A Seashell Frame with Added Flare

Last week I purchased an ugly  hideous frame at the Goodwill.  It didn't have much going for it other than an interesting shape and a low price, but I had a vision.  I also had a couple of bags of seashells and some vintage jewelry.  The frame was a good quality wood and it had a nice secure hanger on the back that looked like it would be able to support some added weight. 

I don't know exactly how to describe this style, but maybe 1995 little boy's bathroom is a good description.  Even with the loud colors, it was perfect for me because the frame was wide and would hold lots of shells. 

  

This is the frame after my first coat of primer.  After the second coat, it was nice and white.  Since I knew I would be completely covering the frame with shells, I didn't bother putting a final coat on the frame.

The jewelry and the seashells were thrift store finds from weeks ago.  Anytime I can buy small items really inexpensively, I pick them up.  I try not to get my craft room over-crowded with this type miscellaneous stuff, but I have found that seashells and rhinestones get used pretty quickly.  Some little items should be picked up when you see them, even if you don't have a project in mind yet.  If you love it, and you are not featured on the show Hoarders, then go ahead and pick it up and pack it away. (Just remember where you put it.)  Anyways, after about twenty minutes of hot gluing my fingers seashells to the frame, I had my finished project.

I am happy with the way it turned out and it is now currently listed on e-bay.  If this item doesn't sell, I plan to take a beautiful picture with my son on our trip to Myrtle Beach at the end of this month and use the frame to hold that memory.  

The Pope's Shaving Mirror

I love mirrors with Cherubs on the frames.  It doesn't really make sense though, because the last thing that makes your face look better is two beautiful, perfect, angelic faces framing your old crow's feet, gigantic pores, and red splotchy skin.  I need to create a mirror that has that Nutley tanning bed mom on each side.  Even first thing in the morning, I think I would look beautiful in comparison.

But until that beautiful dream becomes a reality.... here are two lovely cherub mirrors.  I imagine the Pope uses a similar mirror to brush his teeth and shave each morning.  Which one do you imagine the Pope would  use... and do you think I could sell him on a Tanning Mom Mirror? (that's being copyrighted as we speak - so don't get any ideas!)

This mirror is currently lised on E-bay for $41.95.  That's a bargain, since the last one that sold on e-bay sold for $75.  At any rate, it's French and it's Fabulous... and if you ask me, it's my kind of Junk!

Wash Your Linens - in style!

I love white linens, I love the smell of clean, bleached linens.  Clean sheets hanging on a clothesline takes me back to my childhood.  I remember helping my grandmother and my mother hang clothes on a line in the bright summer sun.  I can remember how the cool, wet cloth felt on my face and the way they smelled faintly of bleach.  With all that nostalgia floating through the breeze, you might be mistakenly led to believe that I enjoy laundry.  This is, unfortunately, not true.  Laundry falls into the cleaning house category, and I think we have clearly established the fact that I do not have an affinity for that.

However, this old worn drying rack may ease the pain of laundry a little bit.  I think this is just perfect for displaying vintage linens.  It was a lucky find on yesterday's picking trip.  Today, I found it's to die for companion - two lovely old hand embroidered pillows.  These are fantastic for an added detail in a romantic guest room, or would make an adorable pillowcase dress for a young girl.

I will be ironing these up tonight and putting them on e-bay with the drying rack that is already listed.  I also scored a hand made lace table topper and an interesting french spoon rest.  I'll try to show those off later.  Enjoy your day and go bleach something and sniff it before you put it in the dryer.  You might feel nostalgic too... if not, maybe you were the child of an uppity family who had a dryer that worked ;)!

Getting To Know Me

I'm not French.  I may not be fabulous... and I'm certainly not junk.  My name is Amanda Townsend and I am a wife, mother, secretary, and part-time decorator.  I have an affinity for pre-loved, distressed, flagrantly French Decor.  I get most of my decorative items from yard sales, thrift stores, and e-bay. 
I have created this blog to share my ideas, design projects, and creative re-purposing of thrift store finds.  I don't consider myself green, per se... but if pink can be called the new green, then I'll let you call me green.  I do love items that have a history and a story.  Awesome textures, faded hues, and scratches in finishes are things that catch my eye.  It's a constant battle with my spouse, who prefers rustic, cabin decor... but I think I am like Charlie Sheen, "WINNING!!!"

I intend to share pictures of my own home on a regular basis.  My reason for doing this is two-fold.  One - is to inspire you to create beauty in your own home (even if it is by my standards).  Two- to inspire me to keep my house clean.  I am nothing, if not honest.  I love to decorate... I do NOT love to clean.  At some point in the near future I intend to hire a housekeeper.  I would also appreciate an assitant to help me complete the projects in a more timely fashion.  However, for the time being... consider yourself my assistant.  Your comments checking my progress will be answered and appreciated.  I will be posting my latest goodwill finds in the next few days.  I am selling things on e-bay - Fabulous French Junk.