"Attic Florals" on a SNOWY DAY

Another BIG storm has plopped itself upon the state of Utah...I hope all of the Sundance Film Festival movie goers are not getting discouraged with our snow and cold temps, I would love to go to town and see if Tom Hanks is hanging around but I don't dare pull out of our driveway!

One great thing I love about being snowed in is that I have endless wonderful baskets of florals, vintage odds & ends & containers so all I have to do is bring my imagination and have the best day doing what I love. Here are a few samples of todays work, I may not finish the others as the darling husband is coming home early to prepare for the dreaded colonoscopy, poor thing!I may be chuckling in the other room as I went through it last year! Oh No, the worst day of my life!

One floral is in an old 60's mailbox I have painted, antiqued and added lucious grapes, hydrangeas, antiqued ribbon and can you see the crystal garland it is a christmas clearance piece, isnt it elegant with the big purplish cabbage rose?

I also took an old shelf, painted it, antiqued it, added a vintage style decal along with many vintage buttons lining the bottom...kind of fun! And what about the silver vintage rolling pin in the old collander filled with beautiful limey greens and green apples, makes your mouth water.

Another piece, not antique, is the dressy apple floral in the beautiful roses tin container and then adorned with a vintage tea dyed doily and lacey ribbon. I always scent the florals with a orangy cinnamon smell, which seems to work for everyone. rhinoculous in beautiful colors are tucked into the container filled with antiquey green colored hydrangeas, and last but not least a most wonderful accent antique paperie tag. Birds are the thing this coming year...just in case you were wondering. Along with CHOCOLATE! You'll have to see what's coming for Chocolate Easter.

My favorite and easiest of the day is the vintage metal tea pot painted shabby white with pink roses and dainty ivy. Around its waist I glued a white heart doily and tied with the crystal garland, then attached an antique paperie tag for personality.

Thanks for letting me share as it is keeping me from eating, which I do best, and so far I am being good.

so BACK TO WORK NOW...Hope to see you in the shop...that is if you can get out of YOUR DRIVEWAY!

WEBSITE OWNERS do you ever do this?

Ever since I opened this website 3 years ago I tend to wear clothes that 'LOOK LIKE MY WEBSITE' I saw these on a little week-end visit to Dillards and I just claimed them immediatly! Well......do you the same?

I'll Drink to That!

My cute little daughter insists I am not losing weight fast enough...and I have to agree with her! I have a love/hate relationship with the scale...you know how that goes don't you?

Here is theNEW plan of attack, at least this is what is helping her, along with a date each day an hour with the treadmill:

Instead of drinking my diet coke/diet dr. pepper I am substituting this refreshing real lemonade drink, just put 3 splenda packets into icy water and 1/2 squeezed lemon...its really really yummy, try it I think you will love it. Can I really give up Diet dr. Pepper...I don't know!

Then the whey protein drink for a meal replacement blended with a 1/2 banana, I will get mine in a chocolate flavor...why would I try anything else??? convenient, low calories high energy...mmmmmmmmmm!

Wish me luck and if this is of any help to you then let me hear from you! Good luck too and dont forget your date with the treadmill, I break it up into two times though, whew!

Okay here goes the PRIMER

Well...here goes the antique iron bed make-over, here it is in the primer state.

You will be suprised at the choice I made in painting it, it was going to be heirloom white for sure, and then like a woman...I changed my mind when I got to looking at the Ralph Lauren metallic paints.

Ta Daaaaaaah! Okay...the bench is done and its a sparkly antique gold paint. It looks great with the pillows from my couch and I hope it looks equally great in the shop (when I can convince some men around here to haul it down there). It has more of the "old world" or Tuscan style to it now, which is I love.

You may ask why I didnt leave it in its antique gold worn natural state, and the answer to that is when it was welded together the welding is all silvery. So it had to be.

I will take another picture when it goes into the shop window, then we can see if it passes the test!

One thing I realized is that really I am a true antique person first and then a shabby girl.

BIGGEST SNOWMAN in FARMINGTON UTAH

Just around the corner from where I own a shop I drove by this old old home with the biggest freshly made snowman. I am suprised there is any snow left on the ground. Lisa at makeminepink.com has been wanting me to build a snowman... so this is for you Lisa!

Roses NEEDLEPOINT PILLOWS had my name on them!

Every now and then I have a need to treat myself with a gift from one of my friends at Make Mine Pink. Sharon the Needlepoint Tuffet Diva @ http://www.c'estchouette.com had these two vintage needlepoint pillows pictured recently on her new banner. I immediatly knew they were for ME! Within a week they were delivered right to my door, with a sweet little box of chocolates. Sharons THE best tuffet maker, you will want to keep an eye on her as she lists her tuffet pillows quite often and they dissapear quickly! I have known Sharon now for 3 years and she is just down to earth fun, generous, & lives a life of service. She has a fun blog too, I could go on & on however Sharon blushes easily...

Antique IRON BED make-over BENCH

Isn't it just to die for??? Isn't it the cutest style of and iron bed you have seen in a long time? I found it at the end of summer and sent it immediatly to my good friend/handyman Joe...he is simply wonderful! This is the magic he did with it. It's in its primitive state right now, isnt the wood storage bench neat? It will need painted for sure, at this stage I am so in love with it just wondering if I can sell it? It's so slow at the store right now, I may be tempted with some very high offers, how's that!!! Just so you know I didn't ruin an old bed, it actually had a broken frame holder, so no worries! Let me know what you think, okay?

80 YEARS OLD my DAD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Our family feels so BLESSED to be able to CELEBRATE & HONOR Our Dads 80th Birthday & life last evening.

We partied at my sisters newly remodeled updated home which was so much nicer than going to a noisy restaurant. The food was incrediblely good, my dads favorite dessert is coconut cream pie. There was 12 of us as they have five children, I am the oldest. My husband on the left in the white shirt and I'm snapping the pictures. With no kids at this party we were able to have a nice vist, usually tons of children are running around at our family gatherings.

Each child wrote a page about him for keeping in a book. I have to say my sisters and brothers really out did me on this, I must re-do mine.

My dad is a man of SERVICE, CHARITY & COMPASSION, he is just the nicest and has a gift to talk to anyone comfortably. He can be laying nearly dying in the hospital and he wants to know what WE need, what HE can do for us! He is always loving and concerned about us and his grandchildren. He bought a family cabin that we can be together often. He is a spiritual person, LIVES WHAT HE BELEIVES to the fullest and for this I honor his integrity. I cant even imagine my dad not wanting to do the right thing. His profession was 5th grade teacher and elementary principal, so yes...I was suppose to be good so I didnt get sent to the Principals office! Heck, I got sent to the principals office & sent home when I was a senior for wearing LEVIS to school...bad girl!!!

The past 20 years he has had 2 open heart surgeries + more health problems...we thought he would die then, He is just too strong, he works physically really hard and that is probably what has kept him alive.

I think I get my creativity from him as he has a love for making things only HIS PASSION IS ROCKS, yes I said rocks! He makes rock jewelry for everyone and has for years. He even likes to quilt, something he learned from his mother. He wants to live LONGER, we hope he can, but if he doesnt he has lived a BEAUTIFUL LIFE. I could go on and on about my dad...thanks for letting me share my dads milestone with you.

LIFE IS FULL OF UPS AND POUNDS

FAT BE GONE...5 LBS OF IT!(butter) ......I just had to celebrate with You!

I have been exercising and watching what I eat since the day after Christmas .

My new goal is to lose 5 lbs of SUGAR.

Here are two things that I am trying now: One is called green tea extract all natural fat burner and the other all natural starch blocker. The tea is taken in the morning and the starch blocker before a starchy meal.

My daughter and I have been asked to try these by Dr. M.Kennedy @ Harmonichealth.com, so we are curious to see our results.

Couldn't do this without the good old treadmill...I have a date with it every morning BEFORE I get on the computer...eeeew that is a test of How bad I want to get this excess fat off me!

What works for you in losing the extra pounds?

Just A Bed of Roses NEWSLETTER Jan/Feb.

Each customer old or new receives a bi-monthly NEWSLETTER when they come in from Just a Bed of Roses.
I love to talk to our customers on paper just in case we dont' have time or forget to tell them of something new going on here. I personally think it's a great marketing tool even though its a challenge to keep on writing one.
I really can't think of any shops that I have visited that do this, so it's original and that's what I strive to be. Always looking for ways to be set apart, well... I must as my shop is not any too big, so it has to be a bit unique!

COUNTED CROSS-STITCH... Do YOU Do It?

In the 80's I use to love to create Counted Cross stitch pictures, it was the "thing" to do. I was raising my 4 children and would love to just sit down take a break or take it with me in the car and just stitch away...it's not an easy thing to do and my eyes would never work good enough to take it up again. I have an appreciation for all the patience time & work involved.

At a yard sale a few years back I came across this stunning and immaculate stitchery of a country victorian home and garden, (It was extremely inexpensive I might ad) I had it matted in white with dark brown edging, and placed in one of our very old frames which I painted white and made it chippy, it still had the wavy antique glass.

Just wanted to share it with you, this is a new corner in the bedroom. The antique corner cabinet I recently bought from my friend Krista at Re-Creations she acquired from an old home in North Ogden getting ready for demolition last year. This just happened to be the ONLY CORNER available in our home. I beleive this room is overdue for a new color of paint.... only SOMEDAY!

PARIS CHIC florals books & wooden bobbin

Here's a peek at a few more new goodies in the shop with a PARIS CHIC flare...vintage mailbox VALENTINES floral, 1923 ROMANCE BOOK and antique bobbins with vintage laces and paris tags.

Sneak Peek: VINTAGE MEMORY KEEPERS

Ta Daaa...Here are the new vintage MEMORY KEEPERS I have been working on and have been so excited about...you must come in and see for yourself how unique they are and anyway you will have first choice . They are made from jars to vintage recipe & bread boxes etc. and tied with the most exclusive Just a bed of roses tag to die for...You can fill them with your own little vintage trinkets and treasures, bobbles and bangles...what ever you wish.

Check out my $5.00 LACY CURTAINS

REMEMBER when I spent weeks through the holidays shopping the thrift shops for the UGLIEST SWEATER for the Christmas party? Well, I found these amazingly beautiful tan lacy curtains for $5.00 and just got them put up today. So out with the old and in with the gently used...boy was it a deal. These pretties are on a HUGE Master bath window, hanging above my favorite, an antique claw footed bath tub .As soon as my camera batteries are charged I have a few more bargains to show you which I love.

Oh the WEATHER OUTSIDE is FRIGHTFUL!

MOTHER NATURE has been SOOO generous to Utah this year giving us ample WATER in the mountains so we can water our yards to our hearts content this coming HOT summer.

This is what I woke up to THIS morning...and its STILL coming down. It's AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL and its my day off from freeway driving & shop so I will cozy up at home and create like crazy as my Darling Husband cleaned our home like no other yesterday. I'm a lucky gal, yes I am!

The chairs picture was taken at 7:00 a.m. and the others at 11:00 a.m. and its STILL COMING DOWN HEAVY! What is going on here? I want you to know I went outside in open toe slippers to take these pictures, now my toesies are frozen! Can you see Darling Husband on the tractor clearing the snow at his brothers, when you are in the country its the only way to remove a heavy snow storm, no whimpy snow blowers we dont even own one.

Can you beleive it snowed heavy another 5 hours after these pictures were taken...we got 12 inches of snow in 15 hours!

Okay snow ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, you can stop falling now....PLEASE!

ROMANTIC SWEET VINTAGE GIFTS

The ROMANTIC TIME OF YEAR always for me includes CHOCOLATE! I have tied up yummy chocolate kisses packaged in PINK and tucked inside Vintage tubs, creamers, old sugar dishes, cobalt blue ice cream sundae dishes, 50's syrup pitchers & much more. Each one tied uniquely with tea dyed crinkly wrinkly seam binding ribbons, laces & doilies then added are the TO DIE FOR "beyond spectacular "TAGS which gives them a great personalized touch!

When you look at them you will say "I know some one who would love THIS one" so if you need or just want to suprise someone with a SWEET VINTAGE GIFT, Priced reasonably so please come on in and see which one that is just perfect for you!

Romantic time of year now...

Just a Bed of Roses has now shed anything to do with Christmas and each day it's transforming into the "ROMANTIC TIME OF YEAR" ...enchanted vintage pretties are covering the shop.
You'll now find more antiqued reds, mirrors, vintage stitched pillowcases, altered art Valentines jewelry, lots of old painted candlesticks, newly designed attic florals and my favorite addiction of antique paperie tags adorning our vintage pieces and our NEW exclusive "Memory Keeper" jars & boxes. (I will get some pictures of them this week). All uniquely designed and handmade.

Take a moment to stop in and visit us...keeping in mind that if there is a BIG snow storm we may be opened short hours or not even at all...sorry I am a bawl baby driving freeways in snow. Utah has just been getting slammed with snow this past month, great if your coming to Utah to ski in the georgeous mountains! Mon-Fri. 10:30-5:30 and sat. 10:30-4:30 15 E state Farmington, utah

Starting the NEW YEARS with Winners never Cheat

WINNERS NEVER CHEAT has been an inspiration to me over the holidays to read about self-made billionaire Jon Hunsman on honesty and generosity. He is a familiar Utah name, his son our governor, prominant religious family and the Huntsman Cancer Institute is world known. He lives what he teaches in the book , here are some ideas I have taken from his book I would like to implement into my business:

1. Treat employees, customers, & colleagues with respect.
2. Failure is easy. Success is always hard, a man can fail easily, he can succeed only by paying out all that he has and is.
3. Setting the example, let your yes be yes and your no be no's. Parents and employers who nurture, praise and when necessary discipline fairly, experience happier lives for them and those around them.
4. There are no one man teams, success is a co-operative effort and dependent on those who stand around you.
5. Each person is unique, when we seek to be like the next person we lose autonomy. I want to build my business on being unique in order to be set apart from competators.
6. Injustice has a way of catching up tothose who do injury to others, it happens most often without our assistance. So no grudges.
7. None of us are as smart as ALL of us! Thus he writes one of my favorite songs ...ever since I was 8 years old and played it on the piano, I ALWAYS cry when I hear this song:

No man is an island
No man stands alone
Each mans joy is joy to me
Each mans grief is my own.
We need one another
So I will defend
Each man as my brother
Each man as my friend. ( I will wipe the tears now!)

8. Graciousness & giving. Each day our eulogys are being written.
9 True giving is doing something to someone who can never repay you.
10. AND my favorite: No exercise is better than reaching down and lifting someone up!

There are just too numerous points I love in this book, Jon Huntsman is a philanthroper and a good example of how we should live. He talks of many a wealthy business person and the bad things that can happen if you do not have standards to do business with. You cant come away from reading this book and being the same person.It puts me at peace as a business woman, knowing I can keep my standards I have been taught and tried to live and to be successful at it without any kind of corruption.