Easy Wire Cloche Project

Is it too early to have spring fever? I don't think so.

I was looking through my spring posts from last year and thought I'd share one of my favorite projects again.


I had found several of these old wire gutter end caps at an Estate Sale.

I thought they were the right shape to become "French Wire Cloches"

So I added an old lamp finial to one of them.



I set the wire cloche on an old plant saucer and tiny ironstone dish.




The little jug has a broken top, but under the flowers you would never know.




Over the last year I have found many of these wire gutter end caps at sales so they are out there. You might seen them and not paid any attention!

For other DIY projects see the links near the top of my sidebar.

A few changes made.

I have made some changes to my blog over the last week... to make it easier to read....

I changed the background color from gray to white...back to light gray

Changed the type to a "Sans Serif" style font...

And stopped using italics to write my posts....

Fooled around with the link colors.


These changes are in response to my readers' comments to my post titled My Personal List of Blog "Pet Peeves"~ What are yours?

Do you like the changes? Is it easier for you to read? Anything else? Any other suggestions?





{These little guys have nothing to do with this post. They just wanted to say "Hello."}



I have been on a "Show Vacation" since mid-December and am spending all my extra time for the next couple of weeks getting ready for my first show this year at the Grayslake Antiques Market. The show details are on my sidebar.

I will be sharing some of my favorite posts from last spring with you over the next couple of weeks.

Spring is right around the corner. I can wish, can't I?

This is just Soooo Easy!

Project Difficulty Level: CBE/TTRWAFD meaning~ Couldn't Be Easier/ Turned the Right Way And Found Dome



This is as easy as it gets. I found this dome with the flat place on the bottom {see last picture below} at a local thrift for $1.

I had the curtain rod end piece in my stash of junky stuff.

Used E6000 to glue them together.




I wanted it to be whimsical so the finial is kind of big for the dome.




I made the pedestal using this tutorial.

Here is another easy to do tutorial for making a cloche with stuff from the thrift and things around the house.

My Favorites from the Vintage Valentine Card Party

Thank you everyone who participated in the Vintage Valentine Card Party!
I have never seen so many wonderful vintage Valentines in one place!

I loved reading the stories contained in many of the posts..

In this post I am featuring some of my favorites. It was very hard to pick.
Something about the following Valentines just clicked with me as I read through all of your posts.

Most of them are from the 1930's and their graphics really appealed to me.

The art of the "pun" and "turning a phrase" was really alive and well in the vintage Valentine card world, wasn't it?





This cutie with the big eyes is from Lori Hairston.





Maybe as good a way as any to pick your mate from Hazelruthe's.





Such a cute card and there is one of those puns from The Charm of Home.





A great golf outfit. What a hat! From Alice and Elsie.





Aren't they cute peeking out of those red hearts from Second Hand Chic?





If only love could be explained "All in a Nutshell" from CremnRabble.





And look at this pretty heart and dove wrapping paper from One Gal's Trash.


Thank you, both the participants and the "party hoppers", for making the Vintage Valentine Card Party a success.

A Cloche is Good, but A Cloche with a Pedestal is Even Better

I know many of you love cloches...

How about an easy to make PEDESTAL base for height and drama?





I started with a candlestick and a circle cut from an old tagboard file divider.

{For bigger pedestals, you many want to use a wood circle for strength.}

This one is small so two layers or tagboard are firm enough.




Use E6000 or silicone to attach the candlestick to the base.



I covered the top with sheet music and cut a border to match. Then glued everything together.



Added some coral!

Everything looks more impressive under a cloche. Even better under a cloche on a pedestal.

Here is an EASY way to make your own CLOCHE .

To see other thrifty and fun projects see the links near the top of my sideboard.

The Vintage Valentine Card Party

Welcome to the Vintage Valentine Card Party!




Late last year I bought this school composition book dated November 21, 1900 from a local Estate Sale for $1.

A good price for just this little prize and....






The real treasures were found inside this little bundle of tissue.



A stack of Valentines given to the owner of the composition book on February 14, 1901.

While the Estate Sale was 30 minutes from my house, the composition book had been owned by someone who grew up in the community where I live.







This Valentine has a Victorian scrap girl in the middle, hand painted hearts in the corners, and a hand flowers on the envelope.



















The two Valentines above are ornate doilies with Victorian scrap decorations added.




All of the Valentines are in beautiful condition for being 109 years old.




Enjoy your visits to the other participants who are listed on my sidebar! Some of them are having GIveaways as you can see from their link names.

I will leave the links up until at least next Sunday so you will have time to get to all of the over 70 participants.

Remember to leave comments so that they know you have been there.

Happy Valentine Day everyone!!!!


Also, visit thecharmofhome.blogspot.com who I can't add to my sidebar as a link for some reason.

Easy Cloche Project... using stuff around the house

I love easy, quick and cheap projects!!!!!

I found a glass hurricane shade at the thrift last week for $2. I decided I could make it into a cloche.

So I looked at my "spare parts pile" to see what I could use for the top and base.

I found a round unpainted wood base.






And these two parts {next picture}. A wood finial and a metal ring.

I glued them together with E6000, painted everything, and then glued the finished finial to the glass neck of the hurricane shade.




Everything and anything looks good under a cloche. Don't you agree?

See other thrifty and easy projects by clicking on the links at the top of my sidebar.

Silver Sunday~ Sterling Silver Charms

My love of silver charms began on a trip to Chicago for my girlfriend's 9th birthday.

I bought a charm of the Prudential building which at that time was the tallest building in Chicago.






And it went on from there. Above is my first charm bracelet with charms from high school and college.

My high school's basketball team won the Indiana State Championship my senior year.

Most people know that that is a BIG deal in Indiana!!!!!!

I went to Ball State Teachers College {Now Ball State University}. Can you name a famous Hoosier Ball State alum who was there when I was? There are a total of 3.




Over the years I continued buying charms~




The ones that had moving parts or were particularly detailed were my favorites.



I found them at flea markets, antique shops, garage sales, and jewelry stores.




The average price was $3 to $5.




After making 6 charm bracelets, I still had a box full of charms. A couple of years ago I put together a charm necklace.

I don't know the exact number of charms on my necklace, but it is well over 100.