Our sofa has spring fever...

.. just like me!


Yes, it is definitely time for a burst of springtime color in our little cottage! My poor old slipcovers have seen better days (pulled and pilled by little kitty claws), therefore I like to conceal the damage under quilts!


So off came the old quilt used this past winter (a more subdued floral that looked great during the winter moths)...

... and out came the thrift store baby quilt I scored several years ago, because I am ready for some serious springtime color!

Bright blooms dot the pink and white striped background, and the border has a sweet sunny yellow striped ruffle...

...while the reverse side sports a soft green & white pattern pattern.

Now I should have stopped there with the flowers, but I couldn't. So my Rachel Ashwell hydrangea pillow sits in one corner of the sofa...

...and a pair of robins egg floral pillows sit on the opposite side. Yup, we are officially ready and waiting for spring, and flowers, and WARM weather, to finally make an appearance in our neck of the woods! And after three long months, the bare ground is finally visible beneath the melting snow! I think that's reason enough for a major celebration and explosion of flowers!

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Donna

And then there were two...

Found years apart, but meant to be paired...


I first found this small framed pink rose needlepoint several years ago in a second hand store in Somerville, MA.


Earlier this year I came across this framed floral needlepoint. (What's scary is that even though I found this one more recently, I cannot remember where I got it!!)

Lovingly crafted by different hands, stitched in different colors, and mounted in different frames; but somehow they were meant to find each other and live happily ever after on the narrow strip of wall between the bathroom door and linen closet of our little cottage. Thank you to the two lovely crafters who put their hearts and souls into these two vintage needlepoints.
They are lovely and I cherish them!

Be sure to stop and see Cindy at My Romantic Home for a list of all the Show and Tell bloggers participating this week, and to see Cindy's special Show & Tell post!

P.S. It hit a high of 97 degrees Tueday. Wilting weather for sure! Mid 70's are forecast for the rest of the week... Heaven!

Donna

1960's Vintage Rose Prints...

I've had this set of coordinating rose prints since I switched over to a shabby/cottage decorating style... I remember these hanging in our house when I was a kid. I believe my mom bought them at either a Woolworth's, Grant's, or Mammoth Mart store as those are the only places she shopped at back then... After my mom passed away, I found them down in her basement...
(click any photos to enlarge)

This is the largest of the three prints, about 8x10. It hangs in a corner of our family room... (By the way, that's the bird lamp my girls bought me as a Christmas present from Urban Outfitters several years ago, which is when I learned that UO carries some really great stuff - see yesterday's post)....


The vase of roses in this print looks like an actual painting...


... with lush roses...

and spring green leaves...

As I said, my mom got these back in the early 60's and the frames, now being close to 50 years old, have the perfect 'shabby/distressed' look to them....

There are two smaller prints that coordinate with the large one... I have them hanging above the windowseat in the family room...

Now how did mom know, all those years ago, that I would come to love this style of decorating? The fact that they were picked out, by her, so long ago makes them very special to me!

Love you, Mom! I hope you like the way your old prints are displayed...

Donna

Cottage Charm Giveaway#2 - Cottage Garden

CONGRATULATIONS to Tammy at Brinkley Bungalow!! She is the winner of the Cottage Garden giveaway!!!

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm doing two giveaways for the 2nd Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway (being hosted by Kim at The Twice Remembered Cottage - One Woman's Cottage Life). Click on her blog link (above or on my sidebar) to visit ALL of the blogs participating in this giveaway - the prizes are fantastic!! This is my giveaway #2 - the "Cottage Garden" collection...

I've come across some really cute items on my "junktiquing" and shopping trips lately, so the winner of the "Cottage Garden" giveaway will receive everything shown above, which includes...

... a little flowery pair of gardening gloves, a cottage bouquet set of 8 note cards/envelopes, a 14"x18" cottage placemat/doily/runner with embroidered lotus blossom type flowers...

...a 'Shady Gardens' book, a little garden block, two seed packets (Moonflower Vine and Nasturtium), and a little prism like the ones I hang in my windows to fill the room with rainbows (like this)...

You'll also receive this L.L. Bean standard sized pillow sham (shown folded up here). The first photo shows what it looks like on a pillow, but you will be receiving the sham only (no pillow). It's so cottage sweet, covered all over with the prettiest wildflowers!

And here's a photo that shows three of my prisms hanging from the valance in my living room window (actually, just a shameless excuse to post another photo of Spotty boy!).

To be entered into the drawing for this collection, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, or any future post up until the drawing date of May 31st. You do not have to have a blog to enter, but if your comment doesn't link back to a blog, be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can notify you if you win!

You can enter the "Cottage by the Sea" giveaway the same way - just by leaving a comment on that post or any other post through May 31st. After your comment, just put #1 for the Cottage by the Sea collection or #2 for the Cottage Garden collection. And if you want to be entered into both drawings, just put #1/#2 after your comment.

The more comments you leave between now and May 31st, the more chances you have to win, but just one comment per post please :)

Donna (who's hoping for some seriously good gardening weather soon!)