Darling Shabby Romantic Suitcase!

Oh, I just have to share with you this darling Romantic Suitcase!  

Try as I may to leave items as is...my sneaky white paint brush whips out and takes over! 

The old brown suitcase I found at the Pink Door Resale shop for $1.50 was no exception...it got a royal shabbyin!

I painted the suitcase with a white semi-gloss latex paint.

I thought I might leave it white until, I was so inspired by this beautiful romantic Victorian card, I found at

http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com

I just knew it was meant for my suitcase!

 The card reads 

~Loves Message~

This is so sweet and romantic to me...

I distressed the suitcase with some light sandpaper to give it a little  shabby imperfection.

It rained alot today so out came my hot glue gun and glitter and I crafted up some darling Victorian tags.

Embellished with fabric roses, glitter and vintage music paper...

I still need to add the ribbons at the top, I used all my crafty odds and ends to fluff them up!

I want to thank all of you lovely bloggers out there who are so inspiring to me!

I will be linking up with the lovely Cindy at Romantic Homes for Show and Tell Friday

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ 

and 

the beautiful Connie at Beautiful Living
http://connie-livingbeautifully.blogspot.com/

for Frou Frou Friday!

Squishy Hugs,

Olivia

My Cottage Kitchen

Good Day!

Let's sit for a moment and have a cup of coffee!

Ahhhh, that's better. 

I had a little get together at my home yesterday I will share with you a sweet photo of my dad 

(he's single ladies )holding my first nephew..

For dinner we had smoked pork sandwiches...

Yum!

My project for the day is creating a faux fireplace mantel in my living room! I am letting my hubby sleep in so I can surprise him with our project! (Giggle)

 Since I am still on the couch in my pjs, I will share with you a bit of eye candy from my cottage kitchen...

 A darling vintage scale topped with a tea cup and vintage linen

 This is the view out of my kitchen window

One of my favorite finds, a darling chippy hoosier cabinet

S

Shabby Chippy goodness you know I love...

One day I will get to visit Paris, my husband made me this sign

 Well, you know I can't sit around in my pjs blogging all day, 

time to paint and create! Cross your fingers and toes my hubby will help me with my faux mantel project today!

Hope your day is Fabulous!

I am joining the beautiful Cielo for Show off your Cottage Monday

http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

Squishy Hugs,

Olivia

Oh La La Pretty in Pink...Plus Chocolate!

Oh my heavens, Chocolate and Pinks who can resist!

That's right, I baked up some delicious double fudge chocolate chip cupcakes to celebrate Pink Saturday! Yum!

I was also in the mood to whip up some pretty in pink treasures and look what I came up with...

this adorable vintage dolly we named Rose~

 In case you thought pink pumpkins only exsist in fairytales, welcome to my fairyland powder room! 

 

That's right I have one bathroom dedicated to my favorite color...PINK!

 

 

 

I also needed something in my powder room to hold my fresh linens so I crafted up this darling little basket...

 

 A lovely pink lady planter...

 

Well, I hope you have a lovely day and Happy Pink Saturday to all of you pretty in pink lovers, please stop by and visit our lovely host Beverly at How Sweet the Sound http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

for more pink goodies!

Squishy Hugs,

Olivia 

Fall Decorating Party!

All it took for me to whip out my fall decorating magic wand, was a rainy day and temperatures below the 90's! 

I was so excited to begin my fall decorating I completely tore apart my dining room and redecorated with fall colors!

I gave my mother in law my corner cabinet so I hauled in this darling hoosier cabinet I had in the garage. I found some cornucopia baskets at the Pink Door today for cheap, I shabbied them and stuffed them full of white flowers with fall leaves delicately mixed in.

 I wanted to blend whites with shabby fall colors, I am still on the hunt for some beautiful gold and orange roses!

Of course I could not resist adding a pretty garland to my chandy!

Now, I must find a fabulous fall tablecloth and napkins to create a beautiful table setting.

 Ok, now I will show you my corny stuff that I do for the kids...
This is my little cutie pumpkin, he blinks on and off (also covers up ugly cords in the corner)

My son LOVES little light up houses (to be honest so do I). I found this little darling at a tag sale yesterday and I could not pass it up!

Please bear with me, I adore change, mainly because as a busy mom so much of my day is filled with routine. So yes, I change up my home and my blog header...at least you will not get bored visiting me! Please let me know how you do Shabby Chic "Fall" at your home.

The seasons in my life are ever changing and my home tends to reflect this...

This Shabby Vintage Chic is partying with 

 My Cottage Charm at

http://mycottagecharm.blogspot.com/

A House in the Roses at
http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/Thrifty Thursday at 

http://lbratina.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Romantic Homes for Show and Tell Friday

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely and blessed day!
Hugs,
Olivia

Shabby Chippy Whites

Welcome!

Today I am celebrating White Wednesday and showing off some very Shabby Chippy Whites! We all swoon when we find an antique piece with its original patina...

 This statue is an old French or Italian hunter, made of white metal and used to decorate the end of a stairway post. I found this at a tag sale, the lady who sold it to me said it had been in her family for years but she could not figure out what it was.

I rearranged my entryway and created a mirror collage above my white buffet!

I shabbied this darling frame and then hung two smaller shabby mirrors inside! I loved how it turned out!

I also picked up this darling little lamp, shabbied the base and found a home for it in my birdcage!

Oh, I just love Shabby Chippy Whites! The cross in the center my husband got for me a long time ago, it is one of my favorite pieces.

I have been working on several projects so check back for some before and after pictures! 

Whoo Hoo! We love Shabby Makeovers!

Enjoy more white Wednesday at Faded Charm

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Squishy Hugs,

Olivia

Good Morning!

I love my first cup of coffee! I make a strong pot and then mix in two different types of flavored creamer.

This morning it was chocolate and french vanilla. Yum!

I have a busy Monday morning and I am praying that the "heavy" things on my to do list are handled w/ minimal stress. I am taking as much "me" time as possible while the house is quiet to do some blog hopping...my little escape for the moment.

I stumbled upon a cool blog

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

with all kinds of interesting ideas on how to use your junk (treasures) in interesting ways.

So, the wheels are turning in my DIY head! Hopefully I will get to work on some projects today! 

This green cabinet has been sitting in my garage for months, we started to strip it and the paint got stubborn and the weather got hot so I gave up for a while.

I have the perfect spot for it in my dining room corner, I recently gave my step mother in law my corner cabinet for her dining room because it was the perfect size for what she needed and my garage is looking like "hoarder" material. Part of it is stuff for my flea market booths...but still. It is time for me to REALLY start my day. I hope yours is lovely!

Hugs,

Olivia

Happy Pink Saturday!

I am relaxing this morning with a cup of coffee before I start my very busy day! 

This week we have had my husbands father and family visiting for the first time from out of town. What a blessing it has been to have them travel the distance to spend time with us!

 My husband and I both come from divorced parents so as you can imagine there are some tricky situations for all of us. While playing hostess this week I realized something...

as a Christian, God has forgiven me...therefore we must forgive one another.

If we do not forgive, we run the risk of carrying around pain and anger that will overflow out of our hearts dumping bitterness into our lives and the people we love. My prayer is that you may take and dump your troubles to God and be refilled with his love, so that you may water the garden of your life with love, peace and happiness no matter what challenges befall you.

I recently finished the movie Wuthering Heights,by Emily Bronte, what an interesting story that was! I have been on a British Victorian movie kick of late and like most everything I do, I dive in head first! No minimalist here!

As fall approaches look for more pink and white pumpkins gracing my home!

Don't forget to make it fabulous! Grab my Button! Isn't is cute!

Please stop by and visit our darling hostess, Beverly at
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/ for more pink goodness! Have a lovely day!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Hugs,

Olivia

Shabby Shutter Window Frame

Welcome! I would like to share with you my fabulous Shabby Rose Window!

For this window, I painted a frame several coats of white, distressed the frame and shutters with sandpaper and then rubbed a mahogany colored stain over the white. My husband attached the shutters and underneath I used a pretty cottage rose print! Yes, I am fluffing up my living room!

I think it turned out a bit Shabby and Rustic! Just Darling!

I have worked up quite the collage of "Decor" around the Shabby Shutter Rose frame!

I am striking out in a different direction, but I am really loving it....

as long as there are Roses, Shabby, Chippy, Victorian, Dangly Crystals YOU KNOW I AM A FAN!

As I discussed in the last post the chairs have been left dark to blend with the dark brown leather sofas...

of course, I am still in limbo as to whether I should shabby them or not???? The sofa is to the bottom far left, this vignette is part of my new "Cottage Victoriana" (is there such a thing)???

Anyhoo, the pretty blue mirror found a home above my side table.

 

Normally, I would not hang this many things on one wall...my husband likes it & I like the change what do you think?

Oh yes, and THANK YOU for all of your comments and encouragement! I am a busy mommy and I do not have time to visit all of you as much as I want but I promise I will be by to see you soon!

I am partying with Cindy at Romantic Homes

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

and Connie for frou frou Friday

http://connie-livingbeautifully.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely and blessed day!

Hugs,

Olivia