Showing posts with label Thrift Store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thrift Store. Show all posts

Friday, August 15, 2008

Initial Thoughts

Over the last few years ... Monograms and Initials have become increasingly popular. The other day I took a stroll through our home and spied all the places that they have worked their way into our decor... Interesting how trends do that!
First stop... The Guest Bath.
These are the towels in the guest bath. I usually have a tassel that hangs in the middle. But the other day I was at Michaels and they have a $1 bin now, and I couldn't really pass it up.... I'm trying to go with a Hollywood Glam look... The stencil above has jewels embedded at the point of each of the flourishes....

Next Stop...My Office....
This is my T-cup...HE HE get it?! It was my hubs'...but I snagged it for my own personal use...

Actually ... I just keep safety pins in it

And moving right along.... The master bedroom:


My best girlfriend gave me this pretty pin quite a few years ago. I always loved the pin. Unfortunately, that was the same time that Jim Carrey and all the cute little pre-teens were walking around making an L shape on their forehead and pronouncing some poor victim a Looooo-s-sser! And of course the obvious..."Is your name Laverne"? So I stopped wearing it. But it is so pretty I needed to find a place for it. So it found its way to a little pillow.
When my hubs and I got married 4 years ago I went and found 2) matching pillows and a rhinestone T for him. They both sit side by side on our bed now. How sweet.

Next stop...The Master's Bath...

These pretty monogrammed towels were a gift from my Sweet Aunt Kay our first Christmas together. The story behind these was that she had purchased them early in the year before my hubs and I got engaged... She had to pull out the original monogram and have it re-done.... She had also had them made for all of my cousins that year. I think that was the year 3 of my cousins were either getting married or divorced. I cherish them because I don't think she will ever give them again. LOL : )
And finely we conclude our extensive tour in the Kitchen!

Before my dad started feeling bad all the time, he would go to a lot of garage sales. One day he brought this over and said "Here ya go. I saw it and thought you would want it." My dad is not a very affectionate man so this is kind of special to me.

Well, that's all I have that is personalized, monogrammed or initialed. And I am not even that creative or especially fond of initials and monograms. I've given you the whole tour and I hope you enjoyed it.




Here are some general rules for Monograms. I copied part of this article but you can read more at EmbroideryArts.com The article gives several different situations that I never thought about when you might want to give a monogrammed gift... It is actually very interesting.

"The Rules of Monogramming"

Although there have been periods in history when single initial monograms and two-letter monograms were preferred, the three-letter monogram has come to symbolize the standard layout.

In the 19th and Early 20th Centuries, when the rules for three-letter monograms were created, it would have been fairly easy to decide which letters represented which parts of an individual’s name.

Alice Canfield Bostwick would immediately recognize this monogram as her own – first name initial (A) on the left, middle name initial (C) on the right, and last name initial (B) in the center, larger than the rest.










Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Do You See What I No Sew?

This is a project that I am seriously embarrassed to even call a "project". I mean really! It took 30 minutes.. tops!

About a month ago I was in Goodwill and found this bed skirt. It is from the same Waverly decorator group that I used to decorate my office. I originally purchased the group at Target several years ago and it has long since been discontinued. When I found the bed skirt I was tickled because I don't plan on ever having a bed in the room. I had no idea what I was going to do with it. But it was only $3.99. I couldn't just leave it there. Surely I can use it somehow? Then it occurred to me that I had seen something, somewhere at some point. Can't remember where.And I am the first to admit. I am not very creative. However, I can copy anything.

So! This is what I decided to do.... Put a skirt on my wicker chair.















Before.... cute! right? OOOH! But it can be cuter!


Materials needed.... Glue Gun, Bed Skirt and Scissors.... Ya! That's it!

Turn the chair upside down...








Make sure you have plenty of help... Here my number 1 personal assistant is doing a great job of delegating...


Cut the ruffle away from the main part of the fabric...

Make sure the glue gun is plugged in... Here my number 2 personal assistant assures me that it is.


Glue the ruffle around the inside rim of the seat using the salvage that you left on the ruffle. I started at a back leg to hide where the fabric meets... yet another no sew shortcut. Let the glue cool...


Turn the chair back over! Foof the ruffle... And now it is not just cute... Its SUPER cute!

Thank you to the little people that made this possible... Midge.. Fletch... I couldn't have done it with out your help!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

I love Goodwill!

When I go into Goodwill looking for something specific, I never find it. But I do usually find something wonderful!



Look at these great plates that I found a couple of weeks ago. They were a $1.99 each. I thought that they might be ruined because they had rust and black marks. I brought them home and cleaned them up. I wish I would have taken a before picture. I think they look really nice in my office.



When I bought this one I couldn't think of where it would go. But I think it looks pretty here on the sideboard. It's perfectly shabby/cottage for $1.29. Don't you think?!