Projects Keep Popping Up!

This post has turned out way longer than I intended, so settle in and enjoy. Sorry 'bout that!

You know how it is when you're excited about a new project and can't wait to see it to its fruition. That's how I've been feeling about my living room redo at the moment. Several days ago I ordered my new sofa but it'll take 8 to 12 weeks to arrive from the factory in North Carolina. I can hardly wait! But meanwhile I have some other projects in mind. I've been doing a bit of shopping. Bit?! That's an understatement! But I'm watching my pennies pretty well. If I know I can do it myself, I'll give it a try; if not, I'll think about it a lot before I buy something.

For instance, I saw a photo of a room that had 2 different curtains on one window. I mean one side of the window had a completely different curtain than the other side. Pretty neat actually. Then I saw a room that had 2 curtains on one side and one curtain on the other side of the same window. That got me thinking what I could do. So I bought the pink and cream taffeta curtains—btw, those curtains I got from Overstock.com and they are extremely well made, lined and everything—and then I purchased a french-looking floral print fabric to put with  them, a yellow background with red/pink roses and a tiny blue morning glory. I'll put one of each on each side of the living room window. Here, let me show you what I did as I just threw the yellow fabric over the rod. In reality, this looks beautiful! I also knocked over a pot with a fern in it on the table beside the sofa, knocked over a bottle you see on the shelf, had to stand partly on the sofa and table, lost my footing and almost killed my self trying to hang those 5 yards of fabric for the photoshoot. What we bloggers won't do for a photo. :-)

Okay, I got back upon the sofa and pinned the fabric up there after cutting it into manageable lengths. I also think I should take down that shelf and extend the rods out further, but the other side of that window doesn't give me the ability to do it. I may be stuck or come up with another solution. Hmmmm...I have a feeling Love Bunny is going to kill me before I'm through if I don't accomplish the task for him by falling off the sofa.

Then I looked at my chandelier shades and decided I wanted some new ones, a different look. So I purchased 5 and am redoing them also. There will be roses on them and ribbon but a bit less fancy than those on there now. I'm so excited I could just scream.

Then I got the idea of painting a tall bucket I purchased recently from Joanns to hold wrapping paper for me. (Can you tell now I've recuperated just fine from the surgery 6 weeks ago?) It was a mottled green or slightly verdigris color. I wanted pink and yellow stripes. Hubs told me that would be very difficult since it was wider at the top than the bottom. I purchased some artist's tape at Michaels, which actually looks and acts like the blue tape house painters use but with a fancier price. (Don't be fooled, chicks, get the blue tape at Home Depot.) I measured a couple of times and put the tape on. (Hubs was still giving me attitude that it would be difficult.) I had to position the tape about 3 times and let it "fall" naturally to the bottom. Several trips outside to give it light coats—I say that but I screwed up at one point and had to wipe some serious yellow drips with a paper napkin—and then I looked for my pink gloss paint and had none. I had white gloss though, so as I was impatient to see how it would look and knowing I could repaint it if I wanted, I painted it white. After about a half hour of drying I brought it inside, whipped off the tape, showed it to hubs and gloated. Here are the photos of both side. Stripes? Perfect! My first try. I tell ya, I'm on a roll!

 

Then I wanted a "wash and wear no-iron, put right back on the table from the dryer, white ruffled tablecloth."  For everyday use we have a white piece of vinyl but every single time we have spaghetti or lasagna and, since I'm a slob, there are always red splotches on it. The red does NOT come out even with vigorous scrubbing with a sponge and detergent. The problem is I want 2, 3 or even 4 or 5 ruffles on it and I have no idea how to do multiple ruffles around the edge unless the top where I would sew it on shows but I don't want that part to show. I don't know if it's even possible to do it without cutting a bit of the cloth off, putting on one ruffle, sewing the piece back on and then putting the next ruffle on the bottom. I think multiple ruffles make it a bit lovelier. Okay, I googled it to see if I can find the trick to how it's done. Here's one made from a bed skirt. This lady did one that way.

This lady did it from scratch with lots of drop cloth fabric.

 

Another bed skirt ruffle.

Okay, since I have lots of fabric from a very soft old sheet and I've already torn it into 4" pieces and I have a ruffler, I may as well make it myself from scratch. The one tablecloth on the table sitting outside I like better than the other two. I want a very ruffle-y cloth and I can do that with my ruffler. Sigh. It's just another thing to add to my to-do list. But this project might just push me over the edge!
~*~

I've told my daughter I want a clock like this. She's a mosaic artist and can definitely do it. I love this little beauty.

What a delightful way to serve ice cream to friends! Wrap the cones in scrapbooking paper.

Cute and small bedroom.

Another house on a waterway. I believe this is one of those towns in the Netherlands, Belgium or somewhere near them that doesn't have any roads in their town. All shopping, etc. is done by bicycle or walking.

Sweet blue door on an old stone cottage.

Frosted or sugared rose.

An early snow? Beautiful no matter what.

A bouquet of roses to enchant your heart this morning.

Sweet place to sit and relax.

Another beautiful way to display your flowers—on an old rustic cart.

This is one, just one, of my all-time favorite places to have in my backyard.

Beautiful in pink satin and lace. An envelope to hold some letters or hankies.

Do you remember these? I do.

A rose-filled room. A favorite with me of course.

And I wouldn't say no to this little beauty either!

~*~
Linking up with Inspire Me Monday
and
Mosaic Monday 
and
WOW

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Cute Things

As I said, I'm just got to make you daydream about things...with a dash of reality thrown in.

How about this darling vignette? It looks so small and from the overhead cabinets I'd say this is a trailer, maybe a camping trailer. I have a pillow exactly like the one on the sofa in front of the last green pillow. I also have a footstool exactly like that one.

I wonder if our homeowner's association would complain if I did this to our garage driveway? Probably so, but we've been in this house 6 1/2 years and have had 3 driveways—the original one that raised up after about 8 months, then another one they poured a few months after that, and then the one on there now, which is raising up and chipping on most of it. So now we'll have to pay to put a new one in. Just frosts my cookies to have to do that when they couldn't get it right in 3 tries!

I've told Love Bunny I wanted one of these for our backyard, but he says, "We don't have a pool and we don't live near a beach." Silly man, as if that mattered. We're talking ambiance here, not reality.

I saw this photo years ago, but it just now struck me that this is what I need for our table. Yep, hubs will make me one posthaste because we all know how men love to put hammers, saws, and nails in their hands. I have no doubt I'll have one within the next 2 weeks. ;-) Plus I already have the roses to fill it.

Can you just picture this in your bedroom to sit on while reading and not disturb your hubby? Darling!

Pink French chairs? Sigh.....

Can you remember the days when a woman would negate the idea of 2 old boards for a table? Now, they fight to be the first to buy it at a barn sale, flea market or antique store. Antique?? The farmer's wife who owned it would have traded it gladly for a new table. I find this one absolutely gorgeous!

Sighing..... It's true; I use a lot of netting around my house, especially in our bedroom and master bathroom. It adds romance and beauty when draped behind the headboard.

That's it for today. So go and smell some roses and lift someone up.

~*~

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Porches #1

Obviously I love porches as do most of you, and I'm going to share some photos from a book I've had for many years. Porches are not limited to the quintessential one with white porch railings; they come in many sizes as well as styles. Any one of which I'd love to have but I do have a favorite of course.

Brick home. White railing. Covered. Inviting seating. Yuuummm...

Flowers on display. White slatted blinds. Wonderful wicker table and chairs. Antique bench.

This is probably out here in the west somewhere, but it is stunningly beautiful even if it is a bit off the beaten path of porches.

Hammock. White floor boards with a rug. Roses and flowers on a wicker table. Roll up blinds.

Aaaaah, the seashore and most likely a beach for walking on.

Mountain view. Lake. Adirondack chairs. Stately columns on a round porch. Boat house. Lush lawn.

~*~

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A Vignette Can Be Many Things

Vignettes can be anything we want them to be. The sweet photos above and below are perfect examples of this. The one above is an antique cabinet that has been stuffed to overflow with quaint old boxes, snippets of beautiful old lace, roses fabric, books, antiques, a portfolio of love letters or stationery, spools of antique rick rack and even ivy. I absolutely love this idea. Isn't it just beautiful?

Now what woman hasn't imagined her bedroom looking like this romantic one? I certainly have. Well, there is nothing wrong with "setting" our bedrooms like a stage and having this to feast our eyes upon every single day. It's a "mood" we're looking for here. A teapot, teacup, plate, even a faux pastry and a small silk plant can assure it looks like this every single day. The plethora of soft, cushy pillows add to the ambiance, of course. I plan on getting an old breakfast tray I have and "setting" it up and displaying it in my bedroom just as soon as I can today! A lovely vignette with not much work involved at all, my sweet chicks and bunnies!! Get on it now!

This tiny section of a cottage living room on the Oregon coast looks like it just wraps its arms around you and welcomes you like a nice feather bed. Ahhhhh..... Isn't it adorable? The wicker settee wrapped in a vintage rose fabric or even an old quilt that has been softened with many washings. Put books around your home on the floor. I DO!! Put them under coffee and end tables. I don't have enough book cases so I do it this way too. But you can also put the books on little stools. Hang an old pretty hat somewhere in a room. Put fresh flowers around when your garden is blooming and at other times get the beautiful silk or paper flowers that look so real and are available readily in today's world. Hang things in your window to reflect the light and throw it into your room. Be bold!!

A tiny room can double as a guest room, craft or sewing room or home office and can be beautiful as this one is. It's just a different view of the living room above but can certainly be adapted to something else. Nothing says rooms have to be used as intended. Adapt this to a little used room. Also use different kinds of shelves in a room. It gives a "flair" to a room that says you've collected through the years and not just bought the "suite" off the showroom floor. Mismatched chairs or chairs with pretty fabrics thrown over them show a creativeness. Personally, I love the look!

A small dining room such as this one can be receptive to small vignette displays. A vintage high chair would be glorious if you can find a small one. If you have a curtain that doesn't quite "fit" a window, so what? Put it up anyway. Look at the piece of old lace in each window above. It adds bravado to the room and is still in keeping with the design. Set an old teapot, a basket of napkin rings, a ceramic bunny or cat or a beautiful pot of foliage on the table.

A view such as this one should not be covered up! The sheer lace lets it show through plus they have been hung low on the door, which in itself makes a glorious statement, and then they are drawn back with a flair for drama. The other vignette is on the table. Nothing says that tables have to be kept "clean" all the time. By this I mean "swept of all adornment" but can have place settings that can be swept up for meal time. Nothing too fancy need be on, just something to draw and please the eye.

Vignettes certainly don't have to be in the house; they can be outside also, such as this one. Very simple! Just an old settee, and a few wreaths attached to the wall and voilà you have it! Maybe a pretty thermometer, garden signs, old garden gate, mirror or an old clock out there. It can be anything your imagination comes up with.

Lastly, and I'm almost embarrassed to show you mine after all those beautiful ones above, it can be something as simple as your paint brushes. Since we've moved from a large home to a much smaller one, storage space - actually, just "space" - has been a problem. I'm having to be more creative so here is what I'm doing with some of my things. I just strew them about the house as adornments. This area needs some foliage and it will get it when I get time(!), but I've always been an advocate of "hiding in plain sight." This is an example - my paint brushes and our scripture markers. Placing them in beautiful cups or candleholders and just setting them on an end table (which, btw, is actually an old Marine Corps field desk that opens up to reveal old reel-to-reel tapes and stereo equipment) covered with a scrap of an old damask tablecloth. If you were to look at the back you'd see a cut edge where I used part of it for a pillow!

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