Romantic Homes Magazine! Are you kidding me! I don't deserve this

I Got Published in Romantic Homes Magazine and I am having a giveaway of one of the paper dolls.  


I Love Paper dolls!  I remember playing with them for hours as a child lost in my own imagination.  When I came across some paper dolls in an antique store a few years ago I bought them, just because they brought back such fond memories.  I recently stumbled upon them and thought, these make me smile every time I look at them and so the idea was born. 

 Vintage Framed Paper Dolls

Romantic Homes Magazine liked the idea and published it in their September 2010 issue

 In the "Make It"
Section

 Vintage Framed Paper Dolls

This is more exciting than winning the 
Miss America Crown
Not that I ever have!

Or the Golden Globes Award

I've never been nominated

  This was a jump up and down, run around in circles, can't sleep, and bring the Depends experience, one I am not sure I deserved, but will never forget 

My online store

The Polka Dot Closet 

Has many framed paper dolls for sale.

The Polka Dot Closet also has paper doll cards and tags for sale along with paper doll bits and pieces.

I am having a drawing to celebrate with My Followers by giving away a Vintage Framed Paper Doll  

 Baby Taylor is in an antique frame with vintage lace, flowers, and beads and I am including 3 paper doll cards and tags.

The drawing will be on September 1, 2010

To enter the drawing just be a follower of this blog 

(To follow just press the follow button on the side bar)

Leave a comment and say 

Yea! I'm  a new follower

or

Yea! I'm already a follower, that's it!

If you would like to blog about this giveaway

(If you are having a slow blog month LOL!) 

I would like to Thank You buy sending you these gift tags

(Styles may vary)

Just email me HERE with the link to your post, your name, and address (Post anytime before 8/25/10)

I would like to thank Jacqueline, Regan, and Justine at Romantic Homes Magazine for this opportunity.  They were such great people to work with and made this experience memorable and fun!

Happy Crafting

Carol

Where to Buy Crystals for Chandeliers

I love anything with crystals and if you know where to buy them they are really inexpensive and add such an elegant touch. 

I did this post on my $7.49 daybed and had a few people ask about the chandelier.  It was my $20.00 garage sale find, but came without the crystals.  I painted it white added $12.00 in crystals and I have a chandelier for $32.00 

Here is the chandelier above the daybed

Crystals for Christmas ornaments

And Candles sconces

For a little extra romantic touch I have Romantic Adornments hanging on my candle sconce, they are available for 50% off at 

The Polka Dot Closet

Blah, Blah, Blah, OK, so what you really want to know is where I get my crystals!

I get them from Freedom Crystals. 

 I don't work for these people, they don't even know I exist.  I just did a lot of research and these are the best prices I could find for crystals.  I have always received my orders promptly and in perfect condition.  There is no minimum order.

I keep a box of crystals on hand so I can always add that little something special to a project.

Now, lets not tell the world about where to get this great deal on crystals, this is just for my bloggy friends.

Don't pass something up just because it is missing a few crystals

If anyone has somewhere they get a great deal on crystals, we would all love to know!

Happy Crafting! 

Carol

Broken China Mosaic Projects Before and After

I am sure I have a Crafting Attention Deficit Disorder.  I am always jumping from one craft to another.  This week it was all about doing some broken China mosaic projects.

A cute  little step stool

 And a Lucite hand mirror

The step stool was $2.93 find and was painted this great vintage green

It is so hot in Florida, when I bring the camera outside it gets all foggy

I painted it heirloom white

I like to lay most of my china pieces out in a pattern before I use the tile adhesive.

I did a little distressing to get some of the great vintage green paint to peak through.

This is a vintage $2.00 lucite mirror.  There was a mirror on both sides, so one side was begging for a little mosaic.

Broken china and a vintage brooch, I really like the way it turned out!

I am going to put both of them in my antiques booth here in Orlando.

OK, now I have to tell you a funny story.  My Mom called while I was working on the stool.  I told her what I was doing and how cute it was turning out.  Her only comment was "Well won't that tile make it slippery, how are people going to use it? "

You see, all of us crafty, shabby, people see a cute little step stool, and we start thinking about how cute it would be on our patios or in our houses with plants or nick nacks on it.  The rest of the world see's a step stool and worry about slipping off! 

Tell me I am not the only one that jumps from one craft to another!  I have never been able to just sew or scrapbook for day's. 

Carol
I am linking up with Debbiedoos Party


I am linking up with The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursday

I Thought Giveaways Were Rigged

I really did!  I have entered literally 100's of giveaways and never won.  I would read blogs where people would win 2 and 3 Giveaways in a week and people that won week after week.

  Now, I know people would say "I used the random number generator"

For all peeps who host crazy cool giveaways and need to pick a winner... Feel free to use this form to generate a random number! Enter the numbers between which a random number is to be created. Lowest Number:  1  Highest Number: 75                                                                       Result : 31 Or "I had Billie the cat draw the lucky winner" I thought well maybe I'm not  pretty enough, smart enough, or nice enough?   Whatever it was I was not the lucky one! Until last week!  I won 2 giveaway's These were from people I didn't know, just blogs I followed and enjoyed.   So, I was wrong, giveaways are not rigged.   I just needed my Giveaway Karma to change! This lovely assortment of all things roses and beautiful was from Garage Sale Gal  You see those scrabble pieces, I thought, now what does this spell! This lovely altered art frame and picture stand was from Untie the Ribbons oh look, she added flowers, and lace, oh my! My apologize to the bloggies of the world that it even crossed my mind that Giveaways were rigged.......I was wrong!  It's like saying the Lottery is rigged because I never win (I don't), I just realized it is all a game of luck! So, how is your luck? Carol

My $7.49 Day Bed

My $7.49 Thrift store Daybed

When I left the corporate world I no longer needed a full office.  I turned my guest room into a sewing room and my office into the guest room.....are you still with me?

I needed a daybed, but after hunting retail stores I came to the conclusion, that I didn't like anything they had to offer and I was way to thrifty to pay the price.  Thrift store here I come!  I found a twin bed that had matching head and foot boards.  The price was right, $7.49!

I wanted a rounded railing, so I just took out my jigsaw and cut.

I didn't want to repaint the whole bed so I just took the sawed off rail and had the paint matched.

Now the backboard is just an illusion.  It is a piece of covered plywood hanging on the wall.

I took a sheet of plywood and actually laid a dinner plate on it to get the curves.  I stapled on batting and foam, then covered it with fabric.  I added covered buttons to give it some detail and used 3 huge hooks to hang it on the wall.  It makes it really easy to make the bed!

 

I finished it off by making some pillows out of vintage fabric, lace, tablecloths, and some fabric scraps I had laying around.  The fabric for the back board and duvet was purchased at a decorator fabric store that was going out of business.  It is a beautiful damask fabric I purchased for $7.00 a yard.  The skirt at the bottom was $3.00 from a thrift store, It was queen size that I cut down to fit.

These are the pictures above the bed, My Mom and I when we graduated from nursing school (A few years apart) ha!

My Mom and Dad's wedding picture, Dad was 17 and Mom was 21 (Cougar)

And my Mom and Godmother in their nursing uniforms.  These frames were .50 each at a garage sale. with a coat of white paint added.

I love this needlepoint I found and framed.

My daybed is going into service in a week as my son will be staying with me before He moves from Orlando to DC (Something about a girl and Love!)  I'll really miss him, who's going to get my Christmas decorations out of the attic, and lug my bags of mulch?

I can't even get these two slugs off the bed!!   Little help they'll be!

Happy Crafting! 

 Have I thanked you lately or told you how honored I feel when you leave a comment, it is such a sweet thing you all do, Thank You!

I am linking up with Debbie Doos Garage Salen Partay!

Carol