My Mom's Creative Touch...

My mom moved in with my husband and I late last summer.  Her living quarters in our home was my art studio at one time, some of you may remember, and has turn out to be the perfect little spot for her.  She has her own entrance through our front picket fenced courtyard, and has her own private access to the patio out back.  

My husband and I spend most of our time outdoors in our picket fenced courtyard - it's like our big "playpen"...we have filled it with flowers, shrubs, trees, yard art, patio furniture...things we love! However, we have never put a whole lot into the patio out back...

 We were thrilled when Mom asked us if we would mind if she put a few flower pots on the back patio...mind?  Heck no!  We gave her "full steam ahead."  Mom couldn't wait for spring to come so she could begin the transformation...  

She is so creative in every aspect of her life...and these photos taken of the patio show how she can really put "it" together...a "few" flower pots...I knew better... ;-)  

 Annabelle Grace, my 17 month old granddaughter, helped her G.G. (Great Grama) water her flowers...she LOVED pouring water out of the watering can!

 My mom spends alot of time out there with her collie, Finnegan...

and we tend to spend more time out there now as well...who wouldn't want to?

Friends of a Feather June Sale

Our next Friends of a Feather sale 

at The Vintage House is slated for 

June 15th & 16th!

Please mark your calendar!

We are gathering some great finds, and are welcoming some new, fantastic vendors to make your shopping experience even more exciting!

I Love...

"I love" going to Kathi's house...she is a like-minded friend that I met in a craft store a few years 

ago as we were both were standing side by side, drooling over beautiful, artistic papers...

She is a girl after my own heart... 

She is always arranging...rearranging...decorating...redecorating...

flipping furniture from one room to the other...and then flipping them back again...she loves to search and find new unique pieces that she adores that she can integrate into her, already, 

fantastic and unique style... 

She does what she loves...and she does it so naturally...

You fall in LOVE with her house and her style over and over again...

 "I love" the antique shoe rack in her sitting room...a perfect shelf to show off her collections...

"I love" the way she arranges old wooden boxes on her wall behind her couch... 

"I love" the way she display things that she loves...

Ahh... the grays, whites, silvers and brown tones...love it!

 "I love" her chandelier that hangs over her antique pedestal sewing machine table 

that she uses as an island in her kitchen...

 More grays, whites, silvers and brown tones...

 "I love" her unique, comfortable style...

She recently acquired her grandmother's chandelier that hangs in her living room...love it!

 Not only were we thrilled to see Kathi's beautiful home again, "I love" the delicious

 tomato soup and chicken tortellini salad she served us!

 Not to mention..."I love" the Hummingbird cake she dished up for dessert...

I look forward to another visit to Kathi's home soon...can't wait to see what she will do next!

You can visit Kathi's personal blog here...

www.traybellakc.blogspot.com

Kathi and another dear friend, Joan, have their own decorating business...
they will come in to your home and rearrange and redecorate...using what you have...
...check out their blog here!
www.burlapjunktion.blogspot.com

A Master Bedroom with Repurposed Decorative Touches

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a young stay-at-home mother of two named Sara, who wanted to give her master bedroom a "redo" that didn't cost an arm and a leg... She originally had her heart set on finding wallpaper to create a feature wall behind her bed, but when she priced designer wallpaper, and discovered how many rolls she needed, she had to rethink her vision.  Instead she purchased an inexpensive stencil and some white paint.  Using a level, some spray adhesive and a little patience, she created a "dramatic" look for "dramatically" less than her original plan.

This perfect little vintage settee was discovered at an antique store by Sara's mom,
who purchased a portion of it as a gift to Sara for Christmas. 

"I needed an additional "pop" of color in the room." 

After the room was nearly complete, Sara felt that there was something missing.  She loved the navy and the golden colors together, but she felt it was a little bit too two-dimensional.  She bought a can of "pimento" colored spray paint and sprayed her "light blue" lamp and an iron candle holder the yummy new color.

"The headboard is probably one of my favorite details in the room."

When she and her husband moved into their new home, they took the door off to the playroom, and she knew immediately that she wanted to repurpose it...but wasn't sure how.  As she was perusing the new on-line bulletin board phenomenon "Pinterest," she saw an image of a door being used as a headboard, and she couldn't get her old headboard out of her room fast enough!

Sara added a funky golden colored owl to add some additional warmth to her room. 

Sara explained that the small "bench" in front of her couch was given to her by her grandmother to use as a small coffee table.  The bench was first painted white, then a small decorative stencil design was added to the top, to integrate in with the graphic designs already gracing Sara's bedroom.

"I went on a scavenger hunt around my house to find a fun mix of things."

Sara wanted to create a collaged wall of memories on the wall around her couch.  Not only did she hang a collection of family photos, but she integrated several pieces of memorabilia:  a piece of artwork that was designed by her grandfather over 30 years ago for her mom's wedding invitation; a shadowbox collage that her mom made for her husband one Christmas; three tiny Danish blue plates that her sister brought back to her from Denmark; and a vintage key from the first home she and her husband bought together.

A stack of books next to the settee' on a couple of storage
baskets...adding another "spot" of the golden color.
Another book laying on her dresser with an ornamental iron piece
on top, adds an additional "pop" of the red color to the room.

All in all, Sara did not have to spend much to create a whole new look to her bedroom...adding a bit of innovation for the feature wall, repurposing some of her treasures from around her house, using a bedspread and pillows that were used previously in a guest bedroom...and collecting small things that she loves...what a massive impact for so little invested!  Amazing job Sara!

In the Search of "Goodies"...

My sister, my niece and I took Mom to Ottawa, Kansas to celebrate her birthday last week, and to see if we could come across any goodies to bring to the Friends of a Feather sale.

We found goodies alright...but I won't be bringing these particular ones to the sale...the beautiful architecture of this small Kansas town, and the way they are being maintained by the current owners, is absolutely breathtaking!  These buildings, that were constructed over a hundred years ago, are nothing short of remarkable...built with intricate details...unique, creative artistic design...and pure craftsmanship.  I love that, on some, the year that they were constructed are engraved in stone and integrated into the building design, and some, additionally, feature a name.

I couldn't physically bring them to you...so I am sharing some of these wonders of a bygone era here on our blog...where I love to share creative and unique corners of our world with our "Friends of a Feather"!

As I was walking the main street of Ottawa photographing these beauties, Mom, Cara, Alexandra and I would tuck our heads into the many antique and flea markets that Ottawa had to offer!

By the way...we found some treasures that we DID bring home with us...

You'll have to come to our next Friends of a Feather Sale, which is on the calendar for 

Thursday, February 23rd from 6 to 9 p.m.

Friday the 24th and Saturday 25th from 10 to 5

to see what we found!

LOVE CUBBIES!!!

We took a break to enjoy some lunch at one of the local restaurants...

"I bet you can't wait to see what we found...."