DARE TO BE CREATIVE!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Retro Spaceage Lamp

I have been looking for a retro lamp for the side table in my family/dining room.  I wasn't sure what I wanted but knew I would know it when I saw it.  A week ago I spied this lovely "spaceship" lamp sitting on the floor at Goodwill with no shade. Doesn't it look like a spaceship with oval windows?  The cord was frayed and there were spots where the gold trim was missing.  I love the shape and the color was perfect for my room.  I brought it home and rewired it.  I purchased a couple of gold pens and one was the perfect color (Sharpie).  I blew off the dust with canned Ultra Duster and it began to show it's potential.  My last task was to find a shade.  I wanted a barrel shaped retro shade. 

After visiting many stores, I found this shade at Wal-Mart today.  It isn't exactly the shade I pictured but it does look good with the Space Age lamp and most of all it looks great on my side table.  Oh yes, the price tag on the lamp was $2.99. 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Finished Vintage Desk Project

Some of you may remember this sad little desk that I rescued from the local thrift store.  I was hoping to refinish it back to it's original wood finish.  That turned out to be impossible due to the fact that it was made from various types of wood and there was staining on the top of the desk.  After I stripped it back to the original wood, I decided to paint it white and replace the drawer pulls.


Here is the desk in my kitchen.  I've had the small school chair for over 30 years.  It was school surplus.  My father gave it to my son when he was young.  It fits perfectly with the little white desk.  Don't you just love all those little cubbies.


I placed these two vintage planters on top to hold pencils and other supplies.  I'm happy with the result even if I wasn't able to restore it to it's original look.


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Vintage Quilt Blocks


I recently came across a package of vintage quilt blocks I purchased years ago at an antique store in CA.   I decided it was time to do something with the blocks.  I think the stripes were from a sample book because they had something resembling paste on each one.  I washed the blocks and found that fabric had been cut into 5" squares but they weren't exact.  I used my Accuquilt GO to cut them into 4 1/2" squares.  The GO cuts a perfect square each time.  I then sewed them all together.

I will make them into a quilted tablerunner.  The backing will be a red and white polka dot feed sack fabric which I also purchased an antique store years ago.  I'll post a photo of the finished tablerunner tomorrow.  It will be a hostess gift for a friend I'm visiting later this month.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Fabric Book



I'm back in my studio after a long absence due to vacation and then illness with short hosptial stay.  I'm finally able to spend some time creating.  I recently found a tutorial for a small fabric book here.  I changed it up a bit but basically followed her instructions for the book construction.  The theme is sewing and stitches.




I used a couple of stamp sets and added items from my stash.  The purple pants are ones I made for my little sister's Barbie in the 60's.  Fabris was linen leftover from a 4-H sewing project. 

 The back is dedicated to one of my favorite's - "Quilting".