It's Coming Together...

So I've been racking my brain to come up with a meaningful theme for my 200TH POST GIVEBACK... After much thought I've decided to give a selection of some of my most favorite things to the lucky winner...

Here's what you'll get if your name is drawn...




My all~time favorite candle in the entire world from where else... Anthropologie! If you've never walked into Anthro and caught a whif of their Volcano candle, well you're in for a sensory treat.

My favorite CD in the universe, Bird On A Wire by Toby Lightman. I can hit replay all day on this one.

Three different shower gels by Philosophy. I adore Philosophy. These smell so good you will want to literally eat them.

A brown and white transferware butter pat. Yummy.

An assortment of teeny watch faces. I am addicted to these.

A fab flower frog from my personal collection. I hope you treasure it.

French script stamped seam binding. Say that three times fast... I love me some seam binding...

Three fabulous gift tags in the French theme of course...

Some surprises are bound to find their way into the mix as well...

PLEASE BE SURE AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE ORIGINAL GIVEBACK POST TO ENTER. COMMENTS LEFT ON THIS POST WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAWING.

Good luck everyone!

Bedroom Makeover Update and a Clever Way to Dress up a Bulletin Board

A few weeks back I mentioned my daughter’s bedroom had been scouted for a Better Homes and Gardens photo shoot. Sadly, her room was not chosen.

The good news, however, is now I am free to share pictures of the room and all the ideas I used to transform her space from a little girl’s bedroom into something a bit more grown-up. So over the next few weeks I will be highlighting various parts of her room and showing how to make some of the projects I used in the redo.

To give a frame of reference for this and upcoming posts, as well as the final room reveal, here is where I began. The color palette inspiration came from this beautiful linen fabric from Calico Corners.

Although I fell in love with this fabric the minute I saw it, my daughter needed a little convincing. Previously, her room had been green and blue – a Laura Ashley bedding ensemble left over from my college days over twenty years ago. Now, she wanted pink, pink and more pink. (I will be showing before pictures in a future post). After much discussion (and prodding) she gave me the OK and the room redo began.

Project #1 - Bulletin Board Makeover
This bulletin board was purchased from Ballard Designs many years ago. The off-white color no longer worked with the new color scheme and I really wanted to do something “different.” I started by painting the frame white and spraying with a semi-gloss varnish. It looked better but the board still needed some color.

My solution – add pink ribbon secured with silver push pins around the outside edge of the board.

Simply cut four pieces of ribbon approximately 1 ½ inches longer than the length of each side. Fold and press under (with iron) approximately ¾” of each unfinished edge. Place on bulletin board and secure with push pins in each corner.

Continue adding push pins – spacing evenly – around the edge.

So simple and very cute! Here is a close up (below) of the bulletin board hanging in her room. The second picture gives a wider view of the space and a bigger hint of what is to come!

Sources:
White shelf below the bulletin board – Target
Three vintage milk glass vases – Thrift store purchases
Upholstered and slip covered cubes – Target
Pink throw – Home Goods
Monogram pillow – available in my Etsy Shop
Chalkboard arrow – Favors by Lisa (from a giveaway I won)

In case you missed it, here are some previous posts highlighting other projects in my daughter’s bedroom redo:
Marble top night stand
Ceiling embellishment

Linking up to some of these parties

The Ones That Got Away... And A Giveback

Say what? Well I was all set to do this post about these...



Remember when I first introduced you to them?

Then they went here...



And now they are here...





Sorry guys, they were just too awesome to let them get away... They look so darn good in my living room.

And so on to the GIVEBACK... I realized after my last post that I had hit TWO HUNDRED POSTS! The lights were on but nobody at home apparently... Anyhoo, it's time for A GIVEBACK!!! Since this is so spur of the moment, I have no idea what the prize will be but I promise it will be awesome and in a couple of days I'll reveal what the winner will be a gettin'.

So tell your friends, tell your followers, heck tell everyone to post a comment and you'll be in the running. I'd love it if you post about the GIVEBACK but you don't have to to enter. I think I'll give a second prize that will be drawn from anyone who does post about it. How's that? So let me know if you do post about it and you'll go into a second drawing.

Aaannndd all my followers will automatically be entered. No coercion to become one to enter, but if you do join me between now and the drawing date you're in like flynn. If you are a follower and you leave a comment you get two chances to win.

You do not need to have a blog to enter. If you are commenting anonymously please leave an email address in your comment so I can contact you in the event you win.

DRAWING ENDS IN ONE WEEK ON TUESDAY MAY 4TH AT MIDNIGHT... I'll be back with the prize shortly. Good luck all!

Acquisitions

So each time we travel to Texas for the show I treat myself to some things that are just for me... Bits and bobs, some bling, some Magnolia Pearl...It's my reward for all the back~breaking work this biz involves...A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...

I bought three of these framed repros of French receipts from Gwen at French By Design.


TOT had this cute wire bulb cover and I scored one...Lauri from Chippys got the other.


One of my fav pieces from Magnolia Pearl. The heaviest nubbiest oatmeal colored linen pantaloons. They are to die for.


A bracelet and charm from Jill Suzanne at Warrenton.


Cow tag from Jill Suzanne.


I scored this little leather coin purse at the Texas Rose Show~destined to become a necklace. These little pitchers are from Christie at Warrenton, just add some seam binding and oila~~necklaces.


Maybe my fav thing from Susan at Pink Lemonade, a Marburger dealer. Love this leather cuff with the brass tag. I wear it almost daily.


More blingage. I got these two cuffs from Paris Montana at Warrenton. She was out back of Zapp Hall in a cute little Airstream trailer and she had some serious goods. Love the cuff with the fleur de lis.


Cute tags made by Lauri of Chippys, my neighbor at Marburger. We engaged in some good old fashioned horse trading.


Lauri had this cute little bowl as well.


and this blinged out little bottle.


love this assemblage from Peg at French Vanilla. A white dove under a cloche. So pretty.

Two Simple Ideas to Add Character to Your Ceilings

One of the most under decorated spaces in houses tends to be the ceiling. Unless you live in an older home blessed with beams, tin and/or ornate moldings, it is rare to see anything today beyond white paint and crown molding.

Being a “detail person,” I am always looking for simple and inexpensive ways to add character to my house. I find it is the little things that turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. So I wanted to share two ideas – three projects – that we did in our house to add charm to our ceilings.

#1 PAINT
Bathroom Ceiling
One of the unique things we did in our house is paint the master bathroom ceiling blue.

When we moved into our house, the bedding colors in our master bedroom were white, yellow, and blue. In an effort to make the two spaces – bedroom and bathroom - coordinate we decided to add a touch of blue to the bathroom.

Instead of adding the color to the walls, we painted the ceiling. I love how this keeps the room light and bright but still adds the color we wanted. Although we have recently changed our bedding colors to a more neutral palette, the blue ceiling still remains.

#2 MOLDING
Foyer ceiling
The foyer in my house is fairly small - big enough for a 4’ x 6’ rug but too small for any type of furnishings. To help delineate this space from the hallway and create a sense of separation, we framed our light fixture with simple stock molding and wooden embellishments.

My husband cut four 4’ boards for the outside molding and four 3’ boards for the inside molding to create two frames. After nailing the boards and rosettes in place, the nail holes were filled and the space between the boards was painted the same white semi gloss as the trim. The trickiest part of this project is getting the boards straight and centered exactly even around the light fixture.

I love how this small touch of molding gives the foyer a sense of distinction from the hallway and sets the tone for the rest of the house.

Bedroom ceiling
Because I loved how the foyer ceiling turned out, I convinced my husband to do something very similar in my daughter’s bedroom. She has a pretty crystal chandelier (before shown below) but I wanted to make it stand out even more.

This time we used two different types of molding – a larger width piece for the outside frame and a smaller width piece for the inside.

The process was the same as in the foyer – cut the wood, nail in place, fill holes and paint. Below is the molding in place but unpainted.

Here is it is all finished. You will notice this time we decided to leave the space between the frames blank - no rosettes.

I am very pleased with how all three of these projects turned out. I am hoping our next attempt at embellishing a ceiling will be in the dining room. I am trying to convince my husband we need (and can make) a coffered ceiling! Wish me luck.

Linking up to these parties

Loose Ends

There are always some pics from the Texas show that don't fit into a particular post. They are the loose ends to tie up. So here are a few pics of friends and a few of things I found interesting.

Opening morning is so exciting. The anticipation is palpable. My friend Teresa Cano...Garden Antqs Vintage...comes to the show to snap pics.

Here's TOT...Time Worn Interiors...Teresa...and moi.


Teresa and I in front of my booth.


Is this the cutest. Just down the way from us at Marburger.


I love texture...The next three pics are stellar examples.




I finally got a pic this time of Peg and John from French Vanilla. Aren't they cute?


One of my fav pics taken. The "Pearl Girls" as I call them getting ready for opening morning. They model the scrumptious Magnolia Pearl Beautiful Wear designed by the fabulous Robin Brown aka Magnolia Pearl. Aren't they all so pretty?

Where Women Create

Marburger Farms welcomed the creative and fabulous Jo Packham and Gina Galvin to set up a tent filled with jaw~dropping displays culled from the show. Jo is the author of WHERE WOMEN CREATE magazine and two books featuring the design spaces of creative women by the same name. Gina is the creator of PEACOCK PARK DESIGN, a source for gorgeous home decor. One is as bubbly and infectious as the other and I was so blessed to meet them. This is their tent filled with Gina's designs as well as fab stuff from the show. I had my eye on a dress form torso, but it was NFS. Darn...






Gina and Jo.