Red, White, and Blue for you! - The 4th of July Wreath

Today was the day of wreath making. I started with the idea for a R, W and B wreath. I found out today that Carter's Cottage is going to be working up a patriotic themed window. I hope this fits perfectly. I spent most of the day on it and just finished. Here was how the process went. :)

I spent the late morning cutting circles, burning circles, gluing circles and pinning circles. By 4 o'clock, I was exhausted! I was pretty excited about it though so I kept going.

 

Then I lay the wreath on the floor and lay all of the flowers around it. I usually move them around several times before I find a pattern that works. When I do, I take a picture of it so I don't forget. This one almost made the cut but just wasn't quite right. I played around a bit more and came up with...

I am so pleased with the results. This wreath is on a 24 inch base
 so it is much larger than the ones I normally do. Also, the twigs are thicker in this so the flowers had to be larger as well.  My patriotic wreath will be at Carter's Cottage on Wednesday. I bet it would look lovely on your front door. :)

Dekalb Day: Part 1

I know that some of you live near Dekalb Illinois but for some of you it is probably a bit of a drive. Let me tell you...it is definitely worth a day of fun!  Since I am off of school in the summer, I have a bit more time on my hands and one of my FAVORITE things to do is have a "Dekalb Day". They are a bit different every time and I will try and capture that with these posts. I usually tend to do this on Thursdays so that it coincides with the Farmers Markets. Here we go!

I start my day by parking my car in the lot between 3rd and 4th. I park near the laundromat because I love the smell of dryer sheets. It just makes me smile. :) Then I venture across the track on 3rd street and this is the view I get. I love the look of the old store fronts.

I always start my day at My Favorite Things. It is a packed store filled with primitives and country type items. Items at this store are very reasonably priced. I love the items in the windows and outside. They are rustic and creative. However, my favorite place in this store is the basement. It is like a year round flea market down there. I LOVE it. I went back that day to purchase a green trunk I had my eye on but it was GONE! Lesson learned...if you love it, buy it.

Next it is off to The Primitive Chick. I LOVE this store. I have purchased many items from here. My favorites are the penguins, my candle holders and my grandmothers cabinet. If you have read that post...check it out. I actually just told my grandma about it yesterday. I got the full story about that little cabinet and it was interesting.  Anyway, this store is packed with vintage, primitive and one-of-a-kind items. I so want one or two of the big furniture pieces. However, my house is out of space. When we move, Angie you watch out. I have my eye on a few things! I am currently loving the little owls in the back room. On my list.

Tons of great furniture pieces

The back of the store. You can see my booth to the right. :)

The piece I am currently drooling over.

Then it was off to Carter's Cottage. I moved my items in on Tuesday so I had to stop in and visit them. While I was there and chatting with Steve and Christie, I made my first sale!!! It was nothing major but I still had to try really hard to play it cool.  There are several items that are on my list here as well but my favorite it the little two drawer chest above. I LOVE it and you must see it in person.  Carter's has a bit of everything from glassware to vintage items to candles to primitives to fancy hats and to my stuff. Oh yes...and it has fudge! Yum! Stop in!

Finally it is off to the Farmer's Market. It was raining so my time was cut short but I would brave a hurricane for two of the vendors. The first is the Norway Farms Salad Dressings and the second it the pie lady that sells them near the purple van in the picture. I purchased Roasted Garlic Dressing and a Cherry Pie! Yay!

Normally I stop for lunch and then dessert also but the rain and my huge breakfast put a damper on those plans. Stay tuned for next week's Dekalb Day!

Small Business Special: Toft Touch Soaps

I have been meaning to blog about Donna for a while but it has been a bit hectic here lately.  I met Donna at the Nada Farms Event in May. During a rain storm, she very politely and enthusiastically explained to me the benefits of goat milk soap.  After hearing the expert explain her product, I was sold!  I purchased two scents that day: Honeysuckle and Sweet Pea. They are the most delightful scents. Then I began using them on my face and fell in love with how it made my skin look and feel. Since then I have been telling everyone about them.
So I started mildly stalking ToftTouch Soaps on the internet and to my great sadness, she didn't have a webpage or Facebook page but I did find a link the the 3 Hens Market in Morris where she is a vendor. So I called up my mom and said "we need to go to Morris"!  I have to say that the 3 Hens Market is truly a delightful experience.  We had so much fun shopping the vendors, having lunch at a local diner and peeking into some of Morris's wonderful stores. It is a place that I could definitely spend an afternoon.  My mom and I visited Donna's booth and purchased a few more items. I received Tea Tree for a friend and Lavender for myself. These soaps last FOREVER so I am merely stocking up for the apocalypse because the different scents are so addictive.
If you are interested in her soaps, you can contact her at ToftTouchSoaps@aol.com. Send her an email just to say "hi".

Cute-as-a-button booth!

Donna explaining the benefits to my mom.

You can tell that she loves what she does just by talking to her.

Girls Lunch! Extra special touches for some extra special friends.

Today I had the privilege of lunching with 4 of my favorite ladies.  I love having them over and every time we get together we are celebrating. Sometimes it is a baby celebration, sometimes it is a "welcome-home" celebration but it is ALWAYS a good time. I wanted to add some special and fun touches but I didn't have a ton of time so here are some highlights from our day.

Jenny's cupcakes - Almond Chocolate =Awesome

Courtney had a cute idea of using the spice packets as labels for the dips. Genius and SO pretty.

Cracker+Cheese+Smoked Salmon = Easy and Delicious

Adorable vinyl table cloth purchased at TJ Maxx. Perfect color for a summer get together but durable enough for the elements. I used an old tool box and plopped flowers in them for a centerpiece.

Cute and Colorful drink tags. Cut circles out of scrapbook paper scraps and place an initial sticker on each one. Easy and a nice touch.

DIY: Decorative Screen

Are you looking for a fun activity for yourself or your kids this summer? Try this inexpensive decorative screen idea. Here are the steps and materials:
Materials:
1. Old Screen - Free on curb or cheap at garage sales
2. Exterior paint - Mistint from Lowes $3
3. Paintbrush - any craft brush will do
4. Newspaper or poster board - whatever you have laying around

First, clean off the old screen and vacuum away the spiders.  I happened to find this screen on the curb in Sycamore. It was such a pretty color, I couldn't pass it up. Second, lay screen on the ground with paper or poster board under the area that you are going to paint. Prop it up slightly so it doesn't sit right on the paper or board. I used rocks from my flower beds. Next, choose the design you want to do. I chose stars. Paint the outline using your paintbrush and paint. Then, start dabbing the paint heavily so it collects in the holes of the screen. This will drip down onto the paper.

Finally, let it dry. This took longer that expected. It was probably about 20 minutes before I moved mine. Now display prominently in your backyard.

A Whimsical Makeover: The Kitchen Table Edition

 

Ron brought this home for me several months ago and I new exactly what I was going to do with it. I was inspired by my friends at Twice Lovely. They painted a drop leaf table with a faux runner and it was beautiful. I wanted to try a similar idea. I was going for an airy/cottage/vacation feel. I started by priming and priming again. The green legs were difficult to cover. After that, I painted it in one of my favorite shades of off-white. I felt like an auto mechanic because I was on my back underneath the table painting while drips dropped on my head.   Once that dried for a full day, I began painting the stripes. I picked some airy and beautiful colors from my stock pile. If you have been to my house, you know how much I love the blue color that is in the faux runner. It is currently in my kitchen, dining room and bedroom. I hope to update with more pictures in the future. My house gets very little natural light and it is hard to showcase a beautiful piece like this.

Enjoy!

Miss Mustard Seed posted a picture from a wedding that used place mats made from sheet music. Loved the idea!

Love the candle holders? Me too. One of my finds from Primitive Chic.

Cork Jewelry Frames

small frame - $8, Large frames - $12, Set of 3 - $30

These cute wood frames are now much more functional for me. They are backed with foam board, cork overlay and burlap ( I love Burlap!).  I hung some of my favorite pieces of jewelry from them but they would also be perfect for photos. These are available for purchase.

A Whimsical Makeover: The Side Table Edition

I purchased this cute side table at a garage sale in Dekalb last weekend. This is a post-primer picture. I forgot to take the "before" picture which is to bad because it was pretty beat up and drawn on. It had a very 70's feel to it and that is definitely not my style. I decided it would not be possible to age or shabby chic it so I took it in a very girly direction. I hope you enjoy it.

 I am in love with this shade of yellow. I found it as a mistint and am very excited to use it often.  I added the glass knob and a girly/whimsical stencil to give it a boost of life. This would be great in a sunroom or child's room. I would use it everywhere but my husband tries to limit the amount of girly in the common areas of our house.

Purchase price: $45

A sander, some primer and high temperatures! OH MY!

Yes, it is true. I picked one of the hottest days EVER to drag all of my current project outside to work on. I started early this morning so I was able to be done by 2:30. I am waiting an extra day before painting due to the humidity today. I hope to get the first step of the table completed tomorrow. Also, I would like to finish the frames (jewelry holder/cork boards) and side table. I have to run to Micheals to pick up a few items to help with the finishing process.  I am probably going to incorporate some stenciling and a bit of burlap. That makes me happy. :) I decided that tomorrow will be the day to run errands because it is going to be a yucky day. So I will garage sale, run my errands, hit up the Farmer's Market and head to one of my favorite places...the shops of downtown Dekalb!

Today I also worked on the Ammo Boxes. I added a healthy layer of Polyurethane.  I will be turning them in to cabinets for a wall. I will definitely need Ron's help with this.

Summer is here!

As many of you know, I am a 1st grade teacher. I LOVE my job but I am excited start my summer vacation. I have a very large list of items to work on and I plan on posting new items often. Follow my on my blog and "like" me on facebook to receive the most frequent updates.