Light My World

The weather has been Arctic-like lately and not conducive at all towards outdoor meanderings.  For some reason though, it occurred to me that there might be people who, like me, are in the throes of New Year's resolutions and are madly decluttering and getting rid of  unwanted things.  And with the freezing temperatures, I reckoned there would be less likelihood of competing with vintage obsessed shoppers who, like me, are looking for the find of the decade.  So out into the cold I went.  And I was so glad I did.  Because I found something that rendered me speechless.  What is it? A mint in the box, never used, tags still attached, vintage light up hanging globe!  Yes, I know!

Really, it was like seeing a mythical creature like a unicorn come clip clopping down the street.  All you can do is stare with your eyes popping out of your head at least 2 inches and your jaw hitting your knees.  I am thinking I will keep the tags on it forever.  Kidding.  Not really.  I am thinking of gauging holes in the wall so that I can hang it up, turn it on and stare at it in a hypnotic trance.  Kidding.  Not really.  I am thinking of keeping it in the box, placing everything on a red velvet pillow and then displaying it in a clear glass box the way the Prince did with Cinderella's glass slipper.  Kidding.  Not really.  Here is a shot of the box.

At the time, I had exactly enough money on me to buy it.  The money was supposed to have been allocated towards important necessary things like groceries and toilet paper.  It was a fair amount of money for a thrifted item and, even though I knew deep down inside that this baby was coming home with me, I did think for a decent amount of time about whether I should indeed buy it.  And all I could think was, "I will eat beans and rice for the next month, I don't care.  I will use wadded up newspaper, I don't care."

Oftentimes, I come across the most fabulous things like amazing furniture but have to pass them by because of lack of space or funds.  And I dream of how wonderful it would be to be given carte blanche on someone else's home and fill it with fabulous treasures.  But lack of space or no, this globe was coming home with me.  When I did bring it home, Monsieur said that I should take it to an antique store and try to sell it.  I just nodded my head.

  

It comes with lovely brass wall fittings and would look fantastic in a child's room or a den or study. Or in a corner somewhere in my direct line of sight.  Sigh.  Funnily enough, I don't collect globes as they are obviously large and round and take up space in a home where space is at a premium.  But a light up mint globe?  I think I can make room for that.  Have you ever come across something that defied common sense which you just had to have?  Please let me know I'm not alone!

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Coastal Charm, Ivy and Elephants, Apron Thrift Girl,  Remnant PDX, Knick of Time, A Living Space and Thrifty Groove.

Valentine's Day Glitter Boxes

Have you recovered from the Festive Season?  My mother's birthday is in January and, by the time, it arrives, I am clean out of ideas and cash.  And then following on the heels of January birthdays is Valentine's Day.  It's hard to believe that Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling a little stretched right now in terms of budget and creativity.  As luck would have it, I had saved a couple of cute heart shaped boxes in my craft stash.  They used to hold chocolates and I held on to them because I loved their shape. But any fun shaped little box will do. I had some vintage glitter on hand as well.

What I did was brush white glue on to the top as I wanted to cover up the label.  Then, just sprinkle madly with glitter.  Warning:  while lots of fun, inevitably, you will get glitter everywhere.  Then, shake off the excess.

I had a can of spray on adhesive but I found that, for such a small surface area, a brush and glue was more effective.  However, if after shaking off the excess, you see any bald spots, trying to add on more glue with a brush can be messy so this is where a quick spritz of adhesive is convenient.  I didn't do anything to the sides as luckily, the colours go with a Valentine's Day theme and didn't have any labels to cover up.  As they used to hold chocolates, they were clean on the inside.  But you might want to line your boxes with parchment if you want to place food items inside.  Now, they are perfect for hiding sweet treats or a little present.

Luckily, I had picked up a couple of monogram mugs from the Boxing Day Sales.  The 'Q' mug is for Monsieur and the 'C' mug is for me of course.  I do wish the font of the 'C' was like the font of the 'Q' instead of cursive but that's just me being picky.  There's an upper case letter on one side and a lawer case letter on the other side.  Perfect for sharing a cup of tea together.
Or, to make your special one feel that extra special, a tray all for him or herself.

Simple, quick and easy (except for chasing after all that glitter), that's my kind of craft!  One of my intentions this year is to try to exercise my creative muscle a bit more.  So, if you have any Valentine's Day creative ideas, tips or crafts to share, please let me know or feel free to share a link in the comments as I need some inspiration!

I'm linking up with My Romantic Home, The Charm of Home, A Stroll Thru Life, French Country Cottage.

New Year Changes

Happy New Year!  Do you make resolutions?  I've never been one to make resolutions and yet as the old year drew to a close, I felt this grumbling sense of dissatisfaction.  I felt like there were so many things that weren't working for me anymore and that I wanted to change them, only I didn't know where to start.  Have you ever experienced this?  As I began to pack away the Christmas decorations, I felt the overwhelming urge to just keep going, clear everything away and start with a blank slate.  I left out a few things that I loved and realized that there was a bit of a theme going on.  Monsieur had given me a fabulous reindeer crewel work cushion for Christmas.  It's Christmassy without being overtly Christmassy and goes with the existing cushions.  I had thrifted a vintage Beauceware planter in a sunshine yellow that was perfect for holding fruit.

If you had told me, even a few months ago, that I would be plonking down bright yellow planters and filling them with clementines, I would have laughed.  But for some reason the cheery yellow of the planter just spoke to me. And it seemed to work with the cushions.

I wanted to feel inspired so I thought I'd put together a mood board of sorts.  I've never made a mood board or an inspiration board before so I just gathered a few things together that I had thrifted recently or bought from the Boxing Day sales.

The pineapple brass lamp is another thing that I never thought I would buy.  It was a thrift purchase and was made after much deliberation.  I think I picked it up and put it down several times.  For years, I hated brass because my mother, like many mothers everywhere, embraced the brass fad back in the day and I had had my fill of it.  I walked out to the car and then I slapped my forehead and thought, "It's a brass pineapple lamp!  It's small and cute and chubby!  And it's a brass pineapple lamp!"  And I ran back inside and bought it.  The boots were bought from J Crew and the velvet pants from Anthropologie.  Again, if you had told me that one day I would be buying caramel coloured boots or velvet pants I would have laughed in your face.  Buying properly fitting pants has always been a huge trial for me.  Anthropologie calls them leggings but they fit like a snug pair of pants.  And the boots?  Well, I just tumbled head over heels in love with them.

Photo from the J Crew website.

Because I got the pants and boots at a great price on Boxing Day, I maintain that they can be considered thrifty purchases.   The cast iron lock and keys, the vintage buttons and vintage porcelain doorknob or pull were all recent thrift purchases.  I just love the lock as its face is engraved with an Art Deco design.  Even the keys are engraved.  The porcelain doorknob is huge, a good 4" or 9.5 cm across.
Here is another Boxing Day purchase, a new coat from Old Navy.  It was only $15!

I still can't believe I own a coat in this poppy orange colour.  But I did make a couple other thrift purchases (as in vintage and second hand) such as this roll of vintage yellow ribbon and this tea towel with bright yellow openwork detail.

Do you see a theme emerging?

I have been feeling so uninspired lately.  Life overwhelmed me and blog posts fell by the way side.  I felt like anything I had to say was ridiculous because I didn't live in a huge house overlooking the ocean.  My home is small with bathrooms the size of closets and closets the size of shoeboxes.  Looking at these photos though made me see that, without realizing it, I have been drawn to things that pull me out of my comfort zone.  And that in itself is inspiring.  Now, I look forward to the New Year and to exploring unexpected pathways.

I'm linking up to Thrifty Groove, Sir Thrift A Lot, Cap Creations, A Stroll Thru Life, Coastal Charm, A Living Space.
A little note:  I wasn't sponsored to mention any stores or companies named in the above post.  It's just a record of purchases made recently that have left me shocked and bemused at myself.