I love white paint!

I really, really love white paint.  It can take anything and make it beautiful.  Well, most anything.
I’d been slowly accumulating old picture frames from the thrift store, so I finally laid them all out and got to painting.

They started in various shades of gold and brown. (And, yes, that’s an obnoxious vinyl tablecloth that I use to paint on) IMG_8439 (Large) This gold one I’m really excited to work on.
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I quite like this frame, too.  Great detail!
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And this mirror was a find!
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I confess I did no priming at all, just went right to work on them with my white paint and a brush.
I just paused every hour or two to brush another coat over everything until I was satisfied…

Just look at this great collection now!
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I’m so pleased with how they turned out.
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Most of them will end up on my dining room walls with family photos in them, but the mirror is already on the wall!
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Sigh.  I love my living room…
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I also love this sweet face.  She had to try one on.
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I just wish you could hear her little voice saying “cheese” IMG_8502 (Large)2 “Tseez!”  I love those pudgy little hands…
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Too bad you can’t hang that on the wall!  Ka-yoot!

Blessing Blanket

For my baby’s blessing day, I had pictured a lovely little pieced quilt in all white.

But on the morning of the blessing, I had nothing done.  I saw this coming, so I had picked up a minky fabric with a lovely paisley and flower like pattern on it, and some white satin blanket binding to make a  ruffle with.
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A few minutes at the sewing machine and this is what we had:
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It turned out really pretty, and it looked lovely with her gown.
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There she was, the star of the evening, and she slept right through it.
Can’t say that I blame her.
And may I be allowed to say that I love, I mean I LOVE the little rhinestones on that waist?
Meaning, I am smitten with that gown.  It’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.

Next to the baby, that is.  She’s perfect, and I love her so much.
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So, now that the event is over, I can’t put the blanket away.  I know I’m just begging for something bad to happen to it, to stain it or otherwise ruin it before I pack it away, but I can’t help myself.  It’s the perfect weight and it’s so soft and pretty.  I wish I had one my size!  So I just keep wrapping her in it.  And life is good when you can do that.
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Blue and white dishes

Do you ever find yourself shopping, and here and there you pick something up for a song, only to discover down the road that everything you bought goes together?

I love the color blue, but live in an area where blue isn’t nearly as popular as other colors, such as brown and black and darker jewel tones.  But for me, it’s all about the gorgeous shades of blue.  This, of course, means that I don’t see nearly as much of blue as I’d like to, but it also means that the colors I like often get marked down to ridiculously low prices.

I also happen to really, really love dishes.  I mean that I love them a lot.  Give me a store that houses both women’s fashions and housewares, and I’m all over the housewares department without a backward glance at the fashions.  I love the simple beauty of dishes, and their inherent usefulness.  They seem to hold such potential, like they’re just waiting to be filled or covered with goodness to nourish someone.  I guess, in many ways, dishes are artful symbols of abundance to me.

So, I just discovered that I’ve managed to collect 3 platters, a bowl, a baking dish, and 12 plates that all look really cool together.  And the most expensive item was $3.50.  I like that a lot.

Don’t you think this dish is just baking for something wonderful to bake in it?
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The bowl and platters have been used multiple times already.  The platters are the perfect size for bringing in meat from the barbecue or covering with sandwiches or wedges of watermelon.
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The plates were a happy accident.  I love their white rims.
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and the fact that they’re so simple.
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And blue.
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I love that life is so full of simple gifts.  Simple pleasures to enjoy.

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