Magpie Ethel

I Have a Bird Addiction

It started with one and has multiplied to over 40.  Vintage birds.  In the bathroom.

I have a problem with collections.  I love them.  I probably have 30 collections displayed in my house.  Vintage advertising spoons, floral trays, figural cream vases, wedding toppers, metal floral curtain tacks...the list goes on and on.  One of my favorite collections is the birds that have taken over the main bathroom in our house.

Time to share...

Aren't they great?  I usually pick them up at estate sales for a few dollars.  The little yellow birds with the hats are my favorite.  The two bluebirds hang on the frame of the mirror over the sink (there are actually three of the bluebirds).  I even have a little lamp with birds that my friend Lori insisted that I have.   My mom says I don't have any more room for birds...but I can always find a spot for my next little feathered friend!

Sale Pictures

Tomorrow is the sale (see April 22nd post)  We set up today. (I managed to hit an estate sale and a garden event sale at Monticello Antique Mall before set up tho!)  I love how my spot turned out.  Chock full of sparkle, glitter and whimsy.

                         

Come check out the sale if you live nearby...

(once again, forgive the odd layout...still haven't figured out that part of typepad - grrrrr.)

Perfect thing

I recently re-did my kitchen (April 3rd post).  In the nook I stripped wallpaper...which I still liked, but was ready for something a little less busy.  Plus, I did a really bad job of putting it up and it has always bothered me.

Old wallpaper.

After stripping the wallpaper and painting the nook a pale blue (to go with a blue pergo floor) the walls looked so bare!  I have a 15 inch or so spot above the window that was just begging for something.  I have a collection of green tin in my kitchen which inspired my cabinet color choice and I wanted to carry that thru to the nook somehow.  Luck was with me when I went into our local Goodwill and there were old creme colored tin plates with the perfect green rim around them.  I bought all they had.  I needed a couple more to round out the space so went to our local antique mall STARS, where luck was with me again and I found three more very similar plates. They were perfect up above the window!!!  BUT I need a little something more...hmmmmm....I went thru the house trying to come up with something to complement the plates. Luckily I have a collection of vintage metal floral curtain tie-backs holders.  Like a push-pin but with a cool metal flower head.  Just what I was looking for.  They add a little color and interest and are absolutely perfect!   

Crafty Betty Sale

A group of us crafty types have decided to have a spring sale.  We call ourselves The Crafty Betties.  If you happen to live in Portland, Oregon make sure to come check us out.

• The sale is this Saturday, April 26 - noon till 9
• 6323 SE 22nd
• Lots of goodies - fun skirts and headbands for girls and ladies - vintage home decor - fun retro pillows - children's fleece ponchos - little girls pillowcase dresses - big girls tote bags - hip jewelry - retro style aprons - hippie patchwork skirts - cards and stationary - knit and crochet

I have been busy making lots of fun stuff.  Party birds, birthday hats, award ribbons, mother's day corsages etc.  Lots of glitter and bling!  Nothing too practical but eveything fun!

These are a couple of the simple May Day baskets I made.  Embellished with old ribbon and fun little thread covered balls (an obsession of mine...don't know what they are officially called)  I know I would love to come home on May Day and find one of these filled with a simple bouquet hanging from my door!

Hope to see you at the sale!  More pictures coming....

Sweet Sixteen

Just a quick post as I am getting ready for a sale this next weekend (will post soon about that).  Had our family birthday party for my son who turned 16 last Friday.  24 guests...phew!   Here he is outside with the birthday numbers that I put up each year.  They are old gas station numbers (to change the price of gas) that I found at a shop. I have numbers 0-9, so each birthday I haul out the corresponding age. (the kids secretly like it I think, although they always tell me I don't need to bother!)  I love that it announces to the neighborhood that WE ARE HAVING A BIRTHDAY!

We had a traditional birthday cake, but I always make cupcakes to hand off to the kids that can't wait until I slice the cake.  These were decorated with a moldy shade of green frosting and gummy eyeballs.  The kids loved them.  I liked how they stared at you from the cupcake stand.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Repurposed Linens

Checking in with my blogs today and was reading a post on My Little Life that talked about what to do with damaged vintage embroidery/linens.  She asked what others did with their damaged linens and I decided to share a couple of my projects...

A few years ago I got about 25 damaged dishtowels.  Huge holes, and totally unusable but Oh My Goodness ... they had the cutest butterflies.  Someone had saved them all and I got them for a quarter each. Some wonderful woman had taken a lot of time making them and they were a mix of old fabrics embellished with embroidered details.  I cut some out and used fusible web (from the fabric store) to adhere them to a sweater.  I also stitched around them to make sure they stayed put.

I liked how the sweater turned out so much that I tried the same thing using a hooded sweatshirt.

I LOVE the detail on this cat!

I added this whimsical creamer, teapot and sugar bowl to the back.

Turned out to be fairly simple project and I get lots of compliments when I wear them.  The hardest part was finding the great images on old tea/kitchen towels.  Part of the thrill of hitting those estate sales.

Spring

Rainy and cold today, (typical spring in Portland, Oregon) but they are forecasting in the seventies this weekend.  I am so ready!  Made this little gem in the studio today.  She is ready to welcome the warm weather as well. 

Hoping for some good estate sales this weekend...has been a rather dry spell lately.  Cross you fingers.

My back door

My back door (which we use the most) is painted a happy pale yellow.  Unfortunately when I use my key to open the door (top lock) I was scraping off the paint below when the other keys on my ring would rub against the door.  I took a bit of vintage wrapping paper that complemented the door and laminated it.  I then nailed an old metal "R" (the first letter of my last name) over the laminated paper to secure it.  The keys now rub against this...no more scratched paint.  Plus it is cute to boot!!!!

I want to thank Linda from restyled home for mentioning my kitchen on her blog.  For once I feel like I am not blogging into a void.  When I check to see how many people have linked over from her blog...WOW!  Thanks for checking in with Little old Magpie Ethel!

Also was at Michaels yesterday and noticed they had a big sign posted that they now accept their 40% off coupon on the Martha Stewart line. YAH!

Happy Wednesday!

Show and Tell

We have lived in our current late 1940S Tudor for over 11 years.  We have updated the kitchen here and there, but I was finally ready to ditch the countertops and backsplash.  I like the cabinets as they are original to the house...but the countertop, backsplash, sink and faucet had to go.   The countertop was blue Formica and the backspash was 4x4 matching blue tiles.  We had installed a blue pergo floor years ago which I still liked and we decided to keep.

BEFORE PHOTO....

THIS IS THE KITCHEN AFTERWARDS!  We did a marble countertop and subway tile backsplash.  Also a new sink, faucet and dishwasher.  I wasn't originally going to paint the lower cabinets but after getting the marble and backsplash up, I realized how shabby the lower cabinets looked and that is what so MUCH WHITE!  I needed some color!  I have alot of vintage green tin sprinkled around the kitchen so I used that as my inspiration color.  The green is called "Sea Glass Green" by Martha Stewart.  I really LOVE how it turned out.

I also decided to strip floral wallpaper out of the nook to lighten that up.  I painted it a pale blue to complement the blue floors.  I have also included pictures of my much loved reconditioned O'Keeffe and Merritt vintage stove.  Next to the stove (with the galvanized top) is a cabinet that my Dad and husband built to house my microwave.  Not alot of countertop space in this kitchen!  The bottom row of photos is of the nook.  The great built-in is part of that space.  My next purchase will be a cool vintage style frig.  I really love the SMEG fridges, but not sure if they are large enough.  Anyhow, just wanted to share my latest project...am so happy with the results!