Birds Nesting in the Daisies

When I came home on Thursday afternoon, I noticed some weedy twigs poking out of my front door flower arrangement.  Uh-oh.  Some sweet little bird has decided my flower basket is an ideal nesting spot.  I guess this confirms that I don't get out much, for surely any comings and goings would have deterred her from setting up house in such a way that her babies will be in and out of my foyer.

The daisies do provide pretty good cover from the elements and screen the nest from passerby.  I had this problem once before, when mourning doves set up in a planter outside my back door.  They made a mess.  These eggs are tiny and so pretty, I can't think of disturbing them but it will not be easy since this is the only practical means of egress from my house.

My neighbor thought they might be sparrows and from pictures I've seen online I think she is right.  So it appears I've got guests for about a month.  I'm going to have to rethink my door decor once they move out.

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Finds, Flowers, and the FLOORING

Pic of some of my flowers because they are so pretty right now:

 I found some cool vintage silverware at the flea market last week:

And today I picked up a jewelry armoire at a yardsale, which is going to end up white or MAYBE duck egg blue (but probably not).  I loved the carvings:

Do you see what it's sitting on?  I'm pretty excited because I spent all day working on re-installing the flooring in my foyer, which is Allure Ultra, a sort of flexible laminated rubber tile that locks together with a little rubber channel.  I have been working on this putting this off for about 2 months, because I was not happy about the way it looked.  The locking part was not staying "locked" and the corners kept shifting around when the next piece went in.  I had 2 boxes installed for the past 2 months, and the other night I laid 2 more boxes.  Still not happy, so this morning I ripped it all out and started over.  That may sound dramatic but it's pretty easy to dismantle, the hard part is getting it to lock together perfectly.  I had much better luck, maybe due to practice?  I spent several hours today laying on the floor, using my weight (which is substantial) to hold the finished part in place while I put in the next piece.  I put all 4 boxes back down plus half of box #5, so there's just a box and a half left to do.  Here is where we stand:

Now that the installation is going better, I really kind of love it.  I'm sure the dark color is going to be a nightmare to keep dusted but I just had to have it anyway.  In the next pic there is a bit of a glare, so you can see the "hand-scraped" effect better. It's a really nice-looking, realistic alternative to wood, which would not work here due to moisture.

Ignore the dirt, I swept but should have vacuumed before taking pics!  I still have to finish the powder room and closet, and then put the edge molding back in place, but I am now feeling confident I will get there.

Have a great week everyone!

Trash to Treasure, with Clay Roses

I'm pretty sure all the problems of the world have been solved, and you can find links to all the answers on Pinterest. But if you are looking for info on how to do a craft, just look to Carol at The Polka Dot Closet. This week she taught me how to make polymer clay roses (and no, she has no idea that she did this).  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday morning I took 3 $5 bills and 5 $1's, got a newspaper and a bottle of iced tea, and went yard sale-ing. I spent $16 in about 2 hours, and got this little pile of stranger's castoffs, with which I entertained myself all weekend:

This little basket got a coat of French Linen and filled with a grocery bag full of dirt and flowers:

I like old baskets for plants.  They usually are ready for the trash by the end of the season, but for fifty cents I'm not all that heartbroken about it.  Most of the rest of my junk haul is in the process of getting painted white, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the suitcase just yet.  So back to the roses... Carol's instructions were great.  Here is an extreme close-up for your viewing pleasure:

 
I had a lot of fun making them, and I think they add a little something to the shelf:

She's already got me sticking chandy crystals on everything, and now there will be roses too!   Have a nice week!

Ironstone, Silver and a Mini Project

I visited my local flea market on Sunday and spent $10.  Half of it went for a cute little English ironstone covered vegetable dish, and while that was getting wrapped up, I spotted these silver pieces and spent the rest:

Not a bad day's junking. 

Found nothing else but I was happy.  Last time I went I came away with this:

And the frame made me think of this.  And so, inspired by my good blog buddy Mel, I came up with this (forgive the bad lighting, it's been dreary for days):

Hey, what are blog buddies for, if not to inspire, right?  Thanks Mel!