A Trip to the Oregon Garden

Although I live just 30 minutes from the Oregon Garden, I only recently made my first trip there. I am so glad I went. I love gardening, gardens, flowers...and this was a treat!

With over 20 specialty gardens and features there was more than enough to see and enjoy. Upon arriving we immediately took a tram around the park to get a quick tour of the grounds before exploring on foot.

The water garden was one we enjoyed the most because it is very unique. They have a water monster and a rock-climbing fish! We saw large fish which was neat, but one was literally getting about 2/3 of its body out of the water climbing the rock wall surround, probably with a food motivation. We watched that little guy for several minutes - quite entertaining!

Here's the monster that lurks in the water. My kids love the attraction, but don't worry - my 4 year-old swears it's not real.

If you have kids, the Children's Garden is wonderful! It is a bit of a resting spot for adults and there is an excavating sand box area for the kids, a rabbit hole, a ship and so much more.

My kids loved all of it and were especially intrigued by the large train set-up they have. I think they could have stayed there and chased that train for an hour.

I love this flower pot family. I am thinking we need to make a flower pot person for the small children's garden we created this past summer at our house.

One of my favorite finds was the creative use of household items in the garden. They have a complete bathroom...

...and a real flowerbed.

That day we saw trees (including a 400 year-old Signature Oak), flowers, water features, birds, fish, small snakes (my daughter's favorite). It was definitely worth the trip! I can't wait to see it in the Spring.

Vintage Apothecary Jars

I had one old glass apothecary jar that was my grandmother's. I always remember it in the display cabinet above her beautiful wooden secretary and it was always full of sugar-free candies. That was a big deal because Grandma never had candy at her house. 

picture from robomargo.com

I recently started collecting more to go with that one. I especially love the curvy ones and they must have lids! But once you have them, what do you put in them? Right now mine are filled with sea shells, but here are some other great ideas...


Here is another take on beach decor.

picture from decorchick.com

Making a terrarium is the next thing I want to try with mine.

picture from potterybarn.com

Of course candy always looks great in a glass jar.

picture from ehow.com

These jars are beautiful and can be used to display just about anything: rocks, vintage reading glasses, antique watches, marbles, small toys, clothespins, lace or ribbon...

picture from robomango.com

They make great, clean storage in the bathroom and kitchen as well. They take up so little visual space that it won't look cluttered on a counter top. 

ShabbyNChic jar pair

Find a variety of apothecary jars for sale in my shop if you are looking for your own to fill.

ShabbyNChic Tall Jar

Please share any other ideas you have for how to use these glass jars.

Before and After

It's been awhile since I have posted and I thought I would start back with a Before and After project since those are so much fun to see. I found this small shelf and it was dirty and has sealer spilled on it, but it was a cute and sturdy piece of furniture. 

When my 4 year-old saw it she said, "Mommy, this looks icky. You should paint it." And yes, I did!

I chose turquoise because you really can't go wrong with that color, especially recently. 

What do you think? It's now for sale in my new booth at a local antique shop.

I think it would look precious with pink items on it or a collection of white milk glass.

My Recent Vintage Finds

I had a great weekend of treasure-hunting. I spent most of Saturday shopping and searching for vintage treasures with a friend and my daughter. I came home with probably a couple dozen finds, but here are a few of my favorites that I cleaned up and wanted to share.

I found this classic white teacup and saucer made of fine China. I love the extra curvy details of the saucer. Secret: it's not really a matching set... but you wouldn't know from looking at it. I love it and am excited to add it to my collection.

Then I found this great antique wooden bobbins. I have wanted some of these for awhile and was excited to find this pair. I just love the way old wood looks - worn and used with patina that shows its age. I think I am going to  put these in my living room.

Another find I have been on the look-out for is a two-tiered silver serving tray and I found one of those this weekend as well. I have a one-tier tray in my shop and plan to add this one soon.

Finally, I fell in love with this beautiful blue glass snifter. It is my favorite color of blue and I have really been into glass lately, so I had to have this piece. My daughter wants it for a fish bowl, but I was thinking it could possibly work as a terrarium. I haven't yet decided if I'll keep this one or put it in my shop, but for now it's out and I'm admiring it. 


Which one is your favorite?

An Afternoon Tea Party

I have been away from my blog for a bit (just over a month), but the ideas haven't stopped flowing. I attended a Sunday afternoon tea yesterday with a friend and that was it. The cup over-floweth and I couldn't not post! So here it is with pictures and all...

It was held at a former bed and breakfast and it was just beautiful. 

Aside of the great architecture of the old house which is something I always enjoy and admire, the decorations for the tea were so sweet. 

Each table was decorated differently - some elegant, some bright and cheery, others subtle and feminine. I am currently planning a tea party for my daughter's birthday next month (her idea) and I was able to get a lot of ideas for it.

The flowers were cheerful and I am looking forward to putting arrangements together to decorate our tables. I have decided to do a table for the kids and a table for the adults using different schemes and colors. 

We admired the pretty desserts as we enjoyed peppermint, lavender, and rose teas along with scones. Then came dessert which included many options of cookies and candies - a great end to the tea in my opinion (sugar addict). 

We were able to tour the home after the tea party which was an enjoyable end to a very nice afternoon.

Scenes from a Warm Climate

We recently returned from a much-needed vacation to a warmer climate - much warmer! We went from 50 degrees at home to 80s and 90s in Arizona. Now we're back in the cold, but looking at the pictures helps so I thought I'd share some. Enjoy!

Your Before and After

Here's a Before and After of a napkin/mail holder that I posted about on my blog not too long ago. I asked readers to tell me what to do with it and received a lot of great ideas. Here's the one I used...

I painted it a light blue/turquoise color, then a light coat of white and distressed it. I really like how it turned out! What do you think?

Shabby Chic Mail Holder

My Quick Home Improvement Project

I love wood...possibly something to do with being born and raised in Oregon. So a few years back when it was time to buy a new front door for our home, I had to have a wooden door - unfinished! My husband liked metal for the security, but I wanted wood. The sales people recommend painting it, but I like the wood so I insisted on staining and sealing it for beauty of it. They insisted it would be a lot of work to maintain, but they don't know me. I love painting which is basically what staining is, but with a slightly different medium. You do have to keep up with re-staining and sealing and sometimes sanding it, but to me it's worth it!

Upon returning from vacation the other day, our front door welcomed us home looking a little shabby (and not in the good way). So I got out my stain and a brush and got to work. Thankfully we had a rare sunny day - important as you don't want it to be too cold or wet (or too hot for that matter) when you stain.

It will need to be sanded the next time I refinish it, but this time I simply cleaned the door and used and stain and seal in one product. I use a lighter color stain as we have a darker color house and the light door really pops. Simply put a light amount of stain onto your brush (I like to use foam) and "paint" the surface going in the direction of the grain of the wood.

I love the finished product which was almost dry in this picture.  It is not only important to me because it is our front door, but also because it is the background of almost all of the pictures in my shop.

Upcycle Your Recycleables - A Cute Tutorial!

We are die-hard recyclers here in Oregon, but reusing or upcycling is even better for the environment than recycling so I am always looking for ways to reuse everyday items.

We use a lot of aluminum cans and this project will work for any size can. You simply need to adjust your other materials to fit. In my example, I used a large can that held juice (pineapple juice if you must know - it's my favorite).

I first used spray primer to prepare it for several coats of pink paint until it was covered to my liking. (You should coat yours to your liking.)  I then selected a piece of decorative paper to match both the paint color of the can and the colors in the picture I wanted to use. 

Selecting the paint color, paper, and picture is my favorite part of this project.  This is where you get to be really creative!  Cut the paper large enough to leave space for the photograph you will be using and small enough to fit on the can.

 

You can use a multitude of adhesives for this project, but of course some will work better than others. I used double-sided tape which worked well. I tried scrapbooking tape, but that did not hold. When finished you can use your now beautiful can for storing just about anything!

Amazing Versatility of Old Ball Jars

I love old glass jars of any type, but finding Ball jars in great shape is always exciting. Whether clear or blue, they look great and have so many uses! I love the look of the blue jars but as I mostly use mine for storage, the clear jars make it so I can quickly find what I need. Here's a look at my storage use for Ball jars...

But what else can you do with Ball jars? The possibilities seem endless. Here are some of the great ideas I found on Etsy. Enjoy!

Hanging Lanterns

Light Fixture

                                                 

Flower Vase

Soap Dispenser

Chandelier

Painted Lids

     Necklace               

Have you seen any other uses for these beautiful jars?  Share them in a comment.