Welcome To My Colorful World!

Welcome to my colorful world. I am a happy (most of the time!) wife, mom, MeMaw, artist, and art teacher. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I also love to create, cook, nest, decorate, entertain family and friends, laugh, collect vintage stuff, snuggle my cats and dog, play outdoors, and so much more! In addition to all this, I also publish an online magazine with my dear friend, called Mermaids of the Lake. Oh, and I love a big cup of coffee with cream, a dry martini, red wine, blingy jewelry, pink lipstick, blue fingernail polish. I love color! Beautiful colors inspire, motivate, and move me!!! What's my favorite color? I can't choose. I love them all! Yellow, pink, red, turquoise, blue, purple, orange, green and every variation in between!

My Vintage Home

I love my home. I really do. I have always been that way. As much as I enjoy traveling and visiting others, I really do love HOME the best! HOME is my HAVEN!
I live in a funky, old, octagonal house on a lake in the woods, near a medium size city and I LOVE IT! My house was built by a retired merchant sea captain in the early 1900's. The "Captain" designed it to look like a light house. It is the perfect home for me to live with my love for all things VINTAGE. My house is vintage, my treasures are vintage, and before long, I will be too.

One of my favorite things about being home is "nesting." I remember the first time I heard the word used as a verb other than to describe birds building their nests. I was pregnant with my first child and reading up on everything associated with my physical and emotional state! Ahhh.... nesting! So that was why, for months I had a compulsion to clean, paint, decorate, and sew! In my ninth month, when I was huge and could hardly move, I found myself suddenly needing to sew curtains and make pillows for every room in the house. NO - I really did need to. I mean... I had to!

Well, I still love to nest in my home; puttering, tidying, lighting deliciously scented candles, cooking, and always creating - and then sharing it all with my friends and family. I love to entertain, usually on a small scale as my house is small.

I'm sharing some pictures of my home, its surroundings, and creative projects involving home! Maybe you will be inspired to tackle a fun, creative project or two? Maybe I could be INSPIRED by you!

Leave me a comment. I would love hear about what you do to make your home your haven.

A Peak at My Valentine's Day Decor
I keep Decorating for Valentine's Day pretty simple.

Vintage in My Art Studio
This is the little scene that I see while writing or working on the computer.

See more: Peek in My Studio

I love, love the silly, vintage pixie cookie jar so much. I have a growing collection of pixies and this is one of my favorites. Speaking of pixies, look at the sweet little girl sitting on the letter R. My blogging friend, Jenny Sellars of The Red Bulletin Board sent her to me. I named her Jenny! I knew the vintage wicker frame was the perfect color for my studio wall as soon as I saw it at Paint in My Hair in Spokane. The vintage green glass holds pompoms, my kitty, Janie's favorite toy!

My Vintage Sewing Basket
This circa 1970's mod, green sewing basket was my mom's when I was a child. I love it. She recently gave it to me, still filled with all of her stuff! There are buttons, patches and ric rac that I remember from outfits she made me when I was a little girl. More Images and Descriptions here

I Collect Vintage Picnic Tins
and Bread Boxes
I love the bright, cheerful details and colors on vintage picnic tins and bread boxes. I store my linen and cloth napkins in these colorful tins. They sit next to the table in my dining area for beauty and convenience. I also have one in my bathroom to store extra toilet paper.

My Pot Rack
When my husband and I had our vintage home (circa early 1900's) remodeled, we saved the old windows from our original kitchen. I painted one yellow and my handy husband added the hooks and chain. I love my vintage window pot rack! More Photos and Descriptions here!

Christmas Mantle
I live in a lake cottage in the woods and decorating my mantle with a little help from nature is as easy as one, two, three, four! You can bring the look of nature indoors too. If you are lucky enough to be able to gather your own boughs and pine cones from your yard, roadside or even nearby park, you will find this creative project an inexpensive breeze. If not, head to your closest Michael's or Hobby Lobby (most craft stores) and purchase a few items.

See Project and Tutorial Here

A Peek in My Studio
Dancing sunbeams in my studio. Such a beautiful, sunny, fall morning. See More!

Lampshade Re-do!
Before

I have been redoing my art studio/Mermaids of the Lake publishing office. I inherited this little vintage cherub lamp when my sweet grandma passed a couple of years ago. I love it so much and it reminds me of her.

I bought this plain little shade and... ugh... it is plain and too short. So I dug into my hat box full of vintage lace and hankies and I love how it turned out. It only took about 10 minutes too! Oh, how I love projects that make this much of a difference and only take 10 minutes!

Much Prettier!!!

I posted this on my Mermaids of the Lake blog. See how I did it here!

Re-Do of Grandma's 1970's Chandelier
Before
I recently inherited my Grandma's brass chandelier. While it was elegant and beautiful in her home, when I got it home, I found it really needed a makeover. My Grandma was a huge inspiration for me, creatively so I knew she would approve!

After!!!!

Read my Grandma's story and see how I did it here!

Paint Your Chandelier Colorful with Fingernail Polish
I love how this turned out!
It was so boring before.
Super cute and Super Colorful now!

A Rustic Quilt Made by my Great Grandmother
"Your Great Grandmother made this," I was told. She worked on it for weeks and weeks, her hands never idle. Idle hands are the devil's playground. Those strong, farm-weathered hands created this masterpiece of colorful, practical beauty; the same hands that soothed the fevered brow of her dying child and wrung the neck of a chicken, doing what she had to do. I close my eyes and try to picture this woman whom I never knew. I imagine her hands, connected to her heart, always moving and making the most of every tiny piece; washing and pressing, over and over the fabric of her family's life. Waste not want not. Read more here

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