Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Tweaking an Old Display Shelf

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As the days turn crisp and cool, I’ve moved back into my old blogging station – the den. I was using the yellow chair in the living room for several months as that was where Riley was and I needed to be right by his side. As I sit here this morning, sipping on Peet’s French Roast, shawl wrapped around my shoulders (it’s that nippy!) my eye keeps landing on this little wall vignette. (I bought the Lost Lamb print from Debra of Common Ground.)

For those of you who are newer readers of this blog, I tweaked this display shelf a few months back. It started out like this:

I really liked the carved edges of the shelf – sort of scallopy – but I didn’t want to use the mirrors. So I painted the shelf, did a little distressing and then cut scrapbook paper to fit over the glass. Very simple. But what a transformation!

It’s amazing what a coat of paint and some leftover paper can do. This shelf displays my newish miniature pottery collection. What is it about all that is tiny that I love? I am immediately drawn to miniatures. And since I love pottery and have tons of it here in the cottage but have limited space, these smaller pieces seem like the perfect thing to collect.

I want more.

They are not easy to find. But that’s the challenge, isn’t it?

I’m linking this post to my pal Brenda’s Tweak it Tuesday.

Happy Tuesday.

A Favorite Thing Friday

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I used to have the occasional post showing a favorite thing of mine. But it’s been a while. Time to reinstate this Mockingbird Hill Cottage Tradition!

Say hello to my pitcher. I have a lot of pitchers but this one is my favorite. As with everything in this cottage, it has a story, though it’s a brief little tale. This pitcher was my great-grandmother’s. That would make it well, well over 100 years old. It was part of her daily life at the farmhouse in Orillia, Ontario. I believe, though I might be wrong, that my grandmother called it a “syrup pitcher” or a “syrup jug.” It’s about 10 inches tall and is in beautiful condition (thanks to my grandmother, I’m sure.)

During my youth and young adulthood, this pitcher was in my grandmother’s china cabinet. I would stare at it every time I visited. I did that kind of thing even as a young girl. I liked pretty things.

I love the sort of impressionist look to the paint and glaze. That gold trim is also at the base of the pitcher and on the handle. And the lid? The lid is pewter and it just may be my favorite part of this piece.

When my grandmother died, my mother inherited this piece and it moved to her china cabinet. Many years ago, my mother started dividing up her china and inherited pieces and I asked if I could have this. So now it’s in my china cabinet. Four generations….four china cabinets.

So many of you collect china or are dealers: if you know anything more about this piece, please share. I’ve often thought if I ever went to The Antiques Roadshow, I’d take this pitcher. Not because it’s worth anything, but because I really would like to know more about it. There’s no identifying mark anywhere.

Would this sort of thing – sharing a favorite thing – be something you would like to participate in? Let me know – maybe we would start a weekly meme/party where we share a favorite thing every week. Just testing the waters. Let me know. And if so, should it be on Friday or Saturday? There are so many parties out there, don’t want to over-schedule everyone.

My nephew David, Meredith’s son, flies off to Ohio today to start college at Ohio State. Oh my. It seems like yesterday when he was a toddler and we took him to the San Diego Zoo. Now he’s a tall, handsome, witty guy who’s going to be part of the Swimming Program at OSU. Best of luck, Dave! I’m so proud of you.

Happy Friday.

Vintage Kitchen Towels

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What is it about these vintage kitchen towels that attracts me? One word: cheery. I love everything about these cheery retro prints and have been collecting them for a long time. Whenever I see one that is in good condition, I grab it. Come to think of it, I think I began to collect these when I was living in Boston. In those days, I collected Fiesta pottery. The bright, vivid colors seemed to go perfectly with my Fiesta.

 

I eventually sold that Fiesta collection, but the love of these vintage prints remained. How can you not smile when you look at these?

I have quite a few and I use them in different ways. They can appear as a dresser scarf, like this one in my bedroom:

 

Or they can be turned into a valance, like this one in my studio:

 

Of course, they can also be cut up and used as napkins or pillow covers or any number of things.

Just a peek at another one of my collections. Do you have any of these vintage linens?

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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