Vintage suitcases and Paper-whites...

...have absolutely nothing in common except that I took pictures of both today. ha!

{or maybe suitcases full of paper-whites?? How fun would that be!}

I love this bench that I purchased over a year ago from a dear blogging friend.

Isn't it amazing???

She is so uber talented and I just love her shop and all her goodies.

I have told her that it is a good thing that I don't live very close to her shop or I
would be in trouble!

I am also thinking as of late with all the vintage suitcases I now own
I should be traveling!! :)

PAPER-WHITES

I decided to plant some paper-whites today. Oh, I know everyone else is way ahead of me.
But...I love a bargain and a bargain these were!!
Marked wayyy down since it is after Christmas so I purchased a few and got to planting.

I'm kinda messy...shh, please don't tell anyone!

Three containers all planted up and ready for these babies to

GROW!

Wouldn't this be a fun way to give these as a gift?

I have always hated to throw out the pretty cardboard containers that some of them
come in so today I made tags out of them.

I would love these every year as a gift because it brings such a bright spot of spring to
the cold winter days.

I took a break shortly after I planted all my bulbs...a gal has to keep up her strength you know.
Yummy!!

Do you plant paper-whites?  I would love to hear about it.
I am not so sure about Amaryllis...I have some planted , but they don't
seem to be doing much. Time will tell.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful rest of the week and that abundant
blessings fill your life!

Blessings~

Chippy WHITE Project Finally Completed!

You know those projects that start out as one thing and then along the way they
morph into something else? Yep, that is how this project came about.

Do you remember this starting out as a bench/ potting bench. {If not I have added pics
at the bottom of this post} 

It was a potting bench that hubby and I created this past summer while he was laid off and
now it is a vanity on our back porch/ laundry/mud room. The vanity we had out here was

NASTY!

I didn't realize how nasty it was until we took it out. ugh. NO, I didn't take before pics.
I didn't even think about it. ha!

I was laying in bed one night with my mind racing a million miles an hour {couldn't sleep
AGAIN} Does that ever happen to you?

Well, I was thinking about the brand new porcelain sink that I had picked up at the Route 127
 garage sales in August for $15 and inspiration hit! Why not make the potting bench into
a vanity. We can always make another bench right??!! yep...it was on.

So, I timidly boldly broached the subject to my hubby.

He was INSTANTLY on board!! Can you believe it??  He is always indulging my whims,
but I know he secretly thinks knows I am crazy!!

So we got started and we both
LOVE 
how it turned out!

I had fun filling the little pockets/shelves with lotions , Christmas decor etc. Think of the
decorating possibilities. Unlimited! 

I thought my little white twig tree was perfect for this spot.

This mirror is old with some patina and a little cloudy, but I love it.

Do you see the Merry Christmas HUGE burlap piece?

It is a huge lavender sachet that I won a few years ago. In fact I won two of them along
with a burlap bag. These exact pieces were featured in a magazine and I forgot
what magazine! HA! Romantic Homes or Country Living or something. There
was a giveaway on a blog and I won. They still smell wonderful!

We picked out the perfect faucet for the sink. Whoever sees this almost always says,

"Does the sink really work"...ha! YES, it does! 

I used an old feed-sack to hang in front of the shelves at the bottom.
{After all I had to hide the plumbing. :) }

This is another corner of my porch where the vanity is.

I would show you all of it, but there is a bag of cat food, a can of kerosene and other
 "lovlies" sitting around that doesn't really make for pretty pics.
 Keeping it real here folks.

The long tin coat hanger is made from old tin ceiling panels from a store that I remember
 going to as a child. Loudens was the name and it was in Montpelier , Ohio. Loved that store!

Okay, here is how the vanity started out. I picked this up at a garage sale this past summer for $2.00!
It was a yucky bluish gray color and had a lot of grease on the top as it was used for a work bench.
I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and got it painted white.

Then it morphed into this potting bench above and now into my vanity.

Somehow I see a new potting bench in the works next summer. SMILE.
I will have to hit those garage sales again and see what I can find to start our project!

Yep...loving my new/old vanity!

Some of these photos are out of order , but oh well.

My dear friends... always remember that

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL...

no matter what is happening in our lives
that is one thing we can be sure of...Life is a beautiful thing!

Blessings~

Sneak peek of a few projects

I have just been a busy little beaver as of late and I wanted to give you a few peeks!!
{Kinda helps me keep my mind off of missing my granddaughters so much...keeping it real here}
I haven't had the time to do a pretty post yet about any one of these items, so thus this post.

Floor length chalkboard above was a brainy idea I had one day. We had taken out an outside
door a few years ago and just drywalled that spot, but didn't do one other thing. You know
how the months years pass and things just keep getting put off?? Yep, happens here quite
a bit.  I wanted to make over my pie safe and this drywall was right behind it so I decided
to make a big chalkboard also. Well, here it is!!  The drywall wasn't exactly level with the other
walls {it sat in a tad bit} so it was a perfect solution to do this and trim it off.

I also ripped up the MAUVE carpet in my bedroom and painted the floor "pinch of salt" white.
LOVE how it turned out.

Pie safe BEFORE above...

Pie safe AFTER above....I LOVE it also!

I know some people think I am crazy , but you know what? I don't' care! Life is way too short to
 get hung up on whether someone else will like it, so I don't. It is exactly the look I was going for.
 I did take the old screen out of it before giving it the makeover and we haven't gotten
anything put back in it yet. Trying to decide what I want for sure.

Today we started this project!! Wish us luck! ha! It has needed done for years. We are
halfway done. Fun times and busy, busy, busy.

What have you been working on? I would love to know!!

Vintage Barn Market

I haven't shown you photos from my friend Marian's store called

VINTAGE BARN MARKET

for quite some time so here you go!

 I am amazed at the talent of my friend and I just love visiting her store, although I don't get there near as often as I would like to. I will let the pics speak for themselves...although I will say I just LOVE this bedroom setting above!!

Don't look too close or you will see "yours truly" in the mirror! Hate it when that happens. lol

Now, didn't the photos speak for themselves?!! You didn't need me blabbering on and on.

Marian has amazing decorating talent and it shows in everything she touches.

 If you ever get to Delta ,Ohio be sure to stop in and visit her gorgeous store. I am sure you won't be able to leave without purchasing an item or two.  Marian and her husband work hard at this and it is one amazing store!!

{219 West Main, Delta, Ohio}

Blessings~