story to me.

The sandcastle my youngest daughter gave me, commemorates the time when she was only three and the kids in the playground weren't playing with her.  I sat with her in the sandbox telling stories I made up until, one by one, the kids came over to listen to the tales.  All the kids pitched in and we built an enormous sandcastle for the fairies to live in.  The most pugnacious of the boys scoffed at the idea of fairies.  We lived in a townhouse complex where the bedrooms in all the units looked out over the playground.  I told the kids to look out their window that night and check to see if any fairies had moved in.  After dark, my husband sneaked to the castle and lit a candle inside.  All around the complex you could hear oohs and aahs.  The problem of the bullying kids was stopped.

These gaily decorated boxes are the first thing four of my grandchildren gave me when they adopted me as their grandmother.  Sure their adoption was already finalised, but that didn't mean they accepted me as their grandmother.  In their years as foster children, they'd had lots of 'grandparents'. It didn't mean anything permanent to them.  The day I knew I was accepted was, oddly enough, when I'd been babysitting them for weeks while their mother recovered from a severe seizure.  They acted up one morning and were going to miss the school bus.  Let's just say I was firm with them and hauled them down the laneway in time for the bus.  The new driver asked the kids who I was and a very disgruntled four year old granddaughter said, "Oh, that's our REAL grandma".

They've written love notes and put them in the box.  A sweet surprise was the two teenage grandsons adding their own notes.

If you are actually peering at those notes to read them, I can explain the part about letting them use a pickaxe.  Honestly, I can!

This shelf is full of memories and love to me.  Every wobbly or chipped bit of pottery, every lavishly adorned box and every dime store ornament outshines any jewel or precious metal I was ever given.

I'll need to save a little space on it for when I've earned a treasure from this little one that is on it's way to us.  Today it is official and Baby is going to be a big sister!

It may not be the ultimate in home decor high fashion, but this shelf puts a smile on my face every time I enter the bedroom.

This Valentine's Day, gather up all the love in your life and put it on display!

Revamping A Chandelier

I had visions of an antique carriage lantern hanging in my redecorated hall.  I just couldn't find one.  My perfect light fixture is out there waiting for me but you can't will an amazing 'find' to appear.  In the meantime, I would have to resign myself to something a little less English country estate.

Luckily, I had a free, terribly ugly chandelier!  It's an odd mixture of brushed brass and clear shades, with a strange pattern of ridges and daisy type flowers on the shades.

Even Maeve looks singularly unimpressed with this light. ~

If there's one thing I'm always telling you on this blog, it is that absolutely any finish can be changed!

When I'm working with metal, my favourite 'go to paint' is Old Masters Metallics.  It's about $8 for a small pot and I have painted dozens and dozens of things with one that shows no signs of running out.

I used a frayed paint brush to daub Aged Bronze on the metal parts, chain and all. ~

By leaving bits of the brass showing through, it takes on a weathered look.

The glass shades looked like a good candidate for an experiment with Krylon Looking Glass Spray.  I hunted all over for this stuff in Canada and couldn't find it.  My friend, Wendy, brought me a can from the USA.  There are tons of tutorials on how to use this paint to get a mirrored surface so I won't give you all the itty bitty details.  I read about 20 of them and went with the simplest version I could find.

I wanted the shades to look like aged mercury glass.  To get the look, I had to spray the inside of the shades with the paint and then spray a mixture of vinegar and water on the wet paint.  Looking Glass spray is the runniest stuff I have ever worked with!  You need a VERY THIN coat or it will have drips and runs in it. The vinegar eats into the paint and forms bubbles.  You dab at the bubbles with a paper towel to break them. Of course, if you wanted a pristine mirrored surface, you would skip the vinegar/water/paper towel part.

After one coat it didn't look like it was doing much. ~

After 3 coats I had the look I was going for.  I used a heavy hand in wiping the vinegar off because I wanted a very worn look. ~

This looks pretty close to the real thing when it is lit.  I think the ridges and flowers have a bit of an Art Deco look now instead of a seventies vibe. ~

The light was free, the metal paint was from the never ending pot and the Krylon Looking Glass paint cost $10.

I'm good with that until the perfect, antique carriage lantern magically appears! ~

I'm sharing this with Cottage Style Party  From Dream To Reality  Tuesdays With A Twist

The Hall Faux Window

I've had quite a few questions about the antique window I hung in my back hallway. ~

This hall is so long and narrow that it's difficult to furnish and can easily feel like the green mile when you are walking down it.

Years ago I bought a pair of leaded glass windows and was looking for a way to use them in the house. They were in rough condition with gouges and many, many layers of paint. ~

All those layers of paint worked to my advantage when it came time to do a worn paint look.  I dabbed a darker grey paint in the recesses and drybrushed a lighter grey over it all, lifting the brush slightly when I came to the dark grey spots. ~

To create the illusion of a real window, I hung a couple of pieces of wallpaper with a birch tree design on the wall. ~

These windows are heavy and had to be screwed into the wall studs.  A big thank you to my nephew Corey for tackling that job!

With four cats in the house (3 that are certifiably insane!) a key holder is a recipe for lost keys.  Last year I had painted a planter box for the porch and it is ideal for holding keys.

The planter cost $2 at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.  It was hand carved, solid wood and started out looking like this.  Well, like this without the first coat of grey paint. ~

A bit of scrap paint and a 25 cent rub on and it looks like this.  If you want to see how I did the paint treatment click here. ~

No cats stealing the keys for hockey pucks and it works with the aged window.

Throw down a mint condition, pure wool Persian rug that I bought at auction for $5 and we have some interest in that area. ~

I'm still looking for an old piece of wood to fashion into a windowsill.  I think it will be great fun to play around with dressing the window and sill up for the holidays!

I'm sharing this with:  Fall Junkers United  Wow Us Wednesdays  Cottage Style Party  From Dream To Reality  Tuesdays With A Twist

The Effect Of Colour On Light

When I decided to have a steel roof installed, I had to make some concessions to allow for the extra cost. The skylight in the hall would have to go in the interest of saving labour and the expense of a new one.

The hall leads to a side door that is really only used by me to go to the chicken coop.  It has a coat closet and the entry door to the laundry room.  It's also the entry to the main floor bathroom and so seen by my guests.  With the skylight gone, the hall was so dark that I tripped over something in there in the daytime!

The only remaining light source was this tall window at one end. ~

Here's the hall in it's previous gold incarnation.  In my defence, it was done in my early divorce days when dark and gloomy seemed appropriate.  The picture was taken in the summer on a bright, sunny day and the overhead light is on.

The room is full of shadows. ~

I 

I haven't finished working in here.  The baseboards aren't installed and the doorknobs will be changed.

The walls and high ceiling are painted in Benjamin Moore CC-50 White Down. ~

Even with the light off, on an overcast October day, the colour reflects the bit of light coming in the room. ~

I've hung an old, leaded glass window for decoration.  The glass reflects more light from the laundry room window. ~

The hall even has kitten approval.  This isn't Maeve.  Can you believe it is one of my foster kittens grown just as big her?  ~

The room has gone from dark, gloomy and lacking in interest to a bright and cheerful space. ~

None of the photos have been altered.  It would rather miss the point to lighten them, don't you think?

Colour is a powerful tool in making a space more inviting!

I'm sharing this with  Power Of Paint Party

Look What Came In The Mail!

Nothing brightens an icy, cold winter day than finding a parcel in the mail!

When Jaime from That's My Letter ran a contest for a Ramsign enamel house number sign, I really, really wanted to win.

Just this summer, when I was touching up the front porch paint, I realized I still had the stupid, stick on numbers that were there when I moved in.  Do you ever have something that's been there so long that you just don't see it any more?

As soon as the weather warms up enough to not turn into an icicle out there, all that is going to change.

I won!  This beauty came all the way from Denmark! ~

I wanted to see how sturdy it was before I added to my win by ordering the house name.  It's a really substantial piece of enamelware and completely surpassed my expectations.  Thanks Jaime!

How great will Kells Water look on one of these?  I could swoon at the thought!

The Connection Between Music And Damaged Walls

I had a million things to do this week and my stupid back went out.  I don't have a back problem.  This is just something that happened twice in two months.  Really, I DON'T HAVE A BACK PROBLEM!

Sooo, I'm lying on the couch looking around at the room I planned on redecorating and feeling really peeved! By day two, I'm feeling like I can tackle some small jobs and wander into the kitchen.  I know, I'll take down that old, giant microwave shelf and replace it with a cute vintage one I painted.  Simple, right?  Wrong!

Whaaa! ~

Who puts a few pieces of Masonite around the edges and leaves the rest blank?  And how about the lovely crack?  Looks like there are a few layers of wallpaper to deal with, too. ~

 
I'm not ready to replace the counter and backsplash.  That's a nice way of saying I can't afford it right now.  So, whatever I do (and I certainly can't leave it like this!) has to be a cheap, temp fix.  Some plaster and paint are going to be in order.  Since I'm painting the walls, I might as well do the cupboards at the same time.

Haul the cupboard doors outside and scrub them down with TSP. ~

Get ready to prime them and have the weather turn to rain for two days.  Push back the furniture in the living room (the room I planned on decorating) and roll up the carpets.  Now, I hate prep work so I decide to entertain myself with a DVD set from the 1985 Live Aid concert that I borrowed from my friend Wendy.

The day just flew by!  I saw old friends perform and artists that just felt like friends because their music was such a big part of our lives.

This guy was a groomsman at a friends wedding.  For this concert he does a riveting performance of All You Need Is Love.

You know I'm breaking every copyright law in the world by showing these pics. The lawsuits are going to be crippling! 

A highschool friend of mine is the producer for U2.  When they first came to my studio, they weren't very well known.  This was during the Unforgettable Fire days. ~

This is for those of you who keep asking for music stories.  Right after the release of Joshua Tree, U2 did a concert in Toronto.  My husband and I had All Show passes, which meant we could enter any Joshua Tree concert worldwide, for free, and had full backstage entry.  It worked fine in NYC.  The Toronto concert was outdoors and it was absolutely freezing.  We had no problem entering and going to the VIP section (which really means where the press people are).  A CPI security guy ran up, in a big flap, and demanded we give him the passes. NOT!  Then, he starts begging us to give them up and come with him.  He says the band has their own security, there are tons of forgeries of the passes and they are throwing out anyone who has one.  His boss has told him to find us and get us safely away.  You see, his boss is another old friend from high school.  I look over and see the producer's girlfriend being literally tossed over the fence, while she's screaming that someone is going to pay for this.

I'll probably get tossed somewhere for showing the U2 security guys in the yellow shirts. ~

Off we go, as hostages, to the security trailer where the mean, yellow shirt Irish guys are all yelling and carrying on.  That gets my Irish up!  I'm wearing cowboy boots to be cool, my feet are frozen and I can't  feel my toes.  I start yelling back (I didn't used to be as sweet and mellow as I am now), "I'm supposed to be meeting friends backstage but you'll be doing me a bloody favour if you throw me out!  What kind of Irish idiots plan an outdoor concert, in Canada, in October!".  The biggest, meanest one looks at me and says, "She can stay.". I replied, "Well, I'll be staying in this warm trailer with you guys."  And I did!  There, you have your story.

I should add that the guys in this band are all great people.  The Edge is one of the smartest, most thoughtful men in the biz.  That same year, he and his wife Aislinn sent me this confusing gift for Christmas. ~

Yup, it's a squeaky, rubber Ronald Reagan head! (ignore the dust, I'm sanding walls)

Now, I have to leave memory lane and get back to fixing that wall!  

Thanks to everyone who has passed on the button in support of Malala!

Diamond Jubilee Breakfast Table

While some will watch tomorrow's festivities on TV and others have travelled to England to attend, I will be sitting in the colonies enjoying a quiet breakfast.  I will be surrounded with all the necessary trappings of English style and all of it will be thrift store finds!

Since you can't walk into a thrift store and go to the English Collectibles department, you have to be thinking well ahead about what occasions will be coming up.

Several months ago, I stumbled on this Royal Grafton, bone china mug.  It commemorates the SilverJubilee in 1977 and was priced at an unbelievable 25 cents! ~

A few weeks later I found two linen souvenir tea towels, that had never been used, for $1 each. 

One is from Yorkshire and has recipes from that region. ~

The other points out the attractions of Derbyshire. ~

I've laid them end to end to make a table runner. ~

I always use this bowl for the eggs from my very own chickens!  The border has a motif of roses, thistles and shamrocks, all symbols of the British Isles. ~

I'm happy to report that my cost per egg has dropped below the $100 mark!

Some vintage silverware, antique white ironstone from Britain, an Irish linen napkin and a picture of my British grandparents and I'm ready for the Diamond Jubilee big day! ~

My Union Flag pennants are flying. ~

Baby's Brooklyn adventure has come to an end and she is back home in Canada.  In preparation for this weekend, I taught her how to pour tea from the tiny, blue willow tea set.  This is her concentrating face! ~ 

I couldn't enjoy the Jubilee more if I were right there in London!

PS - Nana Diana tells me that the new fangled option of replying to your comments on the blog DO NOT go to your e-mail.  Dork here, thought they did.  I replied to every, single one! Honest, I did!  Let's just go back to the old way and pretend this never happened. lol 

This week I'm partying at:

Fabulous Friday

Sweet Talkin' Sunday

Open House Party

Simply Creations Link Party

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Sundays Best Par.tay
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Blog Hop To Pear Up
Motivate Me Monday
Creative Things Thursday At The Vintage Farmhouse