quick and easy headboard change

over the weekend i pulled out my stash of domino magazines.  i love looking through them every now and then just to see what i can find that i haven’t noticed before.  i find that as time goes by i notice different details in the articles and pictures.  sometimes it’s a light fixture; other times it’s a particular color. 

this time i noticed a great way to make an easy change to a headboard.  domino did a article in their june/july ‘08 issue about stephen elrod, vice president of design for lee jofa, and his seaside cottage.  the “new to me” element in the home was the layering of throws on top of headboards in two of the bedrooms.

although i’m not crazy about the fabrics he used i do love the idea.

i thought i’d throw out some ideas of how i would pair the two.

for an upholstered look i would pair this thomas paul print slipcovered headboard with a gray chunky tassel throw from west elm.

for a seagrass look similar to the headboard in the second photo i would pair this pier 1 headboard and a suzani overlay from wisteria.

and for a darker option i like the pier one chocolate seagrass headboard with the ws home zebra stripe throw.

another great and inexpensive way to achieve this look would be to purchase a fabric remnant at your local fabric store.  once you hem the edges or use stich witchery then you could just drape it over your headboard. 

hope you all had a great long weekend.  i sure did!

LiveJournal Tags: domino,ws home,headboard,west elm,stephen elrod,thomas paul,suzani,wisteria

A Day at the Market

I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful holiday weekend - we sure are!  I just wanted to share some pictures from our trip to our local farmer's market.

Check out these hanging baskets - aren't they GORGEOUS!  I would love to have one, but we don't have anywhere to hang something like that.  So if you can't take one home, you might as well stop and smell the pretty flowers.

During this time of year there is very little produce available at our market.  It's mostly plants, herbs, cheese, honey, bread and wine.  Asparagus is in season right now, but that's about it.  In a couple months the market will transform into more of a vegetable and fruit market.

Here's Miss Savannah taking a stroll through the central square - she is quite the little independent 2-year old these days.

It was gorgeous weather outside and Savannah was loving it.  She is wearing a dress I made for her from the "Sienna" dress pattern by Lil Blue Boo.  The dress is made entirely from recycled knit shirts and only cost $1.00!

Matilda was having fun too - this is her "I'm so happy, I might explode face".  I made her a coordinating dress also!

The girls have been getting along great - I feel very blessed that Savannah has yet to show any jealousy towards her baby sister.  I'm sure there will be ups and downs, but I really hope that they will grow up to be good friends!  It just melts my heart when Savannah puts her arm around Matilda and says "best friend" - so sweet!

On our way home from the farmer's market we stopped at one of my favorite antique shops and here's some of the treasure I found:

A couple of vintage embroidered pillowcases (which will be made into girls pillowcase dresses) and a bunch of really beautiful vintage handkerchiefs.  I've got some projects in mind for the hankies so there may be another tutorial using these in the near future.

Anyway, I just wanted to share what we've been up to this weekend.  

What have you all been up to?  

Anyone doing anything fun?

Summer Fabric Rag Wreath Tutorial

I have had my spring wreath on the door since, well, the beginning of spring.  I kind of felt like it was time for something new.  I wanted to create a summer wreath for our front door that would be fun and cute, but would break the budget.  So here's what I came up with.......

Summer Fabric Rag Wreath Tutorial

Supplies:

1 wreath form (whatever size you like)

Scraps of fabric (10-12" long)

1 piece ribbon or other material for hanging

Scissors

Directions:

This is a medium sized wreath that I bought from the dollar store, so it was only $1.00 (woohoo!!)

Pull out your scrap bin to find the fabric for your wreath.  This is my "Nicey Jane" scrap bin (I like my scraps to be arranged by fabric line).  I LOVE Heather Bailey's "Nicey Jane".........it just exudes summer!

Cut your fabric scraps into 10"-12" long strips for a medium wreath.  The length will depend on the size wreath you have chosen.  Use all different widths - I had some very skinny pieces and some pretty wide ones.  I like the variety of the different widths.

Now the fun part - just tie each strip on the wreath and tie it into a knot.  Push them very close to one another.  Do this until your entire wreath is covered in fabric strips.

This is what the front of the wreath will look like when it is complete.  Fluff all of the strips and make sure none of them got caught in the knots of the others.  Give the wreath, what I like to call a "haircut" if you feel the strips are too long.  Cut it down until the look is to your liking.

Here's what the back of the wreath will look like - which I think looks pretty also.

Now you will need ribbon or twill tape (which is what I used) to make the hanger for the wreath.

Cut whatever length you need depending on your door......mine was only 10" long.  Loop the ribbon around the wreath and tie a knot.  The knot will not be seen by all of the scraps on the wreath.  Place the knot down on the wreath.

Hang your new, fun summer fabric rag wreath on your front door.  Doesn't it look happy?

This is not the best picture, but you get the idea.  So I hope you will use your leftover scraps of fabric to make a summer rag wreath.  This really is one of the easiest projects I've ever done - no sewing, no gluing - just a little time.  This is also a great project to have the kids take part in too!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

my happy place

i’m in my happy place right now…

 meg ryan’s martha’s vinyard home in elle decor

that place is listening to my brandi carlisle station on pandora and looking at lovely magazines{unfortunately i’m not doing all of this at martha’s vinyard}.

 meg ryan’s martha’s vinyard home in elle decor

hope you can go to your happy place sometime over the long weekend.

 meg ryan’s martha’s vinyard home in elle decor

enjoy your memorial day weekend!

LiveJournal Tags: elle decor,meg ryan,martha's vinyard

The Beginning of Summer at The Cottage Home

I love my home, I really do, but I'm not going to lie...........I can't say I don't long for a garage, an eat-in-kitchen or a laundry room that wasn't in, what I call, the dungeon.  But would I trade The Cottage Home, with all its history and charm, for any of those things?  NO WAY!!

Today my husband, Brett, was home and we spent this late afternoon outside planting our vegetable garden and taking in the beauty that surrounds us.  And wow, I feel more blessed than ever to be the proud owners of this 1930's cottage!

Here's a little tour around The Cottage garden.........

Strawberries

Getting ready to plant our vegetable garden.

We have had our apple trees for 3-4 years and this is the first year we have apples!!

My hubby brews beer (I've mentioned that, right?)......anyway, here is one of his many hop plants that he grows to use in his homebrew.  It's growing on our coach house.

Pretty flowers in the window boxes on the porch.

The very beginning to our wine grapes - we make our own wine too!

Pink peony - I love this flower!

The chives have gone wild!

More pretty flowers.

And finally.........The Cottage Home.