Sunday, April 29, 2018

Spring Flowers




It took its sweet time to get here, but it looks like spring has arrived at long last!


And the hundreds of bulbs I planted last fall? They are finally starting to bloom!


I wish this photo came with smell-o-vision. The hyacinth smells amazing!


This star magnolia is like a young girl in a frilly white dress. One day, she will grow to be quite a lovely lady, but for now she is as sweet as can be.


Everything needs a fresh coat of mulch. That will have to wait until next month. This month, we are finishing up the last of our interior painting projects. Soon, we can turn our attention to the outdoors.


For now, we are content to soak up the sunshine, smell the flowers, and chew a few sticks in the greening grass.


Happy day!

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Cheap and Easy Botanical Art





I love Ballard Designs. They cater to folks like me who love many elements found in traditional, classic homes. And the things they offer are loverly! I have purchased draperies and light fixtures and home decor elements from them in the past several years, and they are always top notch.

But sometimes, items come with a top notch price tag.

Take, for example, the above artwork. I think botanical prints are so charming. And if they feature birds? Even better!

But those prices above? Yeah, that's for each print, sold separately.

I like them, but not enough to sell a kidney for one.

That's when I decided to create some botanical art myself.


Many years ago, I bought these sweet books from a used book sale at our local library. They are filled with the most adorable watercolors, each page sweeter than the last. I decided to cut out some favorite prints from these books, and mount and frame them for instant botanical art.

Here's what you need:
X-acto knife
Tape runner
Paper trimmer
Picture frames
Art Book



Using an X-Acto knife, I carefully cut the page out of the book.


Then, after I removed it, I trimmed the rough edge with my paper trimmer.

Next, I used a piece of card stock, cut to an 8 by 10 inch size to fit my frame. I used Vintage Cream card stock from Papertrey Ink. This will act as a mat for the print. Sure, you could get some custom mats cut to size, but that is just another added and unnecessary expense.


Turning it over, I gently applied small sections of tape to the outside edges. Then, I adhered it to the card stock mat.


Finally, I picked up some frames from Hobby Lobby. Here's a tip. If you look for frames in the art department there, they will run around $30 each. Skip that section and head back to the front of the store instead. They always have an aisle there where the frames are dirt cheap and usually 50% off list price, which made these simple black frames about $6 each.

I cleaned the glass carefully, let it dry, and popped the matted print inside.


And voila! Instant botanical art!

I have four bird prints that I am going to hang along both sides of my armoire. I really like this print of the swallows. It reminds me of the birds that frequent the marshy pond in our backyard in the summer.

The trickiest part to this project? Getting two prints on each side of the armoire, hanging in exactly the right place and exactly the right distance from each other.  Aaack! I hate that job! So much math and measuring and potential to screw it up! So instead of throwing up a bunch of nails (and nail holes when I screw up), I decided to wait and buy some Command Strips. So much easier, and if it isn't perfect? No biggie...you can adjust with no damage to the wall.

Blessings on your weekend, cafe friend!


Tuesday, April 24, 2018

The Cottage Kitchen Reveal


Hello! And welcome to the cottage kitchen makeover reveal post!


We've come a long way from the dirty brown kitchen with ugly track lighting and stained window shade that we got when we moved in to the cottage.


This weekend, we painted the kitchen and hung new cafe curtains, and it has really transformed this space for the better.


Originally, I was not a fan of the wood cabinets or the tile back splash. But since we've painted, it really does a nice job of tying in the colors of both.


We chose the Benjamin Moore paint color Wythe Blue (HC-143), which is actually one shade deeper than the Palladian Blue (HC-144) that we used in the adjoining great room. I love how this blue looks with the red accents in the kitchen. So cottage-y and cute!




The kitchen has an eating area which serves as our dining room. This is the first house for us that has not had a separate formal dining room since our 900 square foot starter home. But you know what? We are making it work just fine.






Here, you can see where the two paint colors meet in the corner.  It's very subtle, which I like. I found this print on ebay just before we moved back home to Michigan. I really wanted a ship painting to commemorate our move back to the Great Lakes state, and this Kolene Spicher print is lovely!




The kitchen island is really handy. I wish I could keep it this clean every day! It seems to be the place where everything lands when we come home.



I sewed these cafe curtains yesterday. We had one leftover panel from our Illinois dining room. This panel was an "oops" that my husband spilled stain on when he was finishing the woodwork. So I cut from the useable sections and made a valance and two panels.


It does block light, which is not ideal, but it also blocks this view of the side of my neighbor's house. It's a little too close for comfort. Without a curtain, I can see what they're watching on television...and consequently, they can see me in my fuzzy bathrobe pre-coffee. No one should have to see that!


I started by hanging them from the rod pocket, but after some fussing, I found they really needed the clip rings to hang nicely. And the benefit of adding the rings is that I can easily push them apart when I need more light.



So there it is! A simple makeover. It's the little things that make it work: the new schoolhouse light fixture, the new curtains, the color, and vintage decor.

There's still room for improvement. Soon, I plan on switching out the hardware on the cabinets. And one day, I'd like to get new appliances. But for now, I'm happy in this cozy little kitchen. Everything has a place, it is very functional, and it works well for our family.


It's not a chef's kitchen. But then again, I'm not a chef! Just a wife and mother who is happy to cook in this updated space.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Monday, April 23, 2018

Draperies Make The Room


One of the things I have learned through many years of flipping houses is this: draperies can really make a room. There is something about good quality window treatments that just finishes off a space.

For our Illinois house flip, I invested in really good window treatments for every room. We used Bali blinds in a white cellular style, which were great for insulation as well as privacy and light diffusion. And for the dining room, office, and family room, I ordered curtains from Ballard Designs.


Now I must confess, I have tried two other curtain options in the great room since we moved in last summer. First, I tried making my own curtains with fabric from IKEA. And while they were cute, it didn't quite work as a cohesive whole. Then, I took down the patterned curtains and put up lace curtains from IKEA. And they were good for allowing more light to come into the space during the dark of winter.

But after we painted, I knew what the room really needed : the Buffalo check curtains from Ballard that I had used in our dining room in Illinois. Lucky for me, there was a sale (because these curtains aren't cheap!), and I placed the order on Monday and received them on Wednesday. That's fast service!


I just love the soft neutral color with the Palladian Blue walls! Everything about this once dark and pokey room has now been transformed, and the space now feels lighter and brighter and serene.


One of the pleasant surprises was how the curtains tied in so well with the fireplace. The color in the tile no longer looks like an "accident", and the crisp white mantel matches the crisp white window trim. This is the feature wall that you see when you first enter the home, and it makes such a nice first impression now.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

If you stop back soon, I will show you the new kitchen color and transformation. Stay tuned!

Sunday, April 22, 2018

The Common Cup


One of the biggest joys of being a parent is seeing your children grow in their faith.

When we moved back to Michigan, we quickly found our church home right down the road. It was good for Sam, as he would meet kids from school there, and it was good for us as we would feel a part of our little community.

But Luke, our oldest, had moved across town to Ann Arbor, and I knew it would be important for him to find a church of his own. And he did! University Lutheran Chapel is located in the heart of Ann Arbor, within walking distance to the University of Michigan campus. It is a church that makes the university students one of their big priorities as they minister to these young people. 

One unique way that they serve their neighbors is through their cafe, called The Common Cup. Seriously, I love the name of this cafe! What could be better?


Last month, I went to an evening service with Luke, and we hung out in the cafe before services, too. It was wonderful! The pastor is a young, dynamic guy with great vision and a truly caring spirit. It made me so happy to know that Luke is attending a church where he can worship and serve with other young people as they do life together.


This week is finals week on campus, and the cafe was open until the wee hours of the night to serve the college students in their late night study sessions. Luke's bible study group was there, cooking and serving the students and sharing the love of Christ. It's a beautiful thing.


I made a coffee themed card today! I got this used stamp set from a buy/sell forum recently. It's called "Let's Chat" and it is from Concord and 9th.

I thought I would use patterned papers, but decided to just borrow the color palette instead.


{Today's Brew: Let's Chat (Concord and 9th), PTI inks and card stock, MFT Blueprints die-namics dies, embossing powder}


Blessings on your Sunday, cafe friends!

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Embossing with Versamark


Sometimes, it's fun to revisit an old technique.

When I first started stamping, I was the queen of Versamark! It gave a subtle watermark when using it for stamping, and it was the bomb for use with embossing.

If a product is this versatile, why do I forget to pull it out and use it?

When it comes to tools, I like to keep things simple. I have a black and a white embossing powder from Stewart Superior, and that's really all I need.


I wanted to watercolor some images from Papertrey Ink Botanical Blocks. I bought these gently used stamps from one of the Buy/Sell forums. Yay! This one had been on my wish list for a while.

My Mom is great at water coloring, and she always pairs it with embossing. It does make it so much easier. The embossing provides a nice "ridge" line to keep paint colors from blurring together, and it works so much better than ink because it won't smudge.


How did that old lady's hand get in the photo? Oh wait. That's MY hand. ;) Still using the back of my hand as my paint palette.


I wanted a background for these images, but patterned paper just felt too busy. Once again, I used my Versamark to give a soft and subtle tone-on-tone background. I used some stamps from PTI Background Basics: Tintypes for this.


And as long as I am using old school techniques, I thought I'd add some old school ribbon. Sometimes, it really finishes off a card nicely.

{Today's Brew: PTI Botanical Blocks, PTI Background Basics Tintypes, PTI card stock, Versamark, embossing powder, watercolors, Amuse ribbon, MFT dies, Lawn Fawn scalloped frame dies}

Blessings on your Saturday, cafe friends!