BEAUTIFUL THINGS AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

Beautiful Things 
and Beautiful People

I love beautiful things, especially vintage beautiful things.  I recently found the most lovely vintage 14K and seed pearl crown brooch.  I took some photos of it today and I wanted to share them. 

My beautiful brooch
sitting on an early 1900's  Limoges Cuspidor.

Thank you sweetheart!

Here are my vintage bunnies holding my new brooch. 

And here is a close up. 

I have several pieces of tiara and/or crown jewelry.  In fact I have a Princess Dianna Franklin Mint Set with a ring and earrings.  They will go perfect with my new brooch. 

Here is my ring.
This was also a gift from my lovely husband. 

AND
Beautiful People

Mary

Sometimes in life you meet someone and for whatever reason you just click.  Somehow they "get you" and you "get them".  They like the same things you like and they make you laugh and smile.  They champion you and say the most wonderful things to you.  They can see beauty in you and you see the beauty in them.  

My friend Mary has been one of those beautiful people in my life.  We have known each other for a short time but in that time we shared so many laughs and smiles.  She always compliments me and makes me feel so fabulous!  She is good and kind and loving and has such a zest for life.   She is a treasure and such a beautiful person. 

Well my friend is moving far away and I will miss her so much.  We liked to have lunch together during the week and I am so going to miss our lunch dates.  So last night I had a small dinner party for my friend Mary and her hubby Carlos.  

Here is my chalkboard sign!

  We had roast with veggies and au jus.  We also had croissants with honey butter and some other fresh veggies.  For desert we had pound cake with strawberries, vanilla ice cream and covered in white chocolate ganache.  Everything turned out really well and with only a couple of tiny mishaps before they arrived, we had a great time. 

Mary made me feel so good, as she always does, complimenting me on my decor and my craftsmanship.  She paid me the highest compliment when she told me that one day when they have their bed and breakfast, she wants me to decorate it.  Mary always makes me feel good and I am so glad I shared my home with her this week.  We had a  lovely time. 

I am sad because I will miss my friend but I am thankful to have found her and for the time we did have together. Mary I wish you much happiness in your travels and that you and your Carlos enjoy your time abroad. Till we meet again my friend.  You are truly one of the "beautiful people".

Love you, Beverly 

Sharing my home with my friend Mary made me think about sharing some photos here on my blog. 

My very own beautiful spaces!
(at least I think they are)

Living Room and Dining

Sitting area with vintage fireplace mantle

Blue and white striped chaise

Dining Area with vintage table, chairs and china cabinet. 

All these pieces were hand painted by me. 

Family Room

Walls were designed and hand painted by me. 
This is just one little area of our family room.

Now out into the Garden.  Okay maybe not a garden but our little piece of land here in Texas. 

Fence Finished
It's a beautiful thing!

I am delighted to report that we have finally finished our fence repairs.  It took some doing and a bit of learning along the way but it is done and looks quite nice, if I do say so myself.  I love that we were able to repair it and reuse the wood so that we did not have to buy new wood.  We wanted to reuse the wood to save money but also to be green.  I just could not see throwing all that wood away when it can be reused.  I love to recycle and reuse old things when I can.  It is after all Earth friendly and it makes me feel good about the things I own and use.  

And here is is all finished.....

This is a panoramic photo of our fence

Here is a section taken with good light.

And here is a section of the length of the fence. 

We are very proud of our hard work considering we started with this. 

And this...

Again I want to thank my son for his hard work in seeing this project through and doing such a fabulous job.

So this week, here's to beautiful people 
and beautiful things.  
May everyday of your life be filled with both.

I spotted something beautiful.....

Have a beautiful day, 
Beverly
Tea Cottage Pretties

HANDBAGS, PURSES, POCKETBOOKS, OH MY!

Handbags, Purses, Pocketbooks, Oh My!

Whatever you call them, I so enjoy making them.  In fact, I think it is raining purses here at Tea Cottage Pretties.  A couple of weeks ago my sister came for a short visit.  She asked me to make a purse for her friend just like the one I had made for her for Christmas.  I had made her one of my collage purses and she so loved it and so did her friends.  One special friend of hers really loved it.  This is a lady that does not have much and struggles to get by and my sister wanted her to have something nice.  So I told her I would be happy to do that for her.  The collage purses are my most time consuming and costly purses so I am working on it but while working on that one, I started making all the other purses that I have not been able to get to.  

Here is a picture of the purse I made for my sister

 and the one I am making for her friend will be just like this one. It has the "Lord's Prayer" on it and her name.  

And here are the ones I made while working on this special one for my sister's friend. 

As you can see I made a Girly Girl Pink Paris Purse, a Shabby Chic Fabric Purse with Pearls and Lace and a really sweet Navy Blue with White Polka Dot Purse with a Bumble Bee and Flower Buttons.  The navy purse is very special to me.  I made it using my little June Bug's dress from when she was very small.  It was one of my favorite dresses and I wanted to keep it around for many years to come.  By making a purse out of it, I can do just that.  I can't help but smile (REALLY BIG) every time I look at it.  

Here is my beautiful June Bug's Dress Navy Purse

Next is my Girly Girl Paris Purse

Now I did a little something different with the inside pocket of this purse.  I have these really cute zippers and I have been dying to use one.  So this was my chance to use a pretty pink one.  You see what I did there?

And last but not least - Shabby Chic Fabric with Pearls and Lace.  

This purse is soooooo me.

I did something a little different with this one. 

 I added craft plastic inside to give it shape and make it firm.

Although I am happy with how it turned out I kind of like my purses a little floppy.

This next photo was taken in the best light. You can see the color better in this one. 

I added a bow and pearl and rhinestone button to the front of it. 

I think this purse will look great with my lace hat you see in the picture. 

I HEART HATS!!!

I added pretty crochet lace to this one. 

After making all my new purses I was in need of a place to store them all along with all their adornments.  So I cleaned out a vintage suitcase that I got a thrift shops a few years ago and I stored them inside. 

Here is my suitcase. 

Inside are my purses.

Isn't it perfect!   

So not only did I manage to make some pretty purses this week but I also manage to work on our fence.  Our fence was very damaged in a wind storm a couple months ago.  Although the fence is ten years old and was in need of repair anyway.  Luckily only one side needed some TLC.  My son Chris has been working on it with my help and we are slowly getting there.  The problem is we have to dig out the old cement stumps and then get them out of the ground.  Well I say we but he is doing that part all by himself.  It is way to much for me to do but I can help with all the other work.  

Being a reuse, recycle person, I could not see replacing the fence so I decided to replace the post and top and bottom boards plus any other boards that just could not be reused.  Here is a picture of what our fence looked like before. 

Here is a section after it has been given just enough TLC.

And here is a view of our fence showing both a repaired section and one section that has not been repaired.  You can see how the fence is falling down. 

Big difference isn't it?  The best thing is I did not throw away all that wood.  
Love a tree - RECYCLE AND REUSE!!!!!

A special thank you to my son Chris for working so hard on this for me. 
It could not happen without his hard work. 

Okay now back to the Girly stuff.  I found some makeup awhile back that I really love.  So I had something to return to the store today and they gave me a gift card.  You know how it is when you have lost your receipt.  Well that was okay with me.  I headed straight to that makeup I love and I finally got myself a few things.  I got a kit, blush and lipstick.  

"CRUELTY FREE MAKEUP"

My lipstick is called "Marshmallow Bunny"!!! How sweet is that?  The blush is a perfect pink that I have been looking for everywhere and I finally found it.  It is called "Sweet Pink".  Then I got the "Glamour To Go" that has everything a girl needs all in one beautiful case that fits in your purse.  
YAY me, Score!!!!

The best part is that Too Faced does not use any animals to make their products nor do they do testing on animals.  I try very hard to make sure I do not use any makeup that has animal bi-products in it. 

Oh and I found the little canvas bag with a crown on it at Michael's Craft Store. It was only $2.00 and oh so cute.  I think I may stamp my name on it and glam it up a little but what an awesome find!

This past weekend my girls and I went to the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  We are working on our "Bucket List"  of things we want to do or do again before we leave Texas.  I took some photos while we where there and one of them I wanted to share.  It came out so beautiful and I love the small beautiful things in life.  You know, those magnificent things that others may pass by and never give a second thought to.  This photo speaks to me of beauty and grace and all things wonderful. 



This photo has not been edited in any way.
 It came out lovely all on it's on. 
I now know that this is a Trumpet Vine.
Thank you Doni!!!!

And here I am standing next to the River. 
Wearing lace of course....

I am so very thankful that I have been feeling well lately.  I love doing things with my girls and crafting and getting caught up on all the things I get behind on. 

I saw a  commercial the other day and it was about living a "maybe life".  It hit home with me because I often feel that I live a maybe life.  I can not commit to anything that requires that I be somewhere at a certain time, on a certain date.  I never know how I will feel when the time comes.  I have to live a more spontaneous life.  I do things when I can and this week I have been very blessed.  I took my girls out several times and I manage to get out and do some fun things.  I also manage to get some crafting and sewing in and clean my house up.  I even worked in the yard with my son on the fence.  All in all, it has been a great week!  
I am happy and blessed.  

See you soon, 
Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties

RESTING, NO MAKE THAT NESTING AND PARIS BURLAP FABRIC

Resting, No Make That Nesting

and

Paris Burlap Fabric

So this week I was supposed to rest, at least that is what I told myself.  Well as it turned out I didn't rest but I did something that is therapeutic for me anyway, nesting.......

Remember all that printed burlap fabric I bought?  Well I decided that I wanted to cover my kitchen chairs with it and so my son and I went to work on them.  I have covered my chairs before and it takes me forever but this time my son helped me and it went so fast.  Thank you Chris for helping me and I so enjoyed our time together.  

Look what we did together!!

Here is a close up of the fabric

And here is what they looked like before we covered them.  They were dirty and in need of some TLC. 

This was such a fun project and the results were so rewarding.  It is something that you can do in a day. 

Next I so want to make myself a Paris Burlap Wreath!

Gotta search the Interwebs for a DIY Tutorial on it.

So loving the chairs and needing a few things to tie everything together I decided to do a few little things in our family room.  Our family room and kitchen are open concept, so it is really one very large room and they kind of need to match. 

I had ordered some of the most fabulous hand stamped Paris ribbon from someone on Etsy (I heart Etsy).  I had some vintage crystal lamps from the 50's.  They even have the vintage lamp stickers on them and I don't have the heart to remove them.  So I decided to decorate the lamp shades using my news ribbon. I search through my goodies and I found all these lovely things.

I have two of these lampshades

First I cleaned them up and then I added crochet lace trim and a sweet flower

Then I added sweet little bows and rhinestone button crowns. 

Last, I added tiny white pearls on stick pins and here is the final result complete with vintage crystal lamp. 

Then I made myself a pretty pin board that matches my Paris theme.  

Oh and the crystal lamps were a thrift store find and I paid $2.50 a piece for them.  You never know what treasures you will find in a thrift store.  These days I do not thrift much because I already have way to much stuff and my health but I totally recommend it!!

I am not sure what got into me this week

 but as you can see I was nesting instead of resting. 

 I so love nesting.  

Until next time,

happy nesting!!!

Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties

SPRING HAS ARRIVED

Spring Has Arrived!

This week has seen the arrival of Spring here in Texas.  Ah but it will be short lived as Summer will come very fast and the temperatures will climb.  I try to enjoy our little taste of Spring while it last.  Yet, this week I have been super busy trying to get mom ready for her trip to go live with my sister Patti.  

 I have been sewing and packing up all my mom's things to get her ready for her trip.  Mom is very short (4'10" to be exact) and she had tons of nice new pants that needed hemming so that she could wear them. Now she can wear her pretty clothes and she even picked an outfit out to wear on her trip.  I have mixed emotions about mom leaving but with my fibromyalgia acting up I am just not able to take care of her right now.  This has been hard for me and seeing her go is even harder but I have to accept my limitations at this time and do the best I can do.  Mom needs more care than I am physically able to give her but I will be and always have been very supportive of mom. 

While I was doing all that sewing I managed to sew a purse that I had been wanting to finish.  It is made from a printed burlap material.  It features things from France to include the Eiffel Tower and all sorts of neat images.  I found the fabric at Hobby Lobby and I fell in love with it, I bought 4 yards!  The purse turned out really cute.  It is made exactly like the others I have made in the past except I made it 3" larger and used a larger handle.  

As usual I added all sorts of ribbon and sparkly dangles to give it that extra special girly girl touch.  I have used it once and I got quite a few compliments on it.  Now what to do with all that fabric I have left?  

Oh and I was so excited this week when I found the best bargain of the year for me.  I saw a faux fur jacket before Christmas and it was $160.00.  Now I would never pay that much for a jacket and certainly not a faux fur jacket.  I tried it on and it was so adorable and it looked good on me.  The jacket was a shorter jacket with almost a swing jacket style to it.  Well I placed it back on the rack and went on with my life.  Then last week while playing around on the interwebs (that's what I call the Internet) I came across a jacket that was almost exactly the same. The cool part was they had it in my size and it was $10.00.  That's right $10.00 marked down from $100.00, so 90% off.  I ordered it and the shipping was only $5.00, so for $15.00 I got my jacket and here it is!!!

Now I will of course have to wait till next winter to wear it but I don't mind.  It will be like having a new jacket when the time comes and a pretty one at that!!!

Also, I have been in need of a jewelry box and not just a little box like you can buy at stores but something BIG to hold all my bracelets, headbands, necklaces and more.  So I was looking around my house and trying to figure out what would work that could hold a lot of jewelry and girly stuff and I think I have found my solution.  Here is my vintage nightstand that is soon to be my jewelry box, hopefully.  Stay tuned to see it in the near future. 

See it is even dreaming of being a jewelry box!!

Among my many blessings this week I walked outside on Monday and I was greeted by these beauties!  Yes, Spring has arrived!

My red rose bushes are blooming!

Welcome Spring! 

I had a few folks ask me about my Omega 3 fish oil from a previous blog post, so here is a picture of what I am using. It has really helped me a lot and the best part is there is no fishy taste!!!

So you see I have been very busy this past week.  I plan on resting and recuperating all of next week.  I need some down time to heal and take care of myself.  Until we meet again, have a lovely day. 

Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties