Musings From A French Cottage

Trying on a Little Pink

2012-01-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

I love this month of January, a fresh start to a new year, a clean slate...

spring is right around the corner and garden plans are beginning to fill my thoughts.

We're easing into this new year

and we're even trying on a little pink for Valentine's Day.

I like the small hints of pink here and there...reminds me of the pretty flowers to come, the hopeful promise of spring, warm breezes...

Have a good day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

From our family to yours, we hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!

The Manger

2011-12-21T20:39:00.000-05:00

The decorating is finished

and this week we're baking and tying up any last minute projects.

I came upon something today that I thought was cute and I wanted to share.

While my little ones are fascinated with the twinkly lights on the Christmas tree and the shiny, sparkly ornaments,

the one thing that really captivates them is the manger scene.

I have three of them in different places throughout our home and my youngest children have discovered all of them. I frequently find them with a chair pulled up to the table or lying on the floor, playing with the animals and the wise men.

My youngest adores the baby Jesus. She calls Him her baby. It's not unusual for me to discover a sheep buried in the couch cushions or a camel sitting on the desk. Today though, I noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from each of the mangers. I wondered if maybe she had them tucked away somewhere safe. Some secret place where she could play with them later.
But I was wrong.

She found the statue of Mary in our family room and she placed them all there.
This is exactly how I found them.

So sweet.
Even the very young know...especially the very young.

Have a peaceful evening.
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

A Ballard Designs Stocking Knock-off and...Christmas all Through the House

2011-12-14T12:06:00.001-05:00

The windows

are

all adorned...

...the chandeliers too...

the coffee pot is on,

ready to welcome you!

Our hearts are set on home,

no place we'd rather be...

gathered all together to trim the Christmas tree!

*****

We have been busy decorating and fluffing, enjoying this Christmas season. I've been working on a few projects ~ super simple and inexpensive that I will share.

First up are these stocking I made - inspired by Ballard Designs. I saw them on the current cover of Country Living magazine...LOVE them but not for $39.00 each!

So, I made my own.

Very simple really.

Take an inexpensive stocking that you can buy at Walmart and lay it out on a piece of burlap that has been folded in half {or freehand it}. Cut around the stocking so that when you're finished you have two matching pieces. Sew them up, wrong sides together. Now turn it right side out and sew a piece of upholstery webbing onto the top edge of your stocking. Lastly, sew on a loop of ribbon, jute, or whatever you have on hand so that you can hang it. I used seam binding. That's it! For less than a dollar each, you have a pretty Ballard inspired stocking to hang on your mantle.

***

Another fun project I did were these faux mercury glass ornaments. They're actually plastic and from the dollar store (shhh...don't tell anyone)

They were an unattractive gold color when I bought them. I simply spray painted them with metallic silver spray paint. Now here's the cool part about this project. The plastic and paint that these ornaments are made of don't completely agree with spray paint. The silver paint covers it well enough, but it bubbles up here and there creating a look that resembles mercury glass. I loved the finish that this created.

the ornaments needed a little something paired with them so I also made this chalkboard. The tray is another dollar store find that I taped off and sprayed with chalkboard paint.

throw in a pretty glass bowl of citrus

and you have an instant vignette for the kitchen island!

***

Underneath the coffee station in the kitchen, I added this basket of old percolators and tucked in a bit of white pine greenery.

I put a Christmas tree laden with candles up on the mantle. See the champagne bucket it sits in? A great French bucket look-alike until I can actually find an old authentic one{I found these for $6.99 at the Christmas Tree Shops}!

I hope you are having a blessed advent season.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Christmas Bird Decoration Tutorial

2011-11-30T06:21:00.000-05:00

First I have to apologize that I didn't have this posted two days ago like I said I would. I just got a little busy and it had to wait....I'm sorry!

Anyway, on to the glittered bird ornament. This is so simple really, I should probably call it a "where to find the birds post" rather than a tutorial.

I was at Walmart with my husband last week and he was looking for a few hunting supplies. While standing there next to him, I spotted this bag of birds.

Only, I wasn't picturing them hanging up in the trees fooling other doves...I was imagining three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree...sorry...but you get the idea.

I excitedly picked them up and threw them in the basket, all the while my husband is watching me, wondering what I'm going to do with a bag full of dove decoys.

I smiled at him and said, "I'm going to put them on the Christmas tree. Just wait, you'll like them."

They really aren't all that spectacular on their own so this is what I did.

I simply spray painted them white with Rustoleum 2x Painters Touch in Heirloom White. After the paint dried, I brushed the whole thing with Mod Podge then sprinkled them with clear glass glitter. Once they dry, brush off excess glitter and clip onto the tree!

(they already have clips attached..or loops of you prefer to hang)

I love them now!

The birds can be found in the hunting section of your local
Walmart. They're on clearance right now for $9.00 for a pack of six. They are also sold separately if you only want to make one or two. They're priced at $1.50 if you buy them individually so the cost is the same.

Enjoy and have a great week!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Christmas in the Air

2011-11-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

We're doing lots of decorating and lots of listening to Christmas music. I love this time of year... it's true meaning is very special. There is much peace, love and happiness and I enjoy making the house sparkle to reflect that!

I've redone my chalkboard on the mantle for Christmas. Now I just need to get some fresh greenery to tuck in here and there.

These are the birds I worked on last week that I mentioned earlier. I'm going to post tomorrow about how I did them. A fun project that was very easy to do. The product of sudden inspiration while at the store shopping with my husband.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the how-to!

Some reindeer that I added to the mantle alongside the chalkboard

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Meet Jack!

2011-11-26T18:52:00.000-05:00

Meet Jack!

He's the newest furry addition to the family.

After much thought, we decided to get another lab. They are such wonderful dogs and so good with children too.

This sweet little guy fits right in and is loved by all. The children are beside themselves and our current lab loves him too! We picked him up last night and everyone has been enjoying him so. There has been much running, playing, laughing and dare I say...barking!

I think we've worn him out!

~ ~ ~

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a lovely one and are gearing up for Christmas now, We've got one of our trees up and of course Jack is fascinated with the lights.

Have a happy weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May you all have a blessed day!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A French Coffee Table

2011-11-22T22:55:00.000-05:00

Hello! Is everyone just about ready for Thanksgiving? Two more days!!

I have been working on projects like a crazy woman all weekend as well as yesterday and today. I have completed a lot though. I painted and finished three tables, finished 3 burlap table runners, reworked our coffee station, hung a menu board, worked on some really cool glittered birds for Christmas decorations(which I cannot wait to show you!!), did a little furniture rearranging and last but not least, I began just a teensy bit of Christmas decorating today. Whew...that was a mouthful! I promise you though, I did not ignore my husband or kids...I kind of worked these projects into a bit of spare time . I typically don't go on project binges like this but I just had too many unfinished things lying around that needed my attention. It was time to get them done.

Okay, I've gotten off track...so back to the French table

I found another wonderful graphic from The Graphics Fairy (love her!) I have been wanting to paint this on a table for awhile now, but didn't know how to enlarge it without having to invest in an overhead projector or pricey photo software. Well, as luck would have it, there is a website that will do this for you for free! Wha?? Free??

Yes! Karen has a complete tutorial on how to do this. The site is called BlockPosters and you can upload any photo from your computer to be enlarged. You just decide how many sheets of printer paper you will need to cover your surface and block posters will enlarge your photo into a grid pattern. Then you print it out, piece it together and voila! Instant pattern.

So here it is all taped out, ready to trace with my pen. What you do is rub over the back of your paper with chalk, lay the image down on your surface as pictured above, then begin to carefully trace over the whole thing. When you're finished, pick up your paper and the image is left behind. Now you fill it in with a paint pen or a very thin brush and acrylic paint.

Here it is after I finished all of the lettering. Notice anything missing? Um yeah, the "DE" in between the first two words. You see, after I spent a half hour tracing each little letter, flourish and scroll, I excitedly lifted my paper to reveal......a BIG giant smear of yellow chalk. Yep, that's right. I couldn't tell one letter from the next. I couldn't see where one word began and the next one finished and since my hand was ~~about to fall off~~ a little sore from all that tracing, I just decided to wing it...do the best I could and not worry about whether or not it was perfect. It's supposed to look old and vintage anyway right? Since I couldn't see the "DE", no "DE" went in there. The funny thing is, I didn't notice it right away. Something was off, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

When it was done, I kept looking at it, feeling like something was missing.

When it dried, I distressed it a bit and then I glazed it. Despite the missing "DE" I still really like it! There was a lot of love put into this table and now she's sitting all cozy in front of the sofa in the basement family room.

Would you believe it took me two days to figure out that the "DE" was missing?

Go figure!

Have a great week!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

To Market, to Market...Make a French Market Basket

2011-11-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

A French market basket, who wouldn't want to have one? I know I always have but they're quite pricey!

Never fear though, I found out how to make one of your very own.

You see this basket? I got it from Joann Fabric's. It even comes with wheels! A little bit of craft paint and a little bit of sewing is all you need to transform it.

Now, I didn't come up with this idea all on my own.

No, I found it on someone else's blog and when I saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so excited to try it myself that I ran right out to JoAnn's with the kids in tow, to find this basket. I had all of the paint and fabric at home so all I needed was the basket.

I wasn't crazy about the green liner that came with the basket so I sewed a new one. I just used a piece of leftover drop cloth that I had from another project and then made a ruffle for it.

So here it is again, as I found it at JoAnn's

and here she is with her new paint job, a ruffled liner and her wheels!

~ ~ ~

Now, for where I found this amazing tutorial...the fabulous Rosemary from Ozma of Odds!! She is simply charming and she has a treasure trove of a blog too. Rosemary has so many beautiful things that she shares with all of her readers and her tutorials are very easy to follow. I'm not going to re-type the whole tutorial here, but if you go on over to her blog, you will find step by step instructions on how to make one of these baskets!

I was so excited to find this tutorial!!

I can give you the info though, about the basket in case you would like to make one too.

It can be purchased at JoAnn Fabrics (make sure to take your 40% off coupon though)

here is a direct link to the basket...if you buy it online, it's on sale right now for $19.99

if you buy it in the store, it's full price so take your coupon!

Have fun and go see Rosemary!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

DIY Burlap Pillow

2011-11-11T08:50:00.001-05:00

I have a quick project that I want to share.

I was in Hobby Lobby last week and saw some really pretty French inspired pillows. They had graphics printed on them and I loved them, but not their price tag!

So this is what I did:

you only need a few things...

burlap

sewing machine or needle and thread if you wish to hand sew

a printer

freezer paper

spray adhesive

one sheet of copy paper

metal spoon

I think that just about covers it.

Here's what you do:

First things first...sew a pillow cover out of your burlap, then

find a graphic that you like. I went to The Graphics Fairy again for mine. Take a piece of freezer paper and lay it shiny side down on your work surface. Get your sheet of copy paper and spray it lightly with spray adhesive. Lay it down on the dull side of your freezer paper and then smooth it out. Cut the freezer paper to size by cutting around the edges of the copy paper. Place this in your printer paper tray. You want the image to print out on the shiny side of the freezer paper so make sure that your freezer paper is situated properly in the paper tray to do this. Now you print the image.

**Remember to reverse or "mirror" your image before you print if it contains letters or numbers**

Final step:

Carefully remove the freezer paper from the printer taking care not to smear the ink. Lay it print side down on your fabric and burnish with the back of a spoon. Try not to let the paper slide around while you do this as it will smear. You can tape it down if you wish.

Pick up your paper and voila! A pretty printed pillow cover.

What I love about this method of transfer is that the image comes out faded. I think it really gives the fabric and aged, worn look!

I like it even better than what I saw at Hobby Lobby! Have a great day everyone.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

edited to add:

I meant to add this link to the blog that inspired the idea of using freezer paper to transfer the image

My Wonderfully Made

Claw Foot Table Makeover and French Script

2011-11-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

What do claw feet and French script have to do with each other, you ask?

Well, read on and I will show you.

I was at Goodwill the other day and I found this AWESOME table...

I know, when you look at this before photo, it doesn't look very awesome. I mean, it was kind of beat up, scratched up in places

and it had this smoked glass top with tape stuck all over it. But those claw feet - it had potential and I knew I wanted it.

That smoked glass...I wasn't particularly crazy about it and that's where the French script comes in. I went to The Graphics Fairy...Karen is awesome...I've used the word awesome entirely too many times already in this post. Anyway, Karen has literally thousands of graphics that she so graciously shares with us so that we can make all of these fabulous projects. I printed off a few of my favorites and then used them to decoupage onto the glass. While the glass dried, I sanded the entire table, wiped it down then painted it with Rust-oleum Painter's Touch 2x spray paint in "winter gray." Love that paint (it's awesome)!

Once the paint dried, I sanded down the edges to distress it a bit. Then I went over the whole thing with Minwax Dark Walnut stain #2716 (small sections at a time) and wiped it off as I went.

Love these claw and ball feet

and curvy legs.

Here she is all finished!

Another fun Goodwill makeover!

Oh and guess what? I found another lamp to make over with mirror paint. I actually already painted it and it's the one you see peeking out there on the table in the above photo. Now I have matching lamps!

Have a great day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Make Your Own Mercury Glass and.....a Lamp Re-fashion

2011-11-04T19:08:00.000-04:00

I love mercury glass but it can be expensive.

I decided to make my own and I think it turned out pretty close to the real deal!

I'm going to tell you how I did it! Here is my version of this DIY project:

First, you're going to need a can of this Looking Glass spray paint. It's made by Krylon and I found mine at Hobby Lobby. You will also need a few cotton balls and a bottle of black acrylic paint. Lastly, find a clear glass vase or candle holder. I forgot to take a picture before I painted mine, but it was just a plain glass vase that I bought at Walmart.

There are only a few steps involved and it is very easy and quick.

First, spray the INSIDE of your container with a very light coat of the mirror paint. It will appear dull at first but as it dries, it will become really shiny. Repeat with very thin coats of paint until you have 5 coats applied. When it dries, put a bit of black acrylic paint on a cotton ball and gently rub in a circular motion randomly around the inside of the glass. This will remove bits of the mirror paint leaving an antique looking finish. If you find that you have removed too much {which I did} you can just spray another really light coating of mirror paint around the inside of your glass container.

Once it's all dry, put a candle inside and there you have it, your own DIY mercury glass container!

~ ~ ~

While I had the mirror paint out, there was another thing I wanted to try. I've seen this done on Pinterest too, and loved it! This lamp here was my inspiration. It is the Haley lamp from Crate and Barrel. I loved the finish but wasn't as crazy about the modern shape so I decided to try and find something a bit more traditional.

Off to the thrift store I went to see what I could find.

This is what I found at the Salvation Army store and it was a mere $2.50.

Perfect!!

I sprayed it with the same mirror paint from above. 5 very light coats and a linen drum shade...

a few wicker picnic baskets from Goodwill...

and you have a fun vintage-y tabletop display!

Have a good weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T12:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

I hope you all have a safe, fun filled evening!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Decorative Storage Boxes!

2011-10-27T15:47:00.000-04:00

Can you guess what these boxes once were?

Yep, that's right.

Diaper boxes!

So here is what you do:

~cut off all of the top flaps

{be sure to save these for use later in the project}

~paint the box whatever color you wish (i just used white spray paint)

~after the paint has dried, hot glue some ribbon or other trim around to top edge to dress it up a bit - this will also hide the cut edges from where you removed the flaps

Now here's where those flaps come in..

They will become your box labels.

Just cut them to size then spray them with chalkboard paint. After they dry, use a hot glue gun to glue them to your box. Now you have a neat label that you can write on again and again as your storage needs change.

You're all set!

You can use these for toys, books, clothes...whatever you want.

I used mine for extra clothing that our little one has not grown into yet.

I also made a set that I painted metallic silver for the boys to use to stow away their toys.

So gather up those diaper boxes {bankers boxes work well too if you don't have diaper boxes} and get creative. You can also cover them with fabric or decorative paper if you'd rather. Make it yours and enjoy!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

The Story of a Garden Box

2011-10-26T16:03:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, maybe two...I was wandering through a huge flea market looking for an old tool caddy. I wanted to fill it with all kinds of autumn goodness and then give it a new home as a centerpiece for the dining room table. Of course, we all know that when you are looking for something very specific, when you can see it in your minds eye...

chances are, you're not going to find it

But I have learned that that's okay. Something even better always comes along!

You see...

...as I was looking for that very specific tool caddy, I ran right into this.

YES!!

This will do just fine. Even better. So it came home with me.

I cleaned it

I painted it

I loved it!

I wiped it with stain

I sanded it a bit

I loved it even more!

And here she is...filled to the brim with autumn goodness.

Looking even better than my mind's eye had imagined.

She landed here on the coffee table while I was making a burlap runner for the dining room table.

Guess what? Dear husband walked in and said " I love that box right there where it is. Can we just leave it there?"

Of course!

Because even when we think we have the best thought out plan, something different just might be better!

Have a wonderful day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Turn a Jewelry Box into a Decorative Charging Station

2011-10-25T17:37:00.001-04:00

It's funny how things work out sometimes. I've been on the hunt for the perfect rustic box to turn into a charging station. I've been looking for quite awhile now but I just couldn't find anything that would fit our needs. I wanted something that would not only charge our phones, ipods, etc..but also provide a bit of storage. So today, I'm rummaging around in my flea market stash and I see this old jewelry box. I suddenly had a light bulb moment! This could work!

I loved the wire doors and it had cute little feet too

So here it is before I started working on it

See all that storage inside those doors?

Perfect!!

I gave it a good cleaning and then sprayed it with a can of Walmart brand spray paint. "Gray Primer" is what the color says on the back label. I believe it is actually paint though and not primer. Then I painted the handles with some white acrylic paint and gave it a good sanding to distress it a bit.

Now for the fun part...

I drilled through the back of the box right into the drawer on two of the drawers. Then I plugged the chargers into the wall, threaded the other ends through the two holes I just drilled and voila!

You have a charging drawer. One for each of us!

and plenty of storage too!

Pretty cool huh?

I'm lovin' it!

Then, remember this old basket I got? I filled it with flour sack towels and put it on top of the jewelry box to hide the outlet.

There you have it. A fabulous and decorative charging station that fits neatly, right under the kitchen cabinet!

Have a great week!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

I'm linking up to The DIY Showoff Project Parade

A Great New Store!

2011-10-22T14:11:00.001-04:00

I found an awesome new shop! It's called Patina. It's one of those places where, when you walk in the door, you instantly become giddy with excitement. There are so many cool things and you find yourself trying not to buy EVERYTHING in sight! I've been there three times in the past week and a half and I discover something new that I didn't see before each time I go in.

Today I found this neat old mailbox, a wire basket with the best wooden handle and an old wood box with a lovely keyhole!

I think I'm going to paint the box grey though.

If you're ever in Maryland, you've got to stop in! I'll even give you their facebook page. Go on over and say hello. Tell them that I sent you. You can "like" them while you're there too!

Have a great weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Silhouettes and a Travel Themed Airplane Room is Starting to Take Shape

2011-10-15T14:09:00.000-04:00

Is everyone having a happy fall?

I know we are. The weather has been beautiful. My rose bushes, clematis and hibiscus have all bloomed again and I got a huge late crop of tomatoes and peppers!

~ ~ ~

Okay, so I had to show you these cool silhouettes that my sister made! She put together the nicest Halloween care packages of goodies and delicious treats and sent them to us - these were in the boys' package. I thought they were so neat so we put them up on the old antique mirror as Halloween decor ~ fun!!

* * *

Also, I've been working on the little man's bedroom.

I've been sanding and painting furniture {which I will show later when all complete}

I've been finding some neat stuff at vintage shops and flea markets

Here is a little glimpse of his new room. He loved this globe so it became a part of the airplane/travel theme.

You'll notice the "Pooh" border still up...he decided that he doesn't want to part with it yet. That's okay, I wasn't really ready either - haha! We'll just work with it.

I found this neat old map too. I thought it would be fun above his bed. He doesn't have a headboard so this just might work!

The littlest one approves

and lastly {for now anyway}, an old vintage Samsonite and an old wooden box from Brazil. I'm thinking toy storage?

More later as the room is completed!

Have a wonderful Saturday.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Inspiration Takes Flight

2011-09-26T22:43:00.000-04:00

It's a bittersweet moment. Well, not really a moment but rather time. The time to redecorate a room. Not just any room, but the very first nursery we ever did for our first born child. That was 11 years ago but I could swear that it was only yesterday. I vividly remember wanting to do the room in Winnie the Pooh ~ Classic Pooh though, not the vibrant reds and blues of today's Pooh Bear. We went and picked out a sweet Classic Pooh wall paper border and then we took it out to Lowe's and had them color match the blue and the cream shades from the paper. We painted the top half of the room in cream and the bottom half in blue. Where the two colors met, the paper border was hung. Then we added a chair rail along the bottom of the border and another decorative trim to the top. We then lovingly put in a crib, dresser, changing table and all the other exciting things that you buy for your very first baby. I dressed up the crib with bedding that perfectly matched the border. In our eyes it was perfect. We sat back and admired our work while we waited for baby to arrive.

It was the first room in our home that we really decorated.

Baby arrived and it was magical. The room was well loved and by the time baby was able to climb out of the crib, number two was on the way.

We loved that nursery so, and decided to use it exactly as is for number 2 and for number 3.

When number 4 came along, we were blessed with the chance to decorate a whole new nursery in a different room {in pink}

That brings us to this post. Number 3 is still in that Pooh Bear room and he's ready for a change.

He loves airplanes - and that, I can proudly say, he got from me!

He wants his room done in an airplane theme.

So, armed with all of his toy airplanes that you see pictured here, I am ready to remove Pooh.

I think.

Sniff.

But change is good right? And, I have lots of good memories of this room...hold on, let me get a tissue.

I'm gathering the accessories that I've been collecting for many years...some from my old airline days, some purchased more recently knowing that this day would come. I'll take down the framed picture of Pooh dancing in an April shower and replace it with this little guy that I bought years ago.

and one like this too {this one was a wonderful gift from my sister to one of our other boys who also loves airplanes}

As inspiration takes flight, I'll just roll with it and excitedly come up with all kinds of new ideas for the new room. I'll probably even shed a tear or two along the way but that's okay, we'll make new memories that will be just as good!

Have a wonderful evening.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Fall and a Chalkboard

2011-09-20T11:49:00.001-04:00

Remember the mirror that I bought at the yard sale a couple of weeks ago?

You can see it here.

The plan was to turn it into a chalkboard, so now it's just that ~ a chalkboard! I finished it up last week. I removed the mirror and painted the backer board inside with chalkboard paint. Then I wrote "Happy Fall" on it and added it to the mantel as part of the fall decor.

I also added a few dollar store crows - love the dollar store!

and this cool fan that my brother-in-law gave to me.

We all had a yard sale together several weeks ago. We were sitting around a few days before the day of the sale discussing all of the items that we had to get rid of. He mentioned that he had this old fan he wanted to sell. His wife said, "no way that thing is so old, you can't sell it. Just throw it away." I said, "you better not throw it away - haha, I'll take it."

and that is how the fan came to live on my mantle

It's crusty and old but that's just how I like it!!

Happy Fall!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

I'm linking up with Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

be sure to go over and visit everyone!

Painter's Drop Cloth Curtains

2011-09-15T09:41:00.002-04:00

Yes, I finally opened the packages of drop cloths and made the curtains. I've only been meaning to do it for a year. It's very easy to do too. I was ~~very lazy~~ in a hurry so I didn't sew any hems or iron a thing - not even one wrinkle. I know...gasp! All four panels were done and hung in under 30 minutes. The only thing you'll want to make sure you do, is wash and dry your drop cloth first.

So this is what you need:

-A 6x9 canvas drop cloth (or in my case two of them)

I like the regular weight canvas for these because I think they drape better than the heavy weight. They're not as stiff. Cheaper too - bonus!

-drapery clip rings (from Walmart)

- curtain rods

After washing and drying, I immediately took them out of the dryer to avoid too many wrinkles

Lay them out on the floor and fold them in half. Then I cut along the fold. The beauty of drop cloths is that they already have a nice finished edge all the way around so there is no hemming involved - yay!

The cut edge will not have a hem but you can cheat like I did and just fold it over. Then take your handy little drapery clip and clip that baby to hold the fold. Just put that edge along your wall so you don't see it. Clip the cloths with your clip rings (you can fold over any excess fabric if you need to depending on the height of your windows)

Now hang your new linen-like curtains and fluff as desired.

Enjoy!

You can buy whatever size drop cloth you need to suit your window size and shape. 6x9 worked for me but yours may be different. Also, feel free to iron them to your liking if you have the time and patience (which sometimes I don't - haha)

Hmmm...after looking at the photos, I need to paint my curtain rods black! They went well with the toile curtains I had, but not these.

Have a great Friday!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

***

I'm linking up with My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday!

and

Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday and a giveaway!

Go on over to join and check out these fabulous parties.

Be sure to enter Honey's giveaway too!!

The Walmart Lampshades

2011-09-14T08:55:00.000-04:00

Well, I've got my new shades unwrapped and on my lamps. You know what? The lamps are very happy.

So am I!

They add much needed texture to the room.

I think I'll try to find some tassles for these lamps too - or I will make some.

Thank you Walmart.

On another note, remember this little box {pictured above} from my yard sale haul?

It's now nestled snugly between the lamps holding my earrings and other favorite go-to jewelry pieces.

I just knew I would find a good use for this box.

Have a great day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A Chic, French Lampshade...at Walmart?

2011-09-13T13:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, Walmart!

I'm loving some of the stuff that Walmart now carries in their BH&G product line. I went there looking for some plain old drum shades that I could dress up...

and this is what I found.

Even better than what I had in mind.

Yesterday I painted some old lamps that I had on hand to look like cement/stone. Sort of an Aiden Gray inspired project.

I think these shades might be just the thing they need. I haven't even tried them on yet, hence the plastic still on the shades - haha!

I was too excited about them and wanted to share my find with you all first.

Will let you know how they turned out!

Have a great afternoon...

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

2011-09-11T08:13:00.000-04:00

We will never forget.

God Bless America.

Yard Sale Haul!!

2011-09-10T10:23:00.000-04:00

This is a huge weekend for yard sales here in our town and I look forward to it every year! I went out this morning with my little helper and we had some yard sale fun. Just thought I'd share a few of my finds with you...

Love these old galvanized tubs and I got the old basket for a quarter - score!

sweet little cherub...always love these when I find them. I'll paint him although not sure what color just yet...

I loved this little box too with all of it's divided compartments.

A cool mirror. I'm going to remove the mirror and paint the frame then turn it into a chalkboard. I have another project in mind for the mirror.

more pics of the tubs - love these...can you tell?

Even my little helper found his very own treasure!

It was pouring rain but sometimes that makes for a good yard sale day because not too many people venture out.

Enjoy your weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Chocolate Peanut Butter S'mores

2011-08-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

So simple but so delicious!

I have been on a s'mores kick lately...

chocolate graham cracker

layered with

creamy peanut butter

Hershey's chocolate

and

marshmallow

Simply delicious!!
~~
I've linked up with Stone Gable's On the Menu Monday go and check out all of the delicious recipes.

Window Awning Tutorial

2011-08-26T09:48:00.001-04:00

I received some requests for a tutorial when I originally posted my awning and I've got one for you!

Here is what you will need:

-2 tension rods wide enough to fit between your cabinets

-a canvas drop cloth or other similar fabric of your choice

- black fabric paint and a paintbrush or black fabric marker

- blue painters tape

- an image that you like (I got mine here) copied in mirror image using a toner based copier

- CitraSolv

- an old paintbrush

- newspaper(to protect your surface)

- an old spoon

- a sewing matching or needle and thread if you prefer to hand stitch

okay, I think that about covers it!

The first step is to measure the width of your cabinet space to determine the width of your awning. Then you want to decide how long you want the awning to be. Once you get all of those measurements, add a 1/2 inch all the way around for seam allowance (plus extra for a rod pocket at the top). Once you've added in your seam allowance to all of your measurements, go ahead and cut your fabric accordingly.

Now it's time to sew. I just did a simple hem down both sides and along the bottom edge of my fabric to give it a nice, neat edge. Then I added a rod pocket to the top to accommodate the tension rod. The width of the pocket will depend on the size of your tension rod. That's it. Now for the fun part! Time to add your design.

As you can see from the photos, I wanted a French cafe feel to mine so a added a grain sack stripe in black as well as a French cafe logo. You can click here to get the striping tutorial and here for a complete tutorial on how to transfer images using CitraSolv. The image that I used came from The Graphics Fairy and so did the transfer tutorial.

So, when you're ready, go ahead and add your stripe and your image. When you're done, it will be time to hang.

Okay, ready to hang your awning? This is what you do. Put up the first tension rod. The placement is going to be different for everyone. It all depends on where your window is in relation to your cabinets. For me, it was all the way up to where the back top of my cabinets meet the soffit. Then I hung the awning from this rod. You can see this below...

Now you're going to place the second rod toward the front of the cabinets lower than the first rod. See photo above.

Now just bring the fabric up and over the second rod until it resembles an awning

Like so.

You can play around with the placement of the second tension rod until it looks exactly the way you want it.

And there it is. You're all done!

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for your interest in the tutorial!

Have a great weekend.

xo and god Bless,

Kathleen

Linking up to Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy

My French Provincial Makeovers

2011-08-25T18:28:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm finally getting a post up for you. I finished three of the four pieces of furniture and even though the fourth is only partially done, I really needed to post something. Right?

So here's the story...two of the four pieces, I already had. They were cream in color with some antiquing glaze on them as well. While they were pretty as is, I really wanted to incorporate some French grey color into the room.

The other two were recently found treasures that begged to be made over and used in my craft room.

French Provincial Love...Almost Finished!

2011-07-29T07:51:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about showing you my finished furniture. I'm almost done. Bare with me! Thank you for your nice comments about the french grey piece two posts back.

Have a wonderful day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2011-07-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

French Provincial Love

2011-07-21T16:21:00.000-04:00

I love these curves...

I love these handles...

I LOVE the contrast between the cream and the light french grey!

~ ~ ~

I can't wait to take you on a little tour of my newest painting endeavor.

Stay tuned...I'll be finished very soon!

~ ~ ~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

How Do You Do Summer?

2011-07-20T16:59:00.000-04:00

We do summer with cozy backyard tents

made with vintage sheets...

warm afternoons

and a handful of good books.

How do you do summer?

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Burlap + Old Wood Table = Rustic Farmhouse Charm...AND...My Other Finished Project

2011-07-13T13:57:00.001-04:00

Good afternoon!

As promised, here is my completed project.

It's a window awning!

I made it for our kitchen window. The window needed something, but I didn't want to block any light,

or the pretty view

so here it is all finished and hung.

I used a pretty "cafe" graphic from The Graphics Fairy (she is just so cool!)

{as you can see, the cabinets still have not been painted}

{but the kitchen has}

now I have a full view of the garden bench...

the hammock peeking through the trees...

and my lavender that smells like heaven.

~~~~~~

Now, on to another project that I worked on yesterday...

I got this table on Saturday
{please pay no attention to the lack of baseboard mouldings here}
{we're installing them this weekend}

I know, not the most beautiful thing in the world right?

But I had an idea.

As soon as I saw the table, I knew exactly where I wanted to put it and exactly how I wanted it to look.

I imagined burlap and a fresh coat of white, dry brushed on.

So I pulled out my sander and got to work.

Look at the beautiful wood that was hiding under layers of opaque brown stain.

love

I know, right?

I dry brushed the legs with white paint after thoroughly sanding,

then sanded again slightly for a worn look {even though it was already pretty well worn}

then I added a pretty burlap skirt...

...and an ice cream parlor chair

and there you have it...instant rustic farmhouse charm in the playroom!
You want to know a secret?
There are tons of toys under that pretty little skirt and you don't even see them.
Yay!!
~~~
Enjoy your afternoon
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen
****
I'm linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party
Go on over and check it out
lots of cool ideas!!

Look What I'm Making...

2011-07-12T07:58:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be a tease today!

I'm going to give you a teeny tiny sneak peak of what I'm working on. You guys are such good guessers though, I bet you'll figure it out!

Have a great day.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2011-07-10T08:41:00.000-04:00

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.

Such large crowds gathered around him

that he got into a boat and sat down,

and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:

“A sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,

and birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.

It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,

and when the sun rose it was scorched,

and it withered for lack of roots.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.

But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,

a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The disciples approached him and said,

“Why do you speak to them in parables?”

He said to them in reply,

“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.

To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;

from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

This is why I speak to them in parables, because

they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.

Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,

you shall indeed look but never see.

Gross is the heart of this people,

they will hardly hear with their ears,

they have closed their eyes,

lest they see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts and be converted,

and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,

and your ears, because they hear.

Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people

longed to see what you see but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Hear then the parable of the sower.

The seed sown on the path is the one

who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,

and the evil one comes and steals away

what was sown in his heart.

The seed sown on rocky ground

is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.

but he has no root and lasts only for a time.

When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,

he immediately falls away.

The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,

but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word

and it bears no fruit.

But the seed sown on rich soil

is the one who hears the word and understands it,

who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Matthew 13:1-23

Happy Summer!

2011-07-08T11:40:00.001-04:00

I know, it's been ages since I've tended to my blog. I didn't mean for it to be that way. Really, I didn't. I have missed everyone though and I thank you so much for continuing to visit me even though I didn't update for so long. And, I was really excited to see that so many of you decided to follow my little blog. I really appreciate that and it made me feel so good to know that even though I've been MIA for awhile, you still had faith in me to update soon. You guys inspire me to create, decorate...to do my thing! Thank you for that. I mean it.

We've been keeping busy, enjoying all that summer has to offer and of course, what would summer be without a trip to the beach?

Then...

My sister got married on June 18 and it was a beautiful wedding! The weather was perfect and she was a beautiful bride! I wish that I had more photos but it was kind of hectic. Since I was in the wedding, my sweet husband was dad in charge all by himself and not many photos were taken - thank you love!

aren't they wonderful??

and here is me and my gang!

Our little guy was the ring bearer.

I'm hoping to get more photos from some of the others soon and will post them as I get them. But until then...

I hope you are having a relaxing summer...

with boat loads of fun!

{sorry, I couldn't resist the pun}

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T06:48:00.003-04:00

He Is Risen!!

Coffee Bar

2011-04-23T08:39:00.000-04:00

Having guests for Easter this year?

Why not set up a coffee bar at the dessert table?

It doesn't have to be super fancy and you can mix and match all of your coffee essentials!

The mugs above were purchased at Walmart. They're part of the new BH&G spring line of dishes. Love the fleur-de-lis!

This cute rectangular sugar bowl came from The Christmas Tree Shop - $1.99 - love that place!!

This whimsical little cow creamer also came from the Christmas Tree Shop - 69 cents! Did I mention that I love this store??

Put everything together on an old flea market tray and you've got an instant coffee bar. Place it at your dessert table with a thermal carafe or you can put it out on your counter next to the coffee pot. Be creative with it and your guests can just help themselves!

Happy Easter!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Easter Eggs

2011-04-21T21:26:00.004-04:00

I've been working on some Easter decor today.

Here are some eggs that I made this afternoon.

The kids and I also made some papier mache bowls out of shredded sheet music paper.

We tried this idea that was in the April issue of Country Living magazine.

For a tutorial on the eggs, visit my other blog Ruffles and Mudpies

xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

A New Blog and Some Easter Ideas

2011-04-21T09:46:00.009-04:00

I wanted to share with you, a few bits of Easter decor ideas.

I made a fun little Easter tree

as well as these adorable birds

Which brings me to the second topic of this post...

I've started a new blog! I'm still going to keep my French cottage blog {with regular updates}, but I decided to keep the decorating separate from the project tutorials.

So...come on over to Ruffles and Mudpies to see some of the new projects I've got!

You'll see the Easter egg tree pictured above as well as the birds and I've even got a tutu tutorial too - haha say that three times real fast - tutu tutorial too!

I hope you'll come over for a visit and follow along!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Yellow...

2011-04-18T17:17:00.003-04:00

...must be the color of happiness...

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Palm Sunday

2011-04-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

Blue Angels

2011-04-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Nope...not the airplanes that put on an awesome show...but rather, this blue angel. He was originally gold and I found him in a flea market. He was sweet and I already had his brother at home with me.So I gave him a coat of beautiful robins egg blue paint, then antiqued him a bit with walnut stain.

Now, the two of them are sitting sweetly together enjoying each other's company.

Happy Saturday!

~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Children's Rockers

2011-04-15T06:10:00.005-04:00

You may remember these rockers from last spring. I had painted them black and lived with them for awhile. I soon tired of the dark color and decided to paint them white.

After painting the chairs, I painted numbers on them to add a little whimsy - I'm loving numbers and cool graphics these days! then I sanded and distressed them... I'm loving their new look! Have a great day!

~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

~~~

I'm linking up to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday. Make sure you stop by the party to see some awesome furniture makeovers!!

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-14T15:30:00.002-04:00

The floors are all finished and I've taken advantage of the empty room.

Time to clean...dust, wipe down the walls, etc...

Then I started putting things back into the room, re-arranging as I went.

Spring fluffing I guess you could say

Since we don't have any open shelving in our kitchen, but I really like the look of it, I have used the bakers rack to stack everyday dishes as well as flatware and the coffee press. I put some of my favorite coffee mugs up there too. Everything is white except for a few vintage rose patterned pieces and a few pale blue pieces. I like the clean look of everything together.

Can't forget the old rooster. I love his weathered patina as well as his perplexed expression.

And finally a small bird, nesting in my candelabra. Have a beautiful spring day! ~ xo and God Bless, Kathleen

Bar Stool Makeover

2011-04-12T14:32:00.010-04:00

As promised, here is the project I was working on.

We have bar stools sitting at the island in the kitchen. They were just the basic, plain jane oak ones from Walmart. I painted them white about two years ago and then last spring I got this wild hair and painted them robins egg blue. That didn't last very long so back to white they went. Oh, did I mention that before they were ever white, I had painted them black? So anyway, they've been black, white, blue and back to white again. They were still missing something though.

That brings us up to today.

Here are the bar stools now. I rather like them! I had wrapping paper left over from Abigail's birthday and since I loved the pattern so much, this is what I did... First, I flipped the bar stool over and laid it on top of the wrapping paper. Then I traced around the stool.

I cut out the circle of paper

added some glue to the top of the stool and decoupaged the paper circle to the top.

Easy peasy!

Now get out your sander or sandpaper and go to town.

I love the layers of all the previous paint colors showing through

Finally, as a last step I went over the whole thing with a wet paper towel dipped in watered down black acrylic paint. I did small sections at a time and wiped it off as I went.

There you have it. A basic oak bar stool from Walmart...remade into something that is a little bit more "me."

Have a great day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A Beautiful Gift and a Project Sneak Peak

2011-04-08T09:48:00.002-04:00

I entered a giveaway that Martina was having on her blog Northern Nesting .

Do you see the wonderful goodies pictured above?

Well guess what? I won them from her! Martina was so generous and I love these bottles and wicker carriers and sweet little bird. I have the perfect place for them and as soon as our living room and kitchen are put back together, I will show them to you in their new home. Thank you Martina. I'm really enjoying my lovely gifts!

~~~

Also, I'm working on a project and I wanted to give you a little sneak peek of what I'm doing. I'll post a tutorial when it's complete.

I haven't forgotten the lampshades. I'll get those posted soon as well!

Now, go and visit Martina...she did an awesome tray makeover here

Have a great weekend.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A HUGE Project!!

2011-04-07T10:44:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to pop in to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just keeping really busy. We have an exciting project going on that has kept me a bit occupied and away from my blog.

Yes, as you can see, we're tearing apart the kitchen and great room.

Ripping up 12 year old carpet and linoleum...and replacing it with hardwood flooring to match the rest of the house!! Yay!!! Go hubby!!! Tear it out!!! And while we're at it, we're taking out the old laundry room flooring too. Beautiful slate grey ceramic tile is going in there. People...I cannot tell you how excited I am to be doing this. Our old floor was in BAD shape. And guess what else? We're getting rid of the old red paint in the kitchen and dining room too...I'm so over the red. It will be replaced with Comfort Gray by Sherwin Williams. Woohoo! Oh and you'll never believe what my husband said last night. Are you ready for this? After he saw the hardwood floors in the kitchen, he said and I quote, "I think we're going to have to paint the kitchen cabinets white. There's a lot of wood in here now." So of course I said, "Oh yes! We definitely have to. I certainly agree!!" Now we have to hurry and do it before he changes his mind. I have been working on him to paint these cabinets for the entire 12 years that we have lived in this house. His response has always been..."Absolutely not!" ~~ And while I'm at it...I'm going to paint the kitchen table too. He already agreed to that! ~~ I will be back soon with some photos as soon as we wrap up this project. ~~~ xo and God Bless, Kathleen

Twenty Minutes

2011-03-29T13:37:00.004-04:00

Fresh coffee in the french press and an indulgent book all about macaroons...

need I say more?

I gave myself 20 minutes today{during our quiet time}. After a morning spent at the grocery store, it was a much enjoyed respite.

Look at these beautiful macaroons

I'd like to try every single recipe in this book.

Have a great day!

xo,

Kathleen

ps - I've had some requests for a tutorial on the lampshades. I would be happy to share it. If you don't mind waiting a few days, I will put one together for you.

~~~

Thank you to all of you who read this blog. I appreciate that you take the time to visit and as always, I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments!

God Bless!

Printing On Lampshades

2011-03-24T09:09:00.004-04:00

Did you know that the Citra-Solv method of transferring images works on lampshades too?

I'm sure that you probably did.

I can be a little slow at times when it comes to trying these sorts of things. The idea will pop into my head but then it will take awhile before I actually get around to doing it.

So I finally did it and I like the results.

Here's another one

I love those shiny mirror-like chrome looking lamps but I wanted to use something that I already had, so I painted this one in shiny, bright metallic silver spray paint. I used an image from The Graphics Fairy - et voila - a new lamp.

Loving it!

Images for both lamp shades are from The Graphics Fairy.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

On the Bookshelf...

2011-03-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

I ordered Romantic Prairie Style back in October and it just arrived last week. Let me tell you, it is a gorgeous book! I am really enjoying it. The homes featured are incredibly peaceful and serene.

~~~

I'm also reading Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman. Another wonderful book. While our family is not quite as large as Kim's, a couple of years from now, I know that I will look back and say "this is the book that completely changed my life." Everything that she writes about in this book is everything that I strive to be - only, I didn't know where to start. For example: organization. While my house is not total mayhem, there are many areas that need work. For instance, the kids' playroom. Major organization needed! There are so many projects, so many ideas of what I want to do and to accomplish. The problem is that there never seems to be enough time in a day. As I am reading Large Family Logistics, I am discovering that it isn't the amount of time that is available to me, but rather, the way that I am using my time. I am not as wise with my time as I would like to be and I am realizing how badly I need to write out a schedule for myself to keep on track. Homeschooling is another issue. It's something that I want to do, something that has always been on my heart, but I have been afraid that I wouldn't be successful at it. I'm finding out otherwise within the pages of this book. I'm going to use the remainder of this school year as well as the summer months to get myself on track and then we'll see where we're at toward the end of the summer. That is why I haven't been around much lately. I'm trying to work diligently toward my goal. I feel good about the direction that I am heading and confident that I will reach my goal.

I'm working toward calm and efficient but playful and welcoming too

lots of purging and sorting, keeping only the necessary. The things that really mean something to us.

I will reach my goal and become a better me at the same time too.

Wish me luck to persevere!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Little Black Dress Affair....Part II

2011-03-02T09:12:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the party! Please come in.

{warning...photo overload ahead!}
I floated lots of grey, pink and white balloons from the ceiling and then made giant tissue paper pom poms to hang from the ceiling as well.

Remember the French buckets? Well, I made three more only this time I painted

No.2 No.2 No. 5

to represent our birthday girl's birth date of 2-25

Here you can see the table runner that I made...the one mentioned in the previous post.

I made the tablecloth out of a twin size bed sheet. I made little pleats at each corner that ruffled out so that the cloth was perfectly fitted for the table. No one had any idea it was a sheet! Twin bed sheets are only $4 at Walmart.

{This party was done on a budget}

I filled the buckets with tissue paper flowers that I made. I was going to fill them with roses, but the buckets were way too deep. You wouldn't have been able to see them.

Cupcakes

and some more sweet treats.

I swagged the chandelier with pale pink tulle

a closeup of the flowers in the buckets

more pink tulle tied into bows on the back of each chair

The flatware tucked into the napkins, all tied up in pretty ribbon. I placed these into a galvanized bucket that I found in the dollar bin at Target.

The birthday girl all dressed up for her party

eagerly awaiting her first bite of cake!

Oh yes, she enjoyed it very much!

I made favors to take home as a little remembrance of this day.
They're Hershey bars that I wrapped in scrapbook paper. I printed out a short little birthday poem on vellum and then wrapped them up with black and white polka dot ribbon.

Feel free to grab one on your way out...

and thank you so much for coming to my party!

~~~~~~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A Little Black Dress Affair

2011-03-01T17:19:00.003-05:00

Oh my...where has the time gone?

It's been a whole year and our little one just had a birthday! You know what that means don't you? Yes, a party. Her very first "little black dress" affair as a matter of fact.

It all started with this cute little dress that I found. I built the whole theme around this dress. Right down to the invitations {pictured at the very top of this post}

There are sooooo many photos to go along with this, I'm going to break it up into a couple of posts. I don't want to force them all on you at once.

so...

we'll start with the theme.

The dress.

It is black velvet on top and the skirt is black and white tulle. A pretty little satin bow at the waist finishes the look.

Adorable. Elegant. Timeless. Little Girl. Fun.

That's what I wanted.

I decided to go with black and white damask with lots of pink and touches of grey too.

First...the cake.

I made it all by myself. My very first attempt at a fancy cake.

When I found the damask pattern cake tattoos, I did a happy dance right in the middle of the store. Seriously.

I made a banner out of some black and pink damask fabric that I already had on hand.

I sewed a table runner out of some black and white damask fabric that I found at Walmart. {More photos of the runner in the next post}

I picked up some pink flatware and some black napkins at Target and then tied them up with a pretty pink satin ribbon. I normally prefer to use actual china and flatware but in this case, this just worked better with the colors.

I put the cake on a black pedestal that I had, and I also made cupcakes to go with it.

I found these black and white damask cupcake liners at the grocery store.

and I even found wrapping paper to match everything!

Trust me, I made sure that everything didn't look too "matchy matchy"

It was just enough of a good thing without being too much {In my opinion anyway}.

Okay...enough pictures for today. I'll be back tomorrow with more of the decorations and the birthday girl herself.

Thanks for reading along with me.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:47:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2011-02-06T08:59:00.003-05:00

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Sunday Blessings

2011-01-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

Be assured that abuses are done away with by teaching rather than by commanding. If we make threats, let it be done sorrowfuly, in the words of Scripture, and in terms of the world to come. In this way it is not we who are feared because of our power, but God because of our words.
-- St Augustine

The Flowers and the French Bucket

2011-01-29T08:19:00.006-05:00

Okay, I'm back as promised with instructions for a couple of projects.

First, the flower rosettes. I'm sure many of you have seen these before ~ I can't take credit for them. They are quite the addictive little project and oh so easy!

All you have to do is cut out little circles of polyester satin fabric in graduated sizes and then melt them {very carefully} over a candle flame.

I got so excited with this project that I forgot to take photos as I was going along...

I just kept cutting fabric and melting edges

However, you can go here for an excellent step by step tutorial with photos!
Plus, she has lots of other cool projects you can check out as well.

~~~~

Now, on to the French bucket!

I did take step by step pics for this one.

I saw this bucket at the Christmas Tree Shop and at $2.99, I couldn't resist. I knew right away what I was going to do with it.

I picked out a font that I liked {Times New Roman} and printed out No.1 {size 180}

Turn your printed number over and on the back of your paper rub a pencil over the area where your number shows through

Now, flip the paper back over and put it where you want it on your bucket. Tape it in place.

Take your pencil and carefully trace your design {it doesn't have to be perfect}

Remove your paper and voila, your image has transferred to your bucket!! Now just get a thin paintbrush and a bottle of black acrylic paint and fill in your design. When you're finished painting, let it dry completely. Then, with a fine grit sandpaper very lightly sand your number to give it a worn appearance. Wipe away the sanding dust and go over the whole bucket with a glaze made of the same black paint and a little bit of water. You can add as little or as much water as you want. I made mine to be the consistency of milk. I took a wet paper towel dipped in the glaze and wiped it over the entire bucket. Right away, I wiped it again with a dry paper towel until I got the look I wanted. The last step was to add a little of the paint{full strength - no water added} to the lip of the bucket and to the edges of the handles. This sort of gives it the appearance of worn enamel.

And there you have it. A new worn, old french bucket.

Enjoy!

Happy Saturday.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

A Winner, A French Bucket and Some Cool Rosettes!

2011-01-27T17:37:00.005-05:00

Okay, finally I am posting the winner of my giveaway! Please accept my sincerest apology. My intentions were good I promise, I actually did the random number generator first thing this morning but never got around to actually announcing the winner.

All because of this!
Yep, almost a foot of the white stuff. School has been cancelled for the past two days and I haven't been able to get much of anything done.
However, better late than never I guess. Sorry to keep you all in suspense all day.

On to the winner...I used the random number generator to pick a winner and it chose lucky
#36

Yay~~ Kathleen from Faded Charm was the winner!!
Congrats Kathleen!!

Thank you all so much for playing the guessing game with me. It was fun and just about every one of you guessed it correctly. The mystery photo was a bunch of berry baskets all stacked up. I think I'll have to make it harder next time!!

Okay, so as you know, I kept the giveaway prize a secret as well.

Kathleen? You wanna know what you have won???

~ A {fabulously faux} grainsack pillow slipcover hand made by me~

It will fit any standard size pillow

~a couple of those berry baskets~
~a heart shaped, lavender filled rice pillow that can be popped in the microwave to warm it up~
{perfect for snuggling on the couch on these chilly winter nights}
and last but not least
~a cute ruffly bag with a fun handmade rosette~
{which you will see below}
oh, and there is also some yummy hand lotion packed inside a fun little Parisian themed box!
~~
I apologize that the additional items are not pictured. I will post them soon enough. It's just been a bit hectic and I haven't been able to get them photographed yet.
~~
Thanks so much everyone for playing! I enjoyed it.
~~~
Kathleen, email me when you get a free minute with your contact info and I will get your goodies right out to you.

Okay, next on the list...the french bucket and the little flowers I had been working on.

Aren't they adorable? And so easy too. I'll add all the details in another post in the next day or two.

and here is the bucket . I will post a full tutorial in the next day or two so stay tuned!

Thanks again everyone for reading and visiting.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Don't Forget!

2011-01-25T21:26:00.003-05:00

I was going to show you a French bucket I've been working on, along with another little project I just finished today...but...the day quickly got away from me and it just didn't happen.

Tomorrow??

I think so!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here. It ends tomorrow at midnight. I will draw the winner on Thursday!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2011-01-23T08:12:00.004-05:00

" ...for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our debts,

As we have also forgiven our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil."

Amen

Matthew 6:8-13

Color Me Red...

2011-01-20T08:24:00.004-05:00

I have decorating issues and they're driving me NUTS!! While I simply love Nordic French/Swedish styles and desperately want that look, I just cannot seem to make it work in our home. It always seems slightly off to me. I keep trying~tweaking things here, rearranging there but it's just not workin' for me. I swoon over these images in magazines, blogs, and books but I can't get comfortable with it in my own house. What's up with that? The funny thing is, no matter how much I love it, I continue to be attracted to bold reds and soft blues! I know, crazy right? I don't get it. So I picked up my copy of French General the other day and loved everything in it so much that I decided to just go with it. Rather than fight my color urges to stay within an all white/grey color scheme throughout the whole house, I've decided to go more French Country/Provincial in the kitchen and adjoining family room. I'll stick with the grey/blue-grey/white color scheme in the bedroom and in my craft room {It works in those rooms and I love it there} I've just decided to mix it up a bit, throw all the decor rules out the window. I still love my grain sacks and my burlap and they look great with my splashes of red and {gasp} black!

So I've redone things a bit. Added some old clay pots in a basket by the french doors awaiting spring

added a red book to the mantel vignette

put some of my favorite books in a galvanized french tub

{notice French General front and center}

made some pillow covers with oversized red checks

black and white toile

and pom pom fringe {seriously fun}

except Abigail keeps trying to bite them off!

Then, I painted some of my frames black and threw them in for good measure!

It feels better in there now. Don't worry, I still love me some burlap and grain sacks and my new {old} bench is right there in the mix too. This is just working better for now.

Have a great day everyone.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2011-01-16T13:57:00.001-05:00

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Psalm 133:1

The Tale of an Old Bench

2011-01-15T09:29:00.007-05:00

My son comes home from school. " Oh no! I forgot my spelling book." He says.

"Okay everybody, into the car. We have to go back to school." I say.

This is how the story begins...

We're driving along and I spy this {pictured above} peeking out from under someone's trash (furniture trash, not smelly, stinky garbage trash)

Anyway, I tell everybody, "Hold on. We're stopping. I have to get this." I park and get out, and see a sign that says FREE. It's my lucky day. I know I can doing something good with this. As I'm pulling it out, school buses are passing with drivers I know. Neighbors drive by and they wave at me. Oh my goodness...they must think that I've officially lost my mind. I can hear the whispers....did you see her? She was pulling something out of the garbage!!

But this is cool...and besides...it's not really garbage is it?

I mean, look at these legs? It's perfect!!

I'm imagining a sweet little step-up bench to Abigail's big girl bed one day. That's a few years away I realize, but hey I'm thinking ahead.
Okay, back to the story. So I grab it and haul it to the car.

Husband sees it the next day and gives me the oh my...just what are you going to do with that look.

Just wait, I say...I've got great plans for this baby!

so I start sewing

and then I pay a visit to The Graphics Fairy

and suddenly, the perfect bench is born!
Oh, and husband said to me last night...
"You know, I really like that bench."
SMiLe.
LoVe.
End of story.
~~~~~~
Have a wonderful weekend everybody and thank you for entering my giveaway!
If you haven't entered yet, you may still do so by clicking here.
~~~~~
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

I'm linking up with My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

and Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

What Is It??? A Giveaway!!!

2011-01-12T13:31:00.005-05:00

I wanted you to know how thankful I am to all of you who read my blog. To show my appreciation, I'm going to have a giveaway!

I'm putting a fun little twist on this one. It's very easy to enter. All you have to do is this:

1) take a look at the above photo and leave me a comment telling me what you think it is

this will get you one entry

***

2) add my blog button to your sidebar for a second entry

{leave me a comment letting me know you did this}

***

3) post about this giveaway on your blog for a third entry

{again, leave me a comment letting me know you did this}

***

There is one more twist to this giveaway ~ the prize is going to remain a secret!!

(but I promise you it is good!!)

Thanks everyone for visiting me and for taking the time to read my blog. Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated!!

Now, get to studying that photo and tell me what you think it is!!

***

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Deadline for entries will be Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at midnight.

I will draw a name on January 27!

Good luck everyone!!

Sunday Blessings

2011-01-09T08:38:00.003-05:00

And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."

Acts 10:34-35

A Sweater Re-Fashion Tutorial

2011-01-06T11:43:00.009-05:00

I am trying to accomplish some things around here that I've been meaning to get to for so long. Things desperately need to be organized, unused items need to be donated and this bag of sweaters in my closet...they need to be re-purposed. I love each one in that bag, but for whatever reason, they don't look quite right anymore. Let's be honest, they're just old. They're in great shape though, so I thought I would try to freshen them up with fabrics and trims. Give them new life and then see if I like them any better. If not, I will get rid of them. Anyway, I got working on the first one this morning and liked it enough to share what I did.

Here is one of the sweaters. It's a great sweater but needed some jazzing up.

I found an old T-shirt...way past it's prime...and decided to cut it up to make some ruffles and a flower for the sweater.

First, cut straight up the middle of an old sweater. We're going to make a cardigan with this one.

Now, cut the bottom hem off of the t-shirt and then cut a total of five strips out of the shirt. I made each of my strips about an inch and a half wide.

Now, cut open each of the side seams so that you have five really long strips. Take one of the strips and set it aside for the flower (which we will make later). Take two of the remaining strips and sew them together to make one super duper long strip. Take the last two strips and sew them together to make one more super duper long strip. These will be the ruffles.

Okay, time to make the ruffles. Adjust the stitch length on your sewing machine to the longest length. Now sew a straight line right down the middle of one of your super duper long strips. Do it again for the second strip. When you are finished, separate the top thread from the bobbin thread. Now gently pull the top thread as you gently gather the fabric into a ruffle.
Hint...when your ruffle is the length that you want it, tie off the top thread and the bobbin thread on each end so your ruffle doesn't come unravelled

When your ruffle is complete, pin it to one side of your sweater as shown above and then do the same thing for the other side and other ruffle.

Let's move on to the ruffled flower.

Take the one strip you have left and sew another straight line down the length of the strip. Instead of sewing down the middle though, you're going to sew along the edge. Gather this one into a ruffle too. As you can see in the above photo, it's going to be a lot shorter than the other two were.
Now...before you do anything else, reset the stitch length to normal on your sewing machine. Do it now so you don't forget later.

To make the flower, simply roll the ruffle up (just like you would if you were quilling paper) and hand stitch it along the bottom as you go. Stitching it will hold it all together nicely when you're finished.

Here is the flower when it's done.

Now you're all ready to sew the ruffles onto your sweater. After you sew them on, you can either sew on your flower, or use a safety pin to attach it to the sweater. I used a safety pin. This way I have flexibility when wearing it. I can easily take the flower off or leave it on.

Enjoy your new (old) sweater!!

Now go find an old sweater in your closet and see what you can create. It's fun!!

~~~~~~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

~~~You must go and check out Ruffles and Stuff~~~

Her blog inspired this little makeover and there is so much more to see over there!!

~~~

Linking up to...

Fabric Fun Thursday

Show and Tell Friday

The DIY Showoff

Sunday Blessings

2011-01-02T10:48:00.001-05:00

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope...

1 Peter 1:3

Bon Annee Mes Amis

2011-01-01T15:16:00.004-05:00

image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and safe travels! We have been busy...the little ones have been home from school and my husband has been off of work here and there so we have been enjoying lots of good family time! Christmas was wonderful!

I wish you many blessings in the new year...now I'm off to...hmmmm..what is it people do today??? Ah yes, I'm going to go and organize a closet somewhere - haha!

Happy New Year!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2010-12-19T14:12:00.004-05:00

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

Coffee's On

2010-12-18T10:15:00.005-05:00

I love these old coffee percolators. There's just something about them.

Maybe it's the tarnished, smudgy patina

or perhaps it's these charming old glass knobs on top

that the coffee splashes up into
as it's brewing

whatever it is, I love them and my husband knows it.

That's why, when he came across these three old percolators, he brought them home to me. He is the greatest!

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

One of Those Days

2010-12-16T21:54:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you've had one....that kind of day when you wake up and the first think you think of, is how nice it would be to just go back to bed.

This week has been busy. Not just busy, busy. Insane busy! We're talking, last minute errands to run, school research projects to be finished, school party plans being wrapped up, Christmas pageant costumes need to be made, cupcakes need to be baked, goodie bags need to be filled for the classroom party. Yes, one of those weeks! Whew!
So I jump out of bed this morning to get the kids ready...feed them, clean them, dress them...send one off on the bus...the other needs a ride today...come back home to get the third dressed and fed and then the fourth - same thing! Everybody's ready! Out the door we go...threat of snow...keep the eyes on the road...ears on the radio...weather report...not too bad...snow expected....less than an inch...okay here we go...off to the grocery store.
We go in...first I pick up the photos that I had ordered on the computer, then I go and buy all of the stuff for the cupcakes, party, etc...an hour later...ready to leave...no...wait...where are my pictures??
Noooo...I've dropped them somewhere! Re-trace my steps...no pictures...back to the photo counter...yes...someone turned them in...wonderful news...head back to the front of the store...find my car keys...approach the door...stop dead in my tracks!
What???
Snow....lots and lots of snow....not the less than an inch they called for...much more than that, and it's only been an hour since I went into the store. Mind you, it wasn't snowing at all when I went in! Get to my car...bundle the kids into the car...clean the car off...forget the rest of the errands...the roads are awful! An hour and ten minutes later(to go 12.8 miles) I'm safely home.
Thank you Lord.

Just in time to get the kids off of the bus....I just want to go back to bed!
We finish the research paper and project, start dinner and cupcakes all at the same time. Finish dinner, the rest of the homework and hubby does dishes while I take a breath! God Bless that man. He shovels the sidewalk, shovels the driveway and takes out the trash while I take another breath...God Bless him!

Yes, I would just love to crawl into this...

or this...

but alas...the timer is going off...the last batch of cupcakes are done...the costumes will have to wait until tomorrow and I won't even tell you what the dog just did.

I think I'm going to bed!

Goodnight!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

****

All photos courtesy of Bella Notte Linens

A Tutorial for "Baby Legs"

2010-12-13T17:54:00.005-05:00

I know this isn't typical decorating stuff, however, I made something that I wanted to share because I think it could make a great little Christmas gift for a sweet baby or a mom-to-be!

I made Abigail this cute pink plaid skirt yesterday, but wanted something to go with it to keep her legs warm. I'm sure you've seen the baby leg warmers (a.k.a. baby legs) circulating around blogland - I know I've seen a few, so I decided to try them out. Turns out they were super easy to do and they took about 5 minutes from start to finish!
Here is my version:

Start out with a pair of ladies knee socks. I found mine at Walmart. They came in a three pack for $5.

Lay one sock right on top of the other and line them up all nice and neat.

Then make three cuts.

One just above the heel, one just below the heel and one just before the toe.

Discard the heel and toe pieces so you're left with the two short pieces and two long pieces pictured above.

Take the smaller of the two pieces...

...and fold it in half with the wrong sides of the sock facing each other.

It should look like this.

Now...

...take the piece that you just folded and slip it over the cut edge of the long part of the sock as pictured above.

It will look like this. You will have three total layers. Pin them together, but remember to leave the middle open to allow for baby's leg to go through.

Slip the whole thing around the arm of your sewing machine and sew a straight stitch all the way around. You may want to increase the stitch length to allow for some stretching.

Here's what it will look like when you finish sewing.

Just flip that end piece over and now you have a cuff. This is the part that will go over the top of baby's leg.

The part that was the finished top of the sock, will now go at the bottom of baby's leg. Repeat steps for the other sock so you'll have two baby legs. Pictured above are the finished leg warmers all ready to wear. Pretty cool huh? And so incredibly easy. I've already made four pairs and Abigail wore them all day. They're great!

And they look super cute too!

Give me a few days and I'll show you how I made the skirt. It was just as easy and quick as the leggings.

Enjoy!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Christmas Around the House

2010-12-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

We did some more decorating this weekend

a few touches here and there...

even the piano is looking festive.

the mirror in the foyer

wishing you joy

a silvery icicle

and some vintage silver balls

the front living room tree

Hoping everyone had a good weekend and that you are enjoying this Christmas season!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2010-12-12T11:52:00.001-05:00

You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James 5:8

The Bedroom Makeover...Revealed

2010-12-10T10:45:00.005-05:00

I know that I promised this post earlier, but I've been run down lately with a bad cold.

For the most part, the room is finished, however after looking at the photos, it needs something else. Funny how a photo will do that isn't it? Truth revealed through the lens. I'll tweak it a little here and there and then we'll see.

~~~~~

So anyway, before I show you the before pictures, I feel I must provide the following disclaimer:

The before photos of this bedroom that you are about to see are beyond hideous, outdated and well, just plain ugly. The color was named "Old Gold" and believe me, it was old and it was gold! Also, I almost forgot to take before pictures until I was well into the throwing around and moving of stuff, so the room is a huge mess! I assure you, I don't make it a habit of keeping our room in a state of disarray with clothes all lying about. It just so happens that I had already begun to tear apart the room before I remembered to take the pictures. But that's okay, better to keep it real! So, without any further adieu....

The Before:
.

See? I told you. I had already started to remove the curtains, move the furniture etc...

~~~~~

The After:

Ahhhh....much better!

The wall color is Alaskan Husky by Benjamin Moore.

I painted my husband's dresser in a creamy shade of white and then went back and sanded the edges to distress it a bit. Then I went over it with a mahogany stain which I applied and quickly wiped off. I painted the hardware black.

Below is the nightstand...

I painted it exactly like the dresser. I was going to paint the bed as well, but then decided to leave it as is. I thought that the bed and the television armoire would look better in their original stained wood finish. After looking at the photos though, I may go back and paint the bed too. I have to think about it. The armoire will definitely stay as it is though. The wood is too pretty to touch on that one!

The lampshades were originally plain white but I added black ribbon to the tops and bottoms of them to dress them up a bit.

An old, vintage fan that I found years ago at a flea market. I added it to the top of husband's dresser along with a miniature globe.

Here is my dresser that you may remember from this post. I liked the way the black handles looked on the nightstand and husband's dresser, so I took the hardware off of this dresser and painted them black as well.

So there you have it! The finished room. Thanks for joining me in the makeover reveal! I'm sure I'll be adding a few things here and there...such as putting the rest of my photos in the frames - I'm guessing you probably saw some empty frames scattered about - haha! The printer ran out of ink :)

Have a great weekend!!

~~~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Can I Ask For Your Vote?

2010-12-03T22:42:00.002-05:00

I have entered Abigail in the Gerber Generations photo contest! I would love to ask for your help in voting. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $25,000 scholarship. How great is that? All you have to do is click on her name below to take you to the Gerber site and straight to her photo. From there, you just click the "vote for me" tab and then follow the instructions. You can vote once per day, every day all month long. I would really, really appreciate your vote. Just click her name below:

Abigail

Thank you so very much. I really appreciate it!!

~~~~~~

The bedroom makeover is coming right along and I hope to have some photos by Sunday!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

The Bedroom Inspiration

2010-12-01T16:35:00.003-05:00

image courtesy of Country Living

So, have you read the latest issue of Country Living yet? It's the December/January issue and I loved it. I read it cover to cover. Several times actually.

So anyway, the article about the Tiemann Family's White Holiday Home is what inspired our bedroom makeover. Well, actually, it inspired the colors. I had already decided to do the room. I was just looking for a little color inspiration. This was it. I loved the color so much I just had to do it. Of course, I got a sample can first because you know how it is...sometimes a color on a magazine page isn't always the same when you get it on the wall.

In this case it was perfect! It's called Alaskan Husky by Benjamin Moore and I am in love with it. It's the perfect white and gray and very pale blue, all wrapped up in one color.

So far, I've got the walls painted and I've painted one dresser. The dresser is a creamy white to match the other dresser I did here. I have a night stand to paint tonight and then tomorrow I will hopefully put the room back together.

Until I get it all finished up and have photos to share, I will leave you with my inspiration room courtesy of the Country Living website.

image courtesy of Country Living Magazine

Until then...

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2010-11-28T17:52:00.004-05:00

...If God is for us, who is against us?

Romans 8:31

~~~~

{So sorry this is late today}

The Day After

2010-11-26T19:08:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know we did!!!

The day started off a little crazy, but that's what keeps it interesting right?

You see, everything was going along smoothly at first. We got up early and my husband and I were enjoying a cup of coffee while getting breakfast ready for the kids. Then, as we got ready to prepare a huge meal for about 20 guests...it happened. I discovered that we suddenly had no running water. Now you have to understand, around here, we seem to always have a water main break somewhere in town which causes the surrounding neighborhoods to be without water for a couple of hours. No big deal, we're used to it. So I thought...okay, I'll just do something else until the water comes back on. Yeah...famous last words. I then discovered a huge puddle of water on the floor in front of the sink. Our sink sprayer hose decided to burst on Thanksgiving morning! Each time I turned on the faucet, testing for water, I was unknowingly sending a torrent of water loose under the sink.

Well, we had seen tons of commercials on TV advertising Lowes pre-black Friday sales, so we assumed that Lowes was open right? Wrong! No one is open on Thanksgiving Day! Here we were with no runing water in the kitchen and I needed to wash potatoes and do lots of breakfast dishes! We got lucky though, there was someone else in the neighborhood who seemed to be having some plumbing issues as well. They had called a local plumbing service who made a Thanksgiving house call. My husband walked over to the neighbor's house as the plumber was finishing up and heading back out to his truck. Hubby asked the guy if he happened to have a sink sprayer hose that he might be able to sell us. Not only did he have one in his truck, he gave it to my husband. Yes, gave it to him - free of charge. Hubs insisted that we pay but he wouldn't take anything for it. Just wished us a Happy Thanksgiving and told my husband not to worry about it. People are so generous!! Anyway, thanks to that plumber who makes house calls and another very handy neighbor, we got that sink up and running in no time. Thanksgiving was saved and we had a lovely dinner! We had lots of family over and after dinner we all competed with each other in a Wii Bowling competition. We had such a blast and have vowed to get together very soon to do it again. A large family game night! What fun!

~~~

Today, we started the full fledged Christmas decorating AND...I am getting ready to embark upon a HUGE project. It involves our bedroom, paint and lots of furniture rearranging. Wish me luck!! I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew!

The basement project is finished. I'm just waiting to find a beautiful Frenchy cabinet to house all of my creative supplies. So, for the time being, I have decided to move on to the bedroom redecorating project. Will have lots of photos to share once everything is complete!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~~~

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T17:25:00.002-05:00

A Thanksgiving wish from our home to yours...
may you all have safe travels, wherever you are...enjoy your day with friends and family.
God Bless each and every one of you.

I also wanted to thank each one of you who stop by and read my blog. Thank you all for your comments and your emails. They mean more to me to me than you know. I appreciate your kind words and thoughts!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our home to yours!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2010-11-21T09:17:00.002-05:00

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Moving Right Along....

2010-11-20T16:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the show us your past decor linky party wasn't exactly my best idea ever!! Moving right along...to Christmas decor.

I know that it isn't quite Thanksgiving yet and we've already put up one tree, but I love to have a nice mix of fall Thanksgiving decor along with a Christmas tree. I like how it makes the house feel more festive and it's a nice hint of what's to come.
So we pulled all of the Christmas stuff out of the attic today and put up one tree. I love this time of year!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

What Do You Think of this Idea???

2010-11-16T08:07:00.005-05:00

I was going through some photos from several years ago and came across some old decor photos.

It gave me a fun idea.

Have you ever been so in love with a certain style of home decor, that you did your whole house that way, lived blissfully with it for a few years, and then suddenly want to rip everything out and start completely over with something new? I have.

Wouldn't it be fun to share old photos of how your home used to look along with what it looks like now?

~~~~~

I would love to see how your styles have evolved over the years and was thinking of hooking up a linky party to share them all. Anybody interested, or am I the only one who would have fun with this?

Let me know what you think and if there's enough interest, I'll do one!

It doesn't matter how old the photos are, as long as we get to see what your place looked like then...and what it looks like now! I think it would be a lot of fun.

Let me know what you think!!

PS~the photo you see above is a peek at my before. There are tons more where that came from. If there's enough interest, I'll show the rest!

Hope to hear from you!!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Sunday Blessings

2010-11-14T09:56:00.001-05:00

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.

Psalm 62:1-2