Shabby Love

Ironstone Jackpot

2012-02-19T00:00:00.004-05:00

My husband and I took a vacation day last Friday to go to an estate sale in an old farmhouse! Have you ever heard of http://www.estatesales.net/? You can sign up to receive emails about sales happening near you. That's how I found out about the one last Friday. I checked out the pictures online and knew I HAD to go based on the simple fact it was in a farmhouse (my dream house) and all the ironstone I spied. Here's what I found!!

In addition to the three things my husband found, I got all this for $28!!!!! Jackpot!

Aside from all that creamy white goodness, it's the details and the imperfections I love about ironstone.

The crazing

The chips and discoloration

Add so much character

Check out the gorgeous scalloped edges!

Any one know what these dishes are meant to be used for? Bread? Butter? *Update: These are bone plates. Thanks Oniwolda, Kelley, and Jan for answering my question!!

There's something about old graters I love too!

And check out this cutie I picked up at an antique store also on Friday

And here's two more grain scoops I found to add to my growing collection. I have six now!

I know there were lots of pictures so if you made it to the end thanks for sticking around and letting me share with you life through my lens. I am having so much fun playing and learning how to use my new camera! Now, if only my two year would sit still long enough to get some great shots of him. :)

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Frugal Life
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z

25 Things

2012-02-15T09:02:00.001-05:00

Shaunna over at Perfectly Imperfect is having a link party for 25 random things and I thought it would be fun to participate!

1. 10 years ago my husband and I met online in a random chat room. He moved to Michigan from Pennsylvania to be with me.

2. We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on September 29!

3. I am the Administrative Assistant at a historical Methodist church in Flint, Michigan (my husband is part of the maintenance staff).

4. After our son was born, the church allowed me to bring him to work with me for his entire first year.

5. Our son's name is Anderson - it was my maiden name.

6. It is a dream of mine to one day own a farmhouse set back in the woods with a tree lined driveway.

7. Another dream of mine is to open my own home decor business or have a booth in an antique store.

8. I actually prefer rainy days over sunny days.

9. The grey sky and sound of the rain is very relaxing to me.

10. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.

11. I've had quite a few people tell me I was born in the wrong era because of my love of old things. But, I've grown up seeing family decorate with time worn treasures so it was only a matter of time that I began to appreciate the history in things too.

12. I put Tabasco sauce on just about everything!

13. My husband calls me the condiment queen. In addition to Tabasco, I almost always use some sort of condiment on whatever I'm eating.

14. Whenever I buy coffee at Starbucks, before I take a drink, I make sure the opening on the lid and the cardboard cozy line up with the Starbucks logo on the cup.

15. I hate the actual taste of coffee so I use a ton of milk and sugar so I can drink it.

16. I'm left handed, but randomly do things better with my right hand (like throwing a ball).

17. I drink with 2 straws.

18. I'm very picky about meat and eat very little of it- I like chicken but not on the bone. I like bacon plain, not in casseroles or sandwiches...except for blt's. And the only beef I eat is ground hamburger.

19. I love movies!!! I have wasted many pre-baby days with movie marathons.

20. These days I have to wait and watch my movies after my son goes to bed. I'm lucky if I can sqeeze in one whole movie before my bedtime. :)

21. I HATE suspenseful movies or books. They stress me out.

22. If I read a suspenseful murder mystery, I flip to the end to make sure my favorite characters survive.

23. I have mini panic attacks if I'm running late somewhere. Ok, not really, but I really do hate being late and am usually at least 10 min. early anywhere I go.

24. I hate bugs. No explanation needed on this one.

25. I'm a chocaholic!!! I love, love, love chocolate. Especially dark chocolate!

The Civil Wars

2012-02-13T00:00:00.003-05:00

I discovered a new music duo recently that I absolutely LOVE called The Civil Wars. Have you heard of them? You may have, I heard they performed at the Grammy Awards last night! If you haven't heard of them listen to the two songs below. You can thank me later! :)

Rustic Heart Tutorial

2012-02-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

Today I'll be sharing the tutorial on how I made my bead board heart that I'm using in my Valentine's day decor this year.

Using his saber saw, my husband cut out a heart for me on a piece of thin wood. You could also use really sturdy cardboard.

Then, I laid the heart on chicken wire, traced the shape and cut it out with wire cutters. Hot glue the chicken wire to the back of your heart. Trim or fold down any long pieces of chicken wire.

Using lots of hot glue, I attached a heart shaped piece of bead board that my husband also cut using his saber saw behind the chicken wire. I actually put the heart on the floor and stood on it until the hot glue set to make sure it was glued securely.

I LOVED how my nature inspired Christmas wreath turned out with the branch slices and I had enough wood left over from that project that I thought they would be the perfect finishing touch to this rustic heart. (Sorry for the bad photos. I worked on this after my son went to bed, so no natural light)

So simple, but it makes a huge statement!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z

A Rustically Romantic Valentine

2012-02-05T00:00:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! This was my post over at Uncommon for their Love is in the Air Series last week. I thought I would post it here in case you missed it.

I put together a Valentine's vignette and I wanted to stick with a neutral and natural theme and add a small pop of color for a little romance, so here is what I came up with:

I made tiny rosettes out of crepe paper streamers to dress up white bead board hearts.

I created another heart shaped wreath using more bead board, chicken wire, and branches cut into wood slices.

To add a slight industrial feel to the vignette, I placed a cloche on top of an old pulley reel.

I hand sewed the three hearts. The muslin one with the Jane Austen silhouette is my favorite!

Also, as many of you have probably heard Google Friend Connect will be gone March 1 for non-Blogger users and eventually phased out for Blogger users as well. I was visiting At the Picket Fence and saw their awesome post on a new widget being offered by Linky Tools, called Linky Followers. As you can see on my sidebar I added the widget and would love for you to start following me this way if you are still interested in following my blog! I would love to be able to continue to stay connected with you! Please go to my sidebar where you will see the new widget and click follow me. For more info and great instructions on how to set up your own account, go see Heather and Vanessa's post over at At the Picket Fence. Please let me know if you switch over so I can follow you as well!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z
Homework
Natural Nesters
Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons
Destination: Craft

Bye Bye Google Friend Connect

2012-02-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,

As many of you have probably heard Google Friend Connect will be gone March 1 for non-Blogger users and eventually phased out for Blogger users as well. I popped over to At the Picket Fence and saw their awesome post on a new widget being offered by Linky Tools, called Linky Followers. As you can see on my sidebar I added the widget and would love for you to start following me this way if you are still interested in following my blog! I would love to be able to continue to stay connected with you!

Please go to my sidebar (or see below) where you will see the new widget and click follow me. For more info and great instructions on how to set up your own account, go see Heather and Vanessa's post over at At the Picket Fence. Please let me know if you switch over so I can follow you as well!

Guest Posting at Decorating Insanity

2012-01-31T08:18:00.000-05:00

Please come by Decorating Insanity today where I'll be sharing my top 3 most popular posts!!! I hope you'll stop over and say hi and take a look around Monica and Elaine's fabulous blog!!!

Guest Posting at Uncommon

2012-01-29T00:00:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be guest posting over at Uncommon on January 31!! My post is part of their Love is in the Air Week Long Valentine's Series.

Here's a sneak peak of the Rustically Romantic Valentine's Vignette I put together.

You don't want to miss the posts from the other fabulous bloggers participating either! Their blogs are some of my favorites! Here's what Trish and Bonnie over at Uncommon have scheduled for the week:

Sunday, January 29 Danielle from Blissful and Domestic

Monday, January 30 Lindsay with Southern Lovely

Tuesday, January 31 Melissa with Shabby Love

Wednesday, February 1 Uncommonly Yours Link Party

Thursday, February 2 Cameron with Homemade

Friday, February 3 Uncommon

Saturday, February 4 Wrap-Up and Features

I hope you'll check in all week long over at Uncommon! Stop by and see what we'll be sharing and leave some comment love! Hope to see you there!

Attack of the Linen Closet

2012-01-28T00:00:00.003-05:00

I was in organization mode again this weekend and tackled our beast of a linen closet. It was a little scary. I had no idea what I was going to find in there!

See what I mean....scary! Please tell me I'm not the only one whose closets end up like this.

After going through everything and filling a trash bag, here's the closet now!

I found the canvas storage bins at the Family Dollar for $2.00 a piece and painted numbers on the front!

Next weekend I'll be tackling the closet in my craft room.

Oh boy!

If you don't hear from me next Monday, send help!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z
Imagine the Possibilities Party

A Spruced Up Space

2012-01-23T09:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday! I had a great weekend cleaning, organizing, and rearranging my son's room. I also worked on sprucing up our laundry/mud/utility room which I'll be sharing with you today. I don't have a true before picture of the space (we repainted recently), but here it is:

When you walk in from the back door, this is the area that you first see. As you can tell it's a tiny multifunctional space that we use as our laundry, utility, and mudroom. It's also where we keep our paper recycling and our tool pantry.

I've been wanting to do something with this area for a while mostly because (if you didn't notice) we have been using a paper box to hold our shoes and I was getting really tired of looking at it.

The box was supposed to be only a temporary solution until my husband built me a shoe rack. Other projects were a bigger priority so I kind of forgot about it until inspiration hit this weekend!

I remembered this shelf that I bought at an estate sale over the summer. It's been sitting in my garage waiting for me to decide where I wanted to use it. It's perfect for a shoe rack!!

Our flooring has some grey in it, so using paint we already had and the vaseline trick I used on my shutters to shabby it up, here is the shelf now:

Next, I worked on cleaning and organizing the room and adding some fun laundry-ish decor, here's what the space looks like now!!!! Even with the ugly water heater and furnace, I think it looks so much better!

I love that I have a spot for hats, gloves and scarves now!

Here's some close ups of the distressing on the shoe rack. I love the vaseline trick! It makes sanding so much easier!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z
Vintage Gwen

Guest Poster

2012-01-20T12:15:00.001-05:00

Hi Friends! I have a great article to share with you today from Christina Johnson. Christina works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the New York City Apartments and Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.

She has some wonderful tips. Enjoy!

Create a Cozy Environment in Your Home

Article submitted by Christina Johnson

If you notice your home is feeling a bit run down and cold, consider adding some touches to warm the space up. Interior design can be used to add coziness to your home, by paying attention to details like color, textile and lighting. Creating a cozy space for your friends and family will have them spending even more time together in the newly designed home.

Use textiles to create softness, even if you have hard, cold surfaces like tile or dark wood floors. Curtains in a fabric that begs to be touched, like velvet or micro suede, helps warm things up. A vibrant throw rug in a colorful pattern or one with soft, muted tones will cozy the place up. Plus, a friendly rug is the perfect spot for little ones to cuddle up and draw or play a game. Think of other fabric textiles like couch or armchair coverings. The materials on these pieces of furniture can add to the overall coziness of your space.

To further soften a room up, make sure there are plenty of cushions and blankets sprinkled around. Throwing pillows on the sofa and armchairs invite guests to settle in and relax. And a few blankets folded over the back of the couch or folded up in a pretty basket are convenient for cold winter nights. You can even stack large, over-sized cushions against a wall. These can be pulled out and used as extra seating if guests want to sit around the coffee table.

Don’t forget soft, ambient lighting to cozy up a home. Overhead lighting is ideal when you need to brighten a space up. For softer, dim lighting, choose table lamps scattered on end tables and counter tables. You can also place a small lamp on the counter in the bathroom, which makes for softer, cozier lighting than the fluorescent lighting usually installed in standard bathrooms. Pay attention to areas like the space above the dining table. This is the perfect spot to add a charming sconce or chandelier for ambient lighting while you eat.

Furthering the idea of cozy lighting, don’t forget to use candles to your advantage. A cluster of large candles on a coffee table or a few taper candles on the mantle will warm up the living room. Candles are also a nice addition in a dining room or bathroom. If you like, choose a chandelier for the dining room that uses candles instead of electric bulbs. You can also use small tea lights outside to cozy up a deck or on thin ledges where larger candles won’t fit. If you’re worried about a fire hazard or kids getting into the flames, use battery operated candles. These candles are safe to use and create the same cozy feeling associated with real flame candles in your home or NYC apartment.

Pay attention to color when coming up with ways to cozy up your home. Warm colors will add the feeling you want, while cooler colors can take the house away from the cozy vibe. Colors to use include burnt orange, amber, shades of scarlet and deep jewel tones, like emerald blue or eggplant. Stay away from shades like cream, pink, spring green or yellow. The warm colors can be used successfully on the walls. Paint is a quick, inexpensive way to instantly cozy up a space. Also use color to add depth and warmth to your home accessories, like blankets, pillows and curtains.

Don’t underestimate the effect living plants can have on a room. Adding pretty blooms or a houseplant to a room adds coziness and invites people in. You can choose your favorite fresh cut flowers and place them in a vase on a table. Or, add some potted house plants in a corner. This greenery also creates a welcome aroma, adding even more coziness to the space. If using flowers in a vase, remember to change the water regularly to keep them looking fresh. Likewise, water potted plants on a regular basis, to prevent brown leaves.

Kid's Pallet Table

2012-01-16T00:00:00.008-05:00

This weekend my husband and I worked on building a table for our two year old son. We made it out of pallets - surprise, surprise! :) Are you getting tired of seeing my pallet projects? I hope not. I have a hard time passing up free wood, so you'll probably be seeing a lot more pallet wood around here.

Here is the basic frame my husband put together. The legs are actually deck spindles.

The base of the table is 21 x 21 inches, the height is 22 inches, and the tabletop (sorry we forgot to take a picture of that step) is 23 x 23 inches.

Once it was put together, I stained the top in dark walnut and painted the aprons and legs white.

We already had the chairs, but I stained the seat and painted the rest white to match the table.

So cute, right!?! Our son loves it! It was totally worth the $8 it took to make!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
I Gotta Create
Home Stories A to Z
Vintage Gwen

Christmas Presents and a Winter Vignette

2012-01-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

I took down all of our Christmas decorations on Friday. :( Our house looked incredibly bare, so I quickly put together a wintery vignette that will be staying up until I put together my Valentine's vignette for my guest post over at Uncommon at the end of this month! Before I share my winter decor, I first want to show you all the fun things I got for Christmas!

A sewing machine, printer block tray, mercury glass lamp, and a tool to pick up canning jars!

I can't wait to hang this outside!

And one of my favorite gifts - a new Nikon DSLR camera!!!!!

And now for my winter vignette:

I've been trying to shoot in manual as much as possible to learn to use my camera, so all you camera pros out there - how are my pictures looking?

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
I Gotta Create
Days of Chalk and Chocolate
Home Stories A to Z

Drop Cloth Shower Curtain Tutorial

2012-01-02T09:35:00.003-05:00

Way back in July when we redid our bathroom, my mom and I made a drop cloth shower curtain. When my mother-in-law saw it she loved it and asked for one for Christmas, so I thought I'd share a little tutorial on how we made it.

I purchased a 6 x 9 drop cloth from Home Depot.

Start out by folding the top of the drop cloth down 31 inches.

Fold it back up to the top. Now you'll have a pretty 15 1/2 inch valence like fold at the top of your curtain.

Pin in place along the top.

Next, we positioned brown grosgrain ribbon near the bottom of the valence where we wanted it and pinned it in place.

For the bottom of the curtain, we used a 4 foot x 8 inch piece of toile fabric, and 2 - 2 foot by 8 inch pieces of muslin. We sewed a piece of muslin on each end of the toile fabric. Then we used more of the brown grosgrain ribbon to cover the seams. (When you measure, be sure to add an inch or so on all sides for a seam allowance).

Sew on the ribbon.

We positioned the fabric where we wanted it on the bottom of the curtain and pinned it in place.

Now, sew everything you have pinned: Sew the fabric along the bottom of your curtain.

The valence gets sewn along the top of your curtain and your grosgrain ribbon gets sewn on the bottom of your valence.

Next, starting 2 inches in from the side at the top of the curtain, place a pin every 6 inches. You should end up with approximately 2 inches left at the other end and have 12 pins along the top of your curtain.

Using your sewing machine, create a buttonhole where you have placed a pin.

Cut a slit in the center of each buttonhole to slip your shower curtain rings through.

Now you're left with a gorgeous drop cloth shower curtain!!

Please let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to answer them.

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
I Gotta Create

Wall of Mirrors

2011-12-26T09:20:00.001-05:00

Way back in the summer I mentioned here I was putting together a wall of mirrors in our master bedroom and promised to show it to you. I finally completed it after a few years of collecting the perfect mirrors. I think it gives our room a really classy look and it really helps brighten up the space!!

This shot was a complete accident. I set the tripod on the bed to get a picture of the little mirrors, climbed up and looked in the camera and this is what I saw. I thought it looked really pretty with the blurred foreground so just had to share.

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
Home Stories A to Z

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:10, 11, and 14.

Merry Christmas friends! I hope you have a wonderful time with your families celebrating the birth of our Lord!!

Ornament Exchange

2011-12-19T12:05:00.000-05:00

This year I participated in the ornament exchange hosted by Ashley over at Eisy Morgan. I got paired up with Shasta from The Magic of an Ordinary Day at Barefoot Cottage. She has a beautiful blog and takes gorgeous pictures! You should go check it out.

Shasta has two kids who I wanted to be the focal point of the ornament and I wanted to make something she could keep up all year if she wanted. So here is the ornament I made.

And here is the ornament Shasta sent me.

Cute right!?! I think it matches my style and decor perfectly!!

I'm linking to the ornament party at Eisy Morgan's

Pallet Cabinet Take 2

2011-12-19T00:00:00.002-05:00

Remember the pallet cabinet my hubby built me back in October?!?

Guess what? He made me another one to go in between our fridge and stove! Here's what the space looked like before.

This time, he built me one with drawers! Here's his process. Let me know if you have any questions on how he made it.

Side view of the frame

From view of the frame

Dividers for the drawers

Side

Back

Inside view of the 2x2's he installed so the drawers would pull out easily

Construction of the drawers. He added thin luan to the bottoms. (Sorry no picture of that)

I used a vinegar and steel wood mixture to stain the wood

Then I painted it white and sanded it with steel wool

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop
Space 46
Knick of Time

Cutting Edge Stencil Winner

2011-12-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

According to random.org, the winner of the Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway is number 50 -

Kelcie said...
I like Cutting Edge on Facebook!
December 7, 2011 6:45 PM

Congratulations Kelcie!!!!!!

And thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway!

I really appreciate it!

Menu Chalkboard

2011-12-12T00:00:00.002-05:00

Remember this post here where we helped my parents clean out one of their rental homes and I found all kinds of fun stuff - like this door?

I decided to turn it into a menu chalkboard to hang on our fridge. While the first coat of chalkboard paint was drying, I worked on making a bag to hold the chalk. I took a piece of scrap burlap, folded it in half, sewed up the sides, then turned it inside out.

This is how it turned out. So easy!

Next I ruffled a piece of vintage lace and hot glued it around the top of the bag. I also glued on a little handle.

I hot glued 10 - yes, 10 magnets people! - to the back of the door.

The 10 magnets didn't work at all, so as a temporary solution (until I get some stronger magnets) I used two magnetic chip clips to hold up the chalkboard.

Isn't it cute!?!?!?!

I love it!!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff

Coastal Charm

Momma Hen's Coop

Ruby Jean
The Allred Abode

Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway!

2011-12-05T09:15:00.002-05:00

Giveaway has ended

I'm happy to share with you that Cutting Edge Stencils contacted me to do a product review and giveaway!!! How fun is that! For my product review, I chose the Marrakech Trellis Craft Stencil. I decided to stencil the top of a table that belongs to a friend from work.

Here's the table before:

Once I lined up the stencil I simply taped it in place.

Using the awesome roller Cutting Edge Stencils sent me, I lightly coated the roller with paint. I tried not to get it too thick to prevent bleed through.

I found that if I kept rolling on very light coats until I could no longer see the green, I had no bleed through and the stenciling looked perfect.

After several very light coats

I waited about 20 minutes for the pattern to dry then taped the stencil on to finish the rest of the table. It was very easy to match up the pattern!

The finished table!!

Doesn't it look so pretty!!

This was probably one of the easiest projects I've ever done! The stencil was nice and sturdy. It stayed in place very well. You do have to be careful not to use too much paint, but the finished project was lovely! This is the first time I have ever used a stencil. It was nice to find it was very easy to use! The clean up was a breeze too! I just soaked it in some water for a few minutes and the paint easily wiped away with a soft brush.

If you want to see more click HERE for a video tutorial from Cutting Edge Stencils.

Now here's where it gets fun for you! You have a chance of winning your very own Cutting Edge Stencil!!!

The winner may choose any stencil at www.cuttingedgestencils.com up to $50 and they will ship it to you for FREE!!!!

You will have several ways to get your entries in:

1. Follow Shabby Love then leave a comment letting me know you've done this.

2. Visit www.cuttingedgestencils.com and tell me which stencil you would choose if you won.

3. Go and Like Cutting Edge Stencils on Facebook. Leave a comment here letting my know you've done this.

4. Post something on Facebook about the giveaway. Leave a comment here.

5. Post on Twitter about the giveaway. Leave a comment here.

When you enter, please be sure to leave an email address so I have a way of contacting you.

There you go! You have 5 chances to win! So, get busy!

The winner will be announced on Monday, December 12!!!

Rustic Tree Topper Tutorial

2011-12-05T09:12:00.004-05:00

Hi there!! Today I'll be showing you the tutorial on how I made my rustic star tree topper! I shared this last week over at Between U & Me, but I thought I would share it here too in case you missed it.

To begin, I had my husband cut sticks we gathered from our yard 5 inches in length. You will need 10 sticks to make a 5 point star.

Take two sticks and determine the size of your point and secure them together with hot glue.

Next, use twine to wrap around the point. This hides the glue and helps add to the rustic look we are going for.

Now, glue the points together and wrap with twine.

Your star should look like this once it is all glued and twined together. Place your star on chicken wire. Trace the shape of your star and cut with wire cutters.

Once you have cut out your star shape from chicken wire, work your way around and hot glue it in place to the back of your star. Trim any excess wire.

Now you have a beautiful, rustic, nature-inspired tree topper that will be the perfect addition to your Christmas tree this year!! :)

I've got a great giveaway going on now from Cutting Edge Stencils!!! Stop by HERE to enter before it ends on Monday, December 12!!!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Momma Hen's Coop
Tutus & Tea Parties
Rustic Crafts

Guest Posting

2011-11-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

I'm over at Between U & Me today for my very first guest post!! I'm so excited! I'll be sharing a tutorial on the rustic star tree topper I made for my tree this year.

I hope you'll stop over there and see me and look around Courtney's fabulous blog. Leave her some comment love and let her know I sent you!

Christmas Decor

2011-11-28T00:00:00.008-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! I sure did! I also put up all my Christmas decorations on Friday. I'm keeping this pretty short because I have lots of pictures to share with you today. Get ready!

Here's my homemade tree topper. Stop over at Between U & Me where I'm guest posting and sharing the tutorial on how I made it.

This year I decorated my tree with:

Vintage postcards

Plastic candy canes that I wrapped with twine

Family photos

A year or two ago I saw a gorgeous muslin tree that Alice from Thoughts from Alice W made for her etsy shop. When I went to purchase one they were no longer available. So, I made one of my own and two others to go with it.

The Joy ornament is made from sticks that I just glued together.

My glove and postcard garland!

Our snowman tree

Kitchen tree

Our son's tree

I decided to use this huge frame to hold our Christmas cards this year

I LOVE Hallmark ornaments! They are so pretty and have such great details!

This is the Winter Garden series

Winter Park series

Garland I made from hymnal pages and upholstery webbing


And of course, I can't forget the Christmas wreath I shared with you last week!

I hope you enjoyed seeing all of my Christmas decor! I look forward to seeing yours! Please be sure to follow me or check back here often. I have a couple of great giveaways coming up that I will be posting very soon!!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Momma Hen's Coop
Southern Hospitality Holiday Home Party

Blog Award!

2011-11-22T15:25:00.000-05:00

I am excited to share with you that I have been given the Versatile Blogger Award again!!!!!

Maureen from It's All Connected has passed along this award to me. What an honor! Thank you Maureen. I am so flattered and grateful. Please stop by her blog. It's lovely!

After accepting the Versatile Blogger Award, the blogger must:

1. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass this award along to 10 recently discovered blogs (I'll be passing it on to 5 today)

To read 7 things about me go here.

I'm passing this award onto:
Carolina Country Living
Space 46
Simcoe Street
Renewed Upon a Dream
AKM Designs and Delights

Nature Inspired Christmas Wreath

2011-11-21T08:09:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone!!! How was your weekend? Yesterday I hung my first Christmas decoration! I've decided to go with a more natural/rustic theme this year for my Christmas decor so I worked on a wreath that will work perfectly with what I have planned.

I started with this styrofoam wreath form that I purchased from Joann's with a 40% off coupon! Then I had my husband cut a bunch of sticks into little slices for me. (Suggestion: make sure the sticks have fallen from the tree and are nice and dried out. Fresh branches with lots of moisture in them don't mix well with a hot glue gun.)

Just keep gluing the slices all over the wreath. It was kind of like putting a puzzle together. It was fun finding the perfect slice to fill in all the spaces.

Once all the wood slices are glued in place, you'll have a fabulous nature inspired wreath that looks like this!!!

I'm excited to start bringing out all my decorations the day after Thanksgiving!! When do you decorate?

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Momma Hen's Coop
RadCrafter

Shabby Apple

2011-11-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

I was invited to be an affiliate of Shabby Apple! How fun is that!?! If you have not visited Shabby Apple's site you need to do that right NOW! You have no idea what you are missing!

Just take a look at some of the things they have to offer! They've got something for everyone!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this post. All opinions are 100% mine. As part of the affiliate program, if you clicked on a Shabby Apple link through my blog, and purchased something, I would receive a small percentage of the sale.

Will You Follow Me?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

Shabby Love is now on Twitter! Will you follow me?!?

Featured Friday #5

2011-11-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Featured Friday here at Shabby Love!! I can't wait to show you the amazing projects and inspiration I came across this week! If you were featured today, please feel free to grab a button!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought I would feature some turkey day inspiration!

Terri from A Creative Princess made this turkey from an embroidery hoop! So cute!!

Cindi from Rustique Art created this beautiful centerpiece! I love the log candle holders!

I am LOVING this wreath that Joi made over at Heck Fridays!! Go check out her great tutorial!

Hollie from The Seven Year Cottage created these adorable cupcakes! I know a two year old at my house who would love these!!!

Shelf Makeover

2011-11-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday everyone!! This weekend I helped my parents clean out some areas of one of their rental houses. The only thing I like better than junk is FREE junk!!! Wanna see all the great stuff I found!?!

A huge frame, bucket and old doors

This was used to blow glass. I love the industrial look to it.


I'll being using this bucket to put our Christmas tree in this year!!!

Fun, right! Ok, onto the shelf makeover part of this post. A few years ago, I drew up some plans for a shelf, mailed them to my dad in Tennessee. He built them and drove all the way to Michigan to deliver them and help us put them up. Love him! We were in major need of storage space and we had the perfect wall to fill with floor to ceiling shelves.

Here they are before the makeover:

They've been bugging me for awhile. They look so cluttered and messy.

And here they are now!!!!!!!!!

Sorry about the blurry pics. Something's up with my camera. We snagged a few of those 7up crates on Saturday

This fabulously chippy box was another find from Saturday

Just a reminder! Make sure you stop over and visit Kirstin at Burlap & Buttons. She is having her very first giveaway! It ends Friday and it's one you don't want to miss!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Momma Hen's Coop
Junkin' Junky

Burlap & Buttons Guest Poster Giveaway

2011-11-11T16:00:00.009-05:00

I want to introduce you to one of my new bloggy friends, Kirstin from Burlap & Buttons!

She is new to the blogging world and is hosting her very first giveaway! So, go! Take a look around, get to know her and be sure to enter her fabulous giveaway! The giveaway ends on Friday, November 18.

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Hey Everyone!

I would like to announce Burlap & Buttons 1st Ever Giveaway!

I am giving away a Thanksgiving or Christmas wreath- they are handmade and so lovely...

Take a look at these to get an idea.

The winner will get to pick the colors for their very own custom HOLIDAY WREATH!

Here's how to enter: Each way gets you 1 entry!

1) Follow my blog- Burlap and Buttons... ("Follow" button is on right side bar at the top.)

2) "Like" Burlap and Buttons on Facebook...

3) Follow BurlapnButtons on Twitter

4) Leave a comment telling me you are a new follower or facebook friend...

5) Mention this giveaway on your own blog or facebook page...

Good luck everyone!!!

Kirstin @ Burlap and Buttons

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Thank you Kirstin! Please go leave her some comment love and let her know I sent you!!

Featured Friday #4

2011-11-11T00:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Featured Friday here at Shabby Love!! I can't wait to show you the amazing projects and inspiration I came across this week! If you were featured today, please feel free to grab a button!

Desiree from Camelot Art Creations did a wonderful job redoing this desk. I am in love with the French script!!

Catherina from Catherina's Creative Corner put together this beautiful Thanksgiving vignette. It's perfect!!

Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff also put together a fabulous vignette!! Stunning..that's all I have to say.

Vicki at Ranger 911 gave this cabinet a fabulous makeover! I also love everything she has artfully displayed!

And Gwen from The Bold Abode made this awesome headboard.......from a reclaimed truss! Shut the front door!!! So creative! Love it!

Estate Sale Finds

2011-11-07T08:33:00.001-05:00

How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful! I cleaned and organized a little and worked on a couple of little projects for Christmas that I will be sharing soon. And, my mom and I went to an estate sale on Saturday and we discovered a new antique store. Here's all my new finds!

I got these tart tins for less than $.10 each!!


My grain scoop collection is growing! My mom bought me the big one on the right at the antique store as an early Christmas present.

Two of my favorite things: Enamelware and galvanized metal!

I looked at pictures online on Thursday before the estate sale and spotted the bowl on the right. I was crossing my fingers it would still be there since we always go on the last day. When we got to the sale, we headed straight to the basement. It was still sitting there waiting for me!!


Here's another find from the antique store. It was a fun find for me because I live and work in the Flint area.

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Home Sweet Home Friday at the Charm of Home

Savvy Southern Style
Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing Newbie Party
The House in the Roses
Between Naps on the Porch
Serenity Now
Boogieboard Cottage
Today's Creative Blog

Remodelaholic

The DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm
Momma Hen's Coop
Junkin' Junky