Subconscious Shopping Palettes

The other day I went to a couple garage sales wearing a dress of this lovely Liberty print. I bought these 4 teacups, and when I got home I realized how they as a whole strangely coordinated with the dress fabric. 

That was not the first time that has happened to me; every time I shop I seem to have an unintentional colour scheme going with my purchases. So note to self: always be surrounded by beautiful (inspirational) things!

Roadside Lemonade and Collection

Whew, I'm going to need a refreshing glass of lemonade after this one! My ideas for Spoonflower's Lemonade challenge bubbled into a 10-design collection, Retro Lemonade! My Roadside Lemonade design is up for voting in the challenge, and here's the rest of my collection:

 Twinkles

 Summertime Scallop

Pink Lemonade

 Hey Neighbour

Droplets

 Sparkling Lemonade

 Mod Lemonade

 Straws

Homestyle Gingham

Vintage Find: Parisian Ice Bucket

This ice bucket is probably from the '60s, is pristine, and features lovely Parisian street scenes.

La Madeleine

Place du Tertre--Montmartre

Notre Dame de Paris

Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

Retro BBQ Tray by Marcelline Stoyke

 This fabulous BBQ tray was a mere $4.99 from Value Village. The whimsical illustrations are by Marcelline Gougler Stoyke, a designer who lived in Evanston, Illinois in the mid '50s. This is one of a series of her designs created for trays. Marcelline worked for Social Supper, Pickard China, Sears, Heisey, Stotter, Federal Glass, and Melmac. Doesn't the jolly chef just make you grin from ear to ear? Her model was her husband. And that "Come 'n get it!" is hilarious! Marcelline's style of illustration is perfection: graphic, detailed, whimsical, joyous, and a total inspiration for me!

Inspiration: Old Williams Sewing Machine

Rust and filigree on charcoal black.

Chalk Painted Geometric Chair for Sale

I've had the IKEA chair below since I was 5. It was my desk chair out of necessity, but I never liked its plainness.

Note the name scribbles under the seat.

 So I painted it. I used the X as inspiration to transform it with a geometric print.

 Old White and Provence Chalk Paint make up the light blue, plus I used Graphite, Antibes, and Old White for the rest of the pattern.

 The painted areas have also been waxed.

 It is for sale! Please email me at creativelygraceful@gmail.com if interested!

Hedgie Collection

I have been wanting to make an English garden hedge collection of fabric designs for a long time, so when Spoonflower's Hedgehog challenge of the week came along I thought well why not combine the two? My Haircut for Hedgie design is up for voting in the challenge. Here's the rest of the Hedgie collection:

Hedgie Fence

Hedgie Alabaster

Hedgie Aerial

Hedgie Ditsy

Hedgie Dots

Découpaged Franglais Stool

Découpage is great because it totally hides an ugly surface with beauty.

 I picked up this stool at the curb. I think it was a child's chair at some point because I had to fill up those 4 holes at the back of the seat with some wooden dowel stubs. 

 Then I ripped pages out of this French/English dictionary and cut them into strips.

 I used Mod Podge to glue on the clippings, but plan on giving the whole stool a coat of Varathane to protect it.

  Voilà!

(Pssst! The stool has a twin that has yet to be embellished!)

Crested

My Crested fabric is in Spoonflower's Sandcastles challenge of the week! It features crests drawn in the sand surrounded by assorted beach paraphernalia.

Hammered Copper Kettle

 I found this gorgeous copper kettle at Value Village for $4.99. I love the curvy shape, gleaming copper, hammered hexagons, and painted ceramic handles.

Plus the inside is pristine!

These papers were inside.

It has such wonderful texture.