Wednesday, July 22, 2009

remember these????

The older I get, the more I love soft lightening. I think these old fashioned pierced lampshades are an interesting way to create that romantic and flattering glow, don't you? But what if I don't have an outlet where I want to place a lamp - like on a dinner table for instance? How about turning a wine glass into a sweet little lamp at each place setting? We all have stemware odds and ends, so I have a way to use those orphaned glasses, and also create a lovely ambiance without the use of a cord or plug....

first you need to make a pattern from a mini lamp shade and trace it out onto some heavy paper or cardstock....

select a bold graphic...
highlight interesting curves...
trace this onto the back of your paper - I used white carbon paper, since I chose black paper...
cut along these lines with a sharp knife...
I decided I needed more flourishes....
using a pushpin, pierce directly through both pattern and paper...
cut out the shade - I love these fancy edges...
tape ends together with double-sided tape, place votive candle in the wine glass...
sweet!!!

Thanks for visiting...

Pammy

Monday, July 20, 2009

patience...

We have been watching this mama robin for a few weeks. We couldn't believe when she started building it right outside our front door on top of a post - she has been very patient with us as we come and go. She gives us the stink eye when we open the door, but doesn't budge. Yesterday I noticed she wasn't there, so I asked Dennis to climb up to see what she was sitting on.....







they don't call it Robin's Egg Blue for nothing.....
I'll keep you posted on the new arrivals....should be any day now!
Pammy
p.s.: you can now subscribe to my blog! Check out the links at the top (to the right) of this post - now you can be automatically notified when mama's eggs hatch!

Friday, July 17, 2009

anatomy - part deux

After showing Jennifer the designs for Sweetpea, and tweaking some of the colors a bit, she placed an order - happiness!




The colors in the shop will be pink and green, so she asked if I could tone down the purple a bit...


and I changed the back of the pea pod to match....




That's all for now - thanks for checking back with me! Now make sure you run right down to Sweetpea and say hi to Jennifer (and Olivia, her own little 10-month-old sweetpea pod!)

Pammy




Tuesday, July 14, 2009

anatomy of a custom design

A couple of weeks ago, I bumped into Jennifer, the new owner of Sweetpea Home Interiors in downtown Coeur d'Alene. She asked if I could come up with a new design idea for a custom, only-for-Sweetpea, necklace. She showed me their new logo, which features a purple-ish pink fairy and lime green peas, and she thought a cute pea pod might fit the bill. Here is what I came up with, as well as the entire process, from conception to the actual pendant.....

first a little doodling....

then a little color is added....

then image is scanned and text is added....

then scanned again and re-sized...

But wait, I wanted Jennifer to have a choice - so I decided to design a second necklace. Since the new logo features a fairy, I found some royalty free clip art....

I colorized it....

then added some "peas" and some text....
scanned it again and re-sized it....
I found some pretty paper for the backs, and some pea green beads and.....voila!!!!
This was fun! Now I hope Jennifer thinks they're as cute as I do....

Thanks for working with me,
Pammy

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Vinage Barn baby...

We had a fabulous time at the Vintage Barn Antique Show yesterday - loads of fun and lots and lots of goodies! The day started with vendor badges and goodie bags being passed out, (nice touch Rolane!) and then a time of prayer and blessing before the cowbell rang - let the games begin!!! There was a line of customers as far as the eye could see, and they just kept a comin' all day! Here is a taste of the fun we had....





my little corner of the Vintage Barn world...



the queue to enter....

loads of treasures....

One of my all time faves - meet Virginia of The Rusty Bird. Virginia's booth is all about birds and nests and eggs - nothing else. She makes all the nests! As my friend Arlene says, "Virginia makes nests as good as a bird"....
























here's Virginia...

and speaking of Arlene....




Here she is in her booth - she makes the most wonderful totes and aprons from flour sacks, as well as altered book journals - she writes one of my all time favorite blogs...















Pam from Homestead Mercantile was there with her fabulously whimsical crowns...
more... fun...

This is a great booth - notice the huge columns on either side - they were only $100 each - did I forget to mention how reasonable the prices were throughout the show???

"Queen of her Nest" - cute stuff...
I wish I had taken more pictures, but I think you can see here that the day was a great one, and we now can look forward to the next show in September.

Thanks for stopping by....
Pammy

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Vintage Barn....sneak peek!

This coming Saturday is a day I have been excited about for months. The Vintage Barn antique show! Last year I went as a customer, and vowed to do whatever I had to do to get into this show. It is just that great. So after begging and pleading with Rolane (the beautiful & gracious hostess of this event) I was thrilled to receive an application in the mail. That was last winter, and here it is only days away!
Here's a wee glimpse into what we have been working on:

antique bottles "pammy-fied"

my bazaar pound...

even Dennis got into the act with his amazing windows...


and shelves....


more windows...
we're all packed up and ready to go....
of course I will have all my beveled jewelry and ornaments... including my new, never before seen, dog & cat line...

SO......if you are in our area of the northwest DO NOT miss this fabulous show! Here's the scoop:

Saturday, July 11

9am - 4pm

Vintage Barn
22277 N. Ramsey Road
Rathdrum, Idaho

Stay tuned for pictures from the show.....thanks for stopping by!

Pammy
ps: check out the Vintage Barn website if you need more info: http://www.barnbarnbaby.com/