Christmas Cloche Party

I am happy to be joining Marty today for her Christmas Cloche Party at her blog A Stroll Thru Life.  I created a cloche out of a thrift store clock.  You can view that post here.
I just played around with it.  I shopped the house and rearranged as many things as I could think of to see what kind of look I could get. 

I have a post on how I glittered this pear here.

Thanks for joining me today.  Go over to Marty's Christmas Cloche Party to view some great ideas for Christmas cloche decorating. 

Sherry

Easter Basket Project

I will be joining Kim for Basket Dayz at her site Cheap Chic Home.   She will love to have you if you have any kind of spring/Easter basket project to show off.

Supplies: Basket

                 3 or more yards of ribbon for handle

                 A embellishment for ribbon (like a flower)

                 1 1/2 -2 yards of bridal Tulle (the fuller the basket will be, the more tulle you will need) 

 I started out with a white basket that originally was in the nursery when I had each boy.  Yes, they started out shabby chic, until I had to give them more manly furnishings!

I made a loop and took the ribbon through it like so.

I put a good knot in that loop and then I started lacing the handle.

You continue to lace back and forth till you have come to the end of the handle.

Make sure it is all good and tight.  Then give it another good knot on this side of the handle.  You don't want it slipping and coming undone during the big hunt.

Take a 4 inch strip of tulle cut with the width of the fabric and fold it back and forth till it looks like this.

Then fold your tulle and cut a triangle out of each top corner.  This is just like making a bow.  We are making a tulle bow.

Unfold your tulle again and tie and knot it with the triangular cut outs being right where you are going to knot the ribbon.

You can now pull the tulle out and fluff it up, just like you do when making a bow.

Continue to shape the tulle till you get the desired look.

You can put any embellishment you want in the center of your tulle bow.  You can put silk or real flowers.  I found this little bunny pin at the thrift store and I am using him on this basket.

Now here is the best part!!!

Do you hate Easter grass?  Do you find it in July in the hall and under the couch?  I did.  So when my boys were little we threw away our Easter grass and we stuffed our baskets with tulle!  It works fantastic.  It is a perfect cushion for the eggs.  It looks good and it is not messy.  I used royal blue and green when the guys were small in each of their baskets.

There you have it, an Easter basket or it would work equally well for a flower girl basket. 

Please got to Kim's site Cheap Chic Home add a basket project or see what every one else is doing.

I will also add this to the following:

Make It For Monday at Cottage Instincts 

It Is So Very Creative at It's So Very Cheri 

Made It Mondays at The Persimmon Perch 

Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative 

Making the World Cuter Monday at Making the World Cuter 

Make It Yourself Mondays at Sumo's Sweet Stuff 

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple

 

Architectural Salvage

I have a architectural piece of trim that I got at the Nashville Flea Market over 20 years ago.  I have been waiting to find the right spot for it and when we added our new addition I knew I wanted to put it up.  I finally found the right spot.

Here is our bathroom before.  Just imagine that above the mirror there is nothing, because that is what was there just empty wall.  

Here it is after.  My wonderful husband put it up today.  The dark wood went really well with the bathroom decor.  It gives the room a little more of a tropical  feel which was what I wanted.

A little closer look.  This piece came off of some furniture.  It has a brass keyhole in the center, but I really am not sure what it was from.  Any architectural fragment can add a sense of another world to your decor.  Here my fragment adds a tropical feel of the cutwork wood as seen in Asian or South Pacific decor.  There is a romance of strength in the beauty of architecture that works wonderfully as art in your home.

Candle Makeover

I am joining Susan today for Metamorphosis Monday at her site Between Naps on the Porch.  I had a nice hurricane candle holder I recently purchased at Walmart on clearance for $2.50.  I displayed it last week with shells in it .  Pictured below. You can see that post here.

 I thought I would make it over for a spring table. 

 

The first thing I did was place a bed of sheet moss in the bottom of the candle holder.

 

I had a nest from Hobby Lobby that I had purchased.  It already had some ivy and berries on it and I stuck fern leaves in around the back of the nest.

I fitted the nest down in the candle holder with the ferns trailing up in the back.

  

 

 

Then I placed a simple pillar candle down in the nest.

You may also place a flameless battery operated candle in this arrangement.

And there you have a candle makeover for a spring woodland table.

Please go on over to Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday and see all the great makeovers.  I am also linking to Make It for Monday over at Cottage Instincts.  I will also link to the  Before and After Party over at Thrifty Decor Chick.

 

White Wednesday

I am joining Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  I have some really great smelling paperwhites blooming in the house.  They are so delicate.  I am just so tickled to see anything bloom!

 

Next I have a little porcelain doll.  This was my doll and since I had all boys they never played with it.  The lovely pillow my Mother made.

 

I can't wait to start putting my seashells out for summer.  I love all shell related items.  Even though my house is not anywhere near a beach, I decorate with seashells generously in the summer.  I hope you go over and visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for all the lovely white things.

2nd Time Around Tuesday

I am joining Diane today at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words for 2nd Time Around Tuesday.  I have been treasure hunting for some white porcelain dishes with a gold rim.  Sometime you have to find your treasure one dish at a time.  I have found one plate that is similar to what I have been wanting.

 

  

The rim has a laurel leaf trim, probably made out of 22k gold.

 

This was the marking on the back.  I liked the name. I recognized it.  Limoges is most know for it's little porcelain boxes.  But, Limoges makes some dishes that I would qualify as nice for a shabby chic style table.   So, that is my goal and if I have to find the plates one at a time and they are mismatched that's okay with me.

My next find was some pressed glass sherbets.   I have been looking for sherbets for a few months that I could also use in a shabby chic table.   Rachel Ashwell  who started the Shabby Chic craze in the 1990's touts pressed glass as the acceptable replacement  for crystal on the table. I agree with her because pressed glass fits my budget and I think it looks great.

Here is the detail in the bottom of the sherbet.  Did they used to put something like pressed glass in laundry soap?  When I was really little I remember helping Mom find little pressed glass style dishes in boxes of dry laundry soap.  If anyone remembers that please leave a comment.   Anyway, when I collect enough of the dinner plates as above I will show you a shabby chic style table with them.  Oh, all purchases were found at my local thrift store.

 One, more find that I also got at the local thrift store was a glass hurricane shade.  I had been seeing the shades in catalogs for a lot of money and that was out of my budget.  So, I have found two of these glass shades at the thrift store for $2.   I would imagine they were leftover from a FTD floral centerpiece.  Anyway, I have placed mine over a pewter candle holder and stuffed silk fern leaves in the shade.  I used this in a spring tablescape you can view here.   I love thrifting and showing you how I use my 2nd time around treasures.  Please join Diane at her site to view what other treasures bloggers have found.

Mosaic Monday: Accessories

I am joining Mary at Little Red House for another Mosaic Monday.  I decided to make a mosaic out of a series I did on remodeling and add it to Mosaic Monday.
 This is my last post in my remodel series where I discussed the different aspects of going through a remodel.  The first step was creating an idea notebook, next was planning, and then choosing color, and then picking out the finishes and this post will be the final one showing you my favorite accessories.  If you want to recap any of the older posts, just click on the links.

Instead of trying to describe how to accessorize, I thought  I would just explain a mosaic of some of my accessories.  When you accessorize your putting the finishing touches in your room by adding your personality.  Here is some of the things in my home and why they reflect who I am.

• Little lamps- to light up dark corners. Layers of lighting makes the room feel cozy. I like cozy scenes, like out of a vintage children's book.
  
• Botanical pictures-  I don't have any framed art print botanicals, I have pressed flowers. I have made them all myself.  I love to go outside find interesting things that might be of use indoors. This reflects my childhood. I was a little tomboy that roamed around a farm and gathered flowers, weeds, bird eggs, sometimes the birds, anything I could capture and admire. I love nature and it's beauty.
• Butterfly case- this is a repurposed treasure.  It was my father's 4-H entomology project for the county fair.  Again, I had my own entomology project when I was a kid, it is fascinating studying insects.  I decided to clean this case up. Some of the butterflies and moths my own children and I have added to replace the now 50 year-old faded specimens.  Although, if some of the butterflies are more scarce now I haven't recaptured those.
• Nautical/seashells- My mother's side of the family came from Florida and I have always loved the ocean and all things remembered of my vacations there. So I have collected lots of seashells over the years.  The colors of the beach are some of my favorite.
• Flowers- Again growing up on a farm with a large garden, it was always a treat to cut and bring in flowers for the table.  My favorite were always daffodils and daisies.
• Lace- I wouldn't care if lace were on everything!  I just love the femininity of lace.
• Fabric- I love to sew and create a look that I have seen somewhere.
• Candles- I love history.  I love lighting a candle and imagining what it must have been like when there was no electricity. They also give off a romantic glow.
  
• Antiques/Vintage- I grew up with an avid family of antique shoppers.  To this day, one side of my family gives antiques for all gifts.  So there is a strong appreciation for all things old and of what their use might have been. 

So, I hope you can see how the things that we choose to accessorize our home with is really just a reflection of the owner.  It is fabulous to see a full and wonderful life exposed on the walls, and tabletops of a home.  Don't be shy, pull out your treasures and accessorize.  Happy remodeling!

Remodel: Picking Out the Finishes

To continue my remodel series today I am going to discuss how we chose the finishes and lighting we have in our new room.  I have had three other posts in my remodel series which were: making an idea book, planning, and choosing color.  Click on any of those links to read previous posts. 

Flooring:
The first finish is flooring.  We chose carpeting in our new room for three reasons.

• Budget- carpeting is still on the affordable end of the flooring spectrum.
• Kids- a soft place to play.
• My husband- he sold carpet, tile, hardwood, and vinyl for 20 years and he saw hardwood covered up by carpet many, many times.   

Hardwood is extremely popular right now.  Better Homes and Gardens  new issue of Remodel states that a national survey revealed that real estate agents say homes with wood floors sell faster and at a higher price than  homes with other types of flooring.  Popularity seems to be driving the demand.  Wood floors look great but we chose carpet.

Wall & Ceiling Treatments:
In our new room all of the walls and ceiling are dry walled in a knockdown texture.  I have seen this used in commercial applications but it looks fantastic in your home. I wanted the color of an old map on the wall and the knockdown texture ages the wall even more looking like stucco or plaster.  It is also great at hiding blemishes on the wall and with three boys it has already paid off that we chose this finish over smooth drywall.

Lighting:
Layering lighting to get different moods and usefulness out of your room seems to be the best approach.  We used recessed cans on dimmer switches to start with and later we will add more layers to our lighting. Ways to add more layers are:

• Central ceiling fixture along with recessed cans.
• Lamps with 3-way bulbs.
• Lights to highlight art.
• Lights to highlight shelving.
• Candles 
• Natural light from windows
  

Lighting is all  about setting a mood in you interior space and it can be very dramatic and effective. The best way to find the perfect mix of layers is to play with lighting. Try different bulbs ( soft white, clear bulbs, different watts, and 3-way bulbs) and different lamp shades. The affect you get will vary a great deal. We enjoy our recessed lighting, when dimmed it turns our family room  into a home theater. 
Fabric:

Not to be overlooked, fabrics play a key role in the finish of your interior.  The first place I think of fabric is on the windows. We chose a tapestry curtain for our windows.  It picks up all the colors in the carpet.  Here; when applying color, is where you can think of the 60:30:10 rule.   I discussed the rule in last week's post now let me explain it better.  The 60:30:10 decorating rule is how to apply color to a whole room.

• First, chose your favorite color.  This will be 60% of the color in the room, the dominate color.  This usually applies to walls. It can also include larger elements such as dominate fabric, floors, and furniture.  We used Almond Brittle by Pittsburgh Paints on the walls and ceilings.
• Select a second color as your intermediate color, this will compromise 30% of your room.  Ours was the caramel colored carpet which also flowed up onto the drapes.
• Third, use the remaining 10% for other color in your room such as accent colors.  Ideal for trim, molding, pillows, rugs, or other accessories.  We used burgundy furniture and the smallest amount of sage green trim in the art, trim on the curtain tiebacks, and in fabric on a table covering.

One more word about texture. With many finishes you can pick something with a texture that is appealing to the eye.  We chose that in the texture on our walls with knockdown. You can also use texture very effectively in your fabric choices.  A velvet, tapestry, or silk drapery will each give you a very different texture.  Look all of the choices over and see what textures are soothing to your eyes when planning your interior space.

I will also mention here the choices in the bathroom that were also a part of this new addition. We used the same drywall finish and trim as the living room to tie it all in.  Here were the choices for the bathroom.

It is really peaceful to have flow from room to room so the colors and the textures aren't fighting one another as you move through the space.  The old part of the house that adjoins to this new addition also has matching paint in a lighter shade on the paint chip and the same trim as the new addition. One day we would love to change the drywall in the old part of the house to the knockdown texture so it also matches. This is on our list of things to do. 
This gives you an overview of how we chose our finishes. Hopefully it helps in some way if you are working on a remodeling project.  
Next week I am wrapping up my remodel series with a post on adding accessories and personality to your space. All the other choices can look great but the space can still be empty if you don't accessorize.  That is the best part of decorating.