Fantastic fabric

I am so excited! I ordered some fabric online last week and it has come in the mail. Don't you just love getting packages in the mail? I know I do!

I have been searching for the perfect accent pillows for our living room sofa for awhile now, but I just couldn't seem to find ones that were 'just right'. So I thought maybe I should attempt to make my own pillow covers. I went to the local fabric shop, but again, didn't see anything that I LOVED.

Then I found out about this great online fabric shop Tonic Living from reading this post by {aka} design. I fell in love with sooo many fabrics after checking out their site - you should take a look!

So here is what I decided on. It's called "Gazebo, Cloud". The colours are perfect and I love the water colour kind of look the pattern has.

The fun thing about Tonic Living is that you can order fabric samples for just a $1 each. So in addition to my 2 yards of fabric, I also ordered some fun samples of the other patterns I loved. The samples vary in size, but they are all around 8 inches square more or less. I'm not sure what I will do with them yet, but I think they will come in handy with future craft/DIY projects. Aren't these patterns so great?

So now I'm off to sew some pillow covers. Fingers crossed that they turn out well (my sewing skills are limited)! Stay tuned for a post about my finished pillows!

Front porch reveal

Well at long last, I'm finally ready to reveal our porch makeover!

When we moved into our house just over two years ago, the front porch was, you could say, less than inviting. When house hunting, we almost didn't even go view the house because of the porch photos we saw online. It was basically a pine and plywood box and didn't exactly scream 'Home Sweet Home' if you know what I mean.

Here are a few shots of the original porch in all its glory. Check out the LOVELY Christmas wreath (it came with the house and we got possession in June!) and the charming (cough!) wooden mailbox – as if there wasn't enough wood going on already!

 

We decided that even though untreated pine wasn't our thing, the wainscoting and trim did have some potential. So we (okay, mostly my hubby) when to work with some paint and new black fixtures and ended up with this. Definitely an improvement. Bright and cheery. No more pine box.

 

And the above is how it sat for nearly two years. Nicely painted, yet lacking in charm and character. This spring/summer I finally got around to hunting down just the right décor pieces to achieve the look I wanted. It involved scouring several garage sales and making numerous trips to the thrift store, but I did it! Here is how it looks now.

You can read about the chair makeover and DIY wall art in previous posts. I had fun with these projects and I think they give the porch a personal touch.

Everything on this table (and even the table – which I painted white) came from a thrift store, dollar store or garage sale. I love a goooood bargain!

I adore this little tea light lantern with coloured glass. I considered spray painting it black, but I just loved the aged patina too much. What do you think, did I make the right decision in not painting it?

I am happy with the doormat I purchased for only $12 at The Home Depot.

There is a little story to go with this doormat. I looked around so many stores and finally found this one on The Home Depot's website. The site said it was in stock at the store, but I had looked and it definitely wasn't there. So I went back to the store again and this time recruited some help from customer service. Well, half an hour, three sales people and a forklift thingy-ma-bob later, the doormat was retrieved from a box up in the rafters. Totally worth it!

So that concludes the porch makeover tour. Thanks for taking a look! 

Linking up with these parties:
organize & decorate everything
{aka} design

Simple wall art

Here is another sneak peek of what's going on with my porch makeover.

I was in need of something interesting to put on the wall and I got this great idea from my friend Melody who did something similar in her daughter's nursery. It's so simple – I love it!

Simply use different-sized round cross stitch frames and stretch your favourite fabric in them!

Tada!
 

I painted the frames white to match the rest of the porch.

The best part is, you can easily change out the fabric depending on the season. I'm already thinking of what I can do for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Stay tuned for the full porch reveal – coming soon!


Linking to these great parties:

Beyond the Picket Fence

Coloured glass

My blog has been severely neglected these past few months, but with good reason. I'm the proud mama of a handsome baby boy! Though he's hardly a wee babe anymore. It's hard to believe the little guy is already six months old! Now that life seems to be on a bit of a routine, I figured it's time that I get back to posting some entries.

I am working hard at finding décor pieces to finish off our living/dining area. This is a slow process since I am painfully thrifty and hate to pay full price for anything. It's most satisfying for me to find items at thrift stores and garage sales. Kijiji is also a favourite shopping locale. The hunt for a good bargain is half the fun for me!

That being said, I've slowly been collecting some vintage coloured glassware - vases, jars, bottles. I love these fresh colours for spring/summer along with the intricate designs and unique shapes. So pretty and cheerful!

Right now I have them arranged on the sideboard in our dining area. It is neat to see the different shapes, sizes and colours work together to create an interesting display. The overall sideboard display needs more work in my opinion. Any suggestions?

A room for baby

Well it's hard to believe my due date has come and gone! Still no baby in sight, but my husband and I are easy-going people so we are patiently, yet excitedly awaiting his arrival. In the mean time, I've had lots of time to create a special little spot in our home for baby to call his own.

Even before we were expecting, I knew I wanted white furniture. It is so fresh and clean-looking. Also, being that the room isn't very big, I didn't want to overpower it with dark, heavy furniture. The white crib and change table we found at Baby Shack, a boutique baby store in Whitby, Ontario. I think it was the most affordable set they had on display, but it was exactly what I wanted!

 

The inspiration for the room started with the artwork below. I discovered the artandphilanthropy shop at Esty.com and fell in love! The also have a great website and online store here.

I love the colour scheme and the woodland creatures! So adorable. I got a great deal on the frames with some coupons at Michael's.

Next I went shopping for coordinating accents. I found lots of great stuff at Bouclair (polka dotted pillow, drapes, teal lamp shade, teal basket, wicker hamper and garbage pail). The leafy pillows and polka dotted crib sheet are from Zellers – sometimes you find great things in unexpected places!

The rocking chair is a treasure from my mother-in-law. She rocked all four of her babies in this chair and I love that I will rock our baby in it too. The beautiful afghan on the back of the chair is a hand-made gift from a talented woman I work with. The sweet pea water colour on the wall is painted by a dear friend. Her nickname for me is sweet pea and she made this for me a few year ago. It fits perfectly into the colour scheme of the room! So many special treasures.

And the treasures continue. The side table and milk glass lamp are keepsakes from my grandparents' farm house. They just recently sold the farm and moved into a retirement home. I am thankful to have these pieces from the homestead where they raised their family. My husband repainted the table to a brighter white and added a new handle on the drawer. He also spray painted the base of the lamp from brass to white and I purchased a new lamp shade to match the room.

 

The wall shelf holds more memorable keepsakes. Paddington bear is my husband's from when he was a child. The red and green wooden music box is an adorable gift my friend brought back for baby from her trip to Rome. The Bible verse (Psalm 25:4-5) mounted on wood is a special verse from my days at Bible College. It is a life verse for me and I hope it will be a meaningful verse for our baby too as he grows up. 

The white picture frame isn't so much a special treasure, but it is a pretty cool garage sale find! I bought it for 10 cents and had my husband spray paint it white. Turned out well I think!

 

So, come on out little baby, your bedroom is waiting and your mom and dad can't wait to meet you!

In search of a (preferably non-hideous) doorbell

My husband and I have been doing some home improvements to our house this summer. One thing we want to update is the wall unit for our door bell located in the front hall. It seems like we have searched every hardware store in town and can't find anything even remotely nice. I think the doorbell is one of the only things that hasn't been updated to keep current with contemporary home decor. This is the sight at every hardware store so far - big, clunky and outdated. Second row, far right is the model currently in our hallway. The brass and wood combo just aren't going to cut it.



I even started searching online for something decent-looking, but to no avail as of yet. Any suggestions on where to find a clean, simple door bell design?