LIFE AT THE COTTAGE

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Tips and Tricks Tuesday #15 - How to Tarnish Silver


BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE DETAILS FOR ALL THREE LINKY PARTIES HERE AT THE COTTAGE!



Welcome to the fifteenth Tips & Tricks Tuesday linky party here at the Brambleberry Cottage.

For those of you who are already missing summer fun in the sun...


take a good long look at the beautiful blue water in that swimming pool.

OK...that's long enough!

Now, focus your attention on that fantastic looking director's chair that was given new life by Deanne @ Five Brothers One Sister.

Want to know how to make an inexpensive stencillike the one Deanne used on this project?  Then hop on over to her place for a great tutorial.


If there's anything this world could use more of, it's gratitude.

Karly @ Jellybean Junkyard created this wonderful board of thanksgiving for her family to remind them how important it is to give thanks.

And now, for another Brambleberry Cottage tip:


Nope, my tip is not a lesson on how to boil eggs to perfection.

Although, it does involve boiled eggs!


Actually, to be more precise, it involves the yolks of boiled eggs.


You see; I happen to really like the wonderful patina that tarnish imparts to older metal objects.

Sometimes the things I collectlike the vintage trophy cup you see abovehave just the right amount of that terrific timeworn look I prefer.

Other times, there's just not as much as I would likeas is the case for the dinner bell beside the trophy.

So what's a gal to do?

Why find a way to create tarnish, of course.


It just so happens, sulfur is a great tarnishing agent.  And that also just happens to be an abundant element found in the yolks of eggs.

Since I greatly prefer natural means, over the use of syntheticand ususally dangerouschemicals, I decided to give this method a try.

If you enlarge the image above, and compare it to the earlier one, you will notice that the surface of the bell is indeed beginning to darken.

So far, these items have been sealed in that plastic bag for about six hours.  

By the way, any kind of container will do for this project, as long as it's airtight.  And make sure the yolks are warm when you place them in the container. 

Since I want to see if it will tarnish even further, I'm leaving everything, just as you see it, overnight. 

I'll report my findings to you tomorrow.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Talented Time Travelers in Focus #13


It's time to focus on some of the talent linked to last week's Time Travel Thursday linky party.


If ever there was a case made for thrifty DIYin', being young and relatively newly married would certainly qualify.

Christina @ Christina's Adventures qualifies on both counts. 

And with a little lot of help from hubby, she scored big on her joint "redo" venture.


And she scored again with this Ballard-Designs-inspired wreath above.


MT @ unexpected gracealso young and newly marriedshared her bright ideas for unique lamp bases. 

You'll find her ideas quite illuminating.


Amy @ Crazy Craft Bugs shared how to have a ball...

ummm, I mean, make a ball using handy thrift-store materials.


Is your memo / inspiration board a bit overcrowded?  Take a cue from Alison (and Molly) @ The Modern Cottage and gain all the space you could ever need.


What crafty idea could you come up with using these cute ankle boots?

Go visit Kathleen @ Fireflies and Family to see how they inspired her.


As always, great job, Time Travelers!