Easter Setting

I hope you dear friends had a blessed and joyous Easter!  We had a wonderful day, starting with a beautiful Mass celebrating His Resurrection, followed by a lovely family dinner at my Mom's.  Time spent with my family yesterday was precious.  Although I didn't host dinner, the four of us enjoyed a simple breakfast in our dining room:



     

A closer look at the blue & whites (my favorite color combo, as you may know)....

Some handmade touches added a special feel to the room.  I tied Easter tags from Ozma of Odds to each chair, along with some scrap fabric I tore to appear as tassels:

Several years ago I made seat covers for the dining chairs, as well as back covers for the 2 arm chairs.  They were fashioned using inspiration from Rachel Ashwell's 'Shabby Chic Sumptuous Settings and Other Lovely Things' book.  I loved the look of Jennifer Lopez's restaurant, which Ms. Ashwell designed, so I took my cues from that chapter in the book: 

The pleated tablecloth was sewn from cloud blue Shabby Chic fabric I scored on Fabric.com after the unfortunate 'Shabby Chic' liquidation.  I'm so happy Ms. Ashwell has since returned renewed with Shabby Chic Couture! 

It's not all blue and white in here.  Other pastels found their way in...

I made the linings for these two Easter baskets belonging to our little cherubs.  They patiently awaited the Easter Bunny's arrival...

Easter cookies made with 'help' from my daughter:

I'll be linking to White Wednesday to share this (mostly) white dining room setting.  Hope to see you there!

Spring Whites

Happy White Wednesday!  Thought I'd share a few spring updates to our living room, some of which continue my 'thrifty' theme from the previous post. 
Here is the entrance to our living room:

I made two spring pillows from $3 Ralph Lauren floral twin sheets I got at the thrift store.  Sewing the material wrong side out gave them a more faded look.  The couch also has a thrift store chenille spread thrown over it (easier to clean than the slipcover):

A while back I dyed a vintage tablecloth pale pink (thanks to a Shabby Chic DVD episode which taught me how).  Here it is on our round side table:

The ladies from the 'At Home With White' event inspired me to paint some of my existing furniture white.  This column was originally an uninspired beige:

It's a bit 'too' white and pristine right now, so some sanding may be necessary.  But it's a nice change.  I showcased it with some pretty roses in my etched jars:

I also painted this side table that was my grandmother Evelyn's (one of this blog's namesakes).  Last week's photo of my prized shutter didn't showcase it as deserved, so I spruced up the displays surrounding it to include this table:

Here's a bucket I decoupaged with a French graphic.  It's holding last summer's dried hydrangea blossoms:

A glitter star hung next to Sandi's business card:

Some of my French-inspired pillows in the urn:

Lastly, this cute toile pillow I made 2 years ago:

Just a few updates with thrifty finds or items I had on hand. 
Hope you all have a joyous Easter!

Ballet at Play in a Thrifty Way

Hello friends!  I must say how I've enjoyed reading your spring blog posts lately.  Inspiration abounds!
I've mentioned before that my sweet little girl's room is getting touches of ballet-inspired decor.  I stumbled across this pale pink frame at the thrift store for $1, and thought I'd fill it with ballet art.  Specifically, some ballet paper dolls.  I bought a ballet paper doll book on Ebay for a few $, then traced the main body form onto two pieces of card stock.  I picked 3 lovely outfits from the book to display on these forms.  Once I chose the outfits, I simply covered the exposed areas with vintage book pages and pink glitter.  Voila!  Instant ballet art:

Here is the original doll:

And here are my copies:

This glitter trophy was also a $1 thrift store find.  Inside I placed some ballet cupcake toppers with tulle.  The adorable pair of ballet pictures was an inexpensive find on Etsy:

This round box covered in vintage wallpaper was a whopping $2, and I made the embroidered pillow & heart last year.

This "A" ornament was heavily reduced at Pottery Barn after Christmas.  I simply strung pink ribbon through it to place on my daughter's cute shelf:

Pretty soon I'll share the room in its' entirety once I tidy up the floor (you can relate, I'm sure).

I'll be linking to Beverly's "Pink Saturday" party to share these thrifty finds.  Have a great weekend!

At Home With White - continued...

As promised, here are more photos of the delightful "At Home With White" event this past weekend at the Wrentham Country Store.  I still can't stop thinking about how wonderful it was to attend, and to meet new blogger friends (see my previous post). 
For White Wednesday, I thought I'd share more peeks into the glorious white tent, as well as the treasures that came home with me.

Here are some photos of Sandi's enticing space:

And here is Karen's lovely space:



I have a bit of regret for not purchasing that white wire laundry basket (standing in front of her space).  It's 'the one that got away...'

And here is what I was lucky enough to bring home....a chippy light gray shutter from Karen:




Here it is with Sandi's beautiful business card tucked in:



Here are a couple of adorable jeweler's tins I got from Sandi.  I just love their patina:

This awesome galvanized watering can was a great find from Sandi's space.  I love how it looks with flowers, and will eventually bring it outside for gardening season:



Lastly, here is a lovely chippy white basket from Karen's space.  I may eventually use it to hold pots of flowers outside, but here it looks perfect holding some table linens and Fifi's amazing book!!!

I must also thank sweet Lisa of Suburban Retreat for the amazing giveaway I recently won, which included Fifi's book, as well as a lovely spring tote and pink bracelet:



No wonder I can't stop grinning! 

Meeting Bloggers! - At Home With White Event

Well, I am just still giddy with excitement over meeting blogger friends yesterday!!! I had the pleasure to finally meet some amazing talented ladies whose blogs I constantly visit.  I also got to meet a new friend and discover her blog as well.  Without further adieu....here is the story and pics:

Lovely Sandi from A Cottage Muse is a vendor at the "Wrentham Country Store".  The store was hosting a delightful "At Home With White" event this weekend, and it was GORGEOUS!!! I felt just like I was in one of those amazing events that we read about all over the country in blogland.  The white tent outside was heavenly and full of ethereal dreams!  Sandi was so gracious and welcoming, and I just loved her wares.  Next...I got to meet the talented Michelle from Petite Michelle Louise!!  She is just as warm and friendly as I knew she would be!  We were all so excited to put a face to our blogs and get to talk in person.  Here is a picture of myself, Sandi and Michelle:

l-r:  Me, Sandi, Michelle

Here is a pic of myself and Sandi when I first arrived.  Note the gorgeous tent wares behind us:

Me, Sandi

Michelle and Sandi:

Michelle, Sandi

The other ladies working at the event couldn't have been kinder and more welcoming.  They all have such talent at showcasing their wares and attending to us lucky customers.  I met another sweet blogger named Karen who was also a vendor.  Her blog is "A Shabby Moment in Time". 
Here is a picture of the 4 of us bloggers:

Me, Karen, Michelle, Sandi

It was such a beautiful spring day and we were all so happy to meet and SHOP!  My dear husband graciously agreed to take the drive down with me and our little children, then he patiently attended to the kiddoes while I chatted & perused.  Thanks Bri!!  My daughter loved finding all the 'pretty' items and my son kept bringing me items saying "Mom, I found something beautiful for you".  Everything there was beautiful!  I could have spent all day there.  Alas...I'll be back someday. 
Here's a peek into the white tent and Sandi's space:



I have more enticing pics that will be posted for this week's White Wednesday.  I'll also post pics of the treasures I brought home with me from Sandi and Karen's spaces.

Until then...happy treasure hunting!!

Easter Crafting

Hello friends!  After a long week of fighting cold viruses around here, the rejuvenation that spring brings has cheered me up (as well as visiting your festive blogs).  My sweet daughter and I got crafty yesterday, and carried away with pink glitter.  Here are some tiny pink baskets I adorned with white paper roses, book pages and coffee filters.  One filter got the glitter treatment.

I also altered a Parisian-inspired cone I had with a spring touch.  More white roses were placed inside, and the Eiffel Tower image got covered by this round paper adornment.  I 'borrowed' one of my daughter's cute Easter stickers  to affix to the front. 

This cheerful Easter bunny reminds me the sun will shine and the spring rain will cease soon enough:

I'll be linking to White Wednesday to see more cheerful brights!