Rustic Charm

This post is way overdue....in fact it should have been done back in December...

but here it is now.

My niece decorates her house in rustic lodge style.  For Christmas hubby and I decided to make as many gifts as we could; so when it came time to make a gift for my niece I knew just what to do!

During one of our vacations in the mountains, hubby came across a really awesome piece of barn wood that we salvaged and kept for just the right project.

While we were on our trip in Michigan we had gone "thrifting" and found several old rusty metal doorknobs at a really great price, so we bought all that they had there.

Cal drilled holes into the wood.

He took apart the lock sets and doorknobs and used the threaded rod that was part of the set, and inserted it back into the knob and hammered them into the holes.

Cal also routered holes in the back and put heavy duty hangers over them so that the shelf could be hung on a wall.

I think it turned out great, and to be honest, it was hard to part with it!!

I really love the color of the wood, the shape and even though the picture doesn't really show it, there are wonderful woodworm holes and cracks that give this piece such personality.

Do you see that big nail?  Yeah, just part of the historic feel to the wood.

My niece and her husband loved it....she even kept the Christmas tag I made her!

(brown label and raffia bow)

I am already thinking of what to make next Christmas....only 11 months to go!

Last little note...I am going to be making some changes to my blog.

I am learning as I go and really want to make labels so I can organize my posts by category.  So if you want to read about projects and crafts you can click on that label...be patient...its a work in progress.

See ya next time!

Shelly

(also working on a signature)

Cottage Quilt - Part 1

I have always loved Cottage Style decorating.  White furniture, chipped in just the right places from years of use, old paintings of flowers and landscapes, quilts and throw pillows, stacks of books, tea cups, lace and linens , and mismatched items that somehow match in the end to create a cozy and warm feeling to your home.

Since I am not "well to do" this style fits my budget just fine!  A little imagination, lots of ideas from magazines and other bloggers; some creativity and talent & slowly but surely I am making my home into a cozy cottage.

Here is a peek at a project I am working on:  a cottage quilt for my bedroom.  Over the years I have collected fabric from many sources...curtains, skirts, sales at the fabric store...and finally I had enough to start creating.

I traced the fabric with a square template and then organized them so I could see how many of each pattern I had to use.

Then I sewed them together, there are 11 squares in each row...and I just kept adding rows till it got to the size I liked.  I would lay it out on my queen sized bed till I was satisfied with the way it looked.

Then I decided to add doilies in the center of certain squares...and I have many more to go, it takes time as I am sewing them on by hand....

When I finally get that done I plan to sew the quilt together using an old blanket for the batting, and a sheet for the backing...to bind the layers I am thinking of sewing vintage white buttons at the points of the four corners where the squares meet instead of tying the quilt as I usually would do.

I think it looks so pretty!!