We Miss You!

Dear Friends,

There have not been any posts of late.  It seems when life gets really busy,

something has to go...sadly for us it is the blog posts.  Mom and Laur have been sending pictures for me to post and they will be up here soon. 

Just an update to let all of you know how we are doing...

Laur is still searching for the perfect place to move to in southern Pennsylvania. 

Her oldest, Christopher has moved into his first apartment!    Of course that meant some shopping for Laurie! Chris and his lovely girlfriend Anne celebrated their third anniversary in late October...we are all wondering what the future holds for them!!  Daughter Samantha is at home and has been a tremendous help in getting the house 

ready to sell and even showing it to potential buyers.

Mom (Eileen) is preparing for her annual craft show at Penn State on the 7th of November. 

Preparations include lots of stitching, painting, glueing and don't forget idea lifting!!  Lunch with her former students and attending Bible Study are also a priority for her.   Last weekend Mom (and I) attended the 90th birthday celebration of her twin Aunts.  The children of each Aunt held parties for them in their part of the country!  Aunt Doris had hers in Lake Tahoe, where her family has vacationed for years and Aunt Dorothy/Dot...(the party we   attended) had hers at her son's Inn in Vermont!  We found out that

Aunt Dot was friends with Maria Von Trapp!!! 

Our whole family was invited for the entire weekend.  The hospitality was amazing! 

Food and drink flowed seemingly without end.  The setting was Edson Hill Manor in Stowe. 

Both ladies were thrilled with their birthdays and of course loved to see their children,

grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, siblings and cousins...whew!! What a crowd! 

When we departed from Stowe Mom headed home via the scenic route while Captain Butler and I headed for Newport Rhode Island.  Many photographs and Mansion Tours later we departed for home.  The beauty of  Vermont, Newport, the Atlantic ocean and the palatial homes we saw really got my  creative ideas going!  Christmas crafts and decorating

may need to be kicked up a notch this year!! I will be posting pictures over the next week. Sneak Peak below!!

All the Best!

Eileen, Laurie and Donna



More fun from Birdland!

I am double posting today and joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.  Check out all the other fun entries there by clicking the heart!  <3

A unique twist on the traditional birdhouse!

Mom and some of her friends were out to lunch when they spotted this whimsical birdhouse in the garden of Patsels in Clarks Summit, PA.  The decor of Patsels is sort of Mackenzie Childs goes Mary Englebreit!

Mom's friend Annette had to have a birdhouse just like it!!  

So, Mom in her infinite wisdom/creativity, copied the look without knowing how the original is really made!

Here are her supplies...

Yup...that is good ole pvc!!  Not your usual birdhouse building material.

Some glue, finials and screws later Mom brought out the paint and 

gave it the Momkenzie Childs 'look'!

What do you think?

I know!  You love it!!!!  I don't have a picture of the original birdhouse but, 

I do have a similar one from the same restaurant.

You get the idea...

Here is the one Mom made in it's new home at Annettes' house.

  The addition of a stylin' post gives this birdhouse the WOW factor!

Hey! That is my Dad sneaking around back there!! It looks like Grandpa Petticoats' shirt matches the birdhouse!   

 I always knew his fashion sense was for the birds!!!

On the hunt for pvc...

Love, Scarlet

Birdland

Happy Met Monday!

Thank you to Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting this fun party!  Hop on over there and check out all the really cool ideas!
Kathleen at Faded Charm Cottage is the hostess for White Wednesday and I have also joined the party there.  To see all the beautiful whites click here

I am finally able to get back to posting and I need to make up for lost time!!  In the coming months there will be lots of great ideas and pretty pictures.  Be sure to check back!!

Mom, Laur and I really stocked up on cool stuff and terrific bargains over the summer and we can't wait to show them all off!

For today let's concentrate on some Metamorphi!!

For the Birds

This looks like a plain old wire birdcage.  Maybe to me and you but, Laurie see's something more...Laur and her family attended a wedding this summer and the receptacle for the cards from the guests was a birdcage with a little padlock on it!  You just dropped your card safely inside and the bride and
groom could open the lock to retrieve their gifts later, after the party was over.

 

This caused a stir in the creative mind 

of my sister!  She painted her birdcage white and lined
the bottom with toile fabric...which by the way matches her home office curtains.

Just for fun she attached an old glass drawer pull.  The little dishes original to the cage were turquoise which Laurie thought added a colorful touch.  You can see an antique fountain pen
 tucked into the drinking bowl for a unique accessory.
Using the newly painted perches as supports, she inserted her mail.  Envelopes rests on the perches for easy access.  Note the addition of the escutcheon!

 Two perches make it easy to separate incoming and outgoing mail!

 With the addition of a sweet polka dotted bow, Laur has a nifty and sylish mail sorter that co-ordinates beautifully with her office!

Where have I been?

I am literally slapping this post up here!!  August has been a pretty crazy month!  Remember the days when we thought June was a rough one?!!

Anyway, I have been letting Mom and Laur down by not putting up some of the cool stuff they have been sending me....soooooo....I have loaded pix onto this laptop which Captain Butler has offered to take to Disney with us and  I am hoping to do some posting from there.  I think I can even play with the computer on the plane.

After the return from Disney there will be 2 whole days before Mr Junior Petticoat starts school and I drive Miss DePaul Freshman Petticoat to Chicago and leave her there!!  I can't even believe that is happening!!

Mom has retired from teaching the Decorative Painting classes at the local theatre, where she has helped 'bring the arts back' for many years.  She is still decorating the local bank for Christmas and preparing for the annual Christmas Craft show.  This year I get to be with her and try to create some Christmas themed scrapbooks and anything else we can think of!!! The bank decorating is always themed and includes lots of original paintings done by Mom....it is always a huge hit!!

Laur is still working on selling her beautiful home in Farmville, Virginia and finding a place to live in south east Pennsylvania.  Her daughter Samantha is looking for work in the new area and planning to attend graduate school for Chiropractics. Christopher, her eldest is currently staying with Mom and Dad in Laceyville, Pa where is working for a tree service company.  He is climbing and chopping to his heart's content!!

That is the status quo for just about all of us!!

We will be posting more soon, so, stay in touch!!

Gone to find my mouse ears,

Scarlett

Met Monday!

Downspout Strainer to Rustic Cloche!!

Disclaimer:  Mom saw this idea on another blog 

and was very excited to try it. 

 If you know who posted it let me know and we will give her credit!

First you take a metal downspout strainer, like the one pictured.

Next you have to give it a bell shape, while keeping the top pieces close to each other.  Something like this...

You can even use a cloche you may have as a mold to shape the wire around and get the look you want. Of course Mom did it all by hand...but, we aren't all that 'handy'!!!

Next you need to attach the edges.
Just like sewing with wire.
Have you noticed the wooden knob and wheel beside the wire shape?  The wheel (a wooden one from the craft store) goes inside the cloche and a screw joins it to the knob on top.  
This helps keep the metal edges contained.

Spray the whole creation with a little ORB (or a creamy white) and place it on a pedestal.

After that you have to experiment to find what you think will look best inside of it.  Here are some of Mom's idea's

Mom added a little chain with a key and a necklace charm hanging from the little wooden knob. Then she used some vintage 

doilies, a pin made by local (to her!) artist, Holly. 

Holly uses vintage pieces to create her one of a kind jewelry. With the addition of a crystal knob and lamp finial voila! 

For the next 'cloche experience'!  Mom placed a leather 

button top baby shoe

worn by her Grandmother next to a tiny porcelain vase.  

There is a little doily tucked into the shoe!

The pin is a bakelite F for Frances, her Mother's name.

The wooden pieces cost a total of 2.89.  The white 

dish was a yardsale find for .50!  The strainer was

just under 3.00.

At last Mom finds a look that makes her happy 

(for now!).  

A sunny yellow teacup!

Until the season's change!!  

 A last look...

Please visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch 

to see the other delightful Met Monday contributions!

Thank you for visiting!

Birds of a Feather.

We are happy to be joining the White Wednesday party at Faded Charm Cottage.

Click the button and take a look!

White Wednesday

Yoo Hoo!  Anyone home?  Hmmmm, no answer?

Well, can you beat that?  I know that darn Sylvia is home today...

I saw her fly in that side door just 10 minutes ago!

Will you look at that filigree bracket, solid brass.  Whatever happened to good old wrought iron? 

If she thinks she can just ignore me simply because I need a wing with the Church Fashion Show.

Then she has another think coming!

I must have the use of her house for the Thank You Luncheon.

All the work these starlings darlings are doing...of course, mostly me and under my guidance...but...still..

it's only decent manners to thank them.  Hummph!

You know...she has been all hoity-toity since she moved into

this beautiful place...if you like that kind of ostentation.

I mean...a purple glass knob for a perch, really!

My goodness it's everywhere you look!

Custom made with original barnwood.  Lordy!

You'd think the rest of us live in outhouses the way she carries on.

Is that some kind of debris coming out of that window?

How rude!...shhhh! I hear they're new money...

You know what they say...you can put lipstick on a pigeon...but, it's still a pigeon.

Sad, but true.

Is that her in that attic window?  I just feel her beady little eyes on me!

She'll be shooting off that beak of hers complaining to everyone with ears

about my coming here just begging for her help.

What I go through in the name of Charity!

I'll just have to swallow my pride and hop to it!

This is just one of the many gorgeous birdhouses

my sister Laurie has created.

This one resides in Mom's garden.

Laur uses authentic barnwood, vintage hardware and found objects

 to create truly one of a kind works of art.

The Healing Waters...

In early 2009, I finally had the courage to end my twenty year marriage. 

I moved my two teenagers and tiny poodle into an apartment in Baltimore,

life was scary and exhilarating at the same time.  I set about creating a cheerful, soothing home. 

Each of the kids had their own room, which was very important to me,

however, I used the small section off the kitchen den (read no doors!) for my room.

Amidst the activities of the children and the stress of our new lives,

I realized I needed a place to be alone and be calm. 

Now, I have never been a gardener!! That is for Laur and Mom!!!

So, I regarded my little balcony with a wary eye!

Mom gave me a geranium to start with and lo and behold I actually kept it alive. 

I am not going to talk about the tomato fiasco!!

Somewhere along the way I picked up a fountain pump with

the idea of creating my own 'wall of water'!

After MANY consultations and tossed out sketches,

 (with Captain Butler, who is an Engineer, by the way!)

I decided to use found objects to hold the water. 

Since I spend all my free time at the Goodwill

looking at dishes I decided to look for vessels there.

Pictured below is my first purchase! 

A sponge painted bowl from Williams-Sonoma!!

$5.00!!!  Woo Hoo!  At this point I was thinking of a blue and white theme.

When I saw this little delft strawberry pot I thought the water

hose could run in through the high hole and

flow out the low ones.  That idea looked better on paper!!!

Next I found this gorgeous pink bowl!!

$3.50!! Yay! Blue and white went out the window!!

The actual balcony needs some painting...

the doors are all new...a project for another time!

As you can see I later found a very similar small pink bowl for $.50! Are you kidding!!?! 

The little filigree bird was half off at Michael's, coming in at $3.00ish. 

Still need to find a way the make hose less noticeable.

I inverted the strawberry pot under the tiny pink bowl. 

Next I found a pot with a scalloped edge so the pump could hide under it and

the plug and hose could come out from under it with no unevenness.

I set the whole thing on a white turkey platter!

Threw some glass stones around and turned it on!!!

Ahhhh!  Now I sit outside in the sun or shade and read

while the sound of water falling softly next to me

lulls me into a feeling of peace.

Please check out Susan at her Metamorphosis Monday Party

to see some other fun projects come to life!  Thank you for visiting!!

Love, Scarlet

Game Night Parties

Happy 100th!!!

Join us as we celebrate with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

She has hosted the Blog Party Tablescape Thursday 100 times! 

Mom (Eileen), Laur and I thought it might be fun to challenge ourselves with a game party theme!

However, I was not able to write our usual little stories to go with this post. 

I will be back in action with our next post!

Four of a Kind!

Why, it's a group of friends having tea and sandwiches before a card game!

Glad you could make it!!!  Your place is all ready for you...Tiger Woods, right? 

This is definitely your seat!!!

Oh!  Look.  It's Mr DeBeers, darling...have a seat!

Martha, Martha...over here!  here is your seat...it's a good thing!

The table is delightful! 

One lump or two? 

Tea time!!! Get it Tiger?  Wink, wink! 

Don't forget to sign the guestbook and leave a special note for Susan, the Queen of Hearts! 

What a lot of fun!....Thank you dear friends... 

It's a Pool Party!!!!!

Oops! Did you think I meant pool with water? 

 Surprise!  It's guy's night in the 'man cave'

What a spread! 

Root Beer anyone?!

Ahhhhhhhhh......refreshing! 

Artsy through the handle shot!

A silverware tray?  What a clever idea! 

Lustro-ware from the 40's

Hi honey!! All your friends go home?

How about a game of darts? 

Will you look at that!!  I won! 

But, you're still King of the Castle!

Before there was television...

Remember when the kids stayed home at night and the family gathered around the game table?

Maybe even some relatives came by and joined in the fun.

Every one had a turn.  No one could monopolize the game! 

Someone will be sorry when they have to return all these little pieces to their proper places!!

I don't have a clue who the lucky winner will be tonight!

I must admit I love these vintage checkered napkins! 

Everyone from the rookies to the old maids get a chance to play! 

The winner is always considered to be the head of the class!

Of course things can get a little dicey when grandpa 'wins' every time! 

Those were the days!! 

Happy 100th Anniversary Susan!

Thanks you for hosting a 'game night' every Thursday!

We are so happy to be a part of it!