A Giveaway, A Surprise And a Treasure!

As y'all know I am extremely fond of art nouveau trinket boxes *winks* So I thought I'd share the tiquin' love with a blog giveaway! This little cutie with a sweet rose on top is NOT perfect at all....But it is perfectly charming! It will come with a little somethin' extra inside...but that's a surprise! If you'd like to have it come live with you, just leave me a comment within the next two weeks. You'll get an entry for each comment. And if you are one of my beloved blog followers you get three extra entries! Yes I'm shameless I admit! *winks* So stop by OK? Cause I LOVE to read ya!

You can click to enlarge any pictures if you want to.

Today I heard a little knock knock on the door and when I checked on who it might be? I found a rather large box!

Hmmmmm what could it be? Well let me start by sayin' my dear friend Laura lu from RMS had contacted me about a week ago and told me she had a little something she would like to send me . She said she thought I would really like it..... But she wouldn't give me a single hint as to what it might be! I'm tellin' ya, the girl can keep a secret because Lord knows I tried to get her to SPILL!!

Now for those of you who have seen Laura lu's house on RMS and her brand new blog Hidden Promise HERE you KNOW what fabulous taste she has!! Not to mention that she's a super model *winks* But you'll have to go read her blog to find out all about that lol! Anyhoo when I opened the box, I knew right away it must be from Lu because just look at the card *winks*

Hmmm this thing a ma jiggy sure is well wrapped! I've been unwrapping for a while now! But I can finally see a glimpse of what it might be.........It looks golden....that's always a good thing......And the red area looks like it might just be flowers..... Oooohhhhhh!

Oh my goodness me!! Just look at what she sent!! Isn't it the most darling cherub in the history of the world! *winks* OK I don't expect you to think so.... But it certainly IS to me! I've never had someone I've never even met "GET" me like this! I am feeling sooo blessed to have met such a wonderful generous and downright LOVELY friend!! Right when you think bloggers couldn't get any nicer....The good Lord comes along with yet another wonderful surprise! I am in awe of all the goodness! And Laura lu I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this amazing gift! And the even MORE amazing gift of your friendship! *sob hiccup* I'm so choked up! Oh and I forgot to mention that Laura lu hand painted this cherub! So there's not another one like him in the whole wide world! Just look at that beautiful rose wreath!

And here's a wider view of his new home on top of the cabinet that houses my art nouveau boxes. Doesn't he look just perfect there?!!

And lastly I found this nifty ole wire victorian mansion birdhouse on craigslist! It's a little bit rusty and off kilter, but it's soooo cool! I've been playing around with possible vignettes, but can't quite get it right.....Which is pretty much always the case!Lol! I tried to do something for Easter. What'd ya think? Can you even see it? It has a sweet bird from my dear friend Lynne watching over a nest of baby blue eggs, with a "NEST" plaque....There's even a little birdie chandelier......

Can you see it now? It's not the easiest thing to photograph through all these wires!

Well that's all for today. Hope you'll join me next time! (((HUGS))) -n-*winks* Vanna

Quelle Surprise!!

I've had some wonderful surprises this last week and I'd love to share them!

Starting with the sisterhood award from my dear friend and cyber sister Ann from LIFEATANNSPLACE/

A sweeter kinder more loving person I've yet to meet! So if you haven't visited her blog.....You really should! Thank you so much Ann! This means the world coming from you!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

So my choices for this award go to:

1. Chari at Happy To Design

2.Mary Ellen at megardengal

3.Laura Lu at Hidden Promise

4. Gloria at Happy To Be

5.Linda at royaltouch

6.Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict

7. Michelle at Chocolate and Marmalade Tea

8. Kathysue who doesn't have a blog yet (but should! Lol!) and is another wonderful cyber sister!

9. Chrissy at The Apothacary Shop

10. Marty at A Stroll Thru Life

And then........I came home 3 days ago and found a large parcel on my front porch. It was a very special package from my dear friend Mary Ellen at megardengal.

Ya see I was visiting her blog as I often do, when I spied her new and fabulous header picture! HERE Well my heart skipped a beat while looking at her wonderful vignette featuring the neatest old wire cloche! And she shared with us that she had another if anyone would be interested? As well as a couple of crowns. Well I jumped on that cloche faster than you could say "SOLD!" But alas I was not quite fast enough to claim any of the wonderful crowns *sighs* So I did what any blogger in her WRONG mind would do....I cried "WAAAAHHHHH........I moped.......I begged Mary Ellen to find me another one.......We're talkin' crowns here after all! And anyone who's read my blog for any length of time KNOWZES I LOVEZES THEMS!!! Must HAVEZ THEMS!!!........ NEEDZES THEMS NOW!!

Well Mary Ellen, God bless her heart, found a couple more and sent them to me along with the fabu wire cloche!

So I'd already started to open the box when I realized...Hey!....This is the stuff that blogs are made of!! So I quickly grabbed my trusty camera and snapped away *winks*

This was what greeted my eyes....And what could it be?? I mean, I know I asked for two crowns and a cloche...But this doesn't look like either of those......

you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge em!

And look at how charmingly it's wrapped! In old music pages and gold angel thread!

It's the most darling little picture holder made from a piece of vintage silverplate! And not just ANY silverplate, but a fork belonging to one of Marys dear friends Millicent. Mary made it herself! Mary I love it sooo much! Thank you!

Look at how perfectly it works for this small painting!


Digging back in the box I spied this.....Now I know what this is!

It's my new (old) wire cloche!! So now I can create a vignette just like Marys! Yippee!! Hooray!!
Ummmm how did she do that again?
OK lets see....I need a little birds nest (with bird and eggs).......some old ribbon and lace......A charming 19th century drawing of some sort...... Moss.......A silver tray........Pedestal cake stand.....Yikes! It never dawned on me when I saw her fabulous vignette that I didn't really HAVE any of that stuff!

Well I'll just put that on the back burner for now and move on to the crowns! Yeppers! That's what I'll do! And maybe I'll find some inspiration......somewhere....

Here is crown #1. I did happen to find a birds nest and even a 19th century french Jesus.....But since I used em for the crown I still didn't have anything for the cloche....

Here's crown #2. Very regal dont'cha think? Reminds me of those old Imperial Margarine commercials lol! Remember them? Da da da da!! And a crown pops on their head after taking a bite of YUMMY margarine!Lol!

So's I had to scramble for somethin'...anything! To place under the cloche. I finally gathered a few of my vantines incense burners, another moss ball and a little column stand from the Goodwill and VOILA!......OK it doesn't look remotely as cool as Marys *winks* But after all she's a vignette queen and this stuff just doesn't come easily for me! I'll just have to keep finding inspiration from y'all! After all imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Right?....... Ummmm OK?....... Come on naw????! .......Well I'm gonna COPY Y'ALL AND THAT'S THAT! Lol!!*winks*

So here's my composition all together! The cherub is a recent ebay find. I just love him!

Isn't he just the cutest little gipper?!! Love those chubby little legs!*winks*

And not that you probably want to see another shot of my mess....But for those crazy friends of mine who do...Here's my vignette at a distance hehe!

I also received my very first blog prize!! Some sweet gift tags from even sweeter Crystal over at Olive Rue! If you haven't visited her blog, you MUST!! She's a photographer and takes the most beautiful dreamy romantic shots! Just enchanting! She also sells a variety of these tags if you are interested. Here are a few she selected for me. Aren't they cute?!! Well of course they are!! They have cherubs on em!! *winks*

Thank you so much Crystal! And thanks y'all for stopping by my attempt at vignetting! Lol!! (Yes I know it's not a word! But when has that ever stopped me?!!) *winks*

And last but definitely not least, Mary gave me this small jar filled with her homemade candied lemon peel as a little treat. Yummy-O-Ramma!! I had the hardest time NOT eating all the candied peel before I took the shot! Needless to say, there had been twice as much when I received the little bugger...And now that my shoot is finished, it's GONE BABY GONE!! You can get Marys recipe HERE if you're interested in making some yourself....And please send some more to me!! *winks* Vanna

A Little Shopping Adventure

My hubbs took me out for some Valentines shopping this year. He knows how to make me happy! It's been a little while since I've been able to get oot-n-aboot lol! And I thought I'd share my little adventure with y'all!

I had to start with a stop at one of my favorite sellers in one of my local antique malls. She always has such an interesting way of putting things together. Very textural...and well....ODD.

You can click to enlarge the pics if you want


It's really difficult to see, I know, but there's a little taxidermy bird under the cloche wearing a little gold crown!

My hand reached for it straight away...only to discover that it wasn't for sale! Dont'cha just hate when sellers do that?! And why do I always want (and seem to find) the only items that they DON'T want to sell?!!

Anyhoo doesn't this vignette just draw you in? Makes me want to buy one of everything! Course I feel that way a lot! Lol!


I also loved these stacked platforms, but why oh why are they soooo expensive? At $95 and $115 respectively.


And this display in the same booth makes me long for a simple french lunch of baguettes fresh butter and of course wine! How about you?


Isn't this old stove top interesting? It would make for some interesting yard art me thinks. But at $125 it's a bit pricey.


Y'all know I'm an odd duck. So what better Valentines gift than an ODD DUCK!! And look it's a delusional duck that thinks it's royal!....PERFECT!

He sure is ducky! And busy urn-ing a living! Lol! Hmmmm but again at $136 he's still a bit over budget.......Durn it!


Maybe some cool giant concrete finials would be just the thing? I always love those. And at $32 and $28 I think I'm going to keep them on the short list....


But wait...what do I spy out of the corner of my eye? It's a victorian mirrored firescreen with hand painted flowers. It's $125 BUT there's 20% off. So a cool $100. More tempting for sure! But unfortunately I don't need another firescreen. Maybe I need to start looking for neato small things....yep that's the ticket!


So moving on to the next mall for smalls, I spotted this booth. And looky 15% off. Is your eye drawn to anything here? Can you guess knowing me as well as y'all do *winks* what I might be drawn to?


Did you guess this? I've been so drawn to these wonderful old pincushion ladies lately! And with the discount she's $23.80. She's not too large...... I'm sure I could find room for her at my house....But my cousin D has a really similar one that she paid only $12 for. Do you ever find yourself saying no to something because you know someone else found one for less? So I'm probably gonna regret this but I'm walking away.


Then as I turned I spotted this. Hmmm couldn't this sweet little ladies frenchy style desk be a diamond in the rough?

Can't you see it painted in cream with a luscious toile behind the chicken wire? And at slightly less than $120 with discount I might just have to go back for this little cutie! Maybe my hubby will FINALLY let me paint something! Lol!


Ok so what did I finally take home, you might ask? Or you might be so tired from eyestrain that you don't care....But I'm gonna show you anyway!! *winks*

I took home this interesting little frenchy spelter girl thingy. I have no idea what she was once used for. Do you? Maybe an oil lamp base? Whatever the case may be, she works great as a candleholder or another home for one of my beloved moss balls *winks*


And I couldn't pass these up! Art nouveau bliss! Next week I'll be doing a giveaway for one of these cuties so please come back and see me!


Cherubs turned out to be my theme for the day. I found this sweet cherub compote/tazza at the Goodwill. My friend Chari from Happy To Design here has the most darling candelabra with this same cherub. So I'm thinkin' maybe I can make one too?


And just look at this cute little fella! He's working so hard on sharing good luck! Well I can NEVER have too much of that! So he HAD to come home with me!


I also spotted these pretty Dresden style candlesticks and my heart skipped a beat! They have the most beautiful pale mauvey pink roses! I'm addicted to roses...can you tell? Lol!


I also found two rolls of this cherub wallpaper. It reminds me of my dear friend Gloria/ Happy To Be's stairwell. It's featured in her pink Saturday post for Friday, November 21, 2008 here Isn't it gorgeous?!! And anytime I find anything that Gloria has...I'm doing GOOD!! She has the most fabulous antiques and taste!


I also brought home this victorian ewer. I loved the intricate metal work and time worn patina. Maybe I could send it to Jo-Ann Coletti and have her paint some of her beautiful roses on it? Doesn't she do beautiful work? here


Also at the Goodwill I found these two vintage petticoats as well as the champagne pink roses and queen anns lace. I love soft romantic ruffles!


And I thought this was such a cute find! (Also at the Goodwill) for $1.99! Some vintage embroidery that some talented person made into a pillow.


Even the back is darling!


And here it is in its new home in my shabby chic bedroom.


This old fence piece would make a great door topper. Maybe painted white? It was only $2.


And I found an ugly ole lamp with a very cool marble base (IMHO) I took the lamp apart to use the base as a platform for something special....


Maybe a french candelabra?


Naw.. I think I found the perfect piece! This little cherub compote looks just right!


And when I came home from my shopping adventure I found this little cutie waiting for me on my front porch from ebay.


As well as this darling set of 1920's/30's chalkware figures.


Well I hope you enjoyed my little shopping adventure. I'm very happy with my sweet finds. I couldn't love my Valentines gifts more if I picked em out myself! Hahaha!! *winks* Vanna