Breakfast at Tiffany's and Other Frenchy Stuff

I told you that Thursday I went to the gift show in Los Angeles.  Well, Friday I went to the convention center where the show continued but these are not permanent showrooms.  In recent years I have found some vendors there that actually sell at shows and flea markets around the state, but they rent space here for the weekend to sell their wares.  Some of these spaces were incredible, and I'll tell you the nice thing was that I was in an air conditioned building at 10:00 in the morning instead of 5:30 in the morning, and it was not freezing nor blazing hot.  This is my kind of shopping.  Also these vendors were set up to take credit cards so I didn't have to carry a large amount of cash. 

 There was a very nice assortment of vintage merchandise ranging from pretty Frenchy stuff to primitives to completely re-purposed industrial.  This particular space I snapped some pictures in is one of my favorites and she was swamped with customers early on.  I am so inspired by the above dress form.  I have one that really needs revamping and I might adapt some ideas from this one above.  It says Paris down the front in glittered silver letters.

 Not just in this space, but in others as well, there seemed to be an Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's theme going on.  For instance this image above is a high style French woman in some sort of salon.  These photos were large and that's a real brooch on her waistline adorning her ribbon sash.

 Here are some more prints of a fashionable woman.  These were smaller, but note the brooch on her hat.  Do you notice the tea pot pole lamp?  Very cute indeed.

Oh, I love the furniture this woman carries.  It's always got an etched glass effect on the glass.  Very nice!

 This picture came out blurry, but these are chalkboards with Breakfast at Tiffany's drawn on them.  There is always lots of glitter and princess themed items with this vendor as well. 

Thanks for dropping in.  I took as many photos as I could.  Nobody seemed to say anything about it, but I don't have one of those huge SLRs either.  My camera is very subtle.  Hope you are not too hot wherever you are.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

French Dresser

So earlier I was telling you about my super quick trip to the Los Angeles Gift Show today.  I kind of whizzed through the mart faster than the speed of light.  I'm not a big fan of all the made in China knick knack things, but I do love primitives, and even though these are manufactured in China, they sure do inspire me.  How about you?  This dresser/buffet is totally my style.  I love it.  I love black furniture anyway and this is so me.  Mind you, I'm not sure I was supposed to be taking pictures, but no one stopped me, so I clicked away.  I did purchase a few things in this particular showroom so I don't feel too bad for sharing this with you.  I wish the top part was clearer for you.  I was standing under fluorescent lighting, but I think you can see the dresser which is what I was really trying to capture.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Chalkboard Art and Hot Fun in the Summertime Blog Party

Today was a crazy day.  I had to go downtown to work (Los Angeles).  What should have taken me an hour to accomplish tied up my day from 9:30 to 1:00.  The L.A. gift show is going on and I always like to go and see what is trending since I do sell my wares albeit vintage wares.  We all know what's hot right now may be totally out in three months.  I took my camera and snuck a few pics to share with you.  I also placed a couple small orders which I don't have time to go into now. 

So far this week I am still obsessive about chalkboard art and I found three examples in window displays I was able to capture a photo of.  The first one appears to be Halloweenish.  I didn't realize until I got home it was a skull.  Not really my type of Halloween decor, but I know lots of people who eat this stuff up and love it so I'm sharing it with you.

Isn't this next one unbelievable?  Oh if I could only draw.  This is a beautiful example of Spencerian calligraphy.

This next photo was another window of a showroom with some super cute subway art signs and some colored chalk designs.

And here are a couple of "interesting" display windows.  Not really sure what they were advertising, but I thought they were kind of artsy looking.  Some of these things might be cute hanging from a pot rack.  They are hung on burlap ribbon and strings and rope.

Isn't it crazy how the creative mind works?

Okay, I'm late for my own blog party so I better get to hopping and skipping.  Do I need to tell you the rules?  Please do not link up any blog parties or Etsy sites.  Place a link back.  The blog button on my side bar that looks like this one below has the code.  This is the final linky party for Hot Fun in the Summertime so if you want to be a part of this, now is the time.  Besides we love seeing what you have to show off.

Vintage Ice Cream

I love ice cream and I love vintage ice cream advertising.  I have shared a few of my vintage boxes with you already.  For today's project I used one of my less than pristine boxes for my inspiration because I loved the colors and the words.  Totally retro!  The way this evolved I think I could also call it the Rorschach sign.

I started with a cabinet door I found at the salvage yard.  It had nice moulding around the edges.  I sanded the door and painted it with heirloom white.  Then I used cardinal red acrylic paint and Victorian teal blue.  For the lettering I used stencils I had on hand.  Everything but the script was created by using inexpensive stencils from the craft store.  By inexpensive, I mean under $5.  However, after I stencil, I do go back in with a liner brush and go over the letters again to give it a more hand painted look.

 The inspiration box had snow flakes in the background behind the lettering and although I have several snowflake ornaments, the thought of dragging them out in July was just too daunting of a task so I used some sticky scrolly designs that I thought would work.  When I pulled them away, I had a huge mess left behind.

 Since I wanted an old looking sign, I just sanded back the mess and left the white paint underneath exposed and then put the printing on top.

To continue the aged look, I took a paint scraper and scraped the white edges so they would chip.   Below is my inspiration box.  I love this sign.  Even though it surely is not perfect, it reminds me of happy times and childhood laughter.  Ice cream is a special treat no matter what your age.  Thanks for taking a look. 

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Summer Cloche

I am probably the last person in blog land that doesn't have a real cloche.  I didn't want to miss Marty's party at a Stroll Thru Life so I improvised with my cake cover. 

For the first vignette I used two of my vintage ice cream cartons, my pretty china creamer and some cherries.  I think this looks so summery.

 Here it is without the dome.

 Then I tried a little vignette with an old prop camera and a porcelain flower.  I kind of like doing things under glass.

 It puts things in a whole new perspective.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Book Stack

I found a stack of book boxes at a yard sale and didn't like the covers so I decided to add some Graphics Fairy images.  I printed the images to the size I wanted them to be and sprayed the backs with 3M Super 77 to adhere them to the boxes.  Then I decoupaged over the two images.  It worked better for me than decoupaging the image and then going over it with decoupage.  I'm not crazy about the trim I added but it's okay.  I'm keeping these for my craft items.  I will be spending the next several months trying to beautify my creative space.  Wish me luck.  For these two images click here and here.

I love this little pirroet clown.  I just cut out the top images and adhered them to the script image.  To view these images click here and here.

I really did not like the third book so I won't be sharing that one.  Thanks for stopping by.  My new saying is Stay Cool and Carry On!  The summer heat is brutal.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Ribbons and Bows Lamp Shade

I've seen a lot of re-purposed lamp shade forms in recent years.  I even made a garden cloche with one, but here is a new, more romantic variation.  This form measured 14 wide by 13 tall.  It took 36 yards of 1 1/2 inch ribbon.  Yeah, that's a lot of ribbon, but I love the result.  Cut your strips of ribbon, in this case 39 inches for each strip.  Now string it from the bottom of the shade and tie in a pretty feminine bow at the top.  Repeat until you have circled the shade.  This shade took 24 strips of ribbon.  This one is hanging.  I hung it on the patio to take the photographs.

 So soft and romantic, isn't it?

 I love these bows!  Have a great Sunday everyone, and most of all, stay cool.  Yesterday it was 104 here in sunny Southern California.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life  
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best