Pottery Barn Inspired Re-dos...and...Some Frenchy Finds

It’s Monday, so it’s time to show off the great deals we have been finding and the way we have spiffed them up into decorating treasures! I’m excited to join Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday so I can share my latest projects and see what all of my fellow bloggers have been up to this week! Much of my inspiration came from the new Pottery Barn catalog, which is filled with beautiful lanterns decorated for Fall!

Soooo….I set off to Walmart in hope of finding some that I could afford….and voilà! I found three different styles on the clearance aisle for a total of $18…not bad! Next I removed the glass…much easier said than done! Most of it was held in by those sticky foam tabs that you can see inside the large one. Grrr….I had to remove them, too, so they wouldn’t show.

With the glass finally removed, I took out my trusty Rust-oleum textured black spray paint! It gives a nice wrought iron effect and is very forgiving of drips and assorted boo-boos. Once they dried, I popped the glass back in and…

…I filled this one with a candle and candy corn…just like in the PB catalog. I’m such a copy cat!

This one has an artificial pumpkin and dried black beans. In the PB catalog, the pumpkin is actually a candle, but since I would never light it, this Walmart $1 special will do just fine! I bought another one of these lanterns so I would have a pair to put on my mantel at Christmas time.

This one I left plain and did not put the glass back in since it was so thick and wavy.

And…taaa daaa!!…here is the finished project! What do you think? Not bad for about $20 total, huh?

I also noticed an antique dough bowl filled with pillar candles and my little wheels started turning again because I have my grandmother’s dough bowl! So I filled it with dried pinto beans and added some candles and miniature white pumpkins and here is the result!

The colors are subtle, but it still says Fall! The PB version didn’t show how the candles were anchored, so I just decided to use the beans. They also used glass balls, but I like these cute little white pumpkins instead because they add a little additional interest. What do you think?

These are not PB inspired, but I had to show you these little farm animals from Dollar Tree! Aren’t they the cutest things? They look very frenchy to me for some reason….especially the sheep!

And this is definitely frenchy! My friend Linda at Nina’s Nest found these for me at Goodwill! When she called to tell me about them, I squealed “Put ‘em in the cart…fast!” lol Linda has a set just like these and I have had canister envy ever since she bought them! Now I am cured! Isn't she a wonderful friend? And best of all, it was only $12 for all four! They say (l to r) tea, flour, sugar and coffee.

That's it for this week. Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to join our wonderful hostesses Rhoda and Susan for more thrifting finds and amazing re-dos! I’ll see you next time! A la prochaine!

Metamorphosis/Mosaic Monday...or...My Grandson Designs Superhero Toys!

At the tender age of six…almost seven...my grandson decided that he would like to design a “line of toys” (his words!), superheroes and villains that would appeal to children his age! A future entrepreneur? Maybe! So…crayons and paper in hand, he set about drawing them. My job? To transfer them from paper to cloth…to create his prototypes, so to speak!

Here is his original design! It is a little wrinkled because we took it to the fabric store to choose our materials. My grandson made all of the decisions himself…fabrics, colors, buttons, yarn. He had total creative control of his project! Let me introduce you to his creations and show you their metamorphosis from drawings to actual toys!

This is his superhero T.E. We don’t know what T.E. stands for. It seems that it helps to have initials as your name if you are a superhero! As you must know, all superheroes have super powers and T.E.’s is a powerful punching arm, as you can see in the drawing. One design change that was made was the addition of the periods after the initials.

Here is T.E.’s arch enemy…XTE, who underwent quite a few design changes. When a satisfactory multicolor fabric for his cape couldn’t be found, my grandson changed it to red. And since XTE is a robot, he also decided to change him to gray so that he wouldn’t be sporting the same colors as our hero T.E.

Even at six, my grandson understood that it is a smart idea to also appeal to the feminine toy buyers, so he designed P.O. as his superheroine! Now, I know what you are thinking, but P.O.’s name is just initials. That’s just the deal with superheroes. She is very good at roping the villains!

And every line of toys needs to include a monster, so this is T-Rex…a fire-breathing sort of dragon-dinosaur mix! As you can see, he sometimes falls prey to the roping skills of our heroine, P.O. I think he is my favorite.

So here they are…my grandson’s line of toys. He is now nine years old, but he is still very proud of his creations and is awaiting a financial opportunity to begin manufacturing! So if one day you should happen to see T.E and P.O. in stores, remember…you saw them here first!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please join Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday to see one of her beautiful mosaics and to find a list of this week’s participants!

Then join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, where you will be treated to changes that she is making around her beautiful home! Be sure to visit our fellow bloggers, who will also be displaying some fun and interesting changes! I’ll see you next time! A la prochaine!

Mosaic Monday/Outdoor Wednesday...or...Heirloom Flowers

Today I am sharing something that is very special to me…my heirloom flowers! These are flowers that came from my grandmother and mother’s yard or garden. They are not fancy, but have very special meaning to me. Let me show them to you and tell you their stories!

Several years ago, while visiting my elderly aunt, I asked her for something…anything…from my grandmother’s garden. You see, my aunt inherited my grandmother’s home and what was once a beautiful flower garden behind it. It was January and all that we could find was a clump of grape hyacinths. I happily dug them up and took them home with me.

It took two years, but they finally bloomed this Spring!! What a wonderful surprise to see these flowers peeking up at me from the pot! But the best surprise came last Spring, when two tiny plants appeared among the hyacinths. I decided to let them grow to see what they were and…

…after some research, I realized they were Rose of Sharon shrubs! It is not a rose at all, but a very hardy cousin of the hibiscus. Then I remembered that was how my aunt had identified the plants growing near the grape hyacinths. And best of all, there were two of them. I felt that they were very special gifts from my grandmother...one for me and one for my sister!! So…I potted them separately and watched them grow from little sprouts to big, tall plants. I gave this one to my sister, since it was the only one that bloomed last year.

This Spring, I planted mine in the ground, hoping that it would bloom, too. What a wonderful surprise when it did!! Mine was this lovely shade of purple!! I did some more research and found out that sometimes the seedlings will be a different color from the parent plant. Don’t tell my sister, but I think I got the prettier one!! lol

I also want to show you my ginger lilies. I dug these up from my mom’s yard the night before we left her home for the last time and put it up for sale. I have had them planted in my yard for seven summers now and they never disappoint. They have the most fragrant and delicate flowers. People walking by my house have stopped to ask me where that wonderful smell was coming from! I wish I had a scratch and sniff blog so I could share the fragrance with you, but imagine gardenias and you will be close! They also attract hummingbird moths in the evening. I want to photograph them for another post, but they have not shown up yet this year.

I love the way the lilies spread…almost above the ground. When I cut into them to divide and share them with my sister and my daughter, I discovered why they are called ginger lilies. Not only do the rhizomes look like ginger, they smell like it, too!

It doesn’t bloom, but I also wanted to show you this cast iron plant. It came from my mother’s yard, but was originally planted at my godfather’s house. I love its bright green leaves and dense foliage! It’s a very slow spreader and really prefers more shade than I have at my current home. I also had it planted along a shady fence at my previous home and it was a show stopper!

I am sure that all of these plants are available in catalogs, but I love the idea of “pass-along’’ plants that come from the garden of a relative or friend. That makes them so much more special!!

Thanks for coming by! Please head on over to Mary’s wonderful blog Little Red House for Mosaic Monday to see one of her beautiful mosaics and to find out who else is playing along this week.

Then stop by A Southern Daydreamer to pay a visit to our own Georgia girl, Susan for Outdoor Wednesday. You’ll be treated to her beautiful gardens and find a list of more fabulous blogs with lots of amazing places to visit and things to see. See you next time! A la prochaine!

It's a Cloche Party...or...Staff Favorites Under Glass

It’s time for the Marty’s Cloche Party at A Stroll Thru Life and I am still suffering from cloche block! So the management here at Plate Addict suggested that my staff and I each decorate a cloche using our favorite thing! Sounds like a great idea since…

…I have been sitting on ready, having added my little handmade vintage tag (instructions here), waiting for the cloche muse to inspire me with ideas for how to fill it! Let’s see what kinds of ideas the staff might have!

Here is our PR gal Isabella’s entry for the cloche party! She has chosen her beloved faux leopard catnip mouse! She is our little supermodel and loves those little fashionable touches! However, she has informed me that if management would allow her to go outside, she would fill it with her real favorite…lizard skin…and NOT faux!! lol

This cloche was decorated by our own webmaster Kitty who, as her name suggests, is a no frills kind of gal. She has chosen her favorite kibble. No snooty gourmet food for this little lady! She's a sweetie! Don’t sit still very long or she will be in your lap!

Here’s a sneak peek at our CEO Ozzie’s playful side. She has filled her cloche with her favorite…the ring from a milk/juice jug! However, do not believe that she let down her guard for long! Two staff members were disciplined by her for trying to interfere during her photo session!

Not to be outdone, our co-host Baby Kitty has chosen his favorite…a ripe, juicy Georgia peach! As you can see, this is his favorite summer treat! (Yes, he really does eat peaches!) He denies it, but I strongly suspect that it is because the color of the peach compliments his fur! As with all celebrities, he is never one to miss a photo-op!

And here is my favorite under glass for the cloche party. Hmmmm…..somehow I don’t think it’s working!

Maybe you had better head on over to Marty’s to see what everyone else is doing!! Thanks so much for stopping by! I’ll see you next time! A la prochaine!

Management wishes to thank Sax at Emptynester for suggestions for this post!

Thrifty Treasures/Metamorphosis Monday...or...More Vintage Tags and Some Frenchy Finds

It’s Monday, so it’s time to show off the great deals we have been finding and the way we have spiffed them up into decorating treasures! I am doing a double post and hooking up with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures and also with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday!

You may recall that in my last post, I showed you how to create your very own and very easy vintage tags (click here for instructions) and there is no denying that I went a little crazy! lol But the more I looked at them, the more I realized that they were missing something. Sooooo…

I bought these vintage-looking keys at Hobby Lobby on sale for half price, added a little black organza ribbon and…

…voilà! I think the key and ribbon added some interest and some frenchiness to my tag! You will also notice that I bought an Eiffel Tower stamp, also at Hobby Lobby for half price!

I have added a tag to my cloche that I won from Linda at My Shabby Rose Cottage. Hmmmm…the inside is still empty. Let’s hope my cloche block is taken care of before the party at Marty’s on September 11th! Maybe Baby Kitty has some ideas!

I have also added a tag to this great wire basket that I found while Goodwill hunting with my friend Linda at Nina’s Nest for only $5.00!! I LOVE its shape…so different from anything else I have seen…and, of course…so frenchy!

I have put bath necessities in it and placed it near my tub. The staff had to inspect the contents and give it their approval first.

Now for a terrific bargain…the new issue of the Meredith Specials Country French decorating magazine for Fall/Winter 2009! It is more of a book than a magazine with a price tag of only $9.99!!! Wooo hooo!! If you are a fan of French country decorating books, you know that the going price is $40, so these are a steal! I love these! Plus you get to see the style of multiple decorators.

By my count, this is issue number five. They have been published every Fall since 2005. If you missed out on any of them, do not despair, since they reissue them on a regular basis during the year. Each one is approximately 150 pages full of beautiful photos and wonderful decorating ideas. The ads are limited to one or two on the inside covers and are also beautiful! I have found them at Home Depot and Publix.

When you open it up, you will be treated to wonderful photos like this one. I am drooling for that vaisselier full of blue and white plates! It is my dream to one day have a real one like this…a wonderful French antique!! (photo by Meredith Specials)

Ohhh….that reminds me…

It may not be an antique, but I love my frenchy chair! It’s just like the ones in the photo above…well, pretty darn close…only mine came from Goodwill and only cost $20!! Now that’s my kind of deal! Until I win Mega Millions and can afford to buy an old farmhouse in Provence, then have Charles Faudree decorate it, I will keep Goodwill hunting and hoping I can beat the other ladies to the really good deals!! lol

Merci for stopping by! Please join Rhoda and Susan to see more thrifty treasures and amazing transformations from our very clever fellow bloggers! See you next time! A la prochaine!