Spring vignettes...

Spring has really arrived here in New England! Not only outside, but inside as well!

A little spring vignette in the Family Room featuring a vintage paint-by-number and bird figurines.

I think Mama Bluebird is squawking to Mr. Blue Jay that he'd better stay away from her nest and eggs!

As you can see, I use most of my old chair pads on tables rather than chairs. This plant is enjoying soaking up the sun through the slider.

Now this plant is an artificial boxwood, so technically it doesn't need the sun's rays, but I think it likes this spot in the window anyhow!

Baby is enjoying lounging in the family room today, laying against one of my favorite pillows made out of an old chenille bedspread. It is definitely a spring pillow with a big pink rose against a blue and white background.

This floral swan was a bedroom decoration in one of my girls' bedrooms when they were little. They're now in their 20's, so it's been around for quite some time.

It sits above the family room sliders.

This is my Christmas/Easter cactus. I call it that because it blooms at both Christmastime and in the spring around Easter. It sits on a robin's egg blue floral place mat in the living room bay window.

And last, but certainly not least, is the bird bowl I shared with you in yesterday's post. This little fellow definitely brings a touch of spring to the fireplace mantel.

(photo editing courtesy of PicMonkey)

I hope you enjoyed some of our spring vignettes. I'm linking up to Beverly's Pink (Spring) Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, so stop on over!!

Happy spring, everyone!

Donna

Button, button, who's got the button?

I do, actually!

Lots and lots of creamy white buttons...

... and they're all being watched over by this beautiful little bird, perched on the rim of this petite bowl. Isn't he handsome?

I thought the bowl might look good holding some earrings from my vintage clip-on collection since they pick up a lot of the colors in my little friend...

But a little birdie told me (yes, it was him) that he prefers to be the main pop of color, and I quite agree. This beautiful bird bowl was sent to me last year by a very good friend who wanted to cheer me up. She knew I was having a hard time dealing with my dad's passing and, being the generous, caring person that she is, she sent this little beauty my way to bring a smile to my lips.

I'm sure that any of you who know Claudia from Mockingbird Hill Cottage won't be a bit surprised to learn that it was she who so generously sent this little fellow my way :) (Thank you, Claudia, I love him!)

You might remember that Claudia also posted about PicMonkey last week. Let's just say I'm officially addicted to PicMonkey now. See the photo above?

Look at it after playing with PicMonkey!! OMG, I am absolutely in love with this site! You must go check it out!

It's like eating potato chips. One just doesn't satisfy you. So I "tweaked" another!

Isn't this just too cool?? I hope you all have as much fun as I do visiting PicMonkey! And Claudia, once again, thank you for my beautiful bird bowl! I absolutely love it!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Be sure to pop over and visit everyone!

Donna

My favorite makeover piece (so far!)...

Of all the pieces I've made over, this is my favorite so far. We bought the pie safe at an unfinished furniture store in the 80's. As soon as I got it home I stained it dark brown. Needless to say, it could not escape the white paint when I caught the cottage bug a few years ago. I thought it might look cute if I mounted a mirror on it, so the hunt was on. I found the perfect mirror at a junktique store. It was a simple, round mirror and the base was the perfect size for the pie safe... Best of all, it was marked down to around $22!

I applied wreath appliques to the door panels, a rose garland applique to the mirror base, and painted both pieces creamy white. After lightly sanding a bit along the edges and applying glass knobs... voila! A brand new look for that little old pie safe!

(You can click on any of the photos to see the details better... And as you can tell from the pictures, we've also had hardwood floors installed since starting all these projects!!)

UPDATE: To answer a few questions... Because I never varnished or waxed this piece after staining it, I was able to paint right over the dark brown without sanding. Priming really does help knot holes from showing through (a step I admittedly skip from time to time). The type of appliques I buy have a 'sticky' back that is activated when they are held over boiling water/steam (I use my old tattered frying pan spatter guard for this purpose - and needless to say, I don't use it for food/cooking anymore!)... To sand/distress along edges, if I remember, I'll rub a candle down the edges (before painting), wherever I want the paint to sand off easily after the piece has dried.

Donna

Vintage Wastebaskets

I have a thing for vintage tin wastebaskets. I found the pink one on eBay several years ago and picked up the green one at a cute little antique shop in Rhode Island. I'm always moving them around and using them for different things. They're so cheerful, and have such a sweet cottage look to them... There are a few other items that I collect, but I'll save that for future posts... (P.S. Can two wastebaskets be considered a collection?)... I'd love to hear what other people collect...

Donna