Fun Foto Friday

Just for fun, I thought I'd share these random photos from Destin. I love the colors of these shell nets and the inflatable animal rafts always make me smile! Notice the clearance stickers all over them. Maybe they'd make good Halloween props?

Last Bit o' Summer: Antiquing

Having been to the Destin area many times, I have found that besides the outlet shopping and the requisite junky beach shops with all the classic tchotchke, there are plenty of good antiques to be found. The rain made for some guilt-free antiques shopping. (I usually feel guilty spending an afternoon inside if it's beautiful outside).

Here is a run down of my favorite shops in Destin, Florida:

Antiques on Holiday - Artful displays of European antiques, unique items, shells and beach decor (I bought an old yellow ammo box here last year)

Smith's Antiques Mall - Very large with a good variety of vendors (I bought my wire chair here last year)

Bienvenue Antiques and Interiors - Packed with everything you can imagine

Scavengers - Antiques and gift items. I picked up these vintage potholders there. I couldn't resist the colors in these and the fact that they advertise Georgia peanuts makes them even sweeter.

Antiques Buy Gones in DeFuniak Springs - Sitting right on the highway just before I-10, this unassuming shop is brimming with antiques in themed rooms and a few outbuildings. The metal door above was leaning against one of the outbuildings. It reminds me of the Florida sun!

There is a Christmas room inside with vintage ornaments. Now, I am nowhere near ready for Christmas but I couldn't help but pick up a few of these ornaments. I'm considering displaying them all year since they are fruit and nuts instead of anything traditionally Christmas-y. 

The two on the left are a raspberry and strawberry and the light pink one on the right is a walnut.

But I have to say my favorite find is this Blue Bird Toffee tin. The side reads "Take the Home Sweet Home". With my love of tins and birds, I knew immediately that this little jewel was coming home with me!

The experience of looking through old shops and finding treasures is part of traveling that I always enjoy. And then I love to bring those treasures home, surrounding myself with beauty and sweet memories of places I've been.

Last Bit o' Summer: On the Road

I love traveling on the road! I've never had a trip to rival the adventures of Jack Kerouac or inspire Willie Nelson to sing, but I find that there are always interesting things to see along the way no matter where you're going. And I just love to take photos of everything that catches my eye.

In Eufaula, Alabama the highway goes right through downtown where beautiful historic homes line the street on both sides. I plan to make a day trip there some day just to see the town. These are some homes going south...

And then going back north three days later...

At a rest stop just past Eufaula, Alabama, I spotted this tractor trailer loaded with plastic crates. I just loved the primary colors and the "pattern" created by the crates. It reminds me of a work by Piet Mondrian or Ellsworth Kelly. Also at this stop a friendly kitty with pale seafoam green eyes came over to say "Hello". (I didn't get a photo of him unfortunately.)

This Packard Clipper was parked at one of my favorite antiques/gift shops (more on my favorite shops tomorrow) just outside of Destin. One of my hobbies is "collecting" vintage/antique cars by photographing them.

Somewhere in southern Alabama this Model A was making its way north. I noticed billboards for an antique car show in Atlanta next weekend, so I'm guessing he was on his way there.




No matter where I go I keep my eyes and mind open and camera ready. And I like to think of this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson : Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.

Last Bit o' Summer

 
I can't think of a better way to say farewell to summer than heading down to Florida for one last (or in my case, the first, only AND last) beach vacation of the year. This past week I made the trek to Destin, Florida for some rest and relaxation. The trip started out feeling particularly like fall. It was chilly, cloudy and rainy. I had to buy a cardigan (a really cute one from Old Navy) after I got there to keep from freezing in my tank top. By the end of the second day I was ready to give in to autumn. Dreams of pumpkins, fall festivals, cool evenings, snuggling up in a blanket and getting new boots were running through my head.

Very few people were at the beach and storms were moving in pretty quickly, but the water was surprisingly clear. It made for an ominous but strangely beautiful scene. The colors (which no camera could ever capture) were breathtaking.

 

The sun finally broke free on Friday and the temps rose above the mid 80's. I actually got a little sun while I sat by the pool reading the latest issue of Country Living about decorating for Halloween. (There is something slightly wrong about that in my mind!) So, even though autumn officially began on Friday, summer seems to be unwilling to leave us behind just yet.

Que Sera, Sera

spray acrylic on cradleboard

I created this piece with one of my favorite sayings in mind. Sometimes I just have to remind myself that I cannot control everything that happens. Sortof like with this piece itself. What you see is actually the second trial. The first one did not turn out as I was hoping at all, but I learned what didn't work and corrected those things on this one. It's still not perfect, but I'm much happier with it and it's getting closer! Stay tuned for more pieces like this.

Okay, I can't NOT make a reference to the lovely Doris Day. Just for fun, listen here.

Tin Re-Use

I am a firm believer in re-purposing a vintage object but with a sympathy for its original function. My goal is to find a way to re-use an object without permanently altering it or obscuring the design for which it was intended. I like the idea of being able to return it to its original purpose. This means at times I have to get really creative to avoid making changes to something.

So I'm featuring a trio of very simple re-purposing projects I've done using vintage items.

These vintage pill tins (which were my great aunt's) combine two of my loves: graphic design and metals. Vintage graphics hold a special appeal for me with vibrant colors and bold fonts. (The St. Joseph's Aspirin tin also features one of my absolute favorite color combinations, aqua and orange. For the simplest DIY ever, simply place a magnet inside the tin (I love these button magnets from a craft store) and stick the tin to your fridge, magnetic display board or on your metal art supply cabinet like I do.

And speaking of magnetic display boards, I created my own from a tin TV tray. I found this 70's sketchy floral tray at Goodwill for $1.

It's a little garish, but I love it and it definitely brightens up my desk area. To hang this, all I had to do was twist hanging wire around two corners of the legs giving it just enough slack to hang and adjust when necessary.

Lastly, I discovered this crusty old baking pan at Goodwill. (Okay, so this is aluminum not tin). I realize most people would see an old kitchen tool that is way past its usefulness. I saw a rustic/industrial shadowbox.

The layers of baked on grease, or what I like to call patina are part of the charm. But I did wash and scrub this little jewel at least three times before I felt like it was ready to "be" anything. Then I set to work making it into a display box. I used Command hooks attached upside down to run hanging wire across the back. My thought is that these will come off easily taking just a little "patina" with them. I also added bumpers to make it stand off the wall perpendicular instead of leaning back at the bottom.

I did try to hang a Command hook on the wall to avoid nailing another hole in the wall but I awoke with a thought at 4 AM one morning that the hooks are not strong enough when hung on the wall. Did I mention this hangs about two feet from my bed? If you've never heard a baking pan hit the floor after falling from four and a half feet (hitting my nightstand on the way down) it's something akin to an overzealous band kid with his first set of cymbals. And then I heard the two little plastic deer skittering across the floor behind it. I have a new home improvement tagline...Nails: there's just no substitute!