Friday, May 28, 2010

Horses & Aprons & Fairs (oh my)

This is just a post about 3 random items...

#1: Horses) While driving today my daughter and I passed a farm with this unusual horse. I've never seen anything like it... and I've been to 2 county fairs and a football game!

It was just gorgeous. What kind is it??

#2: Aprons) In my recent garage saleing I've been lucky enough to find lots of aprons. Here are a few pictures of my finds. I'd like to tell you just how many aprons I now have in my collection but then someone might report me and I would end up on the show "Hoarders" and I'd have to cry on TV and it would all get very ugly...

This organdy apron and the "Mod" one above were 10 cents each. My kinda garage sale...

This one was a quarter and is very similar to the one my Grandma Anna used to wear!

I paid $2 for this one and I love the "sweetheart" neckline. It is homemade.

Daughter #1 found this one for me for Christmas. She embellished it with eyelet lace.

Daughter #2 purchased this one for me on line for my birthday. I love the little girls with their umbrellas!

But this one is my very most favorite apron that I wear most everytime I cook. It is a Mother's Day gift from my MIL I received a few years back. I love the lime green color and the flouncey skirt at the bottom. It is so feminine.


#3: Fairs)

I'll bet you don't have one of these festivals in YOUR town!
Happy Memorial Day!
rosie

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Small Pink "Blanket?"



I made a quick dash into the thrift store last week and found lots of PINK and LOTS of vintage linens. They are in the wash now but I'll show you some later. I always hit the baby section in search of vintage baby blankets and there, I snapped this little thing up!





I couldn't resist that fat little cat with the ribbon around his neck. (Even if I don't like real cats!)



Notice the tag: "SMALL BLANKET." I didn't pay much attention to it. After all, most baby blankets ARE small but I use them as lap-throws so they work for me.



When I got it home and unrolled it ,it was no bigger than 20" x 24"! It would barely cover one leg! I think it is 100% wool and had been washed. Does anyone know if I can soak it and stretch it out again??? I've done that with cotton items but never with wool. Any ideas?



This little kitty is playing with a ball of green yarn. He's so cute and puffy!





Even at it's present size, it would still make a very sweet wall hanging for the cottage.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Rummage finds!


I just wanted to share a few goodies with you. I got this pretty little dish for a dime. It's only 3" wide but is perfect for holding my rings when I do the dishes.


I know it's chipped but I couldn't help falling in love with the little blue birdies landing so delicately on the tree. (click on the photo for a larger picture.)

Look at this adorable pendant! It actually started out as a keychain but after I found a nice silver chain to put it on, it started a new life. I just love the doe, so demure, in her apron.

Here is a stack of tiny "plates". I think they are coasters...well, at least that's what I'm using them for. They come in their own holder. Again, with the little birdies!

Two metal bed trays, you know, the kind that you can get breakfast in bed with? Each has a lovely sketch of the Eiffel Tower with the words "Paris Au Printemps" at the bottom. Anyone know what that means? I don't!


This last prize I got at an antique store for $8. Not exactly Garage Sale price, but when you figure out the price per card, it was well worth it! A box of 8 vintage New Baby cards! The graphics are precious. I've already sent out two of them.



HAPPY HUNTING!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Mother's Day! I just have to brag on my kids and say that they are the BEST a mom could ever wish for! I was in bed all day with a toothache (root canal coming this friday...ugh.) but the kids made breakfast for me and still brought me gifts. The flowers above are from my two teens. They said they will plant them in my garden for me as soon as I tell them where.



My "little" girl (18yrs and 4" taller than me!) made this beautiful crystal necklace for me in all my favorite colors...pink, pearl, silver and crystal. It SPARKLES!


My "big" girl (27yrs and 4" SHORTER than me...) made me this beautiful clock to hang in the cottage! She hand painted it from a photo of our Pondicherry Cottage. Isn't it perfect?



Here is the cottage, an old photo before we even had the porch redone:


And here is a close-up of the clock:


Didn't she do a great job?! She had to paint "around the tree" in the front yard to get the entire house in. It looks exactly like the real thing!



I've got one more special gift to show you. A sweet new friend, that is a regular at my thrift store, gifted me with a garage-sale-find. She said that when she saw it she knew it would go PERFECTLY in my house...and it DOES!

Look at this pretty little thing! Pink and rosey, it fits "just right" at my bedside. You are a SWEETHEART, Glennette! Thank you!

I think she said she paid a whopping $2 for it! That makes me love it even more!

Okay, just one more thing...I stopped at a yardsale on Fri and they were just setting up. "The sale really starts tomorrow, but you can look. Just ask if you don't see a price."



There were people digging through everything! With each item I picked up, the lady would say,"That's a quarter." She'd look at her friend and say "We are NOT taking this stuff home!"
I don't think I've ever been to a sale where "Early Birds" were encouraged!



I got a couple of really cute summer tops, some old Disney videos, an antique parasol and the tree skirt pictured below...



Now you are either gonna HATE it or LOVE it. I LOVE it and it will go under my tree next year. A few felt pieces are missing but easy enough for me to replace.

But it's the sequins and the ric-rac that I go GA-GA for! This picture doesn't do it justice. Click on it for a larger view. It really glitters! I also got an antique wash stand for a buck, but that will have to go in another post.

Happy Mexican Mother's Day today! ('specially to mi mama y mi hermanas!)



Love Rosie

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

How to Repair Old Plaster Frames

I like to buy antique frames but alot of the time they are damaged, with parts of the plaster detail missing. Usually, I don't mind. It adds character to the piece. Recently, I purchased this nice old mirror. It had only a couple of bits missing from the frame so I thought I'd try my hand at an easy repair.

I went to my son's stash of modeling clay for a couple of blobs of Sculpey. (I use this for lots of cosmetic repairs on china and ceramics.)
There was a rope-like piece of plaster missing from around the edge of the frame so I took the blue Sculpey and pressed it into an existing part of the rope making a mold. (It doesn't matter what color Sculpey you use. I just used contrasting colors for the purpose of this demonstration.)

Then I baked it to make it hard. Sculpey bakes at 200 degrees, 15 min per 1/4" thickness. This tiny piece (and the others that follow) took about 20 min.
When it was cooled, I took a piece of soft red Sculpey and pressed it into the now hard blue mold.
I carefully lifted it out and, using a scissors, I trimmed it to fit the void in the frame.


Then it was time for this piece to bake.
When it was cooled, I glued it into place with Tacky Glue.

I let it dry overnight.


The next day I got out my paints and set out to make it all blend in....
I used to be a photo-retoucher back in the days before PhotoShop, so I'm pretty good with color matching....

At the same time, I replaced a larger piece missing from the scroll-work at the top of the mirror. Here, you can see the brown base color before I added the top layer of gold paint. (This piece had to be molded by hand because the corresponding scroll on the opposite side would have molded backwards...I learned this through trial and error! My dyslexic mind couldn't figure that out until I tried to make the mold!)
After the brown base color had dried, I lightly brushed some gold tone paint over it to blend in with the rest.
It wasn't a perfect match, but from a distance, it will do!
Here is the larger patch getting the "Midas touch."



Here you can clearly see the patch but when I got the mirror hung, it was virtually invisible. You couldn't find it unless you were looking for it.
(See arrow)

This is the first time I've tried this and it really was a simple fix. I am pleased with the results. The only thing I would do differently is to blend the patches a little better.
Good luck with your own attempt! It really was easy with Sculpey!