Spring is here.....kinda

 

I decided to take a little walk around the backyard before it started to pour!

 

Yep, this is a typical spring day here in Oregon. But I have to say it is so cozy to have a mixture of dark clouds and bright blooms. 

 

 

Blooming Camilla in front of my lion fountain...

 

 

 

Blooming baskets...

 

 

Blooming buds in my retired cast iron wall fountain...

 

 

And Lady Mary smelling some ivy...haha!

 

Have a great Wednesday my little flock of followers!

 

xo

xo

clare

 

 

 

 

Stella

 

Stella is all blinged out for her summer soiree!

Even her wings are glowing like "Touched by an Angel".

Lemons and Spring!

 

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! Almost a year! But now I'm back in the world of blogging and so happy to be! I won't even get into all the deets of what I have been doing this past year, it would take about 20 blog pages lol!  So I'll just go from here, today.

 

So I wanted to make this wreath

 I found on Pinterest, the other day. 

http://www.foodista.com/blog/2011/08/20/5-lovely-lemon-home-accents

I just love lemons. Just the look of them is so fresh and cheerful, and they smell so good.

 I had this jar full of fake lemons along with another whole basket. The wreath above may have been made from real lemons, I'm not sure.

 

 

I found this beauty all mangled and crumbly in the clearance section of HomeGoods for super cheap. 

 I'm all for cutting corners when I can and if I can find a decent start to a wreath I grab it.

 I didn't take pics along the way cuz it was so easy, but I just started glue gunning all my fake lemons onto this wreath until it was nice and full.

 

By the time I finished it looked like this. 

So easy!

 

I'm going to run outside and play now in the garden while the sun is shining.

It's supposed to pour again in a few minutes. So I'll probably be able to pull 3 weeds before

I have to run back in! 

 Ahhhh Oregon!

 

I hope you are all having a wonderful day of Spring wherever you may be!

 

xo

xo

clare

Vintage Spoons and Chandelier Crystals - More Addictions!!!

I often do my little confessions of my addictions

in this blog, as you know. Here are two

more...teeny tiny teaspoons

and

chandelier crystals.

I wish I could say this

was all I had of the above collections

but, it's only a sampler! I do have a purpose

though for these collections, I make

little creations with them.

This is my newest set of spoon ornaments.

The trick to these is to get to know the

guy in the hardware department at

Home Depot so when you go back to

get 3 more sets of drill bits after breaking

5 or more per spoon set, he will have them

all ready for you at the counter!

It's so worth the outcome though.

I would ask my husband to maybe show

me how to narrow down the

amount of drill bits I go through,

but I'm afraid he would wrap too

many words around the explaination

and I would start thinking about

laundry or unloading the dishwasher or something!

These are a fave of mine to make since I

am also addicted to vintage monograms!

Oh, and I'm also addicted to anything of the

vintage royal court. This goes for all movies of

the different court eras as well!

The next set of ornaments was created from images

I copied from a vintage set of playing cards I

found at an estate sale. The images are

stunning!!!

as you can see!

These ornaments can actually be left

up all year around, I have

several hanging from the chandeliers

in my bedroom and kitchen!

You can make your own sets of the above creations,

if you need directions or more ideas, just

email me at

clarefinnerty@comcast.net

or if you can't make your own and have

a little $$$ to spend,

you can find these for sale at

http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/

Made this Wreath and I'm in a Magazine!

I made this wreath yesterday. By the time

I was finished, my hands were

raw from the burlap!

I made the bow out of burlap and vintage fabric.

The wreath is so gnarly and full, I love it

but am selling it in my

http://www.therobinandsparrow.etsy.com/

gotta pay the bills you know...

My star ornaments are in this current issue of

Better Homes and Gardens

in the grocery stores!

I sold these in my paper store

http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/

last year.

they posted the instructions....

...and decorated this tree with them,

I love this idea, wish I had

thought of it!!!

Have a great day full

of wonderful surprises!

xo

xo

clare

Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah...............................

Remember that old song? We used to sing

it on road trips as a family as

we crossed the nation in our

stationwagon hauling a trailer behind!

Lately I've been collecting old kitchy

things and either putting them in

my little cottage kitchen, or

selling them in my vintage store

http://www.intodumpsters.etsy.com/

Here are a few of the treasures I've found...

Oops, that's my husband, he's not for sale LOL!!

I love enamelware!

A must have for any cottage or farmhouse kitchen.

Miss Piggy Creamer

Vintage Canning Jars

A darling tiny tea kettle!

The cutest spice shakers ever!

A pretty to put your gravy in.

Thank you for stopping by! I'm going to go

over to Faded Charm and see if I can

find some more fun things to look at

for White Wednesday.

xo

xo

clare

Been Thriftin', Creatin', and Gardenin'

The hanging basket by the front door!

Okay, I have been gone way too long! The summer,

it still hasn't felt like summer....brrrrrrrr,

has been busy.

With my daughter home from college,

the whole house

takes on a new energy level.....

oh scratch that, I mean.....

Spoiled Sarah with spoiled Sophie dog!

I take on a whole new energy level...."mommy

( I fast become"mommy" again

when she's schmoozin')

can you make that sandwich I love so much?...

can you get me snuggly in the chair

with my fave blanket?...

can you hand me the controls?..........."

I have to admit, I love having her back home.

And I love doing all those things that I miss doing

for her when she's away at college. She's working

almost full time this summer at an Orthopedic Clinic

and I can't complain!

Let's see what else......

Okay!

 I found this deliciously shabby chic vintage quilt

while thriftin' the other day! Oh my gosh if you could

have seen the condition it was in, you would have

probably passed it up! I brought it home, washed it in

my special lavender, vanilla washes several times

along with some heavy duty Oxyclean

and it came out

GORGEOUS!

I hugged it and smelled it over and over, displayed it in my studio

and then listed it on my http://www.therobinandsparrow.etsy.com/ website.

I secretly hope it doesn't sell, I might change my mind

and KEEP it!!

I also found this sweet vintage alarm clock and this

gorgeous pearl detatched collar...........

Today I created a sweet new pillow using a vintage linen shirt I found thriftin'.

It is listed in my etsy shop as well.

It's good to be back to blogging! Now I need to go visit all my

blogging peeps and see what everyone else has been doing!

Have a great day today!

xo

xo

clare

Signs of Spring Here in Oregon!

We have had the most pathetic Spring weather ever! Finally, we are starting to see the sunlight at the end of the tunnel! I walked around my garden today and snapped a few pics of my efforts made when it wasn't pouring rain.

Every other pot around here is filled with an evergreen. I just hate empty pots sitting around in the winter! Filling many with evergreens help fill the void. I usually make groupings of them for the winter.

 I took my icky, weathered, rolling cart and made it look new again.

Then I planted a baby hydrangea in it.

In the Fall I will transplant it to my little hydrangea farm on the side of the house.

 My annual splurge each Spring.

By the end of the summer it will be this huge, overhanging ball, thanks to weekly fertilizing!

Another little splurge from the local market.

It is huge and gnarly and will cross over the rest of Spring into the beginnings of Fall.

Bunny Boy doing a little gardening himself.

Freshly planted pots. The urn is getting a little shabby,

I will probably spray all of them a fresh coat at the end of the season.

The proceeds of these gorgeous dahlias, found at Lowes,

go to the Susan B. Komen foundation.

Water Boy taking a pee pee or a bath! :)

Angel Boy sunbathing under the big Japanese Maple in the back garden.

 Ignore the dandelions! I haven't quite gotten to those yet!

This urn will be spilling over with greenery by the end of the summer!

Fatty cherub boy doing a little afternoon reading.

Thank you for walking around the garden with me!

 I've enjoyed your company!

I'm going to link up to White Wednesday at Faded Charm.

 Hope to see you there too!

xo

xo

clare