"Cherish" Room - Opening Day!

After a week of working almost day and night to get the walls of the room and furniture painted, vintage finds researched and priced, and making some holiday decorations, I decided it was time to open the room! After all - it is a work in progress - constantly!  Every time a piece of furniture sells, the room gets a makeover to make room for a new piece that may not fit in the old spot! AND - I have so many more holiday projects I wanted to put in the room before I opened, I realize now that I will never be 'done'! So please join me on a tour of my new space - the "Cherish" room at Fabulous Finds!

Let's begin on the east wall as you enter the room -this is my 'cabin' wall!  The desk is a vintage rancho style desk with a cabin on the front panel.   The red desk top is set off by the red of the child's rocking chair -a vintage Nichol and Stone from the late 1950's.  A hand forged iron cross is featured above a vintage mailbox stuffed with letters to Santa!

 This wall also features a bare wood framed chalkboard, a 'Merry Christmas' banner and some rustic frames.

The vintage metal shelf is a perfect display piece for a pair of vintage fawn salt and pepper shakers and the little boy Lefton Snowball Kissing Bell.

 Moving towards the right, the Christmas Tree is almost camouflaged by the printed fabric sporting a wood pile image, hanging behind it. How I snapped this one so blurry is beyond me but I'll take a new picture tomorrow and fix it!  The table sits on an old "Dancer's" table (see previous post!) and in front of it is an old ammo box. 


Ok - that's a little clearer!  A handmade "wish" banner encircles the tree loaded with glittered word ornaments, Victorian cone ornaments to fill, letters, and more!

The main focus wall of the room is next featuring a huge, beautiful vintage chalkboard and a 48" round pedestal table clad in this season's plaid!  The basket to the left on the floor is filled with two peppermint striped pillows, as does a black iron candle stand.

 On the table there are two apothecary jars filled with beribboned jingle bells,


a box of rusty metal tags with stencil letter cutouts perfect for monogramming a gift bottle for the holidays,


and a metal ornament tree with a flock of spring loaded dove ornaments!

Moving right again, we scan past a wall of vintage frames, a wire mesh shelf hung with stockings and a 'joy' banner, some letters, a small bird hook and other wall decor, to come to the ethereal section of the room!

Topped by a massive baroque style frame, this vintage dresser supports a trio of pastel holiday trees, and two mirrored stocking holders with pewter toned stockings. Look closely and you'll see a trio of little cherubs gracing the negative space!

The pastel tones in this corner offer a completely different holiday decorating choice.  A vintage french provincial dining table is the perfect piece to set the tone.  The white feather tree and vintage aqua tinsel tree add a bit of sparkle and softness, while the white lights add a bit of twinkle to the holiday magic!

 Under the padded 'dream' letters, two small magnetic chalkboards hang from the seven bird iron hook, and a rose cross stitch adds a touch of pink to the wall and ties in the vintage tablecloth.

Zoom in further and a vintage pair of playful fawns welcome you to the fantasy.  The 'cut crystal' platter is really a vintage acrylic piece!

Two more vintage fawns play in front of an old lidded jar with snowflake motif.  The ram ornament wishes you 'Noel".

Finding a home in the feather tree are some glittered owl ornaments, dove wreath ornaments and snow glittered jingle bells. (See that patch of green in the top right corner?  Check back to 'Cherish' Room - Day One to see how the whole room used to be that color!)

We now have arrived at the last wall - and where we walked in!  Another sea blue edged chalkboard hangs between the two room windows.  A spinning card rack is filled with Victorian die cut holiday cards, thank you cards, and other French themed blank cards - all offered for less than $2!  A set of old mattress springs serves as a back drop for the 'info desk' and also is great for displaying the variety of greeting cards, clipped on with clothespins.

The feathered angel wings fly above a photo album filled with pictures of 'special order' projects I've done. To the left -  a basket of raffle tickets wait to be filled out for some lucky person to win the newest Taylor Swift CD and a t-shirt, a special incentive for visiting my new space! Stop by and maybe you'll get an early Christmas gift to give someone, or keep for yourself! 

 Thanks for taking the tour with me - the "Cherish" room will continue to evolve with each new piece of refinished furniture, vintage treasure or handmade item I bring in - you never know what you'll find so stop by often! Let me know if there is something special you'd like for me to find or make for you - giving you things to 'Cherish' is what I love!

A "Deere" Celebration!

When Alan walked into his parents home and saw this invitation sitting on the kitchen table the surprise was off! Although Alan knew his family was throwing him a 'surprise' party for his 60th, what he didn't know was how well his family designed the party theme after his daily mode of transportation - John Deere Tractors!  Alan has been a rice farmer in the Sacramento Valley for about 40 years so the theme was perfect. 

Coming up to the house, the party theme was immediately apparent. 

 There were John Deere toy tractors and pumpkins greeting guests at the door, with bundles of rice sitting atop hay bales.

The early evening weather was perfect for a backyard celebration!  And since there was rain the day before the party, most of Alan's farmer friends were able to make it to the party since it was too wet to harvest rice that day!

Round tables were covered in green tablecloths and John Deere fabric toppers.  White plates were flanked by the silverware and topped with yellow bandana print fabric napkins tied with jute. Water glasses were canning jars accented with jute ties as well.

Centerpieces were pulled from the family's treasure trove of John Deere collectibles!

 There were collectible dolls on every table. . .

 .  . such as small scale John Deere tractors, metal lunch boxes and other pieces.

The floral arrangements were designed by daughter-in-law, Leslie.  Vases filled with fresh sunflowers were anchored with rice straight from the field, instead of oasis or flower frogs.  Leslie's mom, Fran, and sister-in-law, Julie helped with the set-up.

There were plenty of ride on toys for the 8 grandchildren to entertain themselves with throughout the evening, although most were camera shy so I didn't get a good picture of any of them on them!

The grandchildren even wore John Deere clothing - here grandson Cage models his Deere green shirt - along with his bandage from slamming his finger in the door the day before!
Daughter-in-law Cory, Cage's mom, was in charge of setting up the bar so Cage's accident added to her list of duties the day before the big party! 

Brynn, Alan's oldest grandchild, smiles for the camera with Katie, who is sporting her pink John Deere overalls!  These girls will be excellent party planners some day after watching and learning from their moms, Leslie and Melissa, and their aunties Cory and Julie, who all worked together with grandmother Debbie, to plan and implement this birthday! celebration!

Alan's daughter, Melissa, found and ordered the invitations from Lemonade Moments, an Etsy site.

Melissa also created this clever balloon wreath to hang on the patio door after seeing one on Pinterest.

The guests' party favors were placed in a large John Deere tin on a console table by the front door. Yellow bandanas protected the table's surface and John Deere Collector's plates added to the charm. A chicken wire basket accepted cards for the birthday boy!

Party favors were handmade shortbread tractor cookies in two patterns, Melissa had found on another Etsy site.

Susan Dobbs of The Tailored Cookie, created the tractor with the cab cookie, 

and the 'tractor without a cab' cookie!  The two types of tractors represent the years Alan has farmed; as he started with tractors without cabs (driving one you eat dirt all day!) to the luxurious air conditioned cabs of tractors today!

The buffet table was decorated with gingham checked fabric, pumpkins, bundles of rice, more John Deere toy tractors, and other farm decor.  The delicious buffet included ribs, chicken and chopped beef from Dickey's BBQ Pit in Roseville.  Debbie made the rest of the menu which included tasty beans, potato,fruit and Cesar salads, heirloom tomatoes and rolls.

And last but not least was THE CAKE! The three tier cake was created by Jessica Calta, a former student of Debbie's, and featured a tractor on the top tier, a cornfield on the middle tier and a split rail fence on the bottom tier - all, of course, in John Deere yellow and green!

The grandchildren couldn't wait for that cake to be cut! 

 
 Meika grabbed Alan and brought him over to the cake table where Cole, Cage, Wade, Katie, Brynn and Blake gathered.

Alan's son, Brad holds the youngest grandchild, Emma, while helping Melissa light the SIXTY  candles . . .

and light . . .and light!

 As 'Happy Birthday' was sung, the tractor looked like it was on fire!

The big moment came and the grandkids helped Alan blow out his candles!

 Alan will no doubt cherish this event which his "Deere'' family so wonderfully put together! 

Sunflowers and Bees

Sunflowers are one of my favorite of all flowers - so bright and cheery, and I've noticed

they are frequently paired with bees.  I found the frame above years ago at Marshall's and decided to use it as the starting point for my early fall decor this year  - I just love the metal piece at the top! Let's start the tour with my mantel decorations - this bee skip is a top for a candle hiding underneath - a Mary Lake Thompson original!

The peasant girl vase is a vintage Catalina Pottery piece - and the vintage light sconces were found at a yard sale in Berkley on one of my pickin' adventures!

On the mantel, a book about bees suggests the theme, grouped with a vintage metal honey pot and a silk sunflower.

I paid way too much for the little "Beware of the Bees" sign a few years back, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet when you fall in love!  "Huney B. Keeper", the retired Boyd's Bear, leans against a vintage bee skip as she holds the sign. I just love the netting around her straw hat!

 This platter was a buyer's gift we received after we purchased an FFA lamb this year at the county fair - I painted the sunflower sign last summer to resell but fell in love with the way it turned out so it stayed home - both sit below the mantel and atop my fireplace insert since its been too hot to burn any wood yet!

The coffee table was the setting for this grouping - the sunflower cloche was a Marshall's find! I love everything Mary Lake Thompson of Oroville creates and this teapot is no exception! Another vintage honeypot sits with a silk sunflower on a vintage pie crust mirror.

Sunflowers and Bees!  Somehow I am always attracted to anything with a bee motif! This past weekend I lucked out finding this darling pillow half price - and it goes well with the gray striped feed sack pillow on my chenille couch!

Ok - so I love vintage pie crust mirrors! This one on my entry table is one of my favorites found at an antique store in Sacramento long ago.  I had to throw some mini pumpkins in the mix! A vintage frame leans in the background 'framing' the vignette.

I had been searching for about 9 months for the perfect sconces to place of either side on the mirror above my couch in my living room and found two of these at a gift shop in Benicia!  Glass vases sit inside a metal frame and I fill the vases to go with my seasonal decor - I think I'll do another post showing you all the different ways I've filled the vases so far!

This metal candle cloche sits atop some wonderful vintage farm books from 1850 I found in a shop in Calistoga - the embroidered napkin was another half price item I couldn't resist!

And finally, my prize sunflower from my garden this year!  This was the biggest head I raised this year - about 14 inches across! Can't wait to roast the seeds and enjoy!

Looks like something else enjoys sunflowers as much as I do! Hope you enjoyed the tour!