It Started With A Cabbage

I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday for a few supplies.  Is it ever possible to get out of that store without spending extra money?  Not often for me.  Of all things, I saw this silk cabbage that I had to have. 

I loved the ruffled edges and the writing.  They had it in white, pink, and green.  As you can see, I went with the green.  I had every intention of putting it away until Spring was a little closer, but I couldn’t stand it.  So Spring arrived early in my dining room.

The arrangement went in the shallow bowl that sits on my scale.  I used burlap garland for filler.

Pale green hydrangeas and white tulips.

One blue hydrangea and a giant cabbage leaf in back.

And it still wasn’t full enough so what the heck, I stuck a bird nest in one side.

Very Spring looking.  Maybe I’ll add a few carrots and a bunny closer to Easter.

Not the best pic.   You can even see my unpainted woodwork in the background.   The dining room is coming along.  Sloooowwwwly.  I’m enjoying my Spring floral though!

Have a Happy week!

Denise

Valentine Garland

What to do…..what to do….when you’re laying around feeling under the weather?  Practice your pompom making skills, of course!  So I tried the fork method.  The wrapping it around a plastic container lid method.  The wrapping it around your hand method.  The rectangle cardboard method.  They were all okay, but required a lot of trimming to get them in shape.  And apparently I was never intended to be a barber.  A few of mine were a little scary!  Even AFTER their hair cut!  Finally, I resorted to Google and found the ROUND double cardboard method.  You can see the tutorial HERE.  By far the best, easiest, and fastest method that I tried. 

So anywho……..I had a lot of pompoms.   Valentine Garland Time!

HAD to have hearts.

Cut out paper with my favorite craft scissors.

Cut out red felt hearts. 

Take both to the sewing machine.

Use a contrasting thread and set your stitch length a little longer.  You want the stitching to show.

Hummmm……I wonder how another layer would look?

Don’t worry about being perfect.  Imperfection is part of the perfection that is whimsical!  HUH?? 

Anywho…….(again)

I tied my pompoms to a long piece of white yarn and finished off the ends with seam binding.  I poked a hole through the red yarn of my little hearts and used red and white twine to attach them to the garland.  I made tons of hearts thinking that I wanted them between every pompom but only ended up using three of them.  Looks like my little downstairs mantel will be getting a heart garland!

Finally, I tacked the garland to my FAVORITE new burlap covered cork board.  Well, sorta new.  I bought it last fall.

I love it.  Along with all of my old photos.

My corkboard is made from the front of an old crackled, distressed cabinet.  It’s at the top of my stairs and I am really enjoying it.

A fun Valentine garland!  Or baby shower, or Easter, or whatever!

Joining Be Inspired Friday at Common Ground

Feathered Nest Friday

and The Charm of Home parties.  Their direct links may be found on my bottom left sidebar.  Give them all a visit.  Lots of pretty things to see!

Have a happy week!

Denise

Grit and Glam

One of my favorite websites is BH&G.  They’re probably one of my main sources of inspiration and pins to my pinterest account.  I receive their e-mails and almost always find myself inspired!

For instance, there is a decorating trend that I’ve been spotting over and over that I really love.  Taking the traditional and mixing it with color and a few quirky elements here and there.  I think it’s a great fresh look and can be fairly inexpensive to achieve. 

BH&G is calling it Grit and Glam.  You can read their get the look article HERE. 

Some of my favs. were

These cute round velvet pillows from Urban Outfitters. They come in a ton of yummy colors and add a pop of vintage meets modern to a room.  Heather has two of  them in Turquoise.  Don’t know why I haven’t ordered any yet.

Shown in charcoal gray.

Okay…..so I said CAN BE affordable.  I could die for this gorgeous chandelier from Horchow.  And I would die too, if I ordered it for this price!

At $4000.00 I’m pretty sure Hubby would kill me!   But ooohhhh…….be still my heart.

And what is it about damask anything?  Especially damask wallpaper.  In this wonderful hot pink color it’s both traditional and funky.

From Urban Outfitters.  $78.00 a roll.  I’m sure you could find something locally for much less.

One thing that I do NOT like that is coming back in style, is brass.  YUK!  Remember polishing all of that stuff back in the day?

This tray is good looking though.

Very modern/mid-century with the mirror and that wonderful pattern around the edges.

And gee…..ONLY $394.00.  Again, I’m sure you could find something similar locally for a lot less.

And I just had had to throw in Chevron.  I really like it.  But would I really want to invest in drapes or an expensive piece?  I don’t know.  Some patterns, like the damask for instance, I have loved forever.  Only time will tell I guess.

Drapery panels from Crate & Barrel $89.95 each.  I can’t help but love them. 

Can you see all of this mixed in the same room?  I can.  I love the look.  More pictures and suggestions at the link above.

Have a happy week!

Denise

Patchwork and Back In The Day

I had a great post planned.  It was going to be a post about the cute patchwork  pillows I’ve been making.

Like this one.  Which is still unfinished.  And our upholstery that we used to do. 

Instead…..I’m laying here in bed with the stomach virus.    So you’re kinda getting a half done post.  Kinda like the pillow I haven’t been able to finish and the pics. I haven’t been able to take.

Here is some of our past work…This all evolved because we always had so many left over pieces of fabric.  Waste not, want not!

Some of the fabrics and colors are a little dated.  Then again, I still love them all!

If we didn’t have enough of one fabric…..patchwork it!

Find an old chair with great bones, paint it, upholster it, and voila!

We have just gotta find a new upholsterer!

I can just visualize any of these pieces in some of the new fabrics that I love!  Or how about grain sacks and burlap?  We’ll be back on  permanent basis in March at the Main Street Market in Yukon, Ok.  on Rt. 66.  Be sure and visit us at the Affair Of The Heart in February!

Denise

Pompom trimmed pillow

I’m always looking for new pillow trims.  Pompoms are making a huge come back, so why not! 

I hadn’t made pompoms since I was a kid.  A little bit time consuming, but fun.

So here’s what I did.  With Heather’s help.

Awhile back, I gave Heather a variety of canvases and asked her to paint them for pillows.  This turquoise sparrow is a fav.!

I made a variety of small pompoms from a variety of yarn and learned A LOT in the process.  For instance……plain old yarn is best.  The fuzzy wuzzy variety was a little bit odd looking.  And….   making itty bitty pompoms got old fast!  So I paired them with a printed fabric ruffle for a more finished pillow trim.

I love the finished trim!

Lots of cute pompom projects at Jennierrizzo.com!  Give Jennifer a visit for tons of fun inspiration!

Happy week!

Denise

Yummy Potato Soup!

If you have a Charleston’s restaurant in your area, then you know what fabulous potato soup they have!  With the heavy cream in the recipe, it’s also full of fat and calories!  Hubby made this soup the other night, and it was soooo good!  And much better for you.  We’ll be doubling this recipe next time.  It was THAT good.  And there weren’t nearly enough left-overs.

• 4 (6-ounce) red potatoes
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 bacon slices, halved
• 1.5 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/3 cup)
• 4 teaspoons thinly sliced green onions

Preparation

1. 1. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.
2. 2. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.
3. 3. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.
4. 4. Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon

Wish I could say that picture above came from my kitchen.  But……oh well. 

Recipe and picture from myrecipe.com.

You’re gonna love it!  And that guilt free feeling!

Creating!

I’ve been sewing away all week!  Heather and I have teamed up!  She’s painting pillow panels for me and I’m sewing the pillows.

Here’s our favorite so far.

We are in LOVE with this 20x20 pillow!  You can’t see it in this pic., but the hearts are glittered.  I’ll be using a cushy, squishy down filler for this one.  How adorable would this be in a little girls room! 

close-up of hand made trim.  The black and white is a soft fleecy knit. 

Do you craft, paint, and or sew?  These silhouette pillows are wonderful projects to personalize for yourself or as a gift.  We used duck cloth for the painted center section.

This pillow with the hot pink and black ruffle was apparently a big hit on Face book.   It looks cute with the cherub pillow too.

Here’s another silhouette pillow.  This sweet birdie just looked like it needed something in its mouth, so I cut a piece of trim and hand sewed on.

Having fun making these!

ALSO……news on our location at the upcoming Affair Of The Heart.  We will be in the Made In Oklahoma building.  Up front first thing when you come in the door.  You won’t be able to miss us!  Just look for Heather’s awesome hand painted furniture!  We hope to see you there.

Denise

Inspiration

Have you started planning yet?  For Valentines Day that is!  I LOVE (haha) Valentines Day!  It’s kind of a no pressure type of day.  A few sweet decorations, tiny gifts for the kids.  A card maybe.

Do you plan BIG?

Maybe a perfect little luncheon with friends.

Or making a Valentine tent for the kids.  Okay…..I admit it….I’d love this every bit as much as any kid.  Remember playing “tent” when you were little?  Never anything as beautiful as this, though!

Oh…! And either way, you really should make PINK chocolate chip cookies!  Sounds like a must have this year!

Paper crafts are always fun.  Simple little bags decorated and filled with little goodies.

Or maybe you would prefer just a simple wreath for your front door.

Are you inspired yet!?

I am.  I’m ready to create.  In pretty reds, whites, and pinks.  And maybe just a bit of glitter.

All above images are from our Be My Valentine board on Pinterest.   Please check it out for links to all of these cute ideas and more.

Have a Happy Day!

Denise