Tracy Porter Giveaway

As many already know, I am an avid fan of Tracy Porter.  She has kicked off this week with an amazing giveaway and I thought I would share the opportunity with anyone that happens to read my blog.  If interested, you can go to Tracy Porter's blog and post a comment to enter.
Good Luck!

A New Member of the Family and Completed Curtain

I have obviously been behind in posting on my blog, but quite a lot has been going on this past week.  First of all, my niece gave birth to the newest member of our family early Thursday morning.  His name is Calvin, and he is a cutie!  See for yourself...

Calvin's arrival brought my brother, sister-in-law and nephew into town for the weekend and it was chaotic to say the least.  

As far as news on the home front goes, I did finally manage to get the curtain in the kitchen repaired and completed.  I think it turned out pretty good.

I think you get the idea despite the poor picture quality.  Still waiting on that camera...
I am working on some odd and end projects this week.  Hopefully the distractions will slow down so I can shift my focus back on the home renovation projects I would like to have completed this year.
Happy Decorating!

Poppy Friday!

I mean Happy Friday! Ok, so I have to admit that I have had a million distractions the past few weeks and am still working on the window treatments for the kitchen. Soooo, since I do not have any new kitchen updates to share I figured that I would talk about my latest obsession. . . POPPIES! They are not yet in bloom but after seeing the latest issue of the Martha Stewart Living Magazine I have had visions of silk poppies dancing in my head.  I am definitely going to have to find time to make some poppy decor to jazz up the house this spring and summer.  If anyone is interested in joining me in the poppy making fun, here is the tutorial provided in the magazine and on Martha Stewart's website.  In the meantime, feel free to enjoy some lovely and inspiring poppy pictures.

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Martha Stewart Living Magazine:I can just imagine lying in this field!

Hope everyone is enjoying lovely Spring weather and finding inspiring nature all around!

If At First You Don't Succeed....

Well, I embarked on my very first attempt at making my own window treatments.  I had decided that my kitchen windows needed something different and that I could use some burlap coffee sacks (cleaned of course) I had acquired to make some tie up window coverings.  I measured and measured again before cutting my material.  I did not have a pattern but figured I could kind of wing it and do my own thing. Well.... as my mom put it, "the concept was good," but as you can see below, I am a little short of perfection... literally.

I am going to be picking up my seam ripper so I can try, try again.  I am also going to need sturdier curtain rods because all of that burlap is just a bit too heavy for my existing little cafe rods.  At least I might have a new camera in time to take pictures of the revised window treatments next week.  I can't believe I am going to be 35 four days from now....crazy how time flies.

I also thought I would take a moment to let everyone know that Tracy Porter is having another lovely giveaway.  Good luck!

Hope everyone else is having more successful decorating journeys this week!

Tracy Porter Giveaway!

Tracy Porter has been hosting several giveaways over the past few weeks.  I decided that I should share the opportunity to enjoy the inspiration and perhaps win whatever lovely thing she is trying to send our way. So check out her blog and don't forget to leave a comment in order to enter her latest giveaway. Good luck!

New Pillows!

While I am working on making new window treatments for the kitchen, I thought I would change course a bit and show off the pillow covers I made for the living room.  I wanted something bright and cheerful to perk up the room until I can get a chance to paint it.

As you can see I could not resist the trend of making felt flower pillows.  I loved making my new pillow covers so much I really had to resist the urge to make 20 more.  I used the tutorial  done by Allison from Cluck.Cluck.Sew. I know that there are several great tutorials on this same pillow but I really thought her tutorial was easy to follow.  If I may say so, I think the pillows turned out great!  

I am now going to go out and enjoy some gorgeous Oklahoma weather!  It is going to be hard to make myself stay inside and work if the weather stays this way!  Hope everyone is able to enjoy the feeling of a cool breeze and the warmth of the sunshine this week!

Latest Kitchen Project...

As much as I would like to have brand new Vetrazzo countertops and backsplash in my kitchen, I decided to use my creativity to produce a one of a kind backsplash.  After reading Tracy Porter's book, Dreams from Home, I was inspired by the idea of using decoupage in the kitchen.  Once I knew what technique I was going to use, I had to decide what I was going to decoupage.  Then, it struck me!  Vintage food and beverage posters/ads from all over the world.  I hit the internet and struck gold.  I was able to find a ton of pictures that I could use.  Since I am working on the backsplash for what is going to be the drink station, I decided to focus my search and printing efforts on beverage related ads.  I got my collection together and printed off my selection on matte photo paper.  Here is the result:

In order to make sure that I had enough pictures and determine the placement, I had to tape them up first. Now all I have left to do is glue them on and coat with a sealer.  I realize that the pictures are not the greatest quality.  I am hoping that I get a new camera for my birthday... I would really like to get some feedback on what I have done so far.  For the countertops, I am going to use countertop paint and make them look like granite.  

Hope everyone is having a week full of decorating successes!