Friday, May 31, 2013

Vintage fabric collage: Revisiting rusty horseshoes and old lace...

Hello friends! A while ago I did a post about some rusty horseshoes, lace and driftwood that I was going to use in future projects. Well, I just completed a fabric collage piece for my granddaughter for her birthday, and did use a rusty horseshoe and old lace (she loves horses). She had recently redecorated her room in dusty pinks and browns, hence my color choices. She will be 11 in June.

The piece is called
"Today is the Day".
It hangs by rusty wire from
and old horseshoe that I
studded with pink Swarovski crystals...



The horseshoe...


I love this quote...


The locket was from Michael's.
The outside says "live and let live" which
I used because Jordyn wants to be a veterinarian.
I placed a silk flower in it and filled it with Diamond Glaze.
It is tied onto the piece with ribbon...


I bought the photo from eBay months ago with this
project in mind. The little girl looks a little like my
granddaughter. I love the fact that she is riding the
horse down a sidewalk!


 I distressed and crackled a wooden letter "J"
and sewed it on...


I wove brown ribbon through the lace to
ground the piece visually...


I hope she likes it!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

All things grow with love...

Greetings from The Perch. Or, I guess I should say "Greetings from The Deck". No, I'm not changing the name of my blog.

It was late in the afternoon the other day when I went out back to pick some fresh herbs for the Sausage and Peppers that I was making, and as I stepped onto the neck I couldn't help but notice all of the hydrangeas that were budded out and almost ready to bloom. A few were growing through the deck rails, so I ran back in to grab my camera and snap some pictures of the scene around the deck.

The hydrangeas. I love this lime green color
right before they are in full bloom...



Below are "Pretty Much Picasso" Supertunias.
They are in the window boxes on the deck rails,
and I have them mixed in with lime green
sweet potato vines.
They are in black window boxes,
because the table and chairs are
black wrought iron.


This is a piece of antique statuary.
He sits under the Fragrant Tea Rose bush
at the base of the deck by the steps...


By the way, I did remember to pick the herbs, and will share my recipe for Baked Sausage and Peppers with you in a future post! Have a great day. 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Instead of the porch swing...

Hello!

The other day Mr. Perch and I went out shopping to purchase a porch swing. Ever since we visited the historic homes in the area with their big porches and swings, we decided that it would be nice to have one on our porch (even though our porch is not exactly as large as those that you see on old homes).

So, we set out early, visited several stores and came home with no swing. But we did come home with a chandelier. Where did that come from? We didn't know that we were even in the market for one. Well, maybe I was, just a little.

We decided that the crystal chandelier in the dining area had to go. I had actually bought it about eight years back in my single days when I had that shabby chic thing going on. I loved the look in my old townhouse in Florida. Somehow it looked a little fancy for our style now, especially since we do not have a formal dining room.

So, today we went from this...


...to this.
A simple, clean look, and mostly,
SO MUCH EASIER TO KEEP IT DUSTED!!


Yesterday, we were still thinking about the porch swing. I checked out some on the internet, and found a really nice one in, of all places, WalMart. It will be shipped to us shortly. More on that in a future post!

So, since the swing will be in the spot on the side of the porch where the rockers used to be placed in the summer, we will put those rockers on the little porch of the garden shed. Which made us have to get rid of the old rockers that were on that porch (do you ever feel that things seem to sometimes mushroom out of countrol?). So...

Mr. Perch lugged them down to the road,
stating that they would be gone shortly...


...I put "free" signs on them...


...and of course, shortly thereafter I heard a car door slam,
looked out the window, and they were GONE!!

A few minutes later the phone rang. It was my neighbor across the street (who I walk with each morning) thanking me for the great old chairs which she is going to paint and put on her back porch. I never thought of asking her if she wanted them since she already has the porch quite furnished, but she said that she never has enough seating when she has a lot of company. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure!

I hope you're having a great day!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

On the subject of lilies...

Good morning!

Here is a quick glimpse of a couple of lilies currently blooming in my garden. I started planting these a couple of years ago, mostly from the cheapo starters that you see in places like WalMart and Lowe's. They reliably come back each year, and multiply pretty nicely considering the awful soil that we have in this area. Though I am a fan of neutrals in my house, I just love bursts of color in my garden, as you can see here!




Have a great day!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend: The Real Reason for Celebrating...

Memorial Day is a holiday that originated after the Civil War. Did you know that it was originally called Decoration Day? Though the term "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882, this was not common practice until after World War II. Federal law declared it the official name in 1967. You can still find many vintage post cards that reflect the Decoration Day name.




Decoration Day
 
Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry's shot alarms!

Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon's sudden roar,
Or the drum's redoubling beat.

But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.

All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.

Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.

                              -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I hope that you are having a great holiday weekend, and taking at least a few minutes to remember the fallen soldiers that served on our behalf, making our country what it is today. Stay safe!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Love, weddings, anniversaries and vintage photos...

Good morning friends. Love is in the air today. I feel it in this quote...




I feel it in these beautiful vintage wedding photos, which I have just begun to collect.
Don't you love this one...


Here is a closeup of the bride. I love her
head wear...


The seller of another threw this one in for free.
A nice fifties wedding...


...with a closeup of the happy couple...


I love this one, which looks like it might
be from the twenties or thirties...


A closeup of the bride and groom.
Don't you just love their expressions?
I wonder what they were thinking...


This is my favorite.
I love the bride and her two beautiful
flower girls...


...and a closeup of their faces and big bows...


I love photos showing large wedding parties.
This one was very inexpensive because there was
some damage to the photo to the ring-bearer's face,
the little boy on the bottom right.
But I love it anyway...

...and a closeup of the beautiful
bride and groom...


Most of the above were too large to fit on my scanner bed,
but the following was smaller, so I scanned it for you.
Save and use as you wish...


And the "vintage" couple below,
shown with their flower girl?

 

Why it's US!
This picture was taken four years ago today
at our home
on OUR wedding day!
The flower girl is my granddaughter, Jordyn.

We are going out to dinner and a movie this evening to continue the celebration, which had started with the Outer Banks trip. I hope that you're having a great day!


Thursday, May 23, 2013

A view from The Perch...

Good morning friends!

Yesterday I planted a few things in the garden that we bought over the weekend. I took a couple of pictures of them before I planted them, so thought that I would share them with you. I hope that they stay as pretty in the garden as they were in the pots!

Aren't these colors beautiful?



Below are a couple pictures of well-established areas in our back yard.

This is the Purple Verbena that grows
along the stone path that connects 
the back of the driveway to our
deck...


On the other side of the stone path
below the deck is our fountain
and shade garden...


Flowers always make the days seem brighter! I hope that your day is bright...

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Nothing is as far away...

"Nothing is as far away as one minute ago."
                                                               --JIM BISHOP (1907-1987)


One minute ago. That doesn't seem like much. Unless you perhaps think about the terrible events of this week in Oklahoma. One minute made such a huge difference in the lives of so many people. I can't even imagine what it must feel like to lose family members, friends and pets. To wonder whether or not some of them are even alive and to wonder where they might be. To lose your home and everything in it. To see where your community once stood.

My thoughts, prayers and hope go out to all of those who were devastated by this tragedy. I am thankful for this minute as I know it.

I hope that you are having a good and safe day.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Pretend you are a Victorian lady...

Happy Sunday to all!

Let's pretend you are a Victorian lady living in 1876. It is the centennial year of our nation. And, being the typical woman that you are, you can't wait to have a few moments to sit down in your parlor and read your new copy of Peterson's Magazine. If you did live in that period, this would likely be one of the magazines that you might read. It was published between 1842 and 1898, and it was committed to publishing works by women writers. Peterson's, along with Godey's Lady's Book, dominated the women's magazine market during this period. Peterson's was launched as a cheaper alternative to Godey's at $2 per year, instead of $3.

I found one quite by accident on eBay. It includes the12 issues of 1876, bound into one volume. About 800 pages worth! I am doing a little more research, but it seems as though they were often bound for a particular person, and many I saw had the owner's name engraved on the front. I'm not sure if the individual issues, which I think were in a larger format, were later sold as bound books, or if the owner had her own issues bound.

Sadly, you often you see these books and individual issues scalped by buyers and ripped apart to capitalize on selling individual prints from them at high prices, sort of what they do with botanical prints. My feeling? Unless they were purchased in deplorable condition, they should remain as they are. After all, like our beloved cabinet cards, they have survived for more than 100 years, and they should live on. When they're gone, they're gone.

I thought that this particular year would be interesting since it was our centennial (as well as having been printed 100 years before my daughter was born), so below are a few pictures that I would like to share with you. If I can get the book to lie flat on my scanner bed, I will try to scan a few nice pages for you and share them in a future post. In the meantime, click on this pictures. Seeing the detail will be worth it!

The binding...


A black and white engraving on the left.
Tissue paper is on the right, and it protects...


the colored fold-out engraving on the right.
Ladies fashions of the day.
These are the ones that the folks rip out and sell.
What a shame...


The engravings were created especially for each issue,
and each issue had only one that was colored.
There are 12 in my book.
Another black and white engraving...


...and another...


Below is a black and white,
next to one of the colored pages...


Each issue also included children's fashions...


...how about some swim wear...


And of course, the latest in hairstyles...


...and needlework...


...and recipes.
Note that you just put the meat, larded with "fat bacon"
in the oven. No temperature given. The ovens were either
hot or not...


Pretty poems...


...and nice stories...


...along with sheet music...


...and of course, advertisements!
The beauty: Only this one page at the end of each issue.
Fancy that!


This is such a treasure. Oh, and the possibilities for art projects! And that it survived in almost mint condition, with the pages being very thin, is incredible. Even the tissue paper protecting the colored pages is in perfect condition. Its front page tells me that a man, no less, purchased this in 1935. He obviously valued it.

Where will my latest issue of Country Living be 140 years from now???

I hope that you have a great week.