On Crooked Creek: Thrifty Finds

Showing posts with label Thrifty Finds. Show all posts

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Coloring My World. . .

While I adore visiting all the white decor

in the Land of Blog. . .
and the booths at the Antique Mall. . .

Photo: Gathering inspiration to change up my booth from Pinterest...

On Crooked Creek. . . I am coloring my world!

Two years in a row,
on our side of the Prairie, we've been ridden with drought.
I am so~o~o ready for Spring to return
and bring with it all the varying hues of green!!!

So~o~o. . .
while Mother Nature
prepares the color palette outside my patio doors,
I began to bring the green palette
to the built~in buffet and china cabinet indoors!

* * * * * * * * Tutorial * * * * * * * *

My all~time favorite cabbage leaf dinner plate
from Bordallo Pinheiro begins as a backdrop for the upper shelf!

Placed in the center and on an easel for greater impact,
a newly purchased grape leaf and vine
intricately detailed serving plate.

Completing the background for the upper shelf.
another newly purchased serving platter.
I adore how the detailing resembles a Celtic design!

Placed slightly in front of the Bordallo Pinheiro dinner plate
is yet, another newly purchased grape leaf plate edged in brown.

The intricate detailing is magnificent in this plate!
The blossoms have to be my favorite feature!!!

The final accessory,
a wrought iron reticulated petite plate stand. . .

holding Green Leaf Majolica dessert plates.

Moving to the other side of the upper shelf,

I chose my Majolica Tea Set!

From the basket weave background,

to the brown vine handle,

to the blue berries and green leaves,

this is one of the most interesting tea pots of my collection!

Creamer and sugar of this charming tea set

have all the same unique characteristics!!!

Notice how the green leaves of the Tea Set

mimic those on the newly acquired grape leaf serving platter???

The middle shelf of this cabinet is always my greatest challenge!!!

It's height is barely 8 inches!!!

So~o~o. . .

I lined up my 4 Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage dessert / salad palates

across the back of the cabinet.

Then, I added a few of our wine glasses

collected from our European travels.

Along with my newly purchased vintage juice glasses

with gently ribbed body and soft green rims.

After a huge ^sigh^ of relief,

the bottom shelf came together in no time at all!

Beginning with my 11 1/2" X 8 1/2" green majolica

serving platters filled the space quite nicely!

Next, I added two Franciscan 8 1/2" green leaf plates.

The addition of vintage green swirl pattern

depression dessert bowls and plates

brighten and lighten the shelf area.

A touch of whimsy is inserted into this shelf

with a $1 thrifty vacation find lidded asparagus jar.

To the other side, I placed my cabbage tureen

combined with another $1 vacation find.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Coloring my world On Crooked Creek

with all the glorious hues of green. . .

all the while, Mother Nature

was painting the view outside my patio doors

with a magnificent hue of. . .

Palm Sunday On Crooked Creek . . .
March 2013!

white!

Until next time. . .

On Crooked Creek will be joining

www.astrollthrulife.net

Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life

for Table Top Tuesday!

And. . .

www.stonegable.blogspot.com

Yvonne @ StoneGable

for Tutorials Tips and Tidbits!

Be sure to visit

for you’ll come away

filled with amazing inspirations

for use in your own home décor!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Little Red Desk. . .

As some of you are aware,
I recently owned and operated a
Handmade Cards with a Vintage Flair business.

However, with "Mr. Ed's" retirement,
he decided he didn't want to be "home alone".
So~o~o, our decision was for me
to retire early and spend my days with "the love of my life".

For the most part. . .it has been a "Good Thing"!

To better display my handmade cards,
I made a few distinctive purchases to hold my card racks.

This vintage little red desk,
purchased locally @ Roadhouse Antiques,
was perfect for my revolving card racks!
The drawer held custom order forms
along with my merchandise gift bags and tags!

The youth~size Windsor Chair was a s t e a l of a deal!
A $5 Garage $ale find during our City ~Wide Garage $ale$!

We now use this little red desk
in our Lower Level Family Room. . .as its intended use. . .a desk!

The deer shed lamp was designed and created
by our son while he was attending college!
He is now a designing engineer
with Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita.

No longer used for displaying handmade cards,
the vignette depicts "Mr. Ed's" love of Trout Fishing!

The framed photo is of our first Christmas On Crooked Creek!

The little red desk
is one of those distinctive purchases that will remain
with "Mr. Ed" and I On Crooked Creek!

Until next time. . .

On Crooked Creek will be joining

www.astrollthrulife.net

Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for

Table Top Tuesday!

Be sure to visit

for you’ll come away

filled with amazing inspirations

for use in your own home décor!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Gray Trayscape. . .

While waiting for "Mr. Ed"
to install the new vintage wrought iron brackets
to the refurbished wall shelf in Studio One. . .
I created a gray tablescape!

In the fall of 2012,
"Mr. Ed" made a large quantity of wooden boxes
for our Bits 'n Pieces booth. Most of the boxes
were unfinished, except this one which he painted gray.

I absolutely fell in l o v e
with its shabby chic personality!!!
I was elated when it didn't $ell!!!

Re~organizing a cabinet in Studio One,
I found these wooden drawer knobs. . .
and decided they would add needed elevation to the box.

Once painted, "Mr. Ed" attached the knobs
with short screws to the bottom of the box.

On Crooked Creek,
in Studio One. . .a tray was born!!!

The monogram aqua linen tea towel
is the perfect accessory to transform this
from box to tray with elegance!
Amazingly, the creamy ivory hand crocheted doily
is trimmed with the exact same hue!
Both were recent local purchases from
Roadhouse Antiques!!!

Every day On Crooked Creek,
I enjoy afternoon tea.
So~o~o. . .
having a tray for tea in Studio One is a splendid idea!

A $3.00 garage $ale find,
this tiny teapot is the perfect size for Tea for One. . .
or Tea for two, should "Mr. Ed" decide to join me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tip * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To give the tea pot a greater presence in the tray,
I added a restaurant saucer. . .

turned upside down for a riser!

Simply by elevating, the tea pot has a more stately appearance!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

One of the sparsest sets of my growing collections,
I brought down two dessert / salad plates.

I adore the complimentary hues beginning in this trayscape!

At the present time,
I have one bread and butter plate.

Two matching saucers are added to the stack.**

Sadly, dear ones. . .
two saucers, but alas, no tea cups!!!

What is one to do without a proper tea cup for tea?

A~ha!
~~Steal~~ Er~r, borrow one from the guest room tray!!!

A vintage proper English tea cup from my heirloom collection!

"Mr. Ed" prefers to have his tea in a coffee mug.
For now, the one cup will suffice.

This intricate candelabra was purchased
while on vacation last Autumn for $5.00!!!

It appears to be silver,
but it is e x t r e m e l y heavy!

The delicate embroidery on the cocktail napkins
mimics the shape in the hand crocheted doily.

Ah~h~h. . .
so~o~o romantic is this gray trayscape in Studio One!

A serene, tranquil space for an afternoon break
in Studio One,
whether it's Tea for One. . .or Tea for Two!

Until next time. . .

** FYI **
Dear Ones,
Blogging Ladies have the kindest hearts in the entire
networking of our technological society!!!

You see, those precious Aqua and Creamy Ivory saucers
have quite an interesting story that I'd love to share with you. . .
Indulge me, please?

Only in the Land of Blog
could something this miraculous happen!!!

January 11, 2011. . . I posted Haste Makes Waste about a mistake I had made in setting the table.
Little did I know the turn of events this post
would take in the Land of Blog!!!

Many of you may know my dear Blogging Friend, Dotsie
and her Blog titled Podso. . .
she is the marveling reason I have two saucers!!!

Dotsie...through a friend, of a friend, of a friend's mother
was gifted with one of the above saucers. Seems the friend
somehow, through a comment or a link stumbled upon my
Haste Makes Waste post and sent a saucer to Dotsie!

Dotsie, after going back through the comments,
found two blog post that same week featuring my dishes.
She then e~mailed me for my address with the story
of the saucers complete entangling details
and later mailed them to me here On Crooked Creek!

Thank you, dear Dotsie, for taking the time
to track down the blog and for sending me the
Gold Crown saucers from Alliance, Ohio
to enhance my collection!!!
* *

. . . And, thank you, dear ones for indulging in my
explanation of why I have two saucers!!!
Oh,. . .and yes. . .I'm always on the hunt
for more pieces to extend my collection of
both my Homer Laughlin and the Gold Crown sets!!!