Rednesday and Thrifty Thursday

It's our last Rednesday before Valentine's Day so I'm sure our hostess Sue, at It's a Very Cherry World, and the other Rednesday participants will have lots of Red love to share! I've got a few Valentine decorations on my mantle and they were all thrifty finds so I'm also joining Leigh for Thrifty Thursday at Bloggeritaville.

I picked up a package of 12 vintage style Valentine cards at Ross for a dollar and some change. I'm afraid I was thinking LOVE and not thrifty so I don't remember the exact prices on some of these. The pug love shack was my favorite of the designs. You can just see the edge of the mosaic plaque that I posted about last Rednesday. I have it on a gold scrolly stand, of course! My green rooster from yesterday's post is also on the mantle and was from Big Lots a few years ago.

Here are some tins along with the footed flower bowl I shared on a previous Rednesday. Everything here came from Strawberry Saturday, my favorite thrift store. The small tins have hinged lids. They fit nicely in my kind of English Cottage living room.

I absolutely fell in love with this tin that looks like an open book. The pen and pocket watch are raised off the surface. The watch is scratched but I don't mind. I think I paid 3 or 4 dollars for it.

Finally, here is another romantic little vase with roses, butterflies and cherubs. It also was a few dollars. As often happens at Strawberry Saturday I go up to the counter with an arm load of stuff thinking I may have to put something back and then I'm surprised when the bill is much lower than I figured. Cheryl likes to keep her customers happy and coming back so she will often discount things. I never even try to bargain with her because her prices are so low to start with but she does it anyway! She is such a sweetie. I even saw her offer to deliver items to a lady in a wheel chair who had ridden the bus to the store and had too much to carry home.

If are ever in the Merced area make sure you stop by Strawberry Saturday on Yosemite Parkway and Marthella Ave. Along with her "gently used" items Cheryl also stocks items that follow the latest trends at cost to "class the place up" as she says. I didn't set out to do an ad here but most of these items came from S.S. and it really is a great place to dig for treasures. I mean that literally, she has a lot of stuff! Sorry for being so wordy today, didn't plan that either!

Paula's in the House! Rednesday/Thrifty Thursday

That's right, Paula's in the house, but first I wanted to show you this gorgeous bag! Gloria used it to wrap the darling lamp she made for me. I want to frame this bag! Uh oh, I got so excited about Rednesday and Thrifty Thursday that I almost forgot to give you the links!

That's better. Now you can visit Sue at It's a Very Cherry World and Leigh over in Bloggeritaville when your done here. I hope some of you were able to take inspiration from Leigh and find a chance to pay it forward in real life since last Thurday. I'm ashamed so say I forgot so that's my mission for the rest of this week.

Back to Paula....

Hey, you're not Paula! What's going on here?

Oh my! Miss Henrietta, you can't use my new colander for a nest! Let's find a better place for your little egg. It will get fried if you leave it here next to the stove! Now if you're wondering why you didn't see Miss Henrietta with her beau at the rooster party it's because she and her little egg just came home with me from Sacramento. They were pretty thrifty at $7, she is quite a beautiful hen after all.

So here's Miss Paula, showing off my new colander. I had been wanting a red one to replace my 80's pink and blue one for a long time. It was 20 years old and starting to rust in a few places. When Kohls opened here a few weeks ago everything was on sale. I saved $5 on this pretty baby!

I love the little black speckles in it that Paula says are a contemporary update of old fashioned enamelware. So now I guess you can add contemporary to my hyphenated design style...hmm....naw...we'll stick with Frenchy-English-American-Country-Cottage-Farmhouse, it has such a ring to it!

Now this beauty is an absolute treasure to me. I had been oohing over all your tole trays for a long time. I told Gloria I was looking for one at the Antiques Faire. I saw a few but non were the right colors for me. Gloria and I were just leaving the last row to head for the exit when she turned around for some reason and gasped! She pointed and said "There's your tray!" The tag said $30 but Gloria went to negotiate while I started digging to see how much money I had left. She got it down to $25 and that was a miracle considering I was so excited I was about to hyperventilate. I'm surprised they didn't see if they could get more than the tag said! I have never seen one so large. It measures 25 inches across. That's bigger than my turkey platter!

I loved all these red tables and chairs but like I said in my last post, I promised hubby I wouldn't bring home any furniture...this trip...

I know Antiques sales are usually not that thrifty but there was a lot more than antiques here and most prices were reasonable. Almost every dealer came down a little when asked. All day long my mom kept saying, "This is the most fun I've ever had for three dollars." Parking was even free! Now that's thrifty! Friday or Saturday I'll show you some of the "finer" pieces we looked at. Notice I didn't say "bought"!

Thursday is also the first episode of "Doors of Welcome" hosted by Karen at Some Days are Diamonds. I wasn't quite finished with mine yet and yesterday's storm wreaked havoc on what I did have done. I may be a little late in posting my doors but will try to get them up by tomorrow night.

It sure is getting busy around here...must be the season.

Hugs,

Dawn

Three or More Tuesday ~ French Country Chandy Shades

It's Tuesday so it must be time to share Three or More special items with Tam at The Gypsy's Corner. Please stop by and see who's sharing this week.

When we moved to this home the dinning room was lit by two long fluorescent tubes. I don't even think they had the box around them anymore. One day hubby came home and said he had found a light for the dinning room. My first question was, "Where?" He said a friend bought a house and didn't like the light. My second question was, "Why?" He said the house was a 60's, modern type house and the light didn't fit in, it was old fashioned and ... shiny brass. I was growing more and more skeptical each time he opened his mouth. I didn't even have to ask the last question because he blurted out, "Come on, it's FREE! Let me bring it home and if you don't like it I'll get rid of it." You're probably wondering why I wasn't jumping for joy. I mean, anything would be better that those two buzzing tubes glaring down over our only place to eat, right?



The problem was I didn't trust my husband's taste in decorating. I didn't want to go through the hassle if it wasn't something I absolutely loved. I could live with the tubes until I found the perfect frenchy chandelier. Besides I knew if I he brought it home and it didn't work out it would still be sitting in the garage for years to come. We don't get rid of things that easily. There is always some excuse for keeping things around. It's in our blood.


He continued pleading and promised I would love it. "OK, OK, fine," I told him, "Bring it home". Boy was I shocked when I saw the old fashioned, shiny brass, free light. It was a chandelier!

And not just any chandelier,

it was a scrolly, leafy,

frenchy chandelier

with not 3 lights,

not even 8 lights,




but 12 lights!

It has 8 arms, 4 with single lights and 4 with two lights. I instantly fell in love with it. I've pretty much given hubby carte blanche to bring home any thing he finds now. I bought white shades to recover and set out to find the perfect fabric. It actually took a couple of years! Then I stumbled upon this little cotton print. The colors were perfect and it had both a French and English feel with the paisley and roses. It also reminds me a bit of a bandana print so it gives that American farmhouse feel too.

I set about covering the shades and adding a scalloped sort of fringe to the bottom. Of the twelve I only messed up on one and absent mindedly put the fringe on the top of the shade! I've got one thing left to do and that's dust those beautiful shiny brass arms first thing in the morning. I certainly hadn't planned on sharing those "3 or more" dust bunnies I spotted. Dust bunnies under the couch are one thing. Swinging from my chandelier? I don't think so!

Dawn

May I introduce myself?

Hello friends. I'm so happy to finally have my blog underway. This is my first post! I've been tip-toeing around the neighborhood getting a feel for it. I've visited many of your blogs but was always a little too shy to say hello. I just can't keep away any longer. You all are too fun and friendly for me to stay in the shadows. So here I am on your doorstep, suitcase...uh...er.. laptop in hand, inviting you to my home. If you're inclined to visit again you'll most likely find that I like things casual but pretty. You'll also find my style is a bit of this and a bit of that. I like the flourish of all things French, the tradition of English style, the nostalgia of vintage and the freshness of an American farmhouse.

I am enjoying fixing up our home and making it a place my family and friends feel welcome. I love browsing thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets so that special item can find me. I'm lucky enough to have an attic full (I'm talking packed to the rafters) of things my in-laws saved over the last 70 plus years and I'm finally getting around to going through it. And who can resist an occasional trip to the large discount stores? My home is ever-evolving. I love what I have but it can always use a little tweaking. It's not just about the "things" though. As much fun as we all have collecting, making and arranging, it's the feelings the items bring out in us, the places they take us, the connection they give us that makes them special.

I hope you've enjoyed meeting me and find yourself in a cottage state of mind today!
Dawn