Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Hi all,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Enjoy whatever you plan to do. We are having a big BBQ on Sunday!
Have a safe, and fun weekend!
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

Hot N' Cold, In N' Out, Up N' Down, Before N' After

Hi all, hope you had a nice weekend!
The title of my blog post says it all. I bought this lamp about a year and a half ago. For awhile I thought the old faded shades were kind of cool. Not anymore. So I had to do something about it. The lamp is old and has pretty pearls hanging from it. It looks quite French. The original shades were stripes, but very faded.
Here is a list of things that I did for this project.
I dyed some muslin in coffee and let it dry. I took one of the shades and traced the outline on paper to make a pattern for the new shades. When the muslin was dry I stamped on it with a large background stamp. Then I traced the pattern onto the fabric, and cut it out. I sprayed glue onto the shade and wrapped it in the muslin.
Let that dry, and trimmed them in crinkled ribbon. Now the shades are much more to my liking. They look more updated, and go with my ever changing decor.
Spray glue is a bit tricky, and doesn't smell very nice, so if you try this make sure to do the gluing outdoors.
Today turned into an impromptu project just for me.
Now it's back to my regular scheduled projects for others. Lamp shades and crown orders to take care of.
Have a lovely week.
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

Fun Finds!

Hi all!
As promised in the previous post, here are a few recent flea market and garage sale finds. The fabulous window came from a garage sale last Saturday.
The window was $20, and I hung it in my guestroom. The two feed sack pillows came from the Rose Bowl. As you know, I went there on Mother's Day. $65 for both, not bad.
The mirror also came from the Rose Bowl Mother's Day outing, $15. The little old black scale, recent garage sale $5, and the tiny little silver pitcher garage sale
.50cents.
Most Saturdays I'm out there treasure hunting with my daughter. It ends up that she loves the garage sales as much as I do. It's our little Saturday morning thing. This coming Saturday is her birthday, so let's hope she finds some great stuff.
Happy rest of your week!!
Chat soon.
Love,
Rosemary

More Shade!

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend!
Talk about shade, it's so gloomy, dreary, and cold today here is Sunny California.
It's very cold for May, and we are expecting some rain. Great for the flowers!!
I have been working on more lampshades as you can see. Just thought I would take a little break to say hello, and show you what I have been working on.
Now that the shades are done, I am starting on some birthday crowns for the Cupcakery Bakery.
Had a fun weekend, out to dinner with friends on Friday night, babysitting baby Jake Saturday night, and dinner with the family on Sunday night.
Did anyone see the Survivor, and Desperate Housewives finales? (Interesting)
Have a great week, and I will be back soon with some recent garage sale finds.
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

Shades!

Happy Thursday all! Hope you have had a nice week.
I have been busy as usual. I wanted to show you a couple of lampshades I was working on this week. One is all wrapped in burlap, and the other one is done in crinkled ribbon. It takes some time and effort but the results are worth it. They are headed out to Sticks N Stones, as is this special order cross. I had a lot of fun embellishing and making this very girly.
Thanks for all of the nice comments on my new drop cloth chair. I am enjoying the way it looks and feels.
My back is feeling a lot better. My rib was out of place. I'm happy to report that after my chiropractor put it back where it belongs it's staying there so far.
No lifting baby Jake this week, but if you want to see the cutest new photos of Jake in the pool for the first time, please visit Amanda's blog.
Have a lovely weekend!!
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

TaDa!

Hi all, hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day!
We did here!
Here is the big reveal of my chair makeover. I love the way it turned out.
Who knew a painters drop cloth could look so good. As you can see, I got a pillow done to match. My slipcover lady did a fantastic job, as well as getting the job done quite fast. I think the look is so fresh and summery!
Our trek to the Rose Bowl yesterday was really fun too! I got the 2 grain sack pillows in the photos, and this really cool antique pleating/ruffling machine. It still works, and I will use it to pleat paper, and ribbon for my crown making. It also looks cool. I was told this is how they pleated and ruffled shirt collars in the old days.
I wanted to show you the beautiful color on these roses I received from my daughter, son in law, and baby Jake yesterday!
My week is starting out busy as usual, with lampshade making and embellishing three crosses for someone. I'm also working on some stamped silverware. First on the agenda is a trip to the chiropractor this afternoon. My back is out!!! This is a periodic occurrence for me. Once it's back in place, I'm good to go. I have a slight curve to my spine, and this tends to throw things out of whack sometimes. Goes with my wacky personality!
Have a great week!!
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

Remember This Chair?

Hi all! Hope you had a great week. It's almost Friday again. Yay for that, and Mother's Day too!
Do you remember this chair that I bought at the Paris Flea Market in Carpinteria? It was June 08. How time flies when you are having fun. Anyway, this chair is out of the house right now. It went to the slipcover ladie's workshop. It will come home next week with a new cover. Can't wait to see that, because you will never guess what I am having it covered with. Give up? A giant drop cloth from Home Depot. That's right ladies, a $30 drop cloth. I searched for several months for the right fabric. I wanted just the right linen, but I never found what I really wanted. Not even online, which is really hard anyway considering your really can't feel the fabric that you are buying.
Then I talked to my friend Diane, and she said what about a drop cloth? I remembered seeing that done on one of the HGTV decorating shows. So I thought why not. I washed it twice, in a ton of fabric softner, then gave it to the slipcover lady. Can't wait to see the results. She thought it was a great idea! I didn't have to spend a fortune on the fabric. So you will see it as soon as I do.
I like the red and white stripes, but I wanted to be able to switch it up, like now when summer is coming. I think the red and white is nice for winter. The drop cloth is kind of an off white oatmeal color, which is what I wanted anyway.
Maybe by the end of next we will all see the new chair.
You all have a wonderful weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!!
I'm heading to the Rose Bowl. (My husband takes me there every Mother's Day) Love that! Then dinner with my mom and my daughter. It's my daughter's first Mother's Day!!
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary

Garden Views

Hello all, and happy Sunday!
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
I had to take some photos of my Cecile Bruner roses. I don't know if you remember a couple of years back, I bought a tiny little rose bush called a Cecile Bruner. I special ordered it, planted it, and the first year or so, it only got a few roses, and wasn't growing too fast. This year however, it's a different story, as you can see it's starting to drape it's way over the trellis. I'm very excited about this. These roses are a pretty pink, with a soft fragrance. They looks so sweet in a bud vase.
A couple of other shots of my garden that I thought looked pretty today too!
I also wanted to show you what I did with the rusty bucket I bought last week at the flea market. I hooked it onto the side of my wagon with a pot of double impatiens.
It's lovely weather here in Southern California today. Perfect for gardening!
Getting ready to go to our daughter's house for dinner, and to play with baby Jake of course.
Have a wonderful week!! Mother's Day is upon us. It will be my daughter's first official Mother's Day!!
Chat again soon.
Love,
Rosemary