Under the Wire!

We finally finished our entry for the Bungalows and Cottages Autumn Talent Search!!!

You can see the creative entries over at WhisperWood Cottage.

We are linked to the party there and I hope you will check it out!

As you may know if you are a reader of this blog.  My Mom, Eileen lives in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania.  Since I became an empty nester as of July 1st! I decided to stay with my parents for a while and enjoy the bucolic beauty of their property.

Coincidently, my Sister Laur, the 3rd member of our blog team is staying with the folks too,  until her house closing. 

We have quite a crowd up here, don’t we?!

Well, the best part is we get to collaborate on our ideas and the creativity is really flowing around here!

I wanted to write one of my little stories about the people that would be passing by our little Autumn Vignette, however since our entry is linking up ‘just under the wire’ I have decided to forego the fantasy and just tell my tale!

Mom had a blue tool shed located near the house. It had a metal awning and was pretty ugly. Probably the reason we have no before pictures!  Anyway, she finally convinced Dad to paint it a pretty barn red, like her art studio.  After the paint job Mom decided to dress it up a little.

Laurie's idea was to use an old bicycle basket as a planter and she proceeded to fill it with a variety of low maintenance succulents. 

There is always an old window around here somewhere and Mom hung a pretty one right in the front.

Years ago my Uncle Dom worked for the city we lived in and somehow managed to find some iron bench ends!  Dad added the boards for the seat and the back and painted them to match the trim and voila! A really cute little place to take a rest.

Mom saw the umbrella idea on Pinterest and wanted to try it.  Fortuitously she had an umbrella in black and tan just like the door!  Yay!!

So, she dragged out the good old cattails and went to town!  We all love auctions and one of Mom’s latest finds is the little make-up suitcase.

We searched Good Will for a variety of plaid shirts and cut and glued and sewed a new lining and pockets for our little case.

The leather trim was painted in a great red to go with the plaids and our thermos received the cowhide treatment, a la Ralph Lauren!!

The silverware in our little picnic basket/suitcase was Mom’s everyday flatware from gosh knows how many years ago! Must be vintage!

Lastly, I wanted to try to make a lap robe from a sweater and it didn’t come out too bad! 

Tutorials for the lap robe and suitcase will appear in my next post. 

We put our newly created treasures together, threw in a rake or two and called it Autumn!

Hope you like it!

Off to write tutorials!

Scarlet

New and Exciting!

Hello, Dear Readers,

My Mom, Eileen, recently happened upon an interesting website.  WhisperWood Cottage is a site dedicated to finding talent to appear in the pages of Cottages and Bungalows Magazine. 

Mom, my sister Laura and I are attempting to create an entry for the Autumn Scouting Party!  You can check out the other entries by clicking on the button to the left of this post!

Keep an eye out for our entry to be posted this week!  This is our first attempt at entering anything!

Gone to look for falling leaves and chilly mornings!

 

Scarlet

 

The Paintbox

I posted a little about my Mom the other day. Click here to read it!  I was so happy to finally be posting again that I didn’t wait for her to send me some pictures of her handiwork or to finish setting up her Etsy shop!!

She has now sent me some pictures and they are only a tiny fraction of what she has created!  I decided to give them a post of their own!  So without further ado…  my Mom’s creations…

She loves nature…

Sewing with vintage materials…

Bucolic Seasonal Scenes!

Flora and Fauna…

and Christmas, of course!

I know these are just a few examples of her painting, mostly.  However I am looking forward to showing off her many other creative endeavors as well!

She’s pretty cool!…Right?!

Off to dig up more photos!

Scarlet

Here is where I am showing off Mom’s stuff;

 Show and Tell Saturday at Be Normal Act Different 

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring

Come and see all the fun partiers!

 

When it Rains it Pours

Today is a rainy day.  Don’t you love the sound of the rain drumming on the roof?   

When I was a child my family had a little cottage in the woods of Pennsylvania.  It was really only meant for summertime because it was constructed with no insulation or even sheetrock!  The place was just the boards over the studs, with a tin roof. Our cottage was one of about twenty that encircled a bonfire area.  The location was a Methodist Campground.  My Mom’s Grandmother was one of the founding members of the association.

On rainy, summer days we would stay inside and read or play games or make crafts…whatever my Mom could think of for her brood of four!

The votive candle is nestled in a Princess House domed butter dish.

When you were in the cottage, especially the second floor bedrooms, you could hear the rain on the roof and it was one of the most comforting sounds ever!

So in honor of Dimock Campground I have set a cheery table for a rainy day breakfast.  We are joined by the Morton Salt girl, in a few of her incarnations.

The commemorative tin holding our sunflowers displays the 1914 Morton Salt Girl.

The Blue saucers are made in Mexico under the name Fortecrisa and the yellow luncheon plates are by Tabletops Gallery and are hand painted.  Isn’t this a happy color combination?!

The little juice glasses are from Flemington Cut glass many years ago.  The serving platters that I am using for chargers are milk glass and I think they are called Ribbon Edged. These have been in my family for a while.

The white plate that is sort of daisy shaped is labeled Le Grande Buffet, Salatier, 4530 china.  Believe it or not the tablecloth is a shower curtain and the napkins are dishtowels from The Dollar Store!

Illustrations of the 1921 and 1956 Morton Salt Girls grace our hot chocolate mugs.

Peeking out of the corner on the left is an April Cornell Teapot.

Thank you for joining me on this rainy morning!

Gone for an umbrella,

Scarlet

Parties we are attending!!

Cuisine Kathleen-Let's Dish!

Bunny Jeans Décor & More -Bunny Hop!!

No Minimalist Here-Open House Party!

Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursday!

Chicken Runner, the Seed of an Idea!

Earlier this year my Mother, Sister and I were fortunate enough to enjoy the generosity of my friend Bill.  Bill is one of those people that says you can use my timeshare anytime and means it!  So for Mom’s birthday Laur and I decided to plan a week in Williamsburg, VA,  of course this kind of trip would have to include outlet and antique shopping! 

During one of those outings I spied a really cool table runner.  I thought Mom would love it, too.  So I checked on the price and found we could get two for just a few dollars more…score!!!! Well, after that we went on a chicken hunt to create a tablescape featuring these tags, cards and coasters from Michael’s.

So, table runner in hand the search for the perfect chicken surged forward!!  Some chickens turned out to be roosters, some were too “realistic”, there were others that were garish and those that were monochromatic.

The lucky winner came dressed in basic black with white polka dots and a little red for a pop of color!!

Ta Da…

Now if we can find accessories with a farmyard theme…there will be a whole tablescape!

Gone to look for piggy salt and pepper shakers,

 

Scarlet

Home and Garden Thursday at a Delightsome Life

Painting Your Life in Color

I would like to introduce you to someone very special… My Mom, Eileen, was married and a mother of 4 by the time she was 26.  She and my father George had a traditional marriage with Dad going out to work and Mom raising the children.  Even though they were of different faiths, with respect, compromise and perseverance they were able to create a faith based family.

Another of their differences was that Dad was A city boy, from a loud, passionate Italian family and Mom hailed from a small country town were she was raised partly by her strict, Welsh Grandmother and Aunts.

Blonde and blue eyed Eileen loved George for his outgoing ways, deep brown eyes and wavy, black hair.  Dad in turn thought mom looked like Marilyn Monroe.  He admired her intelligence and  sense of calm.

My parents struggled financially from day one of their marriage.  Not satisfied with giving their children the same childhood they experienced.  George and Eileen sought ways to improve the lives of their family.  The four of us were sent to private school at great cost and personal sacrifice.  When they were 25 years old, they became the first of either of their families to own a home.

To add to a better life and memories for us, Mom made countless special clothes and costumes for us throughout the years.  there was a ‘Halloween’ box, where our little costumes were kept. Dress up and imaginative play were encouraged and television was not!  You could always be sure to find a stash of construction paper and glue somewhere in the house! 

Life continued in this fashion until the Balboa’s decided it was time to leave the city and relocate to a more rural part of New Jersey.  Dad was a city dweller for his entire life and they did not think it was the best place for their children to grow up. 

Our new home was on a river and surrounded by woods and farmland.  We (the teenage members of the family!) thought we might die from the horror of it!  You had to drive at least 15 minutes to go anywhere at all!

In this environment a second car was a necessity and Mom became chauffer along with cook, laundress, counselor and referee! 

During all this time my Mother seldom lost her temper.  She brought dignity and grace to our lives with her creative and resourceful ways.  she was always there for us. You could count on her and we did. When I enrolled in the local college and did not have a driver’s license, Mom drove me the half hour to and from school with detours to my part time job.  This was at a time when the gas crisis had recently had a devastating  effect on the economy and she had an additional 3 children to worry about!

As the children became older, Mom took small steps towards a life of her own, apart from her children. and so……as the last of her children were preparing to leave the nest Eileen began her first painting lessons. the studio she chose to enroll in was called The Blue House. but, painting wasn’t only colors and brushes, it was an area in which Mom could express herself creatively and that made her a better person.  As she became more involved in the arts, she developed her leadership skills and even began to delegate a little!

Mom had always had a way with color and drawing. after some lessons on technique and proper brushes, she was ready to go!

In the beginning the style she learned was called Tole painting.  A style of decorative painting using a  variety of curvy strokes to create rustic paintings with a German or Dutch influence.

Her favorite surfaces to paint on were wooden recipe boxes, peg racks and other country kitchen kinds of items.  That was about 35 years ago! since then Mom has painted with different teachers and attended many classes and seminars. After moving into rural Pennsylvania, Mom became interested in having painting pals.  Her solution was to found the Pennsylvania Heartland Decorative Artists, a local chapter of a national organization.  She arranged for her groups work to be shown at nearby banks and libraries.  The decorating of Christmas trees with hand painted ornaments became a new local tradition.

After her retirement from the United States Postal Service Eileen had more time to devote to her passion.  She became of member of the local arts council.  Council members were busy with the restoration of a beautiful old theatre.  Teaching painting classes there was her main focus for many years. Ever moving forward Mom is ready to expand her horizons once again and is preparing to sell some of her work on etsy.  Mom’s artwork currently encompasses not only painting, but all kinds of crafts.  Vintage linens and doilies are among the materials used for her latest creations. 

I hope that I have helped you learn a little about my Mom!

Searching for a great Etsy name,

Scarlet

 

Visit the parties we attend!

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense 

porch