Cottage & Family [Search results for love] 

We are sitting in the airport and I decided to blog while we

wait for the plane ~ It is the first internet service we have had all week ~

We just spent the week at Disney World which was a blast !! I think

we need a vacation from our vacation and definitely

a diet plan when we get home ~ We did the food plan at

Disney and they feed you sooo much and it was all yummy !

This is Germany at Epcot ~ I love Epcot pretty much because I love

to travel and want to visit all of the countries represented there ~

This is our daughters Kristin and Stephanie at the Boardwalk ~

We always have to get our toes in the sand somewhere ~

This is our daughters and their hubbies and my hubby at Epcot ~

We also love love Animal Kingdom ~ It is awesome !

I had to get a pic of this trailer because I wanted to take it home with me ~

Of course the Dino thing would have to go but it would be so cute !

The boys were so excited to get their pix taken ..... again ~

Well it is back to listing tons of new stuff on my website ~

I am glad that I love what I do !!

I just love crinkled dyed ribbon for using on my projects ~

This is a tutorial on how to make it yourself ~

First you get whatever color ribbon you want to use ~

I use seam binding for the ribbon because I love how it feels ~

Then you soak it in either tea or instant coffee ~

I scrunch mine in a ball and wrap it in about 3 rubber bands ~

Then I sit it out in the sun and as it dries it gets a wonderful aged look especially on the outside edges ~

After it has dried about 3/4 of the way, I take the bands off and kind of loosely spread the ribbon out to dry in the sun ~

Every once in awhile I go and turn the ribbon until it is completely dry ~

Then it is ready to use on your projects ~

I just love love crinkled dyed ribbon !

If you don't want to try it, I do have some for sale on my website here ~

Yesterday the kids all came over to BBQ and swim ~

It was so fun because it just felt like summer was here ~ I love

the summer and all of the things that go along with it ~

These are just a few signs of summer from my backyard yesterday~

In the morning I tea dyed some linens to make more pillows ~ I love being able to hang them outside to dry and it took no time at all in the 90 degree weather we are having already ~

I planted 5 peach trees a few years ago because I love peaches and they always seem to be yucky in the grocery store ~ This year 2 of the 5 have peaches and there are tons ! We are trying to get to them before the birds and the bugs ~ they are so sweet and delicious ~

It is so fun to me to go out in my yard and pick my own herbs so every year I grow some ~

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers and I love the color of this one so much ~

This is Kirby after a swim ~ He loves loves the water and looks so cute all wet so I had to take a picture ~

Well I am off to fold linens and lace ~

Have a wonderful day !

I am so excited to show you a beautiful gift that I received from Sherri at Antique Paperie
Sherri creates gorgeous tags ~ She is so talented at making them wonderful with the best designs of Paris, crowns and vintage ~ Make sure and visit her blog too, it is one of my very favorites ! I love love love her tags !!! I love to go through every category on her website because she has more than tags and everything is a feast for your eyes ! ~

I just love to go in to Pottery Barn to get inspiration ~
The other day when I was in there they were all ready for
spring with beautiful plants in all of their vignettes ~

I have to admit I was kind of surprised that they
used fake plants and I really LOVED them !

So my girls and I decided to be on the hunt for real
plants and some fake ones too ~
We found some cute fake ones at Michaels and
then some real ones at the nursery ~

I love how they bring some color in
to my neutral palette ~

One thing I really notice this year is that Pottery Barn
is using alot of flea market looking things ~
I love how they use old books, old ladders,
vintage bottles, chippy frames
and shelves ~
Things we have all loved for quite awhile :)
You can even buy some wayyyy cool old looking stuff
on their website ~

These are just some pictures of my work in
progress redecorating ~

These next pictures aren't my house but I love them ~

These are pictures from their catalog showing alot of
greenery and old books ~
Their website is full of tons of tips and ideas too !!

I love my new blog that Shawn at Eclectic Whimsy Designs created for me !!! I think blogging is so much fun because it is a great way to share places, thoughts and people that I love and want you to see too ~ soooo..... it was definitely time for a blog makeover ~ along with the new banner and fun sidebar titles, she also made my blog in to 3 columns which I have been wanting to do forever ~ I will be playing around with the new 3 column format for a couple of weeks because I want to add some stuff :o) ~
You can visit Shawn here ~

I just wanted to show you a quick, inexpensive

and super duper easy ruffle curtain ~

This is what I am working on

today so I thought I would

show you the steps as I go ~

Curtains like these have been shown in

blogland before but

I am not sure where so if

you know let me know :)

Ikea was my spot to get the curtains because

they are a great price and

the fabric is awesome !

They say not to dry them in the dryer but

I did and the fabric came out kind of like a

lightweight drop cloth feel ~

First I cut the white set to the length

I needed because they come real long ~

Then I ripped 2 lengthwise strips of

the darker about

9 inches wide and sewed them together

to get the correct length for gathering ~

Then I used my handy dandy ruffle foot and

pleated them ~ If you don't have a ruffler just

gather any way that you would like ~

Next I measured and pinned

the ruffle to the bottom

and sewed it on to the curtains ~

I left the edges raw on the ruffle

because I like them like that ~

For the ruffle it just took one of

the darker panels

so I have another one left which is tons

to make pillows out of ~

It would be cute to add another ruffle too !

These are actually for my bedroom but

I would love some outside too !

The pictures kind of look weird but

I was having fun in grittiness with picnik :)

Later today:

I made a pillow with the extra

curtain panel ~

I love the ruffles and rose

{I bet it was hard to tell I LOVE ruffles :) }

You can find it on my website ~

I love to visit blogs !! It is so amazing what wonderful people that I have met through blog world ~

One of the blogs that I love to visit is LeAnn's at "For the Love of Cottage" ~

LeAnn was doing a blog giveaway and so I entered it not even thinking in a gazillion years that I would win ~ She was giving away a signed Christie Repasy framed painting ~ oh my gosh !!!
I have always wanted one but have never gotten one ~

It is absolutely gorgeous and I thank you LeAnn for the wonderful and amazing gift !

Last month my daughter spotted a whole box of tiny bottles when we were flea marketing in Canton ~ I was sooooo excited because I just love little bottles, they are so cute ! ~

I love to embellish them in different ways using them as tiny little bud vases or to add to a vignette ~

It is really easy to embellish them with just a few little pieces of things you might have around ~ Here I used a vintage piece of sheet music, a button and crinkled seam binding ~

These 2 little bottles are for sale here ~

I LOVE to go to my favorite antique store and head right to my favorite room ~ this sweet and very talented lady does everything in a creamy white~ I love to go in and just dream and really want to take everything home with me ~

I just love love love pretty magazines !! This months editions of Home Companion and Southern Lady are just beautiful with tons of yummy pictures and ideas ~ Make Mine Pink has full page ads in both magazines that are so pretty !!! My favorite magazines for Romantic, Cottage Chic and Shabby Chic decor are these as well as Romantic Homes and Romantic Country ~

I LOVE Lavender !!

Every time I go visit my family on the Central Coast

of California I drag them to a Lavender Farm ~

There are certain things I just love to do when I am there and

totally took for granted when I lived there ~

Besides the lavender farm, the ocean is a must :)

My mom's friend grows lavender and she saved just

a ton of it for me ~ I was soooo excited !!

Here are just a few of the pictures of the lavender

I am totally hoarding but ya know there are only so many

places I can put lavender in my house ( I guess.... )

I actually do make sachets for my website

and had a tutorial here if you would like to visit ~

When I saw the Pottery Barn

Music Sheet Ornaments

in a catalog I really wanted some!

but when I saw them in real life I

decided I kind of wanted some that

were more vintage looking ~

So I went to Graphics Fairy found

an image and made some that I love!

Here is a quick how to on

how I made my own ~

{ they are really too easy for

a tutorial :) }

But .... here goes ~

First I copied the image and sized

and duplicated it in Photoshop ~

Printed it on matte photo paper

or heavy card stock ~

Cut and glue with a glue stick

to another piece of heavy card stock

and cut around image ~

For a more vintage look I

added a little stamp pad ink

around the edges ~

Then put a little glue on the edge

and then glitter ~ I used

German Glass Glitter because I

love how it ages ~

They would be a cute little gift

tied with jute and put in

a small burlap bag ~

I love how they look in my tree ❤

I am linking to

Graphics Fairy Brag Monday ~

Sometimes it is fun to play around with photos in Picnik ~

I love the look of Sepia and I love the look of Black and White ~

It is hard to decide which is my favorite ~

I guess it just depends on what the picture is of or what it

is being used for ~

This one is using the black and white and framing it ~

This is black and white with everything blurred except the crown ~

This one is sepia which is what I tend to lean towards most of the time ~

I guess because it has a warmer feel ~

You can do tons more ~ I love to use the collage which I probably do

a little too much but it is fun !

I am so excited that I

am going to be a grandma!!

Kristin {my daughter }is due June 8th!

I love how God prepares us for

each step of our children's lives ~

When my girls were little I didn't want

them to go school because that

meant they were growing up ~

Then I didn't want them to hit the

dreaded teenage years but

they were actually alot of fun ~

Then I didn't want them to leave

and go off to school or get married ~

They are both married now and my

husband and I LOVE this stage of life too!

Now we get to be grandparents and

even though we are way too young

{in our minds at least }we are

so excited!

I love how the Lord prepares us

for each age and stage of our lives!