A Calf Print for the Photo Gallery

We added this prize winning Charolais calf to the photo gallery in our living room.





A professional photographer I am NOT, but I enjoy printing and framing photographs I have taken of our family and interests including the huge barn photo in our living room and the barn photos in our kitchen. It is not expensive original art, but I love the look and personality they give to our home. I had an 8" x 10" print made from the photo I took of my son's 4-H calf project at the Royal and added it to this photo gallery in the living room that is STILL a work in progress.  With Christmas, work, and family I realize that this gallery is not going to be finished before Christmas, but I can live with that. We don't go back to school and work after the holidays until January 9th so that will give me some time to devote to it then, and save me stress worrying about it now. That's how I roll.





These photos of the print aren't as good as the in-real-life print which shows the beautiful old barnboard of the Royal Winter Fair barn stalls. But then, the in-real-life print doesn't do justice to the real live calf either. She is a prize winning beauty and we are thankful to our friends, her owners, who allowed our son to show her this past year.


I hope you are having a great weekend! I'm sharing this with...
SNS at Funky Junk Interiors
The DIY Showoff

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A Calf Print for the Photo Gallery

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PEACE Banner in Naturals and Blues

It may not have traditional Christmas colours, but this PEACE banner is the first thing I have made for Christmas decorating this year.





It is also the first indoor decoration we have in place. (Warning: Evening photos that are making my white living room walls look yellowy. I'll have to try again in daylight.)





I made this PEACE banner with items I already had in my craft supplies, so there was no new cost. I didn't have chipboard letters to glitter, so I used cardstock to print out large outlined letters on Microsoft Word. I cut the cardstock into squares making sure the letter was centered in each square. Using a small paintbrush I painted inside the outlined letter with white glue and poured on the Martha Stewart glitter in azure. If you miss a spot, just add more glue with the tip of the brush, and then pour on more glitter.





With blue accents in our living room, I decided on a natural and blue theme for this banner. My boys are taller than me, so they hung it up tonight, but I may adjust the height. 


I love the sparkle of the Martha Stewart azure glitter. With chipboard letters there would be more dimension and a layered look, but I'm happy with my make-do version. The loose weave burlap is cut from a roll of burlap from Michaels craft store (the same type I used on our Canadiana Christmas tree last year and our Cowboy Christmas Tree the year before.)





The little bows are a light blue sheer wire-edged ribbon.  





Wishing all my American blogging friends a Happy Thanksgiving! and PEACE! We are having a quiet weekend (our Thanksgiving here in Canada was back in October) but my sister, bil, and nieces are headed to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for a girl's hockey tournament.

I'm sharing with...
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
WOW us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Under $100 party at Beyond the Picket Fence
SNS at Funky Junk Interiors - Rustic/Natural/Burlap Christmas Decor 2011 Special
 

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PEACE Banner in Naturals and Blues

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Halloween in the Living Room

Trick or treaters will be coming to the front door in less than two weeks so I thought I had better get a start on Halloween decorating.





Since our mantel in the family room is STILL not finished, I thought I would throw together a display in the living room (that you can see from the front door and window.) We would really like a large piece of furniture (bookcases, hutch etc.) for this spot but in the meantime I used the little bench. I love our living room now that the walls are white (Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls, and trim BM Snowfall White.) Even on dark and rainy days like today it is brighter in here.




We love cows so I thought the cow skeleton print would be cute (I'm not into super creepy.) I hung the frame with some Halloween ribbon and added the little orange wreath for colour.




The cute vintage cat conductor and pumpkins fills another repurposed frame. I had painted the frames and mats white (formerly'80's pinks and blues with cheap prints) and was just waiting for a use for them. 





The shutters were $5 at a yard sale and the empty frame was a $1 find that I also painted white. I used one of my Halloween quilts and a pillow I made with leftover check fabric, on the chair.





The little metal haunted house lights up with a tealight, and is propped on some black books that came in a box of free books from my sil. Note the titles~ Grave Secret and Ghost at Work!





Another Halloween quilt hangs on the ladder. The little bench is a $3 yard sale find that I painted black and then white. I still plan to distress it and use some extra trim to cover up the heart cut-outs. Until I pick up some fresh pumpkins I am using this white ceramic pumpkin. We will go get our pumpkins if this rain ever lets up! I think I managed to add some Halloween fun to our home, even without a mantel, using items we already had.

I'm linking to the following parties...
Halloween Mantel Linky Party at HomeStoriesAtoZ.com





Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
















Potpourri Friday at 2805


Saturday Night Special and Halloween Theme at Funky Junk Interiors

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Halloween in the Living Room

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Toile, Plaids and Checks for Fall

Toiles, plaids and checks in neutral tones are really appealing to me this season.




I sewed a new pillow using some toile rose fabric leftover from a friend and some strips of drop cloth (free fabric and pillow insert I had on hand, so the cost is $0.) I used the strips to surround the squares of toile and it reverses to the same pattern on the back. This pillow may appear in another room at some point because the colour and style would work in most rooms in our home, but for now it is on the rattan chair I slipcovered for in our living room.






The flannel throw is one I made two years ago (for around $25) and occasionally use as a table topper. I love the tans, greys and beiges in the plaids and checks and it is incredibly soft. Just perfect for snuggling on this cool and wet Autumn day.


I'm linking up to some of my favourite parties this weekend...
Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry
Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond The Picket Fence
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
White Wednesday at Faded Charm
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

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Authentic Style~WhisperWood Cottage ~Sarah of A Beach Cottage

I'm joining Amy at WhisperWood Cottage again for her Authentic Style series~this month featuring Sarah from A Beach Cottage.



I shared my Authentic Style in this post. Amy asked if we "share similarities with Sarah's style?" A Beach Cottage is one of the first blogs I started following and I have been influenced by Sarah's beach cottage style to add some lakeside elements to our home. We are not anywhere near an ocean, but have numerous beautiful inland lakes and beaches here in Ontario so I decided to use accents with more of a rustic lakeside cottage feel.  



I love blue as an accent colour and collect aqua mason jars. The wavy glass and colour reminds me of water. Using white in linens and draperies adds a bit of the beach cottage style to our home, that Sarah is so well known for.



More shades of blue and white in classic miniature Muskoka chairs add a bit of lakeside colour and motif to a mostly white vignette in our kitchen.



I recently added white walls to our living room and while Sarah has white slips, I am staying true to my authentic style in this room with a dark brown leather sofa but using white slipcovers on chairs.



In our family room I went with the white slipcovers. I love the airy feel they add to our room (and the fact they cover outdated patterns), but I don't know how much longer I can live with them. Think teen boys and a chocolate lab! Not a good combination with white slipcovers, no matter how frequently they are washed. The canoe paddle is another hint to our love of the Canadian outdoors and beautiful lakes.



Our ensuite bathroom has a beachy feel with light aqua walls, lots of white, beach stones and shells, and a pair of vintage seaside children figurines (a gift from my sil.) So although our home has a rustic farmhouse feel we certainly have a few lakeside beach accents, many inspired by A Beach Cottage.



I am really enjoying the Authentic Style series at Whisper Wood Cottage featuring Sarah from A Beach Cottage and hope you get a chance to stop by to see all the other links. Thanks, Amy for hosting the link party and helping me to discover my own Authentic Style.

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Authentic Style~WhisperWood Cottage ~Sarah of A Beach Cottage

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It Feels Like Fall

It felt like Fall here this morning. Overcast, rainy and cooler temps inspired me to light some great smelling candles and enjoy some quiet time with a cup of tea.



The votives are from The Country Mile, a great cafe, home accents and gift shop in Milton, Ontario. I chose the gorgeous scent of maple cinnamon buns. Yum! The trio of stemmed stained glass candleholders were a hostess/sales gift from Party Lite years ago.



This little bench is just a temporary solution for a coffee table. I found it at a garage sale last year for $3 and painted it white.



It is supposed to get quite hot this afternoon, with heavy rain and thunderstorms, and most of south western Ontario is under a widespread tornado watch. Hopefully everything will clear up without incident because we are planning a trip to the beach with my sister's family tomorrow.



I'm still working on the gallery wall and need to find another end table but I'm liking how our living room is coming together. It was so overcast this morning that I had to turn lamps on for my photos. What are your favourite candle fragances? Do you prefer floral scents to baking scents? I'm definitely in the vanilla and baked goods category. {Safety first of course, I do not leave my candles unattended.}

I'm joining...
WOW us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
 

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It Feels Like Fall

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No. 8 Grainsack

While I would love some real grain sack loveliness in our home, for now I made a faux version for our living room.


My sister-in-law and I took a day trip to Ancaster, Ontario and the fabric district of Hamilton this week and we came across an antique shop with a pile of vintage grain sacks. It was lovely to actually hold a real grain sack in my hands (I was surprised by the weight), but at $95 each they were way out of my budget.



I've seen many of these on blogs and decided to make my own faux grainsack pillow using leftover drop cloth fabric, grey craft paint and textile medium, painter's tape, a fine point artist brush and a stiff stencil brush.



The No. 8 was added freehand on a whim (I'm number 7 of 8 kids) and I like the results. I might just have to make a similar table runner for our updated dining room.



A simple envelope back makes the pillow easy to slip off and launder, an important feature with boys who visit barns and a dog who visits my garden. Next time I would go a little lighter with the paint/textile medium but I think the lines will 'wear' a bit in the wash and look even better.



Lovin' our new soft and squishy pillow, made for free with items I already had!


I'm linking with


Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry


FeatheredNest Friday at French Country Cottage


Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Also linking to the 'Best DIY Project of August" at Beneath My Heart.

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Aqua Crown Canning Jars ~ The lids

On my recent collections post, I had some comments and emails asking about the lids of my aqua crown canning jars.



The lids are original to the Crown mason jars and most came with the three piece lids -one zinc ring, one matching glass seal with the crown logo, and a rubber seal ring.



The jars are really old and have bubbles inside the glass and their shape is not always uniform (a few of them are lopsided and even though a bunch are qt. they are slightly different heights.)



I broke two of the largest ones I had two years ago and actually gave some away before I realized they were something I wanted to collect. For more of the hydrangeas and our dining room changes, click here.



Did you catch the peek of our new ladder find? Or new old ladder find. It is in new condition but I'm not sure if it is old.



I found it at Habitat Restore in Owen Sound, Ontario while browsing with my sil. I asked if it was for sale and the guy said 'sure, $10.' Uh, sold. Love the galvanized support pieces.





And just for fun, sepia in Picasa.






I love my collection of mason jars, the aqua Crown, clear glass Crown and even a few with the wire/glass lid tops. If you would like to see more posts on my jars, check here and here and here.



 I hope this answers the questions I received and I hope you have a great weekend (long weekend here in Ontario.)



I'm linking up with SNS at Funky Junk Interiors 'cause I hate missing Donna's great party!

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Aqua Crown Canning Jars ~ The lids

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