Rednesday ~ Trend Setting

I'm finally getting to link up to Rednesday again. Woo Hoo! Please visit Sue when you're done here to see what everyone else has shared. Her place is always so Cherry... and cheery too!

The Clutter Cat is on patrol, gently reminding everyone that this spot has been reclaimed as usable space. When I clear out enough room in the office this set up will be moved in there. You want to see the office? Too bad, I have a little pride left. I'll share it when it's been reclaimed too!

So this is the corner I shared last week. Much better don't you think. Karen, from Some Days are Diamonds gave me great ideas on getting office paper work organized. Yes, that is a dish drainer holding my files. The beauty is the files stand up, stay separated, and can easily be read and accessed. Plus the limited slots make you simplify your filing and keeps it manageable. If it's not easy, I probably won't get it done! I wanted to give you a link to Karen's cute set up but I couldn't find the right post and she's off to an artists' retreat so I'll ask her when she gets back. Oh, and if you look real hard you'll spot some red in this corner!

I couldn't resist this last photo I found while cleaning. What a trend setter! I know you all love red polka dots! This is me in about 1st or 2nd grade. I'm pretty sure mom made the dress but I'll have to ask her. I still have to wrestle those cowlicks into place every morning. By afternoon they're back. If only feathered bangs would come back in style, I'd be rockin' them!

Happy Rednesday!

Dawn

Rednesday ~ Paper Mache Tray

This brightly colored tray is another find from our attic. It looks great on the red background of our dining room but it's a bit hard to photograph in there so I took it out on the front porch. You can see a photo of it in an earlier post here.

I just love the French style and Provencal colors,

but it isn't French.

These trays are paper mache and made in Japan. From what I've found on the Internet they were made as bar ware from the 30's to 50s. The lower part of the curved type says "Alcohol Proof". There are many that look similar and some that are much bigger and more extravagant. They often have this French look but I've seen them in very retro 50's pattterns too.

Hey, the stamp is red too. I just love red and yellow together. :)

Please visit Sue at It's a Very Cherry World for more REDnesday fun.

REDnesday ~ Egg Cups to Match My Vintage Apron!

I was so tickled to find these egg cups at Strawberry Saturday.

They go so well with my vintage apron.

Had to rearrange my vintage corner to find a place for them.

It's amazing how well they go together.

Considering they were made about 60 years apart!

They even go well with the button at the top of this post! If you'd like to see more fabulous red things click on it to be whisked away to It's a Very Cherry World! Happy REDnesday!
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

Blue Monday ~ Dinning Room Got the Blues

It's Blue Monday and this is my first time joining in the fun at Smiling Sally's. Please remember to visit Sally and see who else has the blues today.

I recently shared some rooster plates that had beautiful blue borders in different patterns. They were the added to tie some blue and white salt and pepper shakers into my red, green and yellow color scheme. You can check them out by clicking here. I was really trying to stick with those colors but my rooms seem to take on a life of their own and before I knew it blue had become the main accent in the dinning room. These are some of my favorite blue and white plates that hang over my hutch.

This one hangs high on the picture rail to cover where the pipes from the original wood stove in the kitchen sent warm air to other rooms. It had been removed long before we moved in. The picture rails had been cut around the duct work so the top of a circle is missing from half of the rail here. The hole itself was covered by what almost looks like an upside down plate. If you look close you can see part of the rim under my plate.

My hutch is always evolving depending on what new treasure I've found, the seasons and if I need extra storage for groceries. It's not uncommon to find a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos wedged in there "for now". Our dinning room is the middle of our home and open to several other rooms. We have a small galley kitchen so we eat here every day and use the table for everything from paperwork to crafts. Some day I'll get all the rooms clean at the same time, have the puzzles, bills and smore's maker cleared off the table and the curtains back up. Then you can see the whole room, but don't hold your breath! That's why I covered the mirrors inside the hutch with wallpaper. Mirrors are great at doubling space but they also double clutter!

One my favorite collections is my Tracy Porter Stonehouse Farm ceramics. It has a quirky mix of great colors and patterns. Some pieces are mostly dark, dark blue, almost black, with just a little of the red and cream plaid. Others are just the opposite. Throw in a rooster, some almost pastel veggies and a bright green accent and they're perfect for someone like me who likes everything and can't make up her mind what direction to go!

You can see the rooster plates next to the hutch. Not much is left of my original color scheme except a few table clothes but they can only be seen at dinner time when the rest of the day's accumulation gets cleared away!

The yellow and green have taken a back seat to the blue and red.

And Bessie is looking girlie in her blue toile bow!

I don't mind though, sometimes Plan B works out for the best. That's Plan "B" for Blue of course!

Have a great Blue Monday.

Dawn

Three or More Tuesday ~ Rooster Plates

Today I'm joining Tam @ The Gypsy's Corner for my first Three or More Tuesday. I suspect it will probably always be "or More" for me.

I'm sharing 4 rooster plates that set me on a new path for a color scheme in my dinning room. I started out with a soft red, green and yellow palette and was trying to keep to it, something that's hard for me to do. I was doing great until my sweet son bought me blue and white salt and pepper shakers. Foiled again. I had to find a way to make them feel like they belonged. Can't have our salt and pepper shakers feeling like they don't fit in now can we? It took a long time but I finally found these rooster plates in a Williams - Sonoma catalog. I know, I know, not exactly thrifty. But they saved my sanity so they were worth it. Each plate has the same rooster in my original colors. But each plate...

has a different...

graphic...

border...

in blue!

Here's all four together.

They just make me so happy.

Silly, huh?

Now strut on over to Tam's place and check out all the other Three or More participants. I hear she purged her closets so we'll all meet at goodwill when we're done!

Dawn

Wordless Wednesday ~ Blogger's Choice: Special Delivery

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