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1.24.2013

Sweets for the Sweet

welcome to Day 10!

 the image up above is a 'sneak peek' of a project that i completed
15 years ago!
i just came across a photo of it and thought it was the perfect inspiration piece for you.
fifteen years ago, i was creating custom-painted furniture and accessories,
and this item was commissioned by a mother of twin girls
as their Valentine's Day gift.

that's a pretty sweet gift, if you ask me!

sometimes, it really pays to go over the top 
when you look at the whole image when you click through,
i hope it inspires you to look for something you already have
that you can transform in a similar way... with a little bit of paint
and a whole lot of LOVE
 
and you just might develop a sweet tooth!

today's post is on

pinterest!

[click button above for link to pinboard,
and look for the '30 day countdown' logo on the newest pin!]


 stay tuned for the next post in our daily countdown, coming up tomorrow
here on the blog or on ONE of these social networking sites:

1.23.2013

Creating Vintage Charm


Welcome to Day 9! 

 today I'd like to share an inspiring resource with you:
Creating Vintage Charm Magazine


this is an absolutely beautiful publication released bi-monthly
from the creative soul of writer, photographer, stylist, and editor Sonia Crouse.
Sonia has assembled a group of creative regular contributors for her magazine
that embody the many styles and moods of romantic decor with a feminine voice...

* photographer & stylist Janet Coons of Shabbyfufu
* photographer & designer Victoria Hayden of Whimsy by Victoria
* photographer Anne Christian Lorys of Fiona & Twig
* artist & stylist Sonia Crouse of Creating Vintage Charm
* designer & decorator Siobhan Volkanovski of The Vintage Dormer
 * designer & artisan Heather Anderson of Post Road Vintage
 and me,
* designer & stylist Debi Ward Kennedy of HOMEWARDfound Decor

each issue also features lovely guest features by and about women
who are traveling, cooking, creating, building businesses, decorating their homes -
all living with vintage charm...
women like Karen Hillman, who hosts the Queens of Art event


the magazine is available in print via MagCloud,
in single copies or an annual subscription.

 these photos are just a petite taste of the content inside each issue...

and NOW,

you can find the same beautiful kinds of inspiring images that appear in the magazine
on a new Pinterest board:"Creative Vintage Contributors"
features images of the original projects, work, creations, homes, and styling
pinned by the contributors to the magazine
 follow by clicking here for sneak peeks of upcoming issues! 
 
Creating Vintage Charm Links
website
 

 stay tuned for the next post in our daily countdown, coming up tomorrow
here on the blog or on ONE of these social networking sites:




1.21.2013

Lovin' the Leftovers...

Welcome to Day 7!

let's talk about holiday leftovers.
[um, no... not the dried out turkey / soggy potatoes kind!]

ever since December 26, stores everywhere have been reducing prices 
on their leftover [ahem - unsold] holiday merchandise.
from Gimbels to Goodwill, stuff is marked WAY down - and yet it's not selling
because at this point in January, 
we think any holiday decor that is left in a store is broken or ugly and unusable.

or IS it?
today, we're looking at leftover holiday decor as a cheap way to create a sweet Valentine treat!
you can re-think what you see to make something out of 'nothing'

this broken and battered box of vintage bottlebrush bell Christmas ornaments
was shoved to the back of the bottom shelf in a Goodwill store.
it had been crushed - and probably thrown a few times -
but i found it and it made me smile.

and in a storyline not unlike Charlie Brown and his forlorn little Christmas tree,
i decided that i could make something of it
 because i LOVE making something out of bits and pieces of nothing.


i removed the UGLY green bows and the flimsy thread hangers,
 and the pink and red colors looked more like Valentine's Day to me than Christmas.
so i grabbed some pink and red plastic beads [dollar store]
and hot glued them onto the ends of the wire that already ran through the middle of the bells.


the yellow chenille trim that was on the bottom of the bells isn't exactly a Valentine color,
but it was bright and happy, so i decided to leave it on them.

i grabbed a small red heart-shaped box of candy that i had picked up [dollar store]
and ate all the chocolate in it.

what??? i needed an empty box! 
[i was a woman on a crafting mission and nothing was going to stop me]

 i cut two hearts the same size as the box lid and bottom
from pink and white striped gift wrapping paper
and lined the inside of the box with it, hot-gluing it into place.
i glued a pink and white polkadot ribbon around the outside of the box.

a small rectangle of the wrapping paper 
was embellished with hot pink velvet sticker letters [dollar store] that spelled out SWEET.
i attached that to the inside of the lid, and stood the lid up inside the bottom of the box.

and then i tucked the little formerly-bell-ornaments inside the box...

and helLO BonBons!

 this is no big fancy decor idea,
just the inspiration to create something with the bits and pieces that YOU already have -
maybe with the kids, maybe using pieces of broken toys or old blocks
or something you find in the thrift store or on the clearance aisle at Target.

look at those holiday leftovers a little differently...
maybe with the kind of hope that Charlie Brown had for his scrawny tree.
because it could be that those leftovers
just need a little love

1.20.2013

You Light Up My Life...

welcome to Day 6!

 love that adorable lampshade up above?
it's made from vintage ribbons, laces, and GARTER BELTS!
 

i love using unusual materials to create lampshades!
here are more inspiring ideas that will light up your life...
 i created all of the lampshades pictured - 
some for my own use, and some to sell.
it's easy to personalize them for every room!

1.19.2013

Chalk It Up to Inspiration!


this particular post could not have been planned for a more perfect day...
Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors has a great link party every Saturday
and as i was preparing to upload my images, i saw that this weekend, her topic is...

well, if this isn't a marriage made in heaven, i don't know what is!
 so, if you are visiting me via Funky Junk Interiors, WELCOME!

over the years, i've made chalkboards out of some interesting materials:
the one with the curvy edges? it's made from heavy cardboard! yup. 
the boards were stacked up six at a time and jigsawed to cut the ogee curves,
painted with chalkboard paint, had a hole drilled in the top, and hung from bias tape loops.

the one in a frame? it's a cheap thrift store painting!
it was really ugly, too... one of those where the print won't come out of the frame.
by painting right over that ugly scene with black chalkboard paint
and then painting the frame white, it looked brand new and totally fresh!
of course you've probably seen old doors used as chalkboards, like the one on the right above.
SO many uses for them, in just about every room in a home or business.
[top tip: great place to find inexpensive doors for this? 

 the chalkboard door with a table on the left above?
the hubs came up with the idea to use half of a drop-leaf table and an old door
to create a space-saving and very handy fixture for entry halls, landings, or small kitchens.
we made a lot of those over the years, in many different styles -
the old gray front door shown in the previous photo is one, too, using part of an eastlake table.

but hands-down, the BEST IDEA i EVER had 
for making chalkboards is this:

yep! use a sheet of cement tile backer board!
sand well and paint it, then drill holes in the corners and screw into studs in your wall.
it ends up looking, feeling, and SOUNDING exactly like 
an old slate chalkboard when you write on it!

i needed a chalkboard for my barn store, and saw that tile board sitting in the shop -
BADDA BING! an idea was born!
i also had some old wooden rain gutters on hand, 
so a piece was cut and attached to the wall just below the board to hold the chalk and eraser.

1.18.2013

Thank You, Romantic Homes!


Romantic Homes Magazine's February issue [shown above]
JUST hit the stands today, and HOMEWARDfound is IN it!

I'd like to offer my appreciation and thanks to contributing editor Beth Livesay,
who gave HOMEWARDfound a half-page mention in her story
'Blogs That Make You SWOON'


  i am very honored to be included,
along with Pamela of From My Front Porch to Yours
Julie of Idyll Hours
Donna of My Shabby Chateau
and Anita of Cedar Hill Ranch

[and my sweet Texas friend Anne Lorys is featured as one of 'the Romantics'!
i am so very happy that her talent, originality, and all-around NICENESS are being recognized!
i truly enjoyed getting to know her when i wrote about her for FOLK magazine last summer]

since several of my embellished vintage bottles are shown on page 12,
i thought i'd share more about them in today's post
[ i'll be sharing the other items shown in images there VERY SOON!]

the photo in the magazine is this one,
showing a few small and medium sized bottles...
i embellished them by gluing on torn scraps of 
vintage sheet music, piano player music, and vintage book pages,
adding a simple wrap of string over the papers.

because i made these for a Valentine's Day event, i found songs and book chapters
with words like LOVE and HEART and WEDDED in them
[and here's a tip: 
if you can't find what you want in old books, find it in NEW books - then scan the pages, print in draft mode onto tea-dyed or tan-color paper, and tear the edges to make it look old.]

you can see some jewelry on my bottles up there...
those were inexpensive but pretty vintage pieces that i added as part of the embellishment.

here's an idea to try:

embellish a bottle with beautiful papers and ribbons, 
and then hang a beautiful necklace that is a GIFT on it 
or put a pin that is a GIFT on top of a lid using a magnet or ribbon,
and the bottle becomes the 'gift box' for the jewelry gift!

another example of this is shown below
where a double-strand pearl necklace circles a large bottle in a figure 8 shape
[the little rosette that you see on the bottle neck is actually the clasp of the necklace]


the bottle in the foreground shows another vintage necklace draped around the neck.
secure necklaces with a pretty ribbon tie,
and pop a beautiful flower (or maybe some sparkly glitter!) into the bottle to make it really special.

a manilla tag or a tag made from French language cards is the perfect finishing touch...

this photo shows a few more embellished bottles,
and these have FUN toppers!
i glued some resin chess pieces right to the cork and screw-tops of some bottles,
and glued two pawn pieces end-to-end to slip into the neck of another!
the soft ivory color looks like bone, and coordinates with creamy papers and silk ribbons.
[i found a BOX filled with these 'cheap' chess pieces at the thrift shop for $1.00!]

by the way, you don't need 'vintage' bottles for a craft like this...
just hit the thrift stores and look for interesting shapes of glass perfume or spice bottles,
save your empty glass condiment and liquor bottles (especially the tiny sizes!),
and you'll have fun making them a beautifully embellished gift for someone you love
or for your own Romantic Home!

1.17.2013

talkin' about HOME!

 welcome to Day 3!

there are many creative ways to use vintage aprons as decor...
see five of them in today's post on


home
talk!
[click button for link to post]


 stay tuned for the next post in our daily countdown, coming up tomorrow
here on the blog or on ONE of these social networking sites: