Sydnee's Wedding

I had such a fun day decorating for my good friend's nieces wedding.  I used a lot of the things that I had used for my daughter's wedding but with different things hanging on or around the big pieces.  We used the hinged doors

We also used the fences as the receiving line backdrop

I made a new free standing back drop using old shutter style closet doors.  I painted them to look like weathered wood.  Then added a curtain rod and 2 lace panels from Ikea.  I love doilies, so made a doily bunting to hang over the lace.  It was a great backdrop for the vanity that we used for the guests to sign the wedding book.

We tented the ceiling and draped the walls with Gossamer material.  It was awesome.  I love what it does to the atmosphere.  

Syndee had sprayed a bunch of trees gold, we added some white lights and then a vintage brass hendrick's bird cage!  A gold framed chalkboard with their names and wedding date!

The center pieces were painted cans will fresh flowers

Burlap runners with lace edges.

Tin cans and barnwood

My antique hutch was used for the Sundae toppings.

We had a lot of paper doilies and jute twine, so we made some doily bunting

We hung the canvas pictures from the airplane wire with fishing line.

It was a fun wedding to decorate, such a cute Bride!!

Inspired after a trip to Kalispel

I went to Kalispel Montana this past weekend, just for the day. 4 gals who all live the same things!  So fun!  

We left super early to get down there when the shops opened. Oh, and we took our utility trailer...because well, you never know what you might find. 

Our first stop was at our favorite store, Station 8. Last fall I bought a column there and ever since I wished I had bought the other one. So I did. 

The one with the numbers. I'm going to cut it down just a bit. Then I spoted the little one! 

Then we headed down the road to a place I'd never been to (hard to believe) called Pickets. There was a booth almost completely filled with pink vintage. I spotted a couple of treasures. A pink iron and a pink hair dryer with a inflatable cap!  

We went to a couple more stops and found a couple more treasures when Brittney asked if we could stop at this lady's house. She had been messaging her and she had a couple of things she was going to buy from her. So we make our way into the historical district of kalispel and pull up in front of an adorable house complete with a picket fence. We all go in.  I wish I could have whipped out my camera because her house was AMAZING!!!  I asked her if she blogged or had ever been in a magazine and this is when I was informed that she was the organizer of the Vintage Whites Market!!  What? Yup, and I can't stop thinking about all the cuteness I saw there!  So I've been totally inspired. She told us of a new vintage store that had just opened with more industrial stuff. It almost 5 by now but we race over to try and find it and find it we did. Kelsey jumped out to see if it was still opened and it was. So I parked the truck and trailer (always having to really plan that out). I walk in and Kelsey had already found what I had been looking for.  The base of a wood burning stove!!!  Oh happy day!  It's a cute place with lots of neat stuff. Kelsey also got a big green wooden box for blankets!

It was a grand day out (to quote Wallace and Grommet). 

So I headed out to my garage to finishe some long waited project and here's what happened. I wasn't even thinking about these shutters until I was out there for a few hours. 

I bought these shutters last summer and wasn't sure what I was going to do. I'm helping with a wedding this weekend and dreamed this up. 

It's so cute that I needed to find a place in our house for them. That prompted me to rearrange my our living room. 

I also made this barn wood sign

My collection of lace doilies and bits of this and that has come in handy. 

I love vintage

Some things I've been up to

Spent a weekend in Edmonton Alberta. One day was with my "oh so patient" son (my husband had meetings) so he had no choice. He'd set a timer on my phone for each stop (for the record, I beat the timer everytime). The next day Brady opted to stay at the hotel and I spent the day with my dear friend #sistafromadifferentmother

Here are some of the treasures that I found and mixed into what I already had. 

I love little pitchers!

If you can't tell...I also love big pitchers. If you've never heard of gurgling pots your life is incomplete. They are the fish shaped pitcher. They make noises when you pour from them!!  We seriously laugh everytime we use them. The one in the middle is a vintage one, sadly it doesn't make the noise. 

I'm always on the look out for vintage sewing things. 

Vintage quilt blocks

I found the hat and the key hole plaque

I have a collection of shoe forms and stretchers

Vintage linens!!

I found this cermamic flower basket and knew where it needed to go!

Using old windows and shutters as backdrops for displays

Here's how it turned out!  It's in our bedroom!

First I started by laying out the shutters and window frame on the floor and playing around with the "stuff" I was going to put on them. 

Then once I figured out how I would like it. I painted the shutters. The frames and shelf I pre-hung. The small frames and pictures I attached to the shutters and window before I hung them to the wall. 

Here's another grouping in our guest bedroom

Here are a couple in my office. 

In a bathroom

Here's a grouping with shutters and a suitcase on a bench. 

One more spot I used a shutter. 

Shutters are a great backdrop!!  And windows...and old doors!!

My happy place

My happy place started out as our kids toy room. But as they grew up I slowly took over. It started with a corner and my sewing machine. Now it's my happy place, aka my sewing room. It has 6 windows and 4 of them face west. So I get great sunlight most of the day!  

I found this spinning wheel at an antique store with this fabulous original aqua blue paint (had to have it)!

I converted an old metal (not safe at all for a baby) baby crib into a love seat using vintage quilts I bought on eBay that came with the description "damaged", then I don't feel bad cutting them up. 

This little cabinet I had for awhile waiting for the perfect place (I have a collection of things waiting for the perfect place). The dishes in this cabinet where an engagement present for my grandma from my grandpa when they got engaged!  It's a cake and tea set. I've had them stacked in my other china cabinet but now they can be nicely spread out. The quilt on the bottom shelf is an antique grandmas garden quilt which goes nicely with my grandmas dishes because she had a beautiful garden!

I have a china cabinet that holds my pretty collections of fat quarters and jelly rolls. 

At Christmas I put up a vintagey Christmas tree. 

I collect sewing machines, mostly Singers.  I actually sew with the one in the white cabinet. It's awesome for denim and leather! 

This featherweight I completely took apart, striped down to bare metal, repainted, added the decals, put it back together again!  It sews beautifully!!  

I love vintage toy sewing machines. They came in such cute colors!! The white featherweight is one I bought on eBay. When I got it it didn't work. The seller refunded my money and now it looks cute on the shelf. I haven't given up on it, I might have to break down and take it somewhere to get it fixed. I think it's the motor. 

I couldn't pass this vintage aqua blue lace dress up!  She's perfect in my happy place.  The pictures in that collage are of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great GP and even a set of great great great GP!  I've been influenced by all of them through out my life!  

Here's where it all happens! I love sewing!  I love putting different combos of colors together and seeing it progress into something fabulous!

I LOVE MY BERNINA sewing machine!  This is what I use daily!!

(Chandelier was used at my daughters wedding and needed to hang over my sewing area when it was done being a wedding decoration!)

I love using my vintage iron!  I got the tip from Lori Holt (Bee in my Bonnet blog). I love it so much I got rid of my rowenta steam system (for quilting and piecing it didn't work for me, too much down time in between so it would just spit water all over everything).  I also love the 3 metal basket trolley from ikea!  

This is a dresser with the drawers long gone. So I put shelves inside and it holds some of my quilts. My friend Jenn (her etsy shop is called konjohandmade) custom made 3 dolls, each representing my 3 girls!  

I bought this and it was damaged (but I knew I was repainting it anyway). I wanted to display some of my vintage hats, there's are rhinestone necklace of my mother in laws, and the kitten picture was made by my grandma given to me when I was a little girl. My sister and I had coordinating cat pictures!  

A vintage bread box is a great place to store and display fabric bundles!

And there you have it...my happy place!!  Where life happens!!