Thanks Jana!

The lovely Jana at Twig gave me the Honest Scrap award.  Thanks so much!  I want everyone to go visit her blog... she is adorable!

As I have recently done a 10 things post, I won't bore you with more about me... just go visit Jana.  You will love her, I promise!

A wishful longing and a solution

Have you ever really wanted something?  You sit there and daydream and plan for something that may never come to fruition?  Well, I am a dreamer... I get really caught up and excited in the smallest things.  For instance, I have always wanted to own my own shop.  I even know what gift wrap I would choose for it.  I have been driving by this little old run down building where I live for ages.  A little side info on where I live.... there is no "downtown."  No square, no real historical character.  But, there is something about this building that has always had me thinking.  Never mind the shape it is in or the fact that it has maybe 2 parking spaces.  I just see what it could be.  Do you see it?

It has recently been painted.  So, I have been talking to Mr. Hughes about my vision for years now.  And, here is what my sweetie did:

This is what I see with just a little elbow grease.  This is what it could become.  So where does this all fit in with my life and plans?  Well, this building is still not up for rent, but I have taken a small (very small) baby step and opened my own etsy shop Vintage Junky Style.  I know it may not seem like a big deal for some of you, but I feel like I am really putting myself out there.  I had thought about opening a booth, and that may be an option in the future.  I will be stocking my shop with things that I like and would really have in my home.  So, that is how I am fulfilling my dream.... for now *wink*

P.S.  I don't really have  a Vespa, but we did just buy a Jeep Grand Wagoneer (it is white!)

Martha's Pumpkins- An Impatient Girl's Guide

I really wanted to try out some of Martha's beautiful pumpkins, especially the glitter ones.  We went to a pumpkin farm on Saturday  and I picked up a few pumpkins.  I didn't buy the magazine because I figured it can't be that hard to glitter some pumpkins...right?  So, here are my finished pumpkins and I will tell you what I did wrong.  First, let me tell you, this is a project that is best  accomplished outside.  As I write this, Baby Hughes has glitter all over his head and I am having flashbacks from a glitter incident in the 9th grade.  Let's just say it took me a month to get all the glitter off of me.

This is the first pumpkin I tried.  I used regular Elmer's glue.  Big mistake.  It took forever to dry and It ran a little as you can see in the picture.  I probably got it on too thick.  I bought Martha's glitter glue, but it was difficult to squeeze and I wanted these completed (have I ever said that I am impatient?) And, I didn't paint these pumpkins before...depending on the look you are going for, you may want to paint yours.

I started to use spray adhesive on this one (thought that may be better than the Elmer's)... it stuck to the paper plate that I was using to sprinkle the glitter on.  When it stuck, the adhesive peeled off in sheets.  So, I got the tacky glue.  My applicator of choice  ended up being my finger, it gave me the thinnest coat.    The coverage was good and the dry time was much faster with no runs.

This is another one that I did, only with black glitter, these both turned out fine with the tacky glue.  I really like the black glitter.  It I would have been more patient, I would have painted the pumpkin black first.  In a couple of places where the pumpkins got bumped, the glitter rubbed off.

This one was by far the easiest one.  I used a rub on wax product.  It comes in a tube and it is called Rub and Buff.  This color is the silver leaf, but they have a few other colors too.  I simply rubbed a little on and then buffed it with a paper towel.  It let a little of the orange to shine through.  The one really nice thing about this technique is that it doesn't rub off.

Then, I wanted to try silver leaf.  It also worked out good.  The sizing has to cover every part though or the leaf won't stick. I tried to cover it again in those places and it still didn't want to stick.  I just added some of the silver wax to those parts.

So then I just piled them all up into a bowl on my mercury glass table.

You can see where the glitter rubbed off a little. I added a little of the silver wax to the stems. I really like the look of all of them...Mr. Hughes' favorite was the silver glitter.

It rained here all day, so I was unable to finish up my pumpkin projects

I need one more pumpkin for the bowl and a few more for around the house.

So, are there any of you that have attempted Martha's fabulous pumpkins?

 

I am posting this to  Metamorphosis Monday... go here to party!

I am also posting this on Transformation Thursday! Visit Gina and the other party goers here.

Vintage Black Friday

I almost didn't title this "Vintage Black Friday."  Too many years working the day after Thanksgiving in a mall has really spoiled the phrase "Black Friday."  But, maybe joining Gypsy Brocante and the others will put a positive spin on the phrase!  On this Vintage Black Friday, I am going to show you a smattering of the black items in our living room.

These are my vintage doorknobs  that clever Mr. Hughes turned into tie backs.  And, my lovely drapes were made by my fabulous mother and her friends...let's just call them the Margarita sisters *wink*

I forgot to mention during my Multiples Party Post that we also have several vintage crufixes throughout our home.  This one is in our living room.

This is one of my favorite flea market finds.  Mr. Hughes found this photo in a box for $1 in Mary's booth.  Mary is an interesting lady to say the least.  Mr. Hughes loves to dig through boxes of paper and photos... I just don't have the patience for it.  This time it paid off though.  This is a photo taken in front of Picadilly Circus.  Mr. Hughes took the handwriting that was on the back of the photo and put it on the front (we just don't have nice penmanship like they used to have.)  Then, he blew it up and had it printed on canvas.  If you look closely, there is a couple in the middle in front of the fountain kissing.

Here is a vintage round table that I painted black.  I love painting things black!!!

This shows a couple of the vintage glass pieces that we have... they are actually deep purple, but they look black, so I think it counts.

Here is a small sample of the vintage frames that we have in our living room.  I find these for a couple of dollars usually and they are lovelified by a coat of black paint.

This is a vintage chair that I think we paid $35 for at Carter's Creek. It was ugly and unloved.  I painted the wood black and sent her away to the furniture spa, where they covered her in a nice black and white ticking.

And, I saved one of my favorite pieces ever for last.  I wish I had a decent photo, but it is raining yet again.  Even more, I wish I had a before photo.  Boy, was she unloved!  I stalked this piece for months.  I would go, visit her and try to convince Mr. Hughes that she could be lovely and fit in the space we had.  Then, I saved up the money and drug him back there while we had my mother's SUV.  I nearly ran to the booth... only to find out that she had been sold.  I am not lying when I say that I teared up and nearly started crying.  Mr. Hughes felt bad.  So, we walked around (while I had lump in my throat) and turned the corner and there she was!!  My big, hideous brown cabinet that had marble on the top and ugly handles.  I grabbed the tag a ran to the counter.  And, here is where she is today:

Oh, what a coat of black paint and some marble pulls will do!  She still has her marble top and now she is so useful in hiding our DVDs.  I will try to get a better photo.  It just doesn't do her justice

Alright, so now go check out all the other Vintage Black Friday posts!

A winner!

I have a winner!  After tabulating the results in a highly controlled and secret manner (Mr. Hughes drew the name out of an old salsa jar) I am pleased to announce that Jes won the pedestal milk glass bowl!  So, Jen please email me your address and your little treasure will be on its way!  Thank you to everyone who entered and a double thanks to everyone who came to party....one of you gave me inspiration for my next party, but more on that later!

I wanted to tell you about this fun party that I am joining tomorrow.

It is a Vintage Black Friday Party at Gypsy Brocante.  I love all the white parties that everyone posts such lovely items on, but I love black too.  I mean, I have plenty of vintage black furniture.  So, come here tomorrow and I will share a touch of black and visit the other partygoers on Gypsy Brocante's blogroll.  Now, I have to go clean this pigsty so I can justify sitting in front of the tv to watch The Office tonight.