Spring (At Last!) and Majolica

My new computer and I are having issues. Not only can I NOT get my blog header back up, but I also can't load pictures in a timely manner! Nice computer, but Windows 8 is the pits.

 Now, on a lighter note! I have been outside quite a bit over the past week. Just noticing how green things are and how pretty the flowers are.

 

 

Yesterday, while poking around, I found this copper finished bird feeder. It looks so inviting in my crab apple tree. We planted these trees the year my grandson was born, 17 years ago!
I look forward to their annual white tinged with pink blooms each year. In the fall they have the cutest little apples!

I also found a lantern...it is solar powered and I am excited to see if the candle actually lights up after being in the sun all day. It will be a nice touch on the patio! I found them both half price...can't beat Dirt Cheap for great prices.

I did some junkin' and found some great additions to my Majolica collection. Everything on Ebay is sooo high, so when I find something in a shop, I snap it up.

I found this bunny tureen (Haldon Group) awhile back, and yesterday when I saw the little cabbage condiment servers I knew they would be perfect accents. They were made in Portugal by Olfaire.

                               Tureen without the little cabbages and with cabbages below!

I LOVE the black tray! Adds the perfect touch!

 I enjoy collecting English, German, French, Portuguese and Japanese

Majolica. I hope to become more discriminating as my collection grows.

Even though I don't like oysters, I LOVE Majolica oyster plates...but with some selling for over $300, that's a little out of my price range.

Bunnies on the other hand....

                    The piece above is unmarked, so it may be new. But it was too cute to pass up!

The bunnies holding up the leaf is a Haldon Group piece. I really like their work. It's mid-1980's.
They seemed to copy some of the Wedgwood Majolica pieces. Their pieces are more in my price range.  Once, when at a yard sale, I spotted a gold German Majolica pitcher! I was in instant love...and much to my surprise, on the other side of town, I found the matching plate!! How fun is that?

 I may be in green Majolica overload.

The above bowl came with the cabbage condiment servers.

I don't have anything profound to add to your day...just some fun finds and a hope deliberately sent your way...that no matter what the day brings or what great/terrible circumstances you find yourself plowing through...that you will remember just as spring follows a cold winter, the Lord is even more faithful in His promises to you. Hope you have a blessed day.

                                       
 

Back Porch Makeover...Layer by Layer

I am writing this post in two segments.

The first is my project for today...a "spruce up" of my back porch. It was a fun thing to tackle, because it involved very little expenditure except for sweat equity.

I had almost everything on hand.

I know, I know.....my back porch will NEVER end up in a magazine spread!

We don't have the moola or the time to make it a show place...

however, we enjoy doing what we can with what we have.

I enjoy a cup of coffee or reading the paper in the early morning.

I love a little evening chat...

I understand the meaning of "a man's house is his castle"...

no castle have I,

but I love the trees, chirping birds, the sweeping pastures

and the view of our neighbors' horses and little donkey "out back".
My porch needed a good spring cleaning. So Saturday was the day!

1. The first thing I did was empty the porch and give it a good scrubbing. I had already spot painted the furniture a rusty brown last year...only a few touch ups were needed.

BTW: my porch furniture has been dark green, black, white and now rusty brown. I am not timid with changing colors on anything...except my hair.

2. After a thorough scrubbing, I repositioned the wrought iron furniture pieces.

3. Next I added a $9.99 rug from Trees and Trends...yes, you read correctly. It's some type of straw material and is banded in black. I think $9.99 for a 4'x6' rug is a pretty good deal. I purchase one every year and "toss" it the next summer for a new, clean one.

A rug adds warmth to an outside room and anchors the furniture.

4. At this point I brought back my wood pieces of furniture. I found this little white telephone table at the Flea Market, painted brown and black zebra stripes on the top, and finished it so that it could "live" outside.

The coffee table is an old window that I made into a table by attaching legs.


5. Next came accessories. Red geraniums in brown pots combine with other rusty elements.

A little green fire pot repositioned to the coffee table (a gift from a good friend) will add warmth on those chilly spring nights.

I add those little solar lights to my pot plants.

At night they look like lightning bugs in the foliage.

A rusty tray from Paul Michael's serves to protect my glass window panes. I found the green mercury glass pot at Hudson's and the iron frog was my mother in law's.

The green plant on the tray was a find at Trees and Trends for $5.

The ceramic bluebird "of happiness" lightens the mood peeping out from under a fern set on a concrete stepping stone turned table top.

I love my "candelier" that I found at the Flea Market for $12!!

<

"What's going on here?!" is a silent question from under the hostas.

Our wild pet (that's an oxymoron, isn't it?) bunny, Bun T., joins the mayhem on the porch.
Everyone's a critic nowdays!

Bun T. looks on from afar...looks like he's doing a photoshoot

for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.

6. The pillows on my glider are a mixture: geometric fabric ones are from Target; zebra one came from Wal Mart (go Wally world!); stripes and florals are from Hudson's in Hattiesburg...love it when a plan comes together! (Two additional zebra ones are on their way from WM online...do I need them? Maybe not, but they will be used somewhere.)
Never can have too many brown zebra pillows, I say.

Cleaned up, fixed up and ready to welcome family and friends.

I will post the other end of the porch makeover later in the week.

I tablescaped an outdoor setting for breakfast and loved the way it all came together!

I'd like to add canvas drapes and a new brown ceiling fan

(our other one is 17 years old and showing her age).

But for now, all's well on the back porch at the McInnis home!

I am attending the Big Blog Party hosted by Kim@ Savvy Southern Style..click here to join us.

Hope your day is memorable,

Bun T. Wabbit

Just enough time to write a short post. Most of you know that I am a bird, butterfly and bunny kind of girl. I love little creatures who scurry away when you approach...so on a twilight evening as I was walking toward our garage, I was momentarily spooked when something tiny and fluffy high-tailed it across the path in front of me. What in the world?! A tiny baby bunny!

He scurried under the leafy area around my birdbath and sat without moving a muscle.

I laughed when I came in and told the "hubster" that we had a new tenant. He walked back outside with me to see. (Now, I have to let you in on a big secret...the "hubster" has a real affinity for ALL baby animals. He LOVES the tiny things...always has. So I knew it wouldn't be long before...yep, there he goes... back into the house for you guessed it...lettuce.)

We promptly named him (or her), Bun T. Wabbit. Every day now, he has been coming closer and closer to the house. We've even caught him on the porch and in the carport rummaging around! When we leave in the morning he stays right up close to the house and doesn't dart away like he did at first.

I think he's just precious!

I wish all things could be as quiet and gentle as our baby rabbit.

What a marvelous little creature!

May all your bunnies be as cute as Bun T.,

Please, Flutter By

I am a butterfly, bird and bunny kind of girl...no huge dogs who jump up for me! I love to watch the aforementioned little creatures...because butterflies and bunnies are quiet and gentle, and birds have a sunny disposition for the most part. (Please, don't think I am anti-animal...I just don't like to be slurped "on.") I am happy to report that the butterflies have arrived in my yard and I thought it was the perfect day to capture some of their beauty and grace.

So out came the tissue, paints and Mod Podge! Steps here included: tearing white and caramel colored tissue paper into wings shapes. Cutting out a scrapbook paper body. Using scrapbook paper to "edge" all around. Mod Podge all onto canvas. This is the foundation. The picture below is the starting point.

From here, I painted the background, the details of the butterfly (veins, etc.) with acrylic paints. I then used Tim Holtz distressing ink to "age", painted on subtle gray squares

and outlined squares with black ink.

With lots of patience and some tweaking here and there...here is the result.

Lately, all my pictures appear darker than they really are and of course, this is no exception. Let me get up close and personal and maybe you can discern the real deal.

The texture is added with the crinkled tissue paper. I use tissue as a foundation for most of my mixed media art.

The weekend was hectic...lots to do...little time for everything...I had to put on the brakes and say, "Stop the madness!" and take a butterfly break. Hope your week begins and ends well. I am linking to Metamorphosis Monday...that's appropriate, isn't it? And Boogieboard Cottage!

Flutter on by and visit,

A Tutorial and a Give Away Are Coming Saturday!!

I have some very fun news to share!

I will be a featured blogger this Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Each Saturday, Beverly hosts Pink Saturday and everyone who joins the party posts something PINK! It's great fun and brings back such wonderful memories...

it's definitely a "girl thing"!!

My pink Kewpie doll was my contribution this past Saturday. Hint: Do you like sweet bunnies and fluffy chicks? AND tutorials?! AND a Give Away!!

My heart, be still! I am fired up and ready!

No! I will NOT tell you any more...

You will just have to be sure and drop by for a little visit on Saturday!

Prepare to be dazzled,

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...Easter Preview

Did I hear somebody say that Easter is right around the corner? Wait until the last moment? I think not! I have been collecting rabbits for over 30 years...I keep some out all year round, but during Spring Break I bring them all out to play! Welcome to my "It's Spring, Ya'll, Open House!"

My wonderful Flea Market Find = apple green basket filled with Easter Grass, my Flowers By Mary nest and my McCarty Birds.

Open my backdoor and you are met by a happy vignette of Mary's eggs, tiny bunnies, velvet bunnies and my $ Tree egg tree...tree, eggs and flowers totaled $3!


I've had this little egg (my son's) for almost 30 years!

My centerpiece on the dining table will change throughout the season. This is my "everyday" centerpiece. On Easter Sunday, I pull out all the stops and use some vintage china and the centerpiece has to be dressed up to match...but for today, this will do.

My gold dragonflies are two of my most versatile decorating accessories. Today they perch on the glass hurricanes...sometimes you catch them on my clock in the foyer and I've seen them on my Christmas tree, too! You just never know around here!

My muffin keeper holds nary a muffin, but it's a wonderfully safe place for my white bunnies.

I painted these crackled rosebud bunnies for my mother in ceramics class. I display them in her honor and remember how happy she was to keep them in her bedroom on the dresser year round.

I don't think you can see the details of the eggs in the jar...I've run out of places to put them all, so it's the jar for these! The little rabbits are over 30 years old.


Onto the buffet... On the left are very vintage bunnies on an antique cake stand.

I found the paper mache candy container as naked as a jay bird at the flea market, brought him home and painted him pronto! The bunny on the left is a Peter's Pottery and the one on the right is an old Made In Japan one. Love my nest of golden eggs and feathers!!

Candy container bunny is carrying a Humpty Dumpty porcelain egg I made in ceramics class a number of years ago...

I tried several things in the china hutch....

before I settled on this one. I found the chicks at Cracker Barrel, the eggs are real blown out quail eggs and the Fenton hen dish was an anniversary present from the "hubster".

I added a cheese dome I found at Good Will. It's sitting on the clover plates I found at the FM.

I also tried the plates holding a 50 cent egg cup I found at the thrift store...Look at that cute little chick.

Last, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite Easter items, my Teena Flanner bunny riding a rooster! I love Teena Flanner designs, I have several and alas when I went to take my chocolate painted TF bunny out today, one of its ears was broken and the ear was NO WHERE to be found...I was crushed.

My spring decor evolves as the season ages, so who knows how it will end up by the latter part of April. I want to do a post on my sugar eggs and bunnies...maybe a tutorial. I'll work on it this week. You will have lots of fun doing those!

I hope you enjoyed this little preview tour and I am linking to Dittle Dattle's Amaze Me Monday and A Stroll Thru Life. Grab the buttons below to attend...

May all your bunnies be Godiva chocolate ones,