A Southern Belle with Northern Roots/Junkflirt

There once was a princess who fell in love with vintage. She wanted to be surrounded by chippy, rusty treasures for they pleased her so. Her prince of 25 years did not see the vision but was adapting, he drug his heals at the thought of change but allowed his princes to furnish their castle with oil cans, fence pieces, old windows, and tool boxes.






But the prince would have no part in painted furniture, no! He fought hard, even said he HATED painted furniture. Alas the princess begged but to no avail. She gave up and quenched her need with visions of Pinterest instead. Dreaming .......

The prince had an obligation, one which required much of his time, it was a bit of an inconvenience when
the princess wanted a project done or requested the presence of guests, for the prince had to devote much of his evening time to his own quest. So the princes asked ever so nicely, many times for the prince to set aside his obligation.  He did not. In fact he recommitted.  Now it is indeed a noble thing but still this made the princess very angry. So angry she told the prince just what she thought! And she gave him the evil eye.


She did not speak to him for a time (3 hours!), but then felt guilty and invited the prince to go to some garage sales with her. They did and things went back to normal,  however deep inside the sweet princess was still slightly miffed so the next day to soothe her wearied soul, she pulled out her Romantic Home magazine and came across a photo of a painted dining room set.


She walked into the vintage kitchen of the castle where the prince was foraging for food and showed him the photo, saying "this is what I would like to do, doesn't it look nice, see they even left the top in wood."
To which the prince replied, "Go ahead then."




The princess smiled.  It really does go much better with the decor.







And if the prince should cross the sweet princess again, she can always paint the top of the table royal purple in protest.







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Like the vintage bowl above, unusual planters part one featured planting in mailboxes, toolboxes and big bowls, things you don't normally associate with gardening, yet you can still get maximum impact by using everyday items. Setting a pot in an established bed will give a burst of annual color while waiting for later blooms like the coming gladiolas.



A pot on a chair nestled inside blooms is the perfect place for a fairy garden.


Use what you collect and love, enamel ware is one of my favorite things, I use it both outside and inside, above the tea kettle waits to be draped in creeping Jenny while Mother's day roses burst in a red and white pot in the kitchen.






More cut flowers in enamel ware and lavender growing in an old coffee pot.






Display plants in groups for a maximum effect, here you get a vintage feel from the tea kettles,wash tub and wash board on the wall;  the grouping also highlights the green foliage against white curtains and galvanized metal.


Other touches- bring the outside in and if it is a favorite patina who says you even have to plant in it? Terra Cotta "rust" is the perfect perch for two little birdies, never underestimate the look and feel an empty pot will add in the right place.





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I love Terra Cotta planters, I have several of them, I love the uniform look of them as well as the way they age. Nothing is more appealing than a burst of color coming from the natural patina of Terra Cotta, except maybe a burst of the unusual in the garden or home.  I came across what I believe is a commercial size mixing bowl, because I am drawn to large things and anything galvanized I grabbed it. A perfect planter set on a metal stand is just enough whimsy for anyone.




Mailboxes with petunias and vinca make for a sweet greet next to the door.




Old toolboxes, a particular love of mine are perfect on stairs, on the railing or as a window box.







How about a portable herb garden that can be transported indoors when cold weather hits.





Like it? Have no "use" for it? Plant in it!


See Part 2 HERE

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 Last week with company we hit a good bit of garage sales, one of the best and worst things is now finding places for everything. It is fun to rearrange and come up with a new look but then......the aftermath, finding what to do with the extra. Without a garage and living in a double wide mobile home with little extra storage I have  decided I simply must cull a bit. That or open an Etsy!



 For now simple things like vintage flower frogs and spectacles will easily fit into the desk top vignette.



And everyone that loves vintage flea market style decorating simply must have a file card cabinet...right? Only $10

 I mean how can you resist such a find!   In the photo above- minus the cookbooks -every item came from a garage sale or was given to me by a friend., even the hutch to the right is a sale find we refinished. I always tell people that I would guess 75% of my decor falls under sale finds, hand me downs and curbside rescue. One of these days I am going to do a play by play room by room breakdown of that and see if it holds true.






So this weekend my husband and I set off to a few sales after company left. Friday was 95 degrees and Saturday afternoon was 55 with rain and wind, keeping it interesting here in ND.
 He was thrilled to come upon a reloading press and some gun powder! He visited with the man of the sale and they negotiated a price for the lot. Since he has a press this will be a gift to our future son in law for his birthday, which happens to be my birthday too! July 2, in case you were wondering. yes I love gifts.....just saying

I was thrilled to find yet another suitcase, this one is well used and with a thin spot on the top, a stenciled name inside and a patch job on the back it may well be one of my favorites already! Plus an ice tongs! Hey I live in ND...this has got to come in handy sometime, perhaps when chipping ice off the roof in mid January.


Question  A couple other finds a fun little pot with glass bowls and tupperware keepers. What I would like to know is this....the enamel ware baker. Do you know if this a new item? It is cream with no rim color and it came with a removable wire carrier, shown on it. It has a couple chips that are similar to the way vintage enamel ware chips but I know nothing about any without the standard colored rim on them. If you know anything please leave a comment.
 This is the enamel look I am more familiar with, and couple more  fun graters for the collection!
Next up....have you seen these? For only a buck I got this ............file suitcase?

Question
Definitely unique I would love to know if you have ever seen one and if you know anything about it.



 And here is the man...in man heaven, where guns and bullets preside. Looking in his "cookbooks".



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 All the rage....the fairy garden or mini garden, fast becoming the need to make garden accessory.  The best part is they can be inside or outside, you can make a perfect little utopia to keep nearby.
  As for plants, keep smaller, low, easy to care grasses and succulents. One of the benefits of succulents is they are easy to propagate, if it gets too big you can break a piece off and root for another garden or pot.
 Greenhouses carry the best supply, you will pay a little more for them though. Check places like Home Depot in the stationary plant section inside, ours carried no options in the seasonal green house but had a few succulents inside. Hobby Lobby has some miniature doll house accessories, moss in the floral section and river rock at a more affordable price.
 Begin filling your planter with good soil, not too heavy but not the light seed starting soil either. I used a store brand similar to Miracle Grow. Place plants and fill in with moss, rock and misc features.

 Use clear stones to simulate water.


  Option 2 keep it real simple with minimal features, this garden only has a couple small Terra Cotta pots and a mini frog and bunnies. Can you see them?

 There is the frog, he is hiding in the toad house.



Go ahead and plant a garden, no excuses, even if you live in an apartment with a balcony or no balcony at all you can still have a mini garden.

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