Getting Crafty

Several weeks ago, Susan and I went to the Metrolina Expo Antique Show and I came across a whole stack of vintage music sheets for only $2 bucks!  This totally inspired me to get crafty and start making my own cards.  I started out pretty simple with some burlappy sage ribbon, a roll of twine, and Aleene's Tacky Glue that I found out about from this post from Young House Love.  You can get the glue at Michael's for like $1.79. 

I enjoyed it so much that I went back to Michael's and picked up a few other types of ribbon from the $1 bin, and splurged on some stamps and a few charms from the jewelry section.  I actually had several people to send cards to for birthdays and stuff, so I started to branch out and try different things.  Here they are...

Then I decided to take this old candle that was kind of falling apart, and give it new life, using the same concept...

Remember that window I recreated for my screened in porch, from this post?  I also added some ribbon as a border around each of the window panes to hide the mistake I made by not removing the old paint.  It really softened the look and the sage color tied it into the theme for the room.

Finally, I used some of the ribbon to frame out 2 of the vintage botanical prints that I found in DC (one of the only non-bird items i purchased, haha), and then hung them with ribbon too.

Anyway, I'm still playing around with all this stuff, but it's been fun to get crafty!

Road Trip to Atlanta

I took another road trip 2 weekends ago, this time to the big city of Atlanta, or as some call it, "the ATL".  I went to visit my "boo" (ATL speak for boyfriend) and attend one of his friend's weddings.  I actually got him to smile in this picture, and for those of you who don't know Alvin, a true smile in a pic is hard to come by, so I had to include it here :)

Anyway, we lucked out that the Dogwood Festival happened to be going on, so we got to go check it out on Saturday morning.  There was tons of different types of art, several things I liked, but I guess I was being lazy because I didn't take any pictures except for a few of the Jack Hill work, which was absolutely hilarious because Alvin's full name is Jack Alvin Hill, and this happened to be the one and only type of art that Alvin actually liked.  Take a look at the pics and you'll see why...

The apple below with the two naked body shapes at the core is called "Love at First Bite".  The rest had funny and creative names as well, I wish I would have written them down...

Ok, I think you get the idea, haha.

Now, onto the main point of this post, the part that you design lovers (Susan!) will enjoy.  When Alvin is working in the ATL, he gets to stay in a place that is walking distance to tons of shops, one of which is ZGallerie.  I had forgotten how much I LOVED this place until I walked by and re-discovered it there, and the prices for the home decor items really aren't that bad - alot of stuff for $20 and under.  Oh how I wish Charlotte would get one of these stores.  [Correction:  As my friend Susan pointed out in her comment below, we DO have one of these in Charlotte, it's at Northlake mall.  That could be dangerous!]  I spent a long time slowly walking through this store practically drooling over the decor.  Here are some pics so you can re-live it with me, enjoy...

Bird Obsession Continues in DC

Renee, step away from the birds.  At least that is what I SHOULD have been telling myself, but that would be no fun!  Instead, my eyes were drawn to them like they were chirping my name.  Ok, that sounds kind of creepy, but you get what I mean.  I was in heaven looking at all the pretty bird decor I discovered in the shops on King Street in Old Town, I've never seen so much of it!  Here is what I ended up with, all from the European Cottage Living store...

A set of sage green tealight candle holders...

A super shabby ceramic bird house...

And these 3 hooks that will be perfect for hanging necklaces or scarves in my dressing room...

Then at the Arlington and Georgetown Flea Markets, I found a bunch of vintage bird prints from the 1800's...

So I picked up several of them and have already hung them above my bed with some twine and clothespins...

A couple close-up's...

Alvin is cringing at the girliness of it all, but I just love it and it was super easy!  I may try to tone down the girliness just a bit though by slowly adding other non-bird vintage prints to the twine, in more neutral colors and hanging them in a less symmetrical way, kind of like how they did it in my inspiration room which came from the Pottery Barn catalog.  They do this in a lot of their bedrooms, here is one example.

Believe it or not, I did buy a couple non-bird things too.  I love these vintage prints (from the 1700's!) and since it's hard to find frames this size, I have another simple idea for hanging them which I hope to get to next week...

And finally, I got a few pretty books for only $1 each to add to my collection.  One of them is about the Outerbanks of North Carolina!  Here they are, the 3 in the middle of this stack...

Oh, and one last thing.. you know I couldn't resist this book which I found hiding in the many rows of $1 books.  I told you, they were chirping my name, haha...

Apartment Crashing in DC

If you read my last post, you know I just got back from a fun weekend visiting my good friend Candice in DC  - Arlington, VA to be exact.  And not only was Candice an awesome host, but she has an amazing style - classic, timeless, minimalist - all things that are hard to acheive for a girl like me that jumps on every trend (birds, hello!), acquires stuff at every garage sale I pass, and is constantly re-arranging furniture and decor at home.  So needless to say, I totally admire her style.

Candice has collected some great furniture pieces and accessories over the years that have really come together in her Arlington apartment.

Like this lawyers bookcase filled with gorgeous blue pottery...

And guess what?  She has made over half of the pottery you see, here is a close up of some of the ones she has made...

This very pretty and functional piece stores all her nice wine glasses, etc...

I love the way this artwork looks with the unique sideboard table.  Oh, and see that pretty piece of glass protected on the floor under the table?  She's planning on hanging that up as artwork somewhere, can't wait to see where it ends up!

And check out the size of these pine cones!

She stacked these books on the floor next to her bookshelves, totally something Pottery Barn would do.  And she actually reads them, so I'm doubly impressed, haha!

And now for her bedroom.  I love the simplicity of the bed, with simple white pillows, a pretty blue quilt, and a big fluffy duvet at the end.  And that mirror leaning on the wall is such the perfect idea for that spot between the windows.

She's got a couple classic antique dressers that give her some stylish storage on the other two walls in the room...

And my favorite piece of all is this trunk that she actually uses to store all her big pots since her kitchen doesn't have much space...

This unique piece with the rope handles adds a ton of character...

And finally, this sweet little table that she's decorated with tons of beautiful shells that she has actually collected on beaches all over the place, what a great collection!

Ok, that is it for this home tour, hope you enjoyed crashing Candice's apartment with me!