Don't Forget the Cottage Charm Giveaway

Do not forget the Cottage Charm Giveaway on 5/29, chicks. These are the exact little coffee filter roses to be awarded on that day. Six of them. All scented with Crabtree & Evelyn heirloom rose oil. Who will be the lucky one to win them? Hmmmmm???? Just comment on the Cottage Charm Giveaway Blog post here and it certainly could be you.

And, also, you might want to check out yesterday's blog or the sidebar for the announcement.

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Redoing Some Old Lamps and Something New Coming!

First of all, let me just tell you that I have a bit of news that I hope you'll enjoy. I've been setting things up the last week or so to do a blog where there is nothing but a list of lifestyle bloggers: romantic, country, shabby, chic, gardening (because what is more romantic than flowers?!) whatever—just so it's more about lifestyle than anything else. It's just links so it's not hard to do or to keep up because I can't keep up much more than I'm doing right now!

When you go over and see the logo, you'll see some absolutely stunning roses on the logo that are by Ronda Juniper Ray, who graciously and enthusiasticly gave me permission to use any rose I wanted in the making of the logo and also sent me the original photos to use in my PhotoShop. She's a dear and another Mac user. ;-) She's also a fantastic artist. When you go to the blog and see the logo, you'll see her roses; these in this little button are MY roses. Pathetic, but I did paint them. Do not get the two mixed up; it wouldn't be fair to Ronda. ;-)
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I bought these lamps several years ago when we were thinking of moving here to this house. I think I bought them at Home Depot. They are extremely heavy for lamps and the shades were a kind of "pull up" kind in the box. In other words, they were flat in the box and we had to lift them from the bottom up to the top of the shade and secure it. When we did that we realized that when the lights were on you could see they weren't on properly or evenly. I kept them like that with the intention of fixing them someday. I tried and tried but they wouldn't align properly—the wire showed through and no amount of tugging and pulling would get them in proper alignment. But we absolutely loved the lamps, even Love Bunny. They truly made a dramatic statement and he even agreed, which is no small feat, trust me! I even tried finding new lampshades but these are so big I couldn't find anything as big even in the best lamp stores in Boise. So I kept them and just recently decided what I could do.

I bought some braided gimp trim and put it over the shade where the cloth met the wire of the shade form. I had to put 2 strips about 15 1/2" long down each one, and there were 8 "ribs" on each shade. It took about 13 - 14 yards to do it but I was thrilled that the ribs don't show now when the lamps are lit at night.

I then added some white lace around the top, an organza bow, some faux pearls and some pink paper roses to the top. The roses around the bottom were already on it so I had to work around them, but I love how they look now. What think you, chicks?

Full photo of the lamps and the ambiance they bring into our home at night. It's almost a magical place.

Full photo of lamp during the day. This photo was taken before I added extra pearls to it later in the day.

Closeups of each shade with light off and light on.

And if Mum, my sweet adopted mother in Texas, is reading this then here are some smooches for ya, Southern Belle. I spent a great deal of my childhood in Orange, Texas and I can do a wonderful southern belle impression that would astound you! LOL This is true!!
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Porches #1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Pink Saturday 5/22/2010

Happy pink saturday and a special thank you to Beverly of How Sweet The Sound for reminding me of PS. I've been a bit lax and ditzy recently so I'm gonna blame it on th' trip to California and getting back into the swing of things. DUH!!

This past week I visited Kathy of Life in the Slow Lane and Elaine at At Home with Elaine. Thank you. And this is NOT a trend, chicks!
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Okay, so it ain't all pink; adjust!

I have some photos from an old magazine that I've scanned to show you some darling rooms. This one is a beach type bathroom in a startling shade of green. (I said adjust!)

A little girl's bathroom with murals and lots of faux painting.

Even a little quilt is painted above the tub. Isn't it darling?

No fabric curtains needed; just paint them on. Clever, est il pas?

Another bath just as adorable with the two children of the house painted on the ceiling as if they were looking down into the room.

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And although I'm tag and award free, I can be a sucker for a pretty face! :-) So I promised Sherry from Alabama over on her blog that I'd accept her sweet award.
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I found this "getting to know you" over on Lara's blog and thought that it was kind of cute and kind of interesting so I'm participating. Visit her blog to learn more about it.

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....?
Surely you jest. There isn't one thing in my closet over $50 now. I go for cheap usually since moving to Idaho, where "dressed up" is a crease in your jeans!



2. Have you ever played a team sport?
Nuuuuuu, and never want to. I don't want to break a nail or get my eyelashes dirty.



3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?
I really don't want to be a bug since everyone is always trying to kill you, but if I had to choose I think ladybug would be nice, although, I'd prefer a red or pink shell instead of orange. ;-)



4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned?
My face, definitely. It causes wrinkles and I've got all I ever want to have now.



5. Are you happy?
I'm so happy people think I'm clueless! What's there to be unhappy about anyway? I smile and jest with people. Why, just a couple of weeks ago in Barnes and Noble an employee in the ladies room told me she liked my very bright pink t-shirt. I told her my whole world is pink because it's my favorite color. She replied that I must be happy. I said, "You betcha, sweetpea!" I think I made her day. I'm always smiling.



6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?
It isn't exactly an abbreviation but I can't stand it when people say "no problem." The proper response is "thank you" not "no problem." But I think an abbreviation that is overused is TTYL. Don't like that either. I usually say "goodbye" to a person. Much better.



7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?
I absolutely love where I live—Idaho. Just wonderful living here. Seattle area would be a good choice if I could afford it, but Idaho is a great place to live.



8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?
I don't do anything. I usually know my limit and stop. There are times when I overindulge and regret it though. Miserable when that happens.
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What I Create

Join in the part of "What I Create" hosted by Andrea of Vintage Bella Studio today and visit all of the chicks who are showing their creations. I seriously doubt you'll be disappointed!
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What do I create? What don't I create would be the better question. I love creating...anything. I see something and it will spark an idea in my head and I can't wait to get at it. But mainly, I create a beautiful home for me and my hubs, Love Bunny. I call him that because he's a retired Marine, and he is a love bunny. ;-)

Oh, and the reason these are all different sizes is that I took them at different times with different cameras through the years and since they have sold, I may not have the original article to photograph and do the wider width I'm doing now.

Birdhouses are absolutely my favorite thing to create. I've created several and sold or given them away as presents or giveaways. I use fabric mostly as that's the medium I love most—gorgeous romantic, shabby, chic, roses fabric.

This is a styrofoam form that I decorated with scads of tulle and it sits atop the urn on a plant shelf—see 3rd photo down. It is very froufrou, which is what I love creating most—froufrou.

This is a mosaic I made once with just a few of the pillows I've made and sold or have around my home.

This is just one of several lamps in my home I've redecorated. Some are garage sale finds. This one I bought a new lampshade and added embellishments to it.

This is the urn I made around the Christmas holidays last year with branches and all kinds of gifts I've received from my eBay group and bloggers.

This is my Christmas tree topper I made last year out of a wreath, roses, greenery, pearls and icy icicles stuck in there. When it's on the tree I stick roses on top of that on the tree. Beautiful effect!

I also love decoupaging plates with fabric. They are for show only. You cannot wash them once the fabric is on them, but you can wipe them clean.

Another birdhouse I sold. This was was covered with "icing" and mica flakes.

Birds adorn most of my birdhouses.

Aprons are another love I have. It relaxes me to create and sew them—most of the time, NOT when I receive special orders. ;-) I still have some for sale in my store. This one was a Kaffee Fassett fabric. They are stunningly gorgeous fabrics. Very vivid colors.

Another apron I made from a Cyrus Clark discontinued fabric. I still have a bit of this fabric left and I'm hoarding it! It's beautiful.

If you've read my blog for at least a year then you know how I feel about camping. I hate it! When hubs bought us a pop-up camper I made him promise me that I could froufrou it up...as much as a pop-up camper could be. This goes in it when we set out for the wilds of Idaho. I made it.

I think this little one is still for sale on my shop. It is darling with all that netting.

This one I painted while just learning how to paint roses. I then put German glass glitter on it.

This went to our granddaughter's house for our great granddaughter who is due May 26th. I can't wait. It hangs from the ceiling in her bedroom.

Little cones I've made to hang on trees.

I had to make this for my front door. I told you it's a girly house!!!

These I did for a giveaway and just love them. After I did them I was sorry I gave them away. I still have fabric to make more just like these though. As I said, fabric is my favorite medium.

I love making these cuffs also. They soothe me and are quick to whip up for gifts. This one is not for sale. I made it for ME and intend to keep it. When I wear it to church, ladies gawk at it and ask where I got it.

A hostess apron made for special occasions. It sold quickly.

Baby bibs and booties are also fun to make when expecting a great granddaughter. This one is already in Miss "A's" house. We don't know her name yet so we just call her Miss "A".

And this one is probably my favorite of all I've ever made.

I created this little painting as I was trying to learn how to paint roses. I'm terrible when it comes to rose painting but it's a passion so I struggle through it every few months to see how much better I can be.

I could sit and make these for hours...days actually. They are what calms me more than anything. Coffee filter roses.

Again, shoes for Miss "A".

Ribbon roses are also a mindless thing for me. Just sit and twist. Very calming.

I just started pinning fabric to this form and voilà, I had a Marie Antoinette type doll for my family room coffee table.

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