Magpie Ethel

IKEA Lust

I have been seeing this IKEA cart on a few blogs.  It is part of IKEA's spring line.  I love the color.  Luckily we have an IKEA here in Portland and I ran out there the other day. They had two in stock, so I grabbed one (it also comes in gray).

I put it together and decided it would work best in the studio for now.  I had no trouble filling it up and organizing it.  All my craft paint fit really well on the bottom shelf.
If you happen to venture out to an IKEA, they also have a Liberty of London look-a-like line right now.  Dish clothes, plates, napkins and glasses.  All kinds of fun springy stuff.

Glad I got that heads up in blogland about the cart...tis a happy day!

 

Galvanized Window Box Love

You may remember last summer I talked about switching out my terra cotta pots in the backyard for an assortment of vintage galvanized containers.

This year my window box which Tom made a few years ago decided to rot out.  This is the third window box that has rotted out in our soggy climate in our 16 years in our house. It needed to be repainted and the right end of it was definitely ragged looking.

It fell apart when we lifted it off the supports. It was time for a new one.

I was going to have Tom build me another, but then I got the idea to see if I could have a galvanized one fabricated for me.  I had bought galvanized metal for table tops locally in the past, so I went to the same place, Montavilla Sheet Metal to see if they could do the project.

They could, and I love, love the results.

The top is folded over so no sharp edges and the corners are riveted.

I could not wait to replant it.  Now plants just need to grow and fill in.

A wonderful new addition.

I'll do another post later on the yard as plants fill in and grow with the season.  I love this time of year...and I love that window box!

Collection Challenge #99 - Vintage Lampshades/Lamps

Martha asked me awhile ago if I collected vintage lampshades.  I pick them up here and there if I need one or if they are interesting.  I also like to pick up lamps that interest me too.  I usually have those old lamps rewired as I don't trust them. I also have lamps made from vintage items. Let the lamp/lampshade tour begin.

This figural bird was just begging to be a lamp with my other figural pottery. My dad tweaked it together for me.

I love the shape of this vintage shade on this old floor lamp.

I bought this silly lamp a few weeks ago.  She does not light up.  Her dress and stand are metal. Her face is painted cattywampus on a light bulb. I thought she was sweet, even if she provided no light.
This is one of my favorite lampshades made from vintage fabric.

My neighbor was going to toss this vintage lamp and I rescued it.  The shade is new.

I made a finial for my bedroom lamp from an old figure.  I just glued her onto a metal finial and screwed her on the top of the lamp harp.

This living room floor lamp came with our old house.  It had no shade, so I bought one and added vintage trim to the shade. 

I like the way the lamp lights up at the base as well when you flip a switch.

Vintage as found lampshade...with ruffles.

More ruffles on this bathroom shade.  I added the vintage ruffles to an old shade. I like how the pink interior of the shade and the ruffles work together.

This is my favorite lampshade in my house. It is made of old pleated plastic and came with the embellishments. 

It crowns a wonderful lamp that a friend gave me who knew I collected bird items.

Vintage living room lamp and shade came together.

I purchased this reworked lamp. It was made from an old transfer-ware container.


A tiny estate sale found light. The shade is metal and it reminds me of a nightlight. It casts a happy glow in my kitchen nook.

New shade.  I like the mix of fabrics.

Last but not least a super heavy metal floor lamp. Estate sale found quite a few years ago. The arm swivels up and down.  I was the high bidder in a bid box at an estate sale. 
It has nice details.

Thank you for the suggestion Martha.  I now have freshly vacuumed shades as a result of this post!  If you have an idea for a future collection challenge leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ____." Collections have not been exhausted.

Challenge #100 next week!!!!!! ONE HUNDRED!

I love Easter. Part Two.

More Easter fun.  Here is my mantle.

I love vintage Easter paper decorations and group them together.

The top of my china hutch houses old candy boxes and an assortment of Easter bunnies.

Stay tuned. Still more Easter fun to come.

I love Easter. Part One.

On spring break this week, but the Easter decorations are out.  I love to decorate for Easter as I really love the pastel colors and the welcome to spring.

I don't think I have ever passed by a vintage honeycomb egg.  The old plastic carts are estate sale found.

I tend to segregate my decorations.  Chicks and Ducks.


I have more chicks that live here.  I have no shortage of chicks.

Cluck, Quack and Chirp!  Happy Day!

Pirate Auction...A Year of Lasts

This has been a years of "lasts" for me.  My daughter Kate is a senior in high school and I have been to my last "back to school night", my "last parent/teacher conference" etc.  This past weekend was my last school auction.  I have been a stay at home mom since my kids were born (and Ben is almost 20) so my life has been field trips, teaching art classes at the elementary school, chairing school carnivals, creating year end yearbooks and such. While I have enjoyed my volunteering greatly...I am glad to have some lasts....I have put in my time.

After helping with school auctions since kindergarten years, I am happy to say this is my last.  This year's auction was pirate themed and my co-chair and I had a great time with the decorations.

It was held in an old building nearby at a local amusement park. We had dinner inside the pavilion and a silent auction set up in a tented area outside.

Come on in Matey..but enter at your own risk!

We covered all the tables in paper that resembles barn plank wood...with the idea of "walking the plank".  Each table also had a pirate flag, a embellished treasure box full of trinkets, a mason jar with sand and a candle as well as netting decorating the tables. We had almost 300 attending the auction.

We hung handmade paper lanterns from the ceiling.  We decorated the ends of each table with a "curtain" made of black plastic, netting, cheesecloth, tulle and ribbon.  The curtains floated a bit and looked like an undersea scene.

We borrowed some great pirate props from our local children's theater.

Paula (my co-chair) made an awesome corner screen that lit a pirate silhouette from the rear.  It also had a fan that blew up red and orange "flame" material.

Our food table prior to our food being set out. We had two large wooden wine barrels that flanked the table and held our plates.

We had a silent auction set up in the tent outside.

Complete with bar decorated with raffia skirting and old fishing nets.

This is what happened to those that did not bid.  I painted the signage in the background to look like large tattered sails and we had the signage scattered about the room.

We also made large cardboard pirate chests that were filled with fresh popcorn and caramel corn for silent auction snacking.

The auction went really well.  We had a small budget, and we made the most of it with some creative crafting. I am ready to reclaim my life and get back to estate sales, blogging and crafting.  A year of lasts for me...my last school auction as a volunteer...this pirate ship is setting sail!

Tufted Snowball

You may remember the other day where I shared my newly painted dining room table and talked about the snowball effect with painting it, as one project led to another and on and on.  I showed some old chairs that I had stashed away and had newly put them into service. I also talked about how I REALLY wanted to find a settee to use at the table.  I have found the final snowball and it is tufted.

I have been trolling estate sales, Craig's list and antique shops for the past six months with no luck.  I finally found a love-seat listed on Craig's list in the Seattle area (three hours north of here.) I liked the look of it in the photo, so my mom and I road-tripped north to check it out.

I LIKED IT!

It had the tufted back that I wanted.  I like the small scale of it and the upholstery was in great shape.  It looks perfect at my table.  I only wish it did not have the little arms as I have to pull the table out when we use it, but that isn't a big deal.

Great vintage detail in the construction and wood accents.  Comfy to sit on as well.

The fabric works well with my decor. I may have a cushion made to sit on with a combination patchwork of a couple of fabrics to funk it up a bit. (another project..another snowball!)

So glad to finally have found the final snowball in the dining room.  Makes  me smile every time I walk into the room!

Happy Day!

Three and Six and My Curiousity Cabinet

I bought these two pin back numbers a few months ago at a sale.  They are pin back buttons and not sure of their original use. I had never seen anything like them before and bought them.

I finally figured out a project to do with them.  I decided that my cabinet of curiosities needed numbered doors and these were dandy for that job.

I needed numbers one thru six.  I found the TWO at the Alameda flea market.  I bought the FIVE in Astoria, Oregon at an antique store. I found a FOUR and a ONE in my stash, but hope to find something a bit more exciting in the future.

I added the numbers to my cabinet doors.  It has been awhile since I showed my cabinet and I add items to it often...it is one of my favorite things.

DOOR ONE

A hodge podge of quirky, unusual finds.

A pair of vintage ornaments with tiny scenes inside...I love how I can display treasures like this year round in a safe spot.

Door TWO.

The perfect spot to display an old Magic Slate as a backdrop for other treasures.


The elephant was my grandmothers.  I added old paper parasols.

Door THREE

Hey!  It is me in the cabinet...
Where else can a tiny lone doll roller skate live?

Door FOUR

Door FIVE

Door SIX

I LOVE this cabinet and it is so much fun to add new treasures to.  It is fun to have a quirky spot to display all my vintage finds. My dad and my husband built this cabinet.  If you missed those posts, you can read about it here or here.

 

Vintage Metal Baking Hearts

For the past year I have been collecting the vintage metal baking cake pans shaped like hearts when I see them at estate sales. I also got a couple from Etsy or other shows.

I knew I wanted to use them in Valentine decorating, but collected them with no purpose in mind.

Then I had an idea.  Most of the pans had holes at the top so I tied fishing line from the holes for hanging.  For the couple that did not have a hole, I pounded one thru with a nail.

All but one of my pans were metal, so I could use a magnet.  I had some glittery letters that spelled out LOVE.  I hot glued a magnet to the back of them.

I had an empty space above my dining room window and hung the pans there and added the letters.

A super easy and inexpensive project.  I liked the variety of heart shapes with the pans.  I had one that I bought from a antique show that came with a cute little Valentine and thought that was a sweet touch.

Easy peasy Valentine decorating!  Start collecting those baking pans...

Dining Room Redo and The Snowball Effect

I bought a new/old table last fall at a local consignment shop.  It replaced one that was about 15 years old and had seen better days.  The table fit our old house, but was always a bit large for the current dining room.

I bought this. The size is perfect and I loved the detail on the table, but I did not like the veneer wood top or the fact that there was so much brown wood going on in this space.

Leg detail that I like.

Before the holidays I decided to paint it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I liked that I could just paint it without prepping with this paint and the fact it would paint over any surface.

I chose Paris Grey and went to work.  It took me awhile to get it right as you paint and wax and sand.

I really like the color choice and I enhanced the leg detail with a second paint color, Duck Egg Blue. I used both a clear wax and then a darker wax to give it a deeper older look.

I loved it once it was painted. Then the snowball effect started. I did not like the current chairs with it.  I had an old set of estate sale found metal chairs in my parents attic, so I brought those over.

before.

After. I went with a safe fabric, but I think I will choose something funkier once I make one more purchase.

The final snowball of the snowball effect has yet to be found. I have four metal chairs, but I left one of the old wood ones as I really want to replace it with a settee or love-seat pulled up to the table.  We don't use this table a ton, so I am not concerned with daily use. I also don't have little kids anymore, so the kid factor isn't huge.  I have been on the hunt for a new or vintage one, but that snowball has not materialized.

I want one that is a higher back and tufted.

This one is only shipped to Canada.  I live in Oregon.

I also really like the look of this vintage one (no pillows tho). 

I sure hope to finish up this project soon and get that last snowball in place.  Then I can get onto the next project.