Feeling the Christmas spirit

I must say there is something where after you've had that delicious Thanksgiving dinner, that good old fashioned Christmas spirit feeling comes in full force. I started my decorating on the outdoors first. I have three urns outside that I already knew what I was going to do with them. I envisioned them filled with various fresh greens that offered their beauty through their different textures and scents. Here are the end results

 

 

 I mixed some weather-proof red berry garland to give them a subtle pop of color. Usually you can tell when you squeeze the berry, if they are soft to the touch when you squeeze them then I wouldn't recommend them for the outdoors. I would assume that if you live in a warmer climate, where you do not experience freezing temperatures then you can dis-regard this tip.

 

 

 

I love having some kind of cascading effect in my plantings on the base. I always wondered how I can obtain that look in the winter months when everything that cascades would freeze. I was so glad to be able to do this with my winter greens.

 

 

 I purchased a wreath for half off at Hobby Lobby that I was okay with, but knew that I could definitely spruce things up a bit in it with extra greens to add fullness and texture, and of course some burlap ribbon intertwined with some sparkly thin ribbon to add some glisten when the lights hit it.

 

 I purchased these vintage looking ice skates from where I work and wasn't sure if I should incorporate them into the wreath. I put them up to it, and fell in love, it added a little touch of character to the wreath. What do you think?

 

 

I hung the fresh cedar greens around the entryway and added lights to give a welcoming holiday feel even before guests walk through the doors. I also added cinnamon scented pinecones into the wreath and urn arrangement.

 

 

 

I definitely completed my outdoor decorating just in time. North Dakota is definitely going to be experiencing some chilly temps and nasty weather in the next few days. Highs is the negatives! Yikes!

I really hope you found some inspiration and got some holiday cheer from this post. I love decorating for the holidays, and there is nothing more satisfying than being able to show some of my hard work to others. Right now I'm getting to completing my Christmas tree inside, and will begin a post on that.

 

Big Hugs,

Melissa :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brimfield Beauty

 This past mother's day I was fortunate enough to have my husband take me to the Brimfield Antique Show. The trip was a success, I found some great things and one of them was a beautiful antique armoire for a steal. The piece was originally very dark, maybe even too dark. I finally tackled the project of painting and distressing it, something I have been putting off because of our big move and other projects popping in and out. Well enough jibber jabbering, here it is!

 

At first I wasn't sure what to do with the drawer pulls because I couldn't remove them for painting and I really didn't want to keep their original color because it was quite dark. My husband just simply said "Just paint them". Why was I stressing out when he was right, all I had to do was paint them and then distress them a bit. I am such a bad blogger because every time I tackle a project I always realize I didn't take a before shot, I am going to try and get better at this.

I love mirrors, especially beveled ones, and to be quite honest, if this piece didn't have the mirror I probably wouldn't of even fallen in love with it.

 

Distressed in all the right places....

 

 

So romantic and pretty

 

 

And to end things I had to take a shot of the euro shams from Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic collection at Target. I think that is the first aisle I go to whenever I visit Target, and then I forget what I was really "supposed" to get.  I hope you all have a great day. Big Hugs!

Melissa

 

 

 

 

Lovely Little Baskets

Lately I have been quite busy making these adorable little baskets. Everyone seems to be loving them and wanting them. How could you not, they're not too bulky, they look fantastic on your door, your wall, or just standing on the floor in an empty spot. I've been busy making some samples for custom orders to list on my etsy shop to try and reach a broader audience. The first is one in pink and white flowers.

I love these little baskets and love making arrangements in them, it just adds to the charm.

I love adding dried florals in a number of the arrangements, they always give off a nice scent.

I enjoy making these baskets, they always put a smile on my face and it's so easy to create beautiful arrangements from them.

I love using higher quality artificial flowers, because they don't look, how do I put this....fake. Plus they definitely photograph so much better.

This purple and white basket is one of my favorites, it would look great on a chippy white door.

I intertwined some antique white satin ribbon in the basket. However, there is the option of choosing a different color ribbon, or no ribbon at all.



From baskets to wreaths, I finally completed making this lovely vibrant wreath that welcomes spring for sure.



Lush greens, and sweet bright pink flowers with touches of purple here and there fill up this round beauty.

More wreaths and arrangements are to come, now I need to tend to my garden since the weather has been so beautiful. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed my creations!

Warm Hugs,

Melissa :)

What a Find!

After weeks of searching on Craigslist for something to catch my eye, I came across this piece.

The glass on the main door was broken, but I saw that as an easy, inexpensive fix. There was no knob, however that did not bother me at all because that would be an easy fix as well.

This piece was moldy and just screamed to be taken home by somebody and given some TLC, and apparently it yelled out my name loud enough because for only forty dollars, yes you read that correctly, forty dollars how could I walk away from this piece, how?

After a lot of cleaning and painting, the finished product turned out........

The lock that previously was on the door was removed and replaced with this pretty crystal knob.

As you can see the glass on the door was replaced with new glass, I really wanted to replace it with beveled glass but this piece wasn't made with a thick enough depth to hold a beveled piece. Oh well, I'll take this over the broken taped up piece.

There are still parts on the wood that are chippy and a bit broken, however I feel that adds to the charm and I kind of like it. It took a while for me to decide what to paint this piece, at first I was thinking cream, but lately I have really been liking pale gray colors and noticed I did not have much furniture in that color.

It took a while to complete this piece and I must say I am satisfied. Now I am off to tackle my next project on my list and once I complete it, you bet I'll post and share it with you.

Warm Hugs, Melissa :)

Wildflower Basket

I just finished a dainty little wildflower filled basket that could be hung on your door, or over your dining chair.

I love hanging it over the chair. It's great if your hosting a garden party, or any kind of party. Plus it would be great to offer the arrangement as a favor for your guests .

I chose to fill this fun basket with pastel colors.

I hope you enjoyed this little basket as much as I do. It always puts a smile on my face.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Tulips

Every time my mother-in-law comes over she always greets me with beautiful flowers. Whether they're roses, delphinium, or tulips, each one is sure enough to make me smile. Today she brought these beautiful pink tulips that I just couldn't resist taking photos of.

Although peonies are my favorite flowers, and roses of course come in second on my list, tulips are definitely on my list of being a "fun" flower. I love how they have the habit of arching around the vase. So beautiful.

 I hope you enjoyed viewing these beauties. I can't wait to share with you my upcoming completed floral arrangements and wreaths. For now I am off to my 13 month old Sarah who seems to be crawling a little too quickly these days.



Pretty Wreath

This past week has been abnormally warm, with some record breaking temperatures. I'm definitely not complaining because I love me some warm weather. However, I have been keeping busy with a number of projects. First, I made this beautiful wreath for Michele at Michele's Cottage Gifts in Plantsville, CT.

The wreath was filled with pink peonies, dried statice, and beautiful greens that helped make it lush and garden-like. I must say the dried statice isn't the most fun working with, I think my fingers were pricked way too many times, ouch!

I also added this beautiful green netted ribbon. I love intertwining ribbon in a number of my designs.

After the wreath was complete, I was off to tackle a new project, the cabinet in my bathroom.

It was painted cream, however I felt it needed a change, so off I went to get paint samples. I will create a post just focusing on my cabinet project. But one thing I will tell you is I'm thinking of making it gray and adding some appliques.
Well I'm off to tackle my project, happy weekend everyone!

Missing my garden

Lately we have been encountering some above normal temperatures for February here in Connecticut. These warmer temps are making me feel anxious to get digging in the dirt. But for now all I can do is just look at the pictures I took from my garden.

I hope you can find some inspiration from these photos, so let's take a walk through my garden.

I love mixing catmint with my roses, I think it compliments them very well.

The climbing rose "America", even more beautiful in person. Such a great rose, train it as a climber or keep pruning it and keep it as a large shrub, you choose.

I purchased this basket at a tag sale for only $3.00! You never know what you can find at these things.

Oh foxglove, how I love you.

One of the most popular climbers, "Blaze"

More foxglove paired with catmint, just dreamy.

This small hedge of roses is of "Bonica" in the pink, and the red are "Red Meidilland" not sure if I spelled it correctly. Bonica is such a fruity smelling rose that is just so pretty and feminine, great for making quick dainty fresh arrangement for your bedside table, or bathroom. I just love it.

I hope you enjoyed your stroll through my garden.

Have a great day everyone! Muah!