Opposites attrack!

Woman does not live by white alone!...

If you are looking to add a bit of drama to your decor, or if you are trying to compromise with your Hubby (sometimes all white can be too much for him!) why not incorporate some black pieces?
Black is sharp, and many times adds weight to a room that can feel a little too airy...Check these possibilities out...

Black, vintage wicker chair, white cushions, black footstool...just a cozy spot to read a book and enjoy your fave tea!

Handsome, clean lines and dark. No, not the Surfer!!...the bookcase....

How about a black hutch? will look fab with the white dinning room table and chairs. Displays white china and ironstone beautifully!

And here's the totally unexpected: black side table, ironstone dish, roses and animal print!...The best part: it works!!

Have a creative, unexpected week end!!

For prices and measurements, visit www.niceandeasyantiques.com

Bye Bye Wall!!

New look here at Nice & Easy! We got rid of the wall that divided the back of the store in 2 small rooms. Here's a picture of the store at 8:45 am, before the demolition started....


We planned this remodeling before Christmas time and finally did it! Clara and I dressed for the part on Monday morning, please notice the headpieces and you will know who is the "Boss" and who is the "Working Bee"....

This is the "destruction" area around 10:30 am....

And this was our new space by 1:30 pm...

It looks and feels a lot bigger, brighter, and the merchandise shows a lot better. We really love our remodeling and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! Next improvement: get rid of the carpet in the same room and paint the floor...

"If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies."

~Author Unknown~

Garage shopping...

Well, Sunday morning after a very disappointing trip to the Flea Market (found nothing, zero, nada!), I decided to go shopping to one of my favorite spots: my own garage! and here's what I found: a not very charming folding table, sometimes called a TV tray...the top was old (not vintage) wallpaper, full of stains and the legs were showing a very bad paint job.



While watching the Red Carpet, and between phone calls to Clara to talk about the dresses, the jewelry and the hairdos the stars had, I played with the little garage treasure....
I decoupaged vintage music sheet on the top and repainted the bottom using an eggshell white paint....

Look at it now....

Perfect height to keep next to a favorite chair, a super cute vintage piece that takes no space at all, something fun and inexpensive.

I'm bringing it to the store today, I hope Clara likes it as much as I do....I'm sure one of our customers will adopt her and she will find a new home!
One more thing, if you have not seen the Slum Dog Millionaire, don't miss it! and if you have teenagers take them to watch it with you. Wonderful, inspiring movie, very deserving of 8 Oscars....As far as the "Best Garage Treasure: the Oscar goes to:...My Table...I just need to put some white paint on that Gold Statue now....

Bad weather and good color!

Just a little imagination + just a little wall + just a little bit of paint + just a little need of something new + just a little bit of time + $20.00 = A big, big, change!!

In my Professional Opinion (I am a Psychologist after all...) the rainy weather we've been having in Southern California has also a lot to do with it...After days and days of rain, cold, wind and very grey skies, (all of this by Spoiled California standards, I know) the "Princess of all things white and shabby" was in need of some color. And she got it!! This is how Clara transformed her entry way: from white and fab to aqua and fab!!

She even got aqua candles... notice how the color reflects on the mirror accross the way...


To keep the "King of all things not-shabby" happy, she did it all in a budget:

Paint: $18.00 (Lowe's) The color is "Staqua" from the Seaside Retreat Collection, Valspar
Candles: $.99 (.99 Store)

Don't you love it???, I sure do!!... Too bad the bad weather didn't affect me that way, in my case, the formula was:
eat + watch TV = Extra weight :(

Have a wonderful weekend, full of family fun and finished projects!!

Doing what we love to do....

Since our Dealers started working at the store and Clara and I don't have to be there every day, things have changed. Not only we have a lot more time for family, antiquing and creating, but also, the days that we now spend at the store became a real treat!
Clara and I usually do the big re-arrangements: we move the big furniture around, we hang chandeliers, re-do the windows and the walls... and we get to shop our own store because the girls bring wonderful merchandise constantly!
As we walked the store today and Clara showed me all the new stuff that came in, I remembered something that Shell from Tales from the Raspberry Rabbits, wrote on her blog:

We might be recessed but we are definitely not depressed!!

Look at all these pretty vignettes and you'll see what I mean....

Of course, during our working days, we also get to chat with our great customers and they always confirm us that we are on the right path.... They come to our store looking for fresh, inexpensive ways to spruce up their home, they look for vintage, unique, recycled merchandise that makes them feel good without breaking the bank....

We sure have that...

They are also looking for handmade, one of the kind items to keep or to give away....

And they decided that on these "recessed" days they are looking to spend their hard earned money in little stores, helping us and many people like us do what we do best...recycle, re-use, and beautify each home one vintage piece at the time!



So, thank you to all our faithful customers for keep coming back, thank you for all your support, we REALLY appreciate it!... thank you to all of you, the vintage-cottage-shabby-antique lovers for supporting your own local Dealer!!...
Oh, one more thing: don't forget to visit Shell's blog and her adorable rabbits and tell them that the girls from Nice & Easy sent you!

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
~H.E. Luccock~

About old doors and windows....

We always knew we loved old doors and windows. We love them as salvaged art, as a way to add texture to a room... We loved them because of their chippy paint and their cool hardware... because they are usually very inexpensive and because they make a great statement in any room....

but we never knew we had so many!!!!

Take a look at just some of the old windows and doors Clara and I found in our own homes....

A pair of huge doors, rescued from a construction site, turned sideways welcome friends to Clara's entryway...

Old cupboard door with sweet green paint and original glass knob is now enjoying retirement on a shelf...



The opening on this window was perfect for a kitchen blackboard...

A window frame now holds Clara's Baby's Shoes collection...

When one of our Dealers brought this cutie from Tennessee, I knew I had to have it....

I also had to have this little led glass window...

and this mirrored door that has just been moved to my bathroom...

This poor thing was under the rain when we found it and drove around town with me for three days until was finally moved into my living room....

We wonder if this qualify as a collection, a fascination or just pure obsession!..

TGIF....

Today is one of those big, juicy, best kind of Fridays...Friday with no school, no alarm clocks, no lunches to be prepared. A Friday with dinner plans, maybe a movie, followed by a romantic Saturday (Valentine's Day), a relaxing Sunday and to top it all off...a Monday with yes, no school!!!

To celebrate this wonderful week end, two digital collages in a romantic theme...

the two following images are actually the front and the inside of a card I made for my Friday Challenge Group...

Have fun with them!...Have a very Happy Valentine's Day and remember....

"Infatuation is when you think he's as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as athletic as Jimmy Conners.
Love is when you realize that he's as sexy as Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Connors, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as Henry Kissinger and nothing like Robert Redford - but you'll take him anyway. "

~Judith Viorst, Redbook, 1975~

When I'm sixty-four...

When I get older losing my hair,

Many years from now.

Will you still be sending me a Valentine?

Birthday greetings,..bottle of wine....?

If I'd been out

'till quarter to three ,

Would you lock the door?,

Will you still need me?,

Will you still feed me?,

When I'm sixty-four....

Paul Mc Cartney, 1967

Just a little bragging!!

It's Sunday morning, the family is sleeping, is raining and I feel like bragging a little....just a little...

Friday night I received an email that took me totally by surprise and made me very, very happy at the same time. It was from Chel, the founder of ZNE. She told me that SHE loved and picked one of MY digital collages to be on the front page of the ZNE site....and I'm sooo touched!

First, because ZNE is full of wonderful, talented artists and I always thought that I was not really good enough to belong to that group, I joined just because it was an on line group and I didn't have to talk or show my work in person....easier this way to take a No, sorry!

Second, because I just started playing around with digital collages. My son Mathias is teaching me the basics, and I love it so much that I'm seriously considering taking a class. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

This is "Take your wings..." the collage Chel picked

Until a couple of years ago, I couldn't even spell the word computer, and here I am Sunday morning, in pyjamas, drinking some coffee and "posting" on a "blog", on my "HP", waiting for the "wireless printer" to "scan" so I can "upload" images and create!!, I guess I'm taking my wings and flying!

If you never visited ZNE before, click here. You can also meet Chel here, you'll be inspired...after all, you never know where your wings will take you!

Things are only impossible until they're not.

~Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation

TGIF Images and Tutorial

We haven't posted a tutorial in a few weeks so we thought that you ladies will like something easy and cute for Valentine's Day. Just a nice way to present some chocolate to a special someone, like Martha says...It's all in the details..!
Starting with a vintage sheet of ephemera, we used a 8 1/2" X 12" sheet of music, you could also use vintage wall paper, vintage magazine pages or even vintage newspaper...reuse and recycle!Roll it in a cone shape. Fold the bottom of your cone, about 2 inches up. One dot of glue will hold it in place.

Cut 24" of a pretty ribbon and using your glue gun, attach it to the back of your cone. (make sure the cone is centered) and tie it on the front on a bow, flattening your cone some and making it look more as an envelope. (The bow will look better if it's a little off-center...)

You can use this week's free images to make the card. We mounted the "I love you Puppy" to two coordinating papers and added a touch of german glitter to the edges. Glue it to the front, next to the bow.



Tissue paper and the Recipient's favorite chocolate make the best filler!

And finally, here are the two TGIF images, digitally made by us and free for you to use them on your favorite craft. Enjoy!

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. "~Albert Einstein~

Even Einstein had a romantic side!!!