The Shabby Nest: February 2009

2.27.2009

Six~

The Princess turns 6 today!

I can't believe my baby girl is six! I am so grateful that I have her to be girly-girls with in the middle of our little testosterone-filled world! With three brothers, though, this young lady can definitely hold her own! How I love her!!! Happy Birthday, Princess!!

A wicked sinus infection has me moving a little slower than usual, so look for some fun details of the Princess' Fancy Nancy birthday party, along with some great decorating ideas next week!

And, just in case you all thought I forgot...the winner of the Crowned Heart necklace is...Amy at Beyond Normalcy! Congratulations Amy!!! Drop me an email and we'll set you up with your lovely new necklace!

Have a great weekend!

2.26.2009

Still Life~

This lovely vignette is courtesy of Mr. Two.

"The dinosaur go here, Mommy!" he said emphatically, pointing at the side table as I tried to convince him to put the orange plastic monster away with the other toys. "The dinosaur go here!"

Ya know, I just might leave it there. The kid has an eye for design.

Have a lovely Thursday~

2.25.2009

Skirting the Issue~

This is the tale of how a little old chair got all dressed up!

Last year the Hubby and I found a pair of antique ladderback chairs being thrown out by the local auction house. Their lines were lovely, but their rush-woven seats had seen better days. As in, one was missing entirely, and the other one...well see for yourself. But they were cute, so we hauled them home, and planned on cutting out and upholstering new seats for them.

We have desperately needed a chair for our piano for a while now. Whenever anyone wants to play, they have to drag over a chair from the kitchen. So the other night as I lay in bed, I had a brainstorm. It is for exactly these reasons that I keep my inspiration notebook by the bed. I jotted down the idea, and knew it would be safe until morning.

So yesterday I went to work. First I tied on some chair cushions- left over from the rocking chair that used to be in the boys' nursery- to make it soft and cushy for the tushy.

I have some old cotton duck PB slipcovers which have served me well, but have seen better days. So I grabbed one of them. The old ladderback was much too tall for the cover, but I didn't let that deter me. I cut a slit in the top and rolled and tucked...it looked good, but something was missing. And being the queen of photo transfers, I had a brainstorm. I printed out a vintage sheet music cover and transferred it onto the seat of the slipcover. Now my pretty ladderback has a nice, new, perfectly shabby skirt. Ain't she purdy?

Don't Forget!!! Today is the last day to enter the drawing for the lovely crowned heart necklace.

Have a lovely Wednesday~

2.24.2009

Inspire-Me Tuesday~

I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I have a bit of a love affair with paper. I love stationery of all kinds. I have an obsession with scrapbook paper. I love to create with paper. Paper. Paper. Paper.

The Princess turns 6 on Friday. So we are in the throws of creating a Fancy Nancy birthday party. Normally, being the paper-obsessed person that I am...my favorite part of throwing a party is creating the invitations. SERIOUSLY. One of these days I'll share a few of my creations... But, while browsing in Target, I ran across these darling invitations by Anna Griffin. (The girls can wear them...)

And I did a first a for me. I purchased invitations. But seriously, folks, these little crowns are perfect for Fancy Nancy invites...I admit, I did add a little glitter glue to look like gems, but other than that...perfection.

So, just for fun, I looked up the Anna Griffin website. If you love paper...or fabric...or just eye candy...pop over. And her blog is wonderful too. Here are a couple of photos that inspired me.

I would love to have one of these in my craft room/studio with pretty papers spilling out of every nook and cranny.

Last two photos from Anna Griffin Blog

I saw a piece very similar to this at Brimfield last summer. Oh how I would have loved to bring it home. sigh.

Now go forth, inspire, and be inspired.

AND DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE DRAWING (ON MONDAY'S POST ONLY) FOR THE LOVELY CROWN NECKLACE. DRAWING ENDS WEDNESDAY!

2.23.2009

A Giveaway!

This past week I received this beautiful little necklace in the mail from one of my wonderful readers.

Tangee made this necklace and it's simply darling (of course, we all know how I love a crown..but even the clasp is cute)! Lucky for us, Tangee has an Etsy store where she sells her beautiful handmade pieces. But she has generously offered to give one of these little crowned heart necklaces to one lucky reader of the Shabby Nest. Simply leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, February 25 and you'll be entered to win. I'll announce the winner on Friday of this week.

Don't you think a giveaway is a great way to start the week? I do!!

Make sure you pop over and pay Tangee a visit!

EDITED TO ADD: Kari & Kijsa, two of my favorite diet coke drinking sisters (similar to me and my l'il sis!), featured my blog today on a great little series they've started called "Psst...your creativity is showing". Thanks girls! Pop over to their uber-fabulous blog and check it out!

Have a lovely Monday~

2.20.2009

Bird Brain~

Since the name of my blog is The Shabby Nest I guess it should come as no surprise that I like birds. I guess you could say I have birds on the brain. Here are just a few of the winged creatures that make their home in my nest.

Some of you may remember when I found this real live nest. It looks so sweet in it's little jar next to this darling bird print.

I made this little fella for Christmas, but he is still sitting there in my Sweetheart tree...yeah, I'm leaving it up until the end of the month.

This birdie is in the Princess' room...hanging from her lamp. A toile bird...two of my favorite things in one...

And I found these darling little salt and pepper shakers at Target for only $5.99! I can't wait to use them at a Spring brunch...ooh, and on Easter! They make a lovely addition to my kitchen shelves. (And yes, I noticed that I typed my watermark wrong on the bottom picture of these little birds...I'm clever like that.)

Then today, what should come in the mail? But this beautiful, little, mercury glass bird from sweetheart Shannon over at Bless Our Nest! After reading my "Smitten" post, she saw this little beauty and thought I should have it! What a wonderful surprise! And she wrapped it in...what else?...the same TOILE wrapping paper I framed up for my 10-minute bathroom makeover. Does this girl get me or what? THANKS SHANNON!!!

Have a wonderful weekend~

2.19.2009

The Forgotten Room

Our upstairs bathroom is the orphan room in our house. It is slated to get a total remodel, and because we plan to redo it, I have neglected it. As a result, it is one of my least favorite rooms in the entire house...second only to the dungeon basement that is waiting to be finished into our studio/office and family room. But I digress. The Nester is having a "10 minutes to a room you love" party today! And I decided to join in.

Now because I know that this room is going to be done in the next few months (that is me being optimistic) I didn't want to spend a lot of time or a lot of money doing anything to it. I just wanted to enjoy it a little more. So I decided to take the Nester at her word, and see if I could make it more ~~bearable~~ beautiful in just 10 minutes. It actually took me about 15 minutes, but that's close enough in my book. She's good, that Nester. Soooo let me show you what I did.

The one thing I do love about this room is that it is painted a gorgeous shade of blue. And I love the way that pale gray-blue plays off of black and white. So I have been working along that theme.

First, the poor room needed some art. This little project took me all of five minutes to accomplish. Some of you may remember my toile barn star. Well, when the Princess and I cleaned out her room the other day we discovered some more of my toile wrapping paper stuffed in the back of her dresser (her dresser used to be my craft supply station). So I cut out a couple of pieces and framed them up. They look lovely!

I already had the pretty white shower curtains (which are going to be embroidered with a black monogram one day soon), but adding fluffy white towels made the dated white and brass towel bars look much better. (They are going to be replaced with hooks along the lines of what I did in the boys room.)

The toilet paper holder was ripped off the walls by my toddler demolition team months ago, but because the room is going to be redone, I haven't replaced it. Putting the roll of TP in this basket does the trick, and looks cute!

I added a few little things I love - like this little jar of vintage buttons - just to make the room homier.

Bringing in some of the tulips from yesterday's post really helped make the room more pleasant! I just love fresh flowers everywhere...but in unexpected places like a bathroom, they really make a statement! (The tumbler that is holding them used to house our toothbrushes, but I listened to Nester and hid all hygiene products in the cabinets.)

I've shown my bathroom mistreatment before, but here she is again!

And before I let you go, I just listed this adorable pillow in my Etsy shop! Pop over and check it out!

Thanks for visiting~

2.18.2009

Waiting for spring~

The Hubby gave me these lovely tulips for Valentine's Day. Tulips are my absolute favorite flower. As I look at them sitting on the table, I find myself longing for Spring. This winter has been a fierce one in New England, and this girl just can't wait for some warmer weather!

But the more I look at these little lovelies, the happier I feel. Studies have shown that having fresh flowers in the home is actually a mood elevator and that the flowers act as a stress reliever.

So go buy yourself a few flowers...a few dollars spent to chase away those winter blues isn't such a bad deal!

And while I'm on the subject of spring, I'm getting started on my spring cleaning a little early. I was so inspired by Shannon's pantry organization project, that I quit procrastinating, and finally started organizing my kiddo's rooms!

Lest you think that the Shabby Nest is always spic and span...here is a before photo of the boys' closet/reading nook.

After a good hour or so - and a lot of purging of unused toys and papers etc.-here is the AFTER! Now I'm even inspired to paint the inside of the closet...another project I have been procrastinating! The closet cleaning led to a good thorough clean of the whole room. And then the Princess' room got the same treatment. I'm on a roll! Thanks for the inspiration Shannon!

Edited to add: M.L over the House of Whimsy has a darling post about the Crown Pillow she bought from my Etsy store. Pop over and give her a visit! It's so wonderful to have a happy customer!!!

Have a great Wednesday~

2.17.2009

Inspire Me Tuesday~

I still have office/studio spaces on the brain. So here is a little more inspiration...

This great library space is from Southern Living.
What I love about it: The shelving....hands down. The two sets of french doors would let in a lot of light, and the crown moulding gives it a real feeling of grandeur.

This photo is from a garage that was converted into a home office/craft studio. Also from Southern Living.
What I love about it: The inspiration board! I have to make sure I have a great big inspiration board in my new office/studio! Also the colors are so bright and cheerful!

Another great studio space from Southern Living.

What I love about it: Great natural light. I also love the creative touches like the dressmakers form. (I'd love one of those too!) And in contrast to the last space, the palette here is calm and serene.

I have loved this image from Pottery Barn since I first saw it.

What I love about it: I love white on white. The secretary is beautiful and I love the idea of hiding my office/techy stuff in a pretty piece of furniture. I also LOOOOOVE the sofa and chair artwork.

Finally, these great pinboards from Pottery Barn!

What I love about them: The flax linen covering. The unique shape of the roundish one! These would be really easy to replicate if you could find the right kind of frame. I'll be searching!

Now, my dear readers, go forth, inspire and be inspired~

2.16.2009

A quick project for the laundry room~

Some of you might remember my laundry room remodel from a few months back. Well, I can't leave well enough alone. I am always tweaking. There are still some things I have on my list to do before the laundry room is "finished" (ha! like that word is really in my decorating vocabulary!) For instance, I would like to add a counter top like the one in my inspiration laundry room below.

Image from Cottage Living

But, that is not what I'm going to share today. (Had y'all a little excited to see a new counter didn't I?) Nope. My project for today is much simpler...but it is cute!

I just made me this little sign for the room. Typed up the definition of laundry and printed it out. That's not the fun part of this project. The fun part is the way I hung it up. I just clipped that little sign in a pant hanger and hung it from one of the shelf brackets. How. cute. is. that? So simple, but a great statement for the laundry room!

So run out and grab a pant hanger (I found 4 for $2.50 at the dollar spot at Target), and put up a picture, or a definition like mine, or anything that might make doing laundry a little more bearable!

I also wanted to thank Amy at Down South Musings for this great award!

Have a lovely Monday~

2.13.2009

Smitten~

I just love the word Smitten. Isn't it a great word? In honor of Valentine's Day I'm going to list some of the (non-people) things that I'm smitten with...or to put it in grammatically correct terms...with which I am smitten.

Burlap and feed sacks...

as upholstery...