Frost on the Pumpkin........

The weather was miserable today.....

Cold and Rainy!

A good day to stay inside and do some handwork.

I'd been wanting to make a pumpkin with a creamy off-white fabric blend I found in a remnant bin.....

It has a bit of sparkle.

I picked up an inexpensive bag of lace at a thrift shop.

 Not just any  ol'  lace.....this was wedding dress lace with lots of sequins and pearl beads....just beautiful!

So I proceeded to add some

"Frost" on the Pumpkin............

A lacy ruffle around the pumpkin stem.....

What do you think?  

I'm still contemplating if I went overboard adding too much "frost".

But yet, I'm thinking of adding some coffee stained gauzy roses to give her another texture and color element  while bringing down the fufu-ness.

 

I'd love it if you'd share your thoughts.....

Hugs,

A Victorian Antiques Store

Victorian Era furnishings were highly ornamented,

elaborate and opulant.

Over-the-top beautiful in its day;

I can't stop myself from thinking how a coat of creamy white paint would make many of these furnishings 

Shabbeautiful

 today.

Garage Sale Treasures.....

This weekend was a particularly good one in terms of great garage sales finds.

Take a look...........

A shabby china basket, a Teleflora piece, but will be soooo cute as a side table candy dish.

A glass dome with wooden base....the base I will paint and distress and use as a cloche.

A 14" long mirrored dresser tray.

Here's a closer look at the porcelain roses on the basket........

Have you seen all the lovely buntings online made from vintage ladies hankies and doilies??

And I love love love the table linens in these photos that Nita at Mod Vintage posted a few weeks back. I believe she found them on Pinterest.

So that was my inspiration to purchase $11.00 worth of Vintage doilies, hankies, linens;

some crocheted, some embroidered..........

Sweet little embroidered basket on a vintage napkin....

Vintage Rogers Bros. flatware, service for 6......

A pedestal plate cake stand purchased for $2.00 that I will plan to use as a cloche base.......

Pretty Vintage Fostoria 14" Serving Tray

in the very desirable Baroque pattern........

And a crystal double candleholder........

Vintage candy cookie box,

love all the little verses around the sides..........

Another little vintage china creamer to add to my collection. Marked "Made in Germany".

I love the feminine shape and all the little details, so pretty.....

Here's the other side........

Three vintage crystals that were all wired together with plastic beads and used as a window suncatcher.....$2.00.  

I've removed the wire and beads and will add the crystals to a chandelier I purchased last year,

I've been adding crystals to it whenever I  find them.  It's almost complete now, unless I decide to add some garlands.

So, I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time this weekend and came home with some great pieces.

Some I will keep,

some I will sell. 

It's all about the thrill of the hunt!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs,

Design Challenge at Common Ground

Debra over at Common Ground has begun a new party called

Design Challenge.

Click on the blog name above to hop on over to offer your design suggestions. Or, click the button on my sidebar to read what Design Challenge is all about.

This weeks challenge is to help Dianne decorate her Living Room.

Dianne has submitted photos of her space and some furniture pieces she has that may be incorporated into the space.

 After studying her photos I had an idea of what shape her space may be. Then I went to 
Better Homes and Gardens Arrange-A-Room.

It's so much fun!

First select the room shape, then drag and drop furniture pieces into the room.

Diane has some cute shabby pieces including a buffet (would need to be painted), dining chairs, desk, end/lamp table, mirrors, etc..

In one of the photos I got a glimpse of a chandelier just outside the kitchen door, so I placed a table directly underneith (I don't know if Dianne has another room she uses for a dining space).

In my design, her desk will multi-function as a desk and a sofa table as I placed it behind the sofa.

Here's what it looks like......

maybe Dianne would prefer a square area rug.....

Here, I've flip-flopped the furnishings to the opposite side of the room and added a chair next to the TV. 

Does it seem more inviting this way,

or is it too lopsided /unbalanced with all of the bulk along the long wall???......

Sign on to BHG and try Arrange-A-Room,
 I could spend hours there.

See you at Common Ground for the next Design Challenge.

Hugs,

Fresh Pineapple.........

Living in the midwest,

 I consider fresh pineapple a delicacy......

Such a treat when I get one that's

perfectly ripe and sweet!

I've followed the instructions

on how to cut a pineapple.

That works okay,

but today I went my own direction......

After slicing off the top and bottom

I removed the outside by cutting vertically

taking off long slices 

 the entire way around the pineapple.

Typically there are all those little dimples

with unedible little bits and seeds left.

Remembering the Strawberry Huller in my kitchen drawer

I dug it out and Voila! it worked great!

Just a little pinch and twist and the little bits and seeds were gone without slaughtering the pineapple and wasting any of the goodness.

Next I sliced my pineapple horizontally.

There are a number of pineapple corers on the market and I don't have any of them,

but, in the drawer, too,

 I saw the cupcake corer my daughter gave me last Christmas.

 It's so handy for adding a filling to cupcakes........

 And it worked perfectly to punch out the center core of each pineapple slice!

Now lets see........about dinner tonight.......

maybe skewered shrimp cooked outside on the grill

with grilled fresh pineapple slices

.........or maybe pork chops

with grilled fresh pineapple slices, of course!!!!

Hugs,