Some new pillows in the shop....and a bit of Christmas in September

I hope that you are enjoying your weekend!  We are beginning to get our indian summer here in San Francisco.  After months of temperatures in the 50's and low 60's and drizzly mornings, we have begun to see the sun!  So, naturally I would start to think about making Christmas ornaments :) to put in the shop.

I always like the contrast between the rough around the edges and the shiny and refined.  I thought that these antique linen stars would be beautiful on a Christmas tree against the white lights.  

I read a book many years ago by Deepak Chopra called "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success."  One of the things, amongst a few, that I took away from this was the law of giving.  As you can guess he writes mainly about karma and the beauty of the theory that "to give is to receive."

  He states that you should never show up at someone's house empty handed.  He does not mean that you have to run out and buy a $30 floral arrangement every time you drop by someone's house for a cup of coffee.  He says that it can be a quick prayer asking for the health and happiness for the family who inhabits that home.  It can simply be a wish for their well being.  I thought about this while making these stars to put in the store.  So, I wrote a little wish on a piece of paper and inserted it into the stars before stuffing and sewing them up.  They are simple, such as "love, health, joy..." etc.  I thought that these would not only be great to adorn a tree, but also tied to a package.  You could tie a few to the backs of chairs if you were having a dinner party.  I am a big fan of having a stock of hostess gifts around the house.  I like to take something that is unique.  I think that bringing a set of three to a hostess as a small thank you would be lovely.

I have also been busy restocking the shop with some grain sack pillow shams.  I was running low for a while and just found some great blue striped sacks.  

I want to thank all of you who read my blog.  Your kind comments always make me smile and encourage me.   I honestly love to hear from you and appreciate that you come back to read my posts.  

Enjoy the day!

xo

Michele

Of all things....a Grain Sack Dog Bed Slipcover

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I was contacted about a week ago by a guy who requested a grain sack dog bed slipcover.  He wanted it to be handmade for his very special dog.

Not something I can say I have ever done before.  But I am certainly grateful for the work.  This was a rescue dog.  The customer sent me pictures of the dog on the day they got him and then another one at the one month mark.  The difference was astounding.  You could literally see that this dog had some very loving and attentive people taking care of him.  

I decided to stitch his name on a small label.

So nice to see people step us and rescue a dog like that.  

I wish I had an insert so I could show you what it will really look like.  It was fun to make!

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

Michele

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First Day of School.......and a Few New Items in the Shop

We have had a wonderful summer!  We spent time with our family and friends.  The girls loved every camp they attended.  And they were even excited to start school this morning.  I make a daily effort to be cognizant of how extremely blessed we are.  I hope that I do not lose sight of how fortunate we are to be healthy, have a wonderful loving family, and a great community of friends and neighbors. 

We have been away quite a bit during the last few weeks which is why I have been absent from the blogging world.  As much as I was not ready to return from vacation, I was happily surprised to find this gorgeous canister set awaiting me!  It took all of my strength to list it in the store.  (You know how tough it is for me to part with most of the items that I find or create :)).

I like how unique it is.  I also love blue and orange together as well as anything adorned with polka dots.  

I also added these two grain sack body pillows.  The red one sold immediately and I just listed the blue one last night.  I like them because you do not see them everywhere.  

I find the juxtaposition between the stark, soft white linen and the almost rough and rustic feel of the grain sack to be interesting.    

I wish you all a wonderful last few weeks of summer. 

xo

Michele

Snow on the Mountain

Bonjour!  I am enamored of antique enamelware.  I am especially fond of body pitchers and canister sets.  

This particular style or pattern is called chicken wire or som, standing for snow on the mountain.  

I love the texture which you can sort of see on the pitcher below.

This photo was taken in the Presidio, about three blocks from where we live.  You can see Alcatraz in the background.  

The canister set is available in my Etsy store.  

Such European charm.  

I don't usually buy yellow flowers.  However, I loved the way the petals have a bit of green on them.  

Enjoy the rest of your week!  

No snow on the mountain here :)

Michele

Sweet and a Little Rough Around the Edges

This past weekend I had a few friends over for dinner.  It was a last minute sort of thing, which, in my opinion often turns out to be the most fun.  I found these tiny potted herbs at Trader Joe's that morning and could not resist them.  Later on, when we decided to get together for dinner I thought that they would make nice place card holders for the table.  

I stamped each person's name on card stock in gold and then trimmed the edges with scalloped scissors.  

I then decided that I wanted to make some nice napkins for the evening.  A while ago I found this beautiful linen from Italy.  It is a flax color with a fine weave.  I love the way it looks when it is right out of the dryer.  

I made napkins with a small raw edged ruffle around the perimeter.  I really like the look that the ruffle has been torn.  The downside is that you do have to clip some strings after washing.  

If you look closely you can see the the edges are a shade lighter that the rest of the fabric.  I like that effect as well. 

The best part of the evening, of course, was the company.  I remind myself often how blessed I am to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family.  

Have a great week

Michele

Pink Ombre Cake

Good morning! 

I have never written about food.  Though I love to eat and to cook, the primary focus of my blog is to show my projects involving antique linens, treasures I find at flea markets and what I do with them.  I am featuring this cake because it was a sort of project.  I am pretty happy with the outcome, though I will make it over and over again to get it just right.  (presentation wise, not taste wise)

My daughter Katherine celebrated her 8th birthday on Monday.  I took the day off from work to spend some time with her.  We went ice skating and shopping and had dinner.  I saw a picture of a pink ombre cake on pinterest and have not been able to get it out of my head.  

I began searching for a good vanilla cake recipe.  And with almost no effort at all I came across a wonderful one! My daughters and friends agree with me that this cake is very moist and flavorful. I finished it with vanilla cream cheese frosting. (Again, not my recipe.  All I did was follow it)  Please visit Glory's blog, Glorious Treats, for both of these recipes.  She did quite a bit of research to come up with them.  I think that you will be pleased. 

As you can see the top layer is thinner than the bottom three.  That is because I did not divide the batter evenly into quarters before coloring it.  I just added a tiny bit of red food coloring to the batter for the second layer and then added a bit more for the top two.  This cake was not much to look at from the outside but was a surprise when cut into.

There is a lot of room for improvement but it sure was fun to make and serve!  

Enjoy your day!

Michele

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Beautiful Blue French Bistro Chair....and a few other new items in the store

Bonjour!  

I was invited to see a friend's items that arrived in their recent container and look at what I found!  I love this chair!  It is a pale robin's egg blue.  It is chippy and worn and fabulous.  I was very grateful for the call to preview their treasures!  I was like a kid in a candy store.

I love that the edge of the seat is chipped off.  

There are layers of green, a darker blue, and red on the back side of it.  

I made this market tote last weekend.  I pieced two different sacks together.  

I love the shade of the blue.  And I think that it is special because of the monogram.  It is that of the farmer who used this particular sack.  I think that this would be a nice tote to take to the market, or beach bag to carry in Hawaii, or any beach for that matter.  The great thing is that it comes with history. 

Sold. 

This beautiful pitcher came from the same vendor but I purchased it a long time ago.  I love the patina on it.  There are a few white paint stains on it.  It is no longer watertight.  I place a glass in it to hold water for flowers.  

And last but certainly not least, I promised in a past post that I would be getting more enamelware canister sets in.  Here are three of the four sets I have found.  I am still waiting to receive the other one from France.  

I like the ribbing on the sides.  What a nice touch. 

The next two pics are sets consisting of two canisters.  I really like the faded gilt striping and gothic lettering on both of them.

All of the above items, minus the cream and gold enamelware pitcher (cannot seem to list that one yet :)) are available in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting

Michele

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