Scenes from the Lake

We made it!

 We were finally able to spend time at the lake house.

It was touch and go there for awhile

to see when we were going.

The house is now ours!

Dear Hubs is so excited.

He worked on remodeling it all

weekend.

We have so much more to do.

We could hear the boaters and other residents

laughing and having a great time

out on the water...

But we kept going knowing our fun

times will come!

  After working on the main floor
I've discovered I have"paint" fear and I'm

second guessing my decorating choices

 at the moment. Ever do that?

Sometimes you just have to go with your plan.

And the scenery was so beautiful it was hard

not to enjoy being there!

Bebe loved it!

I'll be back soon with new listings

and more pics...trying to get my bearings today.

Moving everything into the lake house

and then coming back home

is going to take some time to

get all of my ducks in a row.

No pun intended!

In Memory Of...

Memorial Day began as a way to honor

the fallen soldiers post civil war.

It was called Decoration Day.

Sometimes we forget the real meaning...

I am guilty as charged.

I often think of it as a "kick off to summer."

Thank you to those who have sacrificed so much.

And thanksgivings to the One who gave

us our freedom in the first place.

One Nation, Under God.

Amen.

Summer Planning: Decorating a Lake House on a Barbecue Budget

This week I'm gathering my thoughts on all of the bits and pieces of furniture, wall art, and other things we've been collecting over the past few months.

Trying to keep the budget SMALL.

I'm calling it my "barbecue budget."

Not always easy and how do I put
all of these scattered collected items
all together with a plan of action?

I'm sure once we visit our lake house this summer we will

figure it all out.

Pinterest comes in handy too!
I'm filing all of my ideas from the
internet in one place.

Source: houzz.com via Jillian's Bella on Pinterest

There's a pretty neat idea I see in the photo above

(from a beach decor blog)

for a coffee table we picked up at our local

Salvation Army.

We were lucky enough to hit a "fifty percent off"

furniture day!

Picked up a cool chair and a set of twin beds, too!

Source: maderayzinc.blogspot.com via Jillian's Bella on Pinterest

The pennants in this photo caught my eye!

I'm not too crazy about the British flag pillows

(no offense to the English of course!)

but I think with a little imagination

I can do something similar.

I saw this neat pennant banner on Ebay.

I think I can do something like it

for the kids room.

Plus I've started sewing some pillows for twin beds.

I'll have to take some pics of my "during"

phase before it is too late!

Source: thepaintedhome.blogspot.com via Jillian's Bella on Pinterest

This is a fun room too. Of course the room

wouldn't be the same without the

awesome "BOATS" sign.

Why not handpaint something similar?

I'm looking forward to lots of fun projects.

And a long summer ahead to keep

me busy...

I'll keep my camera handy!

By the Beautiful Sea & Some Antique Finds!

What a beautiful weekend it was to be by the ocean.

 For our Mother's Day presents,

my Mother, Sister, and I spent some

 quality time together by staying in this

hotel right on the boardwalk.

We shopped, antiqued, and ate boardwalk food.

What could be better than that?

I really love being at the beach...

 But when I got home I found these lovely magazines

waiting for me!

Which only inspired me more to

quickly gather my latest finds

from my seaside stay to share with you!

 Exquisite teacups...

These were found "off shore"

 I just fell in LUV with this glass display case.

To sell or not to sell?

 Some vintage jewelry...

And this sweet watering can is being sold

on consignment

I wish I had found this one!

This week I'll be  getting these items ready to
add to the Bella Rosa website

as well as Bella Rosa on Etsy.

Stay tuned!

PLUS: More on our latest "Lake house" adventures.

We've been gathering and collecting

furniture, housewares, and all kinds of

things for our new place.

From Craigslist to antique shops to yard sales

we're like a couple of little squirrels.

Can't wait to share my ideas!

A Little Sweet Tweet About Pie Birds

Why does the pie bird sing?

To let the steam out, of course!

Here's a little history from Countryliving.com:

"(They were) designed to prevent pie fillings from boiling over by creating a steam vent. Though English bakers started using workmanlike ceramic funnels for this purpose in the early 1800s, the utensils didn't take on fanciful bird forms until migrating to the States in the 1930s. The inspiration? The nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence": Four and 20 blackbirds, baked in a pie."
Read more: Vintage Pie Birds – Antique Porcelain Pie Figurines - Country Living

I've come across a few different pie birds in my

travels but the one above and the

following "pie birds" are very hard to find.

The black pie bird in the first photo is

the most common.

 How about a red cardinal?

Or a pretty rooster?

Now these pie fruits are unique...

Or this Christmas pie bird

 I happen to like the pink pie elephant!

But then there is always the pie chef, too.

Just writing this blog post makes

me want to find one or two

to start a little collection.

Three is a collection, right?

The woman Country Living interviewed for

the article had more than 1,000!

That's a lot of pies.

Hope you are having a great week...I'll be back

after a weekend with my Mom, oceanside.

My first Mommy weekend away since Bebe

was born.

Am I excited?

Oh yes!

See you when I return!

(My shop will still be open, shipping day

will be Monday or Tuesday of next week)

All photos for the post were taken from Countryliving.com

New Arrivals! Vintage Favorites Like Toy China, Ohio Art, Fenton Art Glass, Teacups & More

Presenting our latest finds for

BellaRosaAntiques.com

 Fenton Wavecrest glass candy box

 Advertising card or what we call ephemera

 Very early embossed sugar bowl.

Love the unique shape.

Botanical prints in Iris and Tulip.

Darling doll sized china kitchen canisters.

From Germany!

China rose plate with vintage

haircombs. Great for a dresser display!

Vintage silk and lace hankie

"to my Dear Mother"

Vintage fifties Ohio Art

toy watering can

Lovely vintage wax cake topper

for Valentine's day or a vintage themed

wedding! Also use it as an ornament!

Tole tray with handpainted violets

Beautifully done needlepoint of roses.

Nice larger size!

Vintage rosary and devotional book

dated back before the civil war.

Written by a Reverend in Pennsylvania

And one of my favorite finds of the week!

Pink lustre teacups and saucers, the handle is in

the "back" of the cup.

There's more listed, not shown.

Check out the rest, here.

Next post:

A little history behind pie birds!

Just a Little Monkey

A Pic Monkey, that is!

While trying to edit my photos today for the shop,

I encountered some trouble with my Kodak program.

Why keep using Kodak where there are other

fun programs like Pic Monkey?

I have photoshop but for the life of

me I can't find the time to learn

how to use it properly.

What do you use?

Stay tuned...new listings

either tonight or

early tomorrow morning!

Sneak Peek at Our Latest Finds

In between the raindrops and playing

toddler games...

Dear Hubby and I managed to

go antique hunting for the shop!

Luckily for us it was sunny and nice over

the weekend.

Not so much today!

So let's take a look at some of the

treasures we found:

These are absolutely adorable.

Miniature versions of the larger adult sets

for the kitchen.

I'm not sure how I'm going to sell them yet as

there are four lids missing.

Do I sell the whole set as is? 

Or sell only the pieces with lids...

To be determined!

While filling my antique booth with the

larger items we found I spotted

this sweet hankie and a wax

ornament.

 And a few of these lovely pink lustre teacups and saucers!

 Dear Hubby found this vintage Ohio Art watering can.

I am tempted to keep it for the kids room

at the lake house.

What would you do?

 And along with the green canister

set came this sweet other set.

I love how the "CLOVES" is on upside down.

Does this make it more valuable?

You know I can't resist roses...

how could I when I saw them in this lovely

vintage needlepoint wall hanging?

I love how it is in a circular shape.

More on what we found...

when I list my items

(hopefully tomorrow)

this is just a sneak peek!