Meet "Eileen" . . . A Very Royal Lady

I think that today I scored the biggest find of the summer, well, maybe the year (for me anyway!)

When I saw her, I almost didn't even go over to take a look because I thought "I'll never be able to afford it" and I want an old typewriter SO bad.  Imagine my heart racing when I realized that there wasn't a "1" missing from the front of this price!

 Now I'm always up for bargaining at garage sales but couldn't even bring myself to ask if they'd take less for her.  

Every key intact . . . I nearly danced as I handed over the 25.00.  The ladies selling her asked what I planned to do with it.  They said they were surprised anyone wanted it . . . gulp.  Are you kidding me?  The mother and daughter went on to explain that it had belonged to their mother/grandmother, Eileen who was a secretary for the Chicago Transit Authority  and it was her typewriter.  They talked about how she loved (and taught both of them) shorthand and how much she loved her job.  They were thrilled that it was going to someone who would love and cherish it.  So of course, I HAD to name her Eileen.

  

I want to do some research on this and give it a good cleaning.  There are lots of buttons, knobs and gadgets on it and I'd like to know what they all do/did.  For now, I'm content to have her dressing up my bay window where she'll soon be joined by other vintage office items.
 

Key Windchimes

 

This is a simple project . . . all you need is some old keys, spray paint, fishing line and something to hang the keys from.  I had this candle holder that I sprayed black.  The legs made perfect attachments for the fishing line but you could use anything you have lying around . . . even a piece of wood, drift wood . . . you name it!

  One thing I did NOT do that I will next time . . . spray the keys first with a primer.  It took about 7 coats of the colored spray paint to get these completely covered.

 Also give them a spray of clear, acrylic to protect them from the elements if they'll be hanging outside.

 I love how this sounds and how it looks lit up at night too!

 I got a big bag of these keys at a garage sale for 50 cents so I'll have plenty for other projects.  What have you made using old keys?

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Seasonal Bottles

 I love collecting bottles of all shapes and sizes.  I rotate these in and out of my bay window for different seasons.  Today was a "blue" day -- the sky is finally clear blue and it feels like summertime.

Sometimes all it takes is a single bloom (or in this case, fern) to make a bold statement.

You can do this with any food coloring.  Fill all of your containers with water.  Add lots of food coloring to your darkest bottle or vase first and stir with a skewer.  Then add a single drop to each of the other containers, stirring with the skewer.  Now, simply empty part of the water in each remaining bottle and refill with water.  Keep dumping and adding water until you get the desired gradations of color.  

This was just a simple 3-shade display but it's really fun with lots of bottles and lots of different shades of the color!

I change out the flowers and the colors of water from time to time.  Here are a few of the ways I've displayed these.

So many options and so many possibilities for an eye-catching arrangement using jars, bottles, vases and a single bloom!

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Homemade Flavored Creamer Gift

I made this for my hubby for Father's Day but it would certainly be appreciated by any coffee lover in your life.

 

Gotta love those cute Starbuck's bottles! Not much to my design -- I just spray painted the box black as well as the lids and decorated using coordinating papers.  The labels were made by running the paper through my printer and then cutting them out.

  The creamers I made were:  Amaretto, Cafe Vienna, Bavarian Mint and Toffee.  There are a lot of recipes out there but these particular ones came from Taste of Home (although I'm providing the recipes for you below). One suggestion I have is that you combine these in a food processor or coffee grinder (I used my coffee grinder) as I think the ingredients are more evenly and fully combined that way.  I also added the amount to use on each label as that differs sometimes depending on the flavor.

 To complete this gift I purchased several different boxes of coffees for my husband to keep in his office with his Keurig brewer.  Note:  It's best to use a plain, unflavored coffee with these mixes.  If you have a flavored coffee and then add one of these, you may get some 'funky' tasting coffee!

 Stacked and wrapped with a simple, brown, striped paper, I just tore extra paper in strips, curled it and taped it on top for a "manly" bow.

Now here are the recipes: (Note: I cut the amount down from the original recipes to fit in the bottles so here are my amounts which made one bottle of each.)

Amaretto Coffee Creamer
1/2 cup nondairy powdered creamer

1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and process with a food processor or coffee grinder. To serve: Stir 2 TBS. creamer into 6 ounces of hot coffee. 

Bavarian Mint Coffee Creamer 

1/2 cup nondairy powdered creamer

1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Combine all ingredients and process with a food processor or coffee grinder.  To serve: Stir 2 TBS. creamer into 6 ounces hot coffee. 

Cafe Vienna Flavored Creamer
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dry milk or nondairy creamer
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and process with a food processor or coffee grinder.  To serve: add 1-2 tsp. min into hot coffee and stir.

Toffee Coffee Flavored Creamer
1/2 cup nondairy creamer
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Combine and process with a food processor coffee grinder.  To serve: add 1-2 tsp. mix to coffee and stir.  

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/