E is for Estate Sale!! One of my most favorite things to do on a Saturday. I have found so many gems and treasures over the years. And really GREAT buys too!! An old vintage 6ft. shutter divider was FREE!! ( My favorite price!) It was an ugly dark brown and so I painted it a shabby white. I took out the broken shutters and replaced them with lovely shabby fabrics in  blues, pinks and greens. Some are even vintage fabrics.

This was a great find too. A wonderful garden shed at an estate sale for only $50.00. It was dark wood and I painted it a sweet country blue with white trim. We love it and use it all the time in our garden.

This 5 piece wicker set was also a fabulous Estate Sale find. It was beige and pretty dull until…yep you guessed it. I painted it white!! And only $75.00 for all 5 pieces! I used vintage fabrics to make seat covers.

F is for Flowers These are some heirloom flowers we had in our garden last year. Foxgloves are a very old variety and are a very English flower. To me they are pure heaven!

We also planted heirloom Sweet Peas. They are so delicate and fragrant. One sniff and you’ll be hooked.

Thanks for joining me at the Etsy Party today.

Which one struck your fancy??

It’s an Egg-cellent contest!! These eggs are not just for Easter but for decorating all springtime long.

I made an assortment of bright and fun mod podge fabric eggs. I call them “GLAMOUR EGGS!! Because they are frilly and have a touch of bling! I got the idea from the DIY Dish.com. Kim and Kris always have such adorable ideas. You should check them out. They are my new favorite place!

I used fabric from charm packs torn in strips and then I embellished them with ribbon, gems, and scrapbook accents. On this plate they almost look good enough to eat.

This style has a gathered ribbon ruffle rosette with a gem in the middle.

This one has a skinny ribbon butterfly bow on end with a scrapbook flower accent in the center.

I gave away 4 packs of assorted “GLAMOUR EGGS” to family and friends last week and they liked them so much that I decided to offer a package of 4 as a giveaway to you.

So here is how you enter and win... leave a comment below.

Include your email address or contact info.

Be sure to leave your comment before Sunday April 11th at midnight. Winner announced on Monday April 12th.

Good Luck! And HApPy SPrInG!!

Take a peek at the table scape I designed for our Easter dinner yesterday. I used quite a bit of green with just a splash of orange!

I thought that I would share with you some of the crafty and fun decorating ideas I used and thought you might like to try them on your table.

I used gold chargers to accent the green plates from the green tablecloth. Then used vintage white linen napkins in a cute clay pot napkin ring.

Have you ever seen carrot eggs?? This was a really cute and easy idea I found online. ( I can’t remember where) You blow out the raw eggs. Dye them orange. Then at the top of the egg where you have the largest hole, you cut some green tissue paper and insert it in the opening. I decided to write every one’s names on them and use them as place cards. They are held in egg cups.

The centerpiece was another idea I found online. (Not sure where on this one either)  I took a basket and filled it with lots of lovely assorted house plants. (Got them at Home Depot) and then just added a large chocolate bunny. I found some darling green and brown polka dot ribbon at Jo Anns and added a bow on each side.

Then I decorated the base of the centerpiece with ecru shredded paper, more greenery in pots and then accented the table with some fun “Glamour Eggs” (I call them). I found the idea for these eggs on the DIY Dish.com.

Here are a couple of styles. They are made with plastic eggs that you mod podge fabric pieces onto and then embellish with gathered ribbon, gems and paper scrapbook flower pieces. I will show you closer pics and how I made them in my next blog post.

I thought that this table scape looked so springy that I am keeping it up all month. I must admit the chocolate bunny may not make it!! Yum!

Welcome to another fun Vintage ABC Party at Etsy Cottage. They are always so fun to participate in. I love to see what treasures every one shows. Come join me…

C is for China… My favorite is an English china set I got at a wonderful antique shop. I love the tiny pink flowers.

It looks pretty great with my blue transfer ware. Don’t you just love mixing and matching?

C is for centerpiece… I loved doing this English garden centerpiece, starting with a pretty vintage tea pot, lovely flowers, vintage china and vintage tablecloth. All for a garden tea party for my friends.

D is for Dolls… some of my favorite treasures are my 1940’s Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls. Such as Goldilocks and Little Bo Peep.

One year I participated in a Valentines Day Tea Party featuring several of my Vintage Dolls. This picture shows my adorable Cupie doll from 1967, a darling unknown doll from 1961 and of course another sweet Nancy Ann doll.

D is for Dresses… Vintage baby dresses that is. I have refurbished and restored vintage baby dresses for several years now and here are a sampling of some of my favorites. Take a look at this peach one with all the sweet embroidery details. It is from the 1940’s.

This fun bubble bum pink checked dress is from the 1950’s. I just love the details of buttons and lace on the bodice.

Let’s not leave out the little boys! Here is an adorable sailor set from the 1940’s. I like the cute little anchors along the front and of course the sailor collar!

There you go… that is my Vintage ABC collection for today.

Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Now off to visit yours.

Come join in the fun as we celebrate February with our love for all things Vintage (that are lavender or purple) at the Etsy Cottage Vintage Purple Party! Let me share with you some of my vintage favorites. My 1940’s  lovely Nancy Ann doll. She is “Beauty” from Beauty and the Beast. I love these dolls they are so cute and have the sweetest little faces. Another delight of mine is collecting tea sets and cups and saucers. These are precious sets that have been given to me as gifts over the years. Here are a couple of little florals I’ve had placed around the house. The dried heart wreath is from the early 1980’s. And I still love it! I almost forgot about this cute little bear that I bought back in the 80’s from a darling little tea shop in Monrovia, CA called “FRILLS”. My girlfriends and I, used to just love to go there for their yummy tea sandwiches and to die for scones. ( complete with a lit sparkler on the top!) There antiques and gifts were wonderful also. And last but not least…. an old vintage white birdhouse that I adore. It is embellished with a vintage hankie and lots of lovely flowers. Even purple wisteria!! Here’s a closer look! I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some of my Vintage Purple treasures as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. I’d love to hear your comments. Now off to check on all your blog posts!!!

Had such a great day out in the sunshine, pruning my roses!

The flower beds always look so bare. I only did a few today. I will need to work a little every day to finish in time. I have over 70 rose bushes! Yikes!

Can you believe the size of my rosemary bush?? It’s HUGE and it smells like heaven!

I love the sweet little flowers that bloom on it this time of year.

I even got one last bouquet. It will really brighten up my Sunday dinner table tomorrow.

It’s “FRESH PICKED FABRICS” in Yorba Linda!! You have got to come and check out the newest most adorable quilt shop in So. Cal. I mean ya just gotta! This is a fairly new quilt shop and the owner Gina Halladay (my sweet friend) has really splashed her fun, creative talents all throughout the shop.

The outside is cute with bright quilts on display and lovely planted flowers!

The inside is even cuter! So come on… let me give you a little tour.

FRESH PICKED FABRICS is home to many, many colors and  bolts of Jumbo Rick Rack. More than you’ve ever seen! Lots of ribbons too!

“FRESH PICKED FABRICS” also features “CURBY’S CLOSET” Quilted Baby Shoe Patterns, Finished Baby shoes and many adorable, unique “CURBY’S CLOSET” Vintage Baby Dresses and Clothing. All for Sale!

They carry lots of kits for baby quilts, burp cloths and tons of sweet fabrics!

This awesome quilt shop is filled with amazing quilts on display to give you lots of ideas, kits of all kinds to get you going on your next project and lots of funky, fun fabrics!! Try saying that 3 times fast!!

And “FRESH PICKED FABRICS” has a wall of patterns! All kinds. And they sell their own unique “THREADED PEAR” patterns too, which are darling, easy and most can be made in an afternoon or weekend. Look for the “Scrappy Log Cabin” pattern with scalloped ends. So cute!!

Just take a look around and you’ll see something wonderful and new around every corner.

And for long arm quilters… “FRESH PICKED FABRICS” is the place for you! Lots of high quality threads in many, many colors. Plus lots of long arm supplies, patterns, you name it!

And speaking of long arm quilting… FRESH PICKED FABRICS includes “CRANBERRY QUILTWORKS” a Gammil Distributor. Come try one out (take a test drive) and get a feel for it. Trust me you’ll want to get one.

Hey, isn’t Christmas is coming!

Now, this has just been a sample of the wonderful things you’ll find at “FRESH PICKED FABRICS”. So if you are in the neighborhood. Stop by and say “Hi” to Gina and all her girls! They are friendly, helpful and super knowledgeable. This weekend ( Dec. 3,4,5th) is their GRAND OPENING! So make the trip it’s totally worth it and come on in.

Tell them Chris at “CURBY’S CLOSET” sent ya!

Fresh Picked Fabrics is located at:

3810 Prospect Ave. Unit A

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

(714) 223-1701

Store Hours: 10am-6pm (Mon-Sat)

freshpickedfabrics@gmail.com

I was totally unsure as to what to “Show off” or “Brag” about so I just thought that I would share my final look at our Summer flowers that I blogged about a couple of days ago. Gardening is a hobby that my husband and I share and we enjoy doing it together. We love to watch things bloom and grow and try each year to add some thing new.

Flowers have always been such a joy for me and spending time in the garden is truly a labor of love and at times a healing kind of therapy.

So please feel free to take a little walk in the Anderson Garden and enjoy some of natures beauties and our favorites!

I thought I would share with you some of the last photos I have of my summer beauties. Fall is just around the corner and even in sunny So. Calif. many do not last.

Above is a vibrant and lovely blue Lobelia.

The tail end of my beautiful foxgloves. I hope they come back next year. Some times they do.

Eye popping inpatients! They should be around for most of the year. Yippie, because I love them! And they are super easy.

This is an unusual one… its called a thistle flower or bush. It grows kinda wild, but is really quite pretty. This one is a really bright and intense fuchsia color.

I hope that you have enjoyed some of my floral beauties these past couple of months.

Leave a comment and let me know your favorite or share a summer beauty of your own!

I hope you enjoy every last minute of Summer.

Best wishes!!

Chris

Fuchsias babies just ready to pop!

Lovely large pom pom style Hydrangeas!

A splash of color with Orange Nasturtiums!

And last but not least, sun brightening Gerber Daisy’s!

If your garden this year seems a little BLAH... add flowers, add color, add beauty!

Any flowers will do the trick!

Look for more posts and pics of my English Cottage Garden flowers soon.