Chalk Board Placemats

This is a Pinteresting inspired post.  I had a ton of these placemats on hand so I painted them with chalk board paint  I plan to use these 4th of July weekend.  I think they are a great idea.  Use them as place cards, condiment labels, wine identifiers, kids' parties.  After the meal they can graffiti on them and take them home.  You know how kids love to draw and write on things.  The one I saw on Pinterest was actually a table runner. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

French Settee

I wish my before pictures of this showed more detail so you could see the amazing transformation this piece went through.  I also didn't take photos during the transformation as I was in a little hot water for dragging this "thing" home.  Although I had a vision for this wonderful French piece, my husband saw one enormous job ahead of him.  As usual, he rose to the occasion and worked a miracle for me.  Ta da.....here is the finished product.  It does need a cushion made for it, but that will be someone else's job.

 I can't resist a great piece of carved furniture.  It sucks draws me in every time.

 I have no idea of the age of this settee, but by the numbers of holes in it, I would venture to say it was old and obviously had been refinished and stripped at least a couple of times.

I just wanted to make a settee or bench out of it so my husband took plywood and cut a seat to fit.

 He did leave these two little reinforcing wedges to keep the strength and integrity intact.  They will not be noticeable if and when there is a cushion made for it.

 I did purchase some soft molding from Lowe's that was pretty bendable so he could go over the gazillion nail holes from previous upholstery tacks.  Then he had to paint it to tie everything together.

 Pardon our work space.  Not a pretty sight, but some beautiful things emerge from this spot in our garage.  You can see it was missing the seat altogether and no back either.  Basically it was just a shell.  My husband elevates everything onto his work surface so he can work at a better height for his back.

 You can see why he didn't exactly have the same vision as I had and he sure is glad it's finished.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  My husband deserves a big round of applause.  I am sure he wanted to cart it out to the curb (in fact, I am positive of that or maybe some fire wood?)  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Old Glory

Well, I did it again.   I fully intended to make this an ice cream sign and then I visited my blogg'n buddy Bliss's blog over the weekend and I came away with two wonderful inspirational ideas.  Since it's the best time of year (we should all celebrate all year) to celebrate our American heritage, the patriotic theme won.

 As soon as I read Bliss's post, I just knew I had to paint this saying on my sign.  In fact, it may become one of my favorite sayings!  (I just realized I changed one of the words, but the meaning is the same.)  BTW, my husband is a veteran and we are all so proud he served this great nation when they needed him.

I don't know about you, but I get all emotional when I read these words.

 So here is what I did to create this Americana sign.  I found this board at the salvage yard.  I'm not sure what it was for, but it feels like a butcher block.  It is extremely heavy.  One side had teddy bears on it, and I knew I didn't want to use those, but the back side was perfect because of it's shape.

I painted it with plain old exterior house paint that I had left in a can from another project.  I sell all of my signs at the shop so I paint with exterior paint in case my buyer wants to put the signs outside.  This could even be used on the back of a bench.  Then I took my right angle ruler and used it to get my lines straight.  I used painter's tape on every other row.  The stripes I used the tape on remained my white stripes and in between I painted with cardinal red acrylic paint.  Not totally sure what color the blue was, but if memory serves me, it was something like liberty blue.  The yellow is butter yellow.  All three were acrylic paints.  I used a dinner plate and traced it to make the circle for the blue and then used an inexpensive star stencil I picked up at the craft store.  It has all different sizes of stars on it.

 Both of the stencils I used are three-inch stencils I purchased on EBay from Stencils by Joanie aka PBJ Stencils.  They were a little pricey, but I have totally gotten my money's worth out of them since I paint signs frequently.  I am pretty sure she calls the handwriting stencil "French Script."  Notice how I used my liner brush to fill in the stencil gaps.  This makes it look more hand done.  I also do a rough sketch on paper so I know how to space my letters on my piece.  I use it as a guide.  When I was done lettering, I sanded  back the whole project.  I wiped it down with some dark stain diluted with mineral spirits.  When that was dry, I sprayed it with a clear coat spray that is suitable for outdoors. This sealed in all the colors and the stain.  The following pics are the way the board looked when I brought it home. 

Like those teddy bears? 

 So getting back to Bliss's post, she also in the same post gave a recipe for this incredible sandwich.  We liked it so much we ate it for lunch and then for dinner again!  Not exactly low calorie, but after all, it was a holiday.  Here is the link to Bliss's post click here .   Thanks so much, Bliss, for sharing this with us.  She photographed her "sammy" so I had to follow suit of course.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see you again soon.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                    Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

The Frugal Gardener 3

It's been a while since I shared my garden with you.  Just to bring you up to date on my philosophy, I think you can have a beautiful garden and a beautiful home if you just exercise patience and collect only things that you love.  We have lived in our home for 31 years, and I still love to go out in the morning and visit my lovely garden and marvel at nature's generosity in sharing so much beauty with us.  If you would like to see my previous posts click here and here.

Our lot size is not very large, however, like the front yard I shared in earlier posts, our yard is broken up into many different areas.  I have taken advantage of every corner and turn to create little vignettes or "garden rooms."  If you are wondering what I feed my plants to get them to grow so huge, I will tell you my secret.  Number one, when I plant a pot this size, I start with small 4 inch plants or pony packs.  I use regular potting soil and Osmocote which is a three-month general fertilizer.  For this sized pot, I simply reach into the bag of Osmocote and grab five handfuls of fertilizer and mix it with the potting soil.  That's it!  And I only do this in the spring around March. For established pots which most of mine are, I trim them way back in the spring, and put the fertilizer on the plants and that's it.  Of course I water the plants too.  In the spring and fall I water twice a week.  You can see by the stains on our brick our water is incredibly hard and leaves deposits.  It's part of life and I just live with it.  But our water is nothing special either.  In the hot summer months I water every other day.  I don't like things getting too water dependent because we live in a drought area.  In the winter time they only get watered once a week. 

I love statuary.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  I put it anywhere I can find a spot.

An hour in the garden puts life's problems in perspective.  Isn't that the truth?  I found the above statue at a salvage yard of all places.  She is pure cement and she's not going anywhere.  My garden tends to be 95 percent white flowers with the green foliage.  I just love the peacefulness of an all white garden.  It is so restful.  I call it my French cemetery look since I have so many statues.

Another thing I have a lot of is Shepherd's hooks with lanterns.  I have found a ton of these at yard sales.  They just add so much to the ambiance.

I bought this little beauty in Mexico.  Isn't she wonderful?

I call these two my wild birds.  Just like living in the countryside.

Of course watch out for the alligator, or is this a crocodile?  He is almost buried in the ground I have had him for so long.

I have lots of frog statuary too.  I used to have a pond (a little one) but the raccoons ate all my fish and it was a lot to keep clean so I removed it.  The frogs got to stay.

All of these hydrangeas came from the kind you buy in the grocery store and take along for a hostess gift.  They are enormous.  Now I must tell you that I do not use Osmocote in my yard in the soil.  I mulch with Gardner & Bloom soil amendment.  Between the front and back I used approximately 15 bags and I feed with organic fertilizers.  The only time I used anything like Miracle Grow is when I was getting ready for my daughter's wedding and I needed to speed up the growing process.  Now that the yard is established I have the opposite problem of keeping everything under control.  This yard can be a real jungle if not kept in check.

Here is one of my New Dawn roses peaking out.  Isn't it divine?

I love bird houses, bird cages, and metal accents too.  My back yard is a little more wild than the front yard, but I love its ever changing atmosphere and welcoming feeling.  I hope you enjoyed today's tour.  I will save the rest for another post.  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life      It All Started with Paint
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Julie O'Keefe Home & Garden

Today I have the pleasure of sharing some photographs with you of one of my absolute favorite shops.  If you follow my blog, you know I mention Julie's shop often and it is where I purchased my to die for white ruffled tablecloth that I feature in a lot of my tablescapes.  Just walking into this beautiful home and garden shop nestled in beautiful La Canada, California is like a breath of fresh air. 

The above photograph is an arrangement Julie did for a recent home and garden tour.  I want one of those for myself, don't you?

Julie carries many gift lines as well as fresh florals and plants.  Everything in her shop looks like a magazine layout, doesn't it?

Everything is beautifully displayed.  It is so evident this is a labor of love.

I'm in love with all the fabulous bird cages.  The large one I have on my patio that you see in so many of my photos came from Julie's wonderful collection.

Her floral arrangements are amazing.

There are lots of little nests and plant stakes and cute little pots and towels and cards and books and linens and stationery....well, you get my point.  There is something for everyone and every occasion.

It is rare to find privately owned shops like this in our corporate world.  Most shops are the cookie cutter variety and after a while everything looks the same.

Very early on when I first started my blog, I wrote a couple of posts on the importance of shopping at small stores.  I can't stress enough how important I think it is that we all shop in these specialty shops.  They are a vibrant part of our communities and their uniqueness has so much to offer all of us.  If you live in Southern California, Julie O'Keefe Home & Garden is located at 1367 Foothill Boulevard, La Canada, California.  She is open 10:00 to 5:00 Tuesday through Saturday. 

Thanks for "shopping" with me today.  Isn't this little shop wonderful?  I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I did.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Patriotic Rag Banner

I like to decorate my space at the shop for the different holidays so this year instead of using regular flag bunting I decided to make my own patriotic banners.  These are two-sided so they would look good in the window from both sides.  Pardon my ice tea.  I didn't realize it was sitting there until I got home and looked at the photos.

 I had the red mattress ticking already as well as the upholstery cord.

 I purchased a banner for a dollar at the local craft store and used it for my pattern.  I cut the ticking so it would make a double flag.

 I used Tacky Glue and spread it in the middle of the ticking fabric and folded it over on the cording.  Then I cut four different fabrics in 12 x 1 inch strips and tied each strip onto the cord.  It dressed up my windows and added a little color.  This was a super easy project and also a no sew.  Thanks for paying me a visit.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy
                                      Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing