Here's What's Happening

Is it just me or does anyone else get bloggers block? It's been bad the past couple days. Here's a project I've been working on. This mud room/laundry room is finally complete. My client had a custom bench made with dividers for her shoes to slip right into. She had me make a cushion and the curtains in this room.

This laundry room is now functional as a mud room too. If you've done a mud room/laundry room makeover, send me some pictures. I'd love to post them.

I've also been keeping busy in the garden. The tomatoes are coming on like crazy.

So, I made my first attempt at canning. Wow, it's a lot of work. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Coming very soon I will be hosting a giveaway that I know you will LOVE, so stayed tuned to find out more details about this contest!!!

Shhhh....It's A Secret!!

This is a wonderful idea for anyone who may have an electric fireplace or may be thinking about purchasing one. We bought this standard electric firplace insert with mantle kit. Nothing special and quite frankly it seemed small and boring, but that is all we could afford. To make it more substantial, I had my dad build a small box for it to sit on. We just used left over particle board and then tiled this box. Now it seems more permanent.




So what's so great about this?.......it's completely portable. Knowing that I love to rearrange my furniture, my dad decided it might be wise of him to add casters to the bottom of this box. Now I can have a fireplace in my living room or my dining room or anywhere in my house.

The baseboards in our home were already done when we did this project, so my dad made a template of the trimwork. He then cut the tile to fit the profile of our baseboards, as seen in the picture below. When pushed up to the wall it fits like a glove.

Red House Happenings: Vintage Brooch

http://twiceremembered.blogspot.com/2009/07/make-your-monday-link-party-today.html

Junkologie Blog Party

I would love to attend this event, if only I lived closer.

Will you be attending? http://junkologie.blogspot.com/

Chair Redo 2

After a few questions on the "how to" of this chair redo, I thought I'd give a few pointers. This was quite a challenge a first timer, but I had a small advantage in that I do know how to sew. If you are not a person who sews and are wanting to reupholster something, I would suggest something a little more simple in design than this.

1. The most important thing to remember is the order in which you remove the fabric (exp. which piece you removed first, second, third etc.) and if you can't remember, then take pictures along the way or take notes to remind yourself of this process.

2. Use the removed pieces of fabric as a pattern to cut your new pieces. This fabric may be the nastiest thing on the planet so make sure you lay it out on the wrong side of your new fabric, so it doesn't get dirty.

3. Once all fabric is stripped, look at all the guts of the chair. Assess whether you can still use what's there and hopefully you can, because that would be the easiest. If not you may have to get a better cushion or padding. If there is anything structually wrong with your piece, now is the time to fix it, wobbly legs or arms, etc.

4. If there is any wood on your piece that will be refinished, do that before you start to reupholster (something I nearly forgot to do).

5. Reapply the fabric in reverse order that you removed it using a staple gun and pull tightly.

6. If you are using a nailhead trim, it's a LOT more complicated than it looks, even for someone who knows how to drive a nail. I have found that the best place to find nailhead trim is at home improvement stores, rather than at craft stores. It helped me to use needlenose pliers to hold the end and keep it in place while I used a tack hammer to gently nail it in

Gook luck. Send me pics when it's done, I'd love to post them.

Before

After

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

The sun was showing it's face through the trees this morning and something about this moment made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What a beautiful way to start a day. The dew appeared to raise from the ground to meet the sun in the sky. This picture just doesn't give the same effect as looking at it face to face from my back porch. God is good.

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments and warm welcome into the blogging community. Kim thank you for all your help, it is truely appreciated.

Twice Remembered Giveaway

Twice Remembered is having a great giveaway for anyone interested in starting their own blog. Just click on the link above and become a follower. That's all it takes.

Photo Shoot

A friend and myself took the girls on a photo shoot Monday. I got the girls all dressed up and we took a drive up the road to find the perfect setting. We stopped at a beautiful field full of Queen Ann's Lace.

I was inspired by some vintage photos taken by Sherelle Christensen . Her photos are amazing.

Sissy blowing me a kiss.

My Picks

I don't think I've ever had a more pleasant July weekend in my life. Breezy 72 degree weather is so refreshing. If only it would last forever. We spent most of Saturday outside picking blackberries, vegetables and doing yard work. I made blackberry cobbler and even washed windows. It was a very productive day around here. Here's a few pics of our picks.

The gladiolas are in bloom and oh how I love them. They always end up on the ground, so why not cut them and bring them inside to enjoy.
And take a look at this beautiful strawberry pot full of Hens and Chicks. I've always loved these little plants, but never could think of a good place to put them. Thanks to a friend of mine, I now have a great idea and even walked away with some starts.

Here are some more beautiful ideas for what you can do with your old strawberry pots. http://www.rainyside.com/container/YeOldStrawberryPot.html

What have you done with your strawberry pots?

Aprons

Oh how I love a cute little apron. I used one of my 99 cent apron patterns a few weeks ago and here's what I created.

I love this apron by Boojiboo.

Telephone Bench

I've fallen in love with this darling little gossip center. A friend brought this to me to reupholster. It has been in her basement collecting dust for a long time and desperately needed a facelift.

See how much better it looks with new fabric and beautiful bronze nail head trim. I WANT IT!!!

It's a Dog's Life

Daddy completed his doghouse project last week. I think any dog would be proud to call this home.

Eventually, he wants to find a flower box that will fit under the bay window.

Independence Day

Wishing everyone a very happy 4th of July. Thank you to all those who've made a sacrifice for this country so that we can be free. God Bless America.

Our Mini Vacation

Here are a few pics from our "mini vacation" to the Columbus Zoo and Cedar Point. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time. This picture cracks me up. Sissy is such a good big sis.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but that's a bear they are standing in front of.

This was the highlight for Prissy. She chased Snoopy down because she wanted to squeeze him.
Sissy riding the swings. Cedar Point has 17 coasters and she rode 16 of them. What a great 10 year old! I'm so proud.

We took this picture of ourselves after spending ALL day at Cedar Point. Look at our messy heads. It's good to be home again!