Mosaic Monday

If you grew up with wood paneling in the 70's and 80's... raise your hand!!  We had one room in our house.. a converted garage that was turned into my father's smoking room.  Wood paneling everywhere.

 It was awful.  That was wood paneling then, and this is wood paneling now!  The entire Southern Living Showcase Home in Senoia has white paneling boards for walls.  It was so beautiful.. fresh, clean, simple.  I loved it!

Here is the picture of the Master Bedroom which I had to take so that I could put this chandelier (from Ballards) on my Christmas list.  Hopefully Santa got my hints and the rug is going to be put in my stocking.

The Master Bathroom... again that white paneling which is actually a Sherwin Williams white called Pearly White.   I caught the paneling bug and started fixing up the back room at Gillyweed over the weekend.  I was torn between painting or not painting... decided to go "au naturel" for the time being.

Here is the wall completed and the pine wood makes it smell so nice in the room.  Ready now to merchandise and bring in my new clothing lines.

Not inspired yet??  Here are some great pictures that I took from Pinterest for Mosaic Monday.  I haven't done a Mosaic Monday in awhile- blame it on my lazy summer attitude. LOL!  Nevertheless, here we have some great ideas using regular boards and salvaged boards.  If you still can't commit.. the LOVE sign would be a great DIY project to get you started!!

  

This Mosaic Monday has been linked up to Little Red House.  Have a wonderful week.

Enjoy!!

  

Mosaic Monday... Sail Away

I've been noticing lots of sail boats lately in home decor magazines and pinterest.  For example, in the June issue of Country Living magazine, there are not 1 but 3 shots of sail boats taking center stage!!

 



 

Even in my own home, boats are a focal point.  Here I have a small but growing collection of boat paintings that I treasure.

At Gillyweed, we have 2 boats for sale.  The Union Jack was originally $95, now it is on sale for $65.

And the little yacht was $45, now it is on sale for $25.

 

Last year I made several paper sail boats and hung them in the shop's window for a magical display.  I think I might have to do that again using the driftwood idea below.  Love it!

 

This mosaic has been linked up with Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.  All pictures were found on pinterest under the search Sail Boat.  Have a wonderful rest of the week!!

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday

Something about a collection makes me swoon... I love seeing beloved treasures hung on walls as precious art or grouped together on tables/bookshelves.  It just screams sophistication to me.. yes even my crazy pan faces that I have in my pantry makes me feel sophisticated!!

Sea Shells especially are gorgeous grouped together by color, style, and/or shape.  Hang shells on burlap backdrops for a more casual look.  Arranging the shells inside a wide frame makes them elegant.. here is a great tutorial by Sand & Sisal.

Above and below are great examples of how color can make any boring wall pop with interest.

So how do you color your shells???  Many recipes are out there on the net from Kool-aid mixes to food coloring & vinegar solutions.  One beautifully documented blog post from Dusty Lu shows the use of Rit Dye for staining shells.

Et Voilà!!  So next time you are at the beach (or at the Gillyweed store) get yourself a bucket of shells and make some art!!  This mosaic has been linked up to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.   All pictures were found on Pinterest, Etsy and Google.  Have a great week!

 Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday... Chalkboard Font

Yesterday evening I happened to catch a new HGTV show called Junk Gypsies. During the 30 minutes, they transformed an airstream trailer for country music star Dierks Bentley and they mentioned hiring a professional chalk writer to do a custom chalkboard sign.... who?? what??  Wait a minute... rewind please.  What the heck is a professional chalk writer??

So researching a bit I found that this is a big time career option in some areas of the country, New York and Portland to name a few.  Graphic artists are hired to scribble, draw, and write on chalk board for major companies on a per square foot basis.  One amazing site to visit for this profession is Custom Chalk.  CJ Huges specializes in wedding signs which can be purchased on his etsy site.

His work makes me think of my friend and ex-employee Julie McKinney.. she made incredible signs for The Vintage-Flea when I owned that store.  I don't know what I missed most when she left.. her bubbly personality or incredible penmanship!!  Another artist that I admire is Kyndal Frazier.  He makes these gorgeous signs for Resurrect Antiques in Opelika, AL.  I need to improve my handwriting!!!!!

Well.. at least I can fake it by purchasing a Chalk Font to use in Photoshop!!

 

Two Peas in a Bucket

To see a chalkboard artist in action.. visit here.  You'll be so impressed, you will want to raid your kids chalk stash and give it a whirl!!

Here are some more wonderful examples of chalkboard signs found on Pinterest for Mosaic Monday.  If I had a do-over, I would have gone to school for Graphic Design instead of Marketing!!  This mosaic has been linked up to Little Red House.  Have a great week!!

Enjoy!!



Mosaic Monday.... Before & After

 How funny it has been this past week having customers ask me.. "What was here before?"  I asked them if they remembered the aluminum siding and monstrous wooden awning.. "No" they would say.  I guess the "before" was so plain Jane that nobody really paid much attention to it.  So this Mosaic Monday I am taking you down memory lane with some before/after pictures.  First up.. the outside!

I'm still waiting on my Aruba blue awning to go up over the door.  Look at how much the outside look is changed just by having larger windows put in.  I can't tell you how much light now comes inside too!!

 

The brick wall was what sold me on the building when we first looked at it but I knew the walls had to go..

On the other side I was faced with concrete walls.. the solution, to put up strips of wood so that I could hang up artwork.

The view looking to the back.. having the green walls come down opened up the space tremendously.

The view of the front... so much light.

The famous bookshelves.

And that is the tour!!  It took 2 months to complete this project and what a whirlwind it was.  A huge shout out to my best peep Noelle.. amazing realtor, motivator, furniture mover, and Diet Coke distributor.  Also to best high school peep Helen.. carpenter, IT tech, DJ, and comedian extraordinaire.  And to all my other friends and  family that came by to lend an extra hand during push week.  Hugs & kisses to all...

This mosaic has been linked up to Little Red House. Have a wonderful week!

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday

I loved flipping through the latest Pottery Barn catalog and seeing all of the touches of rope in their decorating.  The nautical rope accents are the hot trend right now.. this was certainly evident at the January Merchandise Mart show in Atlanta. 

Pottery Barn.. simple rope strips stuffed in clear jars

 

Pottery Barn.. love how the rope is attached to the glass cloche.

Pottery Barn.. notice the picture frame in the back with rope around it.

 via

 You name it and it had some jute or sisal rope around it! Furniture, Chandeliers, even animals (not real of course).  I've seen many of these colorful rope creatures at Anthropologie and on Etsy.  One of my favorite sites, Honestly...WTF? does a fantastic tutorial on how to make one of these cutie pies.

Rope Tutorial

Nothing screams Summer more to me than this gorgeous sailor rope bracelet from Aria Nero.

via

Time to get the glue gun out and start wrapping....

One of my favorite items for sale at Gillyweed are these whimsical Monkey Fists. At $15 each they make a great door stop and/or a serious paperweight.

Need more inspiration??  I found these wonderful images on Pinterest and Google that will get your creative juices flowing!  This mosaic has been linked up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.  Happy Monday!

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday...

I have a confession to make... I LOVE LOVE LOVE eggplant!!!

Not this much...

via

or this much...

via

Okay.. maybe a little of this.. (yummy)

via

but This.. This.. This

  

Pure Vege

My first taste of eggplant came 20+ years ago when I visited Uncle Jacques' Bull farm for the very first time.

My husband's family raises Bulls for Bull Fighting in the South of France.  We go back every other year and every time I can expect to eat Aunt Françoise grilled eggplant and homemade marinara sauce.

Here I am in 2011 at the farm with my new BFF.

My adorable husband with Jacques on the tractor

Françoise and her son Fabian...I love this family!

Back in the USA.. I make my own version of Eggplant Parmesan which has gotten many compliments because it is so dang easy!! 

1. Slice 2 eggplants lengthwise (keep skin on) very thin. 
2.  Stick in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until eggplant is a nice golden brown. 
3.  Put tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish so that eggplant wont stick. 
4. Layer 1/2 eggplant into dish.  Top with more marinara and sprinkle generously shredded cheese.
5. Another layer of eggplant, marinara and cheese. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 
7. When it comes out of oven, I sprinkle goat cheese crumbles all over the top.  Viola!!

Another eggplant favorite in the Dumas house is the Ratatouille and the VERY BEST recipe for that can be found here.  Taste just like mémé's (grandma).

 

Recently we ate at SaZa's in Newnan and I tried a cold eggplant dish that my mouth now waters for.  This recipe looks very close to Chef Joe's but I haven't tried it yet to confirm that!



Eggplant Verde

Delicious!  My stomach is starting to growl!!  In honor of Mosaic Monday, I have put together some eggplant love.  Pictures were found on Pinterest and Google.

This mosaic has also been linked up with Little Red House.  Happy Monday.

Enjoy!!