From Tina - SQUIRREL!

One night back in August there was a silly gabfest on FB where there may have been alcohol involved on one or more parts, and the topic of squirrels came up.

We all know how Suzan (Simply Vintageous) feels about squirrels.  Tina (What We Keep) quickly found a cute image of a squirrel in a scarf and beret.  Names like Sammie and Samuel were thrown about.




Then Suzan pronounced him Samuel De Champlain. (Though she claims no memory of this event at all!)

I fell in love with the cute Canadian instantly.

I knew Tina had wicked Wonder Woman skills at embroidery.

I wanted her to make me a bag for my front door with the squirrel and his name.

Like those reindeer bags you find at Decor-something.

Now at this point in a post about receiving something in the mail from a fellow blogger, I would normally show off how beautifully the package was wrapped.

BUT ...

Chucks, the dogs, and I were crowded around the sofa to unveil what was inside.  I was carefully pulling apart the tissue when Chucks yelled "CORN!!!" and grabbed the box from my hands.

Packing went everywhere.

I am highly allergic to corn.

However this was a dried ear so no harm was done to me, but the beautiful wrapping was now a mess.


A wonderful note.

An iron handle perfect for hanging Samuel.

The bag, not the squirrel.






The jute upholstery strips - perfect for a Christmas ornament.

Tina, I am so sorry but when Chucks was saving me from the corn, he tore apart the arrangement.

(BOO-HOO)

Look, look, look!

A wonderful grain sack bag with a Samuel De Champlain transferred to the front.

Exactly my favorite color of blue.

Isn't he adorable?

I was dancing about the house taking him to find a home.

I was in love.

BUT ...

Chucks yelled (again), "Hey, there is something in the bottom of the box."

GASP!

A larger Samuel De Champlain.

On natural linen with a grain sack stripe.

And fringe.

And he was embroidered!

Those of you who follow Tina know she severely cut her thumb and has not been able to embroider so I was not expecting this beauty.








Oh, gosh, TWO Canadians in my life.

Luckily there are places to hang squirrels around here because I would never be able to choose between them.

Tina added a wire ornament with a leaf and a "W" to the top. 

Notice how beautifully she distressed the fabric.

Blogging friends are the best friends.

Tina is getting ready to open her shop back up.  Be sure to visit What We Keep to see her creations.

Thank ye,

Thank ye,

Thank ye,

Tina!


See y'all!


REMEMBER:  Make It Monday starts Sunday (tonight) at 7PM Eastern.  We would love to see your posts linked there!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

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Mirror In Distress

If something is new, I make it old.

That would be my mantra.

Distressed is my name after all.

 

How to make a perfectly good mirror a primitive beauty

I showed you this mirror before. (here)

I sanded the heck out of the finish.

Both sides.

Then I sanded the heck out of the back of the mirror.

I used a fine grit with my hand sander.

Be careful - you do NOT want to scratch the glass.

That's just ugly, not distressed!

Sprayed a light coat of Looking Glass followed by a light spritz of alcohol.

Repeated that step one more time.

Sometimes I do a third, but two turned out to be the look I wanted.

I painted the whole back - wood and glass with black paint.

I used techniques learned in my Farragoz course to paint layers and layers of paint followed by a light scraping and sanding.

She is a primitive beauty.

I was tempted to add a bauble or two at the top, but since she is going to the booth, I did not.

Maybe if my bathroom mirror was distressed, I would not be so distressed over what my hair looks like each morning!

 
 See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

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Friday Finds

Another round of Friday Finds.

A collection of things I bought during the past week.

A robin egg blue student chair.

A tennis racket with press.

This lovely old metal medicine cabinet with an aged mirror.
















Look at the blue, rusty patina.

This was not a bargain, but I was willing to pay real money for it.

A couple of yards of blue ticking.

Four linoleum blocks ready to be carved.

A big blue suitcase.

A green plaid Poloron cooler.

My inner Erica (The Thrifter Sisters) voice said to buy the cooler.

Wouldn't it look great with a Christmas tree on top?

A La Cross implement display drawer for tweezers and nail tools.

A pen and ink of a sailboat.

I can imagine a vintage yachting trophy next to it.


Obviously I do not know the difference between a yacht and a sailboat.

I now have a bunch of these shutters waiting for me to decide what to do with them.

A new, but abused, wire dress form.  The stand had been bent and broken.

The bar is welded onto the frame. I am thinking light fixture.

An old painting of babies.

A large round print of little girls.

These two were so large, I had to lay them on the lawn.

A very old plaster frame.

A very long mirror harp - obviously for a large dresser.

THE DANNI SPECIAL SECTION

Danni who is on a break from the Silo Farm blog loves when I find body parts. 


These were sitting on the desk of the guy running an outside area of a thrift store and I convinced him to let me buy them.

No, they are not dentures, but dental molds for mouthpieces from Everlast.

I am not a forensic scientist but I play one in real life sometimes.

I noticed the same name "Rivira" on the back of each mold.

Even though the left one is smaller than the right, you can tell from the shape of the teeth they are from the same person.

Yes, Danni, I love these.

I have them sitting next to the snack tin in the kitchen.

They do make us stop before grabbing a snack.

Have a great weekend.

Find some treasures.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

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