February CupboardScape

Good morning everyone.
Not feeling so very well this morning.
Chills and fever; fever and chills.

Bob continues to work on the kitchen,
so I had to change the venue for my
February CupboardScape.
Took pictures yesterday.

This was intended to be a Valentine one,
so even though the 14th has come and gone,
I still wanted to go with my plan.

I will let the pictures say it all.
Hope you still enjoy.

Back to the couch I go.
Hopefully your Monday goes better than mine.

Post Valentine CupboardScape Blessings To All!
Janice

Its Wabbit Season

Have you seen a wabbit wun by here?

[Elmer Fudd ]

Happy Happy Saturday everyone!

What a roller coaster of weather 

we have had here in Michigan. 

40 to 70 back to 40 and then 60.

Severe thunderstorms yesterday afternoon 

into the evening and now snow today.

Below is the invasive species I was talking about

the other day.

Made from fabric and wool.

Chinese proverb say ~

If you chase two rabbits,

both escape.

These ones are obsessed with carrots, cabbage,

broccoli and snap peas.

Quick like a bunny.

They go Hippity Hop.

Best of breed.

Do you rely on a rabbit's foot for good luck?

Just think it did not work well for the rabbit.

Into the rabbit hole.

These lil critters are $10 each and

approx. 9 inches tall.

If interested kindly email me.

Off to create more goodies for the shows.

Are you creating anything this weekend?

Wabbit Season Blessings To All!

Janice

One Is The Loneliest Number

Hi friends.

For those of you who remember the 70's,

Three Dog Night sang

One Is The Loneliest Number.

Now that may be true in relationships,

but in decorating, the number one can stand on its own.

Just as long as it makes a statement,

meaning if it is a big enough piece,

for your shelf or table ~

leave it alone.

Why crowd it with something else?

Its beauty alone will shine through.

Let it be.

It will thank you for it.

Do you have any statement pieces that you display

as one piece on a table or shelf?

Remember 1 can be a good thing!

Oh and before I leave,

I found something hiding in my ivy.

More on this invasive species in another post.

All I can say is they are multiplying like rabbits. LOL

One And Only One Blessings To All!

Janice

Lil Bantys

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Hope you all are enjoying your week thus far.

Bob and I went antique shopping again this weekend.

Found nothing. 

We both agreed we are getting pickier when it comes

to purchasing something nowadays.

It has to be...what do I say....something special now.

At least we enjoyed a pizza and some beer in a small town

we were visiting. Plus some fresh fried taco chips & salsa.

The remainder of my weekend was spent making some 

adorable lil banty (chicks).

Which brings me to a story about Bantys....

well one in particular.    

Gramma B had both Rhode Island Reds

 and Bantam (Bantys) chickens.

The banty's were my inspiration for these darling chicks.

First of all let me say that chickens are usually nice.

They will let you grab their eggs even while still on them.

At least the ones gramma had.

While visiting gramma's farm, one of my jobs was to

feed the chickens, gather the eggs, and clean the coop.

After eating my own breakfast, I would go outside

and open the coop.  

The chickens always were in a hurry to get outside.

All but one Banty rooster I called 

T H E   D E V I L

He was small, but the devil was in him for sure.

If I got too close to him he would peck at my ankles

and chase me.

Each day I asked gramma to put him on the chopping block,

but she would never accommodate me.

I never knew my boundary with the Devil, 

as it was different each day.

At least with the other rooster, 

I knew how far to stay clear from him. 

Not the Devil.

Once I opened the chicken coop,

I would run behind the shrubs nearby

to see where the Devil went.

He was a sly one though.

Most times he hung around close to the coop.

knowing full well I had to get in there to gather eggs,

and then again to feed them and clean the coop.

Even when I managed to get inside the coop

and close the door behind me, the Devil

would be outside waiting for me.

Once I gathered the eggs, or fed them, 

or was finished with my cleaning,

I would have to open the door slightly to see where 

the Devil was.

If he was out of sight, I quickly opened the door 

and ran off to the house, or to the other shed to grab the feed.

But there were times he would hide around the corner,

and chase me.

I have no idea why he disliked me.

I hated that dang ole rooster.

When he died...of natural causes, I did a happy dance!

The other banty's were sweet.

Just like the ones I made here.

I made these in three colors.

Each is $7.00 plus shipping if you are interested.

Did you ever have an animal that was so mean

that you called them a DEVIL?

Lil Banty Blessings To All!

Janice

Designing A Mantle Using 1 3 5 Rule

Good evening friends.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
It sure was a nice one here in Michigan.
I even opened up our catio for our kitties,
while I enjoyed the warm breeze come inside.
Spent today working on some prim Spring chicks.
Tomorrow I will give them a stain bath,
and then I will show them off.
This warm weather has made my brain twirl with ideas.
Of course most of these are 
B U N N I E S
My favorite!

As promised I will continue my
lil tutorials on how to decorate using the 
1 3 5 Rule.

This time with my fireplace mantle.

So let's start with the focal point.

This blanket crane with a red coverlet piece.

Now comes the rule.

Add three pitchers to one side.

With two lanterns on the other side.

This makes five.

But still a bit boring.

Add three hydrangeas and now we have

a mantle design using a combination

of both 3 and 5.

Just remember to use the 

1  3  5  rule

 and you are good to go!

Has anyone seen this new magazine?

It is called American Country and this is the premier issue.

I found it on our travels last weekend.

For those who like The Simple Life magazine,

I would compare this to that one.

Primitive collections on every page.

So glad I purchased this.

Now I am going to see if I can subscribe to it.

Mantle Design Blessings To All!

Janice

My Love Affair

Good morning friends.

Thought I would do this short post before

I leave for my aunt's funeral.

My mom and I had a nice dinner out last night.

Bob had to go to our antique club meeting.

My son joined my mom and I.

This one restaurant near us has half off dinners

on Wednesday.

I had Prime Rib, mom had Walleye and Matt had Ravioli.

Both my mom and I could only eat half of our meal,

but it was good!

So let me talk about my love affair with color.

Specifically red, white and blues.

All shades of theses colors!

I scored a few weeks back

 when I purchased this blue quilt.

I also found this old wood mirror.

Robin over at the Cranky Crow

gave me this idea for our bathroom.

I plan on copying her design when we get

to remodeling ours this year... 

and hopefully it will go a bit better that her

WWR Chronicles.

If you would like to read about it,

please visit her blog at

www.thecrankycrow.blogspot.com

(sorry Robin, but it finally turned out good in the end)

Back to my quilt.

Love the blues and off white.

Can you believe it cost $10.

It was a steal.

I placed it with my others in the back room.

Makes up a bit for the loss of one of my favorite quilts

that Bob sold in the store. We always put one of my

quilts up for display near our window display.

Last month I had brought in a similar quilt to the one I had on display...but mine was better.

Bob called me and asked if the quilt was for sale,

and I said yes, thinking it was the one I put in for sale.

He sold mine on the wall. I was devastated when I found

out which one he really sold. 

See I paid $125 for mine and he sold it for $40.

A customer got a really good deal, and I was upset

because I lost my quilt.

I told Bob I would never bring in another of my quilts again.

I also love red.

I finally finished my bedroom curtains.

Red, White and Blue in our bedroom.

What colors do you have a love affair with?

Love Affair Blessings To All!

Janice

My Valentine Present

Hello friends and Happy Valentine's day

to each and everyone of you!

I know each of you touch my heart every time you visit!

So what did you all get for this day of love?

I did not get flowers.

Nor did I get a boxful of chocolate.

My sweetie Bob gave me drywall.

W H A T ? ? ?

Yep, my friends, I got drywall and I am as excited as a

honey bee in a honey tree.

You see when I bought this house 15 years ago,

it was a run down Summer cottage.

An older lady lived here, but did not have the means

to keep it up.

I saw the potential, and the fact that it is a

small community where we have our own beach,

dock and 3 1/2 park.

This was pre Bob.

After my divorce and the kids moving out,

I sold my big house to move closer to the river.

It took many years just to get the outside looking presentable.

1. Huge trees that needed to be cut down.

2. Driveway to be taken out..broken cement everywhere.

3. Getting rid of the bats in the attic (smelly job)

4. Hauling in loads of dirt. (5 truckloads) 

to even out the yard.

5. New landscaping in back and grass seed.

6. Getting rid of barberry shrubs (snake heaven)

After about a year after Bob came into my life,

we started to redo the house one room at a time.

We only have the kitchen and bath left.

So I love it that he surprised me with drywall.

I don't like the dust that goes with it though.

The ceiling is finished and sanded.

One more wall to go.

Then it will be painted a farmhouse white.

The same as our kitchen cabinets.

The white reminds me of gramma B's kitchen,

so you could say I am going back to my roots.

Even the blue wall where I do my CupboardScapes

will be painted white.

Soon I hope.......

Because dust is everywhere.

Here

There.

And everywhere.

But it will all be worth it in the end.

I had to warn my mom though.

We have no table and chairs right now.

They are in our back room..no room there now.

Dinner out tomorrow night.

She is coming tomorrow to spend the evening 

with us as we have a funeral on Thursday.

My gramma B's sister passed.

She was 92, and lived a good full life.

Like I said before, no flowers or chocolate,

but the love that Bob brings to each room,

makes it all worth the while.

I love coming home each night to a home

filled with love.

Drywall Dust Blessings To All!

Janice

Change Is Good

Afternoon everyone!

Bob and I had an awesome time yesterday.

For those who are not lucky enough to visit

Frankenmuth, MI...

let me tell you what our family style dinner

consisted of over at the Bavarian Inn.

First of all the entire waitstaff dresses in

German attire, including their hats.

Our first course is chicken noodle soup

with stollen bread (fruited bread) and their jam of the month.

This time it was strawberry rhubarb.

Second course was chicken salad, coleslaw,

applesauce and cranberry relish.

Followed by their famous lightly breaded fried chicken,

mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing,

 buttered noodles  and hubbard squash.

Oh yeah, and for dessert you get ice cream.

Bob and I both chose a swirl

(orange sherbert and vanilla soft serve)

You are allowed as much of the 2nd courses and main courses

that you are able to eat.

We literally almost had to roll ourselves outta there.

Then we went off to buy some more of that

awesome stollen bread and jam.

Egg noodles and chicken seasoning for my

own chicken noodle soup.

We then went to the cheese haus, for cheese,

summer sausage and pita crackers.

Then Bob had to have his taffy fix.

A boxful of different flavors,

while I got a tub of chocolate caramel popcorn.

Sweet and salty. YUM

So while we were driving up, Bob says to me.

I think you should put that table in our bedroom.

See I had bought this small early side table last weekend,

with the intention of selling it.

When Bob suggested that it might fit in our bedroom,

I thought...hmmm...it might at that.

This is what I had before the change.

Side view of the built in closet.

Prim winder on the floor.

So before Bob went to the store, 

he placed it in there...and by george he was right!

  

New table.

The knob on the drawer is a wood spool. 

Then I added this white/ blue coverlet piece.

For those who asked...

Now I am going to give you a little secret on decorating.

My design teacher always told us,

the secret to decorating is the

1  3  5  Rule.

Never decorate with 2 or 4 items.

I will do 3 items on this table.

The coverlet does not count as an item.
It is just a statement piece for the table.
This design would also work without the coverlet.

First item is this wrought iron candleholder.

Second item this wax sealer.

Together on the table.

See two items does not make a statement.

Even when I add the white tulips,

still not good.

(and no tulips do not count as an item)

Nor do the candles since they are on the 1st item.

Added the small stoneware pitcher in front.

Three always is the best.

If you notice I also have 3 items on the small peg

above the table.  2 bonnets and a rug beater.

When decorating your own home,

just remember the 1  3  5 rule.

I will talk about the 1 and 5 later on.

Hope this helps a bit for now.

Change Is Good Blessings To All!

Janice