The Finishing Touch $.99 Store Pillow Covers

these had a contrasting piping around the edge

Every decorator knows that the way to coordinate a room color scheme is by adding throw pillows to the mix...this too could put a big dent in the budget...well I am going to let you in on a secret..The $.99Store.

I plan to write an article in the future elaborating on all my great $.99 store finds but for today we will talk about ,you guessed it ,pillow covers.

The $.99 Store was the last store I was ever interested in,but when my creative daughter started coming home with all these cute little gift creations from things she found at the $.99 Store,it piqued my interest.

Some even had embroidery

1. I never dreamed I'd be finding of all things ,decorative pillow covers. Not only were they only$.99 but to my amasement when I washed them, they weathered the storm beautifully,didn't even have to iron them.

Kitchen Chairs on the Cheap

In the early 80's my heart's desire was to own a set of those oak pressed back chairs reproduced from the turn of the century. They were selling anywhere from $75 to $125..too much for my pocket. I happened upon this great deal at a freight warehouse for $21 each. All we had to do is simply glue them together..well all my husband had to do was glue them together. This he did and to perfection as he always does. I really enjoyed those chairs for many years,maybe 20 altogether but they were beginning to wear on me and I was tired of them... I kept this in mind as I journeyed through my wonderland of thrift stores and junque shops.
My foray was productive ,as I soon found 4 carved back chairs from the 30's at Out Of The Closet. Then later I found 2 more very similar at GoodWill for $8. The Out of The Closet price tag was $80...so for $88 I had a set of chairs. However they needed work. They had been stained a mahogany red with varnish that had worn off along with the red stain for the most part,leaving a rather nondescript wood underneath.
This is one of the times I chose to use paint for refinishing. I chose an antique colonial red that would add a punch of color to my kitchen . The seats were removable so I was able to staple a $2.45 piece of upholstery fabric from The Salvation Army to them to complete the job.

So for $90 I have 6 fashionable vintage chairs gracing my kitchen table probably for another 20 or so years.

A new Life for an Old Centinarian

One of my earliest thrift store purchases was an old  dresser. It was painted white but I could detect that it was oak. At  that time oak furniture was at it's peak circa country and victorian decorating in the 70's and early 8o's... I don't believe I paid very much for it at all. I forced it into my car trunk and dragged it home,promptly embarking on one of my stripping jobs. I had many of them at that time of my life,stripping in the sense of taking paint off perfectly beautiful wood.My grandfather who was another avid collector often would exclaim,"I don't know why they painted over that beautiful wood"my sentiments exactly.Though on occasion if I begin stripping and the wood really isn't beautiful ,I have resorted to the paint bush.
That dresser was a beautiful find for me and served us well in my daughter's room for many years until a more perfect thrift store find took it's place when it was given respite in the garage.It certainly wouldn't be lonely there.
Then along came recycling.I don't know if we are unusual but it seemed we were making ions of trips with paper goods to the recycling container. My husband, in desperation took to piling it all in a laundry basket and piling it full until it was overflowing,over flowing and sitting in my kitchen! What a source of exasperation it was!
One day as I was contemplating my predicament, that old oak dresser came to my mind. I made an excursion into neverland ,my garage(it would be a hit on the tv program"Hoarders").There sitting in abject rejection stood my old oak dresser. With hacksaw in hand,I sawed off the bottom drawer which created the perfect slot to slide that laundry basket into and out of site...well not quite.
The mess was still very visible...so I found a couple of hand embroidered pillow covers and slipped them over a tension curtain rod and slipped it into the opening created by the absent drawer and being desecrated by the ugly recyclables. I had an old marble top that found it's way to the top of the dresser(one of my favorite things is to find old marble tops). This serves as a great coffee station during parties and at other times displays my collection of old kitchen utensils and yellow ware bowls filled with fruit.
Thanks to my old oak dresser my kitchen ,once a source of consternation and aggravation is a place of "organized tranquility", at least relatively so.

Summer Breadspreads

Victorians as well as their predecessors suffered greatly from the heat. Just think, no air condition or even electric fans...so they were very inventive in minimizing the effect's of  the summer heat.
The houses became very hot during the day so often you would see trees planted around them not only for the aesthetics  of it but also to create welcome relief of shade and if they were lucky a cooling breeze.

lace trim on edges

Hand held fans became a necessity. Does anyone remember the little old ladies with blue hair fanning themselves with the church bulletin?I can readily conjure up that picture with great nostalgia. The fashion was to rinse your white or gray hair  with  laundry bluing(this made whites whiter).This counteracted the dirty yellow that the shampoo caused,unfortunately the hair looked more blue than white. Has any one noticed that there are no longer anymore little white haired ladies? They have all rinsed out the gray. Oh for the return of the little ladies  with blue hair. There is just something comforting about that concept.Whoops I've digressed. Back to summer heat.
The larger victorian houses had summer kitchens. Our family home had one in the back of the house behind the main kitchen. This was to prevent adding more intolerable heat to the home created by the cooking Cooking was not done on gas or electric stoves but on red hot coal or wood stoves.Can you just imagine that?.
Well all of this was to talk about my recent thriftstore find.Along with opening all the windows in the house at night,victorian homes had sleeping porches whch may be enclosed with easily opened windows or just be open porches ,usually on the second floor,a rather pleasant concept to me...No hubby, I won't ask you to build me a sleeping porch.
The bed linens were very light and decorative,especially the coverlets. They were usually bedecked with lace and embroidery on very light ,gossimer material. I've always remembered one I saw in a thrift store for $120.I surely wasn't about to pay that,tho my dreams have been filled with its beauty for years.It was white on white lace,embroidery and any other embellishment a victorian mind could concieve..

a work of art!

antique quilt in case the weather turns cool

 Yesterday,  I strolled into one of my favorie thrift storesCOUNCIL THRIFT SHOP ,when miracle of miracles I spotted a summer bedspread. The tag was $4.00 so I immediately became $4.00 poorer.I rushed home with my treasure,soaked it all night and washed it this morning.  I placed it over a sheet on my guest bed,just as my victorian counterparts would have. Rolled up at it's foot is an antique flying geese patterned quilt,which I will discuss at a later date.     

I Had Some Visitors This Morning

Matt6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,neither do they reap , nor gather into barns,yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. 

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Bed Canopies for the Smallest Budget

There is nothing like a canopy to add that finishing touch to a bedroom.It speaks to the grandeur and romance of days gone by . Though now they are purely decorative originally canopies  served to keep the sleeping victorian  from freezing to death since central heating had not yet made the scene. Though I didn't really care for the ones topped with huge ostrich plumage,such as I saw in the Palace of Versailles ,I do have a fondness for the more demure canopies that are in vogue today.
There are many things that could serve as a "crown" from which the actual canopy flows.My particular fondness is for shelves that are semi lunar with ornate aprons.
For the actual canopy itself,I would choose any decorative fabric. Included in my choices has been  a brocade tablecloth,a lace curtain and an Indian sari. Saris can be found often in thrift stores and are usually very beautiful.One of mine had roses embroidered all along the edge and another had pearls all long the edge.Since saris are narrow you would have to use another panel with it,sewing the sari on each side of the panel.
I take the canopy material and gather it along the under side of the shelf so that the 2 edges meet in the front,creating an opening.I use a hot glue gun for this procedure.
Then I proceed to hang the shelf above the bed.It would be hung upside down allowing the canopy to flow behind the headboard and drawing the 2 sides of the canopy to each side of the headboard..My canopies surely won't keep the cold out but  they sure do look nice. 

this particular shelf was hung upright ,the pediment from another shelf was added

This is a wire shefl with metal painted roses decorating it.

Saving a French Style Daybed

wedge hidden among pillows

wedge pillow ready for a bookworm

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord

note the one brass clad foot and the brass applique on the footboard,aslo the wood inlay...just love it

Maybe 10 years ago at the good ol' Salvation Army my eyes fell upon a dusty dirty headboard and footboard.It was very diminuative in height and I wasn't quite sure at the time what it was,perhaps a child's bed, for which I had no need. As I looked more closely,underneath the dirt and dust ,I could see some ornate embellishments, inlaid wood designs and a brass application on the footboard and one of the legs. The other legs were missing theirs...I really didn't have much use for it but the $30 price tag beckoned to me.
I dutifully carried my treasure home and shoved it in my overstuffed garage always keeping it in mind but never really figured out what to do with it.
Since it was in relativeley poor condition I prevailed upon my husband to cut it in such a fashion that I could use it in constructing a window seat in one of the bedrooms...thankfully and as usual he dragged his feet in helping me out with this,my latest scheme,poor longsuffering man that he is.
While waiting for the carpentry work to be done,I began to take a closer look at the bed and it's one little brass cladded foot and it's lovely inlaid wood design. A surge of guilt fell over me for planning it's demise. A good cleaning with orange oil brought out the true beauty of the piece,flawed as it was...so logging on to ebay I promptly ordered 2 bed rails and plotted what could I do with this poor rescued waif.
Having recently discarded our monstrosity of a computer for laptops, I no longer had the eyesore planted in the middle of the loft.After moving furniture around a bit ,I found the perfect corner.Until now I had a sofa in there along with an antique library book case and a couple of odds and ends,making our loft area a very nondescript area,serviceable but not really decorated and certainly not "victorian".Now this orphan daybed has inspired a whole new approach.
Using a mattress left over from my daughter's twin bed and tons of pillows covered with great coordinated upholstery materials(more thriftstore finds that had been lurking in my linen closet for years)A beautiful french style daybed brightened the room. I also covered a wedge pillow in coordinating fabric for curling up and reading a good book.
Welcome to my home sweet orphan, I will love and cherish you and relish your presence and will be only too proud to introduce you to to friends and relatives.
Just to show how I covered a 13.00 wedge pillow to add comfort to my daybed and show how well it looks concealed among the rest of the pillows... I just made an outline of the pillow on a double fold of the  fabric adding  enough for seam allowance. I then stiched it  up placing it on the wedge and slipstiched the bottom seam that was left open for squeezing the wedge pillow into it. It's much more attractive than the hot pink it once was.(See picture at beginning of article.

Stained Glass windows and How to Mount Them Without Using Screws,Nails, or Carpentry..Great For Renters

What is a victorian home without stained glass windows. Unless you are one that is blessed with one of these sources of great beauty already installed, you will have to scour various shops and thrift stores until you find one. I have friends who create beautiful stained glass windows to order but I am unable to pay the price.
I have a challenge of mounting these windows without making holes in the wall or window frame per my husbands request.

This is a fire screen ,I added 4 stained wood pieces with liqid nails to form a frame to attach the screw eyes,also cup hooks work well.

This method of installing is quick, simple and quite secure. First you must purchase 3  spring loaded curtain rods tension rods) that will fit the window. Screw screw eyes on each side of the stained galss window eqidistant on the top, middle and bottom of the frame. Place tension rods securely in window and secure them to the sained glass window through the screw eyes with zip ties and shazaaam your stained glass is in place to the enjoyment of all.
the middle window was a $30purchase from Salvation Army and the bottom one was $100 from Tuesday Morning.

Another addition to my dining room was this beautiful folding etched glass screens. I mounted  small wheels on the bottom so they could be opened or closed.There were 2 bifold sections so I secured the section closest to the frame of the window in the same manner that I secured the Stained glass,allowing the 2 center panels to be free for opening or closing. My dining room windows are paneled so I try to align the tension rods along the panel frames so as to not be too noticeable when the screen is open.I really enjoy this window! The really benefit for renters is that you can take them with you when you move.

  I really need to include one more window created by my  son and daughter inlaw and hung in the traditional manner.

Vertical Blind Disguise with window coverings #4

In the loft I tried a different approach. I got my trusty roll of duct tape out and went into production. I had a beautiful macrame fringe that I cut from an old shawl and died a beautiful plum color to coordinate with the rest of the room.I then duct taped it to the top of the valance allowing the macrame to hang down over it. It still needed something so I ductaped a curtain up underneath the macarame just straight with no gathers. The curtains needed to be pulled back to reveal the beautiful view so I draped an extra large drapery tassel over the top of the window so that each tassel hung down the sides of the window.I pulled the curtains back and secured them to the large tassels with smaller white tassels. I think the picture will demonstate what I am saying.

Vertical Blind Diguise with window coverings #3

My master bedroom has a large slider in it and was a bit more difficult to do without hanging drapery poles etc. I hung an inexpensive sheer on a long enough spring rod and again laid it across the top of the blind so as to not interfere with the mechanism.,securing with zip ties on the middle support and each end. Make sure you place the zip ties so that they don't impede the function of the blind. I then divided a shower curtain ( in the teal color that I wanted,gathered them together with zip ties at the top and secured them on each side of the sheers. As an added touch I draped a valance over the top embellishing it with a tassel and a gold washed "whatchamacallit" I had laying around the house for years,finally found a use for it.

vertical blind disguise with window coverings #2

Another solution is just to hang a drapery rod on the window so that it extends from the wall far enough so as to not interfere with rhe blinds.I have a double curtain in my living room and it looks great. Can't even see those blinds.By the way,that curtain was $7 unused or as ebay says nwt,new with tags.
I neede a little more to dress it up so I added my 97cents a yard drapery material from Off The Bolt upholstery shop and a cobalt blue glass newell post decoration $5(I saw a clear one for $700 on line)to support it over the arch of the window.

Don't Like Those Vinyl Vertical Blinds,Hide Them, No Drilling Great For Renters!

just be sure to clip zip ties excess after secured
note the traditional rod just laid over top of valance

Iam blessed with vertical blinds all over my house. I don't really like them. I don't think victorians had them either. My husband on the other hand REALLY likes them because he says they are good insulation in the windows. They keep the hot California sun out and keep the warmth in in the winter. I have to admit he is right...thus I've come up with some ways to camoflage them or soften their look somewhat.
I have a double problem in that my husband doesn't like holes pounded in the walls,so I do my best to accommodate his wishes especially since he puts up with my victorian fantasy.
In the spare bedroom office,I simply took a standard curtain

rod ,placed a lace curtain on it and draped it over the top of thr blind valance,securing it with zip ties in a way as to not hinder the blind mechanism.This window looks out on the back patio and a fountain so I just wanted minimal coverage.

THE COLLECTIBLE STORE

Don't let the disheveled appearance of this store fool you. It is filled with treasures waiting to be discovered, refurbished or repurposed.

Foot warmer used to keep one warm in horse and buggy. drawer used to lace hot soapstone in

note hand punched design in galvinized tin. there are no nails or screws . It is held together by wooden pegs.

note all the inlay on this vanity.

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 great finds at this store. It is stuffed floor to ceiling,deep and wide with unusual things.Across from Goodwill on Owensmouth in Canoga Park.The owner is facing cancer surgery so remember to pray for him and stop by his store for an unusual shopping experience!!

note brass designs on feet,pedestal, apron and around the edges

Ohhhh! My Ultimate Victorian Statement! or MY Parlor organ!!!

I really feel that my home is the ultimate in victorian decor. I have finally reached Nirvana! All this treasured decor or "junk" depending on your perspective was unearthed(sometimes literally) in various forms of entrepenauer establishments,be it junk shop,thriftstore or antique shop at rock bottom prices.There were just a few pieces I so desired but felt I may never find at my price.
One day as I was on a "thrill of the hunt Safari", I walked by a local thrift store and there in the front window in all it's glory was the supreme victorian desire of my heart.
I had seen many of these in one other prominent thrift store all sporting the exorbidant price of $1500.
Here it was in all it's victorian splendor with a plethora of ornate shelves(perfect for displaying treasures) above it's keyboard. No scratches,no missing parts and very few scars to mar its patina.It was more magnificent than any I had ever encountered.I was awestruck!
Tenetively, I approached the shopkeeper and being so choked with excitement, in a bearly audible voice,I asked what the price of that old piece in the window was, not wanting to sound too smitten. Ha, who was I fooling? The response was $500.
That $500 was more than I wanted to part with but convinced I would never find another beauty like this, I flew to the bank(after checking with my longsuffering hubby),withdrew $500 and triumphantly took possession of my affection. As an added bonus the shopkeeper had a sudden surge of generosity and took only $450. It may be that he had an inkling that I would go without Christmas,birthday and mother's day gifts if my husband would permit me to make this purchase.
Now this gorgeous, fantabulous pump organ,subject of so many hours of hunting and searching,graces my "Victorian " parlor.