Thursday, September 27, 2007

Hi I'm back, a kitty I loved and will miss,and I jumped on the collage bandwagon! :O)














Hi Everyone, I am back, sorry for the posting lag, soon I will get this blog going better! First I want to thank everyone who has posted such nice compliments and comments to me, I want you all to know how much I appreciate it, I have been able to respond to some of you, but I know I may have missed some, so I want you all to know I appreciate the comment and your visits! :O)


I also haven't visited everyone and all my new friends as much as I want to, so I am sorry for that and want to visit and comment more soon!


Also, Britt from Sparkled Vintage Charm http://sparkledvintagecharm.blogspot.com/ has tagged me, so tomorrow I am going to try to do the tagging post! Thanks Britt! :O) Her blog is lovely and so is she, so go visit!
The first two pics above are my wedding topper from our wedding cake, I wanted to give it a vintage feel. I added some vintage millinery forget me nots ( that I got from Heather Bullard at Present Past Collection http://www.thepresentpast.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_32&zenid=4e325fb9adf141d84190690d579165e0 I am going to post soon about the wonderful experience I had with her and another great shop too!)
I also added a satin ribbon, I would like to find either some vintage ribbon sometime, something a little wider would be better I think, and in the middle of the bow is a vintage rhinestone pin. And on the bodice of her dress I put crystal glitter. The two pink bells on the right side I put to represent wedding bells, they are actually Christmas ornaments, Simply Shabby Chic brand from Target, I got them on ebay in pink and turquoise and I love them! I like the embellishments, I think they spiff it up and make it look a little less modern, and more vintage, plus it has yellowed some, the lace and flowers, over the past almost 14 years. Well, I like it and think it turned out nice.

The third and fourth pics are my cat Sammy who we had to put to sleep in July, he was 17. His kidneys were shutting down and he got real sick, for all of july we were busy taking care of him and cleaning up after him, and then we realized he was getting worse and it was time. I don't feel like going into details of it all, but it was a hard time. I have had a hard time too every since he passed getting myself together, we miss him so much. Thankfully we still have 2 wonderful kitties, one 17, Speedy, and one 16, Pooky, I will post pics of them next time with my tagged post, but when we had the 3 of them they were like the three musketeers (or was it stooges? lol! ) and I had cats in my childhood who I really was close to and loved, but these three cats are the best I have ever had, and being an adult I don't know, they just are so special to me and part of the family, I don't know what I will do when they all are gone, I know we will get more, I always want to have cats, I can't imagine not having at least 2 cats around, but there will never be cats as special as these three. Sammy, you were a sweet amazing kitty, I loved how you would "talk" to us all the time, and I miss you sitting on my lap all the time too, I wish you were here right now I miss you.


On to the others, sorry it's very difficult to talk about, thanks for listening.



Ok, that fifth pic is a new one of me, taken a month ago, I rarely take pics where I don't blink, or my eyes are closed, or I look goofy or sleepy etc, lol, so when I take a half decent pic I am excited haha! Oh, the decorations on the entertainment center have changed too!


The sixth pic is of the collage I made! I have seen so many collages on many blogs, and I think they are all so beautiful and loved the idea, so I wanted to do one of my own. The first attempt didn't turn out like I wanted, so the next day I ripped it all apart, ugh, and started over. I gave a lot of thought and came up with a wedding theme! I thought of the wedding theme because I had just done the wedding topper!


Ok above is a close up of two of the panels, they aren't really squares like other people had done, I just divided it up so the stuff fit into panels, and I didn't get it quite even but oh well! The top is a bouquet of those vintage forget me nots I got, with a little fan of pink crepe paper behind it and some red rick rack tied on. I like the tiny touch of red, it breaks up all the pink and blue and adds a little brightness to it, plus I have touches of red in my decorating with the pink, turquoise, white and green. So It's the bride's bouquet. Above the bouquet is a vintage rhinestone earring, it was a clip earring that I took the back off of, really beautiful. I love vintage jewelry.
The background of the whole collage is pages from a vintage sheet music book I have, it's from the 60's I believe and it's Mozart Sonatas and Fantasies for the Piano. It's a big book, and quite advanced, so I knew I wouldn't be able to play all of these ( I am probably intermediate piano player) so I figured using some pages here and there for artwork wouldn't hurt, and I love Mozart. Plus the pages are yellowed a little bit around the edges and I thought that looked cool. I used the first page of the Sonata in the middle, then the next page I ripped in half and used on either side. The panels are divided by pink rick rack and the bottom has pink crepe paper ruffle trimmed with turquoise ribbon with white polka dots, the same ribbon I used to hang it with.
The blue box under the bouquet is from my MIL, it holds a pale blue and white garter with white vintage forget me nots on it, it was my Mother in laws from her wedding in the 60's that she gave to me, and I cherish it and wore it for my wedding. It says "For the bride, Something borrowed something blue" and as you can see it is from Carlisles in Pittsburgh Pa (where we live). What is cool is my Mother got her wedding dress from Carlisles too. Apparently they were "The" place to go. I thought the box itself was so gorgeous and looked cool on the collage. I only put a few dabs of hot glue on the bottom to hold it on, so the lid still comes off and the garter is inside, and darnit I forgot to take a pic with the lid off and the garter, oh well maybe another time.

The above pic is a wedding favor my MIL gave me from a wedding she went to. I thought it was cute, it only had the blue mints, the bride and groom, and the pale blue tulle and ribbon originally. I added the vintage forget me nots ( they are pink and blue but the flash washed them out ), the tiny pink rick rack bow and the pink and blue crepe paper fans behind it.

Ok these panels above the top one I put a snowflake with silver glitter, it is actually a Christmas ornament, I have a bunch of them, and I just put it there because I wanted something glittery, LOL! :O)
The middle panel is those same Shabby Chic bell ornaments I have on the wedding topper. Again they signify wedding bells.
The bottom panel, the rhinestone frame is actually a photo frame, I have several of these some in pink and turquoise too, so I took the two clear ones and took the brace off the back and glued more vintage forget me nots in pink in it ( Yes I am totally obsessed with those forget me nots! ) and those are like the bridesmaids bouquets! I thought the rhinestones added more bling, and I love bling.


Ok, now this top panel is a pale green satin bow that when I got my vintage flowers from Heather Bullard she wrapped this ribbon around the box, it's just gorgeous and I am sure vintage, and I loved it so much I knew I had to use it on something. I added some more of the tiny pink rick rack (vintage too) and a vintage rhinestone pin in the middle. Yes it's the same as the pin on my wedding topper bow, I had two of them. I think the touch of green does the same as the touch of red and breaks up the pink and blue and compliments those colors as well. It could be the bow for the brides dress or the bridesmaids, or in the hair or whatever you could imagine!

The middle panel is a dove with gold glitter on the edges. It was a part of a vintage Christmas pick (had greenery and stuff) And I used it to signify the Holy Spirit.

The bottom panel is the same as the bottom panel on the right that I talked about above. Another rhinestone frame with vintage forget me nots , the bridesmaids bouquet. I made those two panels the same because I liked to have a little symmetry to the collage, I am funny like that, I like things casual, but I always have to have a tiny touch of symmetry in my decorating.

So that's my vintage wedding collage! I think it turned out ok for my first collage ever! :O)

Well I have a lot to post about in the coming posts. The next post as I said I will do my tag from Britt as soon as possible. I also want to post about two shops (they also have blogs) that I have bought things from, I had a great experience at both and want to recommend them to you. I went to the flea market for the first time last month and again last weekend and HAVE to show you guys all the beautiful goodies I got at such cheap prices! Also my online (and real life, even though we've only talked on the phone) Friend Elaine sent me some VERY beautiful goodies, she goes to thrift stores to find goodies and found some that she thought I would love and sent them to me! She is a sweet thoughtful person, and I need to show you the stuff.
Lastly a lot is going on with me decorating wise, we are going to paint our living and dining room and up the stairs a robin's egg blue, I think it will be gorgeous and I can't wait to do it! The white trim and doors, and all my accesories, afghan, etc will just pop against that color and pull it all together. We got the turquoise and white vintage light up in the dining room, and will be bringing the 50's dining set up soon, and hope to recover it next month. We also are changing all the curtains to white ruffled cafe curtains, and replacing two chair in the living room with vintage 1914 mission chairs with 1948 upholstery, and changing the coffee and end tables too with mission tables, putting the tv on a tv stand for more room,and rearranging all the furniture! Wow! Is that all???!!! It's going to look awesome when we are done I can't wait, I think it will really capture the 40's/50's look with a Shabby Chic touch! It just takes time to buy and do it all but everything will look much better and be the way we really want it to look.

Ok, are you tired yet from reading this long ass post??? LOL! See you soon with I think it is 7 weird things about me! (only 7?? yikes, I could do more! heehee )

Thanks everyone and have a great day!

Erin :O)


PS hey, if you click on the pics they show up bigger so you can see detail!






7 comments:

Lori said...

Erin, What a great post! First off poor Kitty. I hate the thought of what it would be like if mine is gone. She was sick twice pretty bad and my days and nights were horrible. Now I have to tell you that you did an incredible job on the cake topper! And I love the collage! A weding one is indeed the best! I need to do a baby one with all the vintage baby things I have. What did you use for the back of it? I also wonder how I missed the bells at Target. Was it last year you bought them or did you say through ebay? Thanks again for the great ideas, now go give those kitties a hug! P.S. I am on the hunt for some aqua, red and pink fabric to make curtains for my basement! I decided to do the laundry area in those colors! Love, ya, Lori P.S Gosh I want to look so young as you!!!LOL

babette said...

Glad you're back to blogging!
Love your collages, very *Posy*, I would never be able to do anything like that, I'm just not artistic enough.
So sorry about your cat, I lost mine this past spring to kidney failure, not a fun thing to go thru.

Anonymous said...

Erin,

I'm so sorry to hear about Sammy.
It is so difficult to lose a beloved pet.

The wedding cake topper is beautiful!

You did a great job on the collage. I especially like the sheet music, vintage garter box, and rhinestones.

Looks like you are going to be very busy in the coming months with all the new decorating. Keep us posted and take pictures. I can wait to see it all come together!

~elaine~

Britt- Sparkled Vintage Charm said...

love the wedding topper and collage!!! sooo cute!! xo Britt :-)

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry about your Sammy. It's not easy to lose pets and sometimes we have to made hard decisions for them. I hope each day you feel a little better.

Erin D. said...

Thank You everyone for both the condolences about Sammy and the compliments on my collage and topper! I appreciate them all! :O)

And Lori, I used just a flat canvas board, like you paint on for the back of the collage, I just glued the sheet music and stuff on it with hot glue. Yes the bells I got on ebay. Oh, and thanks for saying I look young! lol! :O)

And Babette, I am so sorry you lost your kitty too! :O( Hugs!

Amy said...

Erin,
I love your collage. I can't believe how creative and beautiful it is. Are you sure it is your first attempt?...It looks like you are a pro, for certain!
I am excited to see your new decorating endeavors. I was the original redecorator in my younger years starting with my doll house!!!
I liked reading your list of random things about you.

I also had two kitties that lived more than 14 years. It is hard when they are gone because they are like a family member (on 4 legs!!). I send hugs for you about your poor kitty.

I gave you an award! Go to my blog to see!!!
Amy