Three Indoor Painted Tin Planters Thrifted for My Cottage

Painted and decorated tin planter #1 sits on top of my tin box on stand looking out my living room window. Could the fit be more perfect? I had to bring geraniums indoors again so I could enjoy the planter box right away. All of my blooming geraniums have been planted in outside urns and they look stunning.

Here's #2 (one of a pair). This one is residing on the left side of my sofa flanking my French doors that look out on my rear yard.

The mate #3 is on the right side of the sofa. All three are very French and two are pretty fancy but I think they look nice in my cottage and they cover my clay pots for a new look. They have liners so they won't leak water on the furniture. I filled them with gravel to elevate the pots.

Now you can see the whole arrangement in one photo. I hadn't planned on having any plants inside but then what would I have done with the planters? I couldn't possibly wait until cold weather! My new real estate office is near my favorite charity shop and we have office meetings every 2 weeks. I'm thrilled because it used to be a special trip to shop there and now I can go twice a month. 

Now that my geraniums are all planted in their summer homes I can concentrate on cutting my grass. I did part of the back but the front looks like a jungle. I have this problem every year. I should have started earlier but I didn't. But it always gets done eventually. I will post outside photos of the blooming geraniums soon. xo

Blue & White Decorated Scallop Shells

Sharpied seashells by Barbara Moloney Callen via 

I suppose you have to bleach the shells first. What is a "sharpied" shell? It is shell decorating with a fine tipped marker called a Sharpie. Who knew? I had to look it up. Aren't these shells gorgeous?

xo

Low Bookcase: Art Display Wall Above

Low Bookcase with Art Gallery Above

I absolutely love this wall decor. The low bookcase, filled with coffee table books, acts as a wonderful display ledge too. The beautiful artwork above and beside just makes this room. I love it❤

Hand Decorated Chest of Drawers

Dibs. I saw it first! I photographed this lovely paint decorated chest at a broker open house recently. I would love to have this in my cottage. Swoon.

Fabulous Bunny Downspout

I need this kind of whimsy in my life. Bring back the bunny downspouts! I could spend DAYS on this page looking at other examples. Have fun looking when you need a break from Thanksgiving preparations. xo

Gorgeous Painted Stairway

I like everything I see in this gorgeous interior. via

Watch This Pie Crust Video

Above photo found on Google Images

Pie season is upon us. A friend sent me this delightful video on how to make decorative top crusts. Watch it and be amazed. Now I want pie!

Really Nice Entrance and More

I like what I see here. It looks like a happy house. via

Wonderful Gates with Squirrels

At the Brooklyn Public Library.

I love theis entrance to the Children's Library.

via

Spruce Up Your Christmas Cookies

Another Good Thing from Martha Stewart

A Few Decoupage Plates Plus

I've never done much decoupage but when I see things like this, I think it would be fun. The possibilities are endless when done on the reverse side of clear glass items. I think this process is probably a little trickier than conventional decoupage because the glue has to be put on the front of the print. Here we have three rectangular plates, a switch plate cover and a paperweight. via

Decoupage Plates

I love this fantastic decoupage plate by John Derian Company.

I have only one piece and it's signed on the back. There is some paint loss under the backing so it must have been a reject. I got it at a garage sale for 25 cents years ago. I don't know about you, but when I buy something I love at a local house sale, I can usually remember exactly where I bought it, what kind of day it was, the seller, and all sorts of other details. I bought this plate on a beautiful summer day and my mother was with me. The sale was in the driveway and garage of a lovely home. Friends and relatives of the owners brought their goods too, so there was a big variety of good stuff and junk. I hope they have another one this year!

A Decoupage Plate distorted with my iPad

I pointed my iPad's terrific camera set on the fun built-in PhoneBooth/kaleidoscope again this morning and focused on a John Derian decoupaged plate. It's pretty interesting, isn't it?

Monograms for Hand Embroidery

A is for Alphabet.

B is for Beautiful.

C is for Celtic.

D is for Design.

E is for Embroidery.

F is for Font.

The rest of this Celtic Knotwork Alphabet can be found here along with other vintage alphabets for hand embroidery. When the page loads scroll down a bit past the ads to see the wonderful designs. Aren't you glad I found these for you? Now I want to monogram some linens. Click images to enlarge. Print and use your scanner to enlarge or reduce. You can also use your photo editing program. You can make stationery too. Have fun however you decide to use this and the other alphabets.



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Blue And White Is Always Right

Four more scans from Stephanie Hoppen's book Decorating With Pictures. Blue and white is always right, isn't it? Blue and white with flowers is doubly nice. I had a busy weekend and was light on the blogging. I'll try to do better this week. xxoo Rosemary




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Books And Antiques Are Perfect Together

Two photos illustrating how perfectly books fit into any antique setting. Bookcases and bookshelves aren't just for books either. Mix all of your beautiful things together for interest and color. Scanned from one of my favorite books, Decorating with Pictures by Stephanie Hoppen.

Have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday. Rosemary




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Mourning Picture Circa 1811

American painted silk with watercolor and ink. Executed by Sally Miller at the Litchfield Female Academy, Circa 1811, Litchfield County, Conneticut. A fine example of schoolgirl art, one of eight known examples from this Academy. From the American Decorative Arts collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.




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