Pretty Little Things

Here are some 'Pretty Little Things' growing around my house....... kiss me pink flowers, orange bead berries, speckled pecan shells, and glistening green figs.

 A sweet little birdhouse on my fence post and this one branch is bright red. Maybe the bird is an artist!

 Fork & Spoon dilemma, I have this great picture set of fork and spoons and I have super sized fork and spoon that I want to place somewhere near the pictures. I am leaning toward putting them on top of them, but do I face them in or out?  The wall is very tall, but it has angles that vary and this was the best place visually to place the pictures, eye level. I moved them all around and this worked for me.

Why am I decorating? I should be painting something!!!!

Illusions of wood & rope

Just a little neat idea that actually worked, involving roped wood trim. When you need an edge to a tiled counter top and you are on a budget, this works! I took wooden rope trim that you can buy at the hardware store and painted it to match the tile color in the kitchen. I attached it to the counter with liquid nails, then I grouted it when I grouted the rest of the counter top. Unlike regular tile pieces that has sections about 12 inches apart or less, this has a continuous flow. I LOVE IT! It looks just like tile. It is much more affordable as well.

 Pretty with the sink and faucet!

 Kitty says it is Puuuuuurfect!

Oh, I has some left over, so I added it to one of my fireplace mantels. I also added these sweet little birds that are old home interior, they were brown and plastic, but now they have been re-purposed into carved wooden birds. Maybe I am an Illusionist, I make wood look like tile and plastic look like wood!

Dreams Do come True

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Heidi Grove Corbin, she has been reading all my posts and interacting with me and waiting, patiently....for my very over due posting. Thank you Heidi!

 A few years ago, I got these little green frogs from a friend. I loved them and knew I wanted to do something with them. They are fragile, so I wrapped them in a brown paper bag and stored them away. They made it through a move, got crammed in a box, tossed around, forgotten.....

 I recently rediscovered them when I was unpacking some things. When I looked at them, it hit me, I picked my kitchen wall color paint out, not even remembering these frogs, but they inspired me to go for that perfect green hue that I was so attracted to.

 It is all coming together, the green glass frogs, the green glass tiles, the green on the walls! Sometimes, you hold on to something for a long time because you are eventually going to put it to use for it's intended purpose. Don't give up on your initial ideas, as they are sometimes, the best ideas!

 You know I love roses....I love these vintage roses from Italy. So Precious!

 I found this old glass jar on a shelf in this house and I use it to hold my Sweet Tea! Yummy! As I sip my tea I want to share some wonderful new music I discovered. I love new fresh music and this group is so sweet.
They are called "The Littlest Birds" 
http://www.facebook.com/thelittlestbirds?sk=app_2405167945 

Tiling Kitchen Counter

I spent the past 3 days tiling the kitchen counters. It was a mixture of proudness, frustration and ah-ha moments. I am very proud of my accomplishment, but I didn't believe it would turn out as nice as it did while I was in the process. I was using a basic tile cutter and there is a fine line between not enough water and too much water. I got sparks with too little water and with too much water, I got sprayed with a mixture of water and tile shards. It gave new meaning to the word 'microdermabrasion.'

Ah-ha, I reap the rewards of my labor....I have a new tiled counter top that is very pretty and I can't believe that I actually did it!  I made mistakes and I will be even better at tile on my next project.

Don't you just love my tupper-ware mortar bucket! It was difficult lining up the diamonds and determining where to start the pattern.

I used a neutral beige tile and blended in green glass tiles for a decorative accent. I wanted to blend antiquity with modern elements such as the glass tiles and the brighter colors mixed into the counter top. I chose a design that I felt was elegant and subtle. A diamond pattern with a hint of color in a whimsical speckle of a floral motif, and a border of green glass tiles to frame it in. ( the big gaping hole is for the sink)

A diamond pattern is more challenging than square.

I am not showing the "Full Reveal" but you can see a glimpse of the countertops!

 

 

 

I want knobs to match the green, I have a few of the left over glass tiles and some old wooden knobs that came off the original cabinets, hmmmm. What can we do with this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cut them in half to form a narrow base and will paint them white, and glue the tiles on top. 

 

 

L@@k! new green glass knobs!

                                                                            

Countertop & Old School Tools

If you see my tools, you won't believe the work I have accomplished with them. I say it is 'OLD SCHOOL', but that is just a clever way of saying you don't have nice equipment or new skills! HaHa! The drill is electric, but it doesn't reverse, which is difficult when trying to work quickly. It will send the screws in, but if you have to back it out to get it in tighter, you have to use a regular screwdriver. I was driving in 3 inch wood screws! Eeeeek!

Things we can never find when we need them:
The right headed screwdriver
Measure tape
Hammer
Scissors
Wire Cutters

Get a tool box!!! Helloooo! That would be a start.


 Regardless, I get the job done, anyway, anyhow.....

 I wanted to extend the counter top to accommodate a dishwasher. So I built a frame, a top and a back splash to get it ready to tile.

 

I did re-use 2X4's, pulled the extremely long nails out of them.

I just absolutely can not wait to TILE!

All jacked up & dontcha think it's fate?

Interesting title? Well, let me explain, first of all, I just can't believe that I actually found faded pink roses in my yard! Look how sweet & beautiful they are!

The jacked up part? Oh, girls, you are gonna love this! Don't ever believe that just because you are a girl that you are limited by your abilities when it comes to strength. If you can't lift it yourself, think....what can you use? Your brain! What can lift a heavy item for you besides a strappin man, ( when there isn't one around)
A JACK! That is right, I actually pulled my car jack out to lift the cast iron kitchen sink out of it's place!

I used the paint bucket as a surface to jack up the sink!

Where did it go?

There it is...jacked up and moved out! Make way for a new light weight acrylic sink. Don't get me wrong, I love antique sinks, but this one was rusted and scratched and not pretty. I have plans to use it for a utility sink for rinsing brushes.

Vintage Halloween Ideas!

I am still working away on the house, but I thought I would share some of my front porch decorations. I love using different colors rather than the orange and black. I like the white pumpkins and even paint pumpkins soft pink for that shabby chic look.

This is a Cinderella Pumpkin and I love the greenish brown color. I didn't paint this one, because I plan on eating it when the season is over. These are so sweet and make the best Pumpkin Pies!