A Vintagey Outdoor Table

Hello there!

While watering my plants the other day, I remembered last year at this time I had tons of hydrangeas... enough to steal quite a few.... and this year none.  I remembered that I had done a guest post for Heather last year around this time using those same abundant hydrangeas, so I thought I would share that with you in case some of you didn't see it last year... 

Since it is so close to Father's Day, I wanted to do a little entertaining post.  Who says that dads don't care about nice looking surroundings?  My Mr. Hughes loves vintage finds and likes when I fluff the house. So, I designed a table and a menu with things I know he would like.  And, with the exception of a few new finds, everything was found around our home, so this was a very thrifty project.  You could easily change a few things to make this party your own, be it a Father's Day Cookout or a nice little Garden Tea.

This gives you an overall view of the table... I set up outdoors because it has a very garden look to it.

I made some moss "chargers" by forming some sheet moss into a tray and putting some pressure on it, then I just lifted it out of the tray and placed it on the table. It stayed together quite nicely.  

I added some of my vintage ironstone plates... if you don't have any ironstone, check your local Goodwill for some vintage restaurantware  or just use some of your own plates.  I added a length of vintage black and white ribbon to play off of the little oval dishes that hold the silverware.

Which is vintage as well.... some people think it is a little yucky to eat with tarnished flatware, so you may want to have backups for the less adventurous guests.

I stenciled some vintage napkins that had a handkerchief look to them with some numbers because I am a little crazy about numbers.  Then I tied a vintage pocket watch face to them, creating a ring.  Embellish it with a pheasant feather and you have a very masculine table setting.

I found these great birch covered planters (my new splurge) at Scarlett Scales.  I only say splurge because they were the one purchase I made for this... they were quite affordable. I love them and already have another party coming up that I will use them for.  The little glass jars are great... they have a crown on them.  I just filled them with sand and added a candle.

The hydrangeas were from our garden.  If your Mr. isn't the flowery type, it would be great to fill these planters with herbs... fragrant and pretty.

I think I may do a version of this again for this weekend for some friends we are having over.  If only I had those hydrangeas!!

And, since I pulled this from the vault, it looks like my siggy isn't working.  Oh well... off to get some pieces finished before the hyena wakes up.

Bye for now!

Michelle

Psyched!

Does anyone still say that?

Well, I don't care!  I have quite a few things I am psyched out of my mind about!

Simple stuff like this photo.

Is it wonderful?  Nope, but I love the shadows.  So much that I called Mr. Hughes downstairs to see it.

Oh and this is one of the plants that is sentenced to die.  But isn't it pretty now?

And that this girl is having a baby today! So go over there and send her some love!!

And this from the garden show.  This was the Three French Hens/ The Roost booth.

I am totally stealing this photo from here.

(since we forgot our camera!)

I don't think they will mind though

*wink*

Their booth was amazing!  They built this little house from salvaged windows and doors.

It was quite magical!  

And I just have to say once again that they are so sweet and I am so glad I have a booth with them!

And the Dream Job e-course that I just signed up for the other day.

I am learning a lot girls!  And it is helping me focus on goals that I have for Vintage Junky 

Even if you already have a business up and running, I think that this is such an inspiring course.

.

I am excited about this pretty spring weather and some new pieces I have to paint that I bought last night.

I can't wait to get my hands on them!

 

I am so loving my little hoop that I got in the mail from Heather

I like it in so many places that I can't just choose one, but for now it is in my entry across from the dining room.

And I am excited we didn't get a ticket for pulling a U-turn so we could get to Target to buy Deathly Hallows on DVD... I mean, so I could use the facilities.  I even told the policeman that I asked Mr. Hughes to turn around and blamed my bladder.  I think it helped get us out of the ticket.

And it turns out that it doesn't come out until Friday.

So, I know what I will be doing during nap time tomorrow!

And, I have 2 secrets that are kind of a big deal for me. One I will let you in on next week.  The other....well, you will have to wait just a bit longer to find out about it.

And today is Thursday!  My favorite day!

What are YOU excited about?

bye for now!

oh and there is still time to enter my giveaway!

 

Friday Etsy Favorites *Chugga-Chugga*

Hello all!

Happy Friday to you!

This is around the time of year that I lose my mind and begin planning baby hughes' birthday party.

I love parties.  Especially kid birthday parties.  

We have had the theme for quite some time.... maybe like 3 or 4 days after birthday #2.

I kid. 

It was at least a week.

So while searching through my faves this week, I realized I could share some

*Chugga-Chugga*

These vintage train station cards would look great spread on a table or as little place cards

found~ SilverCrow

look at this spread!  

love, love, love it!!

found~ cakeink

the invites are the one of the best parts I think!

found~ chachkedesigns

love these sweet thank yous

found~ TwoPoodlePress

love this invite too!

found~ andersruff

love these prints!  I actually purchased this one yesterday, but the shop has a few more.

found~ visualingual

I am thinking we need a vintage ticket punch!

found~ theorangecollection

And this vintage train piece would be a great centerpiece on the table

found~ teaworkscottage

We have had this shirt for a while (stained right now)

For those of you "unschooled" allow me... this is a diesel!

We get one of their number shirts every year

found~ happyfamily

So, you know what this means, right?  

You have to put up with me mentioned birthday #3 for 4 months.

*wink*

We have a busy day ahead of us.... dentist.... booth..... and the Bloomin Garden Show.

And speaking of gardens... the winner of the garden tools plus some surprises is

Into Vintage

Congrats!  Send me your address and I will get your parcel to you right away.

And speaking of giveaways... come back on Monday and I have another giveaway from a wonderful etsy seller!  I am so excited for the winner of this one.

Okay... last thing and then I am signing off to go mess with my bangs... they were cut by a new stylist....

Brooklyn Limestone is featuring my favorite nook today!

The series is great and I am so thrilled to be a part of it.  So you can scoot over there and check it out!

have a happy, happy weekend.

And pray for the plants that I will sentence to death today!

bye for now!

Garden-y Giveaway

Hello all!  Thanks so much for all the well wishes.  baby hughes and I are on the mend but Mr. Hughes just caught the germies last night.  ICK!

But, I am determined, sick or not, grey nasty weather or not, 

to put some Spring in my step.

And Spring to me means a few things... and gardening is one of them!

I have been carrying these garden tools in my booth for a few months now and the handles are painted my favorite Vintage Junky blue (I sound soooo snotty.... oops!)

Anyhow, they are cute and they are fun and I would LOVE to send someone a set!

And along with the set of tools, I am going to throw in a surprise or a few..... I AM going to a great garden show next week.... the Bloomin Garden Show.

I will hopefully sentence a few plants to die by bringing them home!

So if you would like to win, leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite flower or plant is.

My sweet hubs actually brought me my favorite to plant in the garden last week but then it got too cold to plant them right now and they are in the house dying...

They are anemones 

*smiles*

 Okay, back to how to win.... 

if you want another chance, tweet it and leave a comment.

If you want yet another way to win, visit my website and click the Facebook "like this" thumbs up button and come back here and let me know that you like Vintage Junky on Facebook!

(Yes, people, it is shameless self promotion!)

I will choose the winner on Friday the 8th before I go to the garden show.

oh and the pansies in my baby bathtub were planted last fall... they aren't really THAT pitiful if you think about how long I neglected them!

bye for now!

Sick Day

*sniff-sniff*

heelllloo (said hoarsley)

baby hughes and I are sick.  yuck!  I was hoping mine was just allergies, but after he tossed and turned all Saturday night and woke up  Sunday all stopped up, I confirmed there are germies in the house.

So, we are under a self-imposed quarantine away from Mr. Hughes.

We got the big bed

*wink*

We are downstairs rotting our brains away on PBS.

I have decided that I don't think I like Gerald on Sid the Science Kid.

Isn't this Spring such a tease?

Last week it was 80.  Now it is like 40... maybe colder.  

double yuck!

At least the wheat grass I planted is giving us a little kick of Spring indoors.

It was so easy to plant... I think I may plant another set and rotate these out when this line dies.

Maybe the Easter Bunny will hide some eggs in the grass....

We got the tins from the Dollar Section at Target.
They are perfect to grow grass and I even have some organizing my makeup and some supplies in our studio.

I will be back soon with a Spring-y Garden-y Giveaway

Right now I have a nose to wipe and check a temp

baby hughes just informed me that his temp is 14-14-14.

That can't be good!

bye for now!

A Whole Bunch of Stuff Smooshed in One Post

Some days you just need to do something pretty.  Saturday, my house was driving me crazy.  Nothing was clean, clutter was everywhere.  So, instead of cleaning like crazy like  I should have, I took a break and cleaned off the dining room table and added a little bit of pretty...

I stepped outside the door  and snipped three gardenias from the topiary and floated them in a bowl of water.  I love this bowl... we got it on our anniversary trip to Savannah.  And, speaking of anniversary, thanks so much for all the wishes.... you want to know what I got?  Well, I got a cupcake cookbook.... I have been wanting one with pretty photos.  And, some other cake decorating books... I am thinking about taking a class soon.  And, just so you guys realize how spoiled I am, here is my big present....

yep... it is a vintage baby bathtub.... and he also got me some dirt and some flowers and here is what it looks like put together...

never mind that spilled dirt... I am a messy gardener

Next year it might be a drink trough, but for now, it is full of flowers.

We went out that day for a couples massage... heavenly... if I was rich, that is something I would have on a regular basis... 

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Hughes brought home this little file organizer from Goodwill thinking I could use it for display in the booth.

Well, I decided it would be better use here.  My Great White Pottery Barn plates don't fit in our cabinets... the salad size do, but the dinner size don't.  They are ridiculously big... we eat off the salad size.  But, I registered for the set and maybe one day we will just have a giant over for dinner.  I had the plates stacked on a shelf above a table.  And, the top of our fridge wasn't just right, so I redid it.

Not bad for 2.99?  I didn't even paint it like I had planned.

I am working on a piece of furniture for the booth that I hope to show you soon... it caused a little bit of craziness at the Hughes Casa tonight, more on that later... I am going to finish my margarita and snuggle my monster!  bye for now...

Just Keep Swimming

The title seemed fitting...we are busy, busy, busy! Plus, we have been watching quite a bit of Finding Nemo lately, and Cars, of course.  We got a goldfish recently... I wish I could spell his name.  baby hughes named him.... it kind of sounds like the noise of some taking a bite out of an apple.  I call him Chomp. 

 I am keeping swimming while my head is flooded with *stuff* Booth stuff, etsy stuff, house stuff, 2nd birthday party stuff.  I have so many ideas and plans and not enough time to accomplish them all.  So, I took a break to take some pretty photos of what is happening outside my front door.  The bugs didn't take down my gardenia topiaries... and it is starting to smell like heaven outside my front door (my heaven smells like gardenias and waffle cones and baby with sunscreen with a splash of grapefruit... what does yours smell like?) 

We have been busy this week painting and screenprinting and stenciling stuff for the booth.  I still have to get my big piece painted.... that will have to wait to tomorrow.  Thank goodness for the long weekend!  And, I need to find time to update the etsy shop with some of the new stuff that we have started making. But, that will have to wait until after next Friday.  Plus, I have all the sudden wanted to start working on birthday party stuff for my little guy, we are having a "Whooo's Twooo?" party complete with all kinds of owl stuff... I am wanting to get a the rescue society to come out with some owls, but that might just be too much for the little guy.... not baby hughes.  The owl.  He would probably want to love it to death like Lenny.

Aren't they pretty?  Usually they are pink, but one day I watered them with the same can that I fertilized the gardenias with... and it turned them kind of blue.  It was a nice surprise.  I am glad that it blew up with flowers this year so I don't feel bad for taking a few and putting them in the house.

This is seriously the only pretty part of the house.  Every surface is covered with something.  Toys, projects, the floor is crunching from all the little *accents* that baby hughes has been throwing about.  And, we have a playdate tomorrow, so I need to clean on top of it all.  But, taking a short break just seemed more fun.

Hope you all have a fantabulous weekend!  We will be here, dealing with all the *stuff* and probably have a few beers and margaritas.

Cheers!

First Peony and Some Random Goodness

Hello Lovelies!  I hope you are having a great weekend.  We have been busy coming up with stuff for the booth.  We visited the booth this weekend and took measurements and photos to help me plan it out. I am planning on being in the booth the 1st Friday in June. Mr. Hughes took the picture of our 1st peony this season on Friday and I decided to go out and take some photos of our front porch and other little things that I have accomplished in the past couple of weeks.  I planted these peonies 3 years ago and this is the first year that this bright pink one came up.  I don't like where they are anymore, so I would love to move them... anyone have any tips for doing this?  We planted a peony bed in the back and I want these to go up there.  And, naturally, since it was so pretty, I clipped a few today and brought them in.

Nothing like them!  I clipped the lighter pink one too and added it to a tiny vintage mercury glass vase.

I really like this little vignette... I made a little burlap "est. 2006" and framed it and hung it above our wedding cake topper.  I had this kind of peony in my bouquet, so it is *perfect*

And, speaking of perfect, look what I found in a store that I hardly ever go in...

That's right... a wool hooked owl pillow for my owl crazy baby hughes!  I love it!  Now, I probably would have passed this up a few years ago, but I think it adds the perfect bit of quirk to our entry.

Moving on to other flowers... Mr. Hughes brought me home a gardenia to kill!  He actually suggested that I start a new blog called "The Dead Plant Diaries."  I actually just registered it...  It really isn't that bad... gardenias are suicidal. I will enjoy the heavenly scent and then move it outside where we will all be much happier.

I have heard that this is a blogger no-no, but here is our front door.  (Bad guys, we have an alarm system, guns, sharp knives and we are a little unstable, so don't bother.)  Do you see that hydrangea to the left?  Take that, Mr. Hughes... I haven't killed it!  In fact, it is thriving and is going to explode in a week.

This is one of my gardenia topiaries... the non-sick one... the other one has mealy bugs... I am open to suggestions to get rid of them!  I can't wait for it to bloom... it will smell so good every time we open the door.

Here is a little rusty mailbox that we found a few years ago.  These flowers seem to be doing well... but I think they are confused... they are supposed to grow down...

Now, this is a before of some chairs that I decided to ruin last year... they used to be medium oak.  I decided to paint them and just leave them outside.  Well, they are shabby now.  I wanted to give them a little pick me up.

So the pair got painted black... they are still quite worn.  I almost wish I would have painted them black originally and left them inside. 

Then, I added these great numbers that I had specially made.  I have listed them in my etsy shop along with some really neat write on labels.  I saved back a 1 and 2 for these chairs and a 3 for a small baby hughes size chair.

Some of you may remember me talking about buying a table at the Bloomin' Garden Show...  and how that table almost didn't fit in our car and how we had to take the carseat out of the middle and move it to the side...well, here it is.  It was perfect for our front porch and totally worth the trouble.

Well, that is all the trouble I got into this weekend.  There is still time to enter my *giveaway*

Bye for now!