Pretty Pillows |

I came accross these Pillows today on Etsy and thought they were the cutest thing!!
I can think of so many words I would like to have our our sofa and/or bed!

Ladylike Pumpkin Carving |

This weekend a lot of people will be carving pumpkins. But instead of the classic Spooky Face why not do some ladylike carving.

Here is a really cute idea found on Family Circle and it goes with my post from yesterday about unconventional candle holders. Instead of leaving the top of the pumkin intact with the lid, cut it off, scallop the edges and add some detail and you will have beautiful pumpkin candle holder. These would also look great sitting on your steps or on a table on your porch for Halloween and they will also give off more light than the classic enclosed jack-o-lantern.

Here are some more ladylike patterns from Country Living

Check back soon for pictures of our own pumpkin carving experience this weekend.

We are going to be using templates for the first time and hope that it goes well!

Egg Cup Candle Holder |

I was back home this weekend and my mom had a tea light candle placed inside an egg cup. I thought it was the cutest thing and a great idea for a candle holder!

So I took some photos of some of her other cute egg cups to show you how cute they looked too!

Using unconventional things as candles holders gives any table or room a casual and eclectic look! It is also a good way to give old things that you might not use very often a new purpose!

Other unconventional Candle Holders - Found on Canadian Living

Antique Tins:
Tea Cups:

Bottles and Cake Trays:

Logs:

Bird Cages:

Glass Jars:

DIY Vintage Greeting Cards |

Why not use vintage photos of yourself / your family growing up to make greeting cards out of?

For example here is a picture of myself dressed as a piglet and my brother dressed as a cheetah for Halloween and I used this photo to make a card for my mom.

Simply find some of your old seasonal photos (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Birthday etc.) and scan them into your computer. Then you can simply print out the photo to use on the front of a homemade card, or you can write your message right on the image using a program on your computer with a text option.

Here is an old photo of my brother at his birthday that I made into a birthday greeting:

And here is another picture of my brother that could I made into a note card that could be used for anything:


And here is a photo of my dad & brother building a snow man when he was two that can be used as a Christmas Card:

Vintage photo cards are SO popular right now - so why not make your own for a fraction of the cost and have more meaningful cards at the same time!!

SEW Sweet |

Some Sweet and Spooky Vintage Sewing Patterns

A Vintage Halloween |

I LOVE antique and vintage post cards. I found some antique Christmas postcards at an antique shop yesterday and it made we want to look up 'antique Halloween postcards' and sure enough, there isn't an occasion that doesn't have vintage postcards it seems.

Below are a few of my favourites from my search.

In the past I have used these old postcard images to make cards out of. I have done it with Easter postcards, Christmas postcards and even Baby Shower cards. They are great resources to make a really interesting and old fashioned looking cards!

Antique Bird Cage |

Yesterday I had to kill some time while waiting for a photo order so I went into 'Memory Lane' a large 'Antique Mall' in London ON.

I have been looking for an antique bird cage for some time (as I don't like the look of the large, moderns plastic ones) and surprisingly I came across a beautiful bird cage in 'Memory Lane'.

It is made by Songster a Canadian Company and it has been painted white. It is a hanging style cage and the base and stand are cast iron and are beautifully detailed with birds and trees.

It looks great in my office up against my plumb coloured walls. And a Canary would look awesome with its yellow colour in contrast to the purple.


Now I just have to decide if I want a Canary or a Finch. I like the colouring of Society Finches and Spice Finches. And it would be nice to have a pair so I didn't feel that they were lonley (as long as I could get a pair of males or females as I don't want to deal with baby birds). But I Love the song of the Canary (as I had one growing up) and the yellow colour would look awesome in the purple room.

Canary|

Society Finch|
Spice Finch|

Kitchen Love |

We are giving our kitchen a face lift.

The kitchen cabinets were still original to the house (50s style) and had a kitchy moulding on them. It was nice but did date them quite a bit.

But instead of tearing them down and putting up all new cabinets, we (or I should say my dad) is cutting out the middle of the doors and placing bead board behind them to make them into shaker style cupobards that will look like this:


We choose to paint them a colour called 'Eggshell Cream' that is an off-white colour as our refrigerator and stove are off-white.


And, I have always dreamed of picking out knobs and handles for a kitchen (weird I know) but we got to choose them a few days ago and we chose brushed nickle knobs for the doors and brushed nickle mustache handles for the draws. I also had found the white and yellow floral knobs at Michale's a few months ago. We are going to put them on the centre doors under the sink to add a little bit of charm to the cupboards.


We are also going to put bead board up on the walls to plate rail height. It will be painted the same colour as the cabinets. It will look something like this, but it will be a bit higher up the wall:


I also purchased wallpaper to go above the bead board (since the wall is already wallpapered it just makes this an easier option). Plus I DO love wallpaper, I just hate removing it.
I bought this wallpaper almost a year ago when we bought the house and I love its soft yellow colour and the off-white flowers that will match our cupboards.



Currently the backslash is a neutral beige tile. The only problem is that there are 'accent tiles' that have images of: Fruit Baskets, Trees and Pretzels... yes Pretzels on them.

SO we will probably cover that up with plastic tin, which is an awesome product that Benjamin Moore makes. The thin plastic sheets that are made to look like old fashion ceiling tin can simply be glued on over the existing tile.


Along with all our antique tins I think this kitchen will come together looking retro country, with a casual relaxed feel.

Shelf in our kitchen with our tins on it.
As well as the niche in the wall with our retro cook book and other retro items.


Tins Close Up:

Keep watching as I will definitely post photos once the face lift is complete!

Cozy Tea |

My tea cozy arrived and I am thrilled with it.
It is even more beautiful than I thought it would be!

Here is it, and its really working to keep my tea nice and warm.

Tea Cozy made by APT

Photos By KO Two Photography