Vintage Spoon Garden Markers

I've been seeing tons of these cute garden markers all over blog land lately. You can also buy them on Ebay & Etsy.  Been meaning to make a few of my own for awhile now & I finally got around to it.  They were super easy.  You just need some old silverware.  I got mine from the antique store a few blocks away from me.  I made sure they all said silver or silverplate (s.p.) on the back.  I've heard stainless steel is much harder and is more difficult to hammer into.

You just take a mallet or hammer and pound em flat. Pretty easy, but I did manage to break one by trying to bend it back and forth to get it perfectly straight.  Oops!

Get your metal stamping kit (got mine for $8.00 at Harbor Freight) and hammer in each letter.  I put black markers with a Sharpie roughly where I wanted each letter, but I didn't worry about spacing or getting all the letters in a straight line too much.  Imperfection equals charming, right?

Then I colored in each letter with the Sharpie and let it dry.

Then I wiped off the excess.

And that was it.  I've seen some really cute ones done with forks also where the tines are bent into different shapes, so I'm thinking I'll give those a go next.  In the meantime, I'm really happy with these.

Thanks for stopping by,
Valeree

I'm linking to: Between Naps on the Porch
                     Show off your Cottage Monday

Happy Independence Day!!

Image(s) courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July.  I hope everyone enjoys the picnics, bbq's, reunions, fireworks, and parades and is able to spend time with their family and friends.  It's also a time to be so grateful to all those who have sacrificed so that we can all enjoy our freedom.  Happy 4th!!

Old Pickle Jar for Birdseed

Today my husband and I spent the day antiquing in a cute little town about a half hour from home.  We spent a few hours shopping and then stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner on the way home.  Such a fun day!!  We picked up some great stuff, but this is by far my favorite:

An old pickle jar

It has a great lid and wood handle

I love, love, love this jar!!  I've been looking for one for a while; I was lucky enough to find one that was a good price, and (Bonus!) it has a red lid and handle, which is perfect because it will match the other stuff on my front porch.  And it's BIG! It can hold lots, which is perfect for what I am going to use it for.  I also found a small old metal scoop.  The two just seemed destined to go together.

Small metal scoop

I tied a piece of twine around the scoop's handle.

I got a 12 lb bag of birdseed, filled the jar up, and hung the scoop from a piece of the metal that is holding on the jar's handle. 

Really happy because it fits in great with the other reds.

I'm so thrilled with pretty, squirrel-proof way I can store birdseed on my porch now.  Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Thanks for stopping by,

Valeree

I'm linking to:

Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter,

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch 

Show off Your Cottage Monday @ The House in the Roses  

Motivate Me Monday@Keeping It Simple 

Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios 

Happy Summer!!!

 

Yummy Sangrias!

Today is the first day of summer and I feel a little bit behind this year.  Usually by this time, all my porch flower pots are overflowing, my hanging Boston ferns are thriving, and the herbs and veggies are happily growing.  This year, I've yet to buy the ferns and I just planted the porch geraniums last week.

 

I decided to put a variety of herbs all in one pot.  So far, they're doing great. 

  

 I've also decided to try tomatoes in pots as well.  I have a Jet Star and an Early Girl.

I have a list of about a million projects I want to get to this summer.  Now all I need is just the time, money, and energy!!  

Happy Summer!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Valeree

These are a few of my favorite things.....

Yes, I love raindrops on roses and kitty whiskers just as much as the next girl, but I thought I'd add a few more fun things to the list........

LIP BALM

I loves me some lip balm--especially in this weather--and these three are my very favorites.  I always have a few stashed in my bag, in my desk at work, in my nightstand, & in my makeup bag. 

AVON PEARL SHINE NAIL POLISH 

I love, love, love this stuff!!  It has a beautifully subtle sheen and a barely-there pink color that makes your nails look healthy and groomed.  It dries instantly and now matter how messily I slap it on, it never looks streaky or sloppy.  Buy some....you won't be sorry!!!!

BEN & JERRY'S CREME BRULEE ICE CREAM

   I am in love with Ben & Jerry's in general, but I discovered their Creme Brulee ice cream a few months ago & I just can't get enough. 

 CANDLE IMPRESSIONS' FLAMELESS CANDLES

I was initially a little skeptical when I ordered these from QVC.  I was afraid they would look artificial and tacky.  After living with them for the last few months, I can't imagine being without them.  I have them in and on both of my fireplaces and in a few other places around my house.  I love that they're made from real wax & "wick" inside them and that they have timers so they all come on for 4 hours at the same time every evening.  They really do an amazing job simulating real candlelight and the warmth they bring to every room that they're in has been so worth it.  

TJ MAXX & HOMEGOODS

  TJ Maxx & HomeGoods just does it for me.  There is always such an array of beautiful, unexpected, often high-end merchandise at great prices.  It's such great fun to go into one because you never know what you're going to walk out with!!

HOMESTYLES LIQUOR CABINET

  This is a ready to assemble piece, but it's made of poplar wood (no MDF) and I just love it.  It was fairly easy to put together & it looks just like the picture.  I finally have a nice place to keep all my glasses and store our spirits.  And it so Mad Men!!

SUSAN BRANCH

I received this book as a birthday gift nearly 15 years ago.  I'd never heard of Susan Branch but after just skimming through the first few pages, I was hooked.  I have collection of all of her books now, and it's rare that more than a few weeks go by that I don't browse through one of them.  I get them out to look for ideas when the seasons change or a holiday is coming up, or sometimes when I've had a rough day at work or I'm feeling down & just want to crawl into her sweet little world for a while.  It always reminds me to slow down, take a deep breath, and be grateful for the simple things in life & for the love that is all around me.

ARNOLD PALMER HALF & HALF

To be honest, my husband is probably more devoted to these than I am.  I'm pretty fickle when it comes to drinks (except for my beloved sweet tea) but he could drink these 24/7.  Half tea, half lemonade and all low cal.  What's not to love??

BARE MINERALS

Just great stuff!  I love that it's fast to go on and I never have to worry about if it's blended well enough the way you do with liquid, cream, etc.  And it lasts!!

THE ENCHANTED APRIL

   Elizabeth Von Arnim's romantic, funny, liberating novel is my all-time favorite book.  It starts in gray, cold, dreary London and only a few pages in you'll find yourself so chilled to the bone you'll want to reach for a blanket.  But then......San Salvatore.  A castle situated on the coast of Italy, filled with sun, warmth, beauty and color.  It's as if the castle is a character itself and you can feel its warm breezes and smell its gardens and the sea.  It was written in the 1920s & there have been plays, movies, & radio programs some of which I've seen but I love the book the best.  Grab a cup of tea, a cozy blanket, your favorite furry friend and prepare to be enchanted.   

So, there it is.  A sampling of a few of the things that make my little heart cry out in happiness.

Thanks for stopping by,
Valeree

Mason Jar Pantry

As soon as my pie safe was finished (see my last post), I decided to tackle a project that has been on my to-do list for a long time.  I cleaned most of the grains, baking goods, and spices out of my kitchen cabinets and got rid of the half-empty boxes, bags, and containers (yea!!) and put everything into brand new Mason Jars.

 

I can't believe I waited so long to do this project!!  I am so happy not just because of the way everything looks, all nice, neat, organized, and pretty, but because now I can actually see what I have.  And I love the idea that everything is all sealed up so it will stay fresh. 

This project was super easy, fast, and cheap. 

The materials:

Mason jars of various sizes (I used both Ball & Golden Harvest)

Tags (I got mine at Walmart for a few dollars)

Some twine (either Sisal or Jute)

A few teabags to dye the tags if your store only has the bright white ones, and like me, you aren't in the mood to go tag huntin'.

And a marker

I threw a few teabags into a cup of warm water until it got pretty dark.  Then I dunked the tags into the water for a few minutes until they took on an aged look.

I got out a cooling rack, put some paper towel underneath to catch any tea drippings, and laid the tags out to dry.

After the tags dried, I snipped the little string that was on them off and wrote the names of the spices, etc on them.  A quick tip at this point...don't wait until you put everything in jars to do the labels...it will be quite a pain trying to remember which jar is powdered sugar, which is cornstarch, and which is baking powder...trust me on this one!!!

Then grab the twine, attach the tag, wrap it around the jar a few times, tie, snip, and there you go!!

There ya have it.  I can't believe I waited so long...now that I have this done, my kitchen almost looks semi-organized.  I did decide to leave a few of the most common spices we use (garlic salt, basil, oregano, etc) in their original containers, but I'm so glad to have the seldomly used stuff (ground mustard and cardamom, anyone?) all neatly stored away.

I'm linking up with Susan's Metamorphosis Monday and Kimba's DIY Day.  Stop by them both to see everyone's inspiring projects. 

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

Antique Pie Safe Restoration

I have wanted an antique pie safe for as long as I can remember.  I am always lusting after them at antique stores, where they're set up with charming displays of ironstone bowls and platters, vintage aprons and tea towels, primitive candles and twinkle lights.  And the finishes!!  They usually wear coats of milk paint in barn red, mustard, county black, or a crackle.  But alas, it's seldom that I've run across one for less than $500. 

Until.........

One day, I pulled up Craigslist and put "pie safe" in the search field.  The very first item that came up was an ad for a vintage pie safe for sale, in MY little town, for $80.  Yep, $80.  It had a small pic with it and I could see that it was two different colors...and the ad said it was in rough condition...but who cares????  it was right here in MY tiny town....and it was $80!!!!! I answered the ad and a day later, it was mine.

The lady I bought it from said it had come from her aunt's farmhouse, and after she received it, it had been in her pole barn for quite some time. And so, yes, it was in pretty rough condition, but its "bones" were still good.  There was no rotting of the wood.  Just lots and lots of dirt and grime.

I was hoping it had punched tin on its doors or cabinet sides like many pie safes have, but instead it has a small circle with a screen in it at the bottom of each side, which now that I have lived with it for a little while, I think I actually prefer. 

 

The drawers were in particularly bad shape.  I'm pretty sure at one point some furry little creatures were using them for a cozy warm house.  They were pretty bad... unfortunately, in no way did it resemble the cute little mice houses you see on the old cartoons where Mama mouse is tucking her little baby mice under a pretty quilt in their little matchbox bed. 

The first thing I did to the drawers was to clean them in bleach water, then ammonia, then Murphy's Oil Soap, and then let them sit in the sun for days.  The rest of the it, I just cleaned and cleaned.

When I finally got it all clean, I treated the whole inside of it and the drawers with wood conditioner.

And then I stained the whole inside and the drawers with a dark wood stain. 

After it dried, the inside looked like this:

The next step was to chose a color for the outside.  After much handwringing and indecision, I finally decided to go with a dark barn red.  I knew that I was going to distress it a bit though, so I was concerned about the two different colors on each side. 

Why was it two different colors anyway???  At first I thought someone had experimented with the dark brown paint and painted over the original finish.  After further inspection though, I realized what they had done was strip the original dark brown paint off but they only got halfway done.

With such detailed trim, I decided that stripping was not an option and the best thing to do was to match up the dark brown as well as possible, paint the whole thing, and then paint all over it with red milk paint.

Wonderful husband went to the paint store with me, and I was so focused on finding the perfect red, I told him to just pick out a brown that was as close to the original as he could get.  I found my red, came home, and started slapping on the brown paint.

 

It was a little light, but then again, it didn't really matter because it was going to be covered up anyway.

But the more it dried, the darker it got....until it was almost identical to the original paint (Wonderful Husband!!).  By the time I got it all painted, I had completely forgotten about the red.  This pie safe wanted to be brown...it just suited him.

After it was dried, I lightly distressed the carvings on the doors,

and around the door pulls, and then prettied it up some...

 

Here's another shot of the BEFORE and AFTER

 

 

I still need to find some drawer pulls and I'm thinking I'll probably line the shelves with fabric, but the hard part is done!!

I can honestly say this is probably the best $80 I have ever spent.  I love it!!  And all the extra storage!!  And it motivated me to finally start a project I've been meaning to do forever....put most of my dry goods in Mason jars with cute little altered tags (which will be next week's post).

I'm linking this up to Susan's Metamorphosis Monday & Kimba's DIY Day.

Thanks for stopping by,

Valeree