Shop The House Sunday (Early!)

 

Good morning everyone!  

Mr. & Mrs. FYN are going on a kid-free vacation tomorrow!  Woo hoo!  We'll be skiing in Lake Tahoe through Tuesday.  I'm so excited!  

With that in mind, I'm putting my "Shop The House Sunday" party up early today and I'll be leaving it up through Wednesday morning of next week.  I'll be looking forward to seeing everyone's posts when I get back in Tuesday night.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Okay, here is my "Shop the House" project!

I had an old marble top dresser that was in Pierce's room for awhile until we redecorated it.  Check out Pierce's room here! 

I saw an idea for a wine bar on another blog which was just the inspiration I needed for "what to do" with this antique piece.  I thought I had saved the post, but I didn't, so if you are reading this Miss Wine Bar Transformation Girl (golf ball vase filler!) then give me a shout-out so I can give you credit!

Introducing my new, somewhat "manly" mini bar!

I had grand plans to refinish this piece, take out drawers, install a wine rack, etc.  I decided against it because this is an antique.  I just gave it a good cleaning with Murphy's oil soap and here it sits in it's imperfect beauty!

 

  

This was the somewhat "manly" part.  Golf ball vase filler!

I made taper candle holders out of empty IBC rootbeer bottles filled with wood golf tees!

The striped magazine rack used to sit in the study, but now it holds bottles of red wine.  

I picked up the wine cooler at Linens 'n Things going out of business sale.  It's a Cuisinart and it was $50!

What did I put in the drawers, you ask?

Bottle openers, juicer, bottle stoppers, a cocktail recipe book & some margarita mixes.

Wine, mojito and cordial glasses

Table linens

Serveware & koozies!

While I was at it, I also freshened up the kitchen with things I already had.

I had some different plates in this 2 tier rack.  I put those on the mini bar and used some of my china salad plates.

I filled a tall glass cylinder with shells and put one of my shell topiaries on top.

Okay, not really a "shop" but I moved a shelf in this cabinet so I could fit all my cookbooks upright.

I cleaned out my pantry! I collected all my glass jars with lids and put them to use for dry goods, etc.  I really like the way it is looking.  Sorta "Martha"! 

So, what did you find when you "shopped" your house???

I'm linking this post to:

Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple 

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage 

Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home 

Look What I Made at Creations by Kara 

Trash Pickin' Thursday!

 

Welcome to another day of trash pickin' adventures!  If you've been following this party, you know that I've found many treasures over the last several weeks.  This morning I had a lot of stuff do around the house, like PACK!

Me & Mr. FYN are taking a kid-free vacation tomorrow to Lake Tahoe.  Here's what I'm going to look like on vacation...

Actually, it'll probably be more like this...

So, with my busy day underway, I don't have a trash pick this morning, but I DID use one of the items I found last week in a mantle re-do!

 

See the mercury glass vase on the left?  That was in the trash.....really!

I also "fluffed" up the other tablescapes in my living room.  I went crazy with SHELLS last month!  Of course, we're always "re-doing" aren't we?  I took some of the shells out and added some other textures, like wood and rattan.  

  

  

  

So, what did you find in the trash this week?  OR how did you decorate with something you found in the trash?  Link up and show me!

Anthropologie Craft Party at House Notes Today!

Always one for a challenge, I was thoroughly intrigued by my friend Meg's Anthropologie Craft Off over at her blog, House Notes! 

The task?  Create something inspired by Anthropologie for a fraction of the cost.  Anthro is SO COOL, SO DROOL-WORTHY.....

...but seriously you would have to be hitting the bong professionally to pay their prices.  $148 for a shower curtain?!  $128 for a throw pillow...yes....a THROW pillow!  

So I'm thinking to myself, "oh I got this one in the bag!  I know exactly what I'm going to do!"  

Then. LIFE. happened.

After a whirlwind weekend of latin dance competition and a beginning of the week filled with trying to get the house back in order, I just ran out of time.  So, lame as it may be, I'll show you what I intended to do and hopefully I can show you the real deal in a few days!

 

These are "one-of-a-kind" Nomad Flyers and this can be yours for just......$328!  I wonder if the buyers at Anthro feel a little dirty sometimes....

Enter the famous Dollar Tree birdies that have been flying all over blogland...

 

(photo courtesy of Jane at Finding Fabulous, because I'm too lazy to pick up my camera and go shoot a pic of my birdies!) 

So my idea was to take torn pieces of printed scrapbook paper and decoupauge them to the birdies to imitate the "Nomad Flyers" from Anthro.  

That's the idea anyway, we'll see how it turns out and I'll post on it soon, hopefully!

I'll leave you with more pictures of the "I could buy an Ikea SOFA for the price of one bird" beauties....

 

6th "Welcome to NEWBIE" Weekly Feature!

 

Welcome to my 6th "Welcome to NEWBIE" weekly feature.  Each Wednesday, I will introduce you to some NEW, or as I like to call us, NEWBIE, bloggers who are fun, creative and just plain COOL!

You, my peeps, get some new inspiration and the NEWBIE gets some new followers!  A win-win for all!

My first NEWBIE this week is Liz from The Brambleberry Cottage! 

Here is the most elegant Liz...

Liz is a fifty-something Southern gal living with her husband, whom she affectionately refers to as "the Yankee".  Five years ago, they moved from the city to a quaint little cottage farmhouse amid the beautiful rolling hills of North Carolina.  

  

Meet "The Yankee"!! 

The Brambleberry Cottage is the name she gave her new home shortly after they moved in.  How did she come up with the name, you ask?  Well, one day, as she strolled their eleven wooded acres, the perfect name came to Liz.  There were lush blackberry brambles enveloping about five acres of the property's perimeter.  It was the time of year when  they were in full bloom, which created a charming backdrop for the cottage.  It seemed only natural to choose a name with that particular scenery in mind.  So, the Brambleberry Cottage was born. 

 

A wellhouse on the property framed by Fall foliage....beautiful....

Liz and her "Yankee" are very much a husband and wife DIY team.  They delight in rescuing vintage, antique, and collectible castoffs to create one-of-a-kind treasures - for themselves and others.  However, she is constantly faced with the challenges of their very different personalities and decorating styles.  

Liz favors the refined and feminine...

...while he likes rustic and primitive.

Liz decided to chronicle the adventures and challenges of blending these two entirely different styles - what she calls a "romantic union of Yankee ingenuity and Southern charm."  Her blog, which she started just a little over five weeks ago, provides a creative outlet to do just that.

So here's why you'll love The Brambleberry Cottage...

Want to see some yummy furniture rehabs?  Okay, rehab isn't even the word I should use when it comes to what Liz and the "Yankee" do with tired, old furniture. Metamorphosis maybe? Transformation?  Miracle?

  

 

Isn't this beautiful cottagey yumminess?  I love all the little appliques they added to give it that special handcrafted look.  And the color....could it be more perfect?

   

This vanity became 2 beautiful nightstands.  That's Yankee ingenuity for ya!  How nifty is that?!

Mr. "Yankee" even builds furniture...from scratch!

 

Kitchen island

Yes, he painted that checkerboard pattern on the top by hand.  Mr "Yankee" I'm your newest fan!

 

Rustic bench

 

Chippy little table!

Tablescapes are just one of Liz's passions...

 

Romantic dining in the field behind the cottage!

Liz throws the coolest parties!

 She did a 14 day marathon of giveaways in honor of Valentine's Day!  That's a lot of work Liz.  Great job!

So go over and visit Liz, her "Yankee" and The Brambleberry Cottage! 

Now meet my 2nd NEWBIE, Barbara from Hodge:Podge! 

 

Barbara's passion for decorating started as a child, when her mom taught her how to sew buttons at 3 years old!  From there, she started designing her own Barbie dresses, then re-decorating the Barbie house and redecorating and rearranging her bedroom, much to her parents constant bewilderment. 

 

What really fuels her passion is trying to create an aesthetically pleasing home on a budget. She enjoys painting, refinishing furniture, sewing drapes, pillows and just "fluffing" the house by using creativity and imagination. She looks to her  favorite Canadian design mags and designers for inspiration, as well as the wealth of inspiration in our blogging community!

Some of Barbara's original artwork!

"Peony"

 Barbara began blogging after moving back to Canada from Virginia and not being able to find work in her profession, education. She stayed busy by focusing on decorating her home despite it being a rental. After stumbling across some blogs she decided to start one as well. She finds it is another creative outlet and she's met some amazing and talented women along the way.

So here's what got me hooked on Hodge:Podge!

Barbara comes up with wonderfully creative, yet simple to execute (which blondie here likes A LOT!) fun projects!

Like this one...

 

Rubbermaid bins get the chalkboard paint treatment!

Or these...

 

Recover an ironing board using snappy Ikea fabric OR make a chalkboard out of a window!

I love an ugly lamp makeover!  The before...

 

And after...

She used silver leaf....totally glamourous!

This one got the white treatment.  Beautiful!

Barbara did a wonderful series on how to create character and make a RENTED home feel loved.  The ideas are great for renters, but could be used for an owned home too!  

Such as...

 

Change the fixtures in bathrooms.  If you need more towel bars, add them!  (Sidenote: this bathroom was PURPLE, yes purple before she painted it this wonderful caramel color!)

 

Change light fixtures! 

(*as I look at what I like to call the "mushroom light" in my master bedroom entry!)

Nothing says lovin' like the power of paint!  

The before...

Red rum....Red rum!!!! (*I love that movie!)

And the calm, serene after...

 

  

So go check out Barbara at Hodge:Podge!  I can't wait to see what wonderful ideas she comes up with next!

Thanks for joining me for "Welcome to NEWBIE Wednesday".  I hope you enjoyed meeting these 2 lovely ladies!