Charming Zebra

Cameras In My Kitchen

April 7, 2013 By Miss Charming 1 Comment

I have this thing.

A thing about changing things up.

About moving things around.

About continually tweaking.

Two days ago, I had another tweaking moment where the kitchen hutch was the victim. It resides against a wall next to the kitchen cabinets and provides more storage. Usually, the shelves are artfully stocked with white dishes. (It IS in the kitchen, after all.) But on a decorating whim, I decided to keep only the dishes behind the glass and evict those items currently residing on the open shelving.

Next, I gathered up my camera collection from the fireplace mantel (including my two newest acquisitions) and carefully arranged them on the top shelf. I then placed the statue bust among the cameras for a little interest. (And possible social interaction…)

My ultra heavy vintage typewriter found a new perch on the bottom shelf to ground the vignette.

The middle shelf held auditions, but the accessories that ended up getting the part were the mirrored “love” sign and the white ceramic owl planter sporting a leafy green coif.

Here are a few close-ups of each new shelf arrangement:

1) Camera cluster

2) Long-haired owl

3) Sturdy writing machine

Now cameras (and typewriters) in your kitchen my be a bit unexpected.

A bit unusual.

A bit odd.

But it might also be just a little bit awesome. (For those of us who also have a thing for long-haired, noctural birds of prey, that is.)

So what about you? Can any non-traditional decor be found in your kitchen? And what is your opinion on hirsute fowl?

~Miss Charming

Filed Under: design Tagged With: decor, Kitchen hutch, owl, succulents, vintage cameras, vintage typewriter

Project Failure (Yes, Mistakes Were Made.)

April 5, 2013 By Miss Charming 3 Comments

Have you ever had a wonderful, great, fantastic project idea?

One that you just couldn’t wait to get started on?

One that you knew would be incredible, amazing and cool?

And then it…wasn’t?

Well, let me back up a bit.

I had the idea to create a piece of art that was a little quirkier than my usual decor style. I started out with a faded print from the thrift store.

I removed the print from the glass and frame, flipped it over and painted various colored stripes all over the back. (It was starting to look a little juvenile but since it was only the first layer, I wasn’t too worried.)

When the paint had dried, I taped over the lines in a chevron grid pattern. (Can you say “time-consuming”?) I then spray painted over the whole thing in gold paint and peeled off the tape.

The next part of my art creation was the application of the vinyl. I had the words done backwards so I could attach them to the back of the glass. (That way they wouldn’t be stuck to the paint and I could change out the vinyl when I wanted.)

So the finished project ended up being…well…maybe a wee bit much.

A Darth Vader head in white with “I am your Fadre” revealed underneath. What!? (“Fadre” is a nickname my daughter sometimes uses for my husband. It’s a combo of the Spanish, “Padre” and the English, “Father.”)

To be honest, the art (and I use that term loosely) didn’t turn out as awesome as I had envisioned. It’s a bit on the strange side. I originally planned for it to hang in the living room, but it is currently residing in the game room instead. (And the jury is still out on whether or not Vader will be evicted altogether.)

So the Vader piece was a maybe fail, but my attempt at a coffee filter wreath made from an old pool noodle was definitely a project failure.

I started this project months ago. Many months. (We’re talking last year, folks.)

I had the idea to recycle one of our old pool noodles into a wreath form. The problem was that the noodle had been used so much that the foam was beginning to disintegrate and the noodle itself, couldn’t hold it’s shape. So about halfway into my coffee filter gluing I realized that the noodle was refusing to come out of it’s pointed, oval shape. I wasn’t too jazzed about having a wreath in the shape of an eye. At about the same time I begun to develop a great dislike for the coffee filters, themselves. (I mean, did I really want a bunch of scrunched coffee filters on my wall?)

So this half-finished wreath has haunted me for the better part of a year. I felt as though I needed to finish it since I started it, of course. And I didn’t want to call it a loss. But when I tried to think of where I would display the finished, scrunchy, oval wreath, I just couldn’t find a space for it.

And to be quite honest, I had absolutely no desire to finish it.

None, whatsoever.

I finally decided to chalk it up as “experience”, officially declare it a failure and remove it from the premises (where it could no longer taunt me.)

Vader, on the other hand, is currently on probation.

So what about you? Any projects that started out “innocent” but were then convicted “guilty” of a project failure? (It’s okay, you can tell me.)

~Miss Charming

Linking to these fun parties:

Be Different Act Normal

Classy Clutter

Serenity Now

Love of Family and Home

Filed Under: design Tagged With: art, coffee filter wreath, Darth Vader, pool noodle wreath, print, Project fail, project failure

The Original Round Top Antique Weekend

April 3, 2013 By Miss Charming 8 Comments

Last weekend my Sis and I had the opportunity to attend one of the more well-known antique shows in the country.

Antique Weekend started off over 40 years ago in the little central Texas town of Round Top. It has since grown tremendously to encompass a number of other small towns around the area as well. And what has started out being only a three day weekend has expanded into an almost 2 week event.

Round Top itself, is now known more for fine antiques and pricier reproductions.

While the town of Warrenton springs into action the week before and showcases mainly flea market fare, Texas bling and Mexican reproductions.

There were so many people browsing, eating, walking and shopping. And I’m sure there were a bunch of celebrities there, too, (we just didn’t happen to see any) because I’m quite certain that Ryan Gosling is really into popping himself some flea market tags.

Tons and tons of dealers and vendors stretched over miles of fields. We walked so much that our feet were hurting by the end of the day. (Glad I chose to go with my unfashionable tennis shoes. Can you imagine if I had sported those sequin-encrusted stilettos instead?)

We spent two whole days taking in the sights and sounds. The first day was a wee bit overwhelming. There was just so much stuff. (But we did end up finding a few treasures to drag home.)

The Junk Gypsies had a booth there, also. I’m not too familiar with them but I do know they have a show on t.v.

So here are a few of my thrifty finds:

A large number 2 from an outdoor sign.

A yellow and red vintage Coca-Cola soda crate.

Two emerald green old seltzer bottles.

A large Polaroid Land camera (to add to my collection.)

And a fun-looking Argus camera.

There is one more item I scored at the flea market, but it’s in the middle of a makeover. (I will reveal it in all it’s “timeless” glory in a future post.)

So what about you? Have you ever spent the weekend foraging through flea market fare just to find that perfect item from yesteryear?

~Miss Charming

Filed Under: design Tagged With: flea market, old, Round Top Antique Weekend, soda crate, vintage

Playing With Pom-Poms

March 28, 2013 By Miss Charming Leave a Comment

Simple.

Fluffy.

Pom-Poms.

Not the most sophisticated crafting item on the shelf, but quite possibly the most fun.

I’ve been looking for an opportunity to play around with pom-poms for awhile now. Colorful, puffs of fluff. What’s not to love?

I was able to find a pack of pastel pom-poms hanging around on the shelf during my scavenging at the local Dollar Tree. When I returned home I pulled out my trusty pink and white baker’s twine and decided to fashion some sort of garland for Easter. Threading the poms-poms was easy. And the best part was that it was surprisingly fun. I just kept threading and threading until I had a string full of colorful puffs. But now what?

I determined that a garland with only pom-poms was fun but not incredibly interesting. I needed to add a little something extra. I found some colorful, long-forgotten Spring fabric stashed in the back of my craft closet. (A little cutesy for my taste but it seemed to go along with the playful theme.)

I decided to go with a simple folded pennant design to counteract the busy fabric. Similar to the garland I crafted on my Vintage Map Window (see here).

I like my pom-pom Easter garland, even though it ended up being primarily a string of cutesy pastel puff balls. Unfortunately, my trendy teens gave it a thumbs down. (But they didn’t realize how much fun it was to make!)

So what about you? Have you taken a chance with pom-poms yet? Or do the puffy balls of pastel fluff have you dreaming of little cotton-tailed bunnies rather than a stylish crafting design?

~Miss Charming

Filed Under: design Tagged With: DIY, Easter craft, garland, pom-poms

DIY Tulip Wreath

March 24, 2013 By Miss Charming 5 Comments

So what’s better than a large field full of fresh, beautifully colorful tulips?

How about a wreath made of fake tulips from the dollar store?

No?

Previously, I never would have given dollar store tulips a second glance. I mean, they’re just not, you know, the real thing. You could consider me a tulip snob.

But that was before I laid eyes on the beautiful tulip door wreath Jacque from The DIY Village made. (And yes, she used fake flowers from the dollar store.) So in using Jacque’s wreath for inspiration, I decided to see what I could put together from our own local dollar store, myself.

I visited the Dollar Tree in town and surveyed the flower selection. Sadly, the tulip supply left a lot to be desired but I ended up grabbing what I could.

The store also carried 8 inch foam wreath forms. Since they were only a dollar each, I decided to go that route instead of using the more common 12 inch size. I already had the wire-rimmed ribbon at home so I only needed to purchase the flowers and the wreath form.

I wrapped the ribbon around the wreath, over-lapping until the whole thing was covered.

I used strong scissors to snip the flowers so the stems would be around 2 inches long. (It would have been easier to use wire cutters, though.) I then slipped the stems, one by one, under the ribbon. (Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to snap a photo of the process until I was nearly finished.)

I started adding the flowers in one section at a time, but soon realized that it would look better if I used one color throughout the wreath and then added the second color for fill in.

The tulip bunches were all different sizes so the finished wreath ended up being “full of character” instead of being perfectly executed.

I will admit I was a little skeptical about the outcome even while I was assembling it, but I ended up being charmed by the finished wreath.

Once completed, it ended up being 13 inches of bright, beautiful blooms. I used ten bunches of flowers at $1 each and one wreath form for a total of $11. Not bad for a cute ring of tulips to usher in the Spring.

(And did I mention that it was extremely easy to make?)

So what about you? Are you a self-proclaimed flower snob? Or are you open to giving fake tulips a fighting chance?

~Miss Charming

Linking to this fun party:

Finding Silver Pennies

DIY Showoff

Be Different Act Normal

Six Sister’s Stuff

Classy Clutter

Serenity Now

Filed Under: design Tagged With: DIY, dollar store, Spring, Tulip wreath, wreath

My Jurassic Jungle

March 20, 2013 By Miss Charming 2 Comments

Last year I was enchanted by all the cute little fairy gardens that were popping up around Blogland. I guess you could say that the thing that delighted me the most was the fact that everything was in miniature. Small plants, bitty stone paths and teeny furniture placed carefully to welcome any tiny magical visitors of the winged sort.

Last week I had fun playing around with succulents in a Vintage Soda Crate (see post here) and knew I wanted another succulent project.

So why not combine my fascination of mini gardens with my love of succulents and come up with my own spin? But instead of focusing on fairies, I would create something a little more prehistoric.

I started off with a well used metal urn and stuffed some paper in the bottom to fill up the empty space.

I then grabbed some sheet moss (from my over-stuffed craft cabinet) and cut a section to fit the top of the urn. Next, I tucked the moss around the paper so all the edges were folded over.

I decided to go with “faux” succulents this time instead of using real plants. (Especially since the stems were 50% off at Hobby Lobby.)

I separated the leaves from the stems by pulling them apart with my (Hulk-like strength) hands. That exposed a wire stem which I then tucked around the edge of the moss. (I played around with the layout until I came across an arrangement that looked somewhat jungly.)

Next, I introduced the dinosaurs to their new habitat.

Careful to place them with adequate spacing so there would be no violent altercations over territory.

My little Jurassic Jungle is being used as a centerpiece on our kitchen table at the moment. (The kids are delighted with it and enjoy repeated restyling of the dinos.)

So what about you? Have you put your green thumb to work on a little, tiny miniature fairy garden? And if magical woodland creatures just aren’t your thing, what about a Jurassic jungle or even a creepy zombie forest?

~Miss Charming

Linking to these fun parties:

Frugal Girls

All Things With a Purpose

Love of Family and Home

Filed Under: design Tagged With: centerpiece, dinosaurs, jungle, Jurassic, succulents

A Vintage, Old, Used Window

March 17, 2013 By Miss Charming 14 Comments

It’s no secret that I have a special place in my heart for the everyday items of yesteryear.

For all things vintage

Retro

Antique

Used

and just really plain old.

Items that are no longer needed for their primary purpose and can be re-imagined into something new. My two-paned window is the perfect example. It came into my life about 2 years ago. I discovered the window at one of those chain thrift stores for $6.99. (Back when prices at thrift stores were actually thrifty.) It was apparent that it was quite old from the style of the wood frame. And it had been painted and repainted repeatedly, as evident by the peeling layers of paint.

Now this window wasn’t just your run of the mill vintage variety. It was unique. Some creative soul in the year of 1982 had the brilliant idea of preserving wildflowers behind the panes. (And I can just imagine the excitement as the person thought, “Now this is going to look classy hanging next to my collection of goose figurines!”) The owner definitely was serious about the wildflowers though, because the job was professionally done. In addition to the framing store tag on the back, that window had been matted, stapled, glued (and whatever secret thing framing stores do to make your matted item crazily expensive.)

The wildflowers may have looked country fresh back in the day, but by the time the window had crossed my path, the flowers had denigrated into a brown, crispy, potential fire hazard. And it definitely took some time and quite the effort to free the brittle mess from it’s vintage window prison, as the framing company had been quite good at their job.

After the window was all cleaned up, I displayed it behind my DIY Pink Ornament Wreath (see post here).

And most recently, I decided to back the window with an old map I found at an antiques mall. The map was so delicate that it just kept ripping apart in my hands as I was trying to attach it to the window frame.

I’m not sure of the age of the map but it stopped documenting events in 1962.

Okay, so please read this next bit of info with an open (and frugal) mind.

The next part of my vintage window project followed the reuse and recycle mantra. I bought a new brand of “unmentionables” for my daughter and when we later opened the package at home, we determined that the “delicates” weren’t going to be practical if she planned on actually moving while wearing them. But instead of getting rid of the ill-fitting garments, my crafty mind noticed the fun colors and thought, “Do I dare recycle underwear into my next project?” And of course, I did.

I decided to make a little pennant garland to hang in front of the map window. I made a pattern triangle out of a foam egg carton and traced it on the folded edge of the fabric. I then used pinking shears to cut out each triangle.

I folded the triangles over a length of baker’s twine and secured each one with a piece of tape.

So here is the next phase in the life cycle of an old window. A little vintage, mappy, garland fun!

And what about you? Do you enjoy repurposing 80′s decor? Or have you recycled something that just may be unmentionable?

~Miss Charming

Linking to these fun parties:

Filed Under: design Tagged With: garland, map, recycle, vintage window

Real Mind Readers (And Yummy Cookies.)

March 15, 2013 By Miss Charming Leave a Comment

At any given time, I seem to have various project and blogging ideas knocking around in my head. (Similar to an overactive pinball machine, I suppose.)

I bought this pink and white baker’s twine last December. And although I’ve already used it in my Mini Heart Garland (see here), my real vision for this baker’s twine was to tie it around a stack of freshly baked sugar cookies.

And I envisioned staging the bundle of cookies with my new paper straws from Michaels and with the blue and white chevron fabric I found at Hobby Lobby last year. (Sounds good, right?)

So imagine my surprise when I read the latest post from the cute girls at Classy Clutter and came across this lovely photo above. What??? Is there some kind of tricky mind reading going on here? Do all crafty types keep a storage of similar project ideas in their heads? Hmmm. Classy Clutter’s post was a recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies. (And they just happened to stage the cookies in the most practical way–with baker’s twine, chevron and a paper straw.)

Well, since the cookies looked so yummy I decided to go ahead and try out the recipe for myself.

So here is my version. (They are super tasty, by the way.)

(You know you’re a blogger when you stage a photo shoot for a bunch of paper straws.)

So if you have a hankering for some lemony goodness, be sure to check out the recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies at Classy Clutter. (It’s delish!) And if you just happen to have some baker’s twine, a chevron fabric remnant and a few paper straws lying around, feel free to stage your own cookie photo shoot. (It’s soon to become quite a trend, I’m sure!)

~Miss Charming

Sharing at this fun party:

My Romantic Home

Filed Under: design Tagged With: baker's twine, chevron, lemon cookies, paper straws

Height Chart (For My Tall Little Ones.)

March 13, 2013 By Miss Charming 5 Comments

When little boys hit their teenage years, a mysterious thing happens. They’ll go to bed at one height and in the morning they will be noticeably taller. (I’m quite sure the growth gnome visits in the dead of night and sprinkles rapid growing dust all over them while they slumber.)

My husband measures in at a respectable 6 feet even. And currently two of our three sons are taller than him. For the longest time I’ve wanted to make a height chart to mark the growing progress of my “little” ones. (When they truly were little, I would chart their growth on the door jambs of their bedrooms.) But now I wanted something a little more substantial.

I started off with a 6 ft by 11 inch plank from Home Depot. I ended up buying a less expensive piece of wood since I planned on painting it. I gave it a good sanding and then brushed on a coat of white paint. (The same custom mixed white Behr paint that I’m using throughout my home.) I then sanded it down until the wood grain showed through giving it more of a white-washed look.

I determined that Roman numerals were the way to go so I ended up using miniature letters I found at Hobby Lobby. (I will confess, that it did take a few months and various trips to multiple stores to find all the ones I needed.) Gold spray paint came next as I decided to alternate the finishes of the numerals. I had a tube of Super Glue left over from my Magnetic Fridge Frames project (see here) and decided to use it to attach the numerals to the wood.

The problem is, that when it comes to Super Glue, I usually have about as much finesse as my dog, Bella would have knitting a sweater. But then again, Bella IS quite talented. ( At least that is what the others in her salsa dancing class have to say…)

I was able to glue the pieces down successfully with only gluing three of my fingers. (Thankfully, I resisted the urge to scratch that sudden itch on my ear.) I had kept my fingers separated so the glue only coated the ends of my fingers leaving a shiny, fingerprint-less cap. (Which might prove to be beneficial if I ever decide to pursue a life of crime.)

I then drew the measurements on the edge of the board with a gold paint pen and a sharpie. I lined up a measuring tape along the edge to make them as accurate as possible.

I’m digging on the finished project– another way of charting the rapid growth of my “little” ones.

So what about you? Have the growth gnomes visited your home? (And what is your skill level with a tube of Super Glue?)

~Miss Charming

Linking to these fun parties:

All Things With a Purpose

Filed Under: design Tagged With: Growth chart, height chart, roman numerals

A Few Thrifty Finds

March 10, 2013 By Miss Charming 2 Comments

Rusty.

Chippy.

Peeling.

Old.

It seems as though my recent acquisitions fall more into the “oldy moldy” category as opposed to the “bright, shiny and mass produced” camp. For the last few months I’ve had my heart set on finding a vintage pulley. (The older, the better, I say.) Two weekends ago, my sis and I spent an incredibly fun Saturday trolling various antique and thrift stores. Our day proved to be quite fruitful. My sis hit the thrifting jackpot many times over and I emerged victorious with my own find–a crumbly, ancient pulley.

The week before, I spied this rusty, old rolling tool chest at the local thrift store. It was a good price and immediately when I saw it, all kinds of possibilities began swimming around in my head.

The piece actually separates into two components. The top is a tool box with removable tray and drawers. The bottom section is a cabinet on casters.

There is some rust and the unit does need a good scrub, but I have big plans for it, big plans…

And here is a peek of my new old pulley in all it’s chippy goodness.

It weighs a ton. But I didn’t just buy it for it’s vintage loveliness, I have a project idea in the works, too.

And in addition to the old pulley, I also scored a brand new reproduction. (When I first saw it at the import store I quickly decided not to be an antique snob. I needed to be an equal opportunity pulley owner.)

So what about you? Do the “golden oldies” make your heart go pitter patter or is the “shiny and new” more to your liking?

~Miss Charming

Filed Under: design Tagged With: antiques, tool chest, vintage pulleys

Cameras In My Kitchen

Project Failure (Yes, Mistakes Were Made.)

The Original Round Top Antique Weekend

Playing With Pom-Poms

DIY Tulip Wreath

My Jurassic Jungle

A Vintage, Old, Used Window

Real Mind Readers (And Yummy Cookies.)

Height Chart (For My Tall Little Ones.)

A Few Thrifty Finds

Miss Charming

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