master"PIECES" of my LIFE

happy st. patrick's day

so i don't have a lick of irish in me BUT i do LUV the color green and always enjoy any reason for a celebration.  

here are some st. paddy's inspiration i found:

i love bells of ireland and use them all the time in my home.  i love their tall profile and leaning towards chartreuse color.

love this rag wreath.  it can be adapted to so many different colors and styles.  of course i could use this green one all year round.

love these sweet little tags.  found these on etsy and would love to have enough time to create some myself.

found this lucky cutie on etsy as well.  if i could find a four leaf clover i would do this myself.  hmmmm, perpetual good luck?

wishing you all a happy, safe & lucky st. patrick's day.

easter eggs

i'm very inspired for easter this year since we'll be hosting at our house.  i've been decorating, crafting and menu planning.  here are some easter eggs i crafted.  moss bunny rabbit crowned my easter egg display for paris flea market last weekend.  isn't he cute?  he sold but of course i have one for myself at home.  we all know it's an addiction.  i made two different kinds of eggs to sell, music eggs & tiffany eggs.  

for the music eggs all you need are cheap-o plastic eggs, sheet music, modge podge, a foam brush and a propensity to not care if you get really messy & sticky.  i myself, had all these things on hand.  i have a plethora of plastic eggs from my kid's playgroup easter egg hunts and they sit in my easter bin year after year so i'm glad i finally found a good purpose for them.  i chastise myself for holding onto things that i no longer use but it's moments like this where i feel a teeny tiny bit of redemption.  anyway, i also tend to pick up old sheet music in my thrifting travels since i use it all the time for all sorts of projects.  and as the crazy crafter that i am modge podge & foam brushes are of course always in my stash.

so i started by cutting the sheet music into strips anywhere from 1/2-3/4" thick by 1-6 inches long.  this is not an exact science so don't sweat the measurements.  i applied a thin coat of modge podge all over the egg to condition it and then applied modge podge on a longer strip of sheet music and adhere it to the egg around the seam.  then continued to apply modge podge to the sheet music strips and adhering them to the egg in random directions, selecting sizes that will cover the area you're working on.  cover the whole egg as you pull, pinch and wrinkle the paper.  i use the same technique i use to form meatballs to get all the paper attached to the egg.  finish by applying a thin layer of modge podge to seal it and let it dry fully.  voila!

 things i learned, let me reword that, things i would not do again.  don't use styrofoam eggs.  i bought these with this project in mind and the styrofoam and modge podge didn't really hit it off.  so if you have any suggestions on what to do w/ styrofoam eggs please lmk 'cuz i have a bag of them.  much appreciated.  i considered glittering them but haven't given it a go yet?  also don't freak out when the first couple of paper strips have a hard time adhering, just keep working, it all comes together beautifully.  AND give yourself a block of time to work on this since your hands will be totally unusable for anything else w/o a good scrubbing.  i of course did this in between a million other things so i had to stop and scrub 3 or 4 times so this project took me much longer than it should have.

for the tiffany eggs you'll need wooden eggs, blue paint, trimmings and a hot glue gun.  i gave all the eggs 2 coats of paint and let them dry thoroughly.  when they could be handled again I cut different types of ribbon to fit around the center of egg & then hot glued it to the egg.  the ribbon that showed obvious seams I accented w/ a button to cover the seam.  Darling!

i packaged them in sets of 3.  and all my tiffany eggs sold last weekend.  only a portion of the music eggs sold so they will be moving over to room with a past for next week's sale.  

and secretly i want to use some of them in my easter table scape, but i have a feeling i'll be making a 2nd batch of these.  (i have plenty of plastic eggs to spare).   maybe i'll even gift some as well.  can u tell i really love these?  

i apologize for the awful lighting in my photography.  something is wrong with my camera & i have to have it serviced but i don't want to be without it sooooo i haven't done it yet.   hopefully soon.

joyeuse paques!

welcome bailey!

sooooo, our family is complete again.  

meet bailey.  

she's a yellow lab.  

she's a girl.  

she's mischievous.  

she was born on christmas day.  

we picked her up the day we got back from st. thomas, sunday, february 17th.

this was unexpected since we hadn't heard from the breeder until he called while we were on vacation.

the lady who was slotted to take the 3rd and final female in the litter could not take her at the last minute.

it was meant to be.

life is good.

so glad the kids get to see her as a puppy and will grow w/ her since they always had so many questions about mocha.  and although we still miss mocha immensely, and he will never be replaced, the natural order of things seem to be rectified for the moment.

did i mention life is good?

RIP Mocha

thank you for being the best doggie, companion, buddy.... anyone could ever ask for.  

we miss you immensely and hope your wagging your tail up there as you look down at us.

love you forever mochster!

monday musings

yes, i'm back.  yes, it's been awhile.  and yes, once again, i have great plans.  

i've primarily used this blog in the past to keep family & friends back east, in uruguay and wherever else they may be abreast of our doings in california.  i will continue to do that 'cuz it does maintain some memories and helps my journaling whenever i get back to scrapbooking.  you'all know how important it is for all of us to tell our stories.....but i digress....   

i'm hoping to start sharing more of my vintage creations craftiness here.  i love being a flea at paris flea market and i've expanded my space to include a teeny, tiny bit of furniture.  here are a few shots of this past weekend as we were all decked out in halloween spooky sparkliness (yes, that's a word - go ahead - look it up).

i've managed to decorate partially at home for the halloween / fall season.  as soon as october 1st rolled around the kids had me heading up to the attic to retrieve the halloween decorations.  i love how they love all the different holidays.  i love to decorate for them as it is, but their enthusiasm and help only makes it that much sweeter.  as soon as i'm done decorating around here i'll get some snapshots and share.

speaking about the kiddos, lexi will be stepping out as "baterina" this halloween.  that would be a ballerina w/ bat parents  ; ).  picture black tutu, purple&black striped tights....  you get the picture.  it's actually pretty cute.  she decided early, had me order it online promptly and it's been sitting in wait for a couple weeks now.  the other one on the other hand, keeps going from the joker, to the dark knight, back to the joker, to the scarecrow, and now back to the joker.  i think the joker is a fabulous idea, the problem is obtaining a costume that satisfies sebastian quality demands and a reasonable budget.  

stay tuned.....

 

 

paris flea market again

it's that time again.  the paris flea market showing for march started last night.

schedule every month runs:

thursday {6pm~9pm}

friday {9am~4pm}

saturday {9am~4pm}

sunday {10am~4pm}

on the first weekend of the month.  you can view the calendar on the website: paris flea market.

i didn't take as thorough close ups as i did last month as i compare, but it's what i got and it'll have to do.  it helps me keep my inventory somewhat organized.

hoping march is a busy shopping month...'til the next one.

Au Revoir!

it's all about "him"

i don't like to post only about one of the kiddos.  i really try to keep it fair, but sebastian had a baseball tournament in manteca this weekend and played 4 games.  two were on saturday, which i was in attendance and two more on sunday.  so this one IS all about him.

how great does he look?

on sunday i had my long anticipated garage sale so i missed the games but matt got these professional shots.  i'm so happy he did.  they are fantastic!

sebastian looks great at the plate.  he's come such a long way from this time last year.  i'm really proud of him 'cuz he works really hard but he loves every minute of it!

i know i'm biased, but he's such a cutie!  

and something he's never struggled with is sliding.  he loves it, digs it and does it well.  whether it's head or feet first.  

i'm looking forward to another fun baseball season.....

table scape

so we had some friends over for dinner the other night & took pictures of my table before i forgot and got busy cooking, drinking, entertaining, etc.  i do it every time and i'm happy i remembered this time around.

i used my usual wedding china, citation lace by lenox.  our waterford crystal and my grandparents glasses from spain as water glasses.  

the flatware and the candelabras i inherited from my parents.  i love using them and i do every chance i get.

the silver serving pieces are pieces i'll be selling at the paris flea market sooner or later.  right now i'm having fun playing with them.  

the main reason i had fun with this table scape though is all the little succulents i'll be selling next month at paris flea market.  i've collected a bunch of mismatched sugar bowls and creamers and with a little succulent and some spanish moss, voila! they look adorable.  some are glass some are ceramic and some are silver and i love them grouped together.

as i look at these pictures i realize i took them before i put the napkins out.  i remembered the napkins and something else in the shower (apres photos) and i can't remember what the other thing was already.  clearly not that important anymore.

bon appetite! 

 

sweet valentines

 

 

happy valentine's day!  just wanted to pop in and spread some love.  the amaryllis our friends gave us over the holidays opened up today with perfect timing.

 

 

isn't she a beaut?  you would think i timed it or something, but in reality i was a bit worried i planted her too late.  i didn't get to her until the beginning of january since the packaging it came in was so pretty i just let it sit under our tree through the holidays.  we've been watching her grow and grow and grow and we even joked it would bust through the ceiling like a magic bean stalk... you can't tell from my picture but the stem is REALLY long; i actually staked the stem the other day 'cuz she started to topple over.  worth every little bit of work if you ask me and it was actually very little work with such a pretty reward. i've always wanted to force one of these bulbs since martha stewart is a big fan of them but just never made the effort.  i think it'll be doing it again.

here's a little touch of {loVe} in my home:

 

 

the little altered compact reads: "it is at the edge of a petal that love waits".  i made it a few years back in either a class or challenge or maybe simply from blog hopping inspiration; i can't quite remember.  but she's sweet & comes out to play at this time of year.  it's not a huge decorating holiday but i still like to inject some details throughout the house here and there.

here are a few pretties i made for vintage creations and sold:

 

 

 

 

here are a couple that didn't sell, but doesn't make them any less pretty:

 

 

 

with that i leave you with this sweet gent:

 

 

 

 

football games & flea markets

that was my life last weekend.  saturday was the sebastian bowl as we celebrated his 10th birthday with all his buddies.  here's seb's field of awesomeness:

 

 

it's hard to read in the picture but that's exactly what it says on the field "seb's field of awesomeness" as per the the birthday boy's request.  daddy worked really hard getting the field ready for the big game and we can't forget the end zones:

 

 

 

that's right THE NEW YORK JETS!  the boys played for a few hours and could have played all day & night if we let them.  oh, to have the energy of a ten year old....

 

 

 

 

here's the whole gang:

 

and let's not forget what every football player should eat: pizza & cake.  i love the fact that sebastian wanted a homemade cake, which i'm happy to oblige, and chocolate inside and out was his preference. 

 

 

that was saturday.  sunday of course involved the XLVI super bowl and we' re proud of the ny giants.  but before i sat down to watch the game i made it to the alameda antique faire to hunt for some treasures.  i found some things for myself and i found some things for my business.  of course the main motivation for attending is the business aspect but i think i found more stuff for myself this trip.  i'll share some of my findings as i display them in my home.  speaking of flea markets this was also the weekend for the paris flea market in livermore.  if you're local and you've never been there, i highly recommend it.  it's a unique shopping experience and it only happens once per month on the first weekend (you can view the details on the website).  here's my little space:

Au Revoir!