McKinney, Texas - The Living Room and Dining Room

Here are some pictures from the living room and dining room of Jan and Bob's "new" house in McKinney.  They have such an eye for restoration and decorating.  While this is a really roomy house, they have managed to make it cozy and cottagy.  The overall feel is very light, neutral, and PEACEFUL!  I love it!  The pictures need no words, they speak for themselves!

McKinney - My Favorite Room

Yesterday we went on a little shopping trip to downtown McKinney.  These pictures are all from a new shop called My Favorite Room!  It's one of the most beautiful shops I've ever been in!  Enjoy!

Off to Dallas!

Tomorrow I'm off to Dallas to visit my dear friend, Jan.  She and her husband have recently renovated and moved into this gorgeous, old english tudor in McKinney, Texas - right outside of Dallas.  I'm looking forward to taking lots of pictures and featuring them here on my blog.  Jan is quite a decorator and they have done some beautiful things with this house.  They have torn down walls, put in archways, had all the hardwood floors redone, and completely renovated the kitchen.  I'll have three different posts - upstairs, main floor, and outdoors.  Stay tuned for some INSPIRATION!

Note holder for book lovers!

This is one of many ideas from the book, Playing With Books.
I bought mine on half.com for about $10.  The list price is $24.99.

What a great thing to do with an old mass market paperback book (the smaller, less expensive paperbacks).  If you can't part with one of your own, pick one up at Goodwill for about a quarter.  A 300 page book works out perfectly.  Just fold each page over halfway and crease.  I made this one on a long car ride last week - you can talk and fold at the same time.  I wish I had had more books along.  I could have made about 10 of these in no time.  They'd make great gifts for your book group friends.

After folding down the pages, you hot glue it onto a plaque.  I picked up my plaque at Michaels for $1.50 and stained it with Old English Dark Scratch Cover.

 This is a great place to tuck a sweet note to your spouse or kids.

  It can hold reminders, invitations, photos, or business cards.

Just squiggle some hot glue on the bottom pages and push it down firmly onto the plaque.  I think this looks a lot better than notes plastered all over the refrigerator!  It's also a good way to recycle old books. Even children could make these!

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been out of town for a week and, therefore, not around to do much decorating for Valentine's Day.  But I did fill my cloche with some springy, romantic fare . . . an old postcard picture of some sweet children (from the graphics fairy), a little nest with one egg (because it was 46 degrees in southeast Wisconsin today and nests = spring in Wisconsin).  But, best of all, check out those sprigs of my freshly budding pussy willow!!!  That's the real deal!  Spring really IS coming to Wisconsin and we're so ready for it!

Don't you love a cloche?  They are the perfect stage for showcasing every holiday!

Anthropologie's "Anniversary Kitchen Towel"

Anthropologie continues to be a great place to find inspiration for a project.  As I was looking through the kitchen section I saw this unusual cotton dish towel.  I wanted to find a few things to make for a dear friend in Texas since I'll be visiting her at the end of the week.  This was just the thing!  This would be a perfect project for a group gathering - it's easy and quick, and by pooling together everyone's paints and stencils, you could make all kinds of different towels!

Here is the towel as shown at Anthropologie:

       

The dish towel is made of 100% cotton, has a stenciled floral design, and a list of anniversaries and the appropriate gift traditionally given for each one.  Notice the little loop-tag on the left picture.  It's hard to see clearly in this picture, but it's kind of a black and white polka-dot cotton.  It sells for $18.00 - kind of steep for a dish towel!

So, I found some good medium weight, 100% cotton, turquoise fabric paint, a flower stencil from Joann Fabrics, a fabric marker, and a little bit of turquoise and white striped fabric for the loop. 

First I tore the fabric into rectangles about 18" x 24".  

Then I taped off an area on the top half about 14" square.

After putting some newspaper underneath the "towel",  I randomly started stenciling on the flowers.  Use a stiff round flat-topped brush or a stencil brush.  I think a foam "brush" would pick up too much paint for this project.

 Once you've filled in the square with as many flowers as you like, pull off the tape.  Make sure you put some of the flowers halfway over the tape so you get some partial flowers - it helps achieve a nice line for the flower square.

 This is the fabric marker I used.  It's a fine tip which is good for writing words on fabric.

 Then I wrote out all the anniversaries on the lower half of the towel and machine hemmed all four sides - I rolled the edge over 1/4 inch and then 1/4 inch again, stitching close to the edge.  You heat set the fabric pen part by just using a hot, dry iron.  The stenciling will be ready to wash in 72 hours.

  A lot like Anthropologie's towel - right down to the little loop!  (Although I think I like mine better!)

The stenciling supplies and fabric came to about $12.00  That's enough paint, marker, and fabric to make about 6 towels!

Wrapped up with the appropriate gift for the year being celebrated, I think it would make a fun anniversary present for a friend.  

Can't wait to decide what we'll be making on my visit this time . . . and  to feel that warm Texas sunshine!

Sharing at:
Freckled Laundry's "Air Your Laundry Friday"
Shabby Nest's "Frugal Friday"
Feathered Nest Friday
Time Travel Thursday