~Pamela Susan~

500th Post Giveaway!

I can't believe it!  After posting my last blog post I noticed it was my 500th one!  500!  Holy cow.  That's a lot of posts, people.  I think that calls for a little celebration, don't you?  And since I haven't hosted a giveaway in such a long time, I've got one all ready for you.  And I'm pretty excited about it.  Each gift has been handmade by me, including the little bag.  But real quick, I want to say thank you so very much for visiting my blog and continuing to follow my little life  adventures and creative journey as I strive to balance life as a mama.  I started this blog October 2008 and it's been wonderful ride.  I so appreciate your support!   

The first gift is a dozen pinwheel cupcake toppers...

So colorful and happy!

The 2nd gift is one of my acorn bookmarks.  I love using these!

And the 3rd... a Knots and Gems necklace!  This gold-filled chain features a Labradorite and Moonstone gem.  Such pretty gems, too.  They both emit such a gorgeous glow.  It was hard getting the right angle to show the iridescent shine of the Labradorite, but take a look at the moonstone.  Purdy purdy!

You can't really see the glow in this picture, but at least you'll know how the necklace is supposed to look on your neck. :)

So, who wants them??

To enter the giveaway, please leave ONE comment on this post telling me what types of jewelry (or specific designs) you'd like to see when I'm ready to open my shop up again.  I've received a few emails in the last little while requesting specific designs, and I'd like to see which other ones you'd like as well!  You can go HERE to view the pieces (and different gifts) I've sold in the past. 

The winner will be announced next Wednesday, June 5th. The giveaway is now closed!  Thanks to those who entered!! :)

(And can I just say I'm so excited for June?!  I can't believe today is the last day of May!  Bring on the summer, will ya?!)

Thanks so much and good luck!!

 

xo,

Pamela

a playroom for my kidlets {fiiiinally!}

For years I've been wanting a playroom for my girls.. for YEARS!  And now we have one!  If you've been following my blog for a while you're sure to recognize many of the pieces in the pictures below.  (And might I add that I think my minimalist husband is pretty happy that I held onto these said pieces even though he wanted me to get rid of many of them over the years. Mother knows best, right?! hehe) 

Here's the entrance to the room...

(peacock print from Jennifer Lommers, an Oregon artist)

I love the fireplace!  The bunting is from my sister's wedding reception. :)

I wanted a colorful place for the girls to play...

and this vintage quilt is the perfect addition!  I initially bought it to hang on the wall but discovered it fit the back of the couch perfectly.  All I did was tuck the edges of the quilt into the creases of the couch.

Isn't it a gorgeous quilt?  I mean, how long did it take the lady who made it to make it?!  I think it's from the 30's.  I'm so happy I found it.

I'm also happy I found this cute hand-embroidered pillow at Camas Antiques in Camas, WA.  $6!  Score.

Our Strawberry Shortcake house is happy in its new spot!

And so are the dolls.  And the kitchen we've had for 6 years!

Yep, we still have the felted cookies!  Going on 4 years. Not too shabby, eh?  :)

These bookshelves were already here when we bought the house.  LOVE.

Our books needed these shelves!

So did the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. :)  (Yes, she is a puppet and stores all the little animals in her tummy.  I found her in Ashland, Oregon about 6 years so.  The girls love her!)

These 'life cycle' creatures were purchased at Michael's.  I'm really happy with their quality.

See the ABC paintings?  My mom made them for me when I was a baby.  Awwww.

A great little toy/game shelf...

You know how we love acorns and squirrels, right?  When I spotted this little oak tree growing in our backyard I dug it up and planted it for our room.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing our little playroom!  Many giggles and smiles are born in this happy room. 

Thanks for taking a look!

xo,

Pamela

 

Where I've been for the past week...

in my backyard!  It's my little piece of of heaven, I tell you. I've got most of the garden planted and I've been pulling weeds like a madwoman.  And much to my pleasant surprise my little eyes spied something exciting back there 2 days ago...

baby grapes! 

Annnnnnd...

baby blueberries!

I love being able to capture them at all the different stages, from the blossoms to the green berries. 

I would've even had a red, ripe strawberry to enjoy by now if it wasn't for the darn slugs.  But believe you me, I've got enough slug killer out there now to kill an army of 'em!  Slimy little suckers.

Now, if only I can muster up some energy to spend some time in my house working on some projects!  I'm very excited about some new fabric I recently got from Hawthorne Threads.  Our new grey couches are just waiting for me to sew up their new pillows...

maybe tomorrow??

Maybe.  We'll see.

 

xo,

Pamela, a gal who is still madly in love with her new house and garden

 

p.s. sorry I didn't get on here to wish all you mamas out there a Happy Mother's Day.  To be completely honest, I was in a bit of a funk on Sunday, but am feeling better now.  But I hope you had a great day celebrating with the ones you love.

A tour of the girls' bedroom--vintage style!

Ready for some more pictures of our new house?  The girls' room is just about done and I've got a slew of pictures for you!  If you've been wanting to decorate your little girl's room with a vintage twist, hopefully this will help give you some inspiration.  And guess what I realized about their room once I began looking around--almost everything was purchased either at an estate or garage sale, or made by me.  (Yes, I love to save a buck!  And in my opinion it's more fun that way!)  So, now that the weather is beginning to warm up, and you're needing some new furniture, check out those sales!  (And envision what that old dresser or bed set might look like with slap of new paint on them!  I tell ya, it does wonders!)

**and I've gotta tell you that there's a big beautiful maple tree in front of the window which unfortuantely casts a green tint in their room--I tried my best to fix it in photoshop, so bear with me! :)

(my Put a Bird on it! painting... so Portland, I know! lol)

(bought this frame for 30 cents and spray painted it, and painted an a for Miss A!  Katie Daisy totally inspired me with this one.  I have another frame ready for a C for little Miss C!)

{$20 desk/chair set from a garage sale}

{$8 American Girl doll table/chair set and $3 tea set (garage sale!)--yes, I was freaking out when I happened upon this find!}

{this live flower adds a special touch to the over all feel}

{the girls' dolls finally have a spot to call their own!  i think the rug (anthropologie) and the print (yes, another Katie Daisy print!) help define this area as their own--gives the corner a small bedroom feel just for them!}

{the print says We Are All Magnificent Creatures} i love it.

{picture frames-- .50 at thrift store, prints (yep, you guessed it--Katie Daisy!) and dresser for $50 at an estate sale. dollhouse--$30 at consignment shop--I love finding all these treasures in such random places!}

{Oh, and i just have to point at the quilts i made a couple years ago because they took HOURS upon HOURS to sew... but worth every second of it!  I still need to make shams for them. twin bunk beds--$40 on craigslist--we painted them, err, or should I say Aaron painted them :)  rug-ikea}

{a happy little hedgehog family lives here}

Such cuties!  We named them the Tiggy-Winkle family, after the Beatrice Potter hedgehog character. )

clothes hamper--consignment shop

mirror--I have a confession to make--yes, Aaron and I made it 7 years ago for Avery when she was a baby, but we totally copied the idea from a mirror we saw in an art gallery while living in Minneapolis... can't take much credit for it.   

And here's the hallway view from the room, with one of our favorite prints to greet them when the girls wake up in the morning...

it's an Owl and the Pussycat vintage print of our favorite poem by Edward Lear.  In my opinion it's a must for everyone to memorize. :)

I hope you've enjoyed the tour and that it'll help give you some inspiration if you have a little girl's room if this is your style!  I'm still on the lookout for a fun light fixture to give it a nice finishing touch (and someday we'll remove those despicable popcorn ceilings!).

 

Thanks for coming by!

xo,

Pamela, a mama who is loving decorating her new home!

Good ol' Mable...

is enjoying her new craft room.  It's nice having her out again... poor thing was getting tired of being couped up in her carrying case day after day.

And can I just say this pile of prettiness makes me happy? 

Perhaps it's this vintage enameled thimble waiting to be used...

Or maybe it's this stash of new fabric from Sew Deerly Loved?

Or maybe I'm just happy because I get to see my husband (who's been gone all week at two different conferences) in 10 minutes!!  He's almost home!  Can't wait to see him, that man of mine. 

 

Happy Friday to all!

 

xo,

Pamela

Oh Timberline, Oh Timberline... Oh How I Love Thee

(Did you sing that title to the song Oh Christmas Tree?  Oh, good.)

Ever visited Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood? I finally did after living in the Pacific Northwest for the last 25 years.  Hot tubbing, scrumptious food, comfy beds, warm fireplaces, and snowboarding provided the perfect getaway for us and our friends.  I already wanna go back.

And can't you tell I'm a pro boarder with my pants like they are?  Thought so.

 

And do you want to see just how easy this sport came to my friend and I?  Be my guest...

 

Can you say biff??

 

Here's Aaron trying to help me stay up.  Tee hee. :)

Luckily for Julie and I, we eventually got the hang of it!  But by the end of the day I was ready to. be. done.  My legs were hatin' me by then, as was my toosh.

   

Unfortunately I left my camera at home, but here's a few snapshots the hubs took on his iphone.

Did I mention the food was scrumptious??

 

Their homemade granola.  Divine.

My first time playing shuffle board.  Sorry for the creepy face.

Yes, I've decided this is the year for me to look Intimidation in the face and smack it away.   Hitting the slopes, coupled with getting off that dang lift, was very intimidating, but was extremely empowering in the end.  Just like sewing dresses from a pattern.  And learning Photoshop (I just finished an online course!). 

So what if I don't do things perfectly the first time?  And who cares if I make a fool of myself while trying to make it down the slopes?  I've realized something about myself--it's very easy for me to continue doing things that are comfortable and effortless and shy away from doing things that are hard to do.  But I can see the good in doing these so-called "hard things".  It's not only empowering, but life renewing.  Does that even make sense?  I'm going to make a list of things I've always wanted to do but haven't yet due to fear of failure or having to put forth extra effort.

What about you?  Would you like to join me?  Let's live a little.  :)

 

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s. I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but all orders shipped last week!  To heck with the two week turn around time--I loved getting them out within the first couple days!  :)

A DIY Mini Easter Basket Place Card Holder

Okay, I'm back.  So much has transpired over the last last couple weeks I don't even know where to begin!  Jewelry orders...that's where I'll start.  All but one have been shipped and I'll finish the last one tonight--I was waiting for some supplies to arrive and they did yesterday, so all is good business-wise.

My hands have been busy doing other things, too--some fun crafts that I think you'll enjoy making!  Things like making gigantic paper hibiscus flowers for a luau, experimenting with handmade fabric pincushions, decorating a trinket box for Miss A's school's fundraiser, and selecting fabric for curtains... all sorts of good stuff.  I'll have to show you pictures next week because today I want to focus on a merry little Easter craft.  A trip to Whole Foods inspired this idea.  While shopping there a couple weeks ago I found the CUTEST little gourmet chocolate bunnies wrapped in clear bags with cute paper tops.  Eight bucks was too much to spend on them so I decided to make my own.  But teeny-tiny size.

To make these, first, go to the store and buy a package of mini Lindt bunnies.

 

Second, remove the foil wrapper (after washing your dirty hands, of course!) and tie a colorful ribbon around its wee little neck.  Plop it in a mini clear bag and decorate the top with scrapbooking paper (I already had a stash of these bags on hand that I purchased long ago--small lollipop bags from Michael's should work, too!)

Place it in a mini Easter basket filled with grass and tiny Easter egg candy.  You can also find flower lip gloss at Michael's like the pink one below.  So pretty.  Don't forget to adhere snazzy fringe to the top of the basket using double-sided tape!

 

Don't like the fringe?  Go ahead and change it.

For the paper flower I implemented the same technique used in making the paper flower balls.  Instead of using a pin for the center I placed a half pearl sticker found in the scrapbooking section. Scalloped scissors provided the pink embellishment on the bottom.  I'm in love with my scalloped scissors.  Use them all the time.

 

Voila... you're done!  You've got yourself the perfect Easter gift for a friend, or perhaps the perfect Place card holder for Easter dinner!!

 

A merry little Easter craft indeed!

 

Happy Weekend!

 

xo,

Pamela

 

p.s. I purchased the mini baskets at Michael's but you can find some at The Dollar Store, too!

p.s.s.  Don't delay--head on over to Sarah's blog ABeachCottage for some beautiful inspiration!!

An Owl and a Cupcake Hat Too Cute for Words

Ahhh, the weekend... I love Fridays.  It has been an eventful, productive, happy week and now I'm going to sit back, kick my feet up and type for a few minutes.

While I do, I want to share with you a necklace design that Beatrice from Etsy Stalker ordered last week. She requested an "I heart Owls" necklace instead of the "I heart Cupcakes".  I loved her idea!  She ordered it for her daughter who is an owl lover who also loves the color green, so I attached a green garnet gem to it.  Here's how it turned out.

Great idea, Beatrice!  I just might have to add that one to the shop.  :)

The orders are going well--I hope to have them all shipped out a couple days before the 2 week turn around time.

And GUESS WHAT?  I received the most adorable gift today from the neatest mom, Andrea, who I've gotten to know through Miss C's ballet class. First I have to highlight the adorable packaging--she decorated a green chinese takeout box by modge-podging it with cutout scrapbook paper.  How creative is that?  Very.  

And it gets even better.  Look at what was inside the box... a handknit cupcake hat for Miss J that Andrea made herself!  I can't get over how cute it is!

And look at the sprinkles!  Cute, cute, cute.

Andrea and I thought it would be fun to put a cherry on top so I needle-felted one.  By the time I sewed it on the hat, Miss J was napping so Miss C became the new model.

(To my friend Jennifer--you need to get a hat like this!!  It would be perfect for you!)

 

Thank you, Andrea!!

 

Well, that's it for tonight!  Have an enjoyable weekend!!

 

xo,

Pamela

A Home for Two Vintage Chairs

Okay, are you getting the hang of the furniture game yet?  Are you ready to give me another guess?  Alright, here we go.  Avey scored a pair of vintage chairs at a garage sale, and I was the lucky recipient of them.  As soon as I saw them I fell in love!  They were unique, fun, and just what I needed for my living room.  Unfortunately, the previous owner's dog had made the habit of sitting on them one too many times and dirtied them up, so I had them reupholstered.  No, I didn't want to tackle that project on my own so a nice local man did it.  (Thanks, Dan!)  

Here is a picture of one BEFORE its fabric treatment...

And AFTER...

I choose a timeless neutral color (though I loved the old one, too!).  If I want to switch up the look I'll just change the pillow(s).

I love the pillows on the red couch--I think they help tie in the rest of the colors in the room.

Okay, how much do you think Avey payed for the chairs??

Whoever guesses first will win either the "Birdsong" necklace (a $32 value) OR...

a set of Songbird magnets!  (a $24 value)  It's your choice!

The winner will be announced Friday, September 24th.  (I'm open to shipping international, too!)

 

Good luck!

xo,

Pamela, a gal who loves a good vintage find

Twenty Buckeroos

Thanks for all your guesses, everyone!  Let's give a big congrats to Marisa, who was the first one to guess correctly!  She guessed 20 bucks and that's exactly what I paid for this dresser.  Actually, it came with a really cool mirror, too, which I think will end up in my bedroom--I'll show pictures when it's painted.  I love a good deal!

So, do you want to know what the dresser looked like before it was painted?  Here it is, with some of the drawers already pulled out...

Not so pretty in my opinion.

Do you have a piece of furniture you want to paint?  I'm sure there are a gazallion ways to do it but this is how I did it.  It's real easy.  This is what you do:

1.  Grab a friend to help you if you really want to crank it out--Avey helped me and we had a grand ol' time!

2.  Remove the hardware

3. Lightly sand the piece of furniture

4.  Wipe it down to remove the sanded particles (we took a leaf blower and blew the dickens out of the dresser--it helped a lot!  I then used tack cloth to remove the finer particles.

5.  Prime, prime, prime.  We used Kilz Primer spray paint--this stuff is awesome!  It covers the wood so incredibly well.  At first I used Krylon primer and it is WEAK compared to Kilz--we had to spray over the same area at least five times to get somewhat decent coverage.  At this point I should also add that I chose to use spray paint because I've been told by various sources that it is much faster/easier than regular paint... I agree.  :)

Kilz leaves a slightly bumpy texture so after it dried, I LIGHTLY sanded it using very fine grit sandpaper until it was smooth--this does not take much effort, so be careful not to remove the primer to the point that the wood shows through.

6.  Spray paint away--be careful not to get too close to the wood!  I used Krylon satin ivory spray paint.  I ended up using about 4 cans for this project.

 

I then used Ralph Lauren Aging Glaze to give it a slightly distressed look--I wiped most of it off with an old washcloth.

I also painted the hardware since I'm not a fan of the brass color, so it went from this...

to this...

Thank goodness for Rust-Oleum Hammered Spray Paint!

In my opinion an old outdated dresser is the perfect project for this.  I love mine. :)

So, once again, here's the BEFORE picture:

And here's the AFTER:

Fun stuff.

Oh, and here is a BEFORE picture of the side table(s)...

And the AFTER:

I like this Guess-how-much-I-payed-for-this-piece-of-furniture-and-you-could-win-a-pair-of-earrings game.  Do you?  How about we do it again on Wednesday!!

 

xo,

Pamela, a gal who's grateful for paint