Monday, April 4, 2011

New pillows, lamp re-do, and place card settings


Hey, Froggers. I have been extremely busy lately, and not necessarily tied up with things I really want to do. You see, I signed up to be a part of a dinner club that meets monthly. We went to the first one, and let's just say, we didn't have much in common. HubbyDoc and I felt woefully under-traveled, non-retired, and not quite wealthy enough. Don't get me wrong, he and I are quite satisfied with our little lives, but we didn't really get a word in edgewise. We didn't even get a chance to tell everyone that we traveled to Spain 3 years ago to participate in an orchestra, playing in the world premier of Mendelsohnn's Elijah, sung in Spanish, in 4 different cities.Coolness.
Anyhoo, it was our turn to host this month. Boy, did I ever notice the dirt in my house last week. So, I scrubbed the kitchen cabinets until I was too tired to finish them, and then I just spot-wiped them down. You see, I really HATE housework, so I find all kinds of excuses not to do it. A hangnail, the dog's need for attention, a Facebook post, hoards of blogs to read, a cup of coffee to make, and several errands later, the encrusted house still begs for attention. It really makes me wish that my teen daughter will misbehave, so that I could levy a fine of 30 min. of cleaning. At least, my bathroom would get scrubbed. *Sigh*
I really don't know what I'm going to do when she goes off to college. 
So, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and I do have to say that the house looked tres incredible. I'm liking it so much that I'm doing what I should do all along and am actually putting things away after I use them. This is so new to me, that I think I just discovered gold. Just sayin'.
Long story short, here's what the table looked like: 
I was quite smart and picked out my china before I even had any prospects of being engaged. I liked it and I bought some. End of story.
These charming little place card vases were used at our rehearsal dinner, bought by my MIL, who threw quite a swanky affair. Instead of a large centerpiece, I just put these at each place setting with a rose, bells of Ireland, and some simple greens.
I use mix and match crystal, since I don't have enough of any one type for a party of 8.
 I kinda like it.
I like my delicate china. However, after I had about 3 place settings (too late to turn back), I found out it was being discontinued. DRAT! So, if anyone has any extra Lenox Amethyst china you'd like to offload, just LMK. I only have 11 place settings and 13 cups (don't EVEN ask. I have no clue why).
Sunday, I went to the mall to promote my lia sophia jewelry business (April has a GREAT customer special, so you can check it out on my web site www.liasophia.com/tamihowse), but the mall was dead due to the gorgeous day that I was missing outside, so I got only a few bites. Bummer.
I just couldn't STAND it after working all weekend, so I just had to craft. Here's a cutie that I made. The white material matches my bedspread, because Thrifty Tami saw 2 king sized bedspreads, bought both for $12 each at my friend's. You know, Mr. T.J. Maxx. So, I use one for the actual bedspread (novel, I know), and I cut up the other one for pillows. You know the drop cloth curtains (see previous post)? Well, the buttons were covered with coordinating fabrics.

And, here's sort-of a before and after lamp. I didn't take a pic. with the original lampshade circa 1981, but you can see the "lovely" wood and brass combo. I spray painted the metal and painted the wood our accent color. I just love the lampshades. Considering the ones I saw at the lamp store were ordinary and about 70 bucks a piece, I was so happy to score these for only $14.99 each. Not bad, eh?
And. last but certainly not least, here's the pup who was caught unaware with a feather stuck to her nose. She scores gazunga points on the cuteness scale, IMHO.
Thanks for even being remotely interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged housewife.
Fondly, Tami


7 comments:

  1. It all looks so nice , you did a good job. Love the cute dog..lol

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  2. Wow! It made me tired to just read about all that cleaning! Your table looks fab!

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  3. All of your creations are AMAZING and your table setting is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

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  4. I love the table. (Ok, I won't ask.) There is so much to look at and so much you have done but... I have to admit it. The dog with the feather on the nose has you beat with cuteness!

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  5. LOL, Tami -- I sprung upon your blog after your mention on Diecut Designers.com's new forum. CRACKED UP reading your post about your trauma in cleaning; if you read my thread post on the aforementioned forum, you'll see why/how I ended up on the cleaning bandwagon too, unfortunately. GOOD LUCK in getting your teen daughter to clean for you; I'll pray that she does something worthy of the scrub brush penalty. TOTALLY love the pic of the doggie with the feather in his nose. My pooches would be just as oblivious. They're jolly-looking after rolling around in my PaperJungle (craft loft), which hasn't seen a vacuum in about a month. They come downstairs wearing paper snivels and ribbon snips, with a sprinkling of glitter for good luck.

    BEAUTIFUL table! I can't remember the name of the website I used to go to, to find discontinued china. Renovations or something like that??? Been a while -- but your china is LOVELY!!!!!

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  6. Tami, I read in your previous posts that you're in the Northeast. Where? I'm in suburban Philadelphia and always looking for froggers nearby!

    Ellen ♥ CardMonkey
    www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
    E-mail: cardmonkey@comcast.net

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  7. Nice work. Love the blue lamp transformation! Thanks for linking up with DIY under $5!

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