It's The Little Things

I do love a sweet silhouette! Here's a vignette in my hallway of a few small ones I've collected:




I love this one best. It was done with ink (not by me!). Click on the picture to enlarge it.


I can't wait to teach how to make reverse silhouette paintings on glass tomorrow at Hip Chick Designs! I'll let you know how it goes!

Reverse Your Thinking And Learn Something!

How would you like to make your home a little sweeter and end your summer feeling like you learned something creative? Then you'll definitely want to sign up for a class I'm SO excited to be teaching on Reverse Silhouette Painting on Saturday, August 28th from 10AM - noon at the fun & funky location of Hip Chick Designs, in the beautiful little bay side town of Benicia, CA!


HIP CHICK DESIGNS--Owned by Carrie Clayden



In this two hour class you will learn hands-on skills and tips that will inspire you to paint your own future one-of-a-kind works of art & signs, from elegant to whimsical on framed glass, old windows and mirrors.


Reverse painting is an a very versatile, easy (really!) and forgiving art, with possibilities limited only by your imagination.


You'll complete a framed 5" x 7" project in the studio, then partake in shopping for unique treasures at Hip Chick Designs . Make a day of it by heading to nearby First Street in downtown Benicia for more shopping in lots of quaint little stores and a bite to eat in one of the many cafes and restaurants!

All supplies, and a resource sheet are included in the $25.oo fee. For more information and to sign up (by Wednesday, August 25th) contact me at mackely@astound.net.

Summer In The City

I like to decorate this sideboard in my house with a seasonal theme, and since I won't be hitting a beach anytime soon, I thought I'd make my own.

Here's where I'd like to be sitting (if I was 4 inches tall) and digging my toes into the warm sand.

I can hear the water lapping the shore and washing up lots of shells...

and I can see others enjoying it too!

There's my mom frolicking in the sand and my grandmother relaxing in her beach chair, too.

Oh hi, Uncle Jim and Aunt Jessie! Looks like Uncle Hank is fooling around there, too. There's my father's old boat near the marina.

When it gets late in the day, I'll have a little fire, (I LOVE these battery-operated tealights!) then pack it up,

and still have a little sand between my toes to remember it all by!

I'm Crowning. Stop Stairing!

I made a couple of chicken wire crowns for our "Beachy Sea" theme at the shop for last month's sale. I took so long making them (I had fun in my craft room!) that I hastily took one photo of each before I flew out the door, and am sorry to say they don't show them off as well as I'd like.

(You can click to enlarge photos)

(Summer Day Crown)

They both had layers of green/blue and filmy white tulle woven through the wire, but you can't see that very well here, can you?!?!?


(Gift From The Sea Crown)

I used sandpaper as a base for the medallions on each! Had to get some sand in there somewhere!!! Some dry twigs sprayed red look like corral (I hope).

And here's who bought one of them! Hey she looks familiar!

The other crown was bought by my boss, Susan! Thank you ladies! There's nothing like a good friend who buys your creations to make you feel like you really made something nice!


And stepping in another direction, here's what I did at work today. We are getting ready for the grand opening of Paris Flea Market in Livermore by fluffing this and sprucing that. Here's a little peek:

These are the steps that lead up to the Paris Cafe and Chic (Vintage Clothes) Boutique. We've been hauling stuff up and down them

for the last three months and they deserved a little treat(ment), so today I gave them a mini face lift with some green and mustard paint!

Aaaahhh, refreshing! Hope you can make it on August 5, 6, 7 & 8th to see everything we've done!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Tying It All Together

Father's Day (or any reason to celebrate) in my family is all about us getting together.

To marvel at how old the "kids" are getting (while at the same time, us adults never seem to!).

And when you've got a family like mine, it's about remembering how we grew up, the silly things our parents said, and talking about plans for the future.

And when you've got a father who is a rock-hound, it's about making a cake that fits his personality.

And making a gift that does too!

I made these bookmarks from an old necktie that belonged to my grandfather (that's him in the photo on the left).

Happy Fathers Day, Dad!

Life Is A Patio Of Chairies

No, I don't have a problem, I just like chairs.

The Little Pink House is overrun with them this month. I don't have a workshop or a nice big garage in which to work on my projects, so everything gets painted on the (covered) patio. Luckily the MOTLPH (Man Of The (Little Pink) House), rarely minds that he comes home to find things stacked on said patio (or even in the house if it's not paint-permitting outside).


In other news...

What's better than having a pink bike permanently parked in your front yard?


Answer: fresh pink daisies planted in the basket!

Bargains Sought and Found

I found this framed print at an estate sale recently. It was the last one behind a ton of other framed stuff, and I fell in love at first site. It's by the artist E. Kruger (of which I can find very little information!), and is the second one I've acquired. After paying my $5.00 for it, I took it home, painted the frame white and hung it over the bed!

I've had this buffet for years. Bought it for myself for Mother's Day (true furniture junkie!) from a neighbor who had it just sitting in his carport. My recent find was the shelf/mirror with posts that now sits on top of it. Bought it 2 weeks ago at a garage sale from a man who was selling mostly tools. He priced it at ten dollars, I talked him down to $7.00!!

Love, love, love a beautiful bargain!

Bottled Up

I spotted this unassuming box at an estate sale recently. Loved the colors, love fruitcake too, so I picked it up.


I could tell there was something in it, so I opened it up and gasped.


Hand tatted lace! It's so beautiful. My grandma used to spend hours tatting. Then I noticed some of it was unfinished. Still attached to long lengths of the thread it was made from. It made me sad. On top of that, all of this beauty was tucked away in a box. Even sadder still.


That's better... I hope the patient artist who made the lace would have been happy.
(P.S. I gasped once more when I asked the price of the box: $2.00!)

Do The Polka

With the opening of Paris Flea Market looming off in the not-so-distant future of two weeks time, we are dancing around each other trying to get things painted, primped, and making sure all of our polkas are dotted! I just finished this long cashier's station on wheels, but it still needs a new (& even longer) top and a logo adhered to the front. The table next to it needs more black paint, and there are lots more projects lined up down the hall and around the corner! Have you signed up to get the monthly announcements yet?

High School Bites

Mt Diablo High School, in Concord, CA bites. And is it tasty?! This school has a culinary ROP program that not only benefits its students, but also the community, by serving delicious lunches!
I have driven past this sign for Serendipity Restaurant & Bakery on the school's campus (directly across form the Concord John Muir Hospital) many times on my way downtown, but today my friend Vicki and I stopped. They are open for lunch from 11:30-1:00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays, and offer special parties on Friday by arrangement.



The simple dining room has a seating capacity of 125. The tables are set with cloth tablecloths, napkins and festive decor which indicates the menu theme at the time. They change it up about every 4 months. It was a tropical island retreat when we there last Thursday.
Erika was our attentive waitress, answering our first-timer questions and sweetly checking on us, she easily became part of our dining experience versus detracting from it. Our lunch was delicious and was devoured before photos could be taken, but we were knocked back into consciousness when Erika wheeled the dessert cart to our table and we found ourselves faced with a mind-boggling decision of which treat to end our meal.


We both chose the lemon crème brûlée (paired with a macadamia-nut cookie), which was the best I've ever had. There was no sharing going on here--we each got our own!
We were checked out by Letty (left) and Jennifer (class of 1998) who let us know that next month the menu changes to Mexican food, which was a great way to guarantee that we'd be back!

Serendipity Restaurant
2611 East Street
Concord, CA
925.798.0882