My creative space...

Welcome to my little cottage office/studio!
(click any photos to enlarge)

I learned of this fun "Where Bloggers Create" party through Claudia's blog...

It's being hosted by Karen at My Desert Cottage. She thought it would be fun if we shared our little creative nooks with each other... Thanks, Karen, for a great idea!

Although it's not a very big room (smaller than 8'x10'), I am so fortunate to have a space to call my own! I recently rearranged the room, so it's a bit different from when this photo was taken. But it's still full of all the things that make me smile... artwork and signs painted by my girls, old family photos, chippy windows, and lots of junktique finds like the old green desk, the vintage tablecloth covering an old file cabinet/table, and the pink lamp(s) on top of the bookcase.

I made this bulletin board out of an old chippy window by applying cork squares to the window panes with double-sided tape...

And this is my computer/blogging corner!! (Although since recently rearranging the room, the computer now sits on the green desk, which has been moved into the corner, and the white shelving unit now sits on the other side of the room).

Here's the exact same view of the room in the early 90's! As you can see, I still have the same peachy-pink wallpaper that we put up when it was Courtney's room. Court has since moved into a larger bedroom, which pleases her to no end!

I fell in love with this chippy green desk at a sidewalk sale years ago. It's one of my all-time favorite junktique finds. Some day I'll try to get better photos because the green is much prettier than in shows here...

Photos of the girls are tucked under the glass desk top, as well as some cottagey placemats that match my no-sew window valance. I painted some old black/grey office supplies so I'd have a more cottage-friendly stapler and pencil sharpener. And my best friend (the fan) is never far away!

Okay, if I ever clean/rearrange my bookcase shelves, I promise I'll show you. But trust me when I say you would not be impressed with them in their current state! I can at least show you the top of the bookcase... I got the vintage lamps & shades for a song at a second-hand store that, unfortunately, is no longer in business... Boy, do I miss that place!

There are a lot of handmade things in my office, including this eye pottery that Amanda made in high school. I think it's so unique!

I also have a small "Mary" collection in my office... A thrifted Mary sits on top of a hand-painted cigar box....

...while an old ceramic Mary (that once belonged to my Mom) hangs on the wall. Isn't the swag of crosses sweet? I got them from Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage a couple of years ago (I love her shop! The CREATE sign hanging from the mirror over the bookcase was also from her shop!)...

On the old white shelving unit (that used to house the computer), I now have a special shelf with an old Mary paint-by-number, a vintage chalkware Mary statue, a little plastic shrine (that the girls bought for me many years ago), and my mom's and nana's Mass cards in little white frames. My (black kitty) Mr. B's ashes are in the blue urn (actually a cotton ball dispenser), and little animal figurines are reminders of some of the sweet fur babies we've had. So all in all, my office/studio is filled with special memories and things that make me happy.

And about that valance that conceals the shade ... Since I have no talent in the sewing department (do you give lessons, Claudia?), I just folded 3 placemats, side-by-side, over a curtain rod and then folded crocheted doilies over the areas where the placemats overlapped. Easy breezy (it has to be for me! ha ha)

I'm looking forward to visiting everyone else's creative spaces!

Donna

Rose Cottage Antiques

FUN - FUN - FUN is the only way to describe Rose Cottage Antiques at 208 Main St., Lee, Massachusetts...


Two floors of GORGEOUS vintage finds, all set in themed rooms...


Here's Amanda, looking at some of the aprons in the kitchen...


Speaking of kitchens, isn't this the sweetest cottage kitchen ever? Look at those glass cupboards! And how I would LOVE to have a window in my kitchen!!! (You heard it right... I don't have a single window in my kitchen, ladies... Was that a collective gasp I just heard over my windowless plight? I think so... a sad situation, indeed..)


This is the dining room of Rose Cottage.. Just look at that built-in hutch! As you can see, this shop is housed in a lovely older home with a sweet porch - which I forgot to take a picture of!!


Is anyone looking for silver to add to their collection? Or a tea cart perhaps?


I love doll houses... This was the kids' room on the 2nd floor of Rose Cottage...


My daughter bought a beautiful pleated vintage half slip, new with tags, from the bedroom upstairs... The original tag said $1.70!


I had to take a photo of these cherubs because they reminded me of something that Cindy (My Romantic Home) would make over and put in her beautiful home!


I was SOOOOOOOOOOO tempted to purchase these two original bird paintings... Aren't they COTTAGE spectacular?? They were $55 for the pair though, and considering I had already spent some money at Greylock Cottage, I passed on them (but for two original paintings - and such sweet ones at that - I was tempted!!!)


When we headed back to our car, look what was stacked up behind Rose Cottage Antiques... Of course I thought of Linda at Linda's Blue Gate right away! Can't you just picture the gorgeous yard conservatories she would make out of them??

Yes, if you are ever in the Lee, MA area, definitely set your GPS for Rose Cottage Antiques!!!

Donna

Summer Garden Tour

If you haven’t already done so, hop on over to A Cottage Industry to see the list of blogs offering “garden tours” on this lovely June day! I’m not sure I’m even on the list since I just sent in my info yesterday… but just in case, I strolled around the yard today and took some new photos of our “work in progress” garden!


Here’s the view from out front… Remember the whiskey barrels that were so popular in the 1980’s? My mom was with me when I bought this – such a long time ago. Being the non-gardener that I am, I just planted a few vinca vines and plunked down a hanging basket of petunias on top…


These little guys will greet you by the front door. I got them at Target in with the Christmas decorations last year (I love that place, but I still haven't quite figured out the connection between these guys and Christmas!). In any case, they enjoy sitting on the front stoop under the shade of the old bench and flowers.


Mr. & Mrs. Wren are busy raising their babies because they chatter at me constantly now that the eggs have hatched. They live right beside the garden gate that I wrote about in yesterday’s blog post; therefore, we try to come and go through the house as much as possible so as not to disturb them.


I’ve been trying my beautiful vintage Mary out in a few different spots in the yard. Right now she’s under the baker’s rack (the free one from curbside)… I planted a foxglove on either side of her and a Mandevilla vine behind her, to grow up the baker’s rack. I’m not quite sure about this yet. It could change before end of summer…


"Patience" has been moving around a bit as well.. Right now I have her sitting on an old bench that hubby built around the same time as the gate (it desperately needs to be powerwashed and cleaned up, but we've been so busy with our 'Roswell Crater' work the past year or two!). I used her old hat in another flower grouping so I bought her a new one of coral impatiens. From the serene expression on her face, I think she's digging it!


Here is the outer edge of Roswell Crater, finally starting to look something like a garden (not bad when you consider that it looked like this a few months ago!). I've been planting some butterfly bushes, crocosmia, monarda/bee balm, penstemon, phlox, red hot poker, etc. – anything that will attract hummers and butterflies into the garden!! And this week we finally put up the birdhouse I bought back around March. I've always loved the look of a birdhouse on a post in the center of a garden.


And here, Foxy Loxy stands guard over the Chip(s)’ favorite birdbath. A little green table with bright impatiens gives some color to this corner of the patio.


Why don’t we sit, have some iced tea, and watch for the hummingbird at the feeder hanging from the cherry tree behind us.


Earlier this evening I took my camera over to the feeder and waited for Mr. or Mrs. Hummingbird. I didn’t have to wait long before Mrs. Hummingbird came zooming in for a drink…


… She was being shy tonight though, and insisted on hiding behind the hanger while she sipped her sugar water…


I’m so glad you could stop by for my little garden tour… Let’s go out through the garden gate (we'll hurry so we don't disturb the Wren family). This is the gate from inside the backyard. You saw it from the outside on last night’s post… Years and years ago I planted ivy to grow up the fireplace. I’ve always loved the look of ivy on brick…


It’s amazing how many more clematis have bloomed since yesterday’s photo! And look – even the clematis seems to be growing in a ‘heart’ shape to match the heart cutout on the gate!

I had the nicest time.. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my garden. If you're new to my blog and would like to see more of our "garden in progress" (or the furry and feathered friends that visit us!), just scroll down... It's intermingled with lots of "inside the house" goings on! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Update: If you are looking for the "butterflies and blooms" that Tracey mentioned on her blog, they're on my June 14th post.

Donna

Today's song: Home is Where the Heart Is - Elvis Presley

Old windows and flower boxes... a match made in heaven....

Window boxes... Flower boxes... Whatever you call them, few things equal their instant cottage charm!!!

We live in a split entry where the windows (hence, any window boxes) are well above watering level, so I've had to create my own at ground level by pairing flower boxes with some of the old windows I've collected in the past.. (another great way to recycle those old windows!!).

It's hard to believe that by by mid-summer these impatiens should be tall enough to meet the windowpanes.... (By the way, Mr. & Mrs. Wren have accepted the fact that I must water the flowers behind their cottage each day. Although they still keep a watchful eye on me, they have at least stopped their loud chattering, aimed at driving me away!)

This is the girls' old tree house, which is actually a free standing fort that hubby built for them when they were little (they're now ages 19 and 22 so, needless to say, they don't use it anymore!). We dressed it up a bit with an old window and flower box ....

This garden window is attached to the fence along the backyard, right next to the patio we put in last year. It is also the one that the squirrels like to rip apart on a daily basis... Vinca vines and impatiens are always strewn on the ground below in their attempts to bury/find/rebury/refind their favorite stash of nuts. Darn good thing for them that I think they're cute!!

Now if you read yesterday's blog post about patience, this is where I need to remind myself that it is indeed a virtue, because I sooo want these little guys, planted in the windowboxes of our shed, to look like the ones from last year (see sidebar photo!)... Granted, that photo was taken late in the summer... Patience, Donna... patience!!!

I promise I'll do an "inside" post one of these days [soon]... but the weather is just fantastic, as anyone from New England can attest to... and I'm just loving being outside and planting and having fun with the flowers and birds and critters!!

Comments Update: The shed came with its own flowerboxes, and we didn't make the ones on the fence (but I did paint them that bright green! ha ha)... I bought them at The Christmas Tree Shops last year. I was just there the other night and they have them this year, too. My husband screwed the windows and the planter boxes into the cross rails/support rails of our "oh so old" stockade fence and they seem to be holding really good!

Donna

Be Still My Heart...

Oh my gosh... I NEVER knew this place existed and yet I've driven by it over a dozen times this past year. You've probably noticed that I'm hitting a lot of thrift shops lately. That's because I'm on a mission, searching for a very specific 'something' which I'll share with you in a future post.

At one of the stores I stopped at last week, it was suggested that I check out Fairground Antiques up toward Keene, NH... Well, if any of you live up that way, it is a great place to spend some time browsing!! And for those of you who don't live in the area, come on in with me and take a look around! (Click any of the photos to enlarge them if you'd like.)

Look at that old birdcage! Isn't it gorgeous?? I had to keep repeating words 3 & 4 of my six word meme: Natural packrat, WANNABE MINIMALIST, Forever Conflicted... Remember Donna, WANNABE MINIMALIST. Stay strong!

But how can I stay strong with all these treasures? Just look at that rocker! Periwinkle blue over a chippy pink and black basecoat... Can you picture how perfect that would be in my living room? The painting over my fireplace has all those same colors!

Remember one of my previous posts about using old windows? Look at these! They have old illustrated storybook pages behind the glass panes... Such cottage charm!

I think we had that old telephone back in the 60's when our telephone number started with two letters! And look at that perfect chippy Mary garden statue!

Oh my - another vintage birdcage, but this one has a stand and it's priced way less than just the cage alone in the first photo!

Wouldn't you have LOVED this when you were a little girl? I'm a very grown up girl, and I still loved it! It was just beautiful in person... my photo doesn't do it justice...

Okay, I really, really tried to be a minimalist... honest I did... But I had to buy one of the items that is pictured above... Lots of the booths were running specials.. 20, 30, 40, even 50% off, so I couldn't pass up a 50% discount. I'll show you more photos of my purchase in a future post... I wonder if any of you have an inkling what it is ?

And the hunt is still on for the specific item I'm looking for... I hate to be so mysterious about it, but it will become clear in a later post... So I'll be sure to take you along when I do some more junktiquing in the weeks to come!

Donna

Recycling Old Windows

Does anybody else's car just screech to a halt if there are old windows laying by the roadside? They are just so full of character and charm (and possibly lead paint, too, so be careful - especially if you have little ones!). I've seen people put mirrors in them or paint beautiful designs on them. Here are two that I was lucky enough to snag. It was fun transforming them into a photo frame and a bulletin board. If you aren't lucky enough to find yours along the side of the road, try looking in junktique shops, salvage yards, or on eBay or Craig's list. Happy hunting!

Donna