Shabby Cane Chair

 

Oh Kijiji, on a dark winter night you are a dream weaver. 

 

It's January, it's cold, and as you can probably tell I am spending a lot of time on kijiji.  I suddenly wanted a chair with a cane back, seat, arms - anything!  I saw a stunning chair but it was $1000.00 which is beyond single mom budget. 

 

Then I saw this chair and I knew it would satisfy my urge for a cane chair and thought I could make it work.

 

It was in my budget range, white and even already distressed.  The only issue was the seat cover which was not my style. A few weeks ago in my basement I found a hammock made of strong cotton that had aged beautifully,  I liked the colour and wanted to use it with something.

It seems like they would be nice together. So off came the previous seat cover and I discovered a .49 cent paint can opener is perfect for getting off old staples.

With a bit of work I got it all together.

Yowza!  I love it.

It works in the small corner of my living room that needed something petite.  It's by the window, next to my marble cherub table with a little lamp with crystals and it's all just so french and charming.

I'm so happy with the results.

Patricia



Little Pink House

Happy New Year!  For Christmas I went to the Caymen Islands and went from -31 Celsius to this:

It was heavenly to spend our holiday in the warmth and sunshine and my daughter and I did a lot of collecting.  I think it was Nate Berkus who always says to live with the things that have meaning to you, and things that remind you of your travels, so after bringing  home 10 lbs of shells I went to work incorporating them into our home as a reminder of a wonderful time. 

Many years ago I found this beautiful Murano glass bowl,

and for some reason I have not found a use for it for years.  When I filled it with all my shells (and a fishing float) it became a beautiful daily reminder of all the beauty that can be found on a beach.

I found beautiful pale pink,

sweet green, 

and a representation of all the love I have in my life. 

(it looks a bit like a heart!)

I also found something to dream about 

A beautiful pink house, with a Canadian flag, on the beach in the breeze.  When it's cold, and the day is long I like to dream about this beautiful pink house in the sun. 

Patricia

Some Pretty Things

It's a wonderful time of year for pretty.  I love getting out my feather tree and decorating it.



We have had a lot of snow already and this beautiful statue was out in the snow at Wellington in a quiet spot. 

I still love a grouping of grey.

(Wellington)

I did my own little grouping with my grey.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas,

Patricia

Wellington at Christmas

 Wellington Gift and Garden is decorated for Christmas! (www.wellingtongardencentre.com)

The most beautiful seasonal displays are always found here and as beautiful as it is it is a struggle to get a proper picture without knocking into paying customers, so my pictures could be better.
The site that greets you as you enter.  A beautiful combination of pale grey, white feathers and tiffany box blue. 

The tree above

This is so perfect against the vintage window.

A cute poodle ornament which I could not resist.

And finally, my obsession which I go visit:

an antique venetian mirror which is out of my price range but I go to drool over it and debate what it would take to own it.

Wellington is on Facebook as Wellington Garden Centre and more beautiful pictures than mine are posted regularly, it's worth checking out.

If you live close by you really should not let the Christmas season pass without a visit.  It is the most enchanting winter wonderland in Edmonton.

Off to sweet dreams of vintage venetian mirrors,

Patricia

I have noticed the sweetest trend that I will call elegant animals.  I love his cravat! The smaller deer and candle holder - so sweet.

This amazing display is at Wellington Gift and Garden  (www.wellingtongardencentre.com) and they are just starting to get the Christmas decoarations up and even half done it is a feast for the eyes. 

So elegant.

And finally:

My favourite, nothing is as cute as kitten face. 

Patricia





Day Bed

I had a spare room with junk growing in it but I didn't want it to stay that way.  I wanted this:

(...but knew I couldn't have this so I adjusted my vision!)

After 8 months of hunting on kijiji I found a daybed which was black, not my first choice, but I felt I could lighten it with accessories.

 That ugly  pile of metal turned into a beautiful daybed. 

I dressed it with a vintage pale blue chenille cover and used a set of old drapes as a bed skirt.

The blue black combination on the bed worked beautifully with a table I have had for a while.  I found this years ago and the top was red so I painted just the top pale blue and left the legs as is.

I love the vintage legs and crackled black finish.

I added in a chair that worked within the colours of the room and it was done.

It's nice to no longer have the mess of a junk room.

 

Patricia

Light and Shabby Union Jack

I have long admired the soft and shabby Union Jack pillows I see on ebay and on blogs and I thought maybe one day I could make one.  Something bothered me about them though when I looked at them on google images & I finally realized  It was the seam lines.  Fussy I know, but I hate them - I think they detract from the overall soft look.  Once I decided not to sew it the project flew along.

I got out my scrap fabric,

 (was a curtain tie back I could never get rid of)

A small scrap of Rachel Ashwell British Rose (?) I have held onto for almost 10 years, and started ripping.  I didn't want this to be perfect, so I ripped the strips so the edges are slightly frayed which suits the soft look I was going for

I added  these strips to a pillow I love but with a pattern that really gets lost in the background.

Umm - maybe not

Better but I decided it was fighting with the background fabric which is so soft so I kept this and decided to use the back side of the fabric which has a "quieter" pattern.  I applied all of it with Stitch Witchery Fusible tape and an iron on medium and...

Taa Daa!!

And with a shiny crown pin

I like the slightly frayed fabric and the overall soft look of it without the seam lines.

One of the easiest projects I have ever done which made me realize I should have done it sooner.

Patricia