Whimsical Gypsy Swing

I do a lot of thinking when I'm on my sweet Husqvarna riding lawnmower.
A lot.
I love my lawnmower.
I love mowing.
Four hours of sunshine on my shoulders;
the earthy fragrance of freshly cut grass;
and seeing our property from different angles and views.
It's alllll good.

And while I'm cutting those neat, green stripes in the grass,
my brain is going a million miles a minute ~
re-landscaping this,
relocating that,
adding something here,
and moving something over there.
It gives me the perfect chance to do some serious brainstorming and planning.

So when I rode by the front porch
and glanced at my favorite porch swing,
she looked pretty

but...

unadorned.

She needed something.

I love the new RASC body pillow slip a friend made for me.
I love the ruffled cushion beneath it.
But something was missing...

Hmmmmmm.......

The creative gears in my brain began to whirl and grind.
Every time I rode past the porch, I looked at her.
Contemplating....
thinking.

By the time the mowing was completed,
I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

My swing was singing for some
gypsy goodness.

Gathering up a pile of streamers I use when creating my dream catchers,
I headed out to the porch...

...and started wrapping.
Criss-crossing back and forth over the chains,
tying them in a knot,
leaving the ends to flutter in the wind.

I used different streamers in a variety of pastel colors and shabby chic prints.

They added such a sweet, fun, whimsical look to the swing.

So much better than those plain, old chains.

I also changed out the chandelier on the porch, too.
The previous one was very plain.
This one, however,
(picked up last summer at an antique shop)
adds a touch of vintage, romantic bling.

A large, new outdoor Turkish-inspired rug will soon grace the cement floor
replacing the worn coir one.

Hmmmm...
but there was still something missing....

The answer was to hang long, romantic sheer outdoor curtain panels ~
giving the porch an even more cozy, romantic bohemian feel.

Oh yes.

I ripped some white streamers to use as tie-backs on breezy days.

Now, the porch feels a bit more like an outdoor room.

A place to escape the hot afternoon sun.
A place to swing and snooze the day away...

on a whimsical, gypsy swing.

Be sure to stop by and take a leisurely walk through Kerryanne's beautiful new e-zine
"Simply Shabbilicious" at her Shabby Art Boutique blog.
You might see someone you know.
*wink*
The new issue is scheduled to be out on Monday, May 20!

~  Gypsy Blessings  ~

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

Little Prairie Stool

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore never fails to reward my treasure-hunting soul.

Some little trinket always comes home with me,

and I can assure you, it's probably the cheapest shopping trip I make.

During a recent excursion there

where I discovered a sweet little hobnail light fixture

(which you can read about here),

I came across this sad looking stool

with a misconstrued, mangled, faux leather, and just plain ugly attempt at a cushion stapled on top.

It was lacking a price tag.

I offered $5.00.

They counter offered $8.

I shoved dollar bills at them as fast as I could and danced out of the building.

This poor stool was so nasty that I felt it needed a bit of dressing up for its first photo shoot

with some newly dyed cheesecloth.

It had a ridiculous number of staples holding the (p)leather to the seat...

which I pulled out 

one by one

using a flat-head screwdriver and pliers.

After a quick sanding session,
I mixed up a container of Annie Sloan Chalkpaint
using 1:1 ratio of Old White and Pure White
and slapped two coats on her.





A little distressing on her legs to add a time-worn look,
and she was ready for her shabby chic debut.

A little prairie stool 

perfect for sitting and doing intricate work at my workbench

under the warmth of a vintage light.

Oh, and I received a sweet email this past week from a friend in Australia.
It was such a blessing!
I had the recent honor of being included in the "Blogroll Spotlight" among many talented and creative women featured in Kerryanne's new e-zine called Simply Shabbilicious.

It holds pages and pages of everything that we love all in one place.
Shabby, French, and vintage inspired gorgeousness, beautiful homes, inspiring creative spaces,
amazing people, lovely blogs, and special events.
It is just one beautifully published piece of art!

Kerryanne is the author of a wonderful shabby chic inspired blog
entitled Shabby Art Boutique by Woodberry Designs.
You can visit her here
and congratulate her on her new adventure!

And you can subscribe to her amazing new e-zine here!

Thank you so much, Kerryanne!

~  Blessings  ~

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