Our Kick-Off to the Christmas Season: The Nutcracker

We have been very busy with performances

of the Nutcracker!

 

A beautiful ballet that so many people love,

including us.

 

 

This is a photo from the "Snow" scene in the first act.

For being a group of ballerinas, from all over the county

I am amazed by what they accomplish! They

rehearse every Saturday afternoon starting at the end of August.

My very own Sweet Bebe performed two parts.

(The laundry baskets are brought in to help keep all of their things organized in the dressing rooms.)

 

Here she is as a "Party Girl".

I put this photo on my Facebook

page and so many of my friends and

family thought I had done her hair.

It is a hair piece we match to the

ballerinas natural hair color.

It does look amazing!

 

 

This is what ballerinas do while they

wait to have their picture taken.

 

 

This year I helped get the word out by organizing

media outlets to either write stories or come out with a TV crew for videotaping. My old "promotion producer" skills come in handy!

 

 

So does my love of making gift baskets!  They need donations to sell during the shows, for a local fundraiser. This may be my third year making them... time flies so fast now!

 

I include teacups, Pirouline wafers, cappuccino mix, ornaments, Nutcracker dolls, Nutcracker ornaments, tea, candles, etc. This year the larger basket contained a wooden doll made in U.S.S.R. which helps to date it.

 

 

And of course my shop keeps me busy, always working on projects and displays in the store. Since my last post we have had a Fall Open House and a Christmas Open House.

And we started carrying a new paint line, Country Chic Paint! More on that later!

 

 

photo credit vyballet.com

 

Now that we have the Nutcracker behind us, I will be focusing on the holidays and helping folks find the right home décor item or Christmas gift.

 

What keeps you busy during the holiday season?

A Sundaes in Paris French Themed Birthday Party

 

Bon Jour! Bon Jour! Welcome to my "Sundaes in Paris" birthday party that I had for my sweet Bebe girl! (She turned 9, can you believe it?)

We had a ball. Really a lot of fun to put this party together and even more fun to watch it unfold.

 

 

 

Bebe and I started out brainstorming for her party one day during the summer in Hobby Lobby. I tell you, with all of the neat things they have in there, it was easy to get creative... and that is when the "Sundaes in Paris" birthday theme was born.

I decided to use my old Print Shop computer program to design invitations and signs to display around the party. My former source for graphic design was Pic Monkey. They are now requiring you to join and start a trial of their membership plan. Since I do not want to pay a membership fee, I decided to skip it all together. (Does anyone know of another FREE graphic making site?)

Anyhoo, I came up with this after purchasing a couple of very inexpensive digital downloads on Etsy and using clip art in Word. Inexpensive as in about $3. Works for me!

I also made other signs using the same graphics, for different areas of the event. A Boulangerie, a French store, etc.

The hubs and I worked on fixing up and chalk painting some parlor chairs, a small pedestal table, and a tea cart.
Lots of work but we can sell them in the shop afterwards.

It all looked so cute!

As each girl arrived she received a French beret, a loot bag filled with 4 "Poodle Bucks", and 2 tiny clothespins.

The poodle bucks were given out as prizes for the games won, then saved to spend in a "French Store" at the end. So that no one girl would go home with nothing, she at least started out with four.

The clothespins were for the "Can't say the word" game. I'm sure some of you have played this game at baby showers. We thought it would be a fun way to earn poodle bucks and we chose the word POODLE as the forbidden word. If you said the word poodle during the course of the party, another partier could take your clothespin. The one with the most, wins.

 

The key to a fun party is to plan enough so you can keep them busy. The photo booth props and picture frames help to break the ice and get them laughing.

 

Then we went right into painting mini versions of the Eiffel Tower. This project needed to be done first so the mini canvases had time to dry before the end of the party.

The girls painted their own versions of the Eiffel Tower.
I intended this to be similar to the adult "Paint Nights" that have become popular to do while drinking wine in a group setting. Minus the wine!  I had asked my niece to lead the younger girls in how to paint the French landmark we all love. Unfortunately my niece was terribly sick yesterday and couldn't make it. So, I just let the girls paint on their own and I think they are adorable.

Next we all had delicious ice cream sundaes that were put together at our "Sundae Bar." Mmmm. I did get a chance to make a small one for myself. My Sister and two other Moms were on hand helping me so they took a break too and had one. Our reward!

 

After stuffing ourselves with sweets we let the girls take a whack at the hot pink poodle piñata. I really thought this thing was going to bust open right away, it seemed so fragile. It took a licking but kept on swinging! Finally it succumbed to the girls' frustrated swings. Candy and mini eraser rings were scooped up quickly!

Toward the end of the party we did cupcakes, candles, the birthday song, and then opened presents.

 

 

At the very end, the girls were able to cash in their "Poodle Bucks" ...

 

 

and go shopping in the "French Store."

 

 

Thank you "Merci" favor boxes were handed

out as each girl left.

 

Like I wrote earlier, we all had a blast!

 

 

Now I need time to rest and recoup...

I'll be back with some of our other

projects in the shop, soon!

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Vintage & Co.: A Mid-Century Before & After

Well hello blog world! I am back well, not back but posting less frequently. Between all of life's craziness, I still enjoy blogging! We are in full swing here between our brick & mortar shop Vintage & Co., my Dad living with us, a birthday party to plan this weekend, and my online shops! But, it is all good. We are certainly not bored.

And I was not bored when I decided to makeover this mid-century dresser. Let's just admit it. Total drab!

I decided to go with an aqua chalk paint color. LOVE!

Instead of displaying it as a bedroom piece, I have it in our "vintage kitchen" area because well, aqua and retro vintage just seem to go together!

I gave the handles a gold leaf treatment. They really pop nicely now against the dresser.

Another fun mid-century piece we found is this hand crafted "entertainment" center. It looks really cool in the shop, too with our other retro style stuff!

Other projects on the horizon... a vanity that needs a total revamp, table runners, painted mirrors, and a night stand.

Thanks so much for checking out my mid-century makeover... I'm off to stuff favor boxes and I can't wait to show you all of the things I worked on for Bebe's birthday party! The theme is "Sundaes in Paris." Ooh la la!

My Summer Mantel Display: The Jersey Shore, Vintage Style!

Well hello there! I am happy to be back on my blog again after a brief hiatus called SUMMER!

We were so busy with the store, vacations, summer camps, etc. Always a good thing! We even found time to go treasure hunting! (An even better thing, right, my vintage lovin' pals?)



With all of that behind me now I wanted to do a post on my summer mantel before I change it Mid-September.

 

This is my ode to the Jersey Shore. Not the Jersey shore you saw in a raunchy reality TV show, but the REAL Jersey shore I've known and loved. Born and raised in NJ plus doing a four and a half year stint working at a local TV station for the Atlantic City/Wildwood area, I grew to love my time spent there.

So, whenever I find vintage NJ beach themed items, I pick them up. I have sold some of my Ocean City, NJ things but to tell you the truth, those are hard to come by.

I love mixing old aqua glass bottles with shells, books, etc.
 

This year I decided to also add in my Philadelphia Magazine pictures. I do think these are original covers that were mounted on foam core.

I love them and barely take them out of my office for fear of damaging one as they are dated 1910.

If I ever get a beach house, these will be framed and used for wall décor.

I also thought this little "beach chair" was too cute and had to be added to my vignette. The plate and vase souvenirs made out of china are fun to collect and are perfect for my mantel.

I love the deep navy blue of this pitcher.
I also get a kick out of the caption:
"Bathing in front of the big hotels."

Is that what we are doing? Bathing?
But then, I remember... we are wearing
bathing suits.



This is a close up of a small portion of a vintage painting... it sits below the mantel on top of the fireplace insert.

Hope you enjoyed my "little tour" of the mantel... stop by and say hi if you have a chance, I've missed chatting with all of you!

~~~~~~~~

While all of the souvenirs in this post are from Atlantic City, here are a couple of other posts I've written about Ocean City, NJ ... just click here and here. 

And while you're at it, you might enjoy this poem by Ogden Nash, titled Seaside Serenade. I wrote a post about it.... Just click here.

The Hubs at Magnolia Market = Fixer Upper Inspiration

 

 

 

That man of mine! He actually went to the infamous Magnolia Market while in Texas recently!

I asked him to look on the map and see if he

was near Waco. Turns out his hotel was only

an hour and a half away. So off he went!

 

 

I love the pictures he took so I could almost be there, too.

How fun is this green vintage car?

 

 

And speaking of green...

there was plenty of it in the displays.

 

 

There were oodles of home decorating pieces and ideas!!!!

 

 

Lighting, a key element in decorating.

 

 

Love the display tables .... nothing like good 'ol chippy metal and sturdy wood tops. Great inspiration

for my Hubby to see... he was getting new

project ideas for our vintage shop.

 

 

 

Here are some faux flowers to bring 

soft pastels into the mix.

 

There were unique items... yes, mostly made in China

as the hubby told me... but the fun "Fixer Upper"

style was readily available for the consumer

to use in their own homes.

 

 

Look at the general store style drawers on this display piece. Love it!

 

 

He said there was a garden outside where real plants/flowers were grown. Here is

 where you can pick them up! The sign

is just awesome too. Joanna Gaines

has such clean lines and simplicity to

her décor and it works so well!

 

 

Awww.... "a must have flowers always and always"

Love the candlesticks.

 

 

I love these wall words and I sell them

in my shop, too, in black. There is a local

vendor mall where I get mine. Hubby

said mine were priced a lot lower!

Well, when you have your own hit TV

show, you can charge more!

 

And not to forget the men... my hubby liked "CHIP'S CORNER" a lot! T-Shirts and hats, industrial stuff,

the shelving made just like they create on the show.

 

So, of course, he did a little bit of shopping.

Brought Bebe and I back some souvenirs like

T-shirts and a really cool laser cut

wall art piece... just like "Jimmy Don" makes!

I think they are actually made in the USA

by Jimmy Don himself. I'll try to get a photo

of it soon.  For now, I've got my own

shop to tend to, totally inspired now!

Thanks for stopping by...

 I'd love to hear what you think of "The SILOS!"