Vintage Tins and Spring Flowers

Hey all! How are you doing today?? Today was a great day for me, you see, I chipped my front tooth the other day and finally was able to get in with a dentist and get that ugly thing fixed! Now I won't have to talk funny to hide my hideous chipped tooth any more!
Anyways, on to much more important things. So, I know I said that for my next post I was going to teach you how to make mixed media art. I am going to save that for another time because.....I found some more treasures that I had to share with you! While thrifting I found these four vintage canisters for $5!!! I love them so much because of their uniqueness and their interesting colors. My home is filled with these vibrant colors at the moment and these tins matched perfectly! I love the bold and springy green, peach, orange, mustard and turquoise in them! I am going to clean them out and use them for something awesome but for now I am using them as flower pots. These flowers were a steal at 88 cents a piece so this entire arrangement cost a grand total of $8.52! 

I love that all the lids are different.

Check out this fabulous print I found of my favorite city in the world, Venice, Italy. It's also done in the same color scheme and was only 50 cents! Can't wait to put it in an over the top gaudy frame next to a very simple piece of art.

Now get to thrifting, and make something gorgeous!

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Ceadar Hill Ranch

An Awesome Gift or Dinner Party Idea!

Hello friends! I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely February day today! I got to spend it working and catching up with some wonderful people! 

When I was assisting with the styling on a Williams-Sonoma cookbook a few years back, the AMAZING and inspirational stylist Lauren Hunter thought of using scrabble letters as place-card holders at the supper table. Lauren comes up with the neatest ideas way before other people do them. Every since then, I have wanted to do this in my home! To my surprise, after my folks popped by for a visit the other night I found this next to my B"ee" wall. My dad left it as a little treat. My last name is super long so he attached two letter holders and glued our letters into place. This would look great for dinner parties, as an interesting housewarming gift or, as a gift label. Any word that has special meaning to you would be fabulous as well. It's an unusual and warm touch to any vignette. 

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Guest Valentines Tablescape

Hello everyone! Are you getting ready for Valentines day? I am so far behind because our orders to Germany are back on, and we have a ton of work to do! Today, I wanted to showcase one of my favorite blogger's Valentines table. I have mentioned Courtney from the fabulous blog Courtney out Loud a dozen times because I just think everything he does is awesome. When I asked him what inspired this years tablescape he said:

"Everyone I know hates Valentine Day and avoids it like the plague.  That's because they are taking it too seriously.  Love and romance are important but what about fun and whimsy?  They are equally important and I wanted the tablescape to show this lighter side.  My starting point .... A Real Housewives marathon on Bravo.  Seriously.  This led to finding the blue cheetah wrapping paper and thus the table was born.  A little wink to the Real Housewives "cougarish" dating tendencies but it's still romantic, stylish but also fun." 

I am loving all the colorful layers

I just adore his blue milk glass goblets!

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful tablescape with us Courtney! I feel that table belongs right in my home with all the turquoise colors and pops of sassy-ness! For more details on this table and other fabulous ideas head on over to his blog, Courtney Out Loud!

Enjoy this gorgeous day!

Fresh Design and finds...

So....The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. We are supposed to be on a plane in 2 days on our way to Germany (living overseas has been a dream of both of ours for a VERY long time). Two weeks ago while trying to get over a bad flu, we got word that we were denied for our move. We have spent months and months prepping for this move emotionally, saying good bye to loved ones, selling our things, re-working my business etc. So now, we are waiting for our appeal to go through and are praying we get accepted....btw, the only reason we re-enlisted for four more years was to go over seas. What I can say is that all of the most important things in my life are going well. I am blessed with great family and friends.God is good and I KNOW we will be taken care of no matter where we go :) So, while our life is in limbo, I am going on with my crazy life still making my home homey and "stable" and trying to find ways to get our mind off of where we will be in the next month-ish. I wanted to surround my family with things to feel fresh and cheery. I got two packages in the mail (they came in perfect time to lift my spirits) with some pillowcases that I ordered off of Etsy.

Before Picture:

After: We got some awesome burlap chairs for a very inexpensive price on overstock.com and, I made a trade for this gorgeous marble and mahogany coffee table. The new colors and patterns are much more fun and less "safe"!

I definitely recommend ordering things from Etsy.com... they are way better than many of the shops in town. Since I am renting an apartment for a very short time I can't paint (which I am dying to), so I have been having fun with patterns and color. These playful pillows are so vivid and fresh I couldn't help but cheer up. They are perfect for a gloomy day. Changing up your pillowcases is an easy way to switch things up inexpensively. I wanted to share the shops I ordered them from with you because they were so wonderful! The pillow cases looked even better than I expected and were done with such fantastic craftsmanship. They were very reasonably priced, and look more unique than anything I could find in my design-barren town. The ladies I ordered from were so friendly and quick and an absolute delight. The items were beautifully packaged as well!

The first shop I want to share with you is called La Ferme Cherie Home. I ordered an Ikat patterned pillow, I felt I needed a little Ikat in my life. I have been asked a few times the origination of the Ikat pattern. It is actually a very traditional pattern from Uzbekistan. How cool! Ikat fabrics range from looking tropical to southwestern.  This pillow is charcoal, creme, and a beautiful citron-honey yellow color. The seams are perfect and the back is embellished with a beautiful gold button!

I also received some beautiful hand died and hand stamped muslin ribbon. I just love it all!!! Please visit Kelli and her beautiful creations at La Ferme Cherie Home. You won't be disappointed.

The Ikat actually goes on another chair but I wanted to shoot the pillows next to each other to show how to mix patterns and textures. Kind of a modern-bohemian look.

The shop where I got the fabulous citron chain-link pillowcases is called Sew Gracious. Pam at Sew Gracious has a plethora of fantastic designer fabrics to choose from that range from fresh and modern to vintage looking patterns. Her craftsmanship is also gorgeous. I can't say enough good things about these ladies, their professionalism, friendliness and beautiful work. If you are in the market for fabulous things, head on over and visit them!

I needed to add  a blend of modern and vintage to the rest of the space to match the pillows. I added this white horse chess piece, I adore it! I also added my Japanese antique buoy because it brings out more of the turquoise in the room and, I have been dreaming of life by the sea lately.

For fabulous flower arrangements, check out your local grocery store for fresh (not your run of the mill) flowers that are really inexpensive. The Nugget and Fresh and Easy always have my favorite selections.

These gorgeous yellow branches are from the Nugget and were about $6.

This awesome bouquet above is from my incredible hubby and is from Fresh and Easy. I love the cabbage looking flower.

I  also can't get enough of this fresh, all natural candle that my client and friend Lisa turned me on to. It can be purchased at Target. My favorite flavor is Basil Mint. It is created for "clean" living and is perfect for people with allergies, asthma, and headaches because the scent is all natural. It's AMAZING!

What awesome things have you discovered lately?

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myuncommonsliceofsuburbia