Lacy Bowls~~White Wednesday

Today, I am participating in
White Wednesday over at Faded Charm!
Kathleen is a sweetie to host this each week for all of us white
lovers!!  Hope you'll go check it out and meet her!

I am sharing a super simple project that can definitely
result in a wow factor for your home decor!

It is not new...but it is under sung!

LACY DOILY BOWLS!

These are so incredibly simple to make!
Here is what you need:

~a doily
~Stiffy fabric stiffener or liquid starch
~a bowl to form the shape
~wax paper

That's it!

Then follow these steps:

~Soak the doily completely with Stiffy or starch
~Gently squeeze out any excess
~Cover the bowl with wax paper
~Shape the doily around the bowl

If the doily is full, you can gently crimp the edges
for a ruffled effect.

Then just let dry and remove!!

Now it's time to get a little creative!

This one is perched on top of some vintage
ironstone butter pats!  I love it!

And they cast the most beautiful lacy effect
onto whatever is next to them,
which gives a vignette great ambiance,
and a touch of romance!

I set them on a vintage silver tray, and I have
one of them placed on a pillar candle stand.

These can also be used to display vintage trims,
buttons, baubles, or whatever your fancy!

They are a green craft, way too easy to make
and oh soooo lovely!

Hope you'll make some of your own!

Happy White Wednesday!!

Hugs,
Becky

It Really Is A Choice

Happy Monday!!

Hope your weekend was grand!!

Can I talk to you
about something from my heart today?

I have come to realize through my own experiences,
and shared experiences with others,
that what happens to us in this life isn't
nearly as important as our response to
what happens.

I don't know about all of you, but I have days,
that are full of minutes,
in which I am constantly having to

MAKE A CHOICE!!

Something will happen, someone will say or do
something that upsets or saddens me, me or one
in my family may have a health issue, I will
get some bad news, I will kick the chair leg, and be

certain I have a broken toe,  people will pluck my
nerves with their driving, or maybe I will just get up
on the wrong side of the bed!

WHAT TO DO???

Must. make. a. choice.

Instead of

Worry.
Sadness.

Fretfulness.

Anxiety.

Anger.
Etc...

I am learning to choose JOY!
And to choose to be thankful anyway!

 
No matter what we're faced with, the majority
of the time, it could be way worse,
and usually pales next to things
many other people are having to deal with!

We also function much better and are generally

happier when we choose not to make a problem
or a circumstance the sole object of our focus.

The Bible says it like this:

...whatever things are noble, whatever things are

just, whatever things are pure, whatever things
are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there

is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy,
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS.

There is always something we can be
thankful for, and when we choose joy
and thanks, the negative emotions
lose their place of prominence, and our
spirits are lifted...

All I know is this~~

This life is far too short to spend in the pit!

Some days I may have to choose joy
a dozen or more times, but I always
feel better and have a better day when I do!!

Choosing joy today!

How about you?

Hugs to you all!!

You are such a blessing!

Don't Pass Them By!

Hard to believe that just this morning, this little charmer...

looked like this...

I want to encourage you to look at these wooden shelves,

baskets, bowls, signs, etc... as diamonds in the rough!

With a little help, they can be turned into such great pieces!
This one had no imperfections, and I immediately
envisioned it with touches of French inspiration!

I whitewashed it, scruffed it up a bit, glued on
the little birdy, and added some goodies!
Easy peasy!!

Not convinced that it is just that easy?
It really is!!

But if you'd rather buy it than try it,
head on over to the shop and grab this

little beauty for yourself!!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

I am making acorns and pumpkins for a shop
in Frisco, Texas called Rustica Designs!

Woohoo!!!  Too much fun!

Have a glorious Sunday!
And remember that a happy heart
is a thankful heart!!

Hugs,

Life is Full of Surprises!!

WOW!

Sometimes life is just so much fun!!

I have a sweet blog friend named Kathy,
over at Creative Home Expressions,
who I first met as a customer at my shop last year.

Today she surprised me by
telling me she was featuring
the heirloom  pumpkins she just
purchased from me
in her blog post today!

What a J-O-Y!!!

I LOVE seeing what people do with my creations!
It just makes the circle complete, you know?

Here is a little peek...

Kathy is a very gifted interior decorator and

just as sweet and generous as she is talented!

Hope you'll pop over and take a look and meet her!
To go see more just click here

Thanks again, Kathy!


And to top that off, I was recently contacted by
two retail stores who would like to carry some of the items
I have created for my Prelude to Fall Collection!!

Pinch me, please...what a delight to be asked!!!

Hopefully they will both work out and I can
make that announcement to you soon!
Who knows...one of them may be in your area!!

Here is my newest set of pumpkins!

A little shabby and tattered, with a sweet inspirational sentiment!
Now available in the shop!!

Please know that I do make custom pumpkins!

I have a couple of orders I am working on,
and would love to make some for you!!

You can email me at junktojoyshop@yahoo.com
or convo me on Etsy, and we'll make it happen!!

I will be listing more heirloom pumpkins at the end of the week!

Have a lovely week,
and be sure to savor all the surprises
that come your way!!

Hugs,

Aptly Stated!

For a few minutes this morning, I searched
Pinterest for "sayings" and found sooo many
wonderful tidbits of wisdom!!

Here is a sprinkling of some of my faves!
Enjoy!

:o)  LOVE this!!

Let your birdie out!

Have a delightful weekend, and

count your blessings, not worries today!!

Sunny Florida Hugs!

Busy Hands!

Hi Friends!

My week already seems to be flying
by and it is only Tuesday!!

How about yours???

I am creating, snapping, editing, listing
like crazy, and stuff is sprouting wings
and flying out of my shop!

What a delight!

  This is a trio of Sea Mist Heirloom Pumpkins that flew away
before I could show you!!

And I have introduced my new clay tags...finally!

Bees and Fleur de Lis!!!

And will be listing the French Dictionary Page Confetti Hearts soon!

Other styles yet to come!

These little cuties were all snapped up in a flash!

Thank you wonderful bloggy friends!
You know who you are!
{smile}


I hope your day is fabulous!!
Mine is crammed full of creating,
packing and shipping!!

JOY!

Hugs n Blessings!

Becky

Le Pompion

Bonjour!

Hope your weekend is going well!

Do you know that we got our word "pumpkin"
from the French word "pompion"?

As in pom pom?

Well...neither did I.
The actual French word for pumpkin is potiron.
and it isn't pronounced pot iron!!

I could get soooo carried away with
a study of the history of our language!!

BUT...

I choose instead to spend my time
creating fun stuff!!
Woohoo!!

Like these delightful little potirons
covered in vintage French dictionary pages!

Actually, Maddy did the labor on these,
since she is now in my employ!!

I added the stems and embellished them!

These little cuties just make me smile!

And they will be in the shop tomorrow~~

So...if they make you smile, too

go check them out!!

Have a joyful Sunday
full of blessings!

Hugs,

The French Nest and Friends!

Wow!  Today was a wonderful day!

I had the absolute joy of meeting not one,
but TWO, blog friends in person,
AND
visited the amazing store,
FRENCH NEST
in College Park!

I met up with
Carol, from The Polka Dot Closet,

and what a fun, energetic, gregarious, and

incredibly creative woman she is!

Carol has such a generous spirit, and shares

2  wonderful, detailed, tutorials each week on her blog!

And she is just FULL of ideas and inspiration!!

You must go meet her for yourself!!

You'll be glad you did!!

We chatted and shopped, and ooo-ed and ahh-ed at

the fabulous displays, and chatted and shopped some

more and then enjoyed lunch together at the little cafe

next door.  Simply delightful!

Thank you Carol!!!!

{one of my favorite displays!!}

I did find a few treasures for MOI!!
I actually DIDN'T buy anything for the shop!!
{oh except maybe some more vintage buttons} :o)

The French Nest is packed full of all manner
of vintage yumminess!!  If you live in or visit the
Orlando area, this store is a definite MUST SEE!

We were in there for 1 1/2 hours, and I still
didn't get a close look at everything!

This shop is truly a feast for the soul!

The first step inside is unbelievable!!

I somehow missed the contents of this display except
for the photo!!  But I WILL be going back!!

A chicken wire and shell crown!  So imaginative!

The center of an awesome tote bag!

This room in the back was utterly charming!

After Carol and I parted, I headed over to Susie's house
to pick up some items I purchased from her Etsy shop, LemonVerbena.

Susie's blog is From My Home to Yours, and I just
have to tell you that Susie is wonderfully warm and welcoming
as is her home!  She greeted me with a hug, and I immediately
felt I was in the company of an old friend!!

Her home is absolutely enchanting, and full of
chippy, vintage delights!  I had soo much fun
looking at her fabulous vignettes!  She is blessed with
a wonderful eye for design!!  I could have stayed
and chatted for hours...next visit I will!

Thank you sooo much Susie!!
It was a real joy to get to know you a bit!

Well, my cup runneth over!
And I am off to create a bit and then to bed!

OH!!!  I forgot to tell you!!
I have my computer back!!
So I will spend the weekend snapping, editing,
and listing items for the shop!! 

WOOHOO!!!

Have a fantastic Friday!!!

Big Squishy Hugs,

Chippy, Chunky Wood Delights!

I love White Wednesday over at Faded Charm!

If you haven't met Kathleen, or checked out this

wonderful blog party yet, you need to know that it isn't just

for lovers of all things white!!!

You will find tons of great ideas that will inspire you

and could be changed a bit to fit your style and color scheme!

Come on!  Join the fun!

******

I recently scored some fabulous little wood chunks

that were salvaged from a Coast Guard cottage along

the Massachusetts shoreline.

I was in heaven when they arrived, and couldn't

wait to make something with them!

The paint is the palest of buttercreams and is

just delicious with all of it's chippy shabbiness!!

This wee piece is full of vintage charm!

It includes silk sari ribbon, a vintage pearl bauble, 100 yo

eyelet salvaged from an antique lamps shade, a MOP button, and

an awesome little escutcheon from The Petite Market on Etsy!

She is a fantastic seller and has all kinds of goodies!

You almost can't mess up when you're working

with such a wonderful little piece of history!! 

This is the second one I made.  A vintage earring, and vintage barrette

piece set it off with some sparkle and "shine"!  The trim is

from the same 100 yo lampshade fabric, and the bow

is some sweet old cotton lace.

It will get either a wire hanger or a silk sari ribbon hanger.

Thank you for stopping by!

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

Have a delightful White Wednesday!!

Hugs,

I Can't Believe It!!

I am so trying not to be stressed! 

Today my computer totally crashed!
UGH!!!  

Right when I was going to be doing a marathon on it!!

{Refocusing...thinking of wandering through a field of lavender

and breathing in the fragrant relaxing aroma!}

So, I am posting this from my daughter's MAC!  

Hopefully we will spring for one for ourselves soon!!

I am trusting God with this glitch in my plans,

and will just get my photos loaded and edited when I can!

In other words, Part 2 of the sneak peek for my

Prelude to Fall Collection probably won't be

posted for a couple more days.  {meh} 

Also, since I am handicapped when it comes to using

a Mac, my shop will not be opening up for a couple

more days either!!

photos via

Hopefully, the good computer Dr. at my hubby's 

workplace will work his magic on our PC and this 

will all be a thing of the past soon!! 

Please pray that we can recover all of the memory!

We turned off our back up because it was

slowing the computer down too much. {never again}

THANK YOU SO MUCH

for all of your lovely comments on my pumpkins

and acorns!!  You're such joys to my heart!

Believe me when I say there is much more to come!!

Can't wait to share!

Have a fabulous week, and share your smile!!

Hugs,

Sneak Peek Part 1...Prelude to Fall Collection

Whew!!  Girls I have been working hard!

It is fun, though, to work on Fall stuff!

I can almost feel the cool breezes wafting
through the windows and fluffing up my curtains!!
{sigh}  back to earth, Becky, and 100 degree heat!!

I have managed to snap just a few pics of a few
items...so there is MUCH more to come!!

Here is the first little sneak peek at my
"Prelude to Fall" Collection!!

It will be chock full of shabby, cottage, and
farmhouse style home decor, paper goods,
and gift items designed by MOI!!

These are so much fun to create!

The solid pumpkins are "Heirloom" pumpkins, and
are made of raw silk, and embellished with
an intricately patterned antique lace collar,
and sparkly vintage rhinestones buttons.
Each Heirlom pumpkin is one of a kind,
and can be enjoyed as a treasured keepsake
throughout the years and the seasons!!

There will be some other pairs of
Heirloom pumpkins available for
purchase, but they are a limited edition item!!

The cute ticking pumpkins are a popular item,

and will be paired together, or included in trios with
coordinating toile or muslin pumpkins.

The acorns are so unique!!
They are needle felted with
white wool roving, and attached into fabulous
large, natural acorn caps that
measure over 1" across the top edge.
They coordinate beautifully with the pumpkins,
for an instant Fall vignette!

I am also working on regular sized felted
acorns, that look adorable scattered around
your Fall home decor!!

Thanks for looking!
I'll be back on Sunday with
Sneak Peek Part 2!!

Be sure to visit the Pumpkin Patch
on Tuesday when Junk to Joy Shop
reopens with lots of new items, and a
Sizzlin' Summer clearance sale!!

Have a delightful weekend!!
HUGS