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Friday, April 29, 2011

THE REAL LIFE FAIRYTALE

Although I didnt make it to 4 a.m. (I went to bed at 2 a.m.) to see THE ROYAL WEDDING.  I did however wake up strangely alert at 6:30 and turn on the television to catch Will & Kate still at the altar in The Abbey.

It was a very sweet ceremony but the best part is watching a couple come out of the church into the world together.   It was amazing to see of the country so excited about their union, it is after all a piece of their history.

I remember watching when his mother got married it seems like just yesterday only in was 30 years ago (yes, I was 9 at the time).   Sweet thing is that my 4 year old was staring at the television and saying "Do you see the princess? She is wearing a tiara, that's what princesses wear, right?"   It was a Real Life Fairytale for her to watch.

Usually it's a Disney story which we love too!   But my daughter has taken the princess thing a little to far.  She comes home from school and puts on her Princess dress (Disney store Princess Tiana costume) and if I call her Samayah she says....My name is Princess Tiana I told youuuuuuuuu!  I think I'll let her live in Fairytale land a little longer.

I learned something today from a blogging buddy in Miami Lynda from Focal Point.  She has a great post up today about the Union Jack flag and the way is it used in Fashion and Home Decor.  Check it out!

I dont acknowledge my Irish heritage that often for my own personal reasons but I was surprised today about the history of the flag, so I thought I would share as well.

It is made from the crosses of St. Andrew(Scotland),St George (England), and St. Patrick (Ireland) thus being named The Union Jack for uniting 3 countries (im not sure that is true if you ask Irish & Scots) lol

It is one of the most beautiful flags..it is just so striking.

Well Im happy that I witnessed a piece of history today and hope they live out the fairytale.  Im sure Princess Diana is smiling down from heaven to know her boy has found his true love and real life princess.

To Prince William & Princess Catherine


Also a reminder to keep those who lost their lives and loved ones in the horrible tornadoes in the southern states!  Pray for them to stand strong and make it through!

God Bless!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

THRIFTY THURSDAY....THE COLLECTION

So lately Ive been bravely sharing my secret love for junking here on my blog.   It's not as popular up here in the Northeast.   Only old men in pick ups drive around looking for scrap metal up here.  But Ive been brave and Im now coming out to you all.   Anyone who knows me in my world knows that I'll do a drive by the night of yard sales and night before bulk pick up.    I also scour Craigslist for FREE finds as well as small tickets items...and Ive been extremely lucky.  My house is literally created from Craigslist items!

I dream of owning my own brick & mortar shop one day but until them I love Etsy and Facebook to showcase my creations.   Im going to share with you items that are new to the shop and some that haven't even been listed in Etsy yet.    Some have found a place in my heart and my home too.

They're made from old, vintage, junk items that I've repurposed or just tweaked in my own little way to give it that Lucky 7 style.

A new Etsy collection made by me from old junk


Wall Hook Set w/vintage hardware


Shabby'd switchplate created by me for Etsy shop

Distressed white shelf brackets

Round Wall Hook Set made w/ vintage hardware

Re-purposed gold frame now crackly, chippy white.  I created a mirror mat for an old family photo, this is a shop item without my photo of course. lol


Vintage pie tins & handmade shutter star for Etsy shop

Vintage beverage box from PA

Fits perfectly into this totally vintage display...whole thing might be moving to a shop soon. 


FREE Craigslist chair (thank you Peggy)

It's a home in this corner with other CL finds like the elephant table and vintage birdcage.  

Solid Brass candlesticks from yard sale


Perfect on this vintage cart displaying old tin serving trays and 20+year old Lenox platters.


Another CL find...Vintage sewing cabinet paired w/ old makeup case (Peggy again)


Purchased this display mannequin but she's now become my Book Worm Muse (she's wearing my new Red Riding Hood necklace) she is covered by the way in pages from an old dictionary...they have a lovely yellow color to them.

Rolling pin (Peggy again), Repainted Chalkboard (Peggy) and the garland I made myself on a shoestring. lol  No literally it's a shoestring with felt and denim circles.  This is going to my June show.

RECYCLE - REUSE-REPURPOSE is the universal 3R's of Recycling, but I think we need to throw in there a 4th REDESIGN!


Joining these fabulous parties this week:

























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Somewhat Simple


Transformation Thursday

vif187

Furniture Feature Fridays

The Thrifty Groove




Tuesday, April 26, 2011

WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY

With no internet the past few days, let's just say I had a lot of time on my hands.   Nap time seemed much longer and here is what I was up too.  

Just because I was sitting at home with nothing to do, doesnt mean I need to run out and go shopping (although I will never past up a good stroll through HomeGoods, Target, or Lowe's. lol    I can't sit in a room without looking around and thinking of what I can change, but I want to reuse what I already have in my home.

My recent junkin trips have been so awesome and it's just another way for me to live a more green lifestyle.  Re-using old furniture or old houseware items mean they stay in circulation in our population and not in a landfill somewhere.  

So as I was sitting on my leopard Craigslist sofa (yep, it's recycled) reading my new issue of Flea Market Style Magazine (I also save them to refer back on, sometimes I spare a few mags for the kids school projects) I started looking at the front window area and how it was bothering me and also above my mantle.  Inspiration struck and here is what happened next.


This was my living room last summer....see that hanging between the windows

It was my safari wall decor from Home Goods...well I had to redesign this too.  The animals were not balanced they had 2 dark and 2 light, well it just looked weird.   Now it was going to be repurposed!

This was last Christmas and the beginning of mantle transformation...see the center piece.


Sorry Bed,Bath & Beyond...Im doing some double sided art work.   I flipped the canvas board out...covered it with brown shipping/craft paper I got in a shipment (recycle your shipping materials) and then dry brushed on  an espresso glaze .


Ta-da....this is now above that eyesore of a TV on my mantle.

This is what the mantle looks like right now.....more to come of the Living Room updates.


So this project right here costs me absolutely $0........ nothing!  Be as green as you can, recycle, repurpose, reuse!

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK !!!!

Okay so no internet since Saturday kinda sucked to be honest with you!  My feature on About.com went up Saturday and my sweet, wonderful, handsome husband (Big Daddy J) was on the laptop and knock the air card right out of it and BROKE IT!    

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, quick trip to TMobile to find out he didnt get insurance!  WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?   Then we ask price for new one to replace the air card...$100....or the new Hot Spot device that is $150!    Are they freakin kidding!   I could buy my 1 year old a whole summer wardrobe with $150 bucks.

So it's now Tuesday night, well technically is 12:58a.m. so it's really Wednesday and as of 10:00 p.m. Tuesday..... Im officially back in action.  How you ask, I called up my fabulous cell carrier SPRINT and asked them to add the HotSpot package to my plan!  I didnt have to leave my house!  Love it...thank you Sprint and thank you to my tech Harley who was awesome helping me get set up.   So nice when you find Nice, Helpful people on the other end of the phone...cause the person I started off with wasn't.

I love my Android phone and it's fabulous but I was going blind trying to read blogs, emails, posts from it 2x3 screen.

So I'll be burning the midnight oil to crank out some posts and so happy to be back with my peeps!




-MJ


Friday, April 22, 2011

SPECIAL SATURDAY....A FEATURE ON ABOUT.COM

Today is a Special Saturday!  Tonya Lee from About.com has featured Lucky 7 Design today!  Im very excited, I spoke with her a few weeks ago and she really liked my blog.

I invite you to go over and take a look.......ah heck I'll make it easy for you!  Here's the link and a  sneak peek too!

http://budgetdecorating.about.com/b/2011/04/22/budget-decorating-blog-of-the-week-lucky-7-design.htm




Tonya Lee

Budget Decorating Blog of the Week: Lucky 7 Design

By Tonya Lee, About.com Guide  April 22, 2011


Blog Site
The blogger behind Lucky 7 Design is lucky indeed. Decorator, party planner and mom of seven, she's busy but still able to create a beautiful home. And she's better than budget-friendly ... she doesn't spend a dime she doesn't have to. Hmm, maybe it's not luck but skill and creativity that keeps this blogger (and her readers) going strong.
Lucky 7 Design

Why it's Worth a Surf
I love what Lucky 7 designer Melanie said, so I'll share her words...
"I don't like to throw things away so I have a stash of saved items such a paper towel holders, vegetable cans, fabric napkins, clothing, fabric scraps, grocery plastic bags and that is my go-to when I need to make something and don't have the money to go out and spend on it. I don't think you need to spend a lot of money for something to look well done."
And that's good enough, for me!

I also want to say a huge thank you for your comments from last night's post.   Sometimes I just have to speak my mind.....and appreciate your supportive comments.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT ME SOME MORE.....you can go to Circle of Moms website and vote Lucky 7 Design into the TOP 25 Mom-Shops.  You can vote 1x a day!

I'm not offering any prizes or giveaways for your votes....basically this works the same way as my blog.   That's just my style, no bribes here.   If you like me I would love for you to vote for me.   If not is cool too!





Thursday, April 21, 2011

FRIDAY FINDS....I FOUND ME


So Im in a happy place right now here in blogland, Ive met some really cool chicks and I consider them friends.  But Im also one to speak my mind and have to explain things and how I got to this place. Blogland is kinda like high school....you have your clicks and some people are very competitive and all that.   I may not have 5,000 followers but the 189 I do have, Im proud they follow my blog because they're interested in what I say or show.

THIS IS ME.....   the 39 year old, mama of 5!    Yes 5...all mine, birthed them all naturally.  This is how I start my day everyday...and my working uniform unless I have to run errands or someone is coming over.

This is my bed..I like pillows...Big Daddy not so much!


Just out of bed...no makeup (dont run..it's okay)

I wash my face and put on cocoa butter and thats it for the day....I blog at my dining room table so that I can see my 1 year old right in the living room playing and I can see the front window to look for my 4 yr olds school bus.

I spend my days blogging, doing product reviews,craigslisting, making jewelry for my new line, and trying to refinish furniture during nap time on my deck.    ( I also try to eat and pee sometime in the day too) Oh and my nutritional choice throughout the day is Diet Pepsi (always)

I love to decorate...I love to create.  I say that Im frequently inspired because Im always changing things around weekly if not daily.   You will rarely be able to go back on a post and see the room the same way.  I dont know what it is but I like being different.  My husband knows to not be surprised anymore...he expects things to be moved when he comes home.  

My porch always has pieces of furniture that Ive purchased from Craigslist or got for FREE either on CL or the side of the road.  No shame in my game.  One man's trash in my treasure!!!!   I'm now known as The Junk Collector...lol  

I promote some of my favorite bloggers, their blogs and their shops because I want to, not for any other reason. I also buy from my fellow bloggers who are Etsians as well....they're are more than enough consumers in the world.  I try to have items in my shop that you dont see in other shops..again I like different!

I get inspiration for other people in the industry but not necessarily bloggers, shop owners, and people who take the time to write a note, drop you an email and really appreciate you, what you do and what you are trying to achieve.

I dont usually host giveaways on my blog because I dont want to force anyone to become my "follower". I have hosted 2 giveaways and 1 was a 2 week long party and I made alot of fellow blogging friends. 

Im on a Mommy Blogging Team for Haddad Brands and so I do FB giveaways on there to give away Nike, Levi's & Jordan product.  

I appeared on The Nate Show as a design dilemma guest...but hope one day to be able to share my creative ideas.  

My husband appeared with me on the show and I love him for that, because it's so not his style.  I wonder what people thought when they saw me.  Then what went through their minds when they saw my husband.....the 6 ft, over 250lbs black man who made Nate look like a 10 year old.  lol

It amazes me how people assume because of the color of my skin that it wouldn't be possible that Im married to a black man.   Just last week while out, another customer was going off about a teacher and called her a ugly fat black bitch.  It took everything in my power not to punch her, but instead I pray for people that ignorant.

I find it a little offensive that I post about a candlestick that I made from a can and get 25 comments, but I do a post on Autism (which my 4yr is diagnosed) and you can here crickets...few to no comments.   Also no comments for the Nate appearance either. lol

I find it annoying that people will create an inaccurate image of themselves to impress bloggers or tell a tale of sorrow because they've heard that when you do that, sympathy will bring you more followers.  Your cheating your reader that way.

I do this because I love to share my ideas.... my friends read it and they say it's the same as having a conversation with me.   So that's all I need, I know that Im doing it right...whether it be 200 or 2000 followers.   Whoever clicks that button is a friend.

So it's been 10 months that Ive been blogging and I now have 2 blogs (1 lifestyle/decorating - 1 fashion/kids, 2 Etsy shops (1 home/vintage, 1 jewelry) and a furniture refinishing business that Im launching publicly as well.  In June of this year it will be 1 year and we will see if we can take it to the next level.

I dream of one day living in South Carolina (hopefully meeting my blogging buddies who live there) and having my own little shop.  Raise my children to be well-rounded people who love and respect EVERYONE and to teach them that it's never to late to live your dream.  I will drive around in my old pick up truck collecting more treasures to share with everyone.

SO ON THIS FRIDAY......I FOUND ME!



Hate it or love it the underdog's on top
And I'm gonna shine homie until my heart stop

Go head' envy me
I'm an MVP
And I ain't goin nowhere so you can get to know me

- 50 cent & The Game lyrics





THRIFTY THURSDAY....ANOTHER TRIP

So Wednesday night I went driving around with my sidekick (she must remain  nameless or she wont do the dishes anymore)lol

Let's just say that Mama had to go home and drop off the 1st load then rush back out to score some more goodies.   This is what Big Daddy J saw the next morning walking out the front door.

Yeah this was a nice collection...there is more on the back deck too.  Chairs, tables, cradle parts, etagere doors, crates, doors, frames, the list goes on!

The vintage mint green baby cradle is probably my favorite..Ive already started working on 4 projects from it.


I scored about 8 of these painters ladders...the sanding has begun


A vintage door and one of the cradle railings

All sanded and ready for painting

A huge stainless mixing bowl and copper bundt pan

This is what my side of our double garage is looking like right now.  Chairs, tables, rockers, lamps...

More tables, stools, vintage waste can, quilt rack, metal table frames, demi lune

My chandelier collection

My favorite of all

One that Ive shabby'd a bit and a black iron pot rack

It may sound weird but it truly makes me happy to find something that someone doesnt want or has thrown away and make it new again or something else.  I thought of myself as the repurposing princess but have now been dubbed The Junk Collector...I like it!  I need a sign now!  Oh and a storage shed.

So......I'd say I will be pretty busy from now till June 5th!   I dont know that I'll even be able to get all of this stuff to the fair or even in my tent. lol  Wish me luck!

Here is a preview of a line of items for my show
2 refurbished vintage chalkboards..1 in Americana Blue & 1 in cream w/ chocolate glaze


My Robins Eggs Blue Home Accessory line...all made from vintage finds.



Here is where I party:


Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special


 UndertheTableandDreaming