Pink Inspiration

Inspiration.

noun\ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən, -(ˌ)spi-\

1.  a divine influence or action on a person 

2.  the act of drawing in; specifically the drawing of air into the lungs

3.  the quality or state of being inspired

This old farmhouse wouldn't be what it is today without it.

It's what makes my heart beat faster.

It's what sends my mind into a whirling dervish. 

It's what makes me draw fresh, creative air into my lungs.

I can't seem to make it through a week without it.

You.

You bloggers.

You creative sisters out there.

You inspire  me.

When we first moved into this tousled, old farmhouse,

there was an old, grey window frame dressed with a piece of lace that covered the master bathroom window.

I removed it because I wanted to allow more light into this lovely room full of white bead board
reaching all the way up the ten foot walls.

Since then, the window has left been bare so I could watch the birds at the feeders outside 

while I was preparing for the day in the morning.

Recently, my friend, Tausha at Simply Me, inspired a change for this window.

She hung some large, pink shutters in a beautiful new room in her house

and me being me,

immediately fell head over heels for them.

I desperately wanted some in my house,

but was perplexed as to which room to put them in.

There was no window that would allow any shutters to open and close.

Agh!

*
*
*

Except one.

My bathroom.

So, after presenting my ever-wary Husband with a photo of her shutters,

he created a small set for me from repurposed wood from our barn "stash" in about an hour's time.

I happily brought them to the basement for a light sanding and a slap of pink.

But...

I had no pink paint.

Agh!

I took a little leftover MMS Milk Paint in "Tricycle" that I had mixed up last week,
and channeled my inner scientist ~
adding in a dribble or two of ASCP in "Old White",
a few drops of "Graphite" to tone down the hue,
a squirt or two or three of pink acrylic,
and a beautiful dusky pink color emerged
that was very similar to the over dyed ruffled pillow you see here on my love seat.}

Perfect.

After letting them dry, I swished some more Old White to lighten them a bit more,

and distressed them with another light sanding.

The strap hinges were painted with a coat of black.

I painted each silver screw black with a tiny brush

and dry brushed the black hinges with some of the dusky pink and Old White to distress them.

Can you hear the angels singing.....?

Laaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I am seriously in love with these sweet pink shutters.

Seriously.

In.

Love.

And yes....I have a feeling more shutters will be making their way into the house....

somehow...someway.

I want to hear those angels singing again...

Laaaaaaaaaaaaa!

~  Blessings  ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Fruit Drying Crate & Sanctuary

Early in the week, I took another day and stayed home

to regroup, refocus, and try to bring sort of semblance back into my life  ~

if even for a few hours.

The anxiety demon was threatening to push me over the edge once again,

and after listening closely to those of you who have been - or who are - where I am right now in my life,

I heeded your encouraging advice and took stock of what my heart and mind was telling me.

God was whispering, "Breathe in.  Abide in Me".

The best place for me to do that was here at Heaven's Walk.

My safe haven.

My respite from the roller coaster ride I'm on.

My sanctuary.

 

After a surprise breakfast of my favorite homemade buckwheat blueberry pancakes,

thick cut bacon, and fresh orange juice that The Husband so lovingly made for me,

I spent the rest of the day stripping the beds,

laundering duvet covers and linens,

dusting and vacuuming,

cleaning out the cobwebs of stress in my mind,

and playing around with my little fruit drying crate on the coffee table.

Therapy for me.

It had me stumped.

I couldn't figure out what it was lacking.

So, I emailed sweet, creative Tausha and she offered some wonderful suggestions.

A simple stack of floral linens.
Strips of cotton fabric off Christmas gifts from a blog friend.

Tea glasses filled with vintage silverware.

A sweetly scented candle.

A tangle of leather strung silver hearts.

A fragrant handful of roses plunked in a crystal glass.

Through the camera's viewfinder, my eyes landed on the sofa.

That, too, needed some freshening up.

A simple change.

The everyday duvet cover that I had thrown over it to keep the slips clean

was tossed into the washer.

A Simply Shabby Chic 'Mon Ami' twin bottom sheet was tucked around the seat cushions

and topped with a variety of favorite pillows.

I sat.

I looked.

I breathed deeply

and

thanked God for blessing me with such a wonderful place to live.

A respite.

A haven.

 A sanctuary.

 I hope that you can take time in this new year to find a place of respite and sanctuary ~

a place to breathe in...

a place to abide...

a place to hear His voice.

~ Blessings ~

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Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Overdyeing Linens 101

I've been "dyeing" to try my hand at taking a ho-hum piece of fabric and turning it into something that would make my heart skip a beat.

(Pun intended.)

Many friends in blogland had been overdyeing various items with such amazing success, 

I wanted to experience the surprise and joy of such a transformation.

So, after watching a YouTube video,

asking a multitude of questions from Stephanie (who posted a great tutorial on dyeing here), Tausha, and Birgit

(the Queens of Rit Dye in my book),

I spent Saturday afternoon at my kitchen sink with a bucket, some hot water,

a paint stick, some vintage floral linens,

and various colors of Rit Dye.

[I was also tackling a project in the basement at the same time, 

dealing with sawdust and paint.

Yeah...I'm a multi-tasker. :)]

I started out simply with just using Denim Blue,

experimenting with the right amount of dye to pour into the water.

I'm actually still trying to get a handle on that part,

because I didn't want to see any neon brights screaming back at me from the bucket.

I was going for soft, faded, romantic shades.

I stood there thinking, 

"Do I pour half the bottle in and let the item sit in it for a smaller amount of time,

or

do I pour a wee bit of dye in and let the item sit in it for longer?

Will it even make a difference....?"

So I poured a bit into the hot water, swished it around, submerged the floral linen,

stirred it around,

looked outside,

watched the birds on the birdbath,

glanced at the calender to see what I had going this coming week,

walked around the kitchen,

stirred it again,

took Maizie out for a potty break,

checked on the project in the basement,

answered the phone, 

glanced at the clock on the wall,

and lifted it up out of the water with the paint stick.

It was a beautiful pale blue!

My first thought was, "Well....THAT was easy!"

Pre-dyed fabric is sitting next to the bucket.

I rinsed it out in cold water,

refilled the bucket again with hot water

and tried Petal Pink this time.

This floral pillowcase was originally white,

and it morphed into a soft, sweet pink.

I then channeled my inner-artist

and tried mixing a little Denim with Petal Pink,

then Denim with Wine,

and finally Purple with Petal Pink ~

calling on memories of Art 101 when we mixed two or three colors together to create another. Remember the Color Wheel?

To be honest with you, I wasn't quite sure what color I was making!

(and no...I did not flunk Art 101. I always got an A+, believe it or not.)

Some colors ended up being too deep a shade for my liking.

Others, turned out soft and worn looking. 

Just perfect.

 I hung the linens outside to dry before they headed to the washer and dryer.

You can see how the first piece of linen has a more lavender hue,

while the other two are a pale blue.

I was happy with the soft, gentle shades.

I will be trying this again soon with a couple white ruffled pillow slips,

and I'll let you know how they turn out.

Until then, don't be afraid to dunk a boring sheet, pillow slip, or

lace curtain into a swirl of deep blue or pink to breath new life into it.

Just close your eyes and think back to Art 101.

You can do it.

And you won't even be graded...

Cross my heart.

~ Blessings ~

PS  (Remember to visit Tausha, Stephanie, and Birgit for more inspiration, too.

Their over-dyed linens are just gorgeous!)

Be sure to stop by Doster Emporium and Heaven's Walk while the Autumn Celebration Sale is going on! There are some wonderful Christmas gifts for that special person in your life!

Hurry! The doors will be closing soon for the season...!

Linking to the Linky Parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Autumn Leaves, Catching Dreams & A Winner

 Autumn was blazing beautifully here in Michigan the past couple weeks.

Because of the drought we had this summer, the colors were simply amazing this year.

 Rich reds, bright yellows, and "phajent"

(pronounced "fa-jent" in case you were wondering)~

a color that The Husband made up.

(Don't ask.  I haven't a clue where he came up with it.)

He insists that it's the brilliant, almost neon, orangey pink hue that you are lucky to see once in a while on sugar maples.

So, between plowing MONSTROUS piles

(I'm talking thigh deep at times, people)

of golden and phajent leaves...

[Yes, The Husband actually plowed them for me with our vintage tractor (a sweet 1947 International Harvester) because I was not making any headway by blowing them with my super duper Stihl backpack blower.  He hooked up the snowblade and pushed those ginormous piles into the woods surrounding the house. Saved me a ton of work. 
I married such a smart man.]

and putting my flower gardens to bed for the season,

dumping the pots of annuals,

putting away the wicker on the back porch,

and storing the multitude of pillows on the front porch,

I needed to do something creative.

I was feeling all brawn and no brain.

:)

I've been swooning over and coveting Tausha's gorgeous dream catchers ever since she first started making them.  "Romantic Homes" magazine even featured them when they did a spread on her beautiful Florida home.
When Sandy shared a wonderful tutorial on how she made one,

I knew what I wanted to try my hand at next.

There have been so many different crafts that I've had fun making ever since I started blogging.  You all inspire me so much!  Clay tags, Mod Podge transfers, stenciling, sewing vintage handkerchief buntings, painting furniture, making topiaries, stringing large wooden rosaries...
You've encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and try new things, and I've loved every minute of it.

But making dream catchers has caught my heart and soul in a way that no other project has.

In the Native American Ojibwa culture, the hoop of the dream catcher signifies strength and unity. The circle of life.

Dream catchers were created to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams while letting the positive dreams through.

The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center.

The negative dreams would get caught up in the web and disappear when the first rays of morning sunshine struck them.

A feather tucked into the dream catcher symbolized a breath of air that is essential for life.

I found the supplies I needed at NocBay Trading Company and at Michael's.  After scrounging around in my linen closet and baskets of fabric for some vintage floral sheets,

I assembled everything in my studioffice and began creating.

It was calming. 

Zen-like.

Wrapping the strips of soft, faded floral cotton around the hoop.

Weaving the waxy sinew into a delicate web.

Tying on rustic leather cording strung with sparkling glass beads.

Tucking a white feather into a small, wooden sphere,

and adding a final decidedly signature piece ~

a small cross made from either a genuine turquoise stone

or balsam wood. 

It's a way of adding a bit of my own heart and soul to the dream catchers.

A simple way of passing on God's love.

 
 A hoop of beachy turquoise.

A circle of vintage plum.

A quiet ring of soft pinks and blues.

I will spend my winter quietly making these intricate webs of romantic beauty.

They will be sold in my booth next spring.

I will weave each one with a calm breath,

a satisfied soul...

and a whispered prayer.

I want to thank ALL of you, near and far, so much for entering my THROUGH THE FRENCH DOOR book giveaway and leaving your sweet comments. I wish with all my heart that I could have given each and every one of you a copy of this beautiful book.


~ ♥ ~

The winner was picked the old fashioned way.
The Husband pulled a name out of a vase for me
(before I refilled it with some fresh pink roses).

 

The winner is.....

Dore from Burlap Luxe.

Congratulations, Dore!

I'll be contacting you.



♥

~  Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.