Two for One!

My project for today actually turned out to be two projects in one (sorry for such a long post)!



It is my first real woodworking or building project completely from scratch. It's only a very simple bookcase, but it's something I needed and building it has given me the confidence to try my hand at woodworking again. Here's how it came together.

First, I assembled my materials.



And I gathered my tools, most of which were purchased at yard sales.



And then it was time to saw, hammer and nail. I attached the sides to the back first, and then the top and bottom.
Look, now I have (drumroll...) a large box!



And now for the moment of truth....is it level?



Yes!!!!
Time to put the shelves in!



The next step was painting...white, of course, and then I added some vintage ephmera to the back. I only taped it in place so that it would be easy to change. Finally, I added some wheels for easy portability. Here are some close-ups of the shelves. The first shelf features the cover from a piece of 1920's sheet music.


Here it is after I added some decorative objects. The little blue box also serves as storage for my plate hangers.


On the second shelf I used some vintage sheet music, a remnant of scrapbooking paper, and a vintage style postcard.


It holds some books, a family photo, and a vintage flower brooch. The book covers are made from aqua wrapping paper to coordinate with the room.


For the third shelf I added some old book pages and a piece of vintage sheet music. I really like the title of this song, "Why Must I Dream".


Here's another storage box; this one holds my plate and photo easels. I put the toile container on top because I like it, but I'm certain that it will soon become the stash place for something!


I put some additional sheet music on the bottom shelf, along with more old book pages, one of which, has photographs.


More books and a little milkglass sherbet for the bottom shelf.


Here's a photo of the finished bookcase, pictured with some other recent projects.


After putting it where I'd planned, I realized it needed something else. The front was facing the dining area, but the back was facing the guest/project room and looked rather blah. (I'll show you the bookcase in its permanent spot when I do the room reveal a little later.) At any rate, I decided it would look nice semi disguised as a column, so out came the pencil. I did a few practice sketches of columns on paper to find a design that I was happy with. Then I penciled the sketch to the bookcase.



I "painted" it by going over the outline with a wide Sharpie marker. Gotta love those little Sharpies --- one of my favorite "tools" anyway!


Here's the finished result.


So now it's a bookcase on one side and a column on the other.



Again, sorry for such a long post, but I just had to share my first absolutely from scratch furniture project.

Until next time,
Sheilla

White Inspiration

	This week work has been crazy and I've found myself dreaming instead of doing, so I thought I'd share some photos from my "inspiration file". I can't remember where I found the one on the left, but I just love that gilded sofa. Another one for my wish list!

More and more these days I seem to be drawn toward an elegant simplicity.

Photo: Apartment Therapy Design: Alexandria Nolita

I still love vintage, and a juxtaposition of rustic and refined elements, but these days, I seem to be craving a much quieter mix.

Photo: Ticking and Toile

I think this living room has such a peaceful quality about it. While predominantly modern, there are vintage elements present in the mantle and mirror. The dog statues were flea market finds. The long, billowy curtains add an air of softness and romance.

Photo: Metropolitan Home

Of course, I still love "stuff", and I find the photo below very appealing. I love the wrought iron daybed. Perhaps one day I'll find one in my price range.

Photo: Country Living

Of course it just doesn't get much better than this!

Photo: New York Times Design: Sandra Foster

I love all the classical elements in this photo, and especially like how the mirrors were layered. I believe I could do without the enamel ware pot in front of the fireplace, though. A chippy, rusty, old urn, in my opinion would be so much nicer.

Photo: Country Living

Here's a new addition to my inspiration files. This living room is on the cover of the current Elle Decor magazine. I'm in love with the mural by Bob Christian.

Photo: Elle Decor Design: Suzanne Rheinstein

This is another shot from the same New York apartment. The floors here were also painted by Bob Christian.

Photo: Elle Decor Design: Suzanne Rheinstein

Another of my current cravings is the pairing of aqua or turquoise with white, and black accents.

Photo: Elle Decor Design: Delphine Krakoff

And now for a few items on my wish list. I absolutely love this ruffled shower curtain! I wish I'd saved the source info, but I didn't. (My apologies if this happens to be yours).

I did find a similar one, however, at Anthropologie. If I had the budget, I could really get addicted to that store!

Photo and design: Anthropologie

And finally, last by not least, I want this piece of art! The photographic artist is Jennifer Molley Wilson. You may recognize her work from another White Wednesday post from a couple of weeks ago.

Photo: Jennifer Molley Wilson

Well, folks, I guess that's it for me today. Time to stop drooling and start doing. Thanks for visiting! I hope you've enjoyed browsing some of the images in my inspiration file with me.

Until next time,
Sheilla

I'm linking up with "White Wednesday" at Faded Charm. Come on over and check things out at Kathleen's fantastic blog!

I'm So Excited.....

I'm so excited! Tracie at My Petite Maison just contacted me to let me know that I am the winner of her fabulous Petite French Bohemian Giveaway! And one of the reasons that I'm so excited is that the prize will be

a complete surprise when it arrives! But whatever it turns out to be, I am absolutely positive it will be wonderful. You see, Tracie was planning a shopping trip to Alemeda, the largest antique show/flea market in Northern California, and she very generously decided to do a bit of shopping for one of her friends in the blogosphere. So she had a contest. She asked people to comment their wish lists for an entry, and I did. I still can't believe I'm the lucky winner!

For those of you not familiar with Tracie and her gorgeous blog, she is a woman of impeccable taste. She has been featured in Romantic Country magazine several times and is the owner of the most magnificent shop you could imagine! One of the things I like best about Tracie surprisingly has nothing to do with

decorating, though. Tracie is a kindred spirit in that she is a true animal lover. Her beautiful home is also home to a number of rescue pets -- Zeke, a huge but adorable French Great Pyrenees, and a trio of precious rescue cats!

Tracie THANK YOU so VERY MUCH!

Reese, Prissy, and Lucy
send their greetings to Zeke, Buttercup, Giles, & Gigi.
(and they can hardly wait to help me open my surprise!)
THANKS AGAIN!

Until next time,
Sheilla

Bittersweet

This is a bittersweet entry for me. Bitter because of the damage done to a lovely book, and sweet in that I've relished the memories of it while composing this post. You see, the

book I'm referring to is a book of French fairy tales* that was given to me in my childhood my my late Aunt Sara. It has perhaps the most beautiful illustrations** I've ever seen, and was my favorite book as a child. Enter Hurricane Hugo in 1989. My home was severely

damaged by the storm, and my cherished book as well. I've clung to it all these years in its sad condition, but have finally

decided to move on. I just finished photographing the illustrations in the book to preserve them as best I can. Now I'm

going to remove some of the less damaged prints and frame them. Others will be "reborn" into new pieces of art, as I incorporate them into my collages.

Now I'd like to share some of them with you.
Click on any image below to enlarge.

Bluecrest

The Tinder Box

The Sleeping Beauty

Beauty and the Beast

The Seven Crow Princes

The Royal Ram

The Wild Swans

The White Deer

Queen Cat

Donkey Skin

Puss In Boots

Urashima and the Turtle

Thumbelina
I hope you've enjoyed browsing some of the pages of my beloved childhood book with me. I've certainly enjoyed sharing them!

Until next time,
Sheilla

*This book was initally published in France in 1958. Rights were purchased by Golden Books and it was subsequently published in the United States. My edition was published in 1966 and was part of the seventh printing.

**The amazingly beautiful illustrations in this book were done by Adrienne Sègur.

I'm linked up with Show and Tell Friday at Cindy's gorgeous blog, Romantic Home Check it out for lots of incredible inspiration!