Show and Tell Friday and A Classy Flea Shopping Trip

I've been wanting to participate in Kelli's Show and Tell Friday's (There is No Place Like Home) but I've also been shopping at The Flea and wanted to post a Flea Friday trip...so what to do? (tapping fingers on desk, scratching head) Hey...what about a DOUBLE post! :-)

For Show and Tell Friday, I thought I'd share a very old pic with you. The quality isn't the greatest since it was taken with a Polaroid camera back in 1977. I was a Junior in college and had just soloed this little Cessna 150. My instructor spared me the "tearing of my shirt tail," an old tradition in aviation....but he did insist on taking my pic right after I landed. Don't you just love the bell bottom jeans? Hey, it was the 70's...which also explains the long hair parted down the center. :-)


Here's the certificate he gave me of a little bird being kicked out of the nest. (Sorry about covering my last name but you have to be careful in cyberspace.)
I didn't get my pilot's license...just too much going on with going to school full-time, working part-time and planning my wedding for the following June. But I did get to solo many times in that little plane and it was truly one of the best times in my life! :-)

Don't forget to stop back by There is No Place Like Home to see all the other Show and Tells posted for this Friday.




Ok, ready to go shopping at A Classy Flea? I was having withdrawals recently so I knew it was time...time for a shopping trip to A Classy Flea! I'm always amazed at how much has changed and all the new things they have each time I visit. Let's get going and see what we can find!

Vintage, oval, hand-painted serving bowl: $12.95 Isn't this wonderful...soooo tempting~


Hand-painted bunny: $4 Doesn't he remind you of the Herend bunnies...except they cost about a gazillion more!


Pretty blue tray: $8 I just like this soft blue color...


Italian Vanity Mirror: $59


20 piece, cobalt blue dish set, 4 place settings: $32.99: I could see a tablescape with this china...using my Blue Williow salad plates...or maybe red and white salad plates for the 4th of July :-)


Beautiful antique dresser...$299 Unfortunately, the marble top is broken but I still love it.


I love the old mirror on this piece...


WOW! 2 striped damask chairs for $99 for the pair... I only took a pic of one but you get 2 like this for that price!


3 piece vanity set with matching stool and a ruffled mirror...129


Here's the mirror. You know, this wouldn't be that hard to do with a mirror and some left over fabric...


Cute shamrock china...perfect for St. Patrick's Day: $25 for 3 cups and saucers and a creamer and sugar


I couldn't resist...had to buy these :-)


Beautiful, green crystal stems: $16 each


Adorable children's tea set...sort of regretting I didn't buy this: $22


Needlepoint pillow: $12


Garden stool: $45


Didn't get the prices, but I thought these were pretty...


Vintage, metal, cherub lamp with silk shade: $49


Close-up...so cute!


Pretty black, white and yellow glass or china tray: $9.99


Great chair...I think it was $79


Blue metal lamps: $19 each


Bird cage: $8.99


Hand blown, antique, smoke bell cloche: $34


Hope you enjoyed this Flea Friday! Did you see anything you wouldn't have been able to resist? You can visit A Classy Flea online by clicking HERE.

Little Reminder: Monday is Metamorphosis Monday...looking forward to seeing all your "Before and Afters!" If you aren't familiar with Met Monday, just click on the butterfly posted on my sidebar for all the details!

What Caption Would You Put Under This Picture?

Recently, I came across this amazing picture by Eugenio Recuenco, a contemporary photographer from Spain. I was completely enthralled! (Click on pic to enlarge.)

Recuenco is famous worldwide for his works in the publishing and advertising fields. His style has been described as being “cinematographic” and “pictorial.” He has also done work for fashion magazines, Vogue and Madame Figaro. Wouldn't you love to be inside his head for just 5 minutes?


Looking at the picture above, what do you think he is attempting to convey to his audience? If you had to write a caption for the picture, what would it be? I can't wait to read your responses! :-)

I think she's just realized, that though she has survived yet another commute home through Atlanta traffic, not to mention a few goblins and ghouls, she has forgotten to stop by The Jungle Depot to pick up the bulbs for her newly installed chandy...and it's getting dark!

OK...kidding aside...does life sometimes feel like this picture? Our nests or homes are where we let our guard down. We change into our comfy clothes and relax...surrounded by the beauty we create, perhaps even hoping it gives us just a little insulation from the ugliness that sometimes exist just outside our doors. Those woods look pretty daunting, don't they?

Why do you think the chandelier is lacking bulbs? I truly believe that was done intentionally. I have some ideas...but I want to know what you think!

Welcome to the 23rd Tablescape Tuesday

ANNOUNCEMENT: Tablescape Tuesday will be moving to Thursday, beginning, Thursday, February 5th.

That means we will not be tablescaping Tuesday, February 3rd. You will have a couple extra days to get your next tablescape post ready.

The poll that was runnning on my sidebar indicates the majority of you are looking forward to this change. I personally would prefer it also, because I feel bad posting Mr. Linky for TT on Monday evenings, when Metamorphosis Monday is still going on. Now we will have a little separation between those two events, giving everyone more time to visit all the great Met Monday posts.

Shelia (Note Songs) made the darling pink TT logo when I first created Tablescape Tuesdays. She has graciously offered to change the little logo to read Tablescape Thursday; so check back here as it gets closer to Thursday, February 5th, to pick up the new logo/button. I will continue to add a little reminder to each post over the next few days about the changing of the day to Thursday for tablescaping. Nothing else is changing...only the day of the week for this event.

But for today...wonderful tablescapes await your visit!

Recently I was "chatting" with my good friend, Vicky, who happens to be a wonderfully talented gardener and decorator. Some of you may remember her beautiful home and garden pics from Rate My Space. If you've never had the pleasure of strolling through Vicky's breathtaking gardens at RMS, then you are in for a wonderful treat. I'll never forget the first time I saw her driveway! Wow...now this is a view I would love to come home to everyday!



Vicky's creative talents are not just limited to gardening...she is also a very talented decorator. Recently, she was asked by one of her clients to create a tablescape for a dinner party she was planning. Her client had set a relatively small budget. The only information she provided Vicky was the menu, Lamb Stew and Salad, and permission for Vicky to use anything she already had.

Once Vicky decided to use her client's "casual" dishes for her tablescape, she drew her inspiration from the colors in the china. To stay within the budget, Vicky used the client's four existing placemats, then purchased four more to complete the table setting. She was also able to incorporate some candles her client already had...saving additional expense.



Vicky came across the cute birds and tall candle sticks at Pier 1, while the napkins and napkin rings were a great find at Target. Notice the beautiful greenery...this client definitely picked the right designer! Using her savvy gardening talents, Vicky pulled from the client's own gardens to create this gorgeous tablescape.



And the wonderful table runner...Vicky told me she "used a yard of fabric from Hancock Fabric for the table runner, no sew, just tucked it under." I love the earthy tone of the fabric and the additional texture it adds to the tablescape. I'm stealing this idea for a future tablescape; shhhh...don't tell Vicky! :-)



The tablescape was such a treat, I wanted more! Vicky graciously agreed to share a few pics of her beautiful dining room. Vicky changes the vignette on her dining room table with the changing of the seasons. Don't you just love this adorable spring vignette with all the cute little baby chicks?!



The mantel doesn't get overlooked, either...more glorious spring! About the mantel, Vicky said, "The mantel was a gift from the husband of a friend. He brought it home for her and she did not see the beauty in it. I did!" He even finished it and installed it for her!



I especially love this view because we get the added treat of seeing the gorgeous mural that covers Vicky's dining room walls! Vicky told me the mural was a Christmas present from her husband. She said, "It was done by a local artist that I use in my work. I told her I wanted a landscape with water. I then followed with DON'T BRING ANY BLUE PAINT! I do not like to use the color blue when decorating for myself or others. That was in 2002 and I still love it. It does make me stay true to my style and limits my choices, but I love it anyway." Vicky, you aren't the only who loves it!



A beautiful fall display...



Vicky told me she had her beautiful table made and then finished it and the chairs herself! I love how she has it decorated for Christmas. You can see Vicky's love of nature in all that she touches.



Oh, how I'd love to have a fireplace mantel to decorate in my dining room! Lovely centerpiece!


Thank you, Vicky, for sharing your talents with us on this Tablescape Tuesday! To take a stroll through Vicky's wonderful gardens, just click HERE. If you have any questions for Vicky, feel free to leave them here with your comment...I'm sure she'll be happy to respond.

Don't forget to stop by the links posted above to see more beautifully decorated tables!



If you are participating in Tablescape Tuesday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the pink TT logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Please copy and paste the Tablescape Tuesday logo button to your computer to upload it to your side bar and to use it in your tablescape post. That way visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting you blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted on this Tablescape Tuesday.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs have beautiful tablescapes awaiting your visit:

Painting Furniture: A China Hutch Transformation

When my screened-in porch was nearing completion, I happened across a little hutch for a great price, $95.  It was just what I had in mind for storing dishes for dinners out on the screened-in porch.

After getting it home, I got down to work. This was B.B. (Before Blogging) so taking pictures almost didn't happen. Somewhere in the midst of sanding the piece, it dawned on me that it might be nice to take a "before" pic, just to remember how it looked prior to painting.

The photo below is of the lower half of the hutch, minus the drawers and brown metal knobs I'd already removed. You can see I had already started sanding to remove the shiny finish.  Whenever you paint a piece of furniture, after removing the hardware, you'll need to lightly sand the piece to remove the finish/sheen.  This helps the primer adhere better, ensuring a better paint finish in the end.




Side view after some sanding...




Once I had lightly sanded the hutch, I primed it using Zinsser Primer purchased from Home Depot. Here's a view of the top half of the hutch, partially primed.  You can roll on the primer if you like.  I just used a paint brush.




Once the hutch was primed and the primer had dried, I lightly sanded with a fine grit sand paper, to give it a nice smooth finish that was ready for paint.



I had to do all the painting of this piece in my kitchen since it was still late winter/early spring and very cold outside. The downside to that was I kept painting it the wrong color!  I learned the hard way, it's best to paint a piece of furniture in the location where you will actually be using it.

I painted the hutch 3 different shades of green (2 coats of each) before I finally got the color right. The first coat was way too pale and the second coat looked great...until I pulled the hutch out onto the sunny porch. It looked very different on the porch than it did in my kitchen.

So there are 6 coats of paint on top of the primer...learn from my mistake! :-) Always pick your paint in the lighting/area where you'll be using the piece.   This was the final color, although this photo doesn't really do it justice.



A Few Tips on Painting Furniture:
I could have applied the paint with a small paint roller and that often helps with getting a smoother finish.  I opted to just use a brush.  I always spend a little and buy a great brush if I'm worried about the paint finish.  I prefer Purdy brushes.

A neat trick to getting a nice smooth paint finish with a latex paint is adding a paint conditioner to your paint.  Floetrol is a great one.  It helps latex paint to go on as if it were an oil based paint.   No kidding!   It also slows the drying process down just a bit, which is helpful if you are a fairly slow painter like me.

The following pic was taken at night, after the hutch was in its rightful spot on the porch. Of course, it didn't take me long to start loading it up with fun things to display...including a collection of birds nest I'd found abandoned over the years in my yard.




The guys at the paint store recommended I use an exterior grade paint, even though the hutch was in a protected area. That was so it would be protected from temperature fluctuations and humidity.



I hit just about every little antique and craft shop in town looking for whimsical knobs, until I finally remembered I had seen them at the "Queen of Hearts," a little antique shop in Marietta, GA. I raced over there just to find out the booth had been moved to another Queen of Hearts location in Alpharetta, GA. After a 45 minute drive, I finally had some cute knobs.




Aren't they just the silliest knobs, ever?   I could have purchased six matching knobs, but I really liked the idea of mixing it up a bit.




The inspiration for the color of the hutch came from the placemats and matching napkins you see below in this tablescape. After failing to get the color right two times in a row, I decided to look for an object around the house that was the color I was going for on the hutch. I remembered the green placemats/napkins and took a napkin to Home Depot and said..."Match this, please!"




Since I only needed one quart of paint (as opposed to a gallon) they couldn't match to my napkin in their usual way. The HD guy told me that he cut the formula in half...or something like that. Here's the top of the can in case anyone wants to know the color formula. The writing on the top says 50% because of the way he cut the formula. He didn't match the napkin exactly but I loved the color...finalllllly! :-)  Again, this is exterior grade paint since this piece would be subjected to temperature changes and humidity.




I'm always getting asked where I store all the china I've collected. The hutch holds two of the sets of china I like to use out on the porch.




This was the first piece of furniture I've ever painted.  It was actually much easier than I thought it would be, well, except for that "getting the color right" part. :-} If I can do it...you can, too! .