Vintage Brooch and Earring "Necklace"

I've been seeing lots of very expensive necklaces that look like they're made of old vintage brooches. Instead of buying a new one, I decided to make my own for a wedding we were attending this winter.

I hit up my local antique mall and started my hunt for the perfect old jewelry. I found one fantastic brooch and several sets of clip earrings. I purchased them and then began planning how I'd lay them out.

While Mom was visiting, we took a trip to the craft store to purchase a chain and some safety pins to attach all the jewelry on a necklace. Seems easy enough...


Except it wasn't. The jewelry didn't lay right and I had a terrible time attaching them all in the layout I had planned.

So what does a girl do? Understand, I'd pretty much planned my entire outfit around this necklace... (forgive the slightly blurry picture...it was taken at the wedding)

I pinned the suckers right to my dress. That way I was sure I liked the placement and they wouldn't fall out of place. I had a couple girls say they loved my dress and the bling sewn on. (HA! My trick must have worked...it was a $20 Target dress!)

Because I love the large brooch so much, I've worn it a couple more times just clipped on a chain. It looks great by itself too.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Here's to more projects in 2014!
Karli

I linked up to That DIY Party @ DIY Showoff 

 

Displaying Found Junk On A Patio Wall

You may remember in an earlier post the damage that was done to the roof of our garden shed when Dwight and I took down part of an aspen tree......well the weather has now improved so we decided to repair the damage that we caused.  We replaced a board and the roof shingles.  Fixing all of that meant that we needed to get to the inside walls of the shed, locating nails.  Needless to say, we found it necessary to empty the shed to get to those walls.

As we sorted through 30 years of stuff, I found some "junk" I had forgotten that I had.
It is all "family stuff" that I had hauled back from Oklahoma, knowing some day I would find a place for it.  Here is the saved stuff we uncovered in the shed.....


These are old cistern cups, used to bring water up out of a cistern or well. These were my Grandpa Ray's and had been used on the farm in Okla.

 

A rusty old saw blade and a gear.

                                     

These are a pair of rusty old hames, part of a harness which would have been used with horse drawn farm implements. These were Grandpa's too.

           

This is an old drawer front I found who knows where....... You can not see it but it has the letter "F" stamped on the front.
It will be great to hang BBQ stuff off of the handles, or not!!!

I hung all of this assorted "found junk" on the wall outside on the deck.  I already had the grapevine wreath hanging there, so I just incorporated it all for a unique display.

I bet I can truly say that no one else has a wall quite like ours!

           
I would love to add a pillow to the chair, but the squirrels have been known to destroy things on our deck.  I also need to re-stain the deck later when it gets a little warmer, but decorating this wall inspired me to look forward to spending time out here this summer. 

I want to try planting in the cistern cups, too......I think they would be great for succulent plants, like hens and chicks.  I have one more set of these that I'm saving for Karli.....she might want to do the same thing.  If nothing else, they are great conversation pieces!  Did you know what they were?

Happy Deck Time, Kandy

Put a Cork in it

As we're working on this joint blog, laughing and drinking wine (ok, maybe in a couple of hours) we're struck by the number of wine corks we possess between our two households. We both decorate with wine inspired decor and really love the look. So what do you do with all those corks?

Here are several ideas for using and displaying wine corks (and some other wine decor thrown in for good measure).

Vintage candy jars filled with a collection on open shelving in Kandy's house 

Corks cut in half, used as magnets on the fridge

Wall of wine with framed corks in Karli's dining room

Write significant memories on special corks and display in clear vase or basket

 

We've seen lots of clever ways to use and display all those corks. What are you favorite ways to reuse them?

~Kandy and Karli

French Country Bedroom

When Karli left home I boxed up all of her memorabilia and quickly turned her room into a vision of Black and White French Country. It is a little bit on the "girly" side but it is after all the guest bedroom now. Karli and her husband are welcome to come and stay  anytime they want. 

I think this room shows what can be done with a fairly small budget, several do-it-yourself projects, and some great finds. I do really love to paint furniture black. I started out by painting the oak headboard (probably a sin, but it works). It had been in the room since Karli was in Jr. High. I then found the tall dresser, vanity, and one table at garage sales. One little side table had been Karli's Grandmother's. I repaired as needed, sanded, and gave them all the same paint treatment....two coats of Krylon Flat Black spray paint, followed by 2 coats of Minwax Spray Polyurathane in Semi-Gloss.

The room began with the Black and White Toile Bedding purchased from Target. I made the checked pillow.

                                      
This wonderful old table was a garage sale find. The fabric covered bulletin board and lamp were found at Hobby Lobby. The small picture is of Karli's Grandmother (my mother) Doris Lee as a child and the clock and door knob collection are vintage. 

                                

This small old table came from Karli's Grandmother. The purse, gloves and hat are all vintage but the black hanging and two Eiffel Towers are Ross finds.

                               

The vanity is vintage as are the old make-up jars, tray, and black hand mirror. The large mirror on the wall came from Karli's Grandmother Lois.

                            
An assortment of old frames, an old Victorian picture and small reproduction dress forms from Hobby Lobby adorn the wall beside the dresser.

                               
The tall dresser is decorated with assorted "girly" stuff and a favorite of mine, a suitcase.
The vintage dress form also holds a special place in my heart!

                                        
My decorating projects never end...still on the list for the French Country room is to paint the window trim and doors white. Then I have matching Black and White Toile drapes I am going to remake to fit the windows. I'd also "love" to find an old crystal chandelier to hang in the center of the ceiling. Ooo La La!

~Kandy

Unique Recipe Storage

I realize that in this modern day and age most young cooks, my daughter included, merely pull up a recipe from online, but I, and probably anyone else born around the 1950's or before, still love their old recipe cards and cookbooks. I have numerous recipes I love. Some are so covered with smudges and stains that I can hardly read them. Some were neatly printed on cards as a new bride in the 1970's. Some came from a family member, neighbor, or church friend. They are all precious and take up a lot of room.

My storage solution is an old oak four drawer file cabinet. It actually holds more 3 x 5 recipe cards than I have. It sits on my kitchen countertop, holding all those old tried and true recipes just waiting for my next culinary adventure.

How do you store all your treasured recipes?

~Kandy

The Traveling Suitcases

I admit that I have a "thing" for suitcases. I can't seem to ever have enough. I have them in almost every room in my home, but they do more than look good--they hold stuff. Someday I would love to have a matched set that would stack as tall as I am! Until that time, I guess it could be said that I must have aspirations of traveling!

In the living room stacked high on top of the entertainment center.

On top of bookcases.

On the armoire in the bedroom.

On the dresser in the guest bedroom.

All of my suitcases are vintage and in good shape. I've picked them up through the years at auctions or flea markets. If they smell musty inside you can put a couple of dryer sheets (Bounce) in and leave for several days or sprinkling baking soda inside can also help.

~Kandy