Gabrielle Messina Just a Girl

Where Bloggers Create II

 Have you heard? There's a party happening over at My Desert Cottage. "Where Bloggers Create"... It's a huge one and I thought it would be a lot of fun to join in and be part of the other 450 crafty gals who would be featuring the spaces where they like to make things. So, if it's your first visit to my little space in Blogland, welcome! Welcome to old friends too!  I have a small little space in my house that I can call all my own. It's just off of the kitchen, and a few steps from my kids' playroom. It was once our laundry room. I've just recently moved into this new space from our basement. I can't tell you how much better this works out for me. When you walk into the room, you are greeted by this above your head... My husband's and my initials and angel wings. Of course, I needed a chandelier....  Most of these shots will be detail shots. Like I said, I've recently moved in and things are not as perfect as I'd like them to be.... in time, though. Lots and lots of details in a space like this..... piles of pretty fabrics.  This is the epicenter of the entire studio. A large closet with loads of shelving that houses all my things.The wallpaper is vintage and I was really lucky to find some great reproduction brackets in the perfect shade of cream. I try my best to be organized and stay tidy..... that does not always happen. I like to use a lot of baskets.. this one is brimming with trims.More baskets.. these house all my paints and glues.... with a tiny studio, everything is within arms reach.      Glass jars are a must, aren't they? 
  This is a fun little shadowbox with some things I love.... That's a picture of me as a baby.  The window above my workspace.... makes working even more pleasurable.  Bits and bobs on a sweet tiered dish and old papers inside a cabinet.  These are old shower place cards from the 1940's I found at the flea market a few years ago....  My girls upon a stack of old glove boxes. This picture cleverly covers up the water hook ups from the old washer that once was here. A tiny little corner of my inspiration board.... That's a picture of my mom when she was a baby.A favorite old holy card, rhinestone skeleton key....  I love that old pink resin-type rose, a pretty picture that inspires, a glass glitter loving cup that I got on a little road trip with my husband, my two favorite men at the beach, and there's a picture of my grandparents at their high school prom up there too....  Couldn't leave out the girls, a special sea urchin and my lucky number 13!    An old wicker basket with yummy velvets and a chocolate heart box that I embellished stows away other supplies.  An old first holy communion veil hangs on the shadowbox... I've got plans for my little girls to wear this when it's their turn.  Paper pom poms from my little girls' birthday party two years ago... Rolls of old and pretty wallpaper. I like to keep it out in the open. Much like the rest of my things as they are old and lovely, so why not.  And a little dish with trinkets form the flea market.  I'll leave you with these little guys! I tried to keep the words to a minimum as there were so many pictures. Happy day, girls! And thank you for taking time to stop by today! Be sure to stop over to Karen's to see the whole list of bloggers! 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Her and Her Fluffy White Feathers

I really try to only bring things I love into my home, to stay true to my colors and style. If not, months go by and I question myself as to why I even got the item in the first place. Do you do this too? Often the answer to myself was that it was "really cheap..." So, if I'm tired of looking at the item after only a few months was it even a bargain? For the most part though, the things that come through the doors of this house are "me". There is one exception.... the runner on the steps.... I am not sure what ever possessed me to but that thing! It is SO NOT me! And no, I don't think I'd ever show it to you... Ok, sorry... back to the matter at hand, here. This swan... My heart skips a beat when I look at her. I found her earlier today. It was just a quick pop into the antique store.... me and my three kids. They did not think it was that quick because we were supposed to be on our way to the theme park... to meet their friends from school... and I sprung this detour to the antique shop on them at the last minute! I don't think the other mothers stopped at any antique shops beforehand... they were all on time.   It was in a case with a bunch of other junk... locked of course and I had to wait an eternity, it seemed for the kind man to return with the key so I could gingerly coddle her fluffy white feathers and crepe paper body. Crepe paper... can you believe it! She's actually a candy container fashioned of yards upon yards of crepe streamers that was meant to be unraveled. I prize is on the inside. I think I would seriously become ill if someone were to unravel my beloved girl, who I named Delilah... in case you're wondering. Do you love her crown as much as I do? 
It could very well be my most favorite thing in my home... besides those three kids and husband... And look how comfy she looks on my bed. I may sleep with her tonight . Sweet dreams! 
  

Hats

 I must admit, for the most part, I only buy hats to harvest the flowers. Over the years, there have been a very select few that are ever so beautiful, that will remain intact. This one above was the inspiration for my wedding bouquet.
  I love the soft colors and delicate floppy flowers. You will usually find this one on display somewhere in our bedroom.   This is most likely my favorite hat of all time. You may recognize it from my blog banner or maybe remember this post when I first discovered it last year along with some other beauties that have long been plucked of their blooms. Loveliness.... Pretty lavender velvet berries will remain intact....  Along with these velvet mocha berries, found a few weeks ago at the flea for only 12 dollars! No kidding!   I first showed this one way back here. I swore to myself that I would leave my hands off of it! I ended up taking a few berries off here and there. I'm now vowing again to never touch it....   This one, I think it looks like a plate of spaghetti! It's so unique that I don't think I could ever bring myself to tear it up.   I love the mix of yellow and pink....
This one is so sweet and pretty. It comes to a little point on top, like a Hershey Kiss. I began tearing it up one day and then, just stopped. I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Sadly, I completely rid the back of it's flowers. I wish I had really looked at the beauty of it before I had started pulling it apart. Seems that lately, I'm becoming more sentimental over these hats. That, and the fact that I may be finding really good hats to!  I'm finding it harder and harder to pull some apart. This is another one that's usually on display in our room.   Another one, that I've ceased the picking of flowers.... I'm loco, I know. Seems I can't make up my mind so I pick the ones you can't see....  So, here they are all together on the kitchen table. The select few that are safe from the scissors and my hands!   Oh, one last thing. In the midst of the phito shoot, this poor groom lost his head! It's rolling around the buffet somewhere....  I hope it's not a sign of what's to come in his marriage. Looks like I'll be breaking out the Super Glue! Or shall I leave it and use it as a threat against my dear husband in the event he hassles me? LOL Happy Weekend, gals!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I See London...

 So, I've been contemplating doing a post on "London and France" for sometime now. Thought it might be a little too risqué for my online diary, though....   But,  when I found this bustier a few months ago, in the most perfect of shades with foof in all the right places, I knew I had to do that post....  My husband thinks I'm cuckoo for doing it a post on my unmentionables. I assured him he's probably right, but, not only because of this....  The back is so pretty with the deep pink satin....{{Sigh}}  I always enjoy speaking to the antique dealers when I make a purchase. It's a good way to find out where your things came from and even if they can't tell you, I've found that they are often rather interesting people. I bought this pretty one from an older couple years ago at the flea market and struck up a conversation with the gentleman. He warned me (with a grin on his face) that "wearing something like this could result in children"  and that he and his "bride" had quite a few that way! Thought I'd share that funny tidbit with you too. Your welcome. I love that he still referred to her as his bride even after all the children and so many years had come and gone. I should have gotten a better picture of the yellow one up there. It's very 60's- ish and I adore the rosettes and color.  These hang in our armoire, right in front of the bed sheets in our bedroom, there's a few more hanging on the back of the bathroom door too... I like keeping them in places people who may happen to visit our room wouldn't necessarily see. I'll often open the door for a peek. It's like a little treat just for me.... Some are vintage, some not.  I add little sachets of lavender to my drawers, armoires, baskets and closets. It's always nice to pull out linens and clothing that smells so wonderful! I grow lavender in our garden outside, but there's never enough of it so make the numerous sachets that I like to use in drawers and cabinets. You can buy it by the pound from Save on Crafts for a very reasonable price and then refreshen the sachet with a few drops of lavender essential oil when needed. The little favor bags that craft stores sell, usually in the wedding area work very well as the smaller sized sachets. Add pretty millinery and ribbons to make opening a drawer special. On a side note, my husband's sock drawer sachets don't have millinery or velvet ribbons hanging from them... On another side note, he may not like that I just told you he has sachets in his drawers..... So, what do you think, girls? Was this all TMI for you? Hopefully your laughing and not thinking why is she showing me her underwear? 

 
 

Our Hot Air Balloon

  So, I thought I'd show you our new chandelier.... I'm crazy for vintage lighting. Truly, that's my weakness. It has always been. I think, right after my first antique purchase (a Cupie Doll) when I was maybe eight or so, came a vintage Art Deco light at 10. I don't know what ten year old buys lighting, but, I got it honestly. You know that saying..."the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree"? That pretty much sums up many of the women in my family.  I wanted to share it with you much sooner, but, the lighting in this room is the worst in the house.... the reason I rarely ever take pictures in here. I guess I was just looking for a window of opportunity. I was prepping dinner today, and glanced in and thought "hey, the lighting looks pretty good in there" I headed for my camera and snapped a few shots.... I found it about a month ago, while I was visiting Mc Master and Storm. I knew I needed it...  I called my favorite husband and told him there was a chandelier we needed. It arrived a few days later, he took the ceiling fan down and put the much improved chandelier up! I love the dripping "wax"on the candle sleeves.... It's such a pleasure sitting in that room now, looking at a whimsically floating hot air balloon above.
  The colors couldn't be more perfect for this room! Happy weekend, girls! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Love this Vintage Room

                   Gosh, I just adore this room. It's really not in my usual taste of super girlie little girls room, but, it's sooo fun! I found it by way of The Baby Gardner. Vintage from head to toe... err, ceiling to floor.  And that goose lamp! I want one! I makes me want to be a little girl again and have this room. 
 
  Perfectly eclectic, isn't it? Just thought I'd share....
 

Found Just in Time, Valentine

 Have a looksie at what I found the other day while I popped a new favorite antique store. I had just a little time 'till it was time to pick my daughter up from school and thought.... why not? Isn't it a beautiful box? A beautiful chocolate box found right in time for Valentines day. I guess it could have also been given for Easter, or any day really. I'd like to think it was from a young man for his sweetheart, for Valentines Day! How romantic!! It's from a chocolate shop called Booth's in Elmira, N.Y. And look at what's inside!! The young man's sweetheart saved even the wrappers! I was so surprised. For me, a beautiful old box with no chocolates is much better than a new box filled with the most delicious chocolates.... better for my waistline too!
 
 
 

Good Tidings

 Hello friends! I just can't believe Christmas is in two days!! Time just seems to slip away faster and faster as the years go by. Please tell me, it's not just me that feels this way! I wanted to take the time now to wish you all the Merriest Christmas, 'cause come Christmas day, we will be at our church's traditional Midnight mass, something I look forward to each year, we will go to sleep and wake to find those presents under the tree that Santa left. We will load up the car with gifts and goodies and head off to enjoy the most wonderful day of the year with our family!  There will be kissing(and pinching!!) of babies and gifts and games for the kids. We are expected to have a white Christmas, here this year too! Something, in my book that just makes Christmas all the more magical! I can hardly contain my excitement! Isn't this the very best time of year? I hope your day is filled with peace, hope, joy and laughter. With family and friends and good food. I hope all your Christmas wishes come true!  Merry Christmas, friends!
 
 
 
 

Vintage Christmas Monday: Little Man's Christmas Decorations

 Today, I'm going to take you on a little tour of my son's bedroom, all cozy for Christmas. He has a few red accents here and there and it works out perfectly for Christmas decorating because, I have accumulated a lot of vintage red decorations I don't use anywhere else in the house. The ones that seem to come one or two in the box of all pink ones at antique stores and flea markets. Others were given to me. Love this little honeycomb Santa!  This is his little tinsel tree all decorated in mostly reds. It sits on top of his dresser. The tree, I picked up at Michael's last year, and then spray painted it a platinum/ gold color and it looks like it's now been around for years!  A sweet little elf... I did buy this one at Silver Bella's vendor night... for a mere two dollars. He was too cute to pass by. His nestled into the tree with some other jolly characters.... Like St. Nick himself. A tiny flocked boot and bell. An ornament wreath to welcome, complete with a vintage felt stocking depicting a toy soldier, teddy and car. He has a second tree in his bedroom as well. I placed it close enough to the window in his room so you can see it from outside....  A vintage aluminum one I bought moons ago at an antique shop downtown. I used it in my bedroom as a teenager and then it was the tree my husband and I used in our tiny apartment, too small for a "real" tree. Every year I buy the kids an ornament, this is the one I found at local boutique, for my son. It's a little German made replica of a tin toy produced in the 1930's. It came with a sweet story and the history of tin toys... Who knew they dated back to the 1800s and that the first registered tin toy manufacturer in America was in Philadelphia and that there was even an embargo on their impost during WWI. I love facts like that. Years ago, I saw this hiding on my grandma's tree and asked her if I could have it. I'd love to made some of these folded paper ornaments.... I'll have to try and find someone in my family that has made them back in the day.... Besides his "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, Frosty, here was one he received last year from his mama and dada. Another little felt stocking hangs on his headboard. Santa will fill it with little treats so he can "find" it before heading downstairs Christmas morning. And I guess this wraps up our little vintage Christmas tour for today. Can you believe Christmas is only a few days away? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

Saints and Snow

 I had decided on a theme for my family room this year... It had a little something to do with the alter being in there, this year.  Vintage religious... Surprised? I just can't help it. The faces, images, the colors, old typeface on prayer cards... for me, they are more than the beautiful images on paper or pretty statues . They evoke thoughts and prayers and are daily reminders in our home to be better, to live better. They also remind me of the preschool I attended as a little girl and the nuns who taught me, there.. I treasure the times I had with those angelic women. This, above, is just a very small print behind glass in a simple metal  frame, found at a flea market seconds before an unexpected downpour a few summers past.... Heavenly!  I set about the house, gathering as I went, religious items I had scattered throughout. A beautiful print of Mary, found at a local shop... I painted the frame pearly cream. My grandmother swears she remembers having this exact print in her family's home as a child.  I was planning on doing a separate post on this, but, I think it fits in well here and feel like there's so much to blog about lately and so little time. So, I will share it with you now.  This mirror was the surprise my husband had waiting for me, upon returning from Silver Bella! I was floored! As if seeing my precious family wasn't enough! LOL! A while back,  I saw this stunning mirror in a favorite antique shop. You see, the antique shop is filled to the brim and it was hiding behind another piece of furniture, some hats and hat boxes, lamps and mink stoles. So, I'd been walking past this beauty for years. Turns out, it came from a barber shop(I bet the shop was beautiful!!!) in a neighboring town that had closed down twenty or more years ago. Ok, so the mirror was in my head and I was bellyaching... to my husband how it was "THE" mirror we were looking for, for above our mantle. He basically told me to forget it, that we had more important things to spend our money on right now.... so, I left it alone for a while. I had planned to scrimp and save every penny I came across to get this one! Well, while I was away, he went to the little antique store, saw the mirror and made plans to pick it up the following day! The ride from the airport seemed like forever. I was so excited to get home, see my kids and my husband. And this, this was just icing on the cake! Never in my dreams did I expect to walk into our family room and see this hanging above the mantle! He told me, he went to the shop, without an expectation to buy it. When he saw it, he said it was PERFECT for the room. It totally makes the room feel complete! I don't know, but, I think I have some catching up to him on surprises. He's seriously outnumbered me!  

Icy branches and faded millinery adorn Mary's feet at the alter for the season... I know I mentioned about wanting to blog a few birthday gifts I received as well.... This beautiful Milagros ornament was a gift from Andrea! It has taken it's rank with my few other all time favorite ornaments!  This gorgeous, glass Madonna...  A book.... Filled with the most breathtaking shrines and grottos all over Italy! How did she know I've been fascinated with the images painted on corners of their homes, down narrow streets, the niches built into the outside walls of houses holding statues of patron saints with fresh flowers in vases at their feet. I must say she know's me like the back of her hand.... what a beautiful gift to find waiting at the door step. No? She also gave me a beautiful, ruffly bag at Silver Bella from this lovely lady's shop!      Ok, changing courses. Call it tacky, call it kitchy, or cheap, but, I love it. Faux snow, if you're fancy. I just call it fake snow. I love the blankets of felty snow under train sets and Christmas villages, love the flaky plasticy stuff sold in bags.... I salvage mine year after year. The very best thing about it may be the fact that you don't have to dust the surfaces you have it sprinkled on!!! Then, you have snow in a can! I've made fresh scented flakes from Ivory soap, grated from a cheese grater. There are even ways to make fake snow from the fiber in diapers! I have not tried that... but, it's out there... You tube... This is a tiny, little nativity I have... those are pin and sequin trees in the background, just so you can see how tiny! Speaking of snow,this year, after much deliberation, I decided to flock my tree. Andrea had emailed  me a link a few weeks ago after we spoke about wanting to flock our trees. I ordered this kit. I ended up, not using the sprayer that came in it. You were supposed to attach to your vacuum. I used a flour sifter and spray bottle instead... the old fashioned way. (I know... a flour sifter... funny) Speaking of old fashioned, while doing some flocking "research", before I'd seen the kit, I found that Ivory Snow Flakes were used way back when to flock a tree! I had contemplated this until I learned they were discontinued in the early 1990's... so that was that! I was very happy with the result. I wasn't going for an all white look, I still wanted the green to be there. Just softened... I dusted the entire tree and then went back and added a much heavier flocking to the tips... Snow kissed, I guess you could say...LOL I'll need to get a picture of the whole tree...