I'm a Dirt Girl!

There are probably at least 1001 ways to categorize people.  My hubby always says people have at least one of these three qualities:  Time, Money or Dirt.  Time is someone who has administrative and organizational skills.  Money is someone fiscally strong by being great at budgeting or has strong entrepreneurial skills.  Dirt is someone who finds great satisfaction with working with their hands.  My hubby definitely is Time and Money.  While I do enjoy using my time spending the money he works hard to earn, my skills fall under the category of Dirt.  We jokingly say that I'm a "dirt girl". 

I love being outside working in the yard, getting my hands dirty.  To me, it's therapeutic!  What could be better for working out stress then pulling weeds while listening to the birds chirping?  Or drowning out all the noise of life with the hum of the lawn mower?   

 

In the four years we've been in our home, I have pretty much cleared everything that was in our yard, including the weedy lawn, and started over.  It's been a lot of fun, watching the yard evolve and grow.

 I felt, because my house is a Tudor Revival, it called for a bit of an English Garden feel.  When I think of an English Garden, I think of roses and topiaries.  Although I didn't completely embrace this style, I have traces of it in my tiny yard.

 

 

My back yard.

 

My potting bench that my hubby made for me, even though he doesn't fall into the "dirt" category.  :-)


I have no doubt as I grow in my skills in gardening, my yard will grow in it's beauty.  But in the mean while, I will enjoy working it, and getting my hands dirty doing it!

Bringing Nature to the Dining Room

I love using nature in my décor.  After taking down all my Christmas decorations in the dining room this year, I decided to replace it with nature.  Sticks, pinecones, acorns and wood.  I love the way the natural elements play off my white ironstone.  And it still says winter, without it being Christmassy.

 

I collected sticks of various sizes from the yard and cut them all 4" long.  I used them to fill an apothecary jar.  I used pine cones to fill another jar.  A block of cut wood makes a great base for candle sticks.

 

 

On the hutch, I used more natural elements.  I filled another jar with acorns collected from my yard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014 Spring Tour

I love decorating my house for holidays.  Easter is such a fun holiday to decorate.  Spring colors, bunnies, eggs.  Love it!  I like to keep it light and relatively neutral.  I collect white ironstone, so I love incorporating it in my décor, what ever holiday it is.

 

 

 

 

In the living room, I use more burlap and chalkboards to say "Spring".

 

I have to admit, I'm a little late to discover you can paint chalkboard paint directly to glass!  What???  This changes everything!  So I had a cute frame I wasn't using, so I painted the glass insert with chalkboard paint, and now I use it for a lot of occasions.

 

 

I wanted to continue carrying the white ironstone into the living room on my mantle.

 

 

 

I took some burlap scraps and made a bunny template and painted a white bunny on the burlap and framed it.

 

 

I continued with the burlap on the couch.  I made another bunny template and painted it on burlap and used it to make a pillow.

 

 

Another home made burlap pillow.  I painted the bunting white, free handed the letters and painted burlap braid blue for the bunting cord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Budget Inspired Guest Room

After my daughter purchased her own home and moved out, I had an empty room to "play" with.  A blank slate, since she took her furniture with her.  I knew we needed a guest room.  Her room had an adjoining bath, which made for a perfect guest suite.  So what to do with this blank slate.  How fun!!  I could make it anything I wanted, within budget restrictions, of course!  That is half the fun, trying to create something with little or no budget.  So the fun began.  First, I needed a bed.  I found one on the side of the road.  It was a basic full size wood bed.  Score!  I knew I wanted it to be red because I fell in love with a red bed from a pin I had pinned on Pinterest.  So, easy fix, I spray painted the side of the road find red.  Done.  I also knew I wanted the room to have a vintage/cottage chic look.  What is more vintage then hankies?  I began collecting hankies.  I bid on some on Ebay.  I bought some at thrift stores.  Found some at antique shops.  My sister even watched for them at thrift stores she frequents. 

 

Knowing I had a red bed, I looked for hankies with reds in them.  I also wanted the walls to be a soft Robin's egg blue, so I tried to tie that color in with the hankies as well.

 

So, what to do with the hankies, right?  Another inspiration for the room was a picture I had seen in a magazine that used hankies for window treatments.  While I didn't want them as window treatments, I liked the idea of using them in an unconventional way.  So I decided to make a duvet cover out of them.  I purchased 2 full size white flat sheets from Walmart.  I used one for the top of the duvet and one for the underside. 

 

 

 

First, I layed the hankies out on the "top" sheet, playing with the mix of colors and the way the hankies worked with each other.  I wanted the red and blue to be evenly spread around the duvet.  I also had favorite hankies that I wanted to be in the center, so as to be noticed.  After they were arranged, I began measuring and placing them evenly on the sheet. 

 

 

 After pinning them in place, I began stitching them in place using a simple straight stitch, being careful not to lose any pins or shift the unsewn hankies from their position.

Once I had all the hankies sewn on the top sheet, I sewed the 2 sheets together, right sides together, on three sides.  I kept the bottom of the duvet open and attached buttons and made button hole closures for that end.  After pressing it out, I was ready to insert the down comforter (also purchased from a thrift store) and put it on the bed.

I added some vintage embroidered pillow cases and made some simple shams out of left over pink rosette fabric I had on hand.  I made a lumbar pillow out of a scrap of Kath Kidston fabric I had on hand, and the bed was complete.

 

 

I used an old dry sink I already had for the night stand.  I just put a fresh coat of white paint on it, and it was good to go.  I positioned a couple left over hankies for a "dresser scarf".

 

Now, for added storage.  I really had my heart set on putting open storage of some sort in the room to display folded towels, washcloths, toiletries, etc.  I didn't have one I wasn't using, so I began my search.  I looked in antique stores and thrift stores.  I found one in a local thrift store for $89.

 

 

It wasn't exactly the look I was going for, but I was hopeful that paint would do a miracle on this 70's left over. 

 

A bit of white paint, a little distressing, new knobs purchased 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and it was a functional storage piece.  I painted the back of the cabinet yellow, so the items inside would stand out a bit more.

 

The last element for the room was a place for guests to sit.  A little chair where they could read, or relax at the end of the day.  Or just to sit in while they put their shoes on. 

 

 

Guess what else I found on the side of the road?  I kid you not!  Ugly... YES!!!  But I painted the legs a light Robin's egg blue and using left over fabric from a previous project, I slip covered the sad little cast away.

 

 

The yellow rug was left behind by my daughter.  I thought it added a bit of whimsy and texture to the space.  It tied the yellow that I used in the hutch into the space as well. 

 

The shears on the windows were clearance finds from Target.  I got them for less then $2 a panel.

 

The mattress was the biggest ticket item in the room.  If not for that, I would have completed the room for less than $200.