A Wish for Today....

This weekend, just for fun ( and for school lunches!), I did a bit of this:

Then stuck on some of these:

Little Lady helped with this, too.

And when they were cooled off, I had a bit of fun doing this:

And this:

And before I go, my family and I would like to wish you this:

Love, Queen B

At the Door.....

My front entrance needed a little pick-me-up.  I had been churning some ideas around in my head for a few weeks and I finally made the decision when I was able to pick up these 6-inch letters for  one dollar each at a local discount store.

Can you guess what they spell?  Take another look as I spray paint them Antique White.

Got it yet??

Yep.  There it is.  That's a good greeting for the front entryway, right?

And here is where it hangs:

I'd seen this somewhere on Pinterest months ago only the homeowner had use the words, "Shoes Off Please."  My word feels a little warmer - a little more "WELCOMING." 

I spruced up the area with a new silk flower arrangement, too.  I stuck with cream and pale green, and accented with a few sticks and a rusty metal star decoration.

Here is the whole area, lit by the sunshine that streamed through the windows today while snow whirled through the air.  It was a wonderful day to do "home-making" type things inside our cozy home.  

Thanks for coming for a visit.  I'd love to hear what you think of my spruced up foyer.  Comments are always welcome.  And you know, I'm always looking for a few new FOLLOWERS!

Trixie Pillows

Recently, while perusing Etsy, I came across this shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fleamarkettrixie?ref=seller_info

I instanly fell in love with a couple of her printed panels. It took forever, but I narrowed my purchase down to these two designs:

Look at that French script and butterflies! Absolutely gorgeous!

And the Union Jack - in un-traditional colours, but perfect for my living room!

After giving the panels a wash, I  turned them into pillows by creating envelope pillows using a natural coloured muslin as the backing.


I really like the Union Jack (I am partial to all things Britain!), but the butterfly pillow is just so colourful and eye-catching.  I am sure it won't be long before an order more stuff from this lovely Etsy shop!

Thanks for the visit!  Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.  And PLEASE become a FOLLOWER.  I'd love that!!

An Apron for Afton

Recently I took all three of kids to the new public library here in our hometown. After searching the stacks for Barbie and Lego books, the kids settled into read their choices and I was able to take a gander through the sewing and quilting section. Oh - there were so many choices! I came home with a half-dozen books with so much sewing eye-candy I didn't know where to start!!

But after a few evenings of reading and re-reading, I settled on this project from Cath Kidston's

"SEW!"

--- the GIRL'S APRON!!

I took my 5 year old daughter with me to the fabric store so she could choose her own pretty printed fabric . I was very surprised that she didn't jump immediately for a pinkish-purplish pattern. Instead, this is what she chose:

Cath's book comes with a huge fold-out pattern sheet, but because my book was from the library, I had to go "old-school" and trace the pattern onto scrap paper before I could cut my fabric.

I cheated a bit. Instead of making my own home-made seam binding like the book said, I bought some pre-cut, pre-folded seam binding in a contrasting blue. Honestly, even with the pre-made binding, I'll still had some problems - thank God for straight pins.

Here it is - not bad, eh? I created my own pocket style so that I could use more of the pretty blue binding.

But for some reason, it just didn't look finished to me. Hmm...

It didn't take me long to figure out that any girly item like this needs some flowers! Out came my yo-yo flower makers, some matching fabric and my button stash (oh! - and my mochaccino!)

Ta-da!

(Do I put one of these in every one of my posts??)

This is my favourite part of the whole apron!!

And it fits perfectly!!

And today we tried it out. Our first baking mission - Lemon Blueberry Muffins.

Thanks for popping by! Please leave a comment and become a FOLLOWER!

Two Remakes for the Master Bedroom

I had been looking for an interestingly shaped mirror for our bedroom for ages. I was so pleased to find this one at the local Goodwill for just over 10 bucks. It was perfect except for the tarnished silvery coating it had. (That's my youngest- Cam, helping to model my latest purchase!)

Once again, spray paint to the rescue! It was a bit of a chore figuring our how to cover the surface of the mirror so that I didn't get paint on the glass, but in the end it was well worth it!

I love how the texture and detail of the mirror seems to be more easily seen now that it is white. (Don't you just love my new wallpapered bedroom wall in the background?)

Last year I bought these hand-made corbels at a vintage store. They have sat idly in my basement until inspiration hit. At Christmas I wished for more display area in the master bedroom. I wanted a surface that I could decorate with a few Christmas-y items, yet wouldn't get in the way of our daily "living" in that room. So Hubby put them together with a piece of 2x10 and voila!- I had a new display shelf I our bedroom!

I have a large collection of glass candlesticks. Actually, I used to have a large collection. When we moved houses a few years back, several of my sticks didn't survive the move. They have been boxed in the basement since then, so when my shelf was done, I lovingly un-packed what was left of them and placed them to glisten in the sunlight of our bedroom.

Here is the full vignette on the south side of bedroom. I am trying to make a real effort to keep it clutter free so that I can enjoy each of my favourite items.

Thanks for the visit! Please leave a comment - I love reading them! And I'd love a few more FOLLOWERS!

Bye for now!

This + That =_________

I have had both of these items lying around for ages. Yes - the frame often becomes part of my vignettes. And the bulletin board has had random magazine tear sheets plastered on it for months. But it was time to do something about of this wishy-washiness!

The frame has lovely detail, but was a little to "golden' for me. And cork-coloured cork - BORING! Once again - SPRAY PAINT to the RESCUE!!

Ta-da! Now that is a makeover!

I think I may own every colour of spray paint you can buy at the Home Depot, but this has got to be one of my favourites! It's bright enough to add some zing, but gentle enough to not overpower the carving detail on the frame.

And the cork board - it got a couple of coats of antique white. Much cleaner looking now - and a much more friendly colour for displaying my daughter's many art projects!!

Thanks for popping by! Please leave a comment and PRETTY PLEASE - will you BECOME A FOLLOWER!??

A Thrifty & Vintage Bedroom

As I was tidying my daughter's room (AGAIN!) this morning, it struck me how much of her bedroom is old, re-made, home-made and re-used. I grabbed my camera and took a closer look....

Here is a shot of one corner of her room - the sleeping section. Girly - pink, purple, patterned- perfectly girly!

See the medallion on the wall? Thrifted and spray-painted. The heart pennants - handmade by me! The bed - thrifted (it used to be an ugly shade of wood), now painted a pale grass green.

And the pillows - all made by me. The one in front was made to match the drapes in her newborn nursery. Though the drapes stayed with the old house when we moved, the pillow will stay with us forever! The striped one - made to match the drapes in her current bedroom. And the pink one - made from a thrifted sweater. I sewed on several old mis-matched buttons for an extra bit of detail.

This is her view when she lies on her bed. I made 9 of these for her 5th birthday party last year. They took hours to complete and were not going in the garbage after the party - so up they went on her bedroom ceiling.

Just left of her bed is this vinyl wall decal. I picked it for 9 bucks at a local discount decor store. I like how it has a patch-worked feel to it with its mixed patterns.

Here is her nightstand. This was a garage sale find. When I found it, it was dingy and grey. the woman selling it thought she was over-charging me when she asked for $2.00!! SOLD! A couple layers of white paint and an antique knob and she was perfect!!

I found this clock at Value Village. A whopping 6 bucks! No batteries in it yet. My little lady can't tell time! Hee, hee.

I love the bead detail on this lamp. Once again a discount store find. Look at those beads and the "crystal" on the base.

Aren't these the prettiest purple flowers? I found this bowl at Goodwill for 99 cents. It is perfect for corralling my daughters barrettes and jewelry. Otherwise they get tossed on the floor beside the bed!

Now the quilt. My mother made it for my youngest sister 30+ years ago. It has been packed away in her belongings for years. One day last year, my daughter, my sister and I were perusing a flea market and darling daughter fell in love with a $350 vintage quilt with just this dolly design on it. Of course, the $$$ made me gasp and shout NO! My sister quickly came to the rescue and improved my daughter's mood by promising her the use of the family-made Dolly quilt currently located in my sister's storage locker. And here it is - it gives my little lady (and me!) great joy every day!

Thanks for the visit. I look forward to reading your comments each and every day. Please leave and note and let me know you have stopped by! And please, become a FOLLOWER!