Family

Jewelry Organizing

I have a couple old jewelry boxes - one inherited from my grandmother and the other given to me by my mother in law. I love the boxes, but wanted to have a place to keep my pieces that I wear regularly in a convenient place. I also wanted to display them nicely. I saw this nice shadow box in Michael's.
After a few weeks of waiting for a sale, I grabbed it up. Right now I have necklaces and hoop earrings fastened with long straight pins. I plan to add eye hooks to the top and something more permanent for the straight pins. I like how I can display my necklaces, and keep the dust off them.
Close up shot of my $65 earrings I got for $17!
For my dangling earrings, I made a nifty little display using a frame that I had, window screen and a place mat. I didn't have to purchase any of the supplies. They were all laying around unused! The design is SIMPLE! I just removed the glass and backing from the frame, then I stretched some window screening over the frame with about 2 inches in excess to allow for adjustment. Next I pulled out my hot glue gun and tightly glued the screening to the inside lip of the frame (from the back of the frame). I started at the top center and worked out and down to be sure that the screen had no slack. Once it was all glued in place and dried hard, I trimmed the excess with my craft knife.
I could have just added a hanger on the back and hung it on the wall, but I wanted to add some fabric to show through, so I decided to use the fabric from a place mat which I loved that I got on clearance from Pier One. I centered the frame on the place mat, noting where to line it up. Then, working fast, I piped hot glue around the back of the frame, starting from the top and working down. I stretched as I went to make sure it was taut. I also made sure to avoid the very edge. After it was attached all around, I trimmed the excess using pinking shears. I added the tooth-edged picture hanger on the back and ...Viola!

To Do

It isn't enough for me to work full time, care for 2 kids, a hubby and 2 dogs, have church and Cub Scout roles, and not to mention house chores (Because you KNOW my house is SPOTLESS! cough cough). There's also my drawing projects, my sewing projects, and my jewelry making projects. No, I just have to add to that mountain of things to do! I am now gearing up to restore and refinish some pieces for my bedroom. I have this vanity that I got from my sister-in-law. I adored it when it sat in her town home foyer, then it was in her daughter's room for awhile and now it holds my jewelry and scarves!

The vanity is a bit worse for wear. The mirror as aged somewhat and the finish is worn and ratty in several places. There is even one corner where the veneer has peeled off. I am thinking that I want to fix it up and paint it a light turquoise, a little brighter than my bedroom wall and antique the finish a bit. I am really anxious to do this, but when I bring it up with the hubby, he says, "Wait! You have too many unfinished projects!" He's right, but when I am driven to do something, I just can't fight the urge!

Future posts on this project to come...

Weekend Treasures

I feel so fortunate to live in an area that really cherishes history. I don't mean that I don a hoop skirt and corset to reenact the Civil War. What I do enjoy around here is seeing the old architecture of Historic Frederick and browsing the many antique and consignment shops and flea markets.

My favorite of these retailers just happens to be a 10 minute drive from my house! Chartreuse & co. is located on an old farm in Buckeystown, MD. The main barn houses several vendors that sell charming restored furniture, vintage decor, and other fun finds. There are two other barns that hold unrestored yard sale finds and old windows, shutters and doors. Chartreuse is only open one weekend of the month or by appointment. Oh, the anticipation!

This past weekend happened to be the weekend Chartreuse & co. was opened. It also happened to be when my BFF was winding up her visit from Louisiana. Stacey loves home decorating as much as I do. She is also a big shopasaurus with a good-sized budget to spend! So I just had to let her in on my little guilty pleasure!

I went armed with my list of what I was looking for to finish our master bed/bath suite (Without a list to limit myself, mortgage would not get paid next month!) -
1. stool for vanity
2. sconces to hang window scarf in bedroom
3. the perfect set of armchairs for the bedroom
4. bedside tables
5. deep bathroom shelves
6. towel racks for bathroom
7. hamper dresser
8. baskets for storage
9. vintage sled (for family room)
10. bathroom cabinet
11. hook less than 3" wide

I was really pleased to knock off two of those things off the list. Here is what I found

A vanity stool and a vintage sled

I am very psyched about that! I also found some sconces at Bed, Bath & Beyond that were 50% off. They are the wrong color. but a little paint goes a long way!

BFFL

In 1981 I was a 13 year old 7th grader at Greenbelt Middle School. I hung out with a crowd of other girls my age who lived in my community and came from a similar background. Our favorite activities were roller skating on Friday nights, sneaking cigarettes in the bathroom and boys! We wore makeup and listened to hard rock like AC/DC and Pat Benatar. My friends and I were so cool!

Sometime after school started in the Fall, a new girl moved into our community. Stacey spoke with a Louisiana drawl. She wore not a stitch of makeup, walked like a stork and when we asked her who her favorite rock band was, she proudly responded with "The Commodores!" Stacey was not cool!

For all the coolness she lacked, Stacey made up for it with persistence. She wanted so very much to belong to our group. I was the most convenient link to the group, so Stacey took every opportunity she had to connect with me. She sat behind me in one of the classes we shared, passing me notes "Hey, how are you today?" She also lived right around the corner from me, so our paths en route to the bus stop often crossed. Eventually, we were meeting up to walk together so we could chat. We became friends.

The time came when I wanted to invite Stacey to hang out with my friends and I. When I brought this up with them, the girls in my group wanted nothing to do with Stacey. She was "not one of us." This led me to examine my values. Although I wanted to be a part of the crowd, I felt strongly that rejecting someone based on superficial characteristics was very wrong. So I made a stand. I decided that if this group of girls did not accept Stacey, then they really couldn't be good friends to me.

At first it was really hard to live with the situation, I was "blacklisted" for awhile. I dealt with some harassment. I shed some tears. Yet Stacey stood by my side through it all. After some time, the other girls came around and stopped being so mean. We all became friends at that point, but I was never as close to them as I once was. My trust and loyalty to the other girls was lost. The most important part of the situation was not what I lost, but what I found - a best friend for life.

Vintage Adored

When I was a little girl my mother had inherited many pieces of antique furniture and other antique treasures from her grandmother. One of these heirlooms was a spinning wheel. It's hardware was a bit rusted over and the finish was much like the lime wash furniture we see in the furniture stores today. The best part of it was that it worked! I would spend as much time as I could pumping the foot pedal and watching it spin around until my mother would shoo me away with "It's very old! You're going to break it!" Then I would just look at it, admiring it's lines and assembly. This was my earliest memory of my love for vintage things.

There is just something about a well-loved item that appeals to me. Maybe it's the possible story behind it or the stories of the people who's hands touched it. Maybe my love and respect for history transfers over to these things. I don't know for sure, but I do know that I am so glad that I'm not the only one who adores vintage things. I just hope that vintage doesn't become a trend that fades away, hoping to return like a pair of Converse All Stars!

Silhouette

I have not started any new pieces in over a year with the exception of this one. Often when I get an idea to do something, it eats at me until I get it done. It's like I get it out of my system. One day while driving home from work at dusk, I was appreciating the silhouette of the trees and foothills against the beautiful lavender sky. The next day I found myself researching various silhouette paintings and drawings online. I found a clip art of a family that closely resembled mine which I made some modifications to and worked it into this piece. I found the result to be very pleasing.

I painted the foreground and background using acrylic on a square canvas. I traced the silhouette onto black acid free paper and cut it out with very sharp small scissors. Then I adhered it to the canvas using Modge Podge. Finally, I sealed it with two coats of the Modge Podge. I considered adding an inspiration quote, but right now I am enjoying it as it is. It is framed and hangs in our foyer, unsigned.

A Realistic New Year

On New Years Eve as our family was headed to a party, my husband asked me, "So, what's your resolution for this year." I had thought about this for a few weeks, so I answered rather quickly, ticking them off on my three fingers, "1. Be closer to God, 2. Return to Weight Watchers, and 3. Eat a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes." Because he is a geeky logical Mac computer type, he had to point out to me the fact that my last two resolutions seemed to be in conflict with each other. But I did set him straight by reminding him that on WW I can count the points and still be successful at the program.

Of course, I have other goals for the year (like finish at least 3 of the unfinished pieces I have sitting in the studio), but my underlying theme is to be more realistic and not set myself up for failure.

As for blogging, my goal will be at least twice this year...