Valentine Vintage Place-setting Tablescape

January 30, 2024January 24, 20246 Comments

Good morning! I was able to set up my table for Valentines this weekend. After Lauren set up her Valentine table last week, I decided to put one together too. I received the pretty glass pink plates from my mom a couple of weeks ago and knew right away they would work for Valentines. The plates came from my great aunt. I always love using pieces that have been passed down from my family. The white and blue teacups and saucers were my wedding dishes. I love being able to pull them out once in awhile and use them.

One of the reasons I enjoy Valentines Day is from an experience in high school. I went to a private high school with small classes, about 75-80 kids in each grade. There are a lot of special things you can do when the school is so small. What I remember most is Heart Sisters.

Heart Sisters was a special time for just the girls and it included all the female students and teachers. Each of us would pick the name of another person and secretly give them gifts each day leading up to Valentines Day.

My freshman year is the only year that really stands out to me. I got a seniors name, which was really intimidating to a shy freshman like me. I remember my mom and I shopping for little things to give her each day.

On Valentine’s Day, we all met in the gym at lunch time. We sat in a big circle. The person you had sat on one side of you and the person who had you sat on the other.

This was the 80’s, mind you. I can still remember what I was wearing, partly because the teacher who had my name commented that the sweater I was wearing was pretty. It was royal blue with white angora clouds on it.

It was such an awkward lunch! What do you say to a senior girl and a teacher when you are only a freshman? I’m sure I didn’t say too much!

Even though it was so awkward for me, I still enjoyed the idea of giving secret gifts to someone during Valentine week. It was fun to see what you would get and all the different ways you would receive your gift.

When my girls were small, we even did it as a family. It was a little difficult with only 4 of us, but it was still fun.

For the past few years, we have even done it at the preschool where I work. We have 9 of us ‘girls’ working and it’s fun to have a little something special for us to do for each other. Some days are hectic and stressful, so it’s great to have a little something to encourage us each day.

I hope you enjoyed my Valentine table today and thanks for coming by!

Using Vintage Fabric to Bring New Life to Chairs

February 22, 2021February 20, 2021Leave a comment

Good morning!

I know I haven’t posted for a bit, but I am so happy to show you this project today! Thank you for stopping by! I am going to show you what a difference a little paint and fabric can make!

I bought these chairs several years ago at a ‘Junk’ sale. The seats were covered with burlap, but as you can see, they were very stained and dirty. I had bought some vintage fabric at an estate sale and knew they would be perfect for these chairs.

I spray painted the chairs with Rustoleum 2X white semi-gloss paint. I didn’t even take the burlap off when I painted the chairs because I knew the seats would be covered anyways.

I debated whether or not to leave the burlap on the seats and just put the new fabric over it, but I was afraid the stains on the burlap would go through, so I started to take out all the staples on the bottom of the chair. I used a flat head screwdriver and a needle-nosed pliers to take them all out. It definitely took awhile! Thankfully the foam underneath the burlap was still in good shape.

Once the burlap was off, I used it as sort of a pattern for my new fabric.

I used 1/4 inch staples to attach the new fabric to the chairs. I pulled the fabric taut and then stapled all the way around.

As you can see in the photo below, the wood under the seat didn’t get painted. That’s because the burlap covered it before. I was going to cover the chairs the same way as before, but then decided to not cover that part of the wood. I like the chairs much better this way, but I did have to go back and paint those front pieces.

I set up this little table last fall on my back porch. It was such a lovely, sunny day. You can see the chairs with the table set for two!

The sun was a little bright over here. The fabric is much more vibrant.

I set up this little sitting spot on the other side of the yard. Can’t wait for all the grass to start coming in as spring gets closer!

I hope you all have a great week and stay safe!

Valentine’s Day Round-up

January 25, 2021January 24, 20214 Comments

Good morning! It’s been a couple of weeks since I have been here! Life has been a little crazy since the new year started. Not just in world news, but in our little family too. We are all okay, but we have had some stressful times. And now, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! It’s the perfect time to show a little extra love to those we care about.

I thought I would share some of the past ideas from the blog. If I can get some things together, I will show you next week, what I will be sharing with my friends for Valentine’s Day.

It’s A Valentine Tablescape-Set a pretty table to celebrate with your family.

Vintage Valentine Tablescape– Here is another tablescape using some vintage pieces.

Cute Valentine Printable– This is a cute little printable card to pass out to your friends…or pets!

Recycled Hardware Heart– Looking for a craft project? Go through your stash or hit the thrift store and see what you can create!

Faux Flower Heart- Here is a craft using Dollar Tree flowers!

Ombre’ Wooden Heart– Another craft idea with Dollar Tree items.

Gum and Candy Basket- Here’s a cute way to give some special treats to your special someone!

Valentine Pixi-Stix Flower Vase– Or maybe you want a special vase to give some flowers to someone!

I Love You Wooden Blocks– Another easy craft project for you!

Stamped Heart Treat Bag– One last idea for a goodie bag! (Scroll to the end of the post for the how-to)

I hope you enjoyed this round-up and found some ideas! I would love to hear about what you do for Valentine’s Day!

My Christmas Home Tour

December 14, 2020December 13, 20202 Comments

Good morning! We are part of the way through December already! Are you ready? Is your shopping done? I think I am done, but there always seems to be something else to buy! I do have my decorations up, so now I can sit back and enjoy. I hope you enjoy the little tour today!

I collect these little birds from Target, buying one each year. I set them up right in my entryway this year. I bought the birdcage at a yard sale, the wreath and white trees came from the 99 Cent Store. The white runner came from Hobby Lobby and is soooo soft! I love to just rub my hand across it each time I walk by.

Turning into the living room, I set up my frosted tree. I usually decorate this with a very coastal look, but this year I wanted to do something different. I kept the same white, silver and gold colors, but added in woodland animals. I bought about $20 worth of new ornaments at the 99 Cent Store, but the rest were pieces I already owned.

Ok, a penguin isn’t really a woodland animal, but he was too cute to not include!

I decided to hang the stockings on the mantle this year too. I added a couple more deer, a lantern, a lighted tree and a chalkboard.

Down the middle of the table, I lined up several lanterns, added some trees inside along with more woodland creatures.

This old kitchen cupboard belonged to my grandparents in their home. I love to decorate it with vintage style Christmas things. The old light up tree on the bottom shelf came from my grandma on my fathers side of the family.

This is my doggy corner! Each one has a handmade stocking and monogram. As you can see, they already have a few treats inside. I added a few of my other dog decorations on the bench. My daughter gave me the adorable gold and white wooden Christmas tree last year.

Here in my family room, I have my Disney tree! Lauren and I went through all the ornaments and found we had plenty of Disney ones to fill the tree. I love it! Most are mine, but there are also some from both girls.

Old movies and new ones.

Lady and the Tramp is my favorite old Disney movie!

And the iconic castle!

I posted about my village a couple of weeks ago. I set it up in my fireplace this year. I really like it here and I get to enjoy it every day. You can find it here.

Well, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! It’s been a tough year, and I am looking forward to what 2021 has to bring to us. Thank you all for following me. I love to read your comments and looks forward to meeting with you next year too!

Vintage Coastal Farmhouse Advent Calendar

November 20, 2019November 19, 201910 Comments

Good morning! I’ve lost track of what day we are on, but I do know I am sharing my advent calendar with you and I love how it turned out! But first, go here to go back to the 50 Christmas Ideas and see what the other hosts are sharing. Also, don’t forget the Inlinkz and the giveaway at the bottom of the post!

First, a little history about advent. I got my information from a wonderful blogger, Yvonne over at Stonegable. She is an excellent writer and designer! Please head over to see her site. She explains advent wonderfully. Anyways, the meaning of advent is ‘the coming.’ For Christians, ‘the coming’ is the coming of Christ. His first coming was over 2000 years ago as a baby in a manger. When he was a man, he died on the cross to save us from our sins. His second coming will be when he takes all those who believe and ask forgiveness, to heaven with him to live forever.

Most symbols of advent are a wreath with 4 candles and each candle is a symbol-for hope, peace, love and joy. Advent is a time to reflect on all of our blessings and to remind ourselves about the true meaning of Christmas.

Learning all this information about advent, I decided my calendar would have just 4 bags, one to represent each symbol-hope, peace, love and joy. The wonderful little bags I used were graciously given to me by BurlapFabric. The linen material is so beautiful! But I am getting ahead of myself!

I started out with this cupboard door. I don’t even remember where it came from! But I knew how I wanted to transform it. I started by removing the hinges and then spray-painted the whole door with Rustoleum 2X Satin Heirloom White. I didn’t worry about the patched holes in the middle because I knew I was going to be covering them.

Once the door was dry, I cut out a piece of pretty fabric scrap I had to fit in the middle. I love the crocheted lace going through the fabric.

I pinned it to the right size and then ironed the edges.

I hot-glued the fabric onto the middle section of the door.

Next I cut a small piece of burlap that I wanted to center on top of the crocheted fabric.

I frayed a little bit of the edges of the burlap, then I stitched around the edge to make sure it didn’t keep fraying any further. I pulled out a few extras that were beyond the stitching after finishing the edge.

I ironed the burlap onto the shiny side of freezer paper.

I created the quote in the font I wanted on PicMonkey. I saved it onto my computer. I loaded the freezer paper into the printer and then printed out my quote. I couldn’t believe how well it worked!

I used spray adhesive to attach the burlap to the crocheted fabric.

I found this cute white pom-pom trim at Walmart and knew it would look great on here. It reminds me of little snowballs! I hot glued it around the inner edge of the cupboard door.

I found these knobs at Hobby Lobby on clearance. Look at the price! I knew as soon as I saw them they would be perfect for this.

I measured out the bottom edge of the door and penciled in even marks to drill holes for the knobs. I drilled the holes and then placed the knobs in.

On these cute little muslin bags I received from Burlap Fabric, I decided to stencil numbers 1 through 4 on them. I used black fabric paint.

I hardly put any paint on my brush and dabbed it over the fabric.

I love the vintage look of the bags!

I filled the bags with little special items and hung them from the knobs. I don’t have any little children at home or I would have filled them with little toys or candy.

I hung my calendar right by my table, so if I was reading an advent story on one of the 4 Sundays, the bags would be right there. They make such a great reminder of the real reason for the season.

I’m excited to have this calendar to put up each year!

This project took me a little bit to get done, but I’m so happy with the results! Do you celebrate Advent? I would love to hear how you and your family celebrate!

Here is the inlinkz! Let’s see what the other hosts have created!

And don’t forget the giveaway! One of the prizes is from Burlap Fabric which sponsored this post.

MEET OUR SPONSORS who have generously donated fabulous prizes for the Big Christmas Giveaway!

DecoArt winner will receive a prize package valued at $100!

Dixie Crystals/Imperial Sugar winner will receive a Keurig Coffee Maker valued at $100!

Oriental Trading winner will receive an OrientalTrading.com gift card valued at $200!

Cabot Cheese winner will receive a gift basket of Cabot products valued at $75!

Burlap Fabric winner will receive a prize pack of products valued at $50!

Zulay Kitchens winner will receive one Milk Frother and a Lemon Squeezer valued at $21

It’s Home To You winner will receive one wooden Santa sign valued at $65

Giveaway begins Nov. 8, 2019 and ends Dec. 6, 2019. Winners will be notified by December 13, 2019. Sponsors will ship each prize to the winner. There will be a total of seven winners, one for each prize. Drawing is by random selection using the Rafflecopter widget.

Must be 18 to win. Open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway