Pink Saturday 12/6/08

Welcome to Pink Saturday.

Last week when my daughter and her hubby were visiting she and I took a day and went to the thrift stores. I found a few things and she did also. Howeverrrrrrrr, she paid about $4 for all her stuff. It didn't all fit in their suitcase so she had to mail it home. That cost her $12.50!! Can we say "did ya get a good deal, chickee??!! Nuuuuuu, totally wasted money. THEN when they went to the baggage claim the suitcase was taped with duct tape because it had popped its hinges!! She lost some books I had given her but nothing else. Can't you just see undies all over the S.F. airport? LOL Well, I can laugh; she wasn't! AND hubby and I told her it looked like it was going to pop. Forty-six years old, you would have thought she'd have learned to trust her dad and mom by now!! I am very sorry it happened though. Those books were really a cute read!
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Okay, here's what I got. Three little candle lights. I was going to get pink bulbs but got the white instead because I plan on putting little shabby frou-frou shades on them and use them as window lights. How cute will that be! Can't wait to paint them and decorate them. BUT since the bulbs weren't with them I got one for free! I didn't even know they were supposed to come with the bulbs but I'll take that deal! Now, who in the world would steal little light bulbs out of the Goodwill lamps for heaven's sakes? But it got me one free so whatever........

I spied these big pink balls and almost flattened a lady to get to them. They had my name on them so they were MINE!!! If I hadn't gotten to them my daughter certainly would have intervened for me. She's 5' 11" and I'm 5' 4 3/4" and she's a pistol at getting what she wants even if it is for her motherrrrrr... So I'll cover them with decal roses and then glitter them and they will hang from the ceiling in my craft/sewing room probably.

My visiting teachers from church came wednesday and brought this for me. I love this flower. It always reminds me of Christmas and I've always thought of it as "majestic"! I'm not sure how hard they are to grow but we'll soon find out. I'm planting it in a vase today or tomorrow.

*Sigh*........my nemisis - cake plates. I pack really well, I truly do. Even the buyers say they are packed well, but I've had 2 cake plates on pedestals break on me. My daughter has shown me the key though this past week and we'll see how the next one makes it. I buy vintage plates so sometimes they are not replaceable. BUT I always make good on my sales to people. Sooooo I had to go find another plate and another unique pedestal to put on it. I had a vintage little sugar bowl and it was darling, but couldn't find another one so used something else for the base. But I did frou-frou it up with netting, ribbon and paper roses. She says that will do just fine - the buyer. I couldn't stand it if I didn't replace something someone has bought from me. Those roses are silk and do not come exactly cheap either. Oh well, I'll feel good knowing I made it good for the lady.

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Now, for a little surprise if you've gotten this far in reading my posts. I've wanted to do a giveaway for a while and was thinking of doing it for my 500th post but decided in the spirit of this season I'll do it now with this little camera bag. Yessssssss, my little cherubs, a giveaway. This is a quilted camera bag with a single rose on it. It is velcro-ed to close it. I've used a similar one for my camera for about 2 years and it works well for me. Uuuuhhhhh, of course, no guarantee comes with it!! DUHHHH!!! But I have a Canon Powershot and it fits nicely in there along with the instruction booklet, charger, 2 extra batteries, an extra disk and the connection cord for camera to computer. It measures 7" wide x 9 1/2" long. I could even get a wallet in there. It can go over your head for carrying as I find that most convenient and don't worry about dropping it or getting it stolen. Hey, this is FREE!! Why am I extolling its virtues when I'm giving it away to some lucky person. I'll draw a name from a bowl on monday afternoon. All you have to do is comment on this post right here. Just leave me your email so I can get in touch with you if you are the winner. If you can't follow directions and do that then there isn't much hope for ya, chickees, so get to it!! ;-) LOL

Greenhurst Nursery #16

Can you tell how much I adored this little area since I keep coming back to it? Yes, it was charming with its little stove and vintage bistro set, which was covered with the most delicious stuff so much that I couldn't get a picture of it. It was a tiny space - about the size of a kitchen in a house but crammed with delicious stuff AND people.

A clearer view of some of those hanging faux desserts. Tiny faux bundt cakes hanging.

And cookie cutters with penguins on top, little cake square desserts with fruit and leaves on top......

Giant cookie ornies. There were also plates to match those cookies. Chocolate dipped strawberries! *Sigh*................

Peppermint candy plates on a pretty red pedestal stand......

Stepping out of the kitchen and into a french country display of a dining room and storage units in that style.........

Aren't these simply adorable if you want a french style Christmas? All in the colors reminiscent of France.

Faux lemons and pomegranates in apothecary jars.....

Penguin cookie jar........

The "cookie" plates hung on a horizontal plate hanger. Uuuuuuh, I had to look over this lady's head to take the pix. I never ever told anyone to "get out of the way"! Waaaay toooo rude. Every single person did when they saw I was doing a photo shoot but I never told them to.

This would go in my office/painting room wonderfully! I'm hoping they have an "After Christmas Sale" and that will be mine if it's still there.

I cannot tell you how much lovelier this is in person. The berries were bright true red but the lighting and camera played havoc with the colors in this area. It was very dim and had incandescent lighting so it was harder to find the best setting.

Seems like I've shown you this lamp before but just in case I haven't, here it is again. Just gorgeous!

More hanging ornies apropos for french country style holiday decorating......grapes and wine casks.... how cute is that?!

Can't you just see Lucy stomping on these grapes?! Lucille Ball of "I Love Lucy" fame.......remember that episode?????

"Peppermint" pillows..........well, that's what they remind me of anyway.

More holiday plates.

I've been going around telling hubs to "Don't get your tinsel in a tangle!" the past week or so. LOL

Blingy goblet.....

More plates.........

In a few days you'll see the last of the tour. And if you have a couple of thousand dollars...........well, we'll keep that for the last post, sweet chicks! ;-)

Greenhurst Nursery #15

I was telling Love Bunny last night that if I ever mention doing a series of posts with 335 photos again that he can just shoot me right then and there!! But I had to share this special place. However, I doubt very seriously that I'll do something for posting with this many photos again. It's taken an enormous amount of time to take them, edit them, decide which ones were worthy of showing, uploading them, writing text for most of them and then scheduling them all for future dates. This has to tell you how much I love blogging, chicks! It is another "passion" of mine.

An aside here:
My blog will always be a happy place - a place where it is safe to come and read, not much controversy as I see it, no ill feelings towards anyone, just a relaxing, calm, serene place to come. If you want things other than that I'd invite you to visit them on the internet where they certainly have them! But for me and this blog I want to lift people up and hope they have a joyous time reading what I write. I want it to show love and humor and happiness. That's my goal.

I also thank the nursery for allowing me to take the pix. They looked at me as if I was a bit nutty but they agreed. I had no control over lighting, it was what it was and there was nothing to be done about it but for the most part it was certainly adequate. I worked around the staff and customers, who were kind and gracious when noticing I was "shooting" pictures. But you might see a head in some of the pictures. I think it just adds to the festiveness of the whole shebang! They always got out of the way without me even commenting to them. That's how people generally are around here: kind, loving and gracious. That's why I love Idaho so much.

Cup of hot chocolate anyone? Nuuuuu, not real. Since this place sells candy it was sprinkled around the little kitchen area of the nursery. You could tell what was fake and what was real because the "real" candy had cellophane on it with an "ingredients" sticker on it. Most of the stuff was faux though. :-)

Cookie Jar and some "real" sweets!

Oh, be still my heeeartttt!! Chocolate cheesecake - my most favorite dessert of all desserts in all the whole world.....faux though. Hah

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose.......(singing in my most melodious tones!) and cookies baking in the vintage oven.

Sparkly balls on stems.

Who would have ever thought of a "chocolate" tree?!??! Yesssssssss!!!

I showed these cupcakes to my ebay group and they asked me what they were made of. I don't know; I didn't pick them up. But they sure looked real and delish, chicks!!

Little tarts........uhhhh, the desserts, not you, my little cherubs! And little chocolate and red sparkly "peppermint" drops.......

Okay okay, so you've seen the snowman apron in another post, adjust and live with it! This is just a close up of his sweet face and mitten-hand pockets.

Ice cream cone hanging ornies, ribbon candy, banana splits, tarts and candy garlands! More to coooooooome!! Hehehe and hohohoho.......

Frosty gum drops..........

I want this clock more than you can ever imagine. It may be mine when we go back there this weekend.

Ice cream sundae hanging ornies........

Ummmmm.......wonder if this would fit around hubs' neck and I could bite it every once in a while. LOL Yep, it's a real one - cellophane and ingredient sticker, remember???? ;-)

Looks like a peppermint sweet candy but it's a pedestal cake plate.

Another pedestal cake plate, just a tad different from one above. And some bon-bons, faux, under a cloche.

Dive right in my sweets!

Lemon meringue pie hanging ornies, cupcakes, cherry pie and chocolate cake! Whoooooa......like a kid in a candy store.

This cone looks more like a yogurt instead of ice cream and then there's the pink and yellow faux cupcakes!!! Yummmm

Well, that's it for today, but I'm telling ya I'm saving the pièce de resistance for the last. However, there are more things coming with the next couple of posts that I doubt you've seen anywhere else. You think the above stuff can't be topped???? Au contraire, mes amis, oui, il peut!! Just you wait. This is the 15th in the series and there are a total of 18 so only 3 more to go after this one. It ain't over yet, my little chickees......

Vignettes Can Be a Lot of Different Things

People think vignettes have to be a book and a vase of roses or something similar. Not necessarily true, chicks, although that can be quite stunning and original if taken the time to think it out "creatively." It can be anything you want it to be as long as you assemble items in one particular space - a little space with items that evoke emotion is what works best for me. Something pleasing to the eye. I've gone around my home and just photographed some little descriptive vignettes to show as examples.

A pedestal rose plate with bars of fragrant soaps - some hand painted - and some little fizzie bath hearts given to me. They are absolutely sweet smelling and fragrance my guest bathroom.

A stack of white towels in a little pink wire basket. They are in there for guest's immediate pleasure and convenience so as not to have to go rummaging around underneath the cabinets. Just a thought to the comfort of my guests and family. ;-) I have a friend with a teenage boy who is meticulous in his personal grooming and will not use a towel after someone else. So I decided to do this with him in mind. Always a fresh and scented one for that young man. He steals my heart with being so well groomed.

Some little birdhouses on my mantel - one I made and three my friend, Rhea, made. Hers are stunning and I have a lot of items from her - so many, in fact, that I may have to dedicate a room to her! ;-)

Some old vintage rusty finials on my mantel also. I love the patina and rust of these old iron objects. These don't have much verdigris on them but I especially love the verdigris on old copper objects. And, of course, the proverbial "rose" to add to their beauty. If you knew how many roses I have in this house you'd faint. I have several hundred ribbon roses, many silk roses, dozens of paper roses, millinery roses and porcelain roses. I should call this the Rose House. Well, actually some of my friends do call it that.

Starfish that I spray painted pink and sprinkled on german glass glitter. I just love the look of them on the mantle. I love "fluff" everywhere I can arrange to have it.

Even my craft paints and paint swatches from a paint store can be a vignette when arranged on a vintage old shelf with snippets of leftover lace tacked on the shelf. I think you'll have to agree it adds "color" to the place!

As simple as some vintage salt and pepper shakers painted pink and set on the shelf with paints.

Even little sachets scented with fragrance oils lined along another shelf can add not only beauty but a wonderful scent to enjoy in any room. Yes, I actually do this in every single room - living room, family room, baths, office, bedroom......every room. And these certainly add beauty to the room.

And then there are the tops of book cases that aren't really conducive to hold actual book on the top so I just put some vintage sewing drawers with CDs or DVDs in them and little boxes I've tried selling but didn't. So buyers loss is my room's gain! LOL

One of my favorite vignettes is artist paint brushes. I just love seeing all the brushes in a pretty vase or container. These are mine and I would NOT call my self an artist. I call myself a BEGINNER!! ;-)

I have a bowl on my coffee table that has some pink sea shells (I painted them pink) and I love the juxtaposition of them with the roses and faux desserts I have on there. This one below is not in my home but I think it's stunning. Just simple everyday things gathered together in one spot for a lovely vignette. Rocks in a vintage yellow bowl, starfish and old ephemera.

The roses, sea shells, starfish, a wicker basket leaning against a wall, attractive statues, a container of nails and a plate of fruit.

I liked this room when I first saw it and was drawn back to it because of the table vignette near the dormer. I also stack pictures on the floor leaning up against a baseboard. I just love the look of "high" and "low" pictures. Most people hang their pictures too high on a wall. That's fine if there are other pictures below it but the room looks out of whack if all pictures are at one level in a room and that level is 6 feet up the wall. Lower your pictures so that the lowest part of the frame is no more than 46 - 48" from the floor. It will make quite a cozy difference in the look.