Capturing Pretties

Just a few photos to share with you today, capturing prettiness around the house.  Lately I've been enjoying small snippets of the color red, preferably faded, in displays.  I especially love seeing these hand-embroidered letters on our living room chair, personalized with the first letters of our children's names:

Summer pillows for naps on the daybed...

My mother recently gave me this red and white vintage tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother, Evelyn (one of this blog's namesakes).

A few weeks ago I took photos of the remaining flowers from Fifi's visit.  They lasted quite long and always made me smile as I passed by, thinking about that wonderful day:

Lastly, I wanted to share with you a simple project I worked on recently to add some spring cheer.  Many of you know that dear blogging friend Michelle has a keen eye for treasures.  Well, she was able to salvage a group of shutters that her neighbor was getting rid of and gave one to me.  They were forest green to start, but I painted mine a chalky white, then added fabric to the back of the candlestick cut-out.  I simply attached fabric to cardboard, with some felt on the back (to hide the ugly cardboard), then used double-sided tape to attach it to the back of the shutter.

Here's a close-up of the fabric behind the cut-out.  This fabric was also a gift from Michelle and blends in perfectly with the living room.  Thank you, my friend!

Hope you all are enjoying your summers so far.  My children are out of school, and we're keeping busy while enjoying the great weather.

I'm joining in at these lovely parties:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday

Guest Artist at Somerset Place!

Hello friends, I'm so excited to share that Stampington's delightful Somerset Place blog has just posted a tutorial on grain sack hearts I made.  It was a pleasure to be asked to provide photos and instructions for making grain sack hearts such as these...

Take a peek at the post here.

Thank you Stampington and Gabriela, I'm honored to be a part of your fabulous blog this week!

Fifi and Mark visited!

Last Friday was a special day - beloved magazine editor Fifi O'Neill and fabulous photographer Mark Lohman visited our house!!!!  I'm still pinching myself that they were here.
You can imagine how nervous I was, prepping our home for a photo shoot. I don't think the house has ever been this clean.
They were such fun to meet in person.  Fifi is beautiful on the inside and out, with her sweet French accent and her kindness.  They are both very easygoing and have a great sense of humor.  Mark had my kids giggling when they arrived after school, appreciating their Animators' Workshop (a.k.a. my son's room).

It was intriguing to see how these two pros work....checking out each room for potential shots and then styling the room with vignettes, flowers, food, etc.  I was happy to fill in as an assistant, moving around curtains and such, trying to do anything useful.
There were a few tips I picked up, such as you can mix the morning's cold coffee with water to make faux 'tea' for a shot.  Also, dried lavender comes out too dark for printed photos.  Who knew?  Fifi and Mark of course!  Mark also taught me the trick of snacking on the grapes at the back of the bowl during the photo shoot.  

Since our home's shoot was the very last day of a two-week trip, Fifi needed a well-deserved nap here:

She also found some great reading lying around...the new Prairie Style magazine!    

But before resting, she worked hard reviewing photos and arranging the gorgeous flowers...

It was such a delight to have you here, Fifi and Mark.  I love how you captured our little home in pictures, and made this nervous girl feel at ease.
Safe travels and more wonderful success to you both!

Lilacs!

Hello friends,
I picked some lilacs from our white and purple bushes a couple of weeks ago, and am just now getting the photos posted.  They were gorgeous while they lasted....

Sweet potted geranium outside the shed

This blog has been neglected lately, as I was cleaning and primping for a special guest - the wonderfully talented editor Fifi O'Neill!  I'm still pinching myself that she visited our house last week, along with the amazing photographer Mark Lohman.  For real!!!
Needless to say, I was on cloud 9 the entire day and will share more about it soon.  In the meantime, look what Fifi found to read while she was here.  The latest Prairie Style magazine!