Cottage Hill

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Thrift Store Table meets.....its match!

I paid only $15 for this little kitchen farm table so I don't mind so much putting it outside on my shabby carport turned breezy patio and hoping for the best. The patio is covered but the ceiling is so high it still gets wet sometimes. I think it will survive. But if it doesn't,
I can still sleep at night.

It needed a little livening up. So, I broke out the (New Avocado by Valspar) spray paint and gave it the update it needed to be able to keep up with the blue chairs I snagged for $5 each at GW.

What came next was a hard sell...

I may have added that last part myself.

These are my tools of choice--

And this is the "damage" they can do--

A little stain...

And I love, love, love this color!

He'll understand when he's older.

***

I'm linking up with Donna @ Funky Junk Interiors

If you enjoyed this post (and, gosh, I hope you did) please BECOME A FOLLOWER!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Black Bird on my Clothesline

All my adult life I've wanted a clothesline. My grandmother had one and I loved hanging clothes out to dry with her. "Mac" had a washing machine right in her kitchen and a large aluminum dish pan she used to carry wet clothes to the line. I'd give anything if I had a picture of her at her clothes line.

I'll have to be honest though, sometimes her towels were stiff as a board. In later years she started using that new stuff -- fabric softener. After that her towels were a "soft" kind of stiff. I happened to like stiff towels. I've never been better exfoliated in my life...

So, after living in a dozen neighborhoods hooked on restrictions (one being no clotheslines) I'm finally here, a place where I do anything I want.

First on a long list of atrocities was chickens, check. Next was my very own clothesline, check.

I did have one restriction of my own -- it had to be cute -- so I cut the cross boards a little curvy and added a "watch bird" for....... protection. Yeah, that's right, protection.

I don't know what the other birds think of him but I think he's wonderful...

Sheets on the line...

Life is good.

I'll be linking up here:

*Get Your Craft On-Todays Creative Blog

*Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - Coastal Charm
*Twice Owned Tuesday@ House of Grace

Tip Me Tuesday - Tip Junkie

Shanty2Chic
Hope Sudios
Craft Edition

*Metamorphosis Monday - Between Naps on the Porch
Made By You Monday - Skip To My Lou
*The House In The Roses

DIY Show Off Project Parade

C.R.A.F.T.

Dittle Dattle

Making The World Cuter

Beyond the Picket Fence

If you enjoyed this post (and, gosh, I hope you did) please BECOME A FOLLOWER!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Re-pillowing (with video tutorial)

This is a good look -- if I may say so.

But, when we have guests over, they sometimes look around, like a deer in the headlights, for a place to sit.

I have to admit, with all those pillows, my sofa looks a little...well...complicated.

I decided to go for a cleaner look when I found this yard of fabric for around $5. Jealous?

I love the fabric with the rug -- the only real color or pattern in the room.

Using a queen sized down bed pillow I found at the "Maxx" for $14.99 and a scrap of bronze colored silk for trim, this ginormous pillow cost me around 20 smackers....what a deal!

Making the awesome trim is easy even if explaining it isn't.

I cut 2-1/2" strips of silk 3 times as long as the length of trim I need when finished. What on earth did I just say? Let's try that again...

Say I need 1 yard of trim. I would cut strips of fabric 2-1/2" wide and would need 3 yards of it when stitched end to end. I hope that's better.

I fold the strip in half and stitch down the center, sewing little tucks in as I go.

Grab some popcorn and watch the video for details.

It's my first so I hope you enjoy it!!!

Once you get the hang of it, this goes really fast. I was able to make enough trim for my pillow in about 10 minutes.

Now you have the perfect 5/8" pleated trim with a perfect 5/8" flang for stitching.

Here's the new look...

Kick your shoes off, and sit a spell...

***

I'm partying with these fun ladies...

*Under the Table and Dreaming *Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home
*Frugal Friday - The Shabby Nest
The Friday Flair - Whipper Berry
Remodelaholic Friday - Remodelaholic
Feathered Nest Friday - French Country Cottage
Feature Yourself Friday - Fingerprints on the Fridge
Flaunt It Friday - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

A Little Knick Knack

*Saturday Nite Special - Funky Junk Interiors

*Weekend Wrap Up Party - Tatertots and Jello

Saturday Spotlight - Craft Envy
Be Different Act Normal
A Little Lovely
Along for the Ride
Passion for Paint

If you enjoyed this post (and, gosh, I hope you did) please BECOME A FOLLOWER!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Dog Silhouette Pillow

Our oldest daughter is in medical school. We are very proud of her. She has worked awfully hard to get where she is,
weathering hundred hour days, sleepless nights, really gross anatomy and a 6-year-old study partner.

And even though she has let none of this get the best of her,
this just might...

Meet Jack. Fifteen pounds of completely adorable,
totally out-of-control dog flesh.

Of course, she's in denial, and thinks it's going to work out. I, on the other hand, have the job of pessimist -- what are mothers for? But, I can still hear her, at 12 years old, telling me, "You're responsible for that dog if you bring it in this house!"

We'll see. I won't mind one bit being proven wrong on this one though.

In the meantime, I've made my grandson (study partner extraordinaire) a pet of the tamer kind for his bed -- a "Jack" dog silhouette pillow similar to those I've seen in decorating magazines.

It was much easier to find a dog silhouette by googling "dog silhouette pictures" than to get Jack to sit for a picture. I enlarged the view and used a little cheat I've done before. I taped my drop cloth fabric
over my laptop screen and very lightly traced the image with a fine tip marker.