Treasure Hunting Report: Pyrex and More

The last couple of weeks I have been swamped with work, which included preparing for a conference and then traveling to the good 'ole US of A to present my paper.  It was well received (yay) and had the added bonus of a road trip with Hubs!  On our way there, part of the highway was shut down so we had to take a secondary road which, despite slowing us down, had a real silver lining: a great roadside antique shop!  The tiny shop was packed with jadeite, Pyrex and vintage glassware.  Prices were good: higher than thrift stores, but below typical antique store prices.  I didn't buy a lot because I didn't have much time to make selections, and we still had days of driving ahead of us so I didn't want to pack the car with breakables.  In hindsight, I wish I bought more but I took home a few gems and am definitely returning for a Pyrex fix soon.

The snowflake casserole is my fourth one (I have two with white snowflakes on turquoise and two in this pattern).  The pink casserole is for my Mom.  I have finally collected a full set of the Butterprint Cinderella bowls and and am now halfway to a second set.  The small Cinderella (white with yellow flowers, a pattern from the 1970s), completes my thrifted set.  The round turquoise casserole is the prettiest shade and a totally new design for me!

My turquoise collection is growing and now takes over a whole cupboard, displacing my browns and yellows (which look so good with this DIY tablecloth) into the glassware cupboard.  See the last photo taken of the cupboard here.  There is still room and I plan to pack this with turquoise Pyrex.  I might just have to steal this bowl back out of the shop . . .

I also bought a Capri glass creamer to match a sugar bowl Mom thrifted for me.  I found some shot glasses at a local VV and now my turquoise glassware collection is also blossoming, adding some colour to the teak cabinet and complementing the DIY agate art above.

Once home from the trip, Hubs and I set to work on the basement again and I did a lot of decluttering, donating about six boxes and a chair to Value Village.  While Hubby made the donation, I scurried inside and found a few items for the shop (including two really cool Pyrex pitchers, like this), plus I bought this fun lamp.  After an hour of cleaning its grimy edges, it gleams and all I need now is a nice drum shade!

Have you done any treasure hunting of late?  This weekend I'll hit my first yard sales of the season!  I'm trying to decide if the Glebe sale next weekend is worth it.  In my 15+ years of yard saling, in three cities, I find people with expensive homes often (but not always) have disappointing yard sales and charge an arm and a leg, while the gems and deals are waiting at the homes you might think are the least treasure-filled.

See My DIY in a Magazine (Again)!

In the fall, my DIY Christmas spider tutorial was featured in Ottawa at Home magazine.  This spring I'm sharing another DIY project!  Because my blog tutorials for DIY art projects are so popular, I wanted to show Ottawa at Home readers how easy it is to make their very own DIY abstract.  What wasn't easy, for me, was painting on demand!  Let me tell you, painting while a photographer hung around and waited for me to say "okay, snap a shot now" was a teeny bit stressful.  As you know, I normally have to tackle the same painting a couple of times (like these and this one), sometimes over days, weeks or months, to get it "right," but this time I only had a few hours!  Happily, I love the finished piece and the only change I made was to hang it sideways. 

See the full tutorial (with glossy, gorgeous photos) in Ottawa at Home online, or head to one of these fine retailers to pick up a copy of the magazine.

I love a DIY painting tutorial that offers step-by-step photos but that can be sooooo tricky to do because stopping to take a photo often means I lose my mojo and the painting turns out weird.  But I've tried to share as many tutorials as I can, with step-by-step photos to give you a feel for how my (novice) paintings take shape.  Check out this black and white painting, the abstract triptych in the bedroom, my fun drippy painting, the Rothko-inspired trio, the geometric painting and its makeover, or, for something a little different, see how I made a simple striped piece with text.

I should mention that although Hubby & I try to support artists when we can (we have bought pottery from independent Canadian galleries and have often bought small works of art when traveling), right now we just can't afford to adorn all of our walls with the work of professional artists.  Happily, many of our family members are artists so we have their work livening up the townhouse.  Our DIY pieces fill in the gaps and add even more colour and life to our walls.  I love our DIY art and think that making your own art really is doable, but I'm not suggesting that the work professional artists do is as easy as 1-2-3.  Please support local artists and artisans when you can! 

P.S. You might have spied this painting in the reveal of a corner of our basement makeover (more soon).  We shot this project before I went to Hungary!  I've been itching to tell you . . .

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Pinterest Challenge: Minty Table Makeover

I capitalized on a few warm spring days and painted my grandmother's table mint, as planned!  She received this table as a wedding gift in the 1950s but gave it to me years and years ago when I was on the hunt for a round nightstand.  She was actually using it but moved what was on it to another table so I could have it.  Don't I have the sweetest, most giving grandmother?

I have continuously loved this table over the years, but it had some rust and worn paint so a freshening up was in order.  My grandma and I decided mint green would look pretty, and keep the vintage vibe.  I had a hard time finding a nice mint green spray paint, though.  Some were too apple green, some too sage.  I thought I scored with a Liquitex shade, but I'm not entirely sold because it's a bit duller than I hoped.

How-to:

1. First I lightly sanded the table, especially areas with rust, with a fine sandpaper.
2. I pushed off the rubber feet and also slid off the brass coiled detail to make painting easier.
3. Next I wiped the table down with a damp cloth and let it dry.
4. I used Tremclad metal primer (in grey) and gave the whole table an even coat of primer, doing the underside first and then flipping it over to do the top.
5. I let the primer dry for 48 hours and then used Liquitex spray paint in chromium oxide green 6 (I have a whole post on the pros and cons of this brand of spray paint), again doing the underside first and then flipping it over to do the top.
6. I let the table dry 48 hours before bringing it upstairs and putting the glass top back on.

I usually use the Liquitex over a white base for more vivid colour, but the Tremclad grey was such a light shade of grey it almost looked white.  I'm wondering, though, if it did dull the colour, even if I did apply multiple coats of the mint shade.  In any case, the paint finish turned out great.

The baseboard heaters seem to pop out at me even more, now that the table is a lighter colour, but painting them all white is on this summer's to-do list.  Even if I'm on the fence on the shade of mint, it does seem to pair really well with the chair, which reads as mint but is a pale green and aqua pattern.

 So, what do you think of the new colour?



P.S.  Because I pinned a thousand or so mint tables to my Pinterest boards (check out this post for the really literal "mint table" I found) before embarking on this minty makeover, I'm linking up to this season's Pinterest Challenge!  I'm linking this project up to Young House Love, Bower Power, Sparkle Meets Pop, and Red Bird Blue.

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April is Done: Did We Have Fun?

I always feel a little anxious when spring flies by because I know summer will feel even shorter!  This month was fun but fast.  I also got swamped with research and work, but that's a story for another day.

My favorite post this month was the framed agate art, which got a little bit of link love that I mentioned here and also a few links I added to the press page.

I also added some furniture to the townhouse!  I found a great bar cart that I'm prepping for painting (sorry Team Keep-it-Brass, the finials have to go and our remedy is super obvious, so painting is a must).

I am still loving our second great find: a vintage teak dining room cabinet. 

We definitely were in treasure hunting mode last month, picking up goodies for the shop and even attending the Ottawa Antique Show.  Although we didn't buy much, it's always nice to see such a large variety of antiques under one roof.

I planned some kitchen art last month - I just need some time this month to execute it!

I also planned a mint makeover and with one table painted and curing in the garage (details next week!), I'm excited about making over the second.

I was mooning over colour a lot last month, trying to beat the blahs.
The kitchen got a few new accessories this month: including a perfectly functioning kettle (I feel spoiled) and fancy oven mitts that keep my hands from getting burnt (so spoiled).  I'm learning choosing special everyday items makes everyday feel, well, special.  Choosing a kettle was fun - who knew there were so many colouful options?

In addition to my kitchen, I also got something special: a sweet pair of brass and mint earrings from ILIOS.

But I shared the wealth, partnering with ILIOS for a giveaway so you could win something pretty too (plus I announced the winner for the laKattun giveaway)!

I also rounded up some ideas for Mother's Day gifts.  A bit early, yes, but as a shop owner I know shipping can take some time (you won't believe how long a package took to get to Italy!  Canada Post, you're not on my good side), so it's always nice to get a head start.

I also shared my struggles decorating a house that is only mine for the short term . . .

. . . but then I rounded up a bevvy of brilliant ideas for personalizing even the most temporary of spaces.

We had our monthly Money Talk, and I shared some current struggles and ongoing solutions.

After a bit of snow in parts of Ontario . . . but then some warm days in Ottawa, let's hope spring is OFFICIALLY here!  I have some half-finished projects from the intermittent warm days last week and I'm ready to wrap them up.

I almost forgot: our Minden Shop has a 20% off sale right now, ending May 5th.

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Dinner Dans le Townhouse: Unbelievably Good Mac and Cheese

I received a few emails requesting I share the recipe for the mac & cheese that made an appearance in yesterday's post.  I'm happy to oblige because I think it's important other people are as severely addicted to this as I am.  It's easy to make, but has a fabulous, restaurant-quality taste.  When you're craving some mac & cheese, you'll never turn to the boxed stuff again!

The recipe is from Macaroni & Cheese, 52 Recipes from Simple to Sublime, but has been modified to maximum tastiness by my Mom & I!

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (a 500g bag works for me)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (generous heap)
2.5 cups whole milk
1 tsp herbs du provence (one of our modifications, be generous!)
1 tsp nutmeg (again, generous spoonful)
Pinch of salt & cayenne pepper  (we skip the Tabasco sauce suggested)
2 cups grated gruyere cheese (another of our mods because this cheese is so tasty)

Countdown to tastiness:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Butter a 9x13 pan.
3. Cook pasta and drain, set aside (in the pot).
4. While pasta is cooking, you can start on the roux: melt the butter over low heat, then add the flour.
5. Whisk the flour and butter mixture so it makes a paste, cook for about one minute.
6. Whisk in milk and increase heat to bring to a boil - it will start to thicken and gently bubble - but keep whisking as it heats (this takes some time, around 15 minutes).
7. Add the spices and cheese to bubbling, thickened milk, stir until melted.
8. Pour sauce on noodles and stir together.
9. Resist eating it at this stage.  Hubby struggles with this, hovering around, asking why we can't eat it now.  Your patience will be rewarded.
10. Bake 25-30 minutes (until the top is a little browned with slight crispy cheese).

Our substitutions make this a fancy "gruyere mac and chesse," with spicing fit for a nice restaurant.  It is excellent as a side dish, or on it's own.  Cheesy but not too gooey - know what I mean?  Perfectly creamy.  This is winter comfort food, but perfect for dreary, cold, rainy spring days too! 

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Marimekko Oven Mitts

I'm learning how to successfully balance my my recent focus on saving, my dislike of clutter, and my absolute penchant for pretty things, colourful things, and/or sparkly things.  It's not easy.  One trick:  as they need replacing, I'm choosing pretty substitutions for the things I use every day.  I recently tossed my dollar store oven mitts (that were too thin, riddled with burn holes and made my hands smell weird and chemically) in favor of something 100% more chic and functional, plus better quality: Marimekko Peini Uniko oven mitts from EQ3. 

I love Marimekko (you've seen my pretty pink throw & our shower curtain in the townhouse tour, plus I have a Marimekko dress, which I scored on sale).  I'm trying to incorporate more Marimekko textiles in the townhouse, even after a rocky fabric fiasco.  Hungarian art and accessories are overwhelming the townhouse, and my Finnish ancestry demands I represent.

If you're familiar with EQ3 or Marimekko, it should come as no surprise that the quality of these oven mitts far exceed that of my previous set!  They are durable and extra padded, with a sewn in loop for easy storage.  I held a piping hot pan of mac and cheese (straight out of the oven) for waaay too many photos and I didn't feel any heat!  As an added bonus: I'm not a huge fan of cooking (Hubs and I just do it to save moolah), but there's something extra fun about putting on these happy mitts before pulling something delicious out of the oven.  I think I'm just one matching apron away from actually enjoying cooking!  And possibly pretending I'm on a cooking show while I do it.

EQ3 generously provided the Marimekko oven mitts to review, but they were an item I specifically requested.  I wanted to townhouse-test a pretty, but practical item!  I was not encouraged, prompted, paid or asked to write a positive review.  These thoughts are all my own!  As is the mac and cheese.  Which was delicious.

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Giveaway Winner + News!

Congrats to Melissa Dalgleish (of Heart & Salt), the winner of the jewellery giveaway with ILIOS!  I'll put you in touch with Kat soon to make your jewellery selection - you'll have to let us know what you picked.

In other news, I'm running a spring sale in our Etsy store, Minden Shop.  Everything is 20% off (coupon code SPRING20).  Some of my favorite items have sold . . .

. . . but there is still a bevy of gorgeous finds that we love, plus almost a hundred (!) more to be listed in upcoming weeks and months.  A little secret: my Mom actually snagged the little turquoise sugar shaker (made in West Germany) right out of the shop!  We still have a healthy variety of pretties, though, from the rare Sotka patterned Arabia cups and saucers to funky turquoise Fire King mugs.  We also have a cool mid-century purse made in Canada, three different sets of vintage Coca Cola & Sprite glasses (from a collector who worked for Coke!), a few pieces of Pyrex (of course), a sweet and petite yellow West German vase, Baltic amber earrings, mod pale pink salt & pepper shakers, and more! We try to have things in every price point, in many different styles (although that's going to happen anyway, with three generations of us finding inventory!).

For a little braggy blog news, my tile trivet project was featured at Glo.com!  It's always so fabulous when a publication or magazine you read features your work.  Click here to read the whole article, which rounds up the 10 easiest DIY ideas of all time.

My felted wool billy buttons also got a little love from Bridesmaid.com.  I love the idea of brides making these as favors, centre pieces, or boutonnieres - so sweet!

Finally, Knock Off Decor featured my recent DIY agate art!  

Well, I'm primed for a good weekend and I hope you have a good one too!

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