Heartfelt Thank You

It is hard to believe two weeks have passed since the death of our dear Golden Retriever, Miss Beazy Lee.  Our hearts are not any lighter and will be heavy for some time to come, but your prayers have been felt and most certainly are carrying us through these darkest hours. Hours that will become days, weeks and months in the healing process. Our faith is strong and holding us up.


Thank you so very much for your prayers, emails, e-cards, etsy messages, calls, visits, cards, text messages, voice messages, flowers, hugs and kind words of comfort. They have meant more then you can ever know.  I have 145 emails to answer and I will with time. It is important to me that you know how much we appreciate your concerns and kindness.

The memory of Miss Beazy and her devoted, gentle and sweet ways will replace the horrific scene of that dreadful day when hit by a car on the highway. Her teachings of patience, constant love and loyalty will be our guide when we feel overwhelmed by grief.  Her playfulness, curiosity, and mild temperament will give us remembered joys when we miss her hugs and kisses.

Miss Beazy's life was a gift from God even for a short time. She was our 4th Golden to leave our lives all to soon. We miss her more then I can ever express.

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS!

I will be gone from my blog for a while. I know Miss Beazy would want me to return to the life that I love and that she was such a big part of for so long. She would poke me with her cold nose, as if to say, mom,  lets go to work, play, swim or cuddle.

Thank you for your friendship and visits. You have helped us in our darkest hour and may God Bless you always.

With Love, Celestina Marie and Family

Our Beloved Miss Beazy

Dear Friends, Late this afternoon our precious Miss Beazy was hit by a car and tragically killed. We are beside ourself with grief and shock. I can not write more as this has taken me to a dark place. I know my LORD will see us through and we are leaning on HIM at this time. Miss B was our baby and the loss is more then we can bare. Your prayers are so appreciated. I will stay off my blog for awhile as I try and regain my life without her. Thank you for your understanding. With love, Celestina Marie and the memory of my Miss B.

Painting Office Chairs and Under Construction

Thank you for your sweet comments on painting my piano.  It was a hard decision for a piece that holds so many wonderful memories and very vintage, but I am really loving it and the light it brings the room.

Painting my studio office chairs was one more thing on my list to finish last week and here is the outcome.  Having two black, not so pretty office chairs needed a cottage cream redesign to go along with my new and improved studio.

Here are the before  chairs~

Comfortable yes, pretty? not so much.  At least not now. In the past with my design they did okay, but I really love them now.

Using flat interior cottage cream paint, I painted three coats to each chair.  Then I varnished them with a gloss waterbased finish. Let dry, and ready to use.

The varnish step is important for durability, cleaning when needed and to keep the finish from scuffing.   For the legs, I recommend priming first before painting with either a Kilz primer or Glass and Tile Medium.  The rolling feet may scratch if you keep the heels of your shoes on them, but easy to touch up if needed. They have not worn off for me and I usually step on the legs. 

Here are the after chairs~

Just perfect for my new studio and I am loving the lighter look.  We are still under construction but nearly complete.  Here are a couple little peaks from the long work days.

Almost finished and I will be so happy for a break!!

Have a great week and see you soon.

Hugs, Celestina Marie

Rare Find Print and Beautiful 88's

Happy Wednesday Blog Friends,

Hope you are enjoying a good week.  I am busy here like most weeks  and beginning to enjoy much warmer days in the Lone Star State.  Temps are nearing the 90's but the ozone levels are high making it hazardous at times.  What to do when it gets like this? Well, stay in the studio and enjoy creating of course.

On my misson with home redos, we are making great progress and nearing the final updates. I am having so much fun and with the help of my dear guy, the work is moving right along. 

Last year I found this great print from Floral Artist, Paul de Longpre 1896. It is considered a yard long and fits perfectly above a sofa.  I have shared this treasure in the past when I first found it, but I gave the frame an update with cottage cream paint, a little light distress and re-hung over the sofa. 

When I spotted this rose beauty, in one of my favorite antique markets, it had a price tag of 10 dollars.  I couldn't believe it and asked one of the sales associates, if I was reading that right.  Certainly a few zeros were missing. No, the price is 10 dollars. WHAT!?!  I had that print in my hands so fast it would make your head spin.  What a rare find. Not a thing wrong with it either. No damage, just perfect under glass and perfect for my updated living room that I had been planning and gathering treasures for over the past year.

When I came home, I looked it up on the Internet and the same rose print was selling for 300 dollars. Score for sure. Even the matte was beautiful and included the gorgeous frame.

This week I worked to make another dream redo happen. My piano got a face lift.  Built in 1964, I can still remember my parents making a huge sacrifice for me to have this beauty.  I was just a little girl and after years of lessons and learning on an old upright, my parents purchased her new and gorgeous.   My mother played the piano too, so we would both enjoy this beautiful string instrument for now nearly 50 years.

Here she is in her original ( THE BEFORE) look. What you can not see from the pic is the wood stain had faded over the years and began to have a dull finish. In spite of my great care, age was beginning to show. We have moved many times and this piano has traveled with me to many a home.  The keys are still in excellent condition and the entire piano is created from wood. Today pianos are designed using particle board and do not have the pretty sound a solid wood piano has. 

Now (THE AFTER)  new look.  I just love it in a soft cottage cream and a very light distress.  She looks brand new and sounds better then ever.  We are really pleased with the way it adds to the room and brightened up the space.

The cottage cream just warms the room and what a difference it made. Maybe the next 50 years will be as pleasant for my treasure as the first 50.  I sure hope so.  I have a few more treasures to repurpose for the redo and then it will be time to enjoy the work and I will share the rest with you too. 

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I enjoy each and every comment and look forward to visiting you back too. Have a great day and blessings always.

Hugs, Celestina Marie

p.s. I want to add how I struggled for months on painting my piano. It was difficult to make this decision. But in the end, I found it did not take away from the memories at all and I know my mother and dad would love it too.  I am happy and thankful for giving my treasure a new life.

What's Cookin in the Cottage Kitchen?

Greetings Blog Friends,

Hope you all had a special weekend. Celebrating Mother's Day and enjoying a wonderful Sunday.
Today and all week long also celebrates the Cottage Kitchen here at Etsy Cottage Style blog.


As I was going through some old books I love and cherish, especially the vintage books, I came across one of my dearest from my mother's collection.

This awesome book from 1951 was apart of a special event where my father worked. Developed from the tips of the wives who were married to the employees, it covers everything for help and cutting corners around the home.

So with this section on Cooking, I wanted to share a few tips that can still be used today. Maybe even give you a chuckle at the changes compared to today.

Here's one about brown sugar. One lady wrote, using hard and lumpy brown sugar in a recipe slows down the baking time. She suggests, warming the brown sugar in a warm oven to soften before use. Today we use our microwaves to soften brown sugar, but I did not know, if lumpy, it would slow down the baking process.

Another lady gives a tip to run a fork along the long sides of a banana before slicing for a pretty decorative look when topping on desserts. Love this idea to pretty up sliced bananas.

And this employee's wife says, when making rolled cookies you can save time by cutting the dough in squares with a knife instead of rolling them out. She says to dip a steak pounder mallet into cold water and then press atop each square This makes the cookie look like a little waffle when baked.

Here's one interesting tip, to remove fish odor from hands and pots and pans after baking, rub the with hot salt water and wash as normal. This removes the fish odor.

Yet another lady says to measure honey accurately, she recommends greasing the measuring cup with shortening first before adding the honey. The honey will pour out to the last drop.

And I like this one too. When you crack eggs into a recipe and some of the shell drops in the contents, you can remove it easily by using another piece or half of the egg shell you just cracked to lift out the stray egg shell. Egg shells will adhere to each other for removal easier then trying to use a fork or spoon.
I will have to try this one.

Oh and here's one I like too. When serving an egg omelet, warm the dish for serving before serving the omelet. A cold dish will cause the egg to fall and become soggy.

How about some funny tips, When cleaning chicken, one lady says, keep tweezers near by to pluck the tiny feathers. LOL!! When is the last time you plucked a chicken???

Or this one, when defrosting your refrigerator, place frozen meat on ice cube trays wrapped in paper to keep meat frozen until your fridge is clean. Do they still make these refrigerators that need to be defrosted? Maybe someone has a vintage fridge!! If so, this is helpful.

Of course these tips are from the days when women did not work outside of the home, but rather made a career of home and family. The best job in the world really, which never paid what it is really worth.

These are just a few of the many fun tips covered in this special vintage book. I will share more from time to time on the different subjects offered in the chapters. I could read it for hours as it makes me wonder what life was like before I was even born. Women worked hard to make life wonderful for their families. Similar to the way we women work today only in a different way with more helpful appliances.

Till next time, enjoy What's Cookin from the Cottage Kitchen at Etsy Cottage Style and I will leave you with a few pics of my Mother's Day Flowers.

Have a wonderful day.
Hugs, Celestina Marie

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Dear Mom,
As we celebrate another Mother's Day without you, I remember our last time together, twelve years ago when we all had dinner together at our home on that precious Sunday for Mother's Day.

 You left us 4 months later to live in your heavenly home. While I still know the pain of that sad time, I find great joy in the knowledge you are in a much better place with our Lord.

Your pink roses planted outside your bedroom window here at my home, are doing beautiful. Full and gorgeous just the way you last saw them. I remember how much fun I had planting that pretty climber just for you when you came to live with us. It remains a blessing to me each and everyday as I view the beauty of this hardy vine.

This day as always, seems the perfect time to say thank you for having been in my life, although to short a time. Your teachings remain with me each and every day as I draw from those learning's in my daily life. Your loving ways, generous heart and gentle spirit will always be alive in my world. Always wise and helpful, was just your way. On nearly any subject I remember your words as my guide, but most of all, I hold dear your love for God and the example you set for me during my growing years. Memories today I keep close in heart and mind.

Thank you for being my mother. I miss you beyond words and I love you forever. Celestina Marie

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Paintin,Plastic, Pretty~~

Can it be? Oh yes! Once again Glass and Tile Medium can have you decorating with paint on plastic. See how this plain, but pretty plastic white clock gets transformed into a pretty accessory for my new studio.

I gave the entire surface a coat of the medium, let dry overnight, then painted the roses and finished with a final coat of satin waterbased varnish to protect the surface from scratches. And, you don't have to paint roses to decorate something like this either. Perhaps fun dots, hearts, linework of dot flowers or whatever you can design, then seal for a new look. Notice the dots around the face of the clock? It gives a little lacy style.

My new studio update continues as the new cabinets go in and my dear guy and son work together to install the set and son checks to make sure they are level.

Miss Beazy having fun with a visit from her little lizard friend who comes to see her each day on the window sill.

Time to get back to the fun~~ See you soon! Hugs, Celestina Marie

Glove Box Treasure~

Happy Month of May Blog Friends


This month is beginning beautifully and I hope for you as well. The flowers are all in bloom here in my little Texas town and the weather warmer each day. Soon I hope to be finished with another stage of my cottage redesigns, and I have to say, having so much fun. Going through everything clearing and cleaning out with things I no longer use in my studio and the rest of my home. It always feels wonderful to de-clutter and organized. Oh how I love organization.


Anyway, some time ago, while going through my store room of treasures for creating, I gave this vintage glove box keeper a redesign.



Starting out with the original light green satin fabric, I could see this treasure in a soft cottage creamy white with crocheted roses I made using bits and pieces of old crocheted lace.
I did not have white fabric on hand that I liked for this project, so what did I do? Well, paint it of course!!


With several coats of my signature white inside and out, the transformation began.
I want to say, if you are ever painting on fabric to be worn, like a shirt for example, it is advisable to mix textile medium with your paint first using equal parts, medium and paint before painting on the fabric. This gives a soft movable feel to the finish. If not, the painted area would be like cardboard and not comfortable. Years ago, in the early 80's when I started in business, I painted lots of clothing for customers on sweatshirts, denim shirts and the like and this step was important. It also makes the item washable which you would want.



I usually speed up the drying time with a hair dryer. Can't wait to get to the real fun.


Now moving on, here is the progression of the vintage glove box. This is where the fun begins when embellishments are added. For the leaves I hand painted silk leaves in the same cottage cream. All the crocheted accents are vintage along with the lace ribbon. The vintage lace edging was used to form crocheted roses.







What do you think? Pretty? Remember you can do a lot with paint over fabric. With several coats of paint, drying time and patience, you can decorate a vintage glove box.

Have Fun~~
See you soon.
Hugs, Celestina Marie
For more tutorials like this one, visit my sidebar for the list of project ideas. Have Fun!