Mantel makeover for White Wednesday...

Remember that fab find I showed you before well ladeda... It received a makeover while I painted the dining room! Yea!!! It was in three pieces and just kind of holding itself up with nothing stronger than chewing gum. o.k. that was gross and not really the case but ALMOST! I secured it, caulked every crack and then added a couple of embellishments, two were very necessary and then the center one just to add some flair. This is the before, wow now when I look at it I can't believe I fooled myself into thinking it looked o.k. enough to show all you amazing decor divas!

TADA! Wow what a little extra effort and a good paint job won't do to bring something back to life.

Now if you look closely in the mirror you will be able to see what my day will consist of, painting the second coat on all of the trim in the room. I will also be hanging the curtains back up, we've been kind of a side show for all of our neighbors this week. Not bad if it was a slow t.v. week for some! Go on over now to Faded Charm and check out all of the other WW participants there is so much inspiration over there! Theresa xoxo

Chandi for White Wednesday

This is definitely one of my favorite GW finds ever... I found it 5 or so years ago and saved it in a box until I had THE house it belonged in.

I love it in the dining room. This is the room I'm getting ready to paint can't wait to give it a facelift! I do like the blue/gray walls but I really want more of a neutral so these will be my BEFORE pics and I am right now as we speak wearing my painting clothes so today is the day! I gotta say... blogging has really helped me clear away some of the clutter in my house! You just cannot take a pic with all of the usual junk that gets left on that skinny counter! I mean really, you would think I would worry about 'what if someone stopped by' but NOOOOO As soon as I get the camera out the counters get a good going over too! My husband says thank you to the blogging world for this, he hates clutter:)

O.k. like I said today is the day so I need to get off of the computer and tape a paint brush to my hand so I don't get distracted and forget why I'm dressed like this!!!!! Head on over to fadedcharm and see the rest of the party peeps and I'll meet you there maybe tonight when I'm too exhausted to do anything else but sit on the couch and blog hop! Thanks for stopping by,

Theresa xoxo

How lucky am I???

Look at this fabulous bag my sister, Molly made for me!!! She is uber talented and lucky for me she likes to surprise me with fabulous creations all handmade. all her own pattern. all AMAZING!!! Just look at the bird on the fabric, we actually squealed out loud when we saw it!

We found this fabric at the GW as is store... all for maybe 1.29 for a huge valance and then she said that it would make a great bag... well I said ohhhh you could make me one for my bday (which is on it's way, more on that later...) This entire bag is made from upcycled fabrics, even the handles are leather strips she cut from something, probably a coat. One of the sweetest touches she put on here is the 4 buttons on the bottom are from a sweater of my moms :)
Then to top it off her and my hubby have planned a little getaway for me. I know, I was so surprised I cried. big baby! Anyway I will be taking this beauty to Gulf Shores, AL to visit my Dad at his winter place with Molly and her family. I haven't seen my Dad since he left the first of Jan. so I cannot wait to see him!

I love the details she put into this, the ruffle on the side pockets, the vintage wool to coordinate with the flower and bird fabric the tiny ricrac piping, and this little bag she made from some of the left overs!!!

Oh and she lined it with pink and trimmed the raw edges with brown seam binding. She really is such a wonderful seamstress, I wish I could sew like her. I am really trying to work on being more focused and less impatient when I work. Really when I see this bag I see all of the love she put into it for lil ol me!!!

And thenI got THIS in the mail today... I WON Michelle Palmers giveaway and well... HOW LUCKY AM I?!!! Michelle is another good example of someone who loves the details and this piece is full of them. Thank you Michelle, it's beautiful and I love it! If you haven't seen her artwork you can check her out here.

Wow it feels like forever since I posted anything really news worthy on here, so glad to share these beauties! Stay tuned, tomorrow is white wednesday...

Thanks for stopping by ~ Theresa xoxo

Happy Valentines Day to All!!!

We are getting ready to take the kiddies ice skating... (I'm packing pillows for my behind... wish me luck!) I hope your day is filled with love and special moments with those you love.
Theresa xoxo

Around the house on White Wed.

A little doll assemblage befitting any shabby castle... My kids think she's creepy but I just love how she turned out, I mean just look at that face! When I make this kind of stuff that's when they begin to worry. (In fact I think I heard them whispering in the other room about an art intervention)
This banner hangs in our living room, it shows what is ablsolutely most important to me. The picture above is actually a card table. When I find things like this I marvel at how once upon a time people took the most ordinary item and turned it into something pretty. love it.

Perfect white contribution... My parents wedding photo, I know I'm bias but They Are Gorgeous! I was lucky enough to wear my moms dress at my wedding. I love my dads white tux, so hollywood!

This is my mom at a young age with my grandparents.

I love finding tureens with or without the lid, don't get me wrong I get way too excited in a public place when the lid is along for the ride but I know I'm gonna fill them with stuff anyway so it's not always necessary.

This cabinet is in my bathroom and was given to me by a good friend because it was too primitive for her. It was gray when I got it and I painted it white. It's extremely heavy and when I hung it up (alone) if someone would have been filming me do so they could have sent it in to a show titled worlds stupidest ideas on tape! I am extremely impatient when it comes to decorating... ok when it comes to seeing my ideas come to fruition... and don't always wait for the help I really need. (another post where I reveal yet another of my idiosincricies, this is really getting out of hand!) Back to the photo, The silver ice bucket holds very important items, my makeup! I am at the delicate age that I DO NOT go out of the house without this stuff unless I am in the mood to really frighten people. I'm just saying.

This last one isn't about the pretties on the mantel, I've shown you those before, it's about trying to pick out the perfect neutral colors to paint over the blue on the wall behind it and the two rooms with the wallpaper I have wanted gone since we moved in. Who would think picking a good white would be so hard? There are a dozen or so more paint chips on the other rooms walls... I don't want any yellow in it and am leaning toward the color of an old crock with the trim a soft white... wish me luck and if you have any favorites I'd love to hear what they are.

I think my children might be thinking this is the latest art project and will be calling on that intervention very soon so the quicker I get this paint picked out the better! There are so many cool white wednesday posts to check out so hop on over to Faded Charm and go visiting, you won't be disappointed. Happy Wednesday ~ Theresa xoxo


p.s. I could have taken a photo of outside my window to show you why my kids have the day off from school and are playing wii at 10:30 in the morning, that is truly a white wednesday, it's sunny and absolutely beautiful, I can't wait to go for a walk later! I gotta remember to take my camera along.

O.K. just one more...

I gotta add one more Fabulous giveaway... Fawn from Patina Soul is having a truly amazing one that I just found out about so get on over here and check her out! You will NOT want to miss this! That's it for tonight, sweet dreams ... Theresa xoxo

A Heartfelt THANK YOU and giveaway love...

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet comments on my silver post and my silver wishbone. I am touched, truly touched. So many of you let me know you cared and that is what I love about blogging. We don't even know eachother and here you are sending me bloggy love. It meant more to me than I can say adequately. So Thank You.

Now I NEED to tell you all that there are some amazing ladies having giveaways this week, I have them all posted on my sidebar so you are just a click away from entering in some more bloggy love! These are some wonderful prizes (I can't believe I'm opening my big mouth and telling you all about them!) A beautiful necklace from Rebecca, an original altered piece from Michelle, a secret creation from Dawn, and a Antropologie gift card from Heidi... I'd be happy with just one of these prizes! So go on over to the sidebar and click away!!!
And again thank you for showing me so much bloggy love, Theresa xoxo

Happy Silver Sunday #6!

Strapped myself to the chair at my desk for a while and finally have a little someone to list on etsy... this paper bird is made from perfectly aged book pages from a vintage childrens book and stuffed and is resting on a silver plated salt shaker. I think he's perfect for silver sunday as he is carrying a glass glitter silver heart and what looks to be a diary key.
He is even sprinkled with silver mica flakes! (He really wanted to fit in at the party!)

Here is a close up of his paper nest and the rhinestone bling that he knew would be the perfect decoration for the party...

I found this silver wish bone at the thrift store on Friday. It has special meaning to me as Friday was the one year anniversary of my moms death. She loved wishbones and my dad has kept one that she saved on the windowsill above the kitchen sink all this time. She must have been letting it dry out so they could snap it together. I hadn't noticed it there until a few months after she was gone and when I did I was comforted to see it there. So on friday after my sister and I went to the cemetary we went thrifting (my mom would have loved that we found a garage sale in the winter) and then after Molly had to go home I still had some time left while I waited for John so I went to one more... and found this.

How perfect. Not that I need 'things' to remember my mom, I think of her everyday and miss her more, but this was a special find on this day.

Thank you to Beth for hosting these Silver Sundays, I have had fun participating and really learned a great deal about silver pieces I never knew existed! She is going to keep this going so come along for the party! ~ Theresa xoxo

A quick upcycle project...

This is an easy upcycle project I did this BTB so I'm going to talk you through the steps but sorry no before and after pics. I'm going to let you guess what this item started out as... I added the chalkware bird, and the little gold balls. (which by the way wasn't my best idea, I'd suggest using little wooden balls or something unbreakable... if you catch my drift!) Painted it white but it was too stark for me and so I antiqued it with craft paint antiquing glaze. After your coat of paint is dry I painted the antiquing glaze on in small sections and then wiped some of it off. If you haven't used glaze before you kinda have to work fast or it will dry and you won't be able to get the aged look your looking for. Do you know what it was yet? Do you know what it is now?

Yup, it was an old floor lamp! You can find these all over the place in the summer at garage sales, most of the time the old ones are rusty and don't work anymore, no worries... just wash them give them a little sanding with some steel wool, strip the wires from them, if you cut the wires they will pull out easily most of the time. Spray paint and you got your base! Now antique, if you like that look, I do when I want the details of the piece to stand out. Find a fabulous topper and glue it on. The top of this lamp would have held a large lightbulb so I just squeezed the glue around the perimeter of the base of that, I used E6000 but even silicone caulk will do.

Mine is actually covered in winter coats right now, these pictures were taken before I found the cabinet that now holds the aprons. I'm linking this to Transformation Thursday over at The Shabby Chic Cottage so for more cool transformations go over there and check everybodys ideas out!

Honestly I can't believe today is Thursday already and not just any Thursday either, today is my son Johns' 21st birthday! Everytime my kids have a birthday I think 'how did that happen?' I mean I CAN'T be old enough to have kids in their 20's!!!!! ugh! Not only that but when they get older you know what happens? THEY MOVE OUT:( I miss the two of mine that have already flown the nest and Cam will be leaving in the fall. Really I say How Did That Happen a lot these days! So John is coming home from school tomorrow to have a little time with us and that makes me sooooo happy! We'll have dinner and you know what one of his favorite things to do is? Thrifting!!!! How lucky am I? We might just have time to stop at his favorite Salvation Army on our way home from the bus station. :) I hope your having a fabulous day! Thanks for stopping by, Theresa xoxo