High Five for Friday

I'll be back later today {hopefully} with the tutorial for the chicken wire cloche, I know you are all on the edge of your seat... But I am keeping my own precious little man along with another precious little man who belongs to a friend of mine today, so with two under two, who knows what will get done today :)

So, I thought I'd link up with Lauren at Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday.

1. Been a little into jewelry making this week.... and this is my absolute favorite!

Selling these for $18 if you want one... They are made from vintage beads!

2. I made and sold this set...

3. This little guy is getting baseball fever... Does anyone else see a future Brave?

4. This bag at Target is my FAVORITE! Perfect gift for Mother's Day.... hint hint ;)

5. I got to go here this week and watch Tim Hudson pitch his 200th win AND hit a home run in the same game.... Who says Pitchers aren't athletes? Oh, well I guess American League pitchers aren't ;)

Well, hopefully, I'll see you later!

Have a GREAT Friday!

OH! And don't forget... I think my style makeover will be happening this weekend!! YAY!

Random Thursday.....

Today's post is a little jumbled.... but that is kinda the story of my life right now.

I wanted to show you the new table setting I did in my dining room... I made these chicken wire cloches yesterday and I LOVE them! I'll have a tutorial for you soon....

I also wanted to share with you something really exciting! I am getting a style makeover... Yup you read that right... ME... a style makeover. I have a fabulous sister-in-law named Terah. She is starting her very own styling business. She is amazing at dressing herself AND other people... Jealous? Yeah, me too...

But, she and I are going to go through my closet, and she is going to take me shopping to help me find things that I am not only comfortable (my kind of style) but feel really good in.

I am tired of not wearing something because I feel overweight, or am worried about how big my boobs are or how short my waist is.

There are clothes out there that I will look good in, and will make me feel good about myself and Terah is the perfect person to help me find them! Of course we will be taking pictures and I will show you my new style items!

These are the items that I am in need of on our up-coming vacation....

Cruise Shopping List by lindsey-hohman featuring sleeveless tops

I need:
1. A maxi dress
2. SHORTS!
3. Tops (I cleaned out my closet and only have 15 shirts that aren't long sleeved)
4. Sundresses
5. A formal look
6. Sandals!
7. The dreaded bikini top.... with a size 36F size, this is the hardest thing to find without paying an arm and a leg.....

I will show off all my fabulous finds when I actually find them!

Have a GREAT Thursday.

How I letter in chalk.... An imperfect tutorial

Chalkboards are SO big right now... I love them. They are a very forgiving art medium because you can just erase your mistake and start over. And I do that ALL the time, believe me....

But, today I thought I'd show you how I do the lettering on my chalkboards.

First things first.... get a straight edge. I use a magazine, a piece of cardboard anything.... I hardly use a ruler because I can't find one... I DON'T measure. 

Here are my tips for easy lettering...

1. Use guidelines. This will keep your letters the same size and straight.

2. Vary font and size of words. This will keep your artwork interesting and help to hide imperfections.

3. keep a dry and wet eraser nearby.

4. Always start in the center of the word... NOT the beginning. This way, you will always have room for your letters. (i.e. If I was going to write the word "sparkle" I would start with the letter R right in the middle of my space. Then the K, then the A, then the L, then the P.... get it??)

This image shows you how I did this particular chalkboard that is in my house right now...

-Don't be afraid to add arrows, hearts, and anything else you like!-

There is really no reason to start completely over if you are happy with the beginning. That is the great part about chalkboard art.... just erase what you DON'T like.... and keep going.

See... Even after looking at this for a thousand times I didn't realize that the "never" in this quote was too small to see in the heart.... Classic imperfectness that I will have to change.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. Chalk lettering is SO much fun and really not that hard. If you can't think of what font you want to use, or if you need more of a guideline, type your letters out and print them before you start....

"Have no fear of perfection... You'll never reach it."

- Salvador Dali

Have a GREAT day!

Happy Birthday Vintage Village!

This Sunday marks the 18th birthday of a place that has come to mean something special to me...

Vintage Village

This is the beautiful shop where I sell my antiques, handmade items and other goodies. This past Thursday we kicked off the birthday celebration with our annual garden party. Every vendor showed up with fabulous vintage creations for the garden, outdoors, or the home. It was so inspiring... So, while I share a little of what this place has come to mean to me, I will also show you some beautiful pictures from our garden party.

Vintage Village has become a place of inspiration to me... It's a place I go to sigh at rusty, crusty goodness. 

 It's a place that means a day out of my house with people who are SO creative. I just love talking to the different dealers there and hearing their creative juices flowing. It's nice to have someone understand how you can fall in love with a milk glass bowl, or a piece of furniture that looks like it's falling apart.

Take a look at the creativity that is going on at this place.... These are the chairs the different dealers made for our garden chair fence contest.... You can see mine here.

I'll let you know who won when I find out.... I hope it's ME!

If you live in the Gwinnett County area, and never have... you should stop by. If you don't live in the area, but want some MAJOR eye candy... stop by the Vintage Village Facebook Page and give them your 'like'. The owner Debbie is constantly filling her facebook feed with beautiful images from the shop.

Do you have a favorite inspirational place??

Hope your Saturday is blessed!

Nursing a secretary back to health....

In honor of Admin Week... I am working on a beautiful secretary this week. This piece was strange for me as I usually don't "think" about a piece before I buy it. I'm kind of an inspired buyer.... If I think I can make something of it, I will buy it. End of story....

But, this one was a walk-away for me. The owner wanted $100 for it. WRONG! It had been stripped, had no glass in the doors, no pulls on the drawers and is missing the fold-down desk piece that covers it up. The back had also been replaced with bead board and pine slats.

(It doesn't look too bad in this pic, but trust me.... that wood was rough!)

I my head, I'm loving all this imperfect-ness.... but my wallet was not ready to embrace this piece for that price. Anyway... She eventually called me back and told me to make an offer, I finally got it for $80.

Not too bad for a piece I'm going to keep. I rarely spend that much on something I am going to sell... It's about profit right??

I chose to paint this thing white while leaving some of the wooden elements to give it character.

I placed in it my eat-in nook and can't wait to use it as storage!

I couldn't decide on the kind of knobs to get... I stood in the isle at Hobby Lobby for forever. I finally decided that the shabby look I was going for would be enhanced by having different knobs on each drawer.

I LOVE the way that turned out.

This little thing is my new favorite piece of furniture in my house.... Sorry buffet table, you have been replaced. But, I still love you too!

On a side note, my new business cards came today!

What do you think???

I hope you have a GREAT day!

Pinterest board....

I have always had a link to Pinterest on the side of my blog... But, I finally decided to make a board specifically for this blog and it's followers. On this board, you'll find things that inspire me, and things that will give you clues as to what I am working on. I'll also be pinning things from my blog to this board.

So, if you don't follow me on Pinterest yet, this would be a GREAT time to start! If you go there now and check it out, you'll see a pin that I will be giving away to one of my lucky new Pinterest followers!

Good luck!

Oh.... And here's a clue for what I am currently working on...

The reveal will be soon!

Have a GREAT day!

Plant me happy....

So I know I have talked about my black thumb on my blog before.... But every year around this time, I try again.... I'm stubborn that way. Someday, I will find something that lives!

This year I am gardening on a small scale. I was introduced to fairy gardens through the antique store where I have a booth. I think they are SO adorable. I hope that I don't kill these little beauties.

They are very easy to make if you have the right materials. This little chair is for a contest at the antique store. I would LOVE to win!

Have a GREAT day!