My Life

Press: We Love Living

2010-12-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to have gotten a nice mention in the December issue of the Magazine We Love Living!!!

Nicoline Olsen created some lovely things using my black and white images, including these darling paper cones!

And these lovely bird ornaments!!!

This gorgeous magazine is sadly not sold in the U.S.. But you can find it in Germany, Switzerland or Austria, if you are lucky enough to live in any of those beautiful places!!

Credit: We Love Living
Producer: Nicoline Olsen
Photographer:Christian Petersen for Linnea Press
And a thank you to: Editor Caroline Vogel

Life just got a little easier around here

2010-11-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Intel.

(Scroll down to enter the Giveaway)

Well here it is! Isn't it beautiful? Besides the fact that it's all blue and sparkly, it works like a dream!

It has a special chip inside of it you see. The Intel® Core™ i5 processor. Which gives the laptop
smart performance with a speed boost. I gotta tell ya, I love speedy gadgets! A super speedy processor, means a super speedy laptop, which means I can get more work done faster! Yay!

In this photo, I'm using the laptop at my son's college library, waiting for him while he's in class. It's a 3 hour class, but I'm taking classes online while I wait, so now the time goes by quickly, and I'm actually getting something done! In fact I'm taking a class in Illustrator, which ironically is the same class that he's taking. The teaching videos run perfectly, with no lagging at all, thanks to this processor!

Look I made an blue oval! Woohoo!! Okay I'm not a pro at this software yet, but I'm sure I'll get better as I take more classes.

Do you know what the best part about this laptop/processor is?

It came with this tiny little box. The combination of this box, and the Intel® Wireless Display (aka WiDi).1, which came as part of the laptop, enables you to wirelessly project laptop content on your TV! Awesome!!!

Basically whatever you see on your laptop screen, you'll see on your TV. I set it all up myself and it was super quick and easy!

So now I can order stuff for my shop online and see the stuff, nice and big, so I know what I'm actually getting.

And since I can order the stuff faster, I can get the stuff faster, and haul it down to the shop sooner, and sell it quicker. Nice!

But also, you can gather the whole family around the TV....

Or... just those folks that are interested, and enjoy some fun time looking at your favorite family photos.

Even better, you can watch your favorite shows, via your laptop and project them on the tv! Which means you can watch the shows you like, whenever you want to watch them. In fact you can sit down and watch a whole season of your favorite show on say... a rainy Sunday perhaps.

It looks like we won't be needing that second wife around here after all. In fact I just might spend even more time with my husband, while we catch up on some episodes of The Office!

Now, get this! There's something in it for you guys as well! I've been offered a $250 Visa gift card, via Blogher, to give away on my blog! Woohoo! That could put a dent in some Christmas shopping! If you leave a comment on the end of this post, you will be entered for a chance to win!!!

Here are the Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post (see below)

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on December 22, 2010.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Here's the Sweepstakes Prompt: In order to enter, check out the Intel site here and let me know what feature you’d most like to try and include it in your comment.

AND BlogHer is also giving away four of these amazing laptops, you can click HERE to enter that giveaway too!

Multi Tasking on the Brain

2010-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Intel.

Do you ever wish you could clone yourself? I've been feeling a bit stretched around here lately. I thought about asking my husband to take on another wife. I could seriously use the extra help! He was pretty keen on the idea, until I told him that I would be the one doing the selecting.

You know somebody like this.... a no nonsense hardworking "sister wife". That's the ticket! Oh wait... no that won't work... we don't have any place to put her. Darn it!

All kidding aside, I've been working like crazy lately. It's always crazy around here anyway, but this time of year it's even more so, as I'm getting my shop ready for our Holiday Open House and the Christmas season. Which means hours and hours of pricing tiny glittery ornaments and decorations, drawing up floor plans, filling last minute orders, and making multiple trips in my little car, hauling everything all the way to the next state, where my shop is located. Not to mention the time spent getting all of that glitter out of my hair!

In addition to all of that, I have a son who has Aspergers Syndrome (a form of high functioning Autism). My son goes to Community College, but is not able to drive yet. So... 3 days a week I get to drive him to school. It's a bit of a haul, since it's in the next County, so I just stay and wait there for 3 hours, until his classes are over. Occasionally I leave and go hit some antique malls, and shop for papery treasures to share with my readers. But most days I wait in the library for him.

And then there is the time spent working on my blogs. Hours and Hours and Hours of work!
Searching through my treasured paper items, for just the right image, scanning it, cleaning it up and posting it. And then shopping for more!

(Why yes, Mr Schindler. I will take another case of bread this week!)

Oh yeah... and then there's the Mom tasks! Besides my son, we have 3 other kids too. We're a blended family... like the Brady Bunch... only with 4 kids instead of 6. They are all big people now, ranging in age from 16-21. Which means, among other things, a huge amount of Grocery shopping for Moi! It's almost shocking how fast we go through stuff around here!

Multi tasking and time management are a must around here! I'm all for any gadget or appliance that can save me a little (or a lot) of precious time. Recently, I was provided new laptop computer, that's powered by The Intel® Core™ i5 processor, via Blogher. We are talkin Turbo Boost Technology here people!! Which means I can get more done in less time! Wahoo! It also came with a Intel® Wireless Display (akad WiDi) adaptor, that turns your HDTV into a Ginormous monitor for your computer. And as if that wasn't enough it also came with some virus protection. I tell ya, it feels like Christmas around here! I'm going to test out all of this new high tech stuff soon, and I'll post my results here next week.
Maybe... just maybe, we won't need to get that "sister wife" after all...

Now here's some exciting news for you guys too!!! Blogher is providing me with a $250 Best Buy Gift Card to Giveaway to one lucky winner on this blog!!! That could really put a dent in your holiday shopping, now couldn't it?!!

Here are the Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post (see below)

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on December 22, 2010.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Here's the Sweepstakes Prompt: In order to enter, check out the Intel site here and let me know what feature you’d most like to try and include it in your comment.

AND BlogHer is also giving away four of these amazing laptops, you can click HERE to enter that giveaway too!

Also, make sure you come back next week to hear about how the Intel® Core™ i5 processor, helped to make my life easier, and to enter for another a chance to win the $250 Best Buy gift card!

Esprit Scrapbooking Magazine

2010-11-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled to have been featured recently in Esprit Scrapbooking magazine!!! One of my little images even made the cover, it's the bird in the circle.

I've had a couple of mentions in magazines from time to time, but this time they did a full page on my images and even a photo of me! How fun! The magazine is published in France and is all in French. Merci to you Esprit Scrapbooking!

Swanky Fun!

2010-11-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos from yesterdays Swanky Junque Swap event!
If you weren't there, this is what you missed...

There were swanky friends eating swanky lunches.

There were swanky treats from Snickety Snacks.

There was loads of Swanky Junque. This is the desk that I brought along.

And this is the cute end table that Marian brought.

A beautiful French pillow and a gorgeous tray lot of intriguing items. I wanted both of these, but I drew number 10, so I didn't have a chance!

Everyone wanted this amazing vintage grocery scale. (I grabbed the Pyrex bowls)

We all ooohd and aaahd over this sewing box filled with crafty treasures.

And this basket filled with beautiful vintage linens, packed with care.

There were quite a few pieces of furniture with great lines, just begging for a little paint. There were more outside but I forgot to photograph them! duh!

I managed to snag this gorgeous framed egg print that Marian brought! Woohoo!!

After the swap, there was Swanky Shopping at Wild Rose & Co.

And even some Swanky Interviews! Here's Marian being interviewed by ivillage Correspondent Stephanie from Dial M for Minky and video taped by her husband Zach.

All and all it was an awesome day with some awesome people! We had a few last minute cancellations, but it was a nice little group and that made it easier to get to know everyone. I had such a great time with all of these women. We all yakked our heads off... no awkward pauses here! Everyone won a giveaway or 2 and we all took home some great junque! Fun, fun, fun!

A Swanky Junque Swap and Luncheon in Maryland!

2010-10-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I've joined up with Marian, from Miss Mustard Seed, to host a super fun event locally!!! If you are local to the greater Maryland area, we would love to have you join us!
The info is below:

and

invite you to a

SWANKY JUNK SWAP

When: Saturday, November 13, from 11am-2pm

Where: Wild Rose and Company Marketplace in Walkersville, MD

Who: There is a limit of 30 spaces, so only those who RSVP can attend.

Cost: $15 for the cost of the space and lunch catered by The Corner Bakery. You'll also get to enjoy yummy treats from Snickety Snacks.

What is a "Swanky Junk Swap"?

This is an opportunity for you to bring a couple of vintage or antique pieces that are really cool, but not right for you or your home and then get to leave with two pieces you (hopefully) love. Details will be provided to those attending the event.

Why else should you attend?

Giveaways from The Graphics Fairy, Wild Rose, Mustard Seed Interiors, Beans and Buttons, Sally, Ry, and Lala, Molly Susan Strong, Snikety Snacks, Frog Tape and more!

We're also a cool bunch of ladies and we'll have a blast together swapping our "junk"!

If you'd like to attend, please email me, by clicking the button below, to reserve your spot!

Planning & Plotting with Miss Mustard Seed

2010-10-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of meeting the uber talented Marian from Miss Mustard Seed Creations! If you haven't seen her blog before, you will want to pop over there immediately, it's more than fabulous!! We are currently plotting and planning a fun event that will be held locally. If you live in or around Frederick, Maryland, then stay tuned!

Gwyneth

2010-10-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

My parents got a new Corgi puppy! Her name is Gwyneth. Isn't she cute?!!!

Guest Bedroom Makeover

2010-10-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another room from my home that I redid recently. This is my Guest Bedroom.

This is the Before Photo. At one time this had been our youngest daughter's bedroom, but with our oldest going away to school, there has been some moving around at our house. And this bedroom was empty, except for some junk that needed to go to Goodwill.

I bought this antique iron bed a few years ago and got a great deal on it, same deal with the cute French nightstand.

Here's a tip that I learned awhile back, as an antique dealer. You will often find these iron beds, that have funky rails like this. They originally came with a huge "springy coil" looking thing that lays across the metal rails, across the whole length and width of the bed. If you've ever seen one, it looks like something from a torture chamber! Anyway this giant "coil thing" acts as a boxspring and the mattress sits right on top. With out the "coil thing", there's nothing to keep the mattress and boxspring from falling off. You can easily make your own slats though. I made these myself, with some pieces of wood that I sawed down to fit the bed, and then I just screwed in metal L brackets on either end. The L brackets, keep the slats from sliding off. It works great!

After placing the slats on the bed, I added the boxspring and mattress and started to play a bit with the accessories. I couldn't wait to jump in with those! Next, I headed off to Ikea for the day to find some inexpensive bedding!

I didn't have a bed skirt, but I did have some super cute ikea towels. I used the towels along the base of the bed (at some point I will need to sew these, but I cheated here and just tucked them in for now, shhhh!). I think the towels were around .50 cents a piece, so it was a cute and economical solution!

Here's the finished room. The duvet and pillows were from Ikea, as was the paper lamp. The lamp was one that I had already, I just pulled it out of my basement. Everything else is vintage or antique.

I love the red Gerber Daisies in these vintage milkglass vases. I hope you like my guest room!

I'm linking this one up to:

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Secrets from a Stylist - Decorating with Friends - The Kitchen

2010-09-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Click on images to enlarge

(This is a before Shot)

Recently I had a bit of a design emergency. I was asked to submit some photos of my home to be considered for publication, for a site known for it's hip and trendy urban style. A bit of a challenge to say the least for someone that lives in the country, and loves all things old. I decided to call in some expert help for this one. Lucky for me I have the most talented and sweetest friends on the planet! With in a matter of days, my friend Amy (former stylist for Country Home magazine) and my friend Lisa (Official blogger for the Old Lucketts Store) pulled up to my house with a van load of accessories, in order to help me pull my house together! We are all dealers together at The Lucketts Store, and we work well together, not to mention we have loads of accessories and home furnishings to choose from!

This photo and the one above are the before shots, of my kitchen. Nothing wrong with it really, but it was just lacking that certain something.

No this is not the after!! This is my husbands library, we used it as a staging room for all of the accessories that we unloaded from the Van. Shhhh don't tell my husband!

Here are the girls in action. Amy's in front and Lisa is in the back. Not the best photo, I need to work on my people photography skills. Sorry girls!

TADA!! Here's the finished room, just like magic!!! I love every bit of it!

Lisa put this burlap coffee pillow on the little metal stool, so cute!!

These gorgeous ruffled slip covers just make the room and I love the texture of the wicker basket too.

Amy's all about fresh, living things. So I picked up loads of flowers for her to play with and some leafy green vegis too. She artfully displayed them all, I wish they could stay like that forever!

The big Ironstone Tureen was in my dining room and Amy moved it to the kitchen table.

The Ironstone pitchers were mine too, from other rooms in my home. I love that Amy used things that I had already to create this look.

I stuck this glass eye chart thing here. It's from Ikea and is actually a light fixture, but I like it better as art.

In the end it was too far of a stretch, and my home won't be appearing in the publication, but I have no complaints. I'm thrilled with the results and I love my home to pieces!! I'll be sharing more rooms with you at a later date. Thank you Amy & Lisa!!! You guys are the best!

I'm linking this one up to:

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

More Class Projects

2010-09-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is another one I made during my Photoshop class, both images are from my site. This project used so many layers and special effects, it made my head spin, but I really like the results! I just hope I can remember how do this type of thing again!!

Fairy Dust

2010-07-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

I finally started taking some classes in Photoshop this Summer and today I made this magical fairy dust brush! Now I want to add magical fairy dust to everything!

Happy Day

2010-07-02T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it! I've been wanting to get one those DSLR cameras that everyone has been raving about, for quite some time now. After borrowing my friend Amy's Nikon d3000 for a few days, I was in love... and had to get my own. So I did! I don't know a thing about DSLRs but I'm excited to learn. I took a few shots of my Hydrangeas straight away, since they are exceptionally blue this year!
skl

Wild Mountain Laurel

2010-06-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

Aren't these beautiful?! My aspie son takes piano lessons from a woman that lives in a log home up in the mountains. She has the loveliest property, and this Laurel grows wild all around the edge of her yard, and in the surrounding woods. It was so sweet of her to cut a bunch for me!

Cows are for Herding and for Kissing

2010-05-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Every Spring the farm, behind our house, is home to a new set of Cows. Don't ask me what happens to them in the Fall.... I really don't want to go there. Anyway, it's always a big deal for my Corgi, Tucker, each year when the new Cows come.

As you can see by his face, he couldn't be any happier!

He's usually a little nervous in the beginning, checking back frequently to make sure I'm still there with him.

Now he's ready! Corgi's are herding dogs. Do you see how he's poised and ready to go? If only that darn fence wasn't in the way!

Ah well... time for plan B. A few kisses on the nose always makes for a nice greeting.

A Happy Accident

2010-05-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I was playing around with some images and I accidentally came up with the image above! I didn't even know paint shop pro could do this. I was actually trying to make an orange bike but I had a soap label up that I had been working on earlier and the two came together! Just like magic! I still have a lot to learn about this program, but it's so much fun each time I come across something new that I didn't know it could do.

Clematis

2010-05-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Yay! The Clematis are blooming!! I love Spring!

Here's another fine mess I've gotten myself into

2010-05-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ah the glamorous life of a shopkeeper! In 2 days I received over 55 boxes of inventory. There's so much stuff I couldn't fit my sons bike in the garage! I'm getting through it now, but what a mess.

Digital Fun

2010-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

This is just a little piece I was playing with recently. The old woman in the photo scared me but I liked the twins. I turned the ladies lap into a table, a little disrespectful I guess, but hopefully if she can see this from up in heaven, she won't mind too much!

Car Junque & Texas Junque

2010-04-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

My friends Suzanne & Amy went to Texas a few weeks ago for the massive antique show at Roundtop. They brought back some pretty cool stuff. Including these sawed off car fronts!

Love the blue with the rust!

More Texas Junk. Check out the rusty cactus sculptures!

I heart this old industrial cart! It would make a great coffee table!

This is my friend Heather's pavillion. She just painted it turquoise. How fun!

Here's her mini pink Cadillac! How cute is that?!

Lessons in the Snow

2010-02-17T18:10:00.000-08:00

This is my darling Welsh Corgi, his name is Tucker. Here we are after the first Blizzard of 2010.
He loves snow and decided to dive right in.
But he didn't make it too far... and ended up with a face full of snow.

Here we are after the second Blizzard of 2010, about a week later.
See what we learned? This time, we wait patiently until someone digs a path first!

Too much snow can be overwhelming. Sometimes it's better to stay in and take a nap!