Ah...Christmas! Time for red and green, tinsel and stars. But wait--I didn't want a traditional tree this year! I got to spend seven days in SW Florida a couple of weeks ago and came home inspired to decorate our little tree with a beachy vibe this year. Ideas swirled in my head: starfish (properly called sea stars--did you know that?), sand dollars, painted shells, and various other beach related things--all the makings for a Florida-influenced holiday tree. But, since I don't have a palm tree, I'll have to make do with a faux (a nice way to say fake!) evergreen.
Of course, projects were involved!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
A French Pumpkin and Other Fall Décor
Hello Friends!
It's not too late to post a few fall decor pictures, especially if the photos have a French pumpkin in some of them. A citrouille!
In looking through my fall décor, which you can see below, I found that I did not have what I needed to create a French vignette on the dining room hutch.
It's not like I didn't have enough stuff; I just didn't have quite what I was envisioning. So I got busy trying to produce this idea I had rattling around in my head. When you have seen something on a blog that speaks to you, you want to try it out for yourself and put your own spin on it. That's what happened to me when I saw things on three different blogs that I thought were terrific!
One of my favorite blogs is Stonegable, written and produced by Yvonne. She has impeccable taste in all things décor. Her post from a couple of years ago inspired the general look I was going for. Love the way she has flatware in a pitcher with the handles showing at the top; adding the stack of plates was very appealing and I knew I wanted to do something similar. I put some dried hydrangeas in the background of mine and in the little pitcher up front--always good for Frenchifying a vignette!
You can see the rest of her lovely fall decorating here:
http://www.stonegableblog.com/fall-home-tour-and-1500-giveaway/ Many thanks to Yvonne for consistently posting great idea after great idea!
I had seen some white faux pumpkins decorated with Sharpie pens last year and wanted to have a French one this fall. I found some French-language poems about autumn on the internet. I made copies of four of them, penciled them in so the poems ran along the pumpkin in a continuous spiral, and then went over the pencil marks with a fine-line Sharpie. Parlez-vous Francais? If your answer is oui, you might notice a mistake or two where I left out a letter or didn't put in the appropriate diacritical mark. I don't speak French--wish I did--and recognize only a few words here and there. End of disclaimer! The pumpkin had been one of those orange faux pumpkins that are sold in craft stores everywhere--I just painted it with chalky off-white paint. It was a great surface to write on with a pencil and it was easy to erase the pencil marks after using the Sharpie.
The inspiration picture for my project is one I found on Pinterest. It was posted by Gretchen at http://boxycolonial.com/pumpkin-parade-sharpie-pumpkins/ Thanks so much for sharing a great idea, Gretchen!
For the dining room table I put together a country-look using a round galvanized tray to corral all the traditional things--pumpkins, gourds, crows, flowers, leaves, and grapes (that are on the other side of the arrangement). It is sitting on a burlap square--I just fringed the edges for a simple look.
Here's a quick shot of the drysink and a blue pumpkin I painted two years ago. It was also inspired by Pinterest pictures posted by several different bloggers--right now, I don't remember which ones. Yep, that's an old doorknob in place of a stem.
On the sideboard I put my steal-of-a-deal ceramic pumpkin that I scored at the Purcellville, VA, town-wide tag sale in mid-October this year. It is in perfect condition--no chips, dings, or scratches. When I asked the gal who was selling it how much was she asking for it, she said $5, but I could have it for $4!! I didn't ask twice, crossed her palm with four singles, and made off with a lovely, unusual pumpkin to add to my growing collection.
The chandelier needed a little love, so off came the mini-lampshades that usually perch on the light bulbs, then I twined a leaf swag over the five arms and called it done! Two minutes, tops.
There was space atop the green picnic basket that resides on a vintage metal cart in one corner of the dining room. I remembered a lovely arrangement done in a lantern that I saw on Confessions of a Serial DIYer, another of my many fave blogs, and made my version of it.
This is Christy's gorgeous dining room with her lantern decked out in neutrals and a little green.
By the way, hang on to your real gourds when you start to put away your fall decorations. I'll show you in my next blog post how to dry them and give them new life so they can live on for many years in your fall stash!
I hope you'll visit these three blogs and be inspired, too! Please remember to Pin from the blogs I shared, rather than from mine. You are welcome to Pin any of my photos--and, please do!
I'd love for you to leave a comment--they make my day!!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end!
It's not too late to post a few fall decor pictures, especially if the photos have a French pumpkin in some of them. A citrouille!
In looking through my fall décor, which you can see below, I found that I did not have what I needed to create a French vignette on the dining room hutch.
It's not like I didn't have enough stuff; I just didn't have quite what I was envisioning. So I got busy trying to produce this idea I had rattling around in my head. When you have seen something on a blog that speaks to you, you want to try it out for yourself and put your own spin on it. That's what happened to me when I saw things on three different blogs that I thought were terrific!
One of my favorite blogs is Stonegable, written and produced by Yvonne. She has impeccable taste in all things décor. Her post from a couple of years ago inspired the general look I was going for. Love the way she has flatware in a pitcher with the handles showing at the top; adding the stack of plates was very appealing and I knew I wanted to do something similar. I put some dried hydrangeas in the background of mine and in the little pitcher up front--always good for Frenchifying a vignette!
Thanks to Stonegableblog.com
You can see the rest of her lovely fall decorating here:
http://www.stonegableblog.com/fall-home-tour-and-1500-giveaway/ Many thanks to Yvonne for consistently posting great idea after great idea!
I had seen some white faux pumpkins decorated with Sharpie pens last year and wanted to have a French one this fall. I found some French-language poems about autumn on the internet. I made copies of four of them, penciled them in so the poems ran along the pumpkin in a continuous spiral, and then went over the pencil marks with a fine-line Sharpie. Parlez-vous Francais? If your answer is oui, you might notice a mistake or two where I left out a letter or didn't put in the appropriate diacritical mark. I don't speak French--wish I did--and recognize only a few words here and there. End of disclaimer! The pumpkin had been one of those orange faux pumpkins that are sold in craft stores everywhere--I just painted it with chalky off-white paint. It was a great surface to write on with a pencil and it was easy to erase the pencil marks after using the Sharpie.
The inspiration picture for my project is one I found on Pinterest. It was posted by Gretchen at http://boxycolonial.com/pumpkin-parade-sharpie-pumpkins/ Thanks so much for sharing a great idea, Gretchen!
For the dining room table I put together a country-look using a round galvanized tray to corral all the traditional things--pumpkins, gourds, crows, flowers, leaves, and grapes (that are on the other side of the arrangement). It is sitting on a burlap square--I just fringed the edges for a simple look.
Here's a quick shot of the drysink and a blue pumpkin I painted two years ago. It was also inspired by Pinterest pictures posted by several different bloggers--right now, I don't remember which ones. Yep, that's an old doorknob in place of a stem.
On the sideboard I put my steal-of-a-deal ceramic pumpkin that I scored at the Purcellville, VA, town-wide tag sale in mid-October this year. It is in perfect condition--no chips, dings, or scratches. When I asked the gal who was selling it how much was she asking for it, she said $5, but I could have it for $4!! I didn't ask twice, crossed her palm with four singles, and made off with a lovely, unusual pumpkin to add to my growing collection.
The chandelier needed a little love, so off came the mini-lampshades that usually perch on the light bulbs, then I twined a leaf swag over the five arms and called it done! Two minutes, tops.
There was space atop the green picnic basket that resides on a vintage metal cart in one corner of the dining room. I remembered a lovely arrangement done in a lantern that I saw on Confessions of a Serial DIYer, another of my many fave blogs, and made my version of it.
This is Christy's gorgeous dining room with her lantern decked out in neutrals and a little green.
Follow this link to see how she put it together and made a coordinating wreath.
By the way, hang on to your real gourds when you start to put away your fall decorations. I'll show you in my next blog post how to dry them and give them new life so they can live on for many years in your fall stash!
I hope you'll visit these three blogs and be inspired, too! Please remember to Pin from the blogs I shared, rather than from mine. You are welcome to Pin any of my photos--and, please do!
I'd love for you to leave a comment--they make my day!!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end!
I'm Joining These Fabulous Parties!
Share It One More Time Link Party The Everyday Home
Craft Frenzy Friday Little Vintage Cottage
Tweak It Tuesday Cozy Little House
Sew Darn Crafty Linking Party Sew Many Ways...
Inspire Me Monday Sand & Sisal
Metamorphosis Monday Between Naps on the Porch
The Scoop StoneGable
Inspire Me Tuesday A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays Savvy Southern Style
Tweak It Tuesday Cozy Little House
Sew Darn Crafty Linking Party Sew Many Ways...
Inspire Me Monday Sand & Sisal
Metamorphosis Monday Between Naps on the Porch
The Scoop StoneGable
Inspire Me Tuesday A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays Savvy Southern Style
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
From Gilded Frame to Gorgeous Necklace Holder
Statement necklaces had me at first glance. I began to notice them on well-dressed women and on Pinterest when I searched for clothing ideas. I loved the way they finished off the outfits I saw. They could make a simple blouse, sweater, and jeans look terrific! They would become my quintessential accessory, I decided, to dress up the clothes I already had. I wanted some badly, so I began my search; it wasn't hard to find great looking necklaces--they were in every store I visited!
After going nuts with the idea and getting a number of necklaces, Mr. Bill said, "Don't you think you have enough?" No, you can never have too many! I need lots of options to create a new look with the same clothes!
photo from a Google search--sorry, no source
After going nuts with the idea and getting a number of necklaces, Mr. Bill said, "Don't you think you have enough?" No, you can never have too many! I need lots of options to create a new look with the same clothes!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
A Trashpile Chair Rescue
This old beauty was pulled out of someone's trash pile. It is a vintage/antique pressed back oak chair with a caned seat. The people seemed to be moving out, so I had no compunction about rescuing it from all the other things they were throwing away, thinking I could fix the seat and give it a new color. Oh, so easy!
Here is the chair I wanted to redo as well as the seat with issues.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
MayFaire Cottage Is Now A Blog!!
Welcome to my brand-new blog! I know, I know--the blogiverse probably does not need another blog, but I'd like to give it a try. I've always loved a good project and have done a bunch of them over the years. Now I think I'm ready to share some of them, maybe show a few pictures, maybe talk a little about how my project was done, and maybe inspire you to tweak your home decor in the process. Since this is my first blog post ever, it will be short, rather plain, and unsophisticated. Hoping to learn lots as I go and to picking up some blogging tricks along the way--like how to get tabs at the top, just under the header!
It already had nice glass knobs, so they stayed with the piece. And the turned legs! Well, they were a turn-on! More fabulous yumminess!
I love rehabbing and painting furniture, so that will definitely be on the blog. Also, easy vignettes, French anything, and always some pure beachiness will be included. So if any of these things interest you, I invite you to follow my blog--just type your email into the box on the right and hit Submit. Now, on to the next project!
Thanks,
Ruth Anne
Linking to:
Tweak It Tuesday Cozy Little House
Wow Us Wednesdays Savvy Southern Style
The Scoop Confessions of a Plate Addict
Inspire Me Tuesday A Stroll Through Life
Be~You~tiful Link Party and Features Art Is Beauty
Furniture Feature Friday/Favorites & Link Party Miss Mustard Seed
My Birdie Beauty
This is a chest of drawers I painted with some chalky paint and my own bird and branch design. Paint is the best and fastest way to give a piece of furniture a whole new lease on life. And, if you don't like your results, just choose another color and go for it again! Instant gratification--something I totally love! This chest of drawers sold quickly, so I need to paint another one with a variation on the birds and branches.
Here's a "before" shot of the chest of drawers--bought it at a yard sale for $15--not a bad price for an all-wood, vintage piece!
I love rehabbing and painting furniture, so that will definitely be on the blog. Also, easy vignettes, French anything, and always some pure beachiness will be included. So if any of these things interest you, I invite you to follow my blog--just type your email into the box on the right and hit Submit. Now, on to the next project!
Thanks,
Ruth Anne
Linking to:
Tweak It Tuesday Cozy Little House
Wow Us Wednesdays Savvy Southern Style
The Scoop Confessions of a Plate Addict
Inspire Me Tuesday A Stroll Through Life
Be~You~tiful Link Party and Features Art Is Beauty
Furniture Feature Friday/Favorites & Link Party Miss Mustard Seed
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