Indigo Seashells

I've recently fallen in love with the color indigo, and have been trying to think of a way to bring the color into my house...because I mostly decorate with greens. 
Today, I was rummaging through my seashell box and pulled out some of the pieces that weren't all that pretty.
Instead of throwing them out, I decided to paint them! 
Hey, it couldn't hurt. 

It's the first time I've tried this, so I wasn't sure how the paint would work on the shells.

I first painted the old sand dollars on the top side. The paint sucked into the surface so fast, I couldn't wipe any off. So, I flipped them over and dry brushed the back side. These are really old sand dollars and were an old beige color.

The large shell is rather course textured. I painted it all over...thank goodness it didn't suck up the paint. 
Then, I quickly wiped it with a dry paper towel to show some of the texture.

You can see the "design" on this one the best.

I painted this one all over and quickly rubbed a little of it off. 

I think they turned out ok for a first try. 
What do ya think?

The paint I used was Apple Barrel gloss acrylic craft paint, in Real Navy...you know, the kind in the little bottles that you get at the craft store...just in case you like the color. :)

Hope y'all have a great weekend and think "indigo".
Hugs, 
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Blogger Brunch

Hi, everyone.
On Sunday, Debbie from Confessions of a Plate Addict invited me to attend a blogger brunch with her. Yay!
It was hosted by Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors, in Alpharetta, GA ~ one of my favorite places to shop.

It was so much fun ~ great food, getting to meet Atlanta area bloggers, and lots of time to shop before the store opened for the day.
Here are some photos I took while shopping.

Love the apple green color ~

Cute sheep head and pillows ~

A mossy garden apron with seed packets for pockets ~

So many pretty things ~

Love the color of this lamp ~

Eiffel Tower bottle openers and a chicken wire string holder ~

Pretty Spring vignette ~

A fun cow sign makes me smile ~

Nice clock and horse lamp ~

It was really hard to decide what to buy...there were so many things I wanted to take home.

The brunch was delicious.

We had cheese grits, little quiche and sandwiches, muffins, and a beautiful crystal bowl of  fresh fruit.  
Also, orange or grapefruit juice, to which we could add champagne if we liked. :)

Each blogger was given a generous goodie bag with our initial tied to it, and gift certificates for purchases.
We were treated like Queens!

Thanks so much to all the ladies at Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors, who hosted an amazing Blogger Brunch!
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Frame and Rain

Hi, and Happy Friday!
Thank all of you for your suggestions for  the frame of my egret picture. I got lots of "votes" for antique gold, and since I'm a traditional kinda gal, that's my favorite color, too. 
Here's how it looks now...

I know it looks like I just spray painted it...well, I did! But, I also used a couple of shades of gilders paste to hopefully, give it a little depth and shading. 
I promise, it looks better "in person" than in the photos.

Here you can see the shading a little better. I used antique gold and German silver. 
Gilders paste is a new product to me...I'm not very crafty...but it was easy to use. The ladies at the shop where I bought it, were really helpful, and explained how to use it. 

Right now, its in the guest bedroom. I may do a little more shading on it, and find something to put on either side...maybe plates or sconces?  It seems a little small up there all by itself. :)

I mentioned it's been raining today, and things are really greening and blooming. 
Here are some pics I snapped from my front door...

I'm such a Redneck. :) I was standing with the front door open taking pics. 

Here's our walkway with dogwood, white azalea and Indian Hawthorne in bloom. 

Looking to the left...

...and across the street at my neighbor's house.

Of course, I called to ask her if she minded my taking a photo. She was thrilled that I thought it looked so pretty. She works a lot in her yard and there's always something in bloom. 

We put the veggie plants put in the garden yesterday, and I strained my back...it's heck getting old. :) 

It's a little better this afternoon, and I'm ready for the weekend. Hope y'all have a good one.

Hugs,

Babs 

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

Wednesday Randomness

Wednesday is "hump day", and I ran around like crazy, doing errands...and a little shopping.
On the way to the grocery store this morning, I stopped in GW to see if there was anything I couldn't live without. :)

Can you tell what I found?...

...a vintage demijohn, just sitting there waiting for me! Whoo Hoo! 

After lunch, I ran to City Hall, the antique store, and then stopped by the garden center for veggie plants.

I got 3 pots of tomatoes, 1 basil, a pack of squash, and 3 peppers.

This one is called Yummy Snacking Peppers...petite bell peppers. I haven't seen this kind before...can't wait to see how they taste.

When we got home, Hubby started working in the garden, putting the weeds and leaves in the compost; and I noticed the strawberries from last year are blooming like crazy, and already have little green berries.

I'm still working on the frame you saw in my last post. 
One of the errands I ran was to pick up some gilders paste to use on the frame.
I spray painted it gold, but it still needs some "help". So, I'm hoping at least one of the two colors I got will do the trick. Cross your fingers. :)

Guess I'd better get supper started. Here's one last pic of...

...the demijohn. It was $4.54. Do you think I got a good deal? 


I found the tea towels on clearance at World Market a couple of weeks ago, and forgot to show you.
 Love the cute graphic teapots.

I hope y'all had a great Wednesday.

Hugs,

Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

What Color Should the Frame Be?

Hi, everyone. I hope y'all had a great weekend.
I recently picked up this egret picture at the thrift store. I love it, but I can't decide what to do with the frame. 
Y'all always have the best ideas, and I really need your help. 

The overall size is about 17x19. 

I haven't decided where I want to put it yet, but here it is, on the living room wall. 

Sorry about the glare. It's been overcast all day, so I had to turn on the lights to photograph it.

Here it is on the wall in the guest room.

The frame needs a few minor repairs, since it's separating a little at the corners. Also, someone painted the frame without taking the glass out, and there are some paint smudges on the glass.

Here's the frame detail, showing how it's painted white with a turquoise/blue glaze.

The outer mat is brown, the middle mat is black and the inner mat is  metallic gold. 

The paint is chipped on the frame, and it looks like the finish was originally gold. 

So ... since I'm going to take the picture apart for cleaning and repairs, I thought I'd change the frame color.

Do you think the frame would look better in an antique gold, which it seems to have been originally, or should I try something different?

Maybe a different shade of cream ... or maybe gray? 
Should I try to strip the paint off to see what's underneath?  

Thank you so much for your input. I'm really looking forward to hearing your suggestions.
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

One Equals Five

Hey! I hope y'all had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend.
Thank everyone so much for all the sweet birthday wishes. My family surprised me with a little party on Sunday, and one of the things I received was a bouquet of mixed flowers.


By now, some of the blooms have started fading, and a few had to be  discarded, so I decided to deconstruct the bouquet and make several smaller arrangements.
Let me show you what I made...

The first one is really simple...just a glass bottle with the two lily stems. That's in the family room.

Next, I put the two large roses in a little silver creamer for my bedside table. 

Vase number 3 holds the yellow mums to brighten the powder room.

In the living room, vase number 4 holds pink carnations and little white button mums. I also added some boxwood cuttings for a  filler since there weren't any leaves on the mums and carnations. 

Last...arrangement number 5, is a Johnson Brothers tea pot which holds the alstroemeria. I put that on the secretary in the living room.

There you have it! 
One mixed bouquet equals 5 smaller arrangements. 
I hope you enjoyed seeing these. I had a lot of fun making them. 
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

Spring or Summer?

Hey y'all ... 
Here's a trayscape I did last month on one of those cold days when all I wanted to do was stay indoors.
I didn't post it then because it seemed really summery ... but, since I've been so lazy lately, I haven't anything else to show you.

It all started with the square honeycomb patterned planter I bought at that little gift shop where I bought the angel vine. 
It's kind of hard to see the planter since it's under the plant and bee skep.

See what I mean? Well, I did put a nest in the tray, so maybe that classifies it as Spring?

And birds ...

Speaking of Spring and Summer...looking at our weather forecast, I think we've skipped Spring altogether, and gone straight to Summer. It's supposed to be in the 80s for the next two days. 
I bought some plants today to put in the urns by the front door. Guess I'll do that tomorrow. I'll take some pics to show you when I get them planted. 
Take care and have a great week.
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

Birthday Surprise

Hi everyone! 
It's been a busy week here, and I'm sorry I haven't posted or visited y'all much. 
We're so thankful that we finally sold my mom's place, and to top it off ... today is my birthday!

Hubby bought me flowers, and we went to breakfast at one of my favorite "mom and pop" restaurants. 
I had the usual Southern breakfast ... eggs, sausage, grits and biscuits. Sorry, no photos ... I was too busy stuffing my face.

Then, in the afternoon, my aunt and cousin arrived with bags of goodies to set up for a little surprise party.
I was really surprised, because I was in my grubby yard clothes. So, I ran to change before the rest of the cousins and neighbors arrived.

Hubby also got me a cake that was shaped like a bouquet of roses.

It was made with cup cakes ... Yum! 
We also had pimento cheese and spinach dip with crackers, two kinds of ice cream ...

... and a fresh fruit bowl.

I got lots of cards and hugs ... it was the best birthday ever!

Hope y'all have a great week. I'll be by to visit everyone soon.
Hugs,
Babs