And The Winner of the Cottage Charm Giveway Is.....

It was fun joining in Kim at Twice Remembered Cottage's Cottage Charm giveaway. Thanks so much to all of you who entered. It was great to see so many familiar faces and also to meet some new people and discover their blogs. I wish I could send everyone a giveaway prize, but this is the day to draw one winner. 


And the winner is.......#15........Linda at Painted Whyte!

Congratulations Linda!
Email me your mailing address and I will get this out to you.



I used random.org number generator but have no idea how to
 put it here in a post, so I went old school and took a picture of my computer screen.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
 
Thanks to Kim for hosting such a fun event! I really enjoyed entering the other giveaways too.

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And The Winner of the Cottage Charm Giveway Is.....

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More collecting for the patio

Galvanized containers and wrought iron candle holders have joined the farmhouse table on our patio.




I'm awaiting cut flowers to fill these containers.





I also need to find an old bucket to replace this planter, below. Something a little more rustic. The butter board was $10 at a garage sale. I picked up the pair of watering cans for 50 cents each!




Perennials blooming in our garden this week are irises and Solomon's Seal.





We cut down a bush that grew into a messy tree and still need to do some weeding and add soil and mulch to our perennial beds. What outdoor activities have you been working on?

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More collecting for the patio

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A gift from Songbird

In the mail today I was so happy to receive a package from Marianne Songbird.
I recently won Marianne's lovely fabric craft book giveaway, Fast Fabric Gifts by Sally Southern.
Her gift tag with the scissors is so cute! J, our youngest son, was super excited when he found out the package came all the way from the Netherlands and asked to open it. He also wanted help locating Marianne's home land on a map.

There are some really cute ideas in this book and I hope to try a few this summer. Thanks Marianne!

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A gift from Songbird

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Crown Mason Jars

Mason jars, especially the old blue tinted ones with zinc lids, always make me wonder what they used to store.


I found these three at a garage sale a few weeks ago, dusty and forgotten in the bottom of an old box. 
I was happy to get this trio of Crown jars for $1 each and brought them home for a gentle wash. I love the age, the blue tint, the bubbles and waves in the glass, and the glass and zinc lids.

When I look at them though, I always wonder what they used to store. Was it someone's prize winning preserves, or a young girl's first attempt at storing the summer harvest? How many seasons had this one jar been used before it ended up in that old box, covered in dust and sitting neglected in the basement.

I'm glad I found them and brought them home. They will soon join my collection on this shelf. I won't use these retired beauties for my homemade strawberry jam.  But I will enjoy my view of them when the sun shines through the skylight over our kitchen table. And I may spend a few moments wondering what kitchen they came from and what they held.

Linking to Nester's Summerize Your Nest: Collections linky party. Stop by to see lots of great collections.

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The Winner of the 100 Followers Giveaway is.....

Comment number 17..... Debbie from Love the Decor



Love the Decor! said... 
Found you through twice remembered cottage!!

Would love these and am looking foward to following and checking out your other posts Enjoy your day!
May 17, 2010 3:11 PM

Send me an email,Debbie, with your mailing address, and I will get the magazines to you quickly.



True Random Number Generator



Min: 1


Max: 21



Result: 17



Powered by RANDOM.ORG
(I used random.org to draw the numbers, but I gave up trying to get a copy of it. I ended up highlighting the info in the box, copy and pasting here.)
 

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Backyard Progress and S'mores at Night

We spent time this weekend working on our backyard.





I found a farmhouse table and 3 chairs on kijiji. The table has a center insert that makes it nice and long. Hopefully a few coats of poly will protect the finish. I was able to get the primer and a light top coat on two of the chairs but it became too windy to finish the project. The little folding chair on the end was $1. 





I went to quite a few garage sales Saturday morning and found some great deals. I found two watering cans for 50 cents each and three blue Crown mason jars with glass lids to add to my collection, for $1 each. I love the ripples and bubbles in the old glass.




K., our oldest {13}, Keeper of the Fire. We bought a fire bowl and had our first fire of the season. We needed the fire that night! Brrrr!





J., our youngest {11}, Eater of the S'mores. Of course we had to make S'mores. Tasty!




So far I have only sewed the two pillows below. Lots more sewing projects to go. And plants to plant. Those IKEA pots on the little table in the background need to be filled. And weeding the perennials. We only have a small yard, but you wouldn't know it from the amount of weeds still to pull. I'm hoping to get more done this week, but we have roller hockey and 3 different 4-H Club meetings this week. Are there ever enough hours in the day? Our backyard is not even close to finished, but the changes we have made so far sure made our Saturday evening more enjoyable. Our small space is becoming an outdoor room for our family to enjoy.




Have you had a chance to enjoy your outdoor spaces this year?



I'm linking up with DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land. Thanks Kimba!

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100th Follower Giveaway

In celebration of my 100th Follower, and all the bloggy friends I have made since starting my blog, I am having a giveaway.



Back in April I actually reached 100 followers a couple of times but then dropped back down to 99 and 98 (the mystery of Blogger I guess.)  I love following blogs because it is a great way to discover new blogs, both through the blogs I visit and their list of favourites.

I'm currently working on our backyard (I posted about it here and here.) I thought this giveaway would highlight something I love doing in our backyard in the summer- enjoying a cold drink, a shady Muskoka chair and some great shelter mags. My giveaway includes the June editions of two great Canadian shelter magazines, Style at Home and Canadian House and Home.



Both Canadian House and Home and Canada's Style at Home magazines have great websites with tons of ideas. {Sorry, my photos are full of shadows. Six pm and in a hurry to get this posted.}

For one chance to win: Just leave a comment on this post (one prize: both magazines.)
For a second chance to win: Blog about my giveaway and leave a separate comment letting me know.

Because they are new issues, and I would like them to get to the winner in a timely manner, I will draw one name from all entries Thursday, May 20th. You do not need to be a follower to win. Good luck!
Thanks to all who participated! This giveaway is now over.

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Pillows for our Porch

This weekend I got a chance to sew some new pillows for our front porch.





The weather was cool cold, rainy and windy and we are still getting frost warnings. I was tempted to buy some annuals but decided to wait until warmer weather. So I made pillows instead. 





My good friend and colleague, T., kindly thought of me when her family had several rolls of fabric to give away. Thanks T! This pattern had about one yard of fabric, just perfect for a couple of pillows. The brown background and blue and green leaves not only match our porch, but introduce colours that one would see as they enter our home. 





 The best part is that this little project cost nothing, gifted fabric and previous pillow inserts! You can see our small front porch, last year at this link.





I have also found a pine dining table and three chairs for our backyard plans. If the weather will cooperate, I can paint them this week. Hopefully with a few coats of poly they will stand up to some sun and rain. Lots of planting and fluffing still to do, but it is a fun first step.

I'm linking up to Linda's Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.
I'm also linking up to Kimba's A Soft Place to Land DIY Day.
Be sure to stop by my next post to enter my 100th follower giveaway and my Cottage Charm giveaway!

`

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Happy Mother's Day

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."
Author: Robert Munsch


Wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day.

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My Free China

By finding my sister a dining room set, I scored 12 place settings of china for free!




My youngest sister is my best friend and unlike me is not at all into home decor. I help her with almost all decorating decisions, and I usually paint and organize their home too. She is always joking about how my home is never the same from one visit to the next (they are our neighbours as well, so visits are frequent) and that is sure true! After seeing some of the great deals I have found on kijiji and craigslist, she asked me to watch for a Mission Style dining room set for their home. I came across a great dining set deal a few weeks ago, and we went with them for the appointment and pick up. The couple selling the set offered the china for free. My sister has her mil's china and gave this to me.




Twelve 5-piece place settings of 'Diane' pattern by Japan China. It has blue flowers with tan and silver accents. I'm sure it is not overly expensive, but I won't panic using it either. The set is only missing one teacup and saucer. I love the colours and delicate pattern.




Hoping you are having a great weekend, and if you haven't entered already, there is a link in the top of my sidebar to enter the Cottage Charm giveaway {closed.}

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Sunshine Blog Award x 2

I am honoured to have received two Sunshine Awards from two blog friends. Leslie at Goodbye House! Hello Home!  and  On the Banks of Squaw Creek, have both so kindly awarded me the Sunshine Blog Award. I am hounoured to receive this! As you all know, life can get pretty busy and I am just getting a chance to respond now.
The rules of the award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog within your post.
2. Pass the award onto other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you have received this award.

I am passing this award on to the following:
Grace at Sense and Simplicity
Andrea at Rural Revival
Kim at Cheap Chic Home
Sharon at Sharon at Home
Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie
Michelle at Between Cottage and Cabin
Cynthia at ITLLDO

I hope you are all having a great week. The Cottage Charm giveaway is still going strong at Twice Remembered, including the giveaway here at Blue Clear Sky. See my previous post or the link in my top sidebar to enter your name for some great prizes.

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I'm Participating in Twice Remembered's 4th Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway

Kim at Twice Remembered is having her 4th annual Cottage Charm Giveaway and I'm happy to be a part of it with a giveaway of my own.

The giveaway here at Blue Clear Sky includes a decor book, restoration home (creating beautiful interiors with rescued treasures) by Mark and Sally Bailey. Since I love to do lots of needlework, I am also including several crocheted cotton dish cloths/wash cloths. I will ship to addresses in Canada or the US.


For one chance to enter, leave a comment on this post. You do not have to be a follower to enter the giveaway. However, I love keeping up with the blogs of my followers, so for a second chance, become a follower, or if you are already a follower, leave a second comment. 

The giveaway winner, as per Cottage Charm Giveaway rules, will be randomly drawn from all comments received and announced here on May 29th. If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave an email address where you can be reached if you win.

I hope you get a chance to drop by Kim's blog, Twice Remembered, and discover some new blogs, visit some favourities, and enter to win some really special gifts! Good luck!
Thanks for participating! My Cottage Charm Giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced today.

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