Thursday

Pillow Cases

Fi

Deep inside I'm a romantic at heart and when it comes to giving gifts I spend a bit of time thinking of the person or couple who will receive the gift. "What would make them happy? or, what would they enjoy".  I always want a gift that will be used also. I don't want the gift to be put away or set on a table without much thought to it...


This past June my son married his sweetheart. They wanted to be married in a special place... "Big Sky Country, Montana"
They drove from their home in Michigan for a two week trip, were married and fell in love with the area... with dreams of returning one day.


"What better gift", I thought than pillow cases,, to dream of their return to this wonderful place.
I then went to the fabric store and bought 2 yds of 100% Egyptian cotton and made two cases... a bit larger than standard sizes, just in case they have large bed pillows.
I then went on an internet search for photos of Montana and the wild horses...


 Big sky, snowy mountains, wild horses, ranches....
 Once I had the idea in my mind,  using transfer paper to sketch the horse,  I then went to work embroidering....


This was a good thing for me to do while sitting in front of a movie and a few of my favorite tv shows. 
I really enjoy this sort of needlework.   It took me about 5 days (off and on)  to complete the two cases.



It's very hard to see in the photos but I have the word "Dream" stitched in white just to the side of the word Montana..  Dreaming as a very silent personal thing so white seemed to be the best choice..

 



Once I had the design complete, I stepped back and thought "I might need to do more" is it 'not enough'?   Then some words struck me, "Less is more" and I finished the design.. simple but to the point.
Tom and Michelle have dreamed of retiring to the "Big Sky Country" one day, and dreaming about it on the cases, might bring them closer to their return. 


There, another holiday gift complete!

now if I'm lucky they will not see this post
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Wednesday

New baby boy


The baby boy our family has been waiting for has arrived.

Introducing "Ghaith Bukhari"

I don't have the exact size and pounds as he was born early this morning.. but Mom (my niece) and this sweet boy are both doing wonderful! Dad is floating on a cloud this morning I'm sure.
My sister (grandma attended the birth of her 8th grandchild) called me at 2am from Cincinnati, Ohio and I could hear her beaming through the phone!



"Congratulations" to the new parents and to our entire family.

What could be sweeter than a new "Baby Boy" 

I'm so grateful for the birth of this healthy baby boy so I'm posting on "Heart and Home"

Wednesdays Gratitude
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Monday

Maya and Tessa


My daughter Cyndi lives in West Palm Beach and her patio looks out on a lake with a tree on a small island. The tree is the night home to a large number of Egrets. They come to roost at sunset and the view is amazing. 
Maya and Tessa have their spot for viewing the birds and they get so excited at the same time each day, knowing the birds will soon come home.





There must be hundreds  of these beautiful Egrets in the tree as the evening turns into night.  The birds make a lot of noise while fighting for space, then they settle down to sleep only to wake at the crack of dawn and fly away for the day.


Egret and Ducks are one of the many animals and birds in this lake. They also have a gator or two and Iguanas are known to walk around just outside her door.

 If you notice in the first photo, the bush just outside of the screening on the porch, the "Sea Grape" bush. These bushes/trees are protected here in Florida and it is against the law to cut one down.

Sea Grape



Egret

 Tessa and Maya

Tessa is just a baby and has come to love her big sister Maya. Here they are doing what they do best, play.
I'm not sure if the subject of this post is about  Maya and Tessa or the Egrets?  In any case it's about the great outdoors and the beautiful spot my daughter lives and her two kitties. 


I can't leave out my Rikki. 
Would'nt want her to feel left out. Rikki turned 15 this past April. She has been with the family since we rescued her in the Ft. Lauderdale animal shelter when she was just 8 weeks. 
Now the post is about Maya, Tessa, the Egrets, my daughter #1, the great outdoors, the Sea Grapes and Rikki.
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labor day


That is, if you have the day off!

(and to my niece, who is about 7 days late with her pregnancy. "Today would be a perfect day to go into Labor... Good Luck Sweetie)





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Friday

Free Stuff



Free stuff really turns me on, and when I find something made of wood, it's so hard for me to leave it on the side of the road.  This wonderful side table  might have gotten me into trouble the other day. I mean when I see something like this, out the corner of my eye, then just about slam on my brakes.. well, you know what I mean.





At this point in time I have no idea what to do with it or how to refinish it. It is weathered, but the wood is in great condition.
Notice the drawers are missing.  I could remove the sliders and just add a bit of plywood to convert the spaces into cubby's?  (I wish those who left it put the drawers out with it) 
Really!  
But then,  "What do I expect for nothing"
(big smile here)


The 'piggy trivet', I could not leave that behind in the same trash.




At the moment it's out on my back deck. I go out there from time to time and just stand and look at it, wondering, should I paint it or just use a simple stain?
The original  finish is long gone, but it shows a bit of distressed green... I'm thinking to do the legs with a soft green stain and maybe the rest of it in white?
There is a space in my master bath?  Would look great with rolled bath towels where the wine bottle spaces are. 
As you can tell, my brain is turning with so many ideas for this great side table. 




 What would you do to this delicious relic?

Let me think more about this.  One nice thing, our weather has turned for the better and I can once again do some serious refinishing out on the deck.
Leave your comments and let me know your ideas.
What will this piece morf into?
 

I'll post the finished product soon... 
at 30 comments:

Tuesday

Fall is in the air...


Tomorrow is September 1st and my thoughts while sleeping last night were, "I need to change my header photo on my blog"!  "It's almost Fall"!






I pulled out a few things I've had stored for the past year, that looked like fall.. some dried fall leaves from my niece. She sent them to me last year because I have not seen fall leaves in a few years. Nice thing, she mod podged  them and they held up really nice... Then I looked around the house for a few photos of my kids.. they have to share in my fun!

Notice the "Indigo" wall in the background.. this is a piece of fabric my sister is going to use for her new quilt..perfect color to go with my fall colors, don't you think?


Did you ever start a project and nothing you did, made it right?  I could not get into this but was determined to complete this before tomorrow!  I think I rearranged and moved and retouched until it all looked bad.....In the box of last falls things I found so much stuff but only wanted a tray with just a few things. Notice the little house in the header photo.. my son made this in 4th grade, from clay. Remember how we formed the clay then painted it, then put into the kiln to bake?  Well this little house is very special to me and it needed to be included..


I guess I could go take something from the net or I could pay someone to create a nice header.. but I really appreciate the 'personal touch' so much more when reading anothers blog... so I kept at it... Know what,, I think I took about 80 shots and most were ucky and blury, but I kept at it.
And the winner is.

No... not this one ( ^)  

This one.



Tell me what do you think? 
You know, I did this for a living.. design silk floral for all occasions... I even made silk wedding floral for the cruise ships in Miami.... and I kinda miss doing it.
My fall header is complete!
 Know what gave me the inspiration?  Yesterday our weather changed for the good.  The hurricanes out in the lower Atlantic are blowing the winds  north/west and I'm on the gulf side, central/west of Florida.  I'll tell you the temperature is about 20' cooler (today in the 80's)  and the wind is blowing... As much as I want the storms to stay in the Atlantic and not come this way.. "I love the cooler weather"!
Come on Fall!! 

Maybe my new header will bring it on faster!

I'm linking up to these parties

Wednesday's Gratitude

Indigo Alphabet Thursday 

It's So Very Creative 








 
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Monday

Trash can chair



A few weeks back I posted about this really nice chair that I found in a trash pile and how I did a speedy ride around the block to get to it fast (before anyone else grabbed it). It was raining and much traffic but  to the humor of other drivers "I got it"!

   This past week I finally got to work on it.


I sanded the rough spots then used a nice white spray paint and it turned out so pretty.

 There was no seat and I had the perfect piece of ply wood then got out my trusty saw and went to work cutting a new seat.  I covered it with a foam piece I had, then batting.




Then to the fabric to cover the seat cushion... I have so many different pieces of fabric scraps but then I remembered a few wonderful linen dish towels I got from Italy and France... Perfect!




I could not bring myself to cut the towels so I simply sewed one together, to create a pillow case of sorts and slipped it on the cushion... This can be taken apart at a later date if I decide to turn it back into the lovely dish towel that it is.
(we all need David on our seat cushions)

This turned out really nice and I now have a new chair for my sewing area!



It's comfortable also... Nice!
Don't you just love other peoples trash? Shame they don't have any idea what they have tossed away.. My daughter told me to go knock on their door and show them their chair.... no, they might want it back!

I'll be posting to "Thrifty Homes" fun furniture party

Click the link below to see all the crafty people participating

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Where do I Blog?


Kate over at "Centsational Girl" asked the question "Where do you blog"?
 I'll have to feel a bit odd maybe, because I don't sit at a pretty desk or in a cubby I have created for myself to work on my blog posts....
You see, I have, what my family and friends call a "Bionic Back"... I have screws and rods holding my spine together and It's really hard for me to sit in a chair for any length of time... so here it is... my space to do my posting.


 Yes.. those are my feet!
and my blog front page


I get all comfee on my "Bed"!



Yep... my feet again!  I find it necessary to support myself up with lots of pillows so my bed is the best space for me! I tend to shift around a lot.



I can sit here for an hour or so without discomfort... and usually spend a few hours on the pc, reading all the wonderful blogs out there. I also answer e's..  9pm to 11pm is the best time for me to do my blogging..  depending on how much I need to compose or upload....


There is usually some dark chocolate and a cup of tea sitting beside me.. but this is the best space for me.  I'm usually on the phone with one of my kids at this hour also.
 Now, I would love a little nook that is decorated in fine decor to do my blogging, but it's just not comfortable for me... 
"Here is my space"
Messy as it may look, I love it! Or rather, my back loves it!

Please don't laugh,, "Its comfortable"!


I can't wait to go visit and see all the wonderful spaces the others  are posting on "Centsational Girls" blog this week.... I bet they all have cute little spaces all clean and tidy!  Check out the link below to see where other bloggers are doing their creating.....
No matter where you do your blogging, I hope your having fun doing it! I know "I am"!

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