A Paperwhite Wednesday....An Upcoming CONTEST....and November's Giveaway......

Well, you can tell that when I finally get a chance to post I try and get it ALL done in ONE sitting. It goes without saying that running the shoppe, getting ready for the holidays, and having Tater every morning until noon has taken its toll on me......not complaining, just explaining :) SOOOO, first for sharing my White Wednesday item with you.....I know I have posted somewhere along the line about my huge terrarium made from an old fish tank....well, rather than fill it with the expected Christmas ornaments I chose to plant my paperwhites inside......the sides will give them wonderful support and the end presentation should be gorgeous.....or that's what I'm hoping. They take about six to seven weeks to mature so should be ready just in time.......If you want more beautiful whites today, please make sure you visit Kathleen at Faded Charm Cottage through the button on my sidebar. The others have beautiful things to share and would love to have you......BUT, before you go.......scroll on down and check out what was my own personal challenge and what has led to a new contest I will be announcing on Thursday for all of those of you out there that enjoy creating, and most especially.....recreating.....AND, then there is November's giveaway of Victorian cones........I told you there was alot, but I have to take the time when I have it.........








The Challenge

When I came across this rusched velvet blouse at a local thrift store I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped.....the color yellow was that of a lemon....and an ugly lemon at that! I was on the phone with my daughter at the time and I told her what I had found.....she said that she didn't think there was anything I couldn't do something with.....accepting the fact that there obviously was. WELL.....think again, missey.......I finished my conversation and pushed my cart backwards to pull this tacky blouse off the hanger.......I figured at $3.93 and a 30% discount I wouldn't be loosing anything....AND it was a definite challenge. I knew the polyester velvet wouldn't take the dye very well, so I bleached it really heavy before using the tea stain, hoping it would strip the fabric of any sealants......it did somewhat, but not enough. I resorted to mixing a heavy rit dye in the water because the tea just wasn't strong enough for the fabric. Although it is not as dark as I hoped, it still turned out a beautiful golden rust which is a far cry above the lemon yellow......and it looks beautiful with the light shining through from the lightbulb.......an easy project and a challenge met........which brings me to a contest I am going to be announcing on Thursday.......prizes will be worth the effort, so stay tuned and get ready!!!!!

And....finally to this deep, rich golden rust color........not as dark as I would have liked it, but as dark as the polyester velvet would go.

Using the sleeves it is easy to slipcover two small chandelier lampshades in a professional looking manner. The instructions for completing one of these shades is in one of my first posts and can be found here http://collectedtreasures.blogspot.com/2008/07/best-candelier-lampshades-made-easy.html for anyone wanting to try their hand at some of these shades.

There was even enough left for this larger full size lampshade......just add French ribbon and vintage millinery silk flowers to soften the beautiful smocked rusched velvet of the bodice of the blouse

AND, NOVEMBER'S GIVEAWAY

AND don't forget the November giveaway of FIVE Victorian screen cones......simply

Comment to Enter for One Chance

Comment & Follow for Two Chances

Comment & Follow & Blog About the Giveaway for Three Chances

xo jana