BEACH Cottage Reveal!!!

Before I get going on my cottage tour I want to thank everyone who linked up and shared their fabulous sewing projects during the month of May! You kept me inspired to finish up some sewing of my own so we would be ready for a photo shoot for our upcoming feature in South Shore Living Magazine. Nothing like having a professional photographer come to your house to get you on your decorating toes! So, without further adieu, come on in! The Sea Horse is open!

 The top photo ( inside that cute new frame ) was taken a decade ago. It's so hard to believe our little beach bums are young adults now. I'm here to tell you that you don't need a lot of square footage, the latest in coastal trend decor, or even an indoor shower to enjoy family time at the beach. In fact, we prefer the rustic conditions of our solar powered beach cottage.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE AND THE BEACH! 

This view is from our bedroom looking out into the sunny kitchen. The cottage is small and scarcely decorated to keep things light and airy! It's anything but when you add 4 grown people and one hairy Corgi! Many of our items we have crafted or painted ourselves over the years. I painted the kitchen table, the dresser and the top of that little blue table my hubby made from an oar. I also made the curtains with a sailing them in mind.

I made the valances so they would hang flat, rather than bunched and inserted grommet in the top corner of each panel. Then with a twist of a large sized cup hook they were hung in an instant. 

To make a valance like this one. Measure the width of your window and add enough to make a half inch hem on both sides. To figure out how tall to make your valance, measure the drop from the top of where your valance will hang and add enough on the top and bottom for a half inch hem. You don't even need to sew a pocket in the top since you aren't using a rod for hanging.

I made a similar valance for our bathroom window but this one has a 2 inch rod pocket at the top. 

 

 Most of the pillows are new ( great bargains at Home Goods) but one is handmade and special...

Can you tell which one it is? You guessed it! The floral pillow was a vintage table cloth. I loved the colors and with all these stripes, I just had to have some flowers somewhere!

We have two futons on our 9 x 16 sleeping porch. I opted out of the matchy-matchy look and went with different pillows and a bright coral herringbone throw for this one. My mom painted the pretty yellow cottage painting and my hubby took the other photograph.

We have one wall shingled inside the porch so it feels as if it's part of an outdoor room. 

I found the mirror with hooks at Walmart several years ago and I love the double duty it provides in our small space.

 

This little cabinet was a road side find. I paid $5.00 for it and it fits in this space perfectly.

Isn't this a great pic of our daughter? What can I say? Moving right along...

 

Our small vintage dresser sits at the foot of our bed and serves as dresser and sideboard for books, candles, sunglasses, phones and what ever else may get dropped there during the day. In this picture it's nice and neat for you!

Our room is so small book shelves take the place of traditional nightstands. Which at the beach, is perfect!

 

 

 I made the ticking curtains too! Same principle as the valances but if you want them to bunch up then double the width. At 423 square feet you might say our little beach cottage qualifies as a tiny home. It was originally built in the 1950's then survived a decorating attack in the 1970's and over the last twenty years we ( along with our family ) have brought back some of it's original charm and kept its retro spirit with out getting too theme specific.

Now, who's ready for a little sumthin', sumthin' to eat and drink?

Calling all Sewing Goddesses! May Sewing Party Week # 4

 Welcome back to my May sewing party!This has been so much fun! I've so enjoyed your entries! 

This week I worked on my first Tea Towel ever! I participated in a Tea Towel swap so I had to come up with something fun and creative for my partner who likes traditional country colors for her country kitchen. I found some great vintage inspired red striped tea towels at Joanne's Fabric Store for adding a fun design to. I've seen all sorts of wonderfully creative ideas on pinterest but finally decided to put my creative recycling skills to work so I up-cycled some beautiful embroidered hand work from a vintage apron that was showing some wear. And, the design was perfect for my project! A Teapot with two cups and saucers. 

I simply cut it out of the apron and hand stitched it to the bottom right side of tea towel with natural colored thread.

There were also two little cups with saucers on the apron so I cut them out and appliqued them onto the left bottom side of the tea towel.. that way when it hangs you can see all three designs!

Photo credit : My craft swap partner, Brenda!

Silly me, I didn't take a photo of it hanging so you could see the whole towel. I was in too much of a hurry to get it packaged up and off in the mail to my craft swap partner but, she took one when it arrived to her which I've pictured above!

 I have to say, it was kind of relaxing to sit and do some hand stitching while watching my daughters favorite teen soap opera after school. She and I are both hooked on Switched at Birth... Maybe I'd better not take up hand stitching after all!

 Calling all Sewing Goddesses! 

For the month of May we'll meet here each week and keep each other in stitches!

NO RULES

Share anything you've sewn with your own two hands in any category.

 Here are some examples to get your juices flowing!

Aprons, Clothes, Crafts, Curtains, Table Cloths, Runners,Tea Towels, Quilts, Home Decor Projects, DIY and more!

Plus there will be a surprise GIVEAWAY along the way!

 What's had you in stitches this week?

Love, Deb

Sewing LINKY Party! Calling all SEWING Goddesses

Do your friends call you the supreme sewing queen? Join the party!
The Sewing Party at Dandelion House!

Calling all Sewing Goddesses! 

Starting today and every Tuesday in the month of May we'll meet here each week and keep each other in stitches!

NO RULES

Share anything you've sewn with your own two hands in any category.

 Here are some examples to get your juices flowing!

Aprons, Clothes, Crafts, Curtains, Table Cloths, Runners,Tea Towels, Quilts, Home Decor Projects, DIY and more!

Plus there will be a surprise GIVEAWAY along the way!

Mother's day is days away ( May 11th)  and I just had to share this simple Made to Match apron pattern I picked up at Joanne's Fabric Store last week. It's a Kwik Sew Apron pattern for Misses, Girls, and dolls too. Spring is taking it's sweet time to warm up here in the northeast so I'm gonna do some a little inside " sewing" while I wait things to warm up outside.
I couldn't get enough of all the beautiful floral patterns available for quilting, crafting, and sewing. If my budget would have allowed I could have gotten really carried away, but, I was able to restrain myself and chose 12 different patterns for a total of 6 Misses sized aprons.
My mom is going to sew along with me. She's making three and I'm making three.
The larger pattern  in the following photos will make up the body of the apron and the smaller, contrasting print will make up the large hem on the bottom and the pocket.

 

I love this modern red, black and white colorway. It's modern, fresh and funky!

Have you noticed all the orange-y, coral-y, color in fashion and home decor lately? While I love all things faded, time worn and well loved, I am equally crazy about COLOR. This fabric makes me feel as if summer is already in full swing. I swear I could hear the bees buzzing around me when I pulled it off of the shelf at the store.

This one is just about as cheery and inspiring as it gets...It's covered in bold and encouraging sweet sayings that make you feel young and as if anything is possible! 

Who wouldn't want to be covered in that while you work? 

I can't wait to see your sewing projects!

Feedsack Pillows

My name is Deborah Jean and I'm a feedsackaholic...There, I said it!

What could be more fun than handling fabric covered in flowers in late winter? I'm starving for all the colors of my yard flowers right about now but the vintage feedsack fabric I've been gathering for making pillows is feeding my appetite for the bold and brilliant colors of a summertime garden at it's  peak! Instead of getting my hands dirty in garden soil I've been humming along with my grandmothers sewing machine making more VINTAGE pillows for my booth at the Antique Mall.

Working with these homespun fabrics also got my detective juices going.

I found a great site with some feedsack history.

Sometime in the 1920's, an enterprising manufacturer of cloth bags hit upon an interesting idea - maybe he could sell more sacks if they were decorated to be more desirable for the farmer's wife. And the era of the printed feedsack began. No longer just beige muslin, with advertising for the feed company, now sacks began to appear in a wide variety of popular colors and prints. And paper labels were applied, like the one pictured above, so that the fabric could be reused without the advertising. Sharons Antiques

Feedsack fabric has been used for making doll clothes, P.J's, dresses, aprons, quilts, hand towels, curtains and more by clever farmwives over the years. I bet today's clever farmwives can come up with many more uses for these beautiful fabrics of yesteryear. It's also highly collectable and desirable to fabric-aholics. I would love any resources you have for these lovely pieces of the past! 

No pattern necessary! 

• measure and cut your fabric in to a 22 x 22 square.
• turn fabric inside out and sew three sides together with a 1 inch seem allowance.
• leave a large enough opening to insert your pillow form.
• turn fabric right side out and insert pillow.
• pin opening together and sew it closed by hand or with your machine. 

Up-cycled feedsack fabric makes adorable cafe' curtains, valances, aprons, tote bags, framed artwork and of course pillows! 

This suburban farmwife is having more fun whipping up these beautiful pillows... The feedsack cloth is soft to the touch but sturdy enough for accent pillows on an over stuffed chair, tossed on the bed for a bit of vintage charm or just simply propped up on your favorite side chair in the kitchen to admire and enjoy all day long! I've got a few more on the work table and more feedsack fabric on the way which I'll post soon PLUS a beautiful up cycled pillow created from embroidered pillow case edges.

Here is another wonderful resource for vintage feedsacks.

Here's a peek!

Sharing with Tillys' Nest Down Home Blog hop today!

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop # 76 and FARMGIRL FOODIES

Welcome one and all to week # 76 of the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop!

Your place to do a little brag'n and a whole lot of sharing about all things homemaking and homesteading no matter where your planted and growing!

  You'll never guess in a million years who this weeks featured farmgirl is. Oh, all right.. I can't keep it from you forever...

It's ALL OF YOU! You've been pinned!  Yep! That's right! I've been dreaming of a way for us to have access to all of the wonderful Farmgirl Recipes you enter in the hop each week so 

 I've been pinning away to OUR newest  PINTEREST board

The FARMGIRL FRIDAY Recipe Box! 

I've pinned 100 of YOUR recipes so far with many more to follow!

It's so FULL of FARMGIRL FOOD goodness I've added it to my side bar so more friends can enjoy a taste of home every day! 

You done yourselves proud sisters! Feel free to create your own link by choosing a photo of any recipe you've entered  previously with a link to the FFRB board and add it to your blogs and share it on Facebook too! I'm sharing one Farmgirl Friday Recipe every Thursday here!

Don't despair if you don't see your recipes pinned yet... I'm work'n on it!

Cherry Peach Bars from Real  Food. Real Deals.

 It's been a joy ( and an honor ) looking back at your entries. In fact, I've been inspired to create  two new boards titled: Farmgirl Friday Farmyards and Homesteads and Farmgirl Friday Crafts and Home!

 So, please keep those wonderful entries coming! You are all winners to me! 

And now, on with the hop... I've gotta run... For SOME reason I'm starving?!

 Oh yes! MaryJane has a pinterest board featuring recipes from GirlGabBloggers too! Be sure to check it out.. I've seen some of your  FABULOUS home cookin' pins over there too!

 Now it's your turn! What's happening in your farmgirl world?

Here are the rules for the Farmgirl/guy Blog Hop!

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals,  quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

2). Leave your entry in the Mr. Linky space to your  Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

 DON'T BE SHY~  

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop!

 We want to get to know you better! Have a great week and I'll see you on the hop! 

PS. Let's gather more farmgirls for our hop! Scroll down and copy the code ( where it says get the code here ) for this hop and place it in your blog post.

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop # 29

Welcome to Farmgirl Friday blog hop # 29 ! How are things going on your homesteads this week? Are you having beautiful Indian Summer weather or a mix? We've had some rain mixed with warm, sunny days too. The leaves are beginning to turn along the southern shores of New England and you can bet I'll be out with my camera snapping away so I can share some of our world famous fall beauty with my blogging friends!  Can you believe my nasturtiums are still climbing up the side of the Little Red Hen House? I haven't put my gardens to bed ( completely) for the winter yet, but I have spread a light layer of good, aged compost straight out of the chicken run on to some of my newer plantings. I continue to give shrubs a long, deep drink of water once a week which I will keep up until the first frost.

The girls have been enjoying the warm days of Indian Summer too! I happened to catch them all in the " tub " one day basking in the dirt!  Aren't they sweet?  

 I've also been busy inside puttering getting our nest ready for cooler, darker days ahead. We've added some new lighting in our hallways and a few of our rooms to keep our spirits high and our home bright. I've also been putting the finishing touches on our son's bedroom make- over and our recent kitchen remodel! I love the feeling of comfort that comes with settling in and preparing for the next season don't you? Stay tuned for more posts from " inside Dandelion House!

 This might be the season for putting our gardens to bed, but I'm planting some new dream seeds for next year and I'm excited to share them with you soon!

The stone man only has a few more slab pieces to lay down before he can " call it good" on the patio he's been building from re-claimed granite. He's been working so hard and for his first one, I think it's quite impressive... Shhhh, don't let him hear that, I'll never hear the end of it ! Wink Wink...

Now, let's see what you've all been up too!
It's time to link up for your weekly dose of Farmgirl Soulfood!

Here are the rules for the Farmgirl Friday blog hop!

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!
2). Leave your entry in the Mr. Linky space to your Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

A big thank you to all of you who share such wonderful projects, recipes, farming and homesteading/making wisdom each week! And, as always, welcome new friends and subscribers!

Don't forget to leave a note on the hen house door on the way out! I'll see you on the hop and at MJF Beach Farmgirl Blog! Come check out my Fall Fodder post!