Junk 2 Jewels Boutique

Porject Decorate/Antique Settee

This is what's been keeping me from all the things I should be doing. I found  her here for a  song. I'll be putting her in my newly redecorated office! She is over 100 yrs old and in desperate need of some love. I've stripped all the piping and have begun to sand her beautifuly carved frame. I think I'll be doing the frame in white and tomorrow will be searching for a fun, funky, bright fabric that will go perfectly in my office. Of course I'll bring home a few choices to ask your openion about. So check back soon, Im gonna need your help as usual. lol. Oh, check out the carving on these legs!

 

Project decorate

                             ( images not my  own)

After visiting Country Living on line, I discovered  the incredible artist that is responsible for these  designs. I LOVE the bright colors and the  vintage yet modern feel. Her name is Sandy Stone. Apparently I'm having a real color crisis! I'm  craving bright bold colors and lots of them! lol. I found inspiration just in time for my office re-do. Ordinarily I  would have waited until  it was all finished and show you the finished  results. But, I  thought it  would be fun to have you along for the entire project. So...........now that you've seen my inspiration, I'll share the first purchases and plans for them.

These are some of the fabrics that I'll be using. Greens, teals, black and white damask, orange and pink. There are still a few fabrics I plan on ordering before making my final choices. These are a good start though.

I Love these modern lamps I picked up  here.  My plans are to use the fabrics in the previous picture, and cover them in  strips of the different  varieties of patterns. As you can see  I'm starting from scratch here. Next up is the piece I bought last week at the barn sale.....

Its a ......., a..............., it's a chippy, peely, canopy thingy! yeah, a canopy thingy. Really I have no idea what to call it but I loved it and had to have it. I'll  make it work! Hubby built me some new shelves for much needed storage. The shelves are really what initiated the whole re-design project. I have just sort of thrown thing s on the shelves and need to shop for the perfect storage containers. Thats the fun part of getting organized. The  white metal folding table was another barn sale purchase, as was the teal cupboard door.

I thought it would be fun to have you all along on this design project. I welcome  any ideas or suggestions  So please bring them on! lol  I will be doing tutorials on each project like the lampshades so stay  tuned!

Pillow Talk

Ever since I saw this picture (love the pillow), on Tara's blog, I've been dying to brush the dust off the sewing machine and get the  motor reved up! It has been  too long since I've created with needle and thread. I recently cleaned out my office closet and had tossed a ton of fabric. But I had quite a few stacks of fat quarters.....hmmm not enough for a pillow unless....it was patchwork. Combining  designs from Heather Bailey and Amy Butler seemed a perfect match. In the end, I've decided the ties at the top are too long  so I'll cut them in half and add them to the top for an  additional closure. Geesh... sometimes I wish I didn't have such an artists eye! lol. I have a fun day planned today of shopping at the barn sale. It will be nice to see those fun gals again. I'm hoping to find some one of a kinds for my office re-do. I have been saying it for a long time, but I'm serious now. Hubby has just finished a whole wall shelving unit for my office. I'm off to a good start! I'll let ya know what I find. Happy Friday everyone!

Same time every year

Hubby made me this extra large plate rack for the dinning room for Christmas. He is quite handy with a hammer and nail. If I can dream it he can build it! I have always admired this one every time I visit my friend Kristi's house...

  This  is a picture taken at the same time as this post that I didn't  use.. Her rack is in a little receiving room off the dining room, which is filled with other beautiful pieces.  I have always wanted a special place for my plates and after coveting this rack for years, I now have my very own. lol. finishing it was no trouble. I just  used craft paint from Michaels, and Brown umber pigment found at Home Depot. This time of year always spurs the decorating bug in me. I'm in the middle of turning an  old coffee table into an upholstered bench, and dreaming of long flowing panels of linen hanging room my living room windows!

Fall Entry Table

I try to decorate my entry table for each season with a mix of decorations that will make everyone happy. It seems silly I know.  Miss Morgan insists on traditional kiddie decorations ( and rightly so ),  while I avoid those at all cost and go for the more  traditional items.  Robbie's only request is a large quantity of candy! LOL.   The fact that I'm not a huge fan of Halloween only complicates  the issue,  so to find a collection that makes everyone happy is quite an accomplishment! I think  I did it though. I'm quite happy with the way this turned out.

Remember when you first saw these  here   ........

   

Well, I'm making more for fall!!!. I'm working on an entire line of  Holiday "Home Charms". They are great hanging from the knobs of a secretary desk, wall hooks, door knobs, on the front door wreath, as Christmas tree ornaments,  Anywhere! The display for the fall collection is in the works, I'll share more next week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Shabby and Romantic "Home"

Need a little shabby romantic look to "Glam" up the homestead? For  any of you who  are not familiar with my "Home Banners" let me tell you a little bit about them. Each Piece is collaged out of  vintage papers, including wallpaper, sheet music, ledgers, and handwritten notes. Vintage mother of pearl buttons and tea stained lace are used as well.  All this is then sandwiched between  glass and soldered together. A chandelier crystal dances  from the  bottom of each letter. Each piece is then attached to an aged chain at the top for easy hanging and then   gobs of silk ribbons and lace is added. Unique and defiantly a one of a kind. This one will be for sale in my Etsy store  if you are interested in it.

On a totally different note..... I want to wish you all a wonderful and safe Labor Day! The temperates here is Southern California are still well into the triple digits. The kids have been kept in at recess for several days now, so we are headed to a cooler climate. High Sierras, here we come! I LOVE getting away and camping.....well not real camping, this kind of camping....

My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this Summer and this was our gift to each other.  Cant you just see us traveling to all sorts of fun Antique shows and markets in this? LOL

"Glamin up" the Bathroom

I Adore Vintage linens. Even more if they are monogrammed!!  They are not too easy to find, which makes the find that much sweeter. I will hang  these over my fluffy white hand towels  in the bathroom.  There are a few other "gems" I'm looking for to complete the "glamed up country look" for my bathroom, but I think I'm off to a good start. Oh,.. and yes,  thanks for asking, I'll be putting up the new sterling, crown heart necklace in my Etsy store  later this morning.

" My Look" in pictures

This long and rather narrow hallway leads from the formal living/dining room and entry way of  my house to the back of the house where the family room and kitchen are.  An open stairwell is opposite this wall so it is not as closed off as you would think.  There  seems to be many opinions about displaying photos in the home. I'm from the school of thought that  It's entirely fine to display family  pictures on a picture wall, table top or anywhere you want , provided a few simple rules are followed....

#1.  Pictures on a wall must either sit on an imaginary horizontal line at the bottom of the frame ( as mine do) or, be  hung to the same height on the same  imaginary horizontal line.

#2.   All of the pictures should be unified, weather its by material, be it silver, by color, texture, or Feel.

#3.  Size and shape should vary for interest.  Visual symmetry is a must.

#4. The picture itself should not compete with the  decor or the frame. (I  love black and white or the hand colored look).

I'm not done with this wall by any means, but I do think I'm well on my way. Everyone who  passes by this wall for the first time comments on how it reflects  my style and personality. Aahhhh...Mission accomplished.

Where I found my frames:  Yard sale ( the two to the far left),  Antique store ( middle one with no picture in it),  Stien Mart (small ones to the  left of  large antique frame),  Magnolias, ( a boutique  store here in town).  Quote at the top of the  wall was purchased from Wallwords.