White Wednesday & The Adolphus Hotel

Welcome to another White Wednesday hosted by Kathleen & for today's white I wanted to share the beautiful white stone on the side of the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. I have always loved this landmark & in October my friend Sandy came out to join me at the Gilded Life Art Event (see my sidebar for a link to all the past posts about this). We took a class all day Friday & had vendor night with cocktails, only to return EARLY the next day for another class. Instead of driving over an hour (one way) to go home I surprised Sandy & booked us a room in this amazing little slice of history.

The Adolphus: The Legend of the Grande Dame of Grand Hotels

Immerse yourself in the Gilded Age glamour of The Adolphus in Dallas. This baroque masterpiece has been a legend among America's historic hotels since 1912, when Missouri beer baron Adolphus Busch was approached by city founders to erect a luxury palace worthy of the Lone Star State and one of his most lucrative markets. Fame, fortune, and flamboyance came together in 21 stories of unabashed beaux arts splendor that critics have called “the most beautiful building west of Venice.” Throughout its history, luminaries such as Babe Ruth, the Vanderbilts, U2, Oscar de la Renta, Donald Trump, and Queen Elizabeth II have chosen The Adolphus as their Dallas pied-a-terre. You will feel right at home at The Adolphus, where magnificent architecture, first-class service and a dynamic downtown location set the stage for a truly regal experience.

Don’t you love the white stone & all the carving & relief work?

Notice the shape of this corner… designed to mimic a beer stein.

I love the play of the light at night against the the white stone. I am such a sucker for great architecture!

OK!!!! Let’s step inside…

This is ONE of two or three amazing delicate chandeliers' hanging in The French Room.

Sandy & I went inside The French Room Bar that Friday night & had an amazing gingerbread pudding with rum sauce & coffee with amaretto. YUMMMMMMMMMMY & so very pretty. We just sat & visited while enjoying the surroundings.

Another look at a bit of the gilt work & carvings on the walls of The French Room.

While registering at the front desk the young man that helped us was probably related to my Hubby’s family although they spell their name with an e instead of an a. But, the best part of this story is that he gave us a FREE upgrade & we had a fabulous suite.

I hope you enjoyed the little peek into our wonderful experience & enjoyed seeing the grand architecture of another century. Again, I LOVE the amazing white stone work & hope you enjoyed this post for White Wednesday! Be sure to visit HERE the other girls playing White Wednesday this week. Sandy, I hope this brings back some wonderful memories. It sure does for me!

Hugs! Charlene

Decorating Progress SLOW!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I went to the storage building to get all my MILLIONS of items I MIGHT want to use to decorate with.  The entire back of my van is full but, progress is SLOW!!!!  The only part I have done is the top of my china hutch in the Living Room.  I wanted to share it because it is one of my favorite things right now.  This is the vintage doll I found a couple of years ago.  I named her Noel.  She is sitting on a vintage child’s sled, dressed in a vintage Christening Gown & very old winter white wool coat doll coat.  She wears a hat & muff of WHITE rabbit fur.  Noel is also holding a sparkling SILVER star (I may move that because I don’t like that you can see it’s base but, that is because I was standing on a ladder to photograph her & from the room you can’t see it).   Sitting behind her on the sled is a hook with holding a pretty white brush wreath wreath sprinkled with silver ornaments.  And I have a beautiful white tree sitting behind her.  You can go HERE to see the post I did about her for a past Christmas (I hope you enjoy seeing that).   Anyway, this part is done & I LOVE HER!!!!   Now, I have our nine foot tree set up in it’s spot of honor & it is BARE!!!!!!  And why is it still bare?  Because I have been blog hopping & being inspired by others instead of working.   But, I want to share with you what I have found & think you will LOVE it as much as I do.

This beautiful STOCKING was done by Thespa & she was sweet enough to share a tutorial of how to make this beauty so go HERE to see more on this amazing sugar plum of an idea.

The next thing I want to share is some beautiful snowflakes made by my precious friend Sandy from Quill Cottage.  She also has done a tutorial so you can make some of these beauties too!!!!  The talent & generosity out in Blogland is truly breathtaking.  And speaking of breathtaking… go HERE to visit Sandy & see her magic! 

 

Takes your breath away doesn’t it?    Go HERE for the tutorial from Sandy!   Thank you Thespa & Sandy for being such sweet sharing souls & for spreading the magic of Christmas.  If you visit these angels please tell them Charlene sent you!

Hugs!  Charlene

Fall Thoughts & New Friends For You To Meet

As Thanksgiving is upon us… I wanted to tell each & every one of you how very special you are to me!!! I have met some of the most AMAZING, SWEET, TALENTED, friends through my blog & the Art Events I have gone to in this past year! In January I chose the word KNOWLEDGE as my word for 2010. WOW what knowledge I have gained. What a wonderful year I have had!!!!

One thing I have wanted to learn is how to use Photoshop Elements & do digital collage work. That has not happened. I did take one class from Mendy at Paper Cowgirls but, I have not practiced what she taught us. SHAME ON ME!! But, I will get to that I promise. So today I wanted to share the beautiful work above done by a new friend Jill & you can find her at Feathers & Flight. She participates in a weekly digital challenge each Monday & always has a wonderful piece to share. Go visit her! And the piece above has been her banner for the fall season. I LOVE IT! Jill I hope to one day be as talented as you!

So many of you dazzle me with your photos, creations, beautiful homes, & you bring me such pleasure & fill me with ideas & inspiration. THANK YOU! May you be blessed as you have blessed. I LOVE all of you sweet Blog/Art Friends. Count your blessing & share them here if you feel like it.

Hugs! Charlene

Silver Sunday

I had wanted to join Silver Sunday but, found out that they don’t do that every Sunday… Just the 2nd Sunday of the month. But, I decided to share SILVER anyway. Hope you enjoy.

I spent from Thursday to Sunday this week in Houston visiting a friend for her birthday so I am sorry I have been absent this past week. I wanted to share some of the gorgeous silver pieces that I found in McKinney, TX at Patina Green while Sandy visited last month(see other posts about this HERE & HERE). I LOVE vintage silver & crystal so of course this place was right on the money. We went up there & met our friend Lisa of Tattered & Tarnished & we had so much fun.

Don’t you LOVE the PURPLE hydrangeas’ used in this display?

The “Ladies Room” is a much talked about/must see part of this shop.

Here is a photo of the front part of the store where the cute little lunch room is. There are 3 specials of the day that are served & a few tables up front & outside. It really is a tiny place but, it’s cute. If you’re ever in McKinney be sure & stop by. Did you notice the old SILVER ceiling tiles?

Loved the old dressing table & the tarnished silver dresser set. And that wedding photo…

Help yourself & feel welcome to create with it.

Here’s Lisa, Sandy & I saying goodbye to you & we hope you enjoyed the outing as much as we did!

Now, be sure & click the link above to go visit the other girls playing Silver Saturday. And click Lisa & Sandy’s names to visit them. Isn’t it fun to blog hop to all this goodness?

Hugs! Charlene

White Wednesday & Lisa’s September Class

I wanted to share my finished piece of Art from a class I took from my precious friend Lisa or Tarnished & Tattered back in September. This was my first venture out after hubby’s surgery/recovery & it was so great to be with my friends & to laugh, talk & create. So, I’m sharing (sorry it’s a bit late but, better late than never) this special day with you today at Kathleen’s WHITE WEDNESDAY Since Lisa gave us mostly wonderful whites & creams to work with it seemed perfect for this.

Lisa’s class sample above.

It all began with our class kit but, Lisa brought lots of extra goodies for us to dig in & use. She is such a generous talented sweet soul. You can see Lisa & Maureen (who owns Cottage Panache where the class was held) getting ready for us to start.

But, first let me introduce you to my precious friend Charlotte Perez. Charlotte & I were so surprised to see each other at this class because we usually see each other at Gilded Life Events. But, this one was held in Fort Worth instead of Dallas so it was a huge shock. So… we squealed in delight when we found out we got to spend the day together. Let me show you one of this Dynamo’s AMAZING creations that she was wearing that day.

She made this after she learned the technique in the first class at Gilded Life when we met back in February. GOSH that seems like forever but, it hasn’t been! Wow girl… how far we’ve come & what we’ve learned. Go HERE to see a post about that event & some of the other amazing things created there. But, I’m getting off course. Let’s get back to what she made at this class.

A tiny vintage shoe that she brought & added that amazing BLING to. The tiny little perfume bottle (thanks to Lisa) & a photo of Charlotte as a child.

AMAZING as always girlfriend!!!!! Now, let’s look at some of the others.

Sorry for the glare of the convex mirror. There is no way to take a photo without that.

I love this close up that shows the old letter from Lisa’s Grandfather to her Grandmother (printed onto linen) which starts out “Little Darling”. And you can see the letterhead of the Imperial Hotel in Atlanta Georgia in the background. And the beautiful lace is from a piece of a wedding gown that Charlotte shared with everyone in class.

A saying I stamped at the bottom of my piece says it all…

“What you do today is IMPORTANT because you are exchanging a day of your life for it”

Not the best photo of all us girls… but, we’re happy souls for we created a beautiful piece of art. THANK YOU LISA! And thank you Kathleen for hosting another White Wednesday. Be sure & go HERE to see others who participated today.

Hugs! Charlene

Fall’in For Vintage Gloves

Back in the summer (which was so HOT this year) I was invited to join a Fat Book Swap by my precious friend Sandy (see the previous post to meet this sweetheart) & the thought of fall & cooler weather was such a treat. The theme for the Swap was to be Fall’in For Vintage Gloves. We were to use vintage gloves & Fall or Autumn Colors to do this book. I had never heard of a Fat Book before & asked Sandy “what is a Fat Book & how does this work”? She said “a Fat Book is made of fabric pages which are decorated & embellished with the theme that is chosen”.

Well, how could I pass up on something like that? Above is my favorite Fall image from Dawn of The Feathered Nest (thanks Dawn) & I knew I wanted to use it somewhere in my book. By the way… feel free to use this for your art since I want to share with you just like Dawn shared with me (just let others know where you got it by a a link back for courtesy please).

I bought a beautiful suede fabric in a rich brick red color. And also found a gorgeous beaded trim in brick red & amber. Next step… find 4 pair of vintage gloves in the style I wanted to use. I chose a more feminine lacy style over leather, cotton or other types of gloves available.

Above is a couple in the rough stage. Pretty vintage gloves found, Chocolate velvet Rushed Rose (yes I made 8 of these) made, vintage strings of pearls, vintage earrings, lace, vintage hankies for the gloves to hold, good quality silk leaves… you see the hunt began. What FUN!

And as I said, I had to use my favorite image so I used Photoshop & added the name of the Swap to the image. Next I made a little pocket with all of my personal information.

The pocket was the perfect place for the bookmark I made which added a great place to again put the name of the swap & the beautiful autumn colored seam binding which was “fluff” for the top of my page.

OK, let’s look at some of the finished pages. You remember I had to make 8 pages but, of course some of them were the same only a left instead of right glove (pairs of gloves & pairs of earrings). But, some of them had a different earring or button… Oh but, wait I forgot to tell you I also used a wonderful vintage glove advertisement Sandy sent me (because it matched the style of my gloves) that I printed on to linen fabric & then stitched to the pages. Let’s look at some of my finished pages (feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it for a better look).

In the photo above you can see the wonderful texture of these crocheted gloves, the vintage hankie, the glove ad peeking behind the glove but, in front of those beautiful autumn silk leaves.

The left margin had to be left free of decoration for Sandy to be able to sew them together.

Which one is YOUR favorite page?

Here’s all the back pages all complete & laid out on the bed waiting to be put with the fronts. I love the beaded fringe & the color & texture it added to the page. Hope you enjoyed this little peek at some of my creative work. I’ll be back at the first of the week to show you the completed book. IT’S A TREASURE FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs! Charlene