found this treasure

at rarely open "vintage store"

its for maps

but works great in

Brazos Star Homes

office for blueprints

so compliments many other

antique pieces

(not to mention the valued CEO)!

granite top

measured for & picked out

from granite yard

being cut

as we speak

installed next week

what fun i had making the plates

for each drawer

used teletype font

love the yellow paint smudge

(i didn't create that one)

will post pic next wk when

granite is installed

happy labor day

always a very special one

for this family

much to celebrate

beginning with the

birthday of

my beloved daughter

~

took a day off from working

to go antique looking around

came up with some treasures

for magical vignettes

 back to school

whether you go or not go back

 old jars

for

doggie treats

 dried herbs

fresh herbs

snuff

ring bell for service

this is just magical

in the citchen-counter-corner

now back to work on:

straightening office from

storm of creativity

& creating name tags for

faithbook

praying for each lady

as i design, type, print

& embellish her nametag

avery template 74536

but printed on designer paper

not your "normal" nametag

need magical wand

my art projects of late

have left my office in

a state of confused glittered

painted messiness

the picture below is my goal

for the next few days

 pulled from My Pictures

of past orderly days  

this magical vignette

will be my inspiration for

a more orderly enviroment

a welcomed return to my space

note to you: if you come to my office & ask

for a pencil, you will have to

 bee more

specific!

is organization over rated?

don't think so

stairs painted with

ledgers, records & journals

downstairs is where the CFO works

so these type of books are

appropriate for this vintage office

Beatrix Potter is happy

for the project to be completed

so someone will play ball

see the difference in the types

of books between

the two offices?

hoho

hi & magic to all Mary Kay Andrews

fans for visiting my blog!

stairs extraordinaire

 it was a challenge to paint with

Beatrix Potter

who spent the days

thinking this was great fun

as i sat on, laid on & painted on

the stairs

up & down for more paint

different brush, water or rags

& back & forth cleaning brushes

does this count as exercise?

(for me)

bp is now napping

think i'll clean up

& think about what

i'm creating on the

first flight of stairs

in a way i think

this stairway announces what

magic is in my office

~

this morning on FB my friend asked

what is everyone doing this Sat. Morn?

i immediately replied

painting the risers on the office

stairs to look like old books

just popped into my head

so i must do

 why haven't i done it before?

quickly took pic of

unpainted, unmagical stairs

that lead up to the most

wonderful of magical spaces

my office

entry to a different world

from what is down stairs

where number chunching &

house plans are going on

~~

have base coat on for the books

must let paint really dry before

painting on title, authors, etc.

also, thinking of favorite books

ps: top stair somehow got painted

before i remembered to take pic

was too excited to get started

pss:  see that green & gold sign?

Please Keep

Hands

Away

From Cage

i got that when in baylor

being lowered down

over fence to snatch it

?

oh, dear

autumn colors

are slowing replacing the

summer decorations

throughout this castle

warm colors of golden candle sticks

with antique lace & brown paper 

as candles

with vintage sheet music layered in

atop yellowed books

(stripped of their covers)

ephemera extraordinaire garland

candles wrapped in music

an old clock

doorknob tag holder

the linen red toile table cloth

a bit bright for this vignette

sooo - i turned in over

wrong side up

works well with this

color pallet

at the end of the table

(not pictured)

is an old mason jar

full of chantilly silver flatware

(now how southern is that?)

my friend Sadie Hodo

who also has chantilly

said that it is an old

southern thought that

chantilly girls are wild

oh?

magical

Amazing Grace

how sweet the sound

refreshed repainted rethought

candelabra

 candles in a candelabria

way too expected

no magic

 but aged brown paper

coupled with teadyed lace

 & painted with glitter

~ magic~

 how great for Beatrix Potter

she is always interested in

projects that are being created

in my office

whew - time for a nap

"hope she doesn't glitter me!"

(but the groomer did find some)

today my goal is to get the

collection of gold sticks

to the dining room table

but alas,

i must dedecorate the table

from summer celebrations

(that might take awhile)

once when there were 3 teenagers

at home i cleared the dining room

table from tabletop magic

when they returned home from

school & noticed said table:

"are you mad at us?"

total confusion as to why the table

was empty!!

happy creating magic!

now, i'm loving all things

old & vintage

however,

often things need to:

1. either be made to look older

to make them magical

or

2.  they need to bee recreated in

a fresh way for magic to happen!

this old brass candle stick

 is tired & unloved

because i bought

it at a flea market

for $20

but not to worry

after mixing up the secret

recipe for magical gold paint

taa daa!!

it also seems that i've been

on a magical mission

to exclude bows

& also "normal" ways

of using things

(surprise surprise)

so today i am creating

a candle substitute

for the now happy

& loved candelabra

ps- there is a little clue in the pic

something i'm thinking about

hum

pss-normal is a setting on the clothes dryer

 i love my church

our family history

goes way back

&

we love our preacher & his sweet family

&

many friends that we cherish

&

my vintage vignettes

have the perfect

back drop

 twinkle lights always add joy

these are wrapped in

teadyed muslin & lace

with tags & a paper flower

faithbook

starts on

Wednesday, September 12

last week there was an emergency

painting project

which often happens here

but this one seemed

to need the artist touch

sooner, rather than later

the rest of the designed outside awnings

were installed on the

kitchen & large stairs landing window

so attractive & helps with heat/water issues

in this ol' castle

but

no sooner did the installer

start to lace the fabric

did i realize that

the indoor faux awning

over the kitchen window

competed with the

real life awning on the outside

real debate:

do i wait until the man

gets off the ladder on

the outside before

i stand on the kitchen

counter to paint

the faux awning to

look like the outside?

well, i decided to wait until

he drove out of the driveway

now

both work together 

(the awnings)

magic partners! 

my love for vintage suitcases

began while in college

therefore:

i have some really treasured ones

stacked for table in the den

with glass tray on top

under glass tray is

b&w photos collection of 

beloved family fishermen

night stand in guest bedroom

little vintage vignette

in front of fireplace

high ceilings in this ol' castle

require some attention to

what would bee on top

of an antique wardrobe

oh oh, what magic to me!!!

i loving old photos

what a story this

lady could tell

i like to work with photos

in my creation of

ephemera extraorinaire

often making the  quality of

the photo look older

printed on old paper

or paper that i've altered

to look old

everything vintage

"memories are the key not to the past,

but to the future"

Corrie ten Boom

i so have a love

old suitcases

(well, many other things too)

my collection includes some

of these that i spied on

pinterest

will take photo of presentation

for faithbook that i'm creating

for Sunday

& perhaps some suitcases

that are magical in

 my ol' castle

(by the way, i've been using old

cases for a very long time)

way ahead of time!

what more do you need to know?

who had these

for styling

the flip or page boy?

this is not me,

but i did have one!

& how could i forget

aqua net?

 

this 

 just

 makes

 me

 smile

(magic!)

 faithbook

wednesdays

september 12 ~ november 7

9:30 am - 11:00 am

First Baptist Church Waco

gathering in the parlor

~

please join this charming

group of ladies

as we study the book of

Philippians

taught by Jamie McCallum

 ~

we look forward to seeing you there

love this picture of

Gray Mom's

(teacher)

classroom

love how they are posed

on the front row

all in dresses

do you get excited when you see

fresh school supplies

in the stores?

i do - it's a great time

to get good deals on

glue, paper, index cards

& perhaps glitter

patina

lovely time worn

living in an old house

i often find myself painting

something

a

 wall

appliance

shelf

ceiling

book

plate

tray

photo

to add patina

it can bee a

difficult project

painting, glazing, rubbing, blotting

splattering, sanding, scrapping

getting something to look

genuine & old & worn

ironic because the original

patina came from neglect

&

now getting new patina

takes many steps in

the artist touch