A Wild Weekend of Whimsy

I haven't blogged for a while...I've been busy...creating whimsy.  So, today, I must share it all!!!

First is my Mikasa Teapot.  I posted before that I saw it at an antique store without a price on it...but at Replacements.com it was $199.95.  Well, yesterday I got brave and asked the price...$9.99!!!!!!  Here it is in my dining room:

We had a shower for a co-worker last week.  She's having a boy (Lincoln!) but it is so hard for me to find cute boy things to knit...but I found this pattern on ravelry.com and copied the frog idea that someone else did.  Here's mine:

On Friday night I went to Masterpiece Mixers with ladies from my church.  We had an incredible time...and I really liked my painting...but decided to outline the flowers with white puff paint like the sample in the studio.  Well...it turned out like this:

We covered the canvas with chalkboard paint, so I thought the white would make it more chalkboard looking.  I HATED IT.  My sweet friend, Kerry, outlined hers in yellow and didn't like it either...she had the great idea to peel off the puff paint and do over.  So, that is what I did...of course, it took some of the paint off the flowers, too...so I had to repaint them.  I also got some gold and green paint that was closer to my kitchen colors.  I  decided we would never use this as a chalkboard, and using this idea from pinterest.com as inspiration...here is my final product:

So, much better, right?

And just when you thought I couldn't fit anymore whimsy into a single weekend...there is more!

I made this bowl from an idea on pinterest.com.  Basically, you take an oven-safe bowl.  Pour oil in it and rub it up the sides.  Pour a package of plastic beads in it.  (I used perler beads from perlerbeads.com.)  Then you spread the beads up the sides of the bowl and pat them into the bottom.  I put the bowl in an oven at 200 degrees F, but it wasn't doing much...so I upped it to 250 degrees.  After about 30 minutes, I took it out...let it cool...and viola...a cute little bowl...that I have no idea what to do with...but it is cute, right?

I also found this RIDICULOUS dessert on pinterest.com...(yes...I know...pinterest is my new love.)  Anyway...you pat cookie dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.  On top of the cookie dough, place a layer of oreo cookies.  And over all of that...goes one box of brownie batter.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes...and this is what you get:

As you can see...I am on whimsy overload...so I am going to go crawl into my new Tempur-pedic bed that we got yesterday...and relax!

Weekend Whimsy

I'm not the only one that has lost whimsy...so has Walmart. I'm not a Walmart fan. I have to be desperate to enter...but I gave myself a $10 budget for some weekend whimsy and decided to go there to buy pony beads (to make the really cool bowl below) and crochet thread to make doilies for this table runner. I want to make the table runner for my dining room. I'm envisioning mason jars of varying sizes with flowers and candles in the center.  (BTW, what would you use for flowers?  Silk? Dried? Other ideas?)

What I found out is that Walmart no longer sells crafty stuff except for cake decorating and scrapbooking supplies.  Don't get me wrong...I think those are wonderful crafts...but not on my whimsy list.

So, I took my $10 and went to an antique mall. I had the best time! (Way, way more fun than Walmart.) I found so many treasures...to start with, 2 absolutely gorgeous doilies for my runner. It amazes me the work and the detail it took to make these. I'm sure the sweet ladies that made these decades ago would cringe if they knew their handiwork now sells for about $2 a piece. I also found a teapot for $8. (If you are counting, yes, I did go over my budget...but if you know me well, you shouldn't be surprised!) I'm going to do something very secret with the teapot...but I'll post a pic in a few months. The teapot was the perfect size and shape for my project. It has this really ugly rub-on decal of a rooster on it...and the seller put on the tag that it was hand-painted. (I'm still laughing.) It doesn't matter though, because the ugly rooster will be covered up.

Some finds that I didn't buy, but are on my whimsy wish list:

• 6 little spice jars shaped like tiny old glass milk bottles for $8.
• Several wicker rockers...in price range from $40 to $240.
• A mason jar turned into a soap dispenser for $12.95.
• A very cool (smallish) pie safe that would fit perfectly in my bathroom for towels and such...for about $150.  (It seems like a lot...but it was awesome...I wonder if they do layaway?)

I also found this absolutely beautiful pink Mikasa teapot tucked away in a corner booth on a corner shelf. It didn't have a price tag on it. But my whimsdom (my new word for whimsy wisdom) told me that if you have to ask, you can't afford it. So, I didn't ask. The teapot haunted me all day yesterday with its loveliness, so I googled it and found it.

I get that it may not be your style...but I love it...it has Maureen-whimsy written allover it. I found out that I have a lot of whimsdom...because at www.replacements.com it sells for $199.95. So, for the price of the teapot, I could get all of the other treasures on my wish list. 

I'm horrible at bargaining at antique stores...so, if you are any good at it...want to go with me the next Saturday and see what kind of a deal we can get? (I'm not sharing the teapot with you, though, you should just know that upfront.)