WooooHoooo! I Have Something To Share With You!

Hi Girlies!

I'm all fired up and ready to do some WoooooHooooing and LOTS of braggin'.....because..........this was a reallllllllllllly hard project and I conquered it! I am seriously pattin' myself on the back.


I am joining two parties this week.

Jan at www.bobbypinsboardwalk.blogspot.com



She hosts a Bragfest every week........and, like I said........I am unabashedly bragging.....it's ok....Jan SAYS I can GLOAT....and I'm allll about that today.


And.....


Some serious WooooHooooing is going on over at www.alwaysnesting.blogspot.com.


Marla hosts this lovely party each week........complete with YUMMY treats.


Several years ago I bought that homely little chair at a garage sale for 12 dollars. It belonged to the fellow's grandmother. Ahhhh......


I'm crazy about the little thing. It's the perfect grandma chair and it fits in my bathroom like it was made for the room.


I have had it slipcovered in an old rose fabric for a number of years, but as you know, I'm re-doing the master bedroom and bath in blue. WooooHooooo.....and I'm endeavoring to do it on a dime......well, one hundred dollars (not including the paint).


Ready to WooooHoooo?


I soooo hope you'll gasp............drool???...........Oooooh and Ahhhhhh?



Well, here she is!

All fresh and happy!

Gosh, isn't it amazing what a new slipcover will do for an old piece?

I actually bought the brand new decorator fabric at the Goodwill for 5.99. Three and a half yards........BARELY enough to do this little chair.


I could NOT make a mistake. I had NO fabric to spare.



I worried all the way along that I would have enough to make a generous ruffle for the bottom.



It is a SERIOUSLY tricky little piece.



There is no bottom cushion to hide extra fabric under and the "tuck in" places on the back are very shallow.


I thought I could finish it in one day.


It took four.

A peek at the detail in the back. I didn't want a seam where the back pieces met.........so buttons to the rescue.

It looks like that center piece is crooked in this photo, but really.....it is exactly the same on each side. My photography skills stink.

Three and a half yards is not much........but I carefully cut the bits out so I could center the big bouquets on each piece.

This spot gave me fits. I can't tell you how many times I picked out this part.


It was horrible.


I was determined.


I really wanted this little slipcover to be white....wouldn't that have been cute?.......But, it's going in the bathroom...........where I use LOTS of hair products.......even though I can take it right off for a wash......this blue will camouflage sooooooooo much better, don'tcha think?



I sooooo wish my sweet Mum could be here so I could share it with her.


She'd be soooo happy to WooooHoooo!


I am so happy to have it finished.


So now I can add it to my list of finished items.



And, the bathroom and bedroom are all painted in the most delicious blue.



Lots of cleaning and do-dadding to do before I show it to you.



Don't forget to go visit the other girlies so you can do lots of WooooHooooing.


You'll be inspired.


Really, you will!



Huggies and Lovies!

Spencer

*** Also linked to j-a-girl.blogspot. com***
Show and Share Day



PS...........Glidden is having another paint giveaway. Tightwad Tilly loves herself some free paint! You'll get two of the little sample sizes for FREE.

Pop on over to their website.


www.glidden.com

The Good, The Thrilling..........And The Downright YUKKY!

Hello my little sweets!

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth...........I can't believe it's been more than a week since my last post........I've been one horrible blogger, haven't I?

Things have even changed on Blogger since I last posted.  Was there an e-mail with the new instructions that I missed?  YIKES!  I HATE learning new technology.

So, here's my story.........

Get a cup of coffee and kick back........this is one heck of a long story.

Well, first of all I know you little dearhearts know that I started blogging to help ease the pain of losing my sweet Mummy.........and that I wasn't moving forward on ANYTHING for a whole year.

There's a nice little Health Food Store not too far from my house that was offering a lecture for people of "my sort"......I am ALWAYS all over anything like that, so I zipped myself right over to that little class.  WOW!  I learned some great stuff from the sweet little Life Coach....Josie.  And, she offered a free one hour private appointment to anyone, at the class, who would like to partake.......and partake I DID!  She helped me set up a little map to help me make a plan, stick to it and GET A REWARD!  I'm alllll about the reward system.  Oh yes, that's right up my alley.

I actually ended up talking with Josie for about an hour and a half, left our meeting and came home and whipped up the cover for the daybed and bolster pillows for the den!!!!!!  I was so thrilled with myself......

Our agreement was that I would sew the cover for the daybed, measure for the curtains and cut out the bolsters so I was way ahead of my little schedule.  Isn't that great?

Ok, so now I'm on a roll!  And, feeling much more motivated and ready to move along.  I'd like to get the darn spring cleaning done while it's still spring this year!

I always finish all the sewing first so I don't have to stop and make things while I'm cleaning AND it gives me inspiration to continue.    :-)

So, here's the thrilling part...

I've mentioned before that back in the 80's I had a love affair with BLUE.  I did my entire house in blue.  Different blues, mind you, but BLUE, just the same.  EVERY ROOM.  It didn't take long and I sooooooooooooo HATED blue.  I swore I would never use it again.  NEVER.

Well, obviously many years have passed since the 80's and I started loving it again.

I decided that I would do my bedroom in blue this year.  That clean, yummy Scandanavian blue.

My sweet and adorable hubbs is a salesman.  You may have noticed the economy hasn't been so good lately?  Yes, that did effect our little family so I had to figure out how to do this little re-do on a shoestring.  No problem!  There are loads of thrift stores around here and I decided my budget for the whole re-do would be $100.

I can do this.    :-)

See that yummy little stack of blues?  Oh yes.......I was on a roll.  That buffalo check?  Yes, that would be my very favorite.  I was so thrilled I nearly did cartwheels in St. Vinnie's!!!  It's an Ikea duvet.  Four yards of 80" wide fabric for TWO DOLLARS!  Perfect condition.  Ahhhh.....  Isn't God soooo darn good?  One of these days I'll tell you my carpet story but this post is already going to be a book, so I'll hold that thought.

See it there?  OH SO pretty.  It makes me soooo happy.

The blue and white stripe on the bottom is the backside of a Pottery Barn duvet.  It was 4.99.  The front was so beachy-cottage-y....DARLING....but not in my plan.   :-)

The little blue check is a JC Penney sheet........    3.99

The top two fabrics are blue sheets as well........   3.99 each.

I was so hoping for more of that Ikea duvet fabric.  It's by far my fav. 

UNBELIEVABLE.........I walked into the Goodwill........and there was a KING sized duvet.......never used. No kidding?  I nearly cried I was so excited. 

I'll need lots of yardage........curtains, pillows, dust ruffle.....and then the bathroom window, sink and shower curtain.  I was in HEAVEN.  I couldn't sleep I was so excited.......dreaming up my plan.

Remember I said The Good, The Thrilling and the Downright YUKKY?

The first duvet had been used and I'm sure washed many times.  It was slightly lighter than the new one.  No problem.  I'll wash the new one.  Hmmmm....still a bit darker. 

I'll wash it again.

Still a bit darker.

Ok......I'll add a teensie bit of bleach.

Still a bit darker.

Ok.....one more try.......just a touch of bleach.

 How the heck can this happen?

Now, you'd think it could possibly get bleach hot spots.........it could turn out too light.......

But THIS?  What the heck?

I wanted to throw myself on the floor and kick my feet while screaming at the top of my lungs.

And, it HAD to be the bigger duvet too. 

Nuts.

Why didn't I just leave well enough alone?

I could have used the darker one for the bedroom and the lighter one for the bath.

Trust me when I say the difference was so slight no one would have noticed.

I've searched the internet.  I've looked in alllll of the local thrift stores.

My darling hubbs even drove me to the Seattle Ikea in search of replacement.  Yeah........you guessed it........they don't carry that duvet anymore.

Now I'm going to have to be VERY creative to stretch that happy little check.

Have you ever ruined something you were sooooo thrilled to find?

Several years ago I had been out shopping and saw a parking lot sale at an apartment building......Hmmmmmm.........Maybe better stop, right?

OH MY GOSH.......most of it was "why didn't you throw this stuff in the dumpster"???....but when I got to the last little table it was a dear little German older lady.  Her table was LOADED with the most exquisite vintage china I've EVER seen.  It was DIRT CHEAP!

I spent about twenty dollars for two large bags full.

I smiled to myself all the way home.  I couldn't believe my good fortune.

I drove in the driveway, thrilled to share my finds with the hubbs.

While I was standing there squealing with delight I changed my bags to the other hand.....dropped both bags and broke every single piece.

Weeping at the memory.

I hope this little post finds you all well and happy.

I've missed you soooo much.

Thanks for waiting for me!

Huggies and Lovies!

Spencer

xoxoxoxoxox

The Little Bathroom At Bellamere Cottage For Pink Saturday!!!!

Happy Pink Saturday! I'm going out of town today, so I'm not going to be able to peek at everyone else's beauties until I get home......but I'll sure look forward to it. I've decided I'm a busybody.......isn't it fun looking into other ladies' homes? I've gotten so much inspiration by the love that all you gals put into your homes and gardens. Lovely!

Above is an adorable little A.E. Mitchell plaque my daughter bought for me. We love them and collect them whenever we can. God bless her, she has such an eye for these things. We were at a flea market several months ago ..........I went into a booth, came out..........she went in and danced out with an adorable little plaque. DANG!

This is my bathroom.........my husband has his own. It's not

soooo girly! :-)

I love not sharing. Isn't that bad? But all that steam in the bathroom when you're trying to get ready? And, he is not a five minute bathroom guy. He takes longer than I do!

Shhhhhhh.......don't tell him I mentioned that. ;-)

If you click on my photos you can see a bigger image. I'm hoping you'll be able to read this motto......it's one of my very favorites and I read it often. Words to live by!

This would be the "potty" shot........I tried to leave that little lovely out of the pictures. It's just not pretty, is it??? :-) I love this tole tray. As I've said......I have them in EVERY room! I bought the little shelf years ago at either Joann's or Michaels'.....And, I bought the little clock a zillion years ago at Mervyn's. I neeeeeeeed a clock in the bathroom. I can dink around so long and if I'm not careful, I'll be late. The little drawer do-hicky came from Target quite a long time ago.

The curtains and shower curtain are made with vintage white linen damask tablecloths. The have such a lovely look to them. I really didn't enjoy sewing on it, however. It's a big wonky.




Can you see the little buttons crocheted on the edge of the center towel? Towel bar from Ikea. I just couldn't find anything and this will work for now.




Oooopsssssss..............potty shot.




When I got married my daughter gave me the little charm with my initials on the front and YDLY on the back. From the time she was little I always put YMLY on everything for her.......YOUR MAMA LOVES YOU.......on lunch sacks, presents, hand made things......whatever.....so she did YOUR DAUGHTER LOVES YOU........for me. I wore it on that special day.




I use lots of hair product. It gets everything dirty, so I love things in jars. Easy clean-up.





I bought this little cabinet at Home Depot. Another great spot for keeping things out of the hair spray zone. Little "stuff" inside.......I love all that little stuff.




Another shot of that little cabinet. I added the little knobs. Actually, I bought them at a little store called Keepsakes in Buckley, Washington. (Now closed). The adorable gal is Debbi Bock and has a bloggie now of her own........check her out! Just click on the link on my favorite girlies titled Garden Party.



She's a sweet little Christian gal........you'll LOVE her.




One of my dear friends always tells me......."and God is still in control" when things are out of whack in my life.......it's in the little frame in this snap...inside the jar. You know, it's all about keeping things safe from the hair goo.....

More of the jar.........like I really needed to add another picture of it???

That little curtain under the sink?? Yeah, storage. As I've said my little cottage is pretty small and I have to make every area pay! This holds one of those little plastic drawer do-hickeys for beauty supplies and my little stool. I sit here every single day to put my make-up on.

The bottom of the shower curtain. This is an example of measure twice, cut once??? :-) I had intended a solid strip across the area where the little points are. In the end, although a lot more work, this came out just fine. I can't tell you how many boo-boo's I've made when I'm sewing.

And, finally, my little chair. I LOVE this little cutie. I bought it at an all-city garage sale several years ago for 12.00 and made the slipcover for it. It is my very worst slipcover, but I love it anyway. This was a tough chair to do. It doesn't have a cushion which hides MANY little problems. It's on wheels, so I just shoot it into the closet when I clean the bathroom. I never use all matching fabrics. I like to "shake it up"........or, as my friend Jan says......"add a bit of poisen"......it makes everything much more interesting and achieves the cottage look much better, I think.

I hope you've enjoyed the little bath tour today.

Now, go and have a great time checking out all the other fabulous girls and their Pink Saturday posts.

For a list go to:

http://www.howsweeththesound.typepad.com/

Thank you Beverly!

Many blessings,

Spencer