Spring Summer Link Party at TheLetteredCottage.net

Here is a party for you to share your summer mantels and other fun summer projects you have been working on..  http://theletteredcottage.net/ideas-for-summer
I decided to share my summer mantel…my VERY inexpensive summer mantel… .I used some of the frames  purchased to make vintage chalkboards for my son’s rehearsal dinner to start out with , added some of my peonies that are blooming this week here in the Midwest..Our mantel is from my husband’s grandfather’s farm house…we secured it against a wall in our living room and tiled a sheet of plywood behind it..I purchased a cast iron summer cover from here --http://www.urbanremainschicago.com  a VERY cool place—check it out….. This vase has been spray painted to cover the  not so attractive look it was sporting when I purchased her at a thrift shop for less than a dollar..
Tray behind the vase—another thrift shop find….the books came from an estate sale—on day 3 of the sale…the day for all the deal hawkers like me!
The bottles -- from the infamous Round Top,Texas— a vendor on the side of the road….He let me pick a group of vintage bottles for a couple bucks…

Even the raffia was on clearance—90% off from a going out of business sale..there are some things I will NEVER pass up!


Thanks for stopping by and checking my mantel—hop over the Layla’s to join the party……or at least check out everybody's ideas!! 

A cool find and an auction tip

I LOVE this old wooden box that I picked up at an auction… REALLY cheap….and here is how I did it with an auction tip for you…..
Great old boxes like this are usually used to hold garage type thingy's and usually have some great “custom features”..the handles on this one look like OLD fan belts someone just nailed into the box….I fell in love with her at first sight….
AUCTION TIP—I have found tons of great old boxes and containers at auctions in the tools and/or the  garage section of auctions (these areas are usually in the back of the auction-less desired area of the auction if it is at a large farm or house)   usually only a handful of  guys hang out there - most e-bayers, collectors tend to be in the area where the obvious goodies are placed in the front of the farm  where the grass is mowed!…If you are lucky enough to be at a  two or three ring auction  check out the “guy stuff”  containers…..  Most men are not interested in them—they just want the stuff IN THE containers…this had some old tools in it and I asked the auctioneer if he would sell the box separately….knowing me he said—“only you would want this Chris!”  and I picked it up for fifty cents!! 

Now she has her place in the house on a great old wooden bench as the keeper of my Pottery Barn wish books…….With auction season in full swing here in the Mid-West hopefully I can find more goodies like that …… Off to start on this beauty—my future laptop desk…..with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint..I am a first timer with Annie’s paint-soooo excited to jump on board!


More pics and some repair shots to follow……..Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for stopping by……..:)

outdoor space…….

In the Midwest Spring means a lot of things….but to most of us it means the return of our outdoor space…..…take a mini tour of mine….











 








Love this planter…an auction find…spray painted and placed along my walk to my front door…



 
I have collected little garden figures and enjoy putting them out each spring…like old friends coming back for a visit….


Allium Stellatum--Prairie Onion Plant--even cool to use in arrangements once they lose their color


 
our old shed…wish it was my project shed…but it belongs to the tractor…..
 
This little cherub lost her base over the years…but i adore her face..I have her rigged up to peek from behind the hostas for one more season….


Front row seats…..
LOVE this piece I found at an antique shop…knew it had potential…..
vintage ladder and old pot….who could ask for anything more…..
 
This old barrel is PERFECT now with the missing boards and rusty steel piece….

 
Always a surprise around the corner in the spring….
 
This bird bath ...gets better as she ages....
 
Green and white are so bright in the Spring…….Hope you enjoyed my outdoor space….
I am linking up with Kate from Centsational Girl on the 19th for outdoor ideas…check out the link below for the other Home May’d links….gonna go spruce up my summer mantel for the 26th!!
http://theletteredcottage.net/outdoor-spaces

She has arrived – Flora Doora….

A few weeks ago I found a post on a Flora Doora and it was love at first sight….I ordered one and anxiously awaited her arrival……

I LOVE  her in so many ways....
the simple white linen, the handle to hang from a knob--dresser, door, or cabinet......and she is lined with plastic so she can be filled with water to hold your freshly picked flowers...
Here is Jane’s   (Flora’s designer )blog ...http://www.floradoora.blogspot.com/
I LOVE Jane's tag line--

Spreading Happiness One Bag at a Time...

I agree-how can you not smile and be happy when looking at these….(could not just take one photo!)

 
 




















Off to pick more flowers…for Flora…:)

Why we love white—and a give away…..

Marianne at Songbird is hosting a

WE LOVE WHITE PARTY

<<<>>>>

http://www.songbirdisnesting.com/2011/05/i-love-white-and-so-do-you-linky-party.html

So link up & tell us & show us why you love white….and maybe win a great give away!

For me….my house tells my white story…..

I heart my white shutters, windows and tab curtains in my guest bathroom…..

along with a baby's-breath wreath….

simple, crisp, clean…… 

This recent curb find is now a favorite white dresser….here are some before and after pics…..http://midwestcottageandfinds.blogspot.com/2011/04/master-bedroom-makeover.html

some more of my white dressers……

and a little white table that holds a great

vintage apple orchard basket…..

our white fireplace mantel—from my husband’s grandparents' farm house….great vintage white paint……still might sand it a bit to add more detail…. ..but that’s for later……

white couch and another white dresser ( i LOVE dressers) …even a yellow  white-ish lab….along with other white pieces on the fireplace ledge….this white Pottery Barn couch—buy of the year----read about it here—and maybe you can find one also!

http://midwestcottageandfinds.blogspot.com/2011/04/pottery-barn-outlet.html

A white couch table to hold my lilacs and special photos….

Some of my favorite outdoor pieces are white also….

 a little white cherub peeking out from behind some hostas……

& a little white cart with a flower box inside…

  One of my vintage white pots—waiting to have flowers placed in it……

Thanks for peeking at my whites…now have some fun and show me yours…..

http://www.songbirdisnesting.com/2011/05/i-love-white-and-so-do-you-linky-party.html
Enjoy!!!