Centerpieces & different ideas for vases.....

When most of your gardens are in the shade in the Midwest-hostas are usually plentiful...so most of my arrangements are green hosta  leaves...in my favorite vases...vintage blue ball canning jars....Here I added a few vintage black and white photos around the jars...along with candles...

 

As I garden I save any of the spring flowers that might look good in an arrangement..these are early spring bloomers..that make a great summer display once they have finished their outdoor life.......

 Here is one of my favorite little ironstone pitchers--makes a great vase for a  day lilly--another great shady plant....

 I have several antique oil lamps.... 

they make delicate vases and look great with several lined up along a table with the same flowers....

or beautiful alone.....remember vine flowers are great for small, petite vases...

 A small teapot is a perfect vase....and using the black among the white display--always a look that stands out...

 I also like to group like colors---here is a 4th of July postcard..in a red and blue cheese box with a red flower in a milk bottle for a vase....

My rule--if it can hold water--it is a vase in my house.......
It is a beautiful summer day here....hopefully i can get outside this afternoon after work 
to garden a bit...fingers crossed...enjoy your day....
I am sharing this with:

Estate Sale Finds.....

I noticed this the other day near our home...

 So this morning I woke up early drove over to get in line for my number...I was there at 6:15 a.m. numbers were given away at 7:30 a.m......and surprise of all surprises...my hubby decided to tag along! Here are the numbers you get when you arrive at the crack of dawn!

Once inside the sale there were the usual suspects...

 love the old wooden croquet set...

I am a sucker for vintage concrete lawn goodies!

 Love this dresser!!! Little pricey...$80.00

and...here is what happens when my husband decides to tag along...

 He filled the back end of his truck with his stuff!!.. and here are my finds...

Now tomorrow everything will be 50% off...and if that GREAT dresser is still there....it is mine!!   Hope your having a great weekend and maybe even grabbing a few cool finds!

Silhouette - How To and a Give Away........

Donna From Funky Junk Interiors

is giving away a Silhouette.....

She also has a GREAT review & "how to"  post on the Silhouette.....

If you know Donna you know this will be a great post 

Check it out.....here's your link:

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/06/silhouette-review-and-giveaway.html

I've got a secret....

So i know all of us DIY-ers have projects going on most of the time...

in addition to full time jobs...small children...grown children....point being most of us have MANY things going on at once (in addition to our projects) and sometimes our homes do NOT look like a photo shoot... especially when we have a room reno happening...

That happened to me recently when I was making over our master bedroom..my office became the overflow dumping room.....and because I consider you my friends.... 

I am sharing something with you that you only share with friends.....

We recently had a death in our family my husband and I wanted to have all of the out of town family members and other local friends and family over to our home for brunch after the funeral...

So i started my To Do List-- 

1.  Clean house for house guests and brunch....

Bedroom--check

Family Room - check

Living Room -check

Office...

WHOA.........what happened in here???  Yep--this had become the "throw it in here" room...with THROW being the operative word.....I actually stood here looking at this and snapped a photo on my cell phone and sent it to my daughter to show her what I was up against...She relied with --NO WAY is this your house mom!!  Knowing the clock was ticking -- people were arriving I rolled my sleeves up and.....

Voila! 

I did it!  

Now of course for a few days my hubby could not find any items he "placed" in the overflow room...

but it's all good!!   And I have made a promise to myself to NEVER do that to myself EVER again....

we'll see!

Chalk Paint Give Away

When I grow up I want to be Miss Mustard Seed......

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/06/chalk-paint-giveaway.html

She is just too talented and so cool and has GREAT tutorials....

& if that is not enough .........
now

she is hosting a great give away for the hottest thing on the market right now......

Hop over and sign up and good luck!! 

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/06/chalk-paint-giveaway.html
And if you would like to check out one of my Chalk Paint Projects-go here:
http://midwestcottageandfinds.blogspot.com/2011/06/revealannie-sloans-chalk-paint-vintage.html

Notice Something New?

I asked Catherine from In A Nap's Time to please help me with my blog --and I LOVE the new look she gave Midwest Cottage and Finds........(how  cute is her logo and that name??)

To say she was easy to work with is an understatement......

She asked the questions-I gave the answers and the next thing I knew she had the EXACT 

look I was wanting--thanks so much Catherine--please check out her great designs....

http://inanapstime.blogspot.com

Catherine is a GREAT find!!!

Moss Avenue Antique Sale Peoria, Il… Our version of Round Top, Texas---sort of…..

This past weekend was our Moss Avenue Sale…..2 great things about this sale…..You get to walk outside along Moss Avenue --very cool houses on Moss Avenue………
and some great vendors and finds!




Some of the home owners have yard sales-but vendors can also rent a space in front yards and along the street ..I did come across some pretty good finds….great old ladder, a cool vintage water bag, a galvanized container, a wood container, couple rug beaters and a great black and white hand-drawn picture featuring local memorabilia….. 



Think the ladder will be my next Annie Sloan Chalk Paint project…might try an undercoat color of blue that will show when the white overcoat color is sanded a bit….and I have the perfect spot for it in my bedroom….leaning up against the wall between the closets! 

The Reveal……Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint Vintage Secretary

After another coat of wax and a bit of polishing…..I brought her inside…..The darker wax I used for shadowing really blended well with the chalk paint…..

I used Fiddes and Sons Wax--Light and Rugger Brown as suggested by Miss Mustard Seed here on her blog on waxes-check it out here--http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/03/waxes-101.html  I used a separate brush for each color—The larger white circular brush in the front  of the picture is a Annie Sloan wax brush—I used this for the light colored wax-as I covered the entire piece –small areas at a time - with the light wax…This brush is a little slice of HEAVEN!!  Spreads the wax like warm butter on a bun!!   I used a much smaller round brush for the darker wax  (purchased at a Sherwin Williams paint store for about $5.00) and wiped off the excess on a rag before applying it---after a couple tries I found using a small area on the tip of the brush worked best….I also found that covering the darker wax with the lighter color really blends the wax into the chalk paint—giving it a very even, smooth, blended color…..



I decided to go with very simple, small, black knobs-(purchased at Menards for about $3.00 a piece) because the piece itself is not large and I did not want the knobs to be over-whelming… AS promised my project review--
Project Review:

1. Started the project with Gorilla Glue—gluing the sides and drawers back together…
2. Used Annie Sloan’s Old White Chalk Paint-you usually do not need to prime with this paint-but due to the extreme stain on this piece I ended up priming…then painting…
3. After painting I sanded down to the wood-very easy to do with this paint.  Be sure to start out with a small amount of pressure to test out the amount of pressure needed…..it comes off VERY easy—like chalk….
4. I waxed using the lighter color first-and the darker color over it….be sure to use the light wax first-that enables you to manipulate your darker wax to the color/tone you want.   
5. I applied another coat of wax and buffed to bring out a bit of a soft shine…..

This paint is so easy to use-add water if too thick-leave lid off if it needs to thicken….when covering with a coat of  wax the paint ages before your eyes to a smooth, creamy, vintage  look……You can buff it out a bit, darken it with the darker wax, lighten it back up….it really is very easy to work with and if you are like me your projects take on a life of their own once you get started…which is what makes this so enjoyable to work it—very easy to manipulate into what you want…once you see what look you are going for!

Now for some before shots…..She was pretty rough…….

and what do we pull out to put them back together??

Gorilla Glue!!!
But as we all know-after the glue, paint, sanding, wax……..it is all worth it…..

And now…off to the next project….but before that starts--I am linking up to

http://shadesofamberinc.blogspot.com/