Taking the old and making it new.

There is nothing like a sweet transformation!

Ok how is it going in your life ?  I know a couple of you were inspired by one of my recent posts to give your home a little love.   Have you been able to do just that.... Take the time to give your home some TLC?   I am still working in my kitchen.

I am reporting that the Kitchen clean up  from this post  http://thegirlfriendgap.blogspot.com/2015/05/spring-farmhouse-style.html is still creating a lot of happy in me.  Since that post now the right side of the counter has a new summertime smile simply by using things I already had and  a little creativity.  

This is a lid from a broken basket

 that had been tossed a few years ago.

Of course.....

The junk master here kept the lid because you 

know it was too good to throw away.

It has been waiting for just the right project. 

I was inspired by a similar little nick-nac on the wall at the 

The Nester's barn . 

so I had a little craft time one morning. 

With  small amount of effort the flip side of the lid has been

transformed to this lovely little Ampersand. 

 I drew the shape free hand on paper first.

Cut out the shape.

 Then traced around the shape with a pencil

and used a paint marker to fill it in. 

Beautiful!

I am using it to cover this outlet that is not so beautiful.

Now experimenting with what to add to it. 

A little pot of moss?

Courtesy of the north side of my house. 

Maybe a little pot of  Basil?

Part of my Mother's Day gift. 

Which will need some outside sunshine time

 as my kitchen is on the north side of the house

I'm weighing the option here of whether this will work.

Worth a try I think....  It smells delightful.  

Maybe A little Strawberry Rhubarb American Pie ?

For now,  I think I'm going with the basil and the cutie pie.

Once again just using what I have to create some beauty in my home. 

At the moment it is not a designer kitchen. 

I'm not trying to fool anyone here,

but for now it works for me.

Farmhouse Style is easy living. 

I have been such a good girl keeping it clean :) 

All because I took some time to make a pretty space.

Yum yum in the kitchen.  I love that. 

Read about the old gate here

I have also finished piecing my Smokey Mountain Star quilt top. 

Free pattern from Bonnie Hunter found here.

Made using some of my husbands old shirts

 along with some thrifted shirts. 

inspiration found here

I added 4 extra rows to the pattern so it will be twin size. 

 I just need to figure out some borders. 

Still not absolutely in love with it but it feels good to be this far. 

I think adding some borders will help the love factor  :)  

And lastly I'm sharing my treasure I found at the thrift store last week.

Orange Creamsicle Summertime Star. 

$28  Really !

After a good long soak in the tub it is loved once again. 

It was badly stained  I'm sure that is why it was only $28

.... but most of it has come out : )  

I'm sure my method of cleaning an old quilt was not

the recommended method but 

it is clean enough to use now without being grossed out.

Too bad I don't have a hammock to enjoy it with. 

It might be seeing a little lazy day summer time 

 reading books with the grandchildren. 

Love the home you have.

because it is your dream home.

Janita

Linking up to 

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.-upcycled-link-party

SPRING : FARMHOUSE STYLE

It is not a fancy life here in this old house. There is much that could be done to beautify it to the top of the dream house list. But the reality is, there is not going to be any major  reconstruction going on  any time soon to change the things I don't love about this house.  I depend on creativity as the main ingredient to add some spunk here and there when my house feels so ordinary and so un-beautiful.

I have come across a couple of books recently, and they have helped to....

get my mind
           thinking differently
                   about my home.

One of the books "Love the Home You Have" written by Melissa Michaels

She blogs at http://theinspiredroom.net

 The other book is "The Nesting-Place It Doesn't have to be Perfect to be Beautiful"  written by Myquillyn Smith .   Myquillyn's blog is here  http://www.thenester.com

Creating home is important. 

Creating is important.

For women

Creating Beauty in our home is important.

These gals can be a step in that direction for you. 

Behind every pretty photo here there is always

 another photo of  a "Beautiful: this is really my life " Mess.

REALLY..... how does life get so out of control ??

I have always struggled with keeping on top of the "MESS"

 Life has a way of just taking over. 

I get busy focusing on other things.

That means as I focus on one thing,

 something else 

is growing out of control. 

I don't take the time to put something away.

The next thing I know... 

 I'm screaming HELP!!!  

I think I have figured out that clutter breeds clutter.

Sometimes you just have to say no to the rat race of life 

and give your home the time it needs.

Sickness though not exactly what I want in my life

will. slow. you. down. 

So......

Last week

In little spurts 

while I was sick

I tackled the clutter.

in my kitchen!!!

 The counters are happy again.

Everything has found a home. 

Makes it Much Easier to Recognize Things out of Place.

Do one thing.....

One step leads to the next step.

I didn't spend any money but I have a brand new kitchen!

This is an example of what shopping the house can do for you.

This lamp has always been in a bedroom.

So old... So unloved, 

 I thought I should send it on it's way many times already.

It is not fancy but with the floral plate it becomes loved.

I love that it has found a home on my counter.

The glass base compliments the other glass things on my counter.

It is the first thing I turn on in the morning.

The last thing I turn off at night.

It is really helping me to keep the counter clutter free.

Adding the sentimental factor ....

My Grandma Millie's coffee cup holding my tea bags

A coaster from my daughter's trip to Africa.

Reminding me that God is bigger than our fears. 

Old fashioned Cookie Cutters. 

Making sure I have Time for little things like cookies.

A little silver spoon action anyone ?

I love things that connect me to other generations. 

My home tells a story. 

Where do all the spoons disappear too ????

They are always the first thing lacking in my silverware compartment.

I thought ... some back up spoons would be perfect on my counter.

The silver spoons have been in my garage for YEARS...

family paraphernalia..... I couldn't toss

Cleaned them up 

definately adding  some YUM - YUM on my counter.

The glass spoon holder that I spent way too much for at an auction,

has been hiding in my buffet for years.

Not any more!

And for the record.....

YES I am crazy, but just the unexpected touch my kitchen needed...

The gate back drop ....

 a little free gift from the curb

which my husband has been cursing since the day I bought it home...

because I wasn't quite sure what to do with it,

and it has been hanging around looking like junk 

.....in undesirable places.....

 now finally found a place to be loved.

AND HE LIKES IT HERE!!!

I would really love new counter tops...

I would really love a new kitchen if you want to know the Real truth.

Instead I have a new little vignette.  

And you know

I don't notice the ugly counters so much, 

because I'm looking at the 

"HAPPY" on my counters.

And that my dears is my take on 

Farmhouse Style,

and

 loving the home you have ....

 because it is your dream house.

Think outside the box.  Be creative... 

Now it is your turn to make it happen.

Love the home you have !

Do a little something special for your home this week. 

Happy at Home

Janita

Winter smiles......

Cozy home

Blue and white quilt blocks

Snowman on the porch. 

Nothing fancy but it sure turns the frown upside down

 and adds beauty to the day.

Winter...

Winter comes

Day by day

My heart is warm, 

 my nose is cold, 

and my toes are froze.

Wishing to be like the bluebird

Singing a happy song anyway.

This week is the farewell to February.

Winter goes.

Beautiful  Winter  :)

Janita

The sweet and sour of life...

Last week was hard.

We had to say good-bye to two people in our lives.

Last week was beautiful.

It seemed like the most beautiful day to go to heaven.

I hope I fly away to heaven in Autumn. 

Last week was sweet.

My dearest friend came for supper.

I love old friends.

For us, there is always

 some distance between visits.

It makes the reunion all the sweeter.

I wish Life were all sweet.

But in this world there will be sorrow. 

Creating beauty around me helps lift the sorrow.

I helped a friend decorate a couple of weeks ago.

She shared some of her garden goodies.

The leaf plate has found a happy home.

I transformed some coasters in to something more appealing to me.

The leaf has danced right off the plate behind the bear.

The before......  fabric is kind of ho hum...

This little coaster makes me a little dizzy....  

but it is happy here.  

The coasters are stuffed with some crushed cinnamon and cloves.

I just made a pattern from a leaf in the yard.

Fused it on with some Heat N Bond lite

 and did some primitive stitching around the edge.

Zig-Zagged over some twine  for the stem.(first step)

I used some old shirts to remake the tops of the coasters.

Makes me happy.  

Even in sorrow......God is still good.

I made another sweater pumpkin :)

It all started here

(The stem might be too much over the top)

It was a long sleeve on that sweater!

My daughter called it Whimsical. 

I guess it will stay for now.

That is the beauty of creativity. 

You can express yourself any way you want. 

She  fits in with my other sweet pumpkins.

Emmy and Addilyn.

I try to make the house fun for my grandkids.

 The joy and blessings of Grandchildren always lift my spirits.

The best therapy when my spirit is low...

 piece my way to 

A finished quilt top.

I started this in April of this year.

.... just started with some inspiration from here and there. 

It is my own design I didn't follow a specific pattern.

Where would I be without my sewing machine????

The rhythm of the machine soothes my soul.

 This quilt started with a layer cake of

Sweetwater's fabric line

"Mama Said Sew"

 I needed a little bit of extra yardage to make it all work.

Now to get it quilted :)

Teach me to number my days..... 

Life is short.

Make it beautiful.

A special welcome to all those visiting from the Quilting Gallery 

I invite you to follow along on Bloglovin

Janita

September smiles ..... Beauty takes time.

For what ever it is worth I am going to go through the process

 of what it takes for me to create a home that makes me happy. 

FIRST...

I head to the basement and pull up my tote(s) of Fall things.

Then I begin to arrange and rearrange.

It may seem effortless

 to just show you one picture of the finished space

Lets talk REALITY here..... 

It may take days or weeks to put the space together....

It is a process of 

arranging.....

and

Rearranging....

walking away.....

Coming home and walking by....

Sleeping on it....

Asking my girls what they think of the space...

Life is not fancy here....

But I want it to feel special.

This picture is Take #1

It is pretty but it doesn't make my heart sing.

Not loving the clock on the plate so much.

I start to ask, ok what do I love about the space?

I love the little pumpkins on the plate.

What seems to be to much? 

Though I always love a candle by the front door.... 

I have two in this space.

I love the wire pumpkin but it seems to be too much here.

You can  see through it but it still seems too big and too much.

You never know unless you try it.

So let the rearranging begin.

I know I am dating myself here....

The Yankee candle shade and plate are old.

But I love bittersweet.... So I'm keeping it :) 

I think this candle works better in this space.

Now that I have moved the candle.....

 I need something for the basket plates

Feeling like I want a little more orange to tie in the orange table runner.

I just happen to have an orange sweater....

Picked it up last year for a project that never happened

Perfect project for a rainy day....

And I know the plans I have for you:)

Hello Sweater Pumpkin :)

tutorial can be found here

More sweater pumpkin love here

Looking yummy....

but still don't have a good feeling for the two similar shapes of the 

gum ball machine and the Yankee candle lamp.

Little Putka Pods  come down off the picnic basket.

Love in a bowl. 

I like the texture of the sticks and the little pumpkins together.

I like something that smells good to welcome me

when I don't have a candle burning.

The wind up clock from my husbands 

childhood has been moved up.

Feeling a little too much shine.... 

need  to take something shiny away.

The wind up clock has been moved back down.

Did I tell you it is a process of rearranging :)

Still not feeling the two tall skinny shapes and

because you never know unless you try it .... 

I replaced one tall skinny shape with another.

Yes I really did think the pineapple might be kind of fun.

Because I like the unexpected to show up now and then. 

It was a NO.

This is how it stands.......  

Until the end of Fall or until

I get another creative light flash in my brain :)

Then again Real Mini Pumpkins in the house

 could change everything.

Welcome Home!

I love the homemade touch.... Fall Quilt I made

I love Creativity.....Sweater turned Pumpkin

I love Memorabilia..  Old Clock

I love White Plates:)

I'll take a picnic any season.

I love Sticks!

I love Layers of YUM!

Hope your house has a smile in it this season :)

Reading the "Nesting Place" right now. It doesn't have to be Perfect to be Beautiful

you can be encouraged here to live a beautiful life herehttp://www.thenester.com

A special welcome to all of you who are visiting from the Quilting Gallery.

Hope you will follow along by way of email. 

Janita