A Full Platter

It's no secret that I am a collector.
One of the many things that I gather from thrift stores in abundance are ironstone and vintage dishes. I have stacks of them in our china cabinet and kitchen. Many are oozing with character
from their lives of service.
Chips, cracks, crazing, and stains are the very things that draw me to these delightful objects of practicality.Recently I was redoing the plate rack in our kitchen, a spot that changes several times during the year. It will often display dishes in beautiful colors that I'm wanting to subtly incorporate in the kitchen.
It's a favorite spot to show off holiday plates.Perhaps my favorite is the numerical dish display made with
dollar store plates and vinyl decals.Being in a mood for a fresh and new exhibit, I pulled out
a few vintage platters and stacked in as many as possible. I was thrilled with the display, but it did seem to need
an extra layer, right there in the middle.

Being one without a fancy vinyl cutting machine, I used the resources I have available. I printed off the letter A from my computer in a fancy font. (If this seems familiar, it's because I used the same technique here)

With a little cutting and gluing
the vintage platter exhibit is complete. And I am giddy with glee!

***Don't forget to enter for the Sodderbug giveaway.
Entries will be accepted through Sunday at midnight MST***

Tell Me I'm Not Alone

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who plans to mail out Christmas cards and then runs out of time. The sad fact is that this has happened for the last two or three years. Did you know that some people take you off their Christmas card mailing list if they haven't heard from you in a while? I realize that many of you keep in touch with old friends using the internet but, to me, emails just can't replace the thrill of receiving a card in the mail from a loved one. This year I intended to mail my Christmas cards early but, with our son's accident and other life events, once again I ran out of time. Yet I was still determined to let old friends know that they're in our thoughts. I decided to mail New Year's cards. There is just one problem. There are no New Year's cards to be found! Hallmark really should consider making a line of cards for procrastinators like me.
I refused to let this stop me. I sketched out the numbers 2010 and cut only the outer edges for my card template. Then I traced and cut the design onto cardstock that was folded in half. Next I printed a little sentiment and glued it inside. Now our friends will know that we still care, even if our thoughts are a bit belated.

Before it gets too late,
I want to wish you, my blog friends,
a wonderful 2010!
May the New Year Bring You Happiness,
Peace, Laughter,
and the Best of Memories.

Glitz Galore

I began my mercury glass collection
last Christmas with a few items that were on sale. After Christmas my collection expanded.
Who can resist 90% off?!?

This year I wanted to display my collection on my huge mantle/shelf in the dining room. I needed a beautiful backdrop.
I thought about using mirrors, but I used that design concept last year. So the gears in my little mind started to turn and I came up with this idea.

I pulled a pretty copper colored frame from my stash. Then I pulled out the heavy-duty foil from my pantry and started cutting out squares of foil. I wanted to achieve a look of
"silver-leaf collides
with antique mirror",
without the expense. I sprayed each sheet with adhesive and stuck them onto the picture,
in a random pattern, dull side up. I was doing the happy dance because I got the look I desired!All that was left was to glitz it up
with my mercury glass collection. I added a few sparkly items from dollar stores
(mirrored trees, big silver ornaments, and shiny garland).
And metallic leaves found at the thrift store.I am thrilled with my
glitzy-almost-over-the-top mantle/shelf
and the couldn't-be-a-more-perfect-backdrop frame.

Really Thankful

Things are crazy busy here with family and the holiday but I want you to know that I care about you. I hope you don't mind a little re-post from last year. It's a quick little craft that you can make for Thanksgiving or modify it for Christmas.

I thought it might be fun to make a little sign of the season, a visual reminder of what we need to be thinking. I started with little manilla tags and then added strips of fall colored scrapbook paper to the bottom. I wanted an aged look, so I took out my craft stain and rubbed it around the edges. (You professional scrapbookers would have probably used a different product.) When I was finished, I didn't really like the look. Luckily, the stain is water based so I gently rubbed a wet towel over the entire tag to even out the stain. Now I had the aged look I was after. You could probably achieve this same look by staining the tags with tea or coffee, if you have it.
(The left side is the "after" look) I added some self adhesive scrapbook letters. I couldn't find any in black, so I bought some blue ones and spray painted them before taking them off the page. At this point, I could have used ribbon to string all the tags together to make a cute banner, but I had other plans.

I cut a piece of 6" wide wood and a piece of trim molding to the length I needed. I painted the wood black and the trim red. Once dry, I did a second coat of the opposite colors. Then I sanded both pieces to reveal the original paint. I glued the trim molding onto the wood and then used painters tape to make a straight edge for placing the tags. I adhered the tags using spray adhesive. For the final touch I nailed furniture tacks into the tag holes.

The finished sign looks like this:

A Little Christmas Craft

How about a little Christmas craft today?All you need is a dozen clothespins, an embroidery hoop, wide ribbon, scrapbook paper, mod podge and a hot glue gun.Simply cut the scrapbook paper into strips wide enough to cover the top of the clothespin. Apply the paper to the pin using mod podge. If you'd like, you can sand and distress the edges of the paper.Hot glue the clothes pins onto the hoop varying the direction.
Tie on the ribbon to hang the hoop.Now you have a pretty little display for those Christmas cards that will soon be arriving in your mailbox.

Altered Reading

I bought a couple of old books at the thrift store to add to my Halloween decorations, but they needed a little altering.One book's cover was beginning to separate.Which made it very easy to rip the entire cover off and I didn't have to feel guilty for damaging a book (that's the teacher in me).I sanded the spine a bit to achieve a more worn look. Then wrapped it with jute twine. Next I cut and frayed a piece of burlap and used a permanent marker for printing a title. Now I have the perfect addition for my mad scientist's shelf!I was attracted to the second book because of the cover's textural pattern. I removed the label on front using a little water and a scraper.A cotton swab and some fingernail polish remover worked for taking off the wording on the spine.I added a new title using a paint pen and permanent marker.It's the perfect addition to my Halloween library.And it looks fantastic on my witchy inspired entry table!

P.S.
I am humbled to announce that I am
the Friday Feature over at A Little Tipsy.
Thank you Michelle for the opportunity.
It was fun!

Dear Sweet Blog

Dear Sweet Blog,
I am so, so sorry that I have ignored you this week. I have let dental appointments, design consultations, wedding consultations, family needs and broken bones come before you. Please forgive me. Maybe this little tutorial will help you feel better and make up for my neglect.

Sincerely,

Joy

How to Make Your Own Halloween OrbsYou'll need:
Wooden Balls
(Ping Pong balls might even work)
Black Spray Paint
White Paint MarkerSpray paint the orbs (balls) black.Helpful hint: Place balls on cloth surface so they won't roll.
When dry, print on scary words using paint marker.Place Halloween Orbs in a pretty bowl, vase,
or apothecary jar and ENJOY!