Jack's Cow Boy room!

Yup, my little man is all about cows.

and ponies.

and tractors.
and trucks.

and all things farm.

I don't know why I've taken so long to get this posted. It's actually been one of the most finished rooms in our house. Guess it's poor light and tiny size (9x14?) made for difficult (terrible!) pictures...

The quirky wood cow cutout I found at Goodwill is now a blackboard that wishes Happy Trails (or Happy Bday!). It's hung over a window treatment made w/scrap fabric and an old singletree (wagon part) given to me by a friend ages ago.

Love the bed... Besides the (found in attic) headboard, new mattress and duvet cover I SEWED(!!!!) all was thrifted. 

I was so happy to have found the Ralph Lauren red gingham twin set and two new baby blue chenille shams and bed rail. Even the cow pillow was a thrift! A crude bedskirt was made outta burlap.  Over the bed are pages I cut from a super cute cow ABC book by Woody Jackson. Beside the bed is a framed greeting card of a vintage tractor.

Hoarder lucky me, already had quite the decor collection going and it was nice to have a fun place to put it all.  I put the room together first as Jack's nursery with crib and rocker (vintage pine Jenny Lind that I painted white/sanded out)... Besides the cute vintage toys I'd bought before he was even born, I also scrounged up this mess of furniture.

The old radio case now stands up and holds books. I found a free corkboard, .75 scrounged wall light parts, and three wooden applique starts from Lowes that went on the headboard... The red bedside table was the perfect size for a tight fit- just a bad paint job had left it an odd orange... For $5 and one can of spray paint, I could deal with that!

Finding the right tiny dresser (off Freecycle) for his tiny room and brown paint to coordinate with the old armoire and various wood tones was tougher than it shoulda been! The dresser was white with drawers and top covered in stickers and gloss navy paint w/beat up chrome knobs. I already had several small wooden knobs, then used extra cowboy fabric for pulls. As they wear I've considered switching them to baling twine...

I really love the barrel/laundry hamper I made outta an old nail keg. I used a contrasting red version of the cowboy fabric.

The mirror I made with vintage blocks, glued on a flat wide frame. Finally added the twine edging to make it look  more finished. Reflected is a vintage toy gun rack that says Saddleview Ranch. That holds his dress up clothes and old canteen.

I made one lampshade with my inspiration vintage inspired cowboy fabric plus red pom pom trim, and sprayed a couple of old brass wall lamps with just rusty metal primer and some black paint splatters. Worried about our late talker, I made and hung a collage over the rocker/chair with the prayer;
"Dear Father, Hear and bless thy beasts and singing birds
and guard with tenderness small things that have no words, Amen"

The chimney closet was fitted with beaded board and shelves to hold vintage books and toys.

I picked up the old armoire at a yard sale for $20. Our 200 y.o. house has no closets! Jack climbs up to find what I've tried to hide in those old pails. Note how he's scratched the veneer by spinning the handle/ knobs!

The metal wall piece was a salvage that I wrapped with thrifted gingham wallpaper and topped with tin cows. I used the rest of the wallpaper as drawer liners in the dresser and to make door sign with letters n frame I had in my stash.

The Farmer was very worried about using my "dirty junk" at first, but seemed proud of the finished room.
But the best payoff: Jack ADORES it!

I'll leave you with a tease of Sarah's room. Also all vintage/thrifted.
One of these years I''l get it posted. Hopefully before she's into "Goth" or the like...

Meanwhile, linking here at Cindy's fun kids party...

and also at sweet Marian's

and here to meet new friends!

Color my (bedroom) world

As I've now made clear, I'm really into color. That made me re-evaluate my cocoa brown n white bedroom... I painted it SW Portabella brown, added white matelasses duvet cover w/family linens and old sepia photos (quickly as I was overwhelmed w/a newborn and house sale + major DIY) when we first moved in 6 years ago. It was very restful and serene...
Just not really me!

Actually, truth be told, I'm not that in touch with my decorating feelings... I work mostly with what I've already collected and rearrange them adding minimal new pieces...  I'm a bit too frugal I sometimes think... It wasn't until I actually bumped into the fabric below at JoAnnes that I knew I needed more color in my bedroom. I feel dumb now, as it really needed this to tie my bedroom into the master bath, which is a deep robin's egg blue with dark wood dresser and hutch... Since I love coral pink that's all I'd added prior to seeing this fabric. LIGHTBULB!

So I dug through my crap room and found these old shades I'd been keeping for some important project.  After only a few new glue gun scars, I'm very pleased to have new lampshades beside our bed! Will use the scraps to make a toss pillow on my bed ~ soon as I can find the power cord to my sewing machine!

I'm still working on a few more projects (ironically painting things white)...

Which all together help tie in better with this...

(Scuze the still unfinished floors/lack of baseboard trim.)

The little rose n blue matchbox says Betty + Jim and was made for my Grandparents when they married!

Funny, when one of my favorite bloggers, Cindy@Cottage Instincts posted about her Blue n Brown Blog Bonanza, I didn't think I had very much in my house. After looking around I found my new treasured milking stool...

  and these on my entertainment cabinet!

And of course the little cowboy's room
(still due for it's own post)!

And to think, I never really thought I liked blue n brown!

Drop bye Cindy's to see a bunch more beautiful blue n brown!

manic mode

Hi!
guess I've been buried alive hiding for a while after the inspiration overload at Lucketts.
So glad no ones peeking in my windows! Better not have any drop in visitors ~ I'll hide before allowing anyone in my chaotic house right this second...
It all started with this...

A fresh start, right?
Easy for her, harder for me n the farm boy...
To her awesome credit, the last thing she did before boarding the bus and first thing she did upon returning home was...
xo Kiss n hug her baby brother!!! xo
Who had gotten her a lollypop at the bank earlier also...
Awwwwwwww

So how did that get me to this?!

Change of seasons.
Nesting mode...

This is sooooo me n my ADHD again. I began all right - cleaning, emptying, packing, donating and consigning... 

Then musta forgot my anticrazy pill cause I shopped my crap and am remixing, EVERYTHING. 

Cause that's what I need.

More. Projects.

Took some of my fav plates from Sarah's room

for my uninspired living room...
Which is also getting new slipcovers of drop cloths
w/ticking striped ruffles n covered buttons
and pillows using my signature fabric.

(If ANYONE has a source for this, I'll buy it all)

Moved other stuff into my blah creamy neutrals bedroom cause I really crave color...
Some new sewing n crafting might be in order here too.  sigh

And each time I visit the amazing
Meg Duerksen
 I'm even more about this!
I soooo wanna be her when I grow up.


Meanwhile 'tween her n Serena at Farm Chicks, I ordered a bunch of oilcloth

including this adorable print from Tablecloth Co.

(and of course, some polka dots AND the gingham)
To cover a few damaged table tops etc etc...
Cause I just can't make up my mind!

I still need to paint our porch railing n more grungy vintage furniture.

(And it's getting too cold too soon...)

I can't handle pulling out more crap for the change of seasons as I've only just barely figured out "summer!"
Maybe I'll get to Halloween before Nov 1st... 

At least my barn is clean... Can I just stay there til hubs gets the loader n clears out the crap for me inside the house!  ;-P 

Phew, I feel better already. 

<3 Thanks for letting me vent n plan n  dream!

Does the change in seasons make you nest n mix it up too?

Christmas in July!

Well, I did it!!!

I sent in my pics for Matthew Meads fun contest for Holiday!
It was very last minute and (OF COURSE) I had more tech nightmares so am not at all happy with the quality pictures I sent. Oh well, at least I did it. Next year? I'll be more prepared and maybe have more time to spend on blogging n picture taking... I'm sure there'll be thousands of entries but I had to try as I LOVE his work (and Linda's and Jenny's and all who create those gorgeous magazines and projects)!

Above is our tree last year. It was one of my all time favorites done completely in kiddie theme this time.   I went all out for bright color and FUN or home made decorations. This way all the kiddie school ornaments look right at home - those are soooo sweet! I even hung toys, animal cracker boxes and mini raisin boxes on the tree with tiny polka dot ribbons. Put a cascade of polka dot, gingham and even different color rick rack down from the top - stole that idea from the clever n colorful Life in Grace. Our angel topper is a Beagle dog, a gift from a silly friend!

Our awesome but ancient kitchen fireplace needs work before it's safe for a real fire - so I just tucked orange Halloween lights in amongst logs for a warm glow right now! (I'm all about instant gratification.)

Here's a current shot of our kitchen that I sent in... Lotsa tweaking needed but just had to get it sent!

My little Elves love two things about Christmas morning - their vintage stockings with candy and treats spilling out the top, and the new electric toothbrushes Santa sends with it all! They even love each other - or is he just trying to get his hands on her candy?!

One of our favorite traditions is driving our carriage round the neighborhood to visit with friends and pass out baskets of farm fresh goodies. When we're finished, even the horses are excited to find their stocking hung with carrots, apples and peppermints.

This pretty pic almost makes me romanticize the loads n loads of snow we got. No, scratch that, I'd rather move south and buy spray on snow!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Linking to these fun parties!