White O'Morn Cottage

Beautiful Bluebells in Suburbia & Blue Desks in Utah

I was walking home from work today when I chanced upon this garden full of bluebells. What a cheerful sight! It reminds me of those pictures of bluebell woods you sometimes see in magazines. This house is just around the corner from me in Baldoyle, a suburb of Dublin. I had never noticed it before.  When I got home I took my camera and went back to get the picture. They really do look like little bells...you can almost hear them tinkling! Pretty, pretty, pretty!

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of pretty blue things.....I have just been on Main Street Memories blog (on sidebar) and Colleen has done the most fabulous job on a small desk. She has before and after pictures and it is to die for! Check it out. Well done Colleen!

Shopping Trip Show and Tell

Yes, I have been shopping. It's not easy but someone has to do it. My husband hates it so I get to do his quota too!

I went looking for some stylish storage boxes for my vintage lingerie inventory for my website: Silver Screen Vintage.

At the moment I have them stored in ugly gray plastic boxes that I hate the look of...soooo - look at the beautiful hat boxes and small steamer trunk style box I found for them. They have amazing graphics on them (see close ups shown here) and are so lovely to look at I can store them in the conservatory.

The trunk box holds all my vintage nylon slips and the other three store the gorgeous pin up panties and bloomers and vintage hats. The link to site is on my sidebar if you want to have a browse.

Wendy at Crickleberry Cottage Creations & Collectibles                  Etsy (ctb003) sent me a wonderful sugar shaker stuffed full of buttons, brads, bits and bobs! ...and she threw in sweet little extras. I love them Wendy! Thanks so much. I will even make cute pink nests from the packing straw. Be sure to visit her on Etsy.com as she has the most wonderful things!

Then, this morning I got to pop into my local St Vincent de Paul thrift shop/charity shop and found this cheerful set of cottage stationery for only €4 (four Euro) about $6. It conists of an address book, a day book, 10 cards & envelopes. So my shopping addiction is sated for another few...(days!)

Repurposing - The Power of One

Today I entered a giveaway on a lovely lady's blog, Scented Candles from the Heart.  See sidebar. She asked us to say what recent change we had made to help the environment. This is what I entered.

Here in Ireland we have a chain store called Dunnes Stores and they use strong brown paper bags of different sizes when you purchase something. The bags have stripes and an old sepia toned photo on them.

I have started using these to package items I sell from my vintage website.  It makes a lovely vintage style parcel, very suitable for the items inside. They are stronger than the brown paper I was buying for this purpose and are also recycleable at the destination end.

I have all my friends and relatives saving me their Dunnes Stores bags so there is no shortage of them. Have a look around and see if there is something right under your nose that can be used or repurposed in a novel way.

We have a green campaign going on here in Ireland at the moment called "The Power of One" that asks "What one change will you make?"

I'd love to hear of any ideas you have

Repurposing a Beyond Repair Antique to a Garden Ornament

When I came acrosss this gorgeous antique but badly damaged teapot my first thought was to break it up for mosiacs to bling my birdhouse. But then I decided to try it out as an eccentric planter for my nastursum seedlings. I fill ed ith with compost and planted the seedling, then I tipped it over as if it was pouring because this allows the excess water to drain off down the spout. Lastly I just hooked the lid over the broken handle. I will add more pics as they grow and will probably place it in the cottage garden among the other flowers digging a depression in the soil to support it in this position.

Quirky, unique, free and green!

DIY Art and River Gods

I was having my (Dublin) bathroom renovated a few years ago and decided it would be a good idea to go on hols while the work was being done. So off I went to visit Teeda in Alberta, Canada . One of the things I wanted for the new bathroom was some nudes. It was to be tiled in white with a black trim and I fancied pewter coloured pieces to finish it off.

I spotted them in the very first shop! In we went to do the deed but when we chanced to look at the price tag......Uh oh, not affordable, well, not without taking a second mortage on the house)....A small fortune! They were hand made and the price reflected it.

"No problem" says herself (Teeda) "we'll just take a picture of them and make them ourselves!"

We just had to buy the  clay and pewter paint as she had all the rest in her art room, tools and such.

Then came the challenging bit..."I'll make the male and you'll make the female" says she - as if she thought I was a dab hand at sculpting the odd female nude any time I felt like it!

"Sure I know what to do and I wont let you go wrong, and we'll open a bottle of Wizzz (white zinfandel) to be sure"

Well what a fun night that turned out to be! After my nude was made (ala Picasso style and gillions of laughter...It was looking scarily like a self portrait!) Teeda stepped in and showed me how to build up the famale figure and gave it a few magic prods and pokes and "Voila" ...

my first and only sculpture was born. Here they are in my bathroom. They need a new coat of pewter paint I see! Picture at the top also shows the mirror, which was an old one, that I painted the frame of in matching pewter paint. Teeda also made me this wonderul river god. The rivers and waters of Ireland each have a river god dedicated to them. The one on the left is the Atlantic God and the original is on the Custom House in Dublin (this one is in my bathroom in Dublin)

The next one is the original head of the Boyne river god.

A Jog's Dob...Sorry - a Dog's Job

The work of dogs...

is to cause smiles

give endless welcomes

to keep you fit

to listen without comment

to lick tears before they reach your chin

The work of dogs is...

to cherish old bones

chase flies

and chew slippers

The work of dogs is to...

be on the wrong side of any closed door

break wind when you have company

and look adorable while doing so

the final job for dogs is

to steal away

taking a piece of your broken heart with them

Miss you Tiny...

Teeda's Hand Crafted Swarovski Jewellery

  Lucky me! I have a very talented sis, Teeda, who makes the most wonderful handmade jewellery. First three pictures show the aurora borealis necklace and bracelet set she made me for last Christmas.

In the next pic I am  

In the next pic I am wearing another Swarovski beauty she made me for my birthday. I am also wearing some of my own collection of vintage jewellery, the earrings are Napier and the amythist and silver plated brooch was picked up at my local thrift shop. Next are the close ups of the ones I am wearing in photo. What I love about vintage stuff you are never going to come across anyone wearing the same item.

She also made me this beautiful turqoise necklace. Teeda is coming home soon and has told me she has a sparkling hat pin for me! I will post photo here soon.

Here is another silver and glittering deep blue stone pendant made by Teeda

One of the things I love about these treasures is that each one is unique. She also uses fabulous "fixings" clasps and catches.

What a wonderful talent to have! What a wonderful sister to have! Her blog Beadiva is on my list of favourite blogs on the right.

Lullabye

I came across this old photo of my two oldest sons when they were babies. Stephen, on the left, and Christian on the right. It brought me right back. It's hard to believe they are big hairy men now.

Steve says he'll never forgive me for putting him in  pink pyjamas (they were probably on special) Aren't they too cute!

Steve (top) and Chris (below) today. (even their names have changed some -how did that happen?)

Love the bones of ye' lads...and Jamie too of course (this one is Jamie, my baby and I will be searching out a baby pic of him to add here. Ha! you don't get off that lightly Jay...oh, and his name changed too!)

Expressions

I have just been to Country Cottage Chic and oohhed and awwwed over two little vintage dollies she has there. The expressions on their little faces are so cute! It got me thinking about my favourite inanimate objects that have very expressive faces.

First is my hand crafted ballerina. I made her from a wooden peg and pipe cleaners, piece of felt for tutu and some lace and bows, used a gold pen to give her ballet slippers and eh...I don't know how she ended up having a bad hair day but I can't be good at everything! Anyway when it came to painting on a face I knew I was not up to doing good eyes so I gave her closed ones which I think gives her a dreamy expression.. She hangs on my Christmas tree every year.

Next comes two little doggies. The white one is ceramic and has one leg up scratching. He tends to wobble to which makes him look like he is really doing it!

The yorkie candle dog has a great look to his face. Sort of a sheepish grin (huh?) I like to pose them together for max effect.  This is one candle that wont ever be lit for sure!

Kissing the Blarney Stone

You have all heard of the Blarney Stone right? Kissing it is said to give you the gift of the gab. So when I was on holiday near Blarney, County Cork many years ago, we decided we'd have to go and have a little smooch with it. I mean you can't visit Blarney and not kiss it's stone. Right?

Now, no one told me it was way up high. I thought it was a great big rock on the ground and all I had to to do was lean over ...

Nooo noo noo...It's high up in the ramparts of a castle...very high up -  and its outside the castle and you have to lie on your back and hang out backwards over this great height to give it a smackeroo (with a willing local holding on to your legs and don't try this while wearing a skirt!) Not for the fainthearted. 

All I could think of was as I was hanging upside down was  "How did I get into this position? And how do I get out of it? I don't care if I never utter another word ever. I don't want to kiss this stone after zillions of tourists left generations of germs on it"  The old lad had me by the knees and would not haul me up until I had done the deed and the kids were shouting "Hurry up Ma, we want a go" Well of course, I gave it a little peck and have not shut up since! It works!