Under the Wire!

We finally finished our entry for the Bungalows and Cottages Autumn Talent Search!!!

You can see the creative entries over at WhisperWood Cottage.

We are linked to the party there and I hope you will check it out!

As you may know if you are a reader of this blog.  My Mom, Eileen lives in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania.  Since I became an empty nester as of July 1st! I decided to stay with my parents for a while and enjoy the bucolic beauty of their property.

Coincidently, my Sister Laur, the 3rd member of our blog team is staying with the folks too,  until her house closing. 

We have quite a crowd up here, don’t we?!

Well, the best part is we get to collaborate on our ideas and the creativity is really flowing around here!

I wanted to write one of my little stories about the people that would be passing by our little Autumn Vignette, however since our entry is linking up ‘just under the wire’ I have decided to forego the fantasy and just tell my tale!

Mom had a blue tool shed located near the house. It had a metal awning and was pretty ugly. Probably the reason we have no before pictures!  Anyway, she finally convinced Dad to paint it a pretty barn red, like her art studio.  After the paint job Mom decided to dress it up a little.

Laurie's idea was to use an old bicycle basket as a planter and she proceeded to fill it with a variety of low maintenance succulents. 

There is always an old window around here somewhere and Mom hung a pretty one right in the front.

Years ago my Uncle Dom worked for the city we lived in and somehow managed to find some iron bench ends!  Dad added the boards for the seat and the back and painted them to match the trim and voila! A really cute little place to take a rest.

Mom saw the umbrella idea on Pinterest and wanted to try it.  Fortuitously she had an umbrella in black and tan just like the door!  Yay!!

So, she dragged out the good old cattails and went to town!  We all love auctions and one of Mom’s latest finds is the little make-up suitcase.

We searched Good Will for a variety of plaid shirts and cut and glued and sewed a new lining and pockets for our little case.

The leather trim was painted in a great red to go with the plaids and our thermos received the cowhide treatment, a la Ralph Lauren!!

The silverware in our little picnic basket/suitcase was Mom’s everyday flatware from gosh knows how many years ago! Must be vintage!

Lastly, I wanted to try to make a lap robe from a sweater and it didn’t come out too bad! 

Tutorials for the lap robe and suitcase will appear in my next post. 

We put our newly created treasures together, threw in a rake or two and called it Autumn!

Hope you like it!

Off to write tutorials!

Scarlet

New and Exciting!

Hello, Dear Readers,

My Mom, Eileen, recently happened upon an interesting website.  WhisperWood Cottage is a site dedicated to finding talent to appear in the pages of Cottages and Bungalows Magazine. 

Mom, my sister Laura and I are attempting to create an entry for the Autumn Scouting Party!  You can check out the other entries by clicking on the button to the left of this post!

Keep an eye out for our entry to be posted this week!  This is our first attempt at entering anything!

Gone to look for falling leaves and chilly mornings!

 

Scarlet

 

The Paintbox

I posted a little about my Mom the other day. Click here to read it!  I was so happy to finally be posting again that I didn’t wait for her to send me some pictures of her handiwork or to finish setting up her Etsy shop!!

She has now sent me some pictures and they are only a tiny fraction of what she has created!  I decided to give them a post of their own!  So without further ado…  my Mom’s creations…

She loves nature…

Sewing with vintage materials…

Bucolic Seasonal Scenes!

Flora and Fauna…

and Christmas, of course!

I know these are just a few examples of her painting, mostly.  However I am looking forward to showing off her many other creative endeavors as well!

She’s pretty cool!…Right?!

Off to dig up more photos!

Scarlet

Here is where I am showing off Mom’s stuff;

 Show and Tell Saturday at Be Normal Act Different 

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring

Come and see all the fun partiers!

 

When it Rains it Pours

Today is a rainy day.  Don’t you love the sound of the rain drumming on the roof?   

When I was a child my family had a little cottage in the woods of Pennsylvania.  It was really only meant for summertime because it was constructed with no insulation or even sheetrock!  The place was just the boards over the studs, with a tin roof. Our cottage was one of about twenty that encircled a bonfire area.  The location was a Methodist Campground.  My Mom’s Grandmother was one of the founding members of the association.

On rainy, summer days we would stay inside and read or play games or make crafts…whatever my Mom could think of for her brood of four!

The votive candle is nestled in a Princess House domed butter dish.

When you were in the cottage, especially the second floor bedrooms, you could hear the rain on the roof and it was one of the most comforting sounds ever!

So in honor of Dimock Campground I have set a cheery table for a rainy day breakfast.  We are joined by the Morton Salt girl, in a few of her incarnations.

The commemorative tin holding our sunflowers displays the 1914 Morton Salt Girl.

The Blue saucers are made in Mexico under the name Fortecrisa and the yellow luncheon plates are by Tabletops Gallery and are hand painted.  Isn’t this a happy color combination?!

The little juice glasses are from Flemington Cut glass many years ago.  The serving platters that I am using for chargers are milk glass and I think they are called Ribbon Edged. These have been in my family for a while.

The white plate that is sort of daisy shaped is labeled Le Grande Buffet, Salatier, 4530 china.  Believe it or not the tablecloth is a shower curtain and the napkins are dishtowels from The Dollar Store!

Illustrations of the 1921 and 1956 Morton Salt Girls grace our hot chocolate mugs.

Peeking out of the corner on the left is an April Cornell Teapot.

Thank you for joining me on this rainy morning!

Gone for an umbrella,

Scarlet

Parties we are attending!!

Cuisine Kathleen-Let's Dish!

Bunny Jeans Décor & More -Bunny Hop!!

No Minimalist Here-Open House Party!

Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursday!