Boy do I have lots of sweet new goodies for spring! This winter I took some time away from my regular line of broken china jewelry to create some exciting new designs with some fabulous vintage materials....I dove into my collection of vintage photos, reproduced some of them, then had a ball adding some fun text to them and incorporating them into some fresh new designs. (I knew I was collecting those vintage photos for a reason!)
How cute is she?!
artwork & photos copyright 2009
Those classic vintage photos. They just catch my eye and I have to save each and everyone of them. I can't help it, my computer is filled with them. I often wish we still had those clothes and those hairdos. And that special way of photographing. Sure, every digital camera on the market today can probably take such pictures, but still. it's not the same, is it.
Here's a little (!) peek at my collection.
Hugs, Bettina
I'm Kind Of A Big Deal...
artwork and photo copyright Laura Beth Love
I'm excited to offer a new category for Limited Edition Art Jewelry on my website. This category encompasses those one of a kind creations that don't quite fit in any of my other categories and in a nutshell can be described as a little bit of this and a little bit of that!
Here is where you will find unique and unusual jewelry designs that incorporate vintage photos as well as some vintage advertising art, plus some mixed media and altered art jewelry. Some of the items included in this section are early designs that I made a while back but never had the time to photograph until now! Be sure to stop in and take a peek!
Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.
E.B. Browning
I have great parents. I mean, really great, Totally in love and fully committed to each other, God and their three daughters. Not only that, they are tons of fun.
In early September, my sisters and I threw a 40th wedding anniversary celebration for them and it was so much fun to plan! The party was held at the country club my parents belong to, Saucon Valley Country Club, which is absolutely breathtaking. My wedding reception was also there, and I have pics of my hubs and me in that very courtyard above in all of our wedding finery (do people say"finery" anymore, or have I been working with the elderly a bit too much lately?). They do a top-notch job on all their events, and this was no exception! My sisters took care of the order of events for the evening, which included a roast of my parents by one of my uncles (stinkin' hilarious, I tell you), a special song sung for them by David Felty, a family friend and broadway musician, and a dance to their wedding song played by Lou Lanza and his band. They got the hard part (at which they are amazing!), but I got to do the fun stuff: the decorations!
The welcome table housed an old window on which I wrote the guest's names and seating arrangements. I absolutely loved the way this turned out and added just the right touch of vintage. I also included three cute photos on canvas from different decades in their marriage, a guest book where each guest was encouraged to leave a note or a memory, their wedding album, and a bouquet of dried lavender.
I used this method for making the canvases and they turned out awesome. My only wish was that I used matte Mod Podge, instead of glossy, but I just didn't have time to run out and buy it. If you're going to attempt this, buy the matte kind!
The invitations were Tiffany blue and chocolate brown, so I wanted to use that color scheme in the centerpieces. My sister, Chrissie, and I toyed around with a bunch of different centerpiece ideas, but finally settled on using dried lavender from the Peace Valley Lavender Farm. We loved the subtle light blue color, the rustic, organic texture of the stalks and the smell, which was heavenly! We placed coffee beans in the bottom of simple vases, cut the stems of the lavender to the appropriate height and then placed the bouquet in the vase. Finally, I wrapped the vase with a brown grosgrain ribbon. We bought round mirror chargers form Michael's that reflected the light of the votive candles we placed around the vase. The centerpieces were very simple, but oh so pretty, and we were thrilled that we could incorporate a local Bucks County product into the decor!
Some of the fun details…
Mmmm…sangria. I prefer the white wine sangria, in case you were wondering.
We told our guests that they should expect heavy hors d' oeuvres, but we ended up having a pasta bar which was a blast and so delicious! Guests could choose their pasta, alfredo or marinara sauce and a variety of toppings like crabmeat, scallops, chicken, green peppers, onions, artichokes, olives and more. Perfect!
Because of all the miserable rain we had prior to the party, we weren't able to use the courtyard, so most of the party was held on the terrace where the band played and the guests danced.
Can't forget the cake!
All in all, it was a beautiful night of celebrating an inspiring couple. Here's to 40 more!
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Please don't forget to head over to Sew Dang Cute to place your vote for the best fabric project. We are only one step away from the final round, so we need every vote we can get!
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Happy Monday!
*Thanks to Steph and Ammon Perry,, for taking the photos for us!
When a close friend asks you to help re-do their bubble-gum pink, non-descript guest room, you can't say no. You almost feel like you need to stage a design intervention immediately. Everyone has a room like this one: a forgotten catch-all guest room/play room/ exercise room/ office. We decided that it was our duty to save the world (and Connie and Mark's parents!) from this room so we spruced the place up a bit. I mean, anything would have been better than that color pink, and we were game for the challenge. So.without further ado, here's our first official SuperFab Room Redesign!
Update: Welcome YHL Readers!
For the Stencilled Wall Tutorial and Paint colors click HERE
To see the room with and without accessories click HERE
For the Shutter Headboard Tutorial click HERE
Yay! Doesn't it look incredible? Over the next few days we'll be posting the tutorials on everything you see in the rooms, but for now, let's take a look at some beauty shots, huh? Obviously, the scene-stealer is the multi-colored houndstooth stenciled wall. This was a definite labor of love (we even called in some backup assistance), but it makes a huge impact in the room, don't you think? We love the mix of the classic houndstooth pattern with the modern color scheme. It definitely set the tone for the rest of the room: mixing old with new. We'll be posting a tutorial next week, but if you want to get a jump start on your own, you can visit Royal Design Studio to get this amazing stencil for yourself!
Just take it all in, people.: ) Another fav is the headboard we made out of old shutters (or are they doors? Not sure!) we found at our favorite salvage place, Architectural Antiques. We needed something that would stand out from the wall, command attention, and add some character and and this baby does that. Gorgeous!
Another fun part of the design for us was coming up with a unique way to showcase Connie's collection of old family photos. This gallery wall is super simple and allows the photos to be the main focus. We can't wait to tell you how we did it, so you can try it too. And now you know what the gears were for!: )
Connie & Mark had this dresser that we knew we could make fabulous with some paint and new hardware, so that saved us some big bucks! That blue may be one of our all-time favorite colors and changed this dresser from one that was ready to be kicked to the curb, to something that they'll never want to part with!
This little vignette makes us super happy, because not only is it adorable, but it's totally functional, as well. Since this is their guest room, we made sure to add some towels and an extra blanket to the cart to make their guests feel at home. An $8 industrial cart never looked so good! The metal cubby shelf was a great find from HomeGoods that completes this corner of the room.
And a room makeover is nothing without accessories. Pulling together all of these items was our idea of a good time, and they make a world of difference. We'll show you the proof this week, trust us.
We're already planning a sleepover at Connie and Mark's.; ) We hope you enjoyed our makeover! Be sure to stop back over to see all the juicy DIY details in the next few days. Oh yeah, one more thing: You can see a whole lot more of our DIY escapades on our projects page!
And don't forget that Monica is in the running to be the New Face of Proctor & Gamble Home! Please head over and vote for her. You can vote once a day, now through October 3rd. We know voting things can be a pain, but this one is simple and man, winning would Rock our World! So thanks so much!
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These used to be spoons!
Earrings I made from antique spoon handles
I 'll admit it, I have a hard time throwing pretty things away, even if it is something that is considered "scrap."
After making a spoon bracelet out of a pair of orphaned antique silver plated spoons I found myself left with the cut off bowl-ends of the spoons — and they had such a pretty filigree design on the neck (the thin part of the spoon that connects the handle to the bowl) that I just had to make something out of them...
....so I removed the bowl of the spoon and kept the thin, ornate necks and transformed them into these one of a kind earrings! (click photos for larger images)
(total measurement 1/4" wide by 2 & 1/4" long including sterling ear-wires and Swarovksi crystal drops )
I added sterling wires and pearls to this pair
Antique silver spoon earrings with pearl drops
What do you think of them?
When we bought our house, there were several outbuildings scattered throughout the property. There was the old sheep barn that was collapsing in beyond repair, there was an aluminum shed, a quirky wood shed, a pole barn, the barn with the guest quarters, and the sauna (pictured above).
The old sheep barn, the aluminum shed and the quirky wood shed all got hauled away to the rebuild it center. The rest we kept, including the sauna.
I'll give you a quick tour. It's a small two room sauna that reminds me of the old rustic camps I use to visit in Maine.
I can tell you that Hubby was beyond thrilled when he discovered this building on our first tour of the property and imagined sitting in here after a long day of skiing. The above room is the changing room and has lots of old vintage towel racks, old hooks, a little vanity and benches to sit on.
Even Lucy was excited about the sauna. Here she is taking in the ambiance of the old steam room. Aren't the benches classic? And see the old shower faucet hanging from the cross beam?
But Hubby's dream came to a screeching halt when the house inspector warned us that the above water tank was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. In other words, don't use the sauna in its current incarnation — ever.
Hubby had ideas to update the system but when we realized that all of the wood in the steam room had been coated with urethane, we knew we'd have to reside the whole interior as to not get high on toxic fumes. The charred wall was also a deterrent — obviously the barrel stove was a fire hazard.
So it sat.
Until one day a couple of winters ago, we put my old treadmill in the changing area and started using the space as a workout room. And that's when we decided that the building would serve us much better as a home gym than a sauna.
Let me just say that we're not gym people. We know this because we bought gym memberships a year ago this month and pretty much never went. This was mostly due to the inconvenience of driving into town all the time. When we did go, all we used were the treadmill (which I had at home) and the elliptical machine (which we just bought).
So instead of renewing our very costly gym membership, we've decided to use the funds to create a home gym, conveniently located within walking distance from the house. We'll be tearing out the wall in the middle in order to create a large one room space so that both the treadmill and the elliptical machine will fit side by side. These will go where the steam benches are now.
We'll insulate the vaulted ceiling, perhaps add a sink since there's already an existing water line, and paint everything white. We have some extra tongue and groove flooring left over from the porch, which we'll use to cover up the concrete floor. We'll paint the floors historic gray as they already have primer on them. We also plan to replace the plywood door with the old french exterior door we removed from the main house.
So that's the plan but I can't say for sure when the cosmetic stuff will happen! But I'll keep you posted!
AFTER PHOTOS HERE!
I totally want to fill my cabinets with vintage white and cream-colored dishes...
photos from arcobaleno
Did you guys know that Monica and I love discovering and studying small businesses, right? We both have owned our own businesses, and now run this blog which has turned into a small business in it's own right. We find it fascinating to watch people do what they love to do and turn their gifts into a fulfilling career! There's just something so inspiring about the whole thing. A few weeeks ago, I gave you a peek into my dining room complete with three new fabulous light fixtures from Lucent Lampworks. We thought it would be fun to let you in on what it's like behind the scenes with Brad at his home, and how we both fell in love with a few lights for our own homes.
This is Brad. (and his adorable daughter, Lia)
He is not an electrician. He is not a trained lighting designer. He is a self-proclaimed tinkerer with a creative side who one day decided to make a few custom lights for friends and family as Christmas gifts when money was tight. He opened an Etsy shop, had a sale a few days later and is now creating fabulous light fixtures out of old barn pulleys, found items and whatever gets his creative juices flowing for people all around the world. People, this guy is seriously talented. Since 2010, his lights have been showcased in the following awesome places: *Extreme Makeover Home Edition — Beautiful New Home in Texas that aired in 2012 *The Winter Collection Catalog for Stylish Home Magazine — www.stylishhome.com
*History Channel show — Abandoned — aired August 2012
*Featured in Soulemama.com
*Food Channel — Restaurant Takeover — Canadian version airing this fall!
Monica and I went to visit his little"shop" in his basement to see how he does it all and quickly realized how out of our element we were when Brad started talking about all the old reproduction wiring, vintage plug ends and exposed sockets.: ) But what we did know was that Brad was passionate about that stuff and it showed in his work.
Brad styles all the photos of his lights himself and has an incredible set up. See all those different backgrounds? He makes most of them himself so that his lights pop against them.
He doesn't mess around with lighting his"sets" either. Every thing this guy does is done right.
See what I mean? We got a few ideas for creating backgrounds for our finished projects, so, thanks, Brad!; )
Cage light anyone?
Monica got two of these gorgeous green enamel shades made for her. You have to wait for Spring to see what she did with them, but they are incredible!
I had to get my cheesy pic with that cobalt blue beauty and Monica was totally digging this glass cylinder pendant.
And, in case you're wondering, this trip to his shop was where I first spotted the white, enamel pendant light that is now proudly living above my dining room table.
I also spotted this cage light which inspired the industrial cage light sconces that flank the art in that same room. Brad took my idea, researched and found cages from the early 1900's and turned them into awesome sconces. I loooooove them!
Isn't that amazing? We strongly encourage you to take at a look at Brad's shop to see what other awesomeness he has going on there. You will not meet a nicer guy and he'd be happy to help you create the light of your dreams (please tell me I'm not the only one who dreams about lighting…) Oh yeah, one more thing just for you guys! You can get 10% off your order at Lucent Lampworks by using the coupon code EC2tenoff! You're welcome! Do any of you have a small business? Leave us a comment with the name so we can check it out! It's one of our favorite things to do!
When looking for inspiration, internet is an endless source. However, sometimes it's hard to know where to look. Therefore, I wanted to share with you some of the places I turn to for inspiration, starting with Etsy. Etsy is a vibrant marketplace, offering millions of unique handmade and vintage items. It's a treasure trove for creative and original things, and I love browsing through the inspiring photos.
Image: glassdeer
Image: vintagemarvels
Image: Luncheonettevintage
Image: AMradio
Image: flattirevintage
