Heloooo there, hiya, hola!
I have to admit, my life is a whirlwind.
These days a little more than normal, but all good stuff (knock on wood).
The amount of things I have to accomplish in one day are many.
I have had lovely guests, and lots of laughs.
But, every so often, I find a place to hide.
Be it in the garden, cottage nooks, or in the hammock.
Hiding time is necessary, don’t you think?
I have sooo many treasures, as do us all, don’t we?
Around here, all found or thrifted.
Actually, I can’t even see one that is new anywhere around me.
I have fave antique shops and estate shops, where I am sure to find loot on a whim.
I looove loot.
Oh loot!
I got that little gold leafed porcelain bee box for 2 dollars I think?
Plus, I collect mass roses in spring.
Like here.
(I just majorly pruned my rose bushes, eeeks, what a job)
They are a huge part of my everyday decor.
I love living and dried herbs and flowers.
I move things around a whole lot.
Often I feel sort of rodent like.
Moving things to and fro.
Back and forth, moving this and that.
The other day I became trapped in one of my sheds.
I got in, and there was so much stuff around me, I couldn’t get out.
Hahaha!
Luckily I finally did.
I made this little theater below a few years ago from all sorts of things I had.
An old mahogany baby bed, a fancy textile wooden hanging thingamabob, and I painted the backdrop on canvas and nailed it onto the back. Oh, and I made the curtains too.
Frogs are always welcome.
I can’t say no to a tattered little antique shoe, no way.
I found a perfectly layered wooden stick nest, which had fallen out of a tree and into mud.
I put in under glass when the bird didn’t reclaim it.
I find old wedding cake toppers from time to time.
Like the one below.
Why don’t families save these things I ask?
This one says handmade in Germany in pencil underneath.
And the name of a couple.
I love old tins and old clocks and things under glass.
Don’t you?
And who can ever say no to old shells?
I top my homemade mushroom with books.
(it’s a perfect book stand stacker shroom love helper)
And then there are tea nooklings…
I mix old tea pieces with a bunch I have made myself.
I think I need to get back into making more.
I hear someone up to mischief.
Note the ears.
He’s a joy with houseguests, ahem.
Nightmare child, but I love him so.
Gives me a run for my money that one.
I’ll make him listen to records with me, he’ll love that, he he 😉
Surrounded by circus magic…
Canadian ducks decoupaged in French newspaper and dioramas a plenty.
I think it’s time to move things here and there again.
They have been like this for a good while.
But for now, we hide.
And listen for the mail girl.
How we all love mail.
Oh we do.
Don’t you?
I am so sorry I have been missing a bit.
Houseguests and roses and life calls my name and demands tending to.
It’s time to plant the veggie garden, and I have started waaaay too many paintings at once.
I told you, I have no enough button.
The factory forgot to install it, eeeeks, I am flawed.
And I have no warranty.
Oh here is something funny.
Have you seen that movie Austenland?
The part where they first pan over Jane’s room?
Mister Lovee and I both looked at each other in awe.
Then I said, what just happened there?
And he said, they just walked into YOUR room.
Hahahahaaa!
Sans the Mister Darcy on the wall, of course.
Ohhh, it was so sad and hilarious all at once.
Do I need an intervention, of the granny chic variety?
Pray tell?!
(ps: I always did fancy myself a granny of the soul, the very very old kind that bakes pies and wears ruffled house dresses all the days)
Wells, I have to run.
But I will be back sooner than soon.
Promise.
Pie crust promise.
🙂
Love, V
ps: Winner of the Flea Market Decor Magazine is………
(by the by, thank you for playing, that was fun!!)
Number 34…..
Shell, Lady Shell, you won!!
Email me your snail mail please dear you!
Hooray!
All I know is that you are magic. 🙂
Enjoy the GOOD busy-ness, dear Vanessa….
Love seeing all of your beautiful treasures…and hiding is a must, yes indeed…(be careful in that shed, though!) 😉
And give your sweet fur babies a kiss and hug from moi…
And a hug for you too!
xoxoxoxo
– Irina
Irina, you are soooo beyond lovely!! xoxo
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 3/6/2014 11:16:57 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
Vanessa:
Your treasures are fantabulous! I could browse about your garden and home and never get tired of it. There’s always something magical to glance at.
Thank you for sharing. 🖤
xoxo
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
Yay Austenland! Have you read the book? It is good too. I read it ages ago and loved it so I was super excited when they decided to make a movie.
You make tea things? Like cups and saucers and pots? Have you ever sold them in your shop because I would buy that! I am obsessed with all tea things. Luckily our new house has lots of cupboard space and I just managed to fit in all my tea things. It was a close one though! But I can always use more….
I make cups and tea pots and more, but mostly i keep it all these
days. Here is the thing, the work and clay/glaze cost and running the kiln
to selling ratio is, well, you can imagine 🙂 $200 bucks to run the full
kiln and a 6 dollar bowl 🙂
Here is some of my pottery stuff… just a smidge of it though 😉
http://www.vanessavalencia.com/pottery.html
You have many things to look at. It is like spending time in a lovely gift shop with a day’s worth of looking. All vignettes are so prettily displayed and I love the dried roses everywhere, so colorful and pretty. I would be hard pressed to pick just one item that I loved…for everything looks beautiful! 🙂
Oh cute! Yeah I can see why it doesn’t really make sense to try to sell it. Do you have your own kiln or do you have to pay to use someone else’s? My mom is an artist and pottery is her thing. She mostly does raku so at my house back home we had two different kilns! The initial cost to get them was spendy, but now she can make as much pottery as she wants and doesn’t have to charge a crazy amount. I mean the pieces are still like $35-65 or more if it is really large.
Anyway I would be happy to pitch in some money for a firing if it meant I got an awesome tea pot or tea cup out of it!
I was a potter at the Tucson Museum of Art Romero house for like 8
years. I have 3 big kilns, I want do away with them, and just get one
small/medium electric kiln. I used to get my stuff fired there back
when. I just love pottery. And I have lots of raku pieces in my
house that I made, hee hee 😉 I LOVE raku, its so fun. And
dangerous.
Cool! Haha yeah, I used to help my mom by holding the kiln open while she pulled out each piece, put it on pine needles, and covered it with a bucket. I love how you smell all smoky afterward!
I guess I shall have to go to Best Buy and find ‘Austinland’ as Target didn’t even have it two weeks when it came out on DVD. The movie received lots of Stars***** in the ‘like’ category on Fandango. I have to see it!
I also want to buy ‘How I live Now’ which came out two weeks, and I couldn’t find it anywhere either. And I need to find ‘Mirror, Mirror’ with Anne Hathaway…I wonder if that is REALLY her real name as that was Shakesphere’s wife’s name.
I adore your cottage and the dioramas and goodies under glass domes.
I still haven’t pruned the roses at the rose garden at Laurelwood, which now has lovely weedlings coming up too.
It was 72 degrees today, no cold weather in sight. Very, very odd weather indeed.
Take time for relaxing!
love,
Miss Teresa
Congrats to the winner… Yes, you have oh so many treasures, and they are all beautiful. we all have them you know. I have photo props, pots, cameras, art supplies old keys and the list goes on…and on.. I like to say my stuff has stuff! I don’t want to part with any of it and it gives me peace, it is all so magical. Life goes on.
Love your loot, V.
Russian folk songs! How cool! I love music like that, where I have no clue what they are saying language-wise, but by tone and inflection and rhythm of the music I can pretty much guess…and every now and then a derivative word pops out and unlocks the whole puzzle. 🙂 It’s kinda like opera. And classical. Classical tells a story without words. Anyway, cool.
And yay for Shell!
I have not seen Austenland, I’m sooo far behind in movie-watching. We watch tons of documentaries on musicians though, so I’m down and jiggy in that respect. 😉
That magic circus shelf makes me swoon. xoxoxox
What is Raku, precious?
Oh Vanessa, I love all your lovely little vignettes and trinkets…such beauty and inspiration!! Me thinks I am in love with the goose!!
Happy Friday my fanciful Friendling â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸
Raku is a certain kind of glazing and firing process where when you pull the pieces from the kiln at a certain point while they are still hot and put them on something flammable like pine needles or wood chips. Then you cover it with a bucket or something so it traps in all the heat and smoke. Then after a certain amount of time you take the bucket off and spray the piece with cool water to stop the process. The glaze reacts with all the heat and smoke and makes really cool iridescent and random color patterns. It is really pretty and rad!
Me too…I love your stuff, I love my stuff 😉 It makes us happy, comfy, and cozy, right ? I really had a laugh at your rodent like analogy, I know what you mean !
Your treasures are just wonderful, I really mean it.
OMG Vanessa, you have the lovliest things. I just adore that fancy textile wooden hanging thingamabob! How cool is that? My problem is I hate to dust! I’m so glad Matty is well enough to give you a run for your money!
That theatre is to die for! I would love to make my own sort of theatre one day, not sure where to start. Perhaps an old book shelf with the shelves removes with some wooden details added from other pieces?! Either way, INSPIRING!!!!
Vanessa, what wonderful weather for you and the boys to meander through your gardens!
I love the brilliant theater you designed and how your material choice of curtains just makes it come to life!!! So very glad to hear you didn’t get buried with all your treasures! Yikes!!! I do enjoy looking at all your lovely vignettes!
Gosh, its great to see Matty looking so healthy in your photos! Happy weekend <3
I don’t think there’s too many beautiful treasures as long as you have room to move around and enjoy them. Hahaha. If it’s like an episode of “Hoarders”, then that would be creepy. Have you ever seen that show? Freaks me out in the worst way and I always end up cleaning and throwing out useless junk or giving it away.
Love the giant mushroom and I’m so happy you have a tutorial on how to make it. I wonder if it’s possible to make it for an outside end table, so it’s waterproof? Like use a giant PVC pipe for the base…but hmmmm…what to do for the top? A giant red plastic bowl? The fake mossy-grass around the bottom of the stem is magical.
I love roses a lot myself. White ones are my favourite type of flower! <3 I think having time or a place to hide is absolutely necessary sometimes. I am quite the alone time person myself, so I escape whenever possible. But I have been very busy lately as well :)
Check out my post on why life is AMAZING: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/03/life-is-amazing.html?showComment=1394326229415#c8009932859861622652
I just love seeing all of your treasures, Dearest Vanessa! How fun! I just love the little theatre that you made from bits and bobs (speaking of which, I must get back to my bits-and-bobs dollhouse and take up the sparkly tissue paper from the roof and the garden which I think look like snow!). Just when I think I must downsize in preparation for our move sometime this year, I just can’t bear to part with much (or any) of it!
Congratulations to the winner of the magazine!
Sending biggest hugs and love to you, Mr. Lovey, Matty and Miles!
xoxoxo,
Betty
Yay! I won. I had a long day and this is a great way to end it.
Thank you so much, Lady V.
Love Your sweet treasures.I like hiding around and about My treasures too at times when I’ve had too much “outside stuff” going on.Vanessa, one thing good about Grannies is, any one person can have a lot of them.It’s not like parenting.You can be called Grannie if You choose… and really truly be Granny to many Children.Enjoy if You choose
Everything is bursting with spring goodness! So light and airy and pretty!