A Cheerful Addition to my Red Cottage Kitchen

I saw these adorable shelf edgers on someone's blog. (I'm not sure who...maybe Elaine at Sunny Simple Life?) Anyway, I loved them from the moment I saw them.

I tried to resist, but after a few months they entered my conciousness. I did not hesitate to order them this time.

My cabinets went from this: (sorry I forgot to take a current before picture, this one is from last year)



to this: (sorry about the glare)





What do you think?

I actually giggled when I received them in the mail. I work at school & these are really just the border edgers the teachers use on their classroom walls & cork boards. Why have I never imagine their potential for perking up shelves?

I'm linking to:

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.



Sizzle Into Summer party at DIY by Design



Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style



Open House party at No Minimalist Here



Go on over & check out these awesome linky parties & their gracious hosts.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Can I just say something? I feel such happiness when I bake or cook something. Is that weird?

That being said, I haven't cooked or baked anything in quite some time. First it was Softball/Little League games, then All Stars, then intense heat & humidity where no one felt like eating, then my son's tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. I just haven't been in the kitchen at all. No dinners, no desserts...nothing.

Well, my son has finally made it through the 2 week recovery period & is able to eat solid food. Thank goodness! Not only did I cook dinner, but I had to make something sweet as well.


These peanut butter cup cookies were simple to make & oh so delicious! Perhaps even a tad too sweet, but we gobbled them up anyway.



Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature peanut butter cups unwrapped (I put mine in the fridge after I unwrapped them. They were starting melt.)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, salt & baking soda; set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter & brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla & milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into ungreased mini muffin pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool & carefully remove from pan.

Recipe from allrecipes.com



Hope you enjoy! Have a fantabulous weekend.

Lighthouse Tablescape

It's been a busy summer so far. I've finally put the paintbrushes down long enough to tablescape. Yippee!




Plain wooden napkin rings from Michaels. I adhered a starfish to each with a pop dot.



The blue chargers, from Lenox, were purchased inexpensively at a consignment shop.
The red dinner plates are from Pier 1, many years ago.
Lighthouse plates & blue bubble goblets are from Christmas Tree Shop.
My old red flatware (an engagement gift some 20 years ago.)



Lantern from Marshalls/Home Goods.
Lighthouse tea light holders from Christmas Tree Shop.
I can't remember where the lighthouse spreaders came from or the metal chair...I've had them forever.



Joining Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I really appreciate your taking the time to visit me.

Estate Sale headboard & it keeps on rolling

Sometimes I do silly things.

For instance, my daughter has a perfectly good bed. But I went to an estate sale & chanced upon this headboard.





Ick!

Anyway, I really loved this headboard. So for $25.00, I bought it. Of course, I cleaned it up & gave it some Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White since I had it left over from painting her desk.

I then purchased some really pretty appliques from Etsy (seller, pjsw) to cover the peeling rose decal.

Now, I have this adorable headboard. Kinda cute, no?





First the subway art, then the desk, now the headboard...you can only imagine what I've been up to. If it turns out good, I'll share the whole room soon.

And....just in case you were wondering...I DID NOT wax this. I preferred to live dangerously rather than go through that again!

Linking this post to My Romantic Home's Painted Furniture Party.

Pretty hanging necklaces

I can proudly say, another project finished! (Thankfully, I finished some projects before this crazy heat & humidity entered out lives.)

Some time ago, I noticed my daughter was not putting her necklaces in her jewelry box but leaving them out on a shelf. When I asked her why, she said because they're always tangling up.

Hmmm. I made a note to get her one of those necklace stand thingys that I always see in TJ Maxx...the kind to corral your necklaces.

Then I realized, where is she gonna put this thing?

Hmmm again. Maybe, I'll make her something that she can hang instead.

So I took some materials & set out to make a hanging necklace corral thingy.


First I painted the wood purple, then covered it in Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint. I added some wooden flower appliques & my hooks, lightly sanded around the edges so some of that purple would show through & added a pretty purple ribbon.



I bought a hook from Hobby Lobby to hang it from & here it is, in her room:



Not too bad, huh?

Don't be alarmed by the cracks in her walls. You'd be cracked too if you were 78 years old & made of plaster! LOL

Linking up at Tatertos & Jello for the Weekend Wrap up Party



Have a wonderful weekend my dear sweet friends!

Chalk Paint Love/Hate Affair

I've been playing with chalk paint and while I adore this:



I absolutely despise this:



That darn wax is kickin' my butt!

This desk was my first chalk paint victim. Purchased at a consignment shot, it was pretty ugly & beat up.



Enter Annie Sloan's chalk paint, in Old White.





I added some knobs from Hobby Lobby, lightly distressed the edges & there you have it. A much nicer looking desk for my daughter's bedroom.

The paint is pretty much all that it's claimed to be. It goes on well, covers well, no odor, doesn't drip, requires no pre-sanding, dries quickly...

...but let's not talk about the $#*&@^ wax! (And yes, I watched every stinkin' tutorial available on waxing and I still want to scream when I think of it! Grrrr!)

Linking up at:








Domestically-Speaking for the Power of Paint Party
No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party
Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday
My Romantic Home for Painted Furniture Party

Summer Cloche

Miss Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life is hosting a Summer Cloche party, so I thought I would join in. For me, joining in means a challenge.



Can I tell you something? In all honesty, as much as I love cloches, I do have a hard time thinking of creative things to put under them. (That's the reason I say it's a challenge.) More often than not, my cloches are tucked away, waiting for inspiration to strike. Sad, I know.

The Summer Cloche party challenged me to think & here's what I came up with.

This wire cloche is one of my favorites. I paired it with a white pedestal dish & added a small pewter pitcher under it. I purchased that pitcher a few years back at an antique store & am amazed at how often I use it. I filled the pitcher with tiny yellow flowers.



Because Marty who is so talented with cloches (and vignettes too!) always has a few in her kitchen, I thought...hmmmm...why not? I brought my glass Wisteria cloche to the kitchen & placed it on a red dinner plate. I added my red mushroom tea light candle, some moss balls & of course, a garden gnome, to complete the display.



I really like having the cloche in my kitchen. It's something different for me & something I don't think I would have thought of without Marty.

Now, if I could only think of something for the other 4 cloches that sit idly by, barren.

At least I'm making progress...right?

Thanks for joining me today. I can't wait to see what great ideas you have for your cloches. Remember, I have 4 more cloches waiting for your inspiration!

It all ends 7.15

Those of you who've known me for some time know I couldn't let it go by without a post.

There are approximately 9 hours & 2 minutes until I get to see the end of an era.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II.


Photo taken in Times Square, NYC
I feel as though I have waited forever for this movie. I still remember reading the 7th book. I read all 759 pages in less than 24 hours. I couldn't put the thing down! As soon as I finished reading it, I placed it on the table, where it sat for a few minutes. I then picked the book up & began reading it all over again. I loved it that much.

Last Friday, our trip to New York City was mainly to see The Harry Potter Exhibition at the Discovery Building in Times Square.





Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed so I have no pictures to share with you, but believe me, it was amazing. All the costumes & props...incredible!

So at Midnight, it all comes to an end. (I've been up since 4:30am with my son's surgery, I think I'm gonna need a nap.)

In honor of this momentous occassion, I made myself a little something to wear.



After all, the die hard fans are usually dressed in Potter related attire for the midnight showing. My daughter will be in her wizard shirt (from the exhibition), robe & Gryffindor headband. I had to have something as a die hard fan, right?

Long live Potter! Bring on Midnight!!

Back to the subway

One day while shopping in Marshalls/Home Goods, my daughter spotted a piece of subway art that made her heart sing. Upon examining the piece, I noted several problems.

1. The piece was navy blue & white. Not exactly a perfect match with her bedroom we've been redecorating.
2. The cost was $50.00. Not that that's a huge sum, but I could think of quite a few things I'd rather spend $50.00 on.
3. The piece was rather large...at least a good 4 feet high. My daughter's bedroom has sloped ceilings so this would have looked bizarre at best.

Of course, she was not happy with my assessments. Then she asked me a question. You probably know the question I'm speaking of..."Couldn't you make one for me?"

Aaah yes. I have made one piece of subway art in the past. I love my fall subway art. Granted I know the time involved to make it was great, but I couldn't resist her. Of course, I would make it for her, in purple & much smaller.

So, I refreshed my memory of how I pulled this off last time, gathered my materials & got to work.



Anyone wanna help me cut out each & every individual letter? What? No? I didn't think so.

I had a whole lot of trouble this time around. Some spray paint got under the contact paper which didn't stick too well. Once I peeled off the contact paper, the purple lettering (from when I spray painted the canvas) appeared black instead of purple. Can I scream now?

I was ready to throw the whole thing away. Then as a last ditch effort, I took a paint brush & handpainted over each letter in a lighter purple. I ended up getting a two-tone effect that I kinda like. It's not perfect, but then again I suppose it isn't meant to be perfect anyway.



My first completed project of the summer! I've got a few more coming, all in mid-progress right now. I can't wait to finish & share with you.

I'm going to link this up at Kim's blog, Savvy Southern Style, for Wow Us Wednesdays. (Not that I've wowed any of you with subway art, but why not join in anyway? lol)



I'd also like to link this up to AndieJay's blog Crayon Freckles for Tip Toe Thru Tuesday.

On a different note, my son has to have a tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy on Thursday. Mom is more worried than son, of course. I just wanted to give you a heads up if I don't get around to visiting you right away. I'll try my best though. See you soon!