Being a Grandma is awesome (even if I feel too young to be one..)

This is Lydia. The most perfect granddaughter ever.   She is almost three months old.

She wakes up smiling and giggling.  She is so very happy and content.

Who knew that each stage of life and family is a wonderful as the last?

and a touch of humor

I have a very large (like 110 pounds) lapdog. Max loves to curl up on the couch next to me. But Max and the couch did not get along.

My beautiful leather couch got destroyed by Max enthusiastically jumping off when he had things to do. 

At least he has the sense to look a little bit guilty.  The answer is probably to train him to stay off the couch but I really like when my dogs are curled up next to me on cold winter nights.  And I am a pushover for a sad puppy face so keeping them off the couch is not likely to happen.

And so I came up with another temporary no cost fix.

I made a patch that makes the couch useable and a bit less ugly with a touch of humor thrown in,   And now to go do some research and see if my couch can be repaired.  I wish the cushions were removable and seperate rather than sewn into the couch.  >sigh<  It would have made life so much easier.  Because of the way it is made, a seat slipcover just would not stay in place.

I just don't understand why some people don't like sharing their living space with animals.....

Creative or Crazy Shoddy?

We have a large bay window in our living room that looks out on our very private 3 acre backyard. I took down the blinds the came with the house as we had never closed them in 3 years. There remained a very nice but unremarkable white valance that did nothing for the view or room. I haven't decided whether to hang decorative drapes on the sides (and what kind) or whether to put trim aournd the window.

So long story short, I had one of those middle of the night crazy thoughs and had to try it out.

Can you guess what I have done?  with book pages sewn together?

I made temprorary drapes out of vintage book pages!

They are sewn together and hung on the sides and across the top of the window.

It is definitely something I haven't seen except in my crazy middleof the night thoughs.

The color of the old paper works well in the room....

Ta daaa...

I lightened this one so you could see a bit better.  And haven't mastered photoshop so I couldn't brighten and lighten the inside without blowing out the outside.  So please excuse the BRIGHT view.

It makes me smile so it will stay temporarily and probably get tweaked a bit until I decide on how to dress this window.  So what do you think, creative or crazy shoddy?  (and any suggestions for a real treatment for the window are most welcome).

Cozy Vintage Prairie Junk Style?

I moved some things around and then had to take some pictures.   I so enjoy the blogs where the author's sense of style is consistent and identifiable.  I am still working on cohesiveness.  I've been told that I always create 'cozy' where ever I live.  And I have always appreciated found treatures.  I suspect that is because the farm junk pile was where I shopped for things to fuel my imagination as a child.  I sure wish I had been able to keep some of the very neat found objects I used to furnish my play house (which was a copse of trees behind my Grandma's house).

I found an old kitchen cabinet with an enameled metal top and one drawer that is metal.  The paint is not going to last long despite shellacking because the whole piece was in such disrepair.  But I love the flaking paint and the feeling I get from this cabinet.

And I really like the things found at A Little Bit French.  But French style just wouldn't quite fit with vintage praire junque.  So I adapted some of the things I see there so my mini ticking pillows have horses and hoof prints, and dream printed on them.  Throw in some collected antimacassars and doillies from my collections.  Toss it all in the drawer of a decrepit cabinet and you have a sample of my style...

 
Yummy old chippy paint that won't last much longer.

You will find this sitting in my small sunroom as a display space for other collections and objects.

Quite an eclectic mix:  a tool box I made and painted with ASCH, the barbwire collection I got for my birthday and have yet to mount and frame, a nest with collected feathers in a planter, an old ceramic pot, a dried hydrangea blossom siting in a miniature chair.  Sometimes the things I like don't always fit together in a single cohesive manner.  But they sure reflect the things the sing to my heart.

This vingette is a bit more cohesive, if limited, reflection of the things I love.

The hardware on this cabinet reflects some of what I value in the things I collect.  I guess much of what I like has a history of usefulnes in everyday life yet something extra that lifts it above the ordinary.  (and as I write that I think that is not a bad model for living life...)

Have you ever thought about what reflects your style?  and how it evolved?

Textures and Trees

It can become quite addicting to play with Photoshop Elements and begin learning all the ways a simple photograph can be altered.  This is a picture taken in my backyard.  The moods evoked by adding textures from Kim Klassen  and cropping and editing make me wish I could write stories or poems that match the pictures.  

While our yard is not large enough that one can get lost, there are places and spaces that create that feeling.   There are spaces that invite you to enter and wander.   There are spaces that stimulate the imagination. 

Sharing more of my world inside and out.

Decorating Outside by Suzi at Design Shuffle

Hi, everyone, I’m Susi and I write as a guest blogger for Design Shuffle, a fabulous social media site that promotes interior designers and their work from around the world. My writing focuses on things I'm passionate about: interior design, decorating ideas, home furnishings, gardening, travel and art. I get to look at gorgeous things all day and write about them. I'm a very lucky girl!

I am so happy to be visiting Dragonflys and Stars today and writing about decorating outside with junky finds. For one, it makes me almost forget that summer is nearly over. And secondly, I am an avid gardener and lover of reusing and repurposing what I like to call “forgotten objects” or what some people might call junk. So here are some clever ways people have decorated their outside space with interesting finds. Enjoy!

Dreamhouse Cammy (via)

Love the rusty patina on this old bike that has found new life as a plant holder in the garden. I think it looks very happy to be there.

Enjoy Co. (via)

I’m not sure what this planter was in its previous life but it makes a very cool home for plants. I think it would also make a great cooler for drinks.

Funky Junk Interiors (via)

Wood pallets are great sources of raw wood for the DIYer. Pallets can be used to make planters, window boxes and even furniture for the garden. Think outdoor living room ideas.

Fiskars (via)

Container gardens can be made from almost anything, even a flour sifter. Look at kitchen objects that have run their course or find them at thrift stores and garage sales.

Pinterest (via)

What a clever use for old wooden spools or industrial sized bobbins… a garden hose holder! Look for these wooden spools at flea markets and on ebay.

Buckets of Burlap (via)

Some may call all these things junk but to people who love vintage and junk, these are treasures. Love the old wood barrel turned into a herb garden. The wood ladder would be great with a trailing vine growing on it.

Pinterest (via)

These old floor grates decorate a garden path. Aren’t they pretty? I think they would look cool with moss growing inside them.

Etsy (via)

Another great find on Etsy… found object birdhouses. This could be a project for a clever DIYer. Birdhouses are a wonderful way to reuse and repurpose forgotten objects…aka junk. Who knew birds could use an interior design makeover?

This content is provided by Design Shuffle, where you can find and share talented interior designs from from New York interior designers, Los Angeles interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

Last roses of summer

Summer has past and we recently had a couple of nights with frost to mark the beginning of autumn.   I cut some of my roses and brought them into the house to enjoy.  Hopefully tempuratures will rise again so fall can be enjoyed without shivering.

I really like the little wire basket with four bottles/vases that I found at the flea marked.  And am still pleased with the tray I redid.  The yellow rose is from a bouquet my husband bought me at some point.  This blossom dried so well.

And it is nearly impossible not to play around with textures from Kim Klassen when editing photographs.  This winter I plan to spend some time learning how to better make use of  Photoshop.

Hope you are enjoying the little things in your life and finding time to play!