What's new, and the pussycats...

You have to be over 50 to remember that song!

(eeck, enough over 50 talk...)

Today, I wanted to share with you the new rug I found on Overstock.

They have great buys on rugs,

 and this one turned out better than I'd hoped.

The "former" rug went to live in the basement shabby wicker seating area.

and the one before that, which was the dark one,

 now lives happily in my master bedroom.

I added a few faux hydrangea blooms to my Woolf pottery 

from Restoration Hardware to bring the mantel more into Summer.

Here's Miss Jenkins with some beauty shots

she's also enjoying the new rug.

I call this one below...

  "Catatonic"

(You know, eyes glazed over and staring)

Here's the other one, Miss Wrigley

After the pastel of the Easter Mantel, it was pretty boring in here,

so I brought back my old card table as a fireplace screen.

Love the colors in this.

The hearth is a little crowded with the conservatory my husband bought me for Christmas and the French Wire Basket that is usually on the Dining Room table. I suffer from the "too much junk" syndrome. 

Then, I've brought back my round mirror to the entry hall...

 I missed it being there, and it helps bounce more light around.

and I added this wonderful cardboard plaque 

that I found at Relics a few weeks ago for $6.00.

It reads, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

sweet birdie on a book stack

Gosh, this wood floor looks so orange-y,

but it's really not. 

I'm headed out to do some yard work,

Hope you're having a great Sunday!

See you tomorrow for

I'll be linking up here this week:

Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Cowgirl Up at Cedar Creek Ranch

Knick of Time

Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

White Wednesday at Faded Charm

Very Merry Vintage Style 

House Party at No Minimalist Here

A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

xoxo,

Union Jack Upholstered Sofa

It's a big year for the Brits, from hosting the Summer Olympics to celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. I just found this image in the June issue of Traditional Home which showcases new trends in British furniture and home accessories.

Traditional Home Magazine from

 Antiques 2 Chic www.antique2chic.co.uk

With the hot trend of the Union Jack showing up on dressers to pillows and everything in between, I thought this was a bold statement in design. An antique upholstered Chesterfield Sofa showing off it's colors; pretty amazing! more to come with this idea...

 If you haven't joined in for 

Vintage Inspiration Friday

it's still going strong. 

Just scroll down to the next post.

Hope you're off to a great weekend!

Vintage Inspiration # 88 Mammabellarte

Today, I want to spotlight a sweet friend and
 Renaissance Woman Extraordinaire,

Rita Reade from Mammabellarte.

Rita lives in Southern California with her husband and family, but originally comes from Sicily. She is talented in so many areas; below is a chair swing she made to salvage a piece that might have been destined for the trash.

Rita is a woodworker, crafting the most beautiful and detailed birdhouses

that she sells at The Vintage Marketplace at the Oaks,

a venue she co founded and sponsors.

She's also an amazing jewelry creator, designer and teacher.

Her pieces are so detailed, unique, and amazing!

But this is how I met her...

Meet Rita, the chicken wrangler!

Believe it or not, almost three years ago I saw this photo on Google Images  and tracked her down. Since then, I've been a huge fan of all her creativity and her wonderful blog. Are these kids not the cutest? She's been featured many times in magazines; this photo was featured in the March issue of Country Living several years ago.

So take a minute when you can and run by and say Hello to Rita. Go with her to the shows, and then enjoy all the beauty and charm from one of the sweetest gals on Earth!

And here is some other great talent from last week's party!

Nancy from Nancy's Daily Dish has a great post on one of the hottest decor collectibles out there; artillery baskets. Nancy always has the interesting facts, so be sure and check out her post.

Rita from May Days used this great old Pepsi crate

 as a centerpiece for her gorgeous tablescape.

love those dishes!

Nicole from Doodles and Stitches found this wonderful 

bench made from an old bed...love that patina!

and Irma from Cosas Bellas shared such an inspirational post

 about her faith, entitled "White as Snow"

 Thankyou Irma.

Thank you each and every one of you

 who takes the time to come by and link up here at 

Vintage Inspiration

You are truly a blessing to know!

After you link here,

 be sure you join in on these other great Friday parties!

 Redoux  At the Picket Fence  French Country Cottage 

Stuff and Nonsense The Charm of Home

Time to link up "anything vintage or vintage inspired".

Please have a link to this party within your blog post.

xoxo,

Trompe L'Oeil Canvas

I cleaned out the downstairs guestroom closet, since I have houseguests coming. I thought they might actually appreciate a place to hang their clothes. This particular closet has been one of my stealth pillow stashes. Having a pillow addiction can pose problems for storage. (I know none of you have this same problem) Nothing like thinking of company coming to make me get off my backside and do a little sprucing up around here. 

So during the clean out I found this print that I'd had for awhile. Don't remember when we bought it or where it came from, but I'm sure it was from a flea market somewhere...

And you probably know I love me some sheep and lambs. I thought I might try to get the look of an oil painting by mod podging this to a painters' canvas. We have several that my mil used a while back, so I found this one that was the same width but a little larger top to bottom. I glued it on in the middle, then found some acrylic craft paints to try to add to the canvas, to even it out. 

Above, you can see on the bottom of the canvas I used a brown base and then just added in some greens and tans to mimic the ground. I wasn't looking for "perfect", I wouldn't be able to do that, I just wanted to get the feel that the print was larger at the bottom. We don't have to worry about any counterfeit art heists or anything like that...

Then, you can see at the top I just continued the "sky" with a coat of grays mixing in lighter and darker colors to look like darkening clouds. I brought the paint down over the top of the print to help blur the lines a little. Then took the color to the sides of the canvas too.

The fluorescent lighting down here causes lot's of glare, but actually it's pretty passable...

if you're not too close.

The trick to making this look more realistic and to "fool the eye" is to have it at a distance for viewing. Up close you can certainly see where the print stops and my attempts start. I coated the whole thing with 2 coats of glossy Mod Podge, to look like oil paint. (kinda-sorta) The second one I did in a cross-hatch manner that gave it more texture like brush marks.

You know how in the 40's to the 60's many prints were done on a cardboard base, I have quite a few of them that I've grabbed for almost nothing that have had scratches on them. Basically it can ruin the look of one of those prints, but with a little mixing of paint and a close eye you can repair them, using this same technique.

It's a little lame, but I didn't want to frame it, I love the look of a plain canvas, and everything I used I already had on hand. 

You might notice that I also changed out the dark burgundy area rug for this lighter one that had been upstairs. One of my Mother's Day presents was a wonderful new rug from Overstock, for the Living Room. The new rug upstairs ended up being nicer than I even imagined, I'll share it with you a little later. 

You'll be hearing more about what Anne and I have planned for next month. We've waited three years to meet, so we're going to have some fun adventures. more later...

OK, now don't snicker behind my back at my tromp l'oeil canvas...please be kind.

I'll be linking to 

Share the Love at Very Merry Vintage Style

House Party at No Minimalist Here

A Daily Cup from Mrs. Olson

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Thriftin' On a Thursday at Savvy City Farmer

Simple and Sweet at Rooted in Thyme

Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Creek Cottage

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence

Home Sweet Home at the Charm of Home

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense

Redoux

Sat Nite Special at Funky Junk

xoxo,