Make The Best of Things: blue glass

Showing posts with label blue glass. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Gotta Love Thrift Stores...And This Gorgeous Blue Plate!

I am a dedicated thrift store shopper and it has paid off in savings

and truly unique finds over the years.

We got this sturdy and well built but oh-so-retro coffee table for $7.50 way back when.

It has held up well for decades and it's latest look includes

turquoise chalk paint and a painted top.

After a house fire we bought the Flexsteel sofa for $25 that shows in the bottom pic.

It has down filled cushions and an easy to slipcover design.

It is now on it's fourth life, reupholstery wise,

in chocolate brown ribbed twill.

And here's what I found today for $2.50....

a beautiful fused glass plate in shades of blue by Galvin Glass Works of New York.

As a serious cobalt blue glass fan girl, this glass plate is right up my alley.

I put together with my other thrift store finds and gifts of colored glass,

you can see why it caught my eye.

And then I turned it over and saw this....it's engraved with a signature by the glass artist,

Andrew Galvin. It is #1794 of 2640. I think "Oracle" is the name of this particular design

in his fused glass catalog.

You can bet I'll be hitting the thrift stores again and soon.

I may not find something this stunning, but I'll keep my eyes open.

And, anyone that knows me can guess,

I HAVE A LIST.

What is your best thrift store find? What are you looking for?

Sunday, April 27, 2014

No Mantel to Decorate...But I Do Have a Baker's Rack

(Copyrighted photos of gorgeous decorated mantels go here)

Truly, too many beautiful mantels to choose from! But you know what I'm talking about; totally swoonworthy mantels decorated to a "T" for every season, holiday and occasion.

I have no such thing in my house. Sad.

But, making the best out of what I've got, I DO have a totally cool custom made wrought iron baker's rack made by The Welding Man. That's it in my header above at top left, loaded with gorgeous cobalt blue glassware. LOVE.

And here at our new home I've been decorating it for the seasons, holidays and special occasions. I'm nothing if not resourceful.

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2013/12/black-and-white-and-red-christmas.html

Here's the baker's rack today...but who knows for how long? lol!

I painted the Clason Mountain artwork to commemorate the beautiful view at our old house. I painted the middle piece because I wanted to use the same colors. So much BLUE, go figure.

And then I started pulling things together from the rest of the house. As usual, I don't subscribe to the "less is more" school of decor. Load it up, baby!

I "frosted" the glass in the lantern for a soft glowing look, then added a string of Christmas lights. Go here for the details.

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2012/10/wax-paper-frosted-glass-twinkle-lantern.html

I still collect cobalt glass but I've slowed down and asked the fam to slow down also. But it's hard to resist that gorgeous color! And yes, I collect the letter "A." I have over a dozen so far and I'm ready for more.

On the bottom shelf I added more blue glass and lots of vine balls and decor balls for texture. The silver blingy button decor ball is one of my favorite decor projects. Go here for the details....

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/04/silver-button-blingy-decor-ball.html

I also made the glass marble decor ball out of a Dollar Store Christmas ball and half marbles. Yeah, there's a post on that, too.

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2013/05/glass-garden-balls-diy-part-1.html

Just a few short weeks ago the baker's rack looked like this....

.....loaded up with all the music themed, green and white decor for my sister's wedding. So who needs a fancy shmancy mantel? I've got these neat baker's rack to decorate and soon...it will be time for Mother's Day decor!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Pretty Blue Glass Windowsill Project-Quick, Cheap and Easy

Do you ever look at something everyday and tell yourself you're going to fix it up or do something with it someday? I did that everyday with my kitchen windowsill. Something about the splotchy paint job, water stains and general untidiness made me "itch."

Trust me, I did NOT capture the true grunginess of this area. Even my beloved blue glass and house plants didn't do the trick. I stand here a dozen times a day and each time I would tell myself I would fix it up. Well, today I checked the clock and figured I could spare an hour for a little project to make this pretty.

Ooooh aaaah! I like this alot!

Now the unending Oregon spring rain isn't the only thing to look at from this window.

Nice!

I cut a piece of burlap to fit the space and took the glass bits out of the tall vase I had there originally. I hot glued the half marbles and sea glass and random glass pieces to the burlap then used a heat gun to tidy up all the wisps and strands.

Now when I am at my kitchen sink this area no longer annoys me. It actually makes me smile.

And the Welding Man put a shelf higher up in the window casing for more of my cobalt blue glass. This color soothes me and gives me a peaceful feeling, so the Welding Man, who is a survivor, puts up shelves where and when I want them. He is a smart (and nice) guy!

So, a wee bit of time and effort and no new cost at all, and I've added beauty and practicality to my kitchen. Gotta love that! What about you, do you have a small project that you could do quickly and cheaply that would lift your spirits everyday? Just do it!

I'll be adding this to the blog party links on my sidebar. Come visit and even join in the fun!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Time Flies....

....in a succession of fuzzy days when I've been fogged in with chemo, fatigue and a touch of the flu.

As usual, I did too much over the holidays and my compromised health smacked me down for a few weeks. I guess enjoying multiple family homes and meals, attending a holiday wedding in a cold church and being out and about in freezing weather was not a good combo. My own bed never felt so good! Dealing with my very low energy levels has been daunting for me, but I'm finally adjusting.

So I'm back and hope to blog faithfully now that I'm on a lighter dose of less toxic chemo. I feel better and have some energy these days. Speaking of which, we finally took down the Christmas trees, including the blue beauty you see above. Usually I just plunk a large houseplant in that corner and rearrange the glassware and call it good.

Last summer I scored a HUGE hurricane glass and it kept looking at me reproachfully, since something that grand deserved a bit of attention. This thing is BIG, as in 20" tall and 8" across at its "belly." I had filled it with gold and silver balls for Christmas, easy peasy, but for now I wanted something a bit different.

So, vine balls from Dollar Tree and some driftwood chunks....

A glittery moss green Walmart dragonfly. Some rearrangement of blue glass bottles and jars.....

....add some of my book page decor balls in two sizes, and a few glittered cinnamon pine cones. Plus several jute monkey's knot balls for more texture.

A closer shot of that gorgeous dragonfly. Only one dollar at Christmastime! Love it!

And off to the left you see a wooden pedestal bowl with a trio of Insanely Creative Christy's Mod Podged book page veggies with bronze glittered stems, just gorgeous. But you know, now this little display is making me long for spring and all the greenery that comes with rain and the warming temps.

I'm thinking of doing something very green and springlike to my counter display area...something that will incorporate Valentine's, Easter and St. Patrick's. LOL, that should be an interesting project and I'll post it when I do!

Ladies, thanks for stopping by. I'll be posting to the parties on my sidebar and visiting as many of you all that I can in the next weeks. Come check all the fun projects out, blog land is chock FULL of amazing, creative folks.

See you there!