Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Southern Charm

Bonjour, Ya'll!
Yesterday we spent several hours walking around downtown Savannah, soaking up all of the history and charm of the city.
 Aren't these camellia's gorgeous!  They are so pretty, they don't even look real!
I was amazed by this beautiful double bloom, below!
 An impressive statue in one of the city's many squares.
 I almost didn't notice these sweet cherubs, that were perched at the top!  Aren't they adorable?


Stunning stained glass windows in a church we visited.  I especially love this one of Christ, above.


There are many beautiful churches thru out the city.
 
 And gorgeous old mansions that I was ooohing and aaahing over!

I was so happy to see the azaleas beginning to bloom!
 This was one of my very favorite mansions, below.  Just look at the gorgeous windows!  The frames appear to have rusted out a bit, giving them Old World elegance!  Notice all of the pretty grill work on the railing?

 Hubby in front of the famous fountain at Forsyth Park.

 This home was another faviorite of mine.  I was in love with all of the amazing gingerbread trim!
 The mansion below is now an inn.  Not sure if you can see it well or not, but a large chandelier greets guests on the porch, before they even walk in the front door!
 One of my favorite things to do when out and about is to soak up all of the details.  Little things that might be overlooked by some.  I fell in love with this whimsical stair rail.  Look closely, they are storks!
 The waving girl statue, below.  Florence Martus, aka "the Waving Girl", took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the Port of Savannah, Georgia, between 1887 - 1931. She would wave a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. According to legend, not a ship was missed in her forty-four years on watch.
 A picture of the sunset that I quickly snapped alongside the road, on the way back to the campground last night (it really was that beautiful, I didn't touch it up a bit!).
That's it for today, looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to!
Have a great day, ya'll!


Saturday, February 23, 2013

Scenes From Around the Campground

Hey ya'll!
It's a bit of a drizzly day here in Savannah, so we changed our plans a bit.  We were going to go to a flea market that I was really looking forward to, as well as a farmer's market down town, but didn't feel like walking around in the rain.  So, we plan on visiting an aqarium just a few minutes from us, that we've heard good things about.  I'm not complaining about the rain, though!  I will take that over our usual Michigan snow and cold!
 
At any rate, thought you might like to see a few shots from around the campground!
 The state park is amazing here!  Lots of hiking trails thru a jungle like woods.  We are loving all of the trees draped with moss.  As well as the palm trees!  So part of our daily routine here has been to take long morning walks with our Emily on the trails (though not today, it was a bit too soggy!).  She is loving it as much as we are!
 Isn't this view pretty?  This is along one of the hiking trails, which runs along the intra coastal waterway.
 This has got to be one of the nicest state parks we've ever camped in!  The sites are huge, it's so nice and quiet and private here.  They do an excellent job of maintaining it, too.
 So this is our home away from home!  Notice our little palm tree?
 I snapped these last two photos of Miss Emily this morning.  She is peacefully napping after our walk.  Notice her wet ears?
"Aww Mom, did you have to wake me up for a picture?"
We had her groomed the other day at Petsmart.  She was getting a little shaggy, and would be way too wooly by the time we get home, if we hadn't have taken her for a new "do"!
I think the groomer did a great job, not to mention the fact that Emily is much easier to keep clean now!
Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!


Monday, February 18, 2013

Dreamy Creamy Whites

 
Like so many of you, I just can't seem to get enough of white, cream, and all shades in between!
So today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest creations, all painted my favorite creamy color!  We are still down here camping in Savannah, and I've managed to work on quite a few projects at the campground (I told you I needed my projects to be happy!).
The first are a pair of vintage candle sconces by Homco.  I just love all of their gorgeous details, such as the fleur de lis and floral motifs! 



Aren't these little birdies cute? They are cast iron, and make the sweetest coat hooks, I think!

Also made of cast iron is this neat fleur de lis hook.  Of course I had to distress all of the creations that you see here.  It gives them what I like to refer to as "that aged over time look"!

More fleur de lis fun here with a pretty metal easel.  (love!)  In the background you can get a glimpse of the base of our very own palm tree that we have on our site!
It can be a bit challenging to find just the right spot here at the campground to take photos of my work that's going in my Etsy shop.  But where there is a will, there's a way!


I love shelves, so I'm always on the hunt for more that I can transform with a little paint and tlc.  This pair was a very borning dark brown, til I got my hands on them!  I brought all of these pieces from home to transform while on our trip.  Our motor home has a surprising amount of storage.  In fact, our bed lifts up to reveal a ton of storage beneath it, which is where I've been stashing most of my craft projects!
I also love finding pretty picture frames to paint.  Ooops, I forgot that  I found this beauty here at a thrift shop in downtown Savannah.
I added a vintage French book page, just for fun!
You can see all of these creations in my
Etsy shop
(I'm operating a mini version of my shop while on the road!!), if you care to take a peek!
I'm joining Debra at Common Ground for Marketplace Monday.  It's a great place for those of you who have on line shops to link up your treasures and creations.  Or, the perfect spot to find something special for yourself!
Have a great day!
Joining Becky at Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday.  Be sure to visit for lots of inspiring ideas!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

A Fun Shop

Bonjour Ya'll!
Hope you have been enjoying your week!  One of the great things about exploring while on vacation here in Savannah is checking out the fun shops!  The other day I went in the most amazing one, called "Two Women and a Warehouse". 
It's a huge place, full of beautiful painted furniture, vintage treasures, and tons of other neat finds.
 I was in love with this gorgeous large framed chalkboard!  And of course the aqua wall that it was hanging on!
 Isn't this china cabinet amazing?  I love the light blue color it's been painted.
 I thought this vintage vanity and chair was so pretty.
 And just look at the fun stripes on this chest!  My mom has a cedar chest just like this, that she got way back in the 40's when she and my dad married.  I may be dating myself here, but they used to be called "hope chests".  Remember that?
 Like many of you, I love wire baskets, and I was totally drooling over these!!
 Ditto with this gorgeous blue painted vintage sideboard!  I would love to take this beauty home with me!
 I thought this blue dresser was so pretty, too!
 Gotta love their sign!!!  How fun is that?
And this is a chalkboard just outside the shop!
Next Saturday they will be hosting a flea market, I can hardly wait to attend!
Enjoy your weekend, looking forward to seeing what ya'll have been up to!


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Decoupaged Easter Eggs

Bonjour Mes Amis!
Hope you all are having a great week!
Today I wanted to share with you one of my latest creations that I had so much fun putting together.  We are still down here in Savannah in the motor home.  Whenever we are on longer trips, I always like to bring projects along with me.  I need my projects!
So I've been busy making decoupaged Easter eggs!
Yes, I know that Valentine's Day isn't even over yet, but I just couldn't wait to work on some fun springy crafts!
 
 
  I love working with vintage sheet music and vintage French book pages. Decoupaging them to the eggs was a bit more tedious than I imagined, though!  I had a hard time getting the papers to lay flat against the curve of the eggs.  So next time, I think I'll work with something thinner, like pretty patterned tissue paper.
 The fun part was embellishing them!  I added pretty ribbons and flowers, including these gorgeous blue flowers that I've had in my crafting stash for awhile. Love them!
 I also am in love with this gorgeous aqua blue ribbon!  The center is velvet, and it has the prettiest  sheer ruffle, what could be better than velvet and ruffles? (sigh!)
 I'm so happy with the way they turned out!
 To some of the eggs, I added this gorgeous blue ribbon with glittered fleur de lis (also love!).
 And you know me, a project is just not complete without the addition of glitter!  I bought a silk hydrangea bunch, and cut off each blossom and covered in my favorite coarse clear Martha Stewart glitter.

 I picked up the eggs and ribbon back in Michigan at Hobby Lobby.  I've been wanting to find some little birds nests down here, but have not had much luck finding any.  I did find this little one at a craft store here, but I really want some larger nests.
 So if you haven't tried your hand yet at decoupaging Easter eggs, I hope that this maybe has inspired you to try creating some yourself!  They are addictive!

 
That's all for today.  We are heading out this afternoon in search of some thrift shops, if I find any good treasures I'll be sure to share them with "ya'll"!
Have a great day!
Linking up with Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday
Common Ground Be Inspired Friday