One New Thing, and Everything Moves.

Hi everyone! Yesterday I hit the Wednesday Ventura County Flea Market. I love this little market. I always find something...but there's a slight problem with that...

Did you ever stop to consider the ripple effect of bringing one new thing into the house? Granted, for me it's a happy problem, but still. When I find something great that I want to incorporate into our home, I often find myself moving lots of other little things to new locations. It's the domino effect! For me, this is what keeps me from getting bored with the way the rooms look, but it always takes some time until I finally settle on my various new arrangements of things.

Look what I found yesterday!

I have been starting to look for vintage oil paintings for our home. I love the detail and the history of them. I find myself wondering who painted them, and who's home they lived in. When we first moved into this house almost 11 years ago, it was my feeling that old things would not mix well with the California new home vibe of this place. So I bought and sold antiques as a dealer, but kept very little for my home. I could just KICK myself now! I have completely changed my mind, and I've decided that I need to start surrounding myself with the things that I love, and that bring me joy when I look at them. Since I can't live in an old farmhouse, I'm going to start bringing more things with history into my new(ish) build home. I am really inspired by a few of my favorite bloggers that have gorgeous old oil paintings and antiques incorporated into the decor of their homes. (Which may just inspire yet another post to feature some of these talented ladies homes!)

This painting makes me want to take a stroll on that path. So pretty. I got this for less than HALF of what the dealer was asking at the beginning of the day! He started at $125, and I bought it for $60! I love everything about it.

Right now it's hanging in my entry, which is also waiting for just the right bench where the iron candle holder stands now. A few weeks ago I bought the ceramic riding boot umbrella stand. I stuffed some twigs in it until I am able to dig up some cool vintage umbrellas.
Here's the thing, though... Once I moved what was hanging on that wall to put up the painting, the vignette on the demi lune table had to change...hence the domino effect. Here's how it looks this morning, but don't get too attached, cuz it's probably gonna change again. Hey, that's just how I roll!

Some old books between grape bookends. And I always have nuts, feathers, pinecones, rocks, or twigs around on tables. In fact, I could probably do a whole post on it. I am obsessed with these little natural elements. I am forever picking them up when I find something interesting.

This bronzed shoe was worn by my mom as a baby.

 I just love it.

A few close ups.

Of course we have a few vintage aviation boks around here.

I like this vignette for now, but as I said, I will most likely be tweaking it again soon.
Hope you are all having a fantastic day!
xo
-Lisa
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Getting My Craft On. Burlap and Vintage Frames. Part Two.

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by!
I just want to take a minute and give a quick thank you to Amy over at New Nostalgia for featuring me on her Anti-Procrastination Tuesday again today! I am so excited! This is the second time one of my posts was featured on her fabulous blog. Today she featured my Living Room Update, and a couple of weeks ago, she featured My Delicious Green Juice post. Click the button below to visit her awesome blog, and please tell her I said "Hi."
 

This morning I was able to finish up the crafts I started yesterday. They really did not take long at all, and I am so happy with how they turned out!

This is where I left off with you yesterday...(Click HERE to see Part One, if you like.)

And here is what I did this morning...

 I just used the original cruddy cardboard that came with the frame, since I was covering it with the burlap. Hey, why cut a new template when I already have one that fits perfectly? 

 My plan was to use spray adhesive to make sure the burlap would not shift in the frame.

 It worked great!

 Here it is before I attached the star.

 Then I marked the points of the stars on the frame, and attached it with hot glue. 

 Here's a close up view after I hung it on the wall.

 I like that it has some dimension.

 I hung it just above my antique drop-leaf table. I have had it leaning here against the wall, unfinished for a few months. *Cringe.* It often takes me a while to get around to all of my little projects. I'm not alone am I?

Ok. Moving on to project number two. These frames have been hanging in the hallway upstairs with this brown craft paper inside, also waiting for me to get around to them. Here is what I did...

 I just traced the paper on my burlap, and cut it out slightly larger than the outline all the way around.

 Before I cut them, I just did our initials free-hand onto the burlap. My original plan was to use a stencil and fabric paint, but I wound up taking the easy way out with a black Sharpie, free-hand.

 I decided to make use of some of my burlap scraps, and stuck them in with the pine cones and balls in my white urn. Why waste it?

 It's cute for now, but I'm sure I will continually tweak it until I love it.

 Getting back to craft number two.

 I traced the original craft paper circles onto some scrap cardboard I had lying around.

 Then I used the spray adhesive to affix the burlap to the cardboard in the same way I did with the oval frame.

 I think these came out nice also!

 I hung them back up in the upstairs hallway wall in their original spots. There is an old architectural piece between them.

 One for me...

 One for the hubs. (I'm sure he'll be thrilled.) ;-)

 They are hanging with a Japanese painting. Our son was born in Japan, and we bought this before we brought him home, so It has a special place in my heart.

 View down the hall toward Mr W's office. I hung the old printing blocks that say GO FLY above his door, since he's a pilot, and often says over the phone to me, "Ok,  I have to go fly now".

And one more look at my downstairs craft on the wall.

Hope you all have a great day! I'll be back tomorrow with another fun post. Hope to see you then!

xo

-L.
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Today's Creative Blog

Getting My Craft On. Burlap and Vintage Frames. Part One.

Hey Hey Everyone! It's a rainy Monday here today. Perfect day to hide inside and do a project or two. I am also planning to squeeze in a gym workout before picking the little guy up from school after his lunch bunch, so I will make this post a quick one.

If you read my post yesterday, you may know that I lost all my photos and pre-planned posts last week when my external hard drive decided to quit on me. I think I will be able to recover them, (phew!) but for now, I am starting from scratch with my posts and pics.

Today I will be working on a few little projects that I have been meaning to get around to. I did manage to make a prototype of what I was after with brown paper and sharpie for the more ornate frames. And I have already painted the two pieces I plan to marry for the other project.

Here is what I'll be working on...

The two more ornate frames hang in the upstairs hall.  I am planning to use burlap where the brown craft paper is, and paint on our initials, W for the hubs, L for me. The vintage oval frame was a great thrift store find, along with the star. I think I paid 75cents for each! Not. even. kidding! The frame was an antiqued cream with gold rim when I bought it, and the star was silver. I sprayed them both dark brown to marry the two. I plan to use burlap inside the frame where the cardboard is, and attach the star to the outside of the oval frame for a great finished piece with some dimension.

Here are some closer pics...

Unfortunately the "before" pics of these two painted items were on my hard drive that crashed, sorry. 

 These look a little ornate, but the burlap will knock that down a bit. Once I get the letters painted on the burlap, I think that I will really like them. These frames were an antique store purchase, and were $8 a piece, I believe. I found them exactly the way they are right now, in terms of finish, and I like them, so I am leaving them this way. They did not have any glass, which I also like, and I think it will help them feel more casual with the burlap anyway!

Since I was taking pics on this table, I thought I should show you my cute wood platter that has been chalk painted. It was a thrift store find for $1.99. I did nothing to it. Love it as is! The old books came from my fav local $5 Bookstore. I have bought quite a few things there, and these books were on the $2 ea sale shelf.

I will be posting the "afters" of my projects later today, or tomorrow, depending on how things go. 

Hope you all have a great week!!

xo

-Lisa
Click HERE to read Part Two.

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