Rustic Lodge Style Bench

When I purchased this piece of Ralph Lauren fabric from the thrift store, I knew I wanted to use it on a bench.

This afternoon I made the bespoke bench.

I first found a piece of plywood I wanted to use and then made a base for it with reclaimed wood.

I didn't take any process picture, but I made the apron or frame and then stained it. I then used thick memory foam to cover the plywood piece. I secured the comfy bench top from underneath.

My theme for my POP-UP SHOP this weekend is Country Cottage and Cowboy Cabin and most everything you see in this picture will be for sale.

Bringing Nature In and Lessons in Patience

"Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Living in Montana offers up plenty of opportunities to practice patience, especially in the spring when I long for warmer weather. We are under a winter storm watch right. Yes, on May 22 we are expecting snow. It won't last long, just enough to make driving dicey over the next 24 hours and enough to perhaps break off leaf and bloom laden branches on trees and bushes.

So, I set outside to cut armloads of lilac blooms before the snow gets to them. But, the buds are not open and they have no sweet fragrance yet. I suppose it is for the best as they will probably better survive the winter storm as tight buds rather than blooming flowers.  Alas, more lessons in patience.

Instead, I opted to cut some branches from our Canadian Chokecherries and a volunteer honeysuckle growing in my hedge.

I placed the branches in a mason jar of water and set that inside a galvanized sap bucket I bought this past weekend at the flea market. I set the bucket in my front entryway.

They smell lovely and help to bring a little spring inside, regardless of what is happening outdoors. I am sure in a few days I will have little white petals all over the entryway floor--nature's glitter. Bringing bits of nature into our homes year round is always mood lifting and a  wonderful design choice. And hopefully, by the end of the weekend, patience will pay off and the sun will be shining on blooming lilacs.

Cottage Vignette with Thrifted Finds

I am pretty sure cottagecore is not anything new, but was alive and well in the mid seventies when I was a kid. I drew mushrooms and mice all of the time and loved thinking about forest fairies. So, putting together recently sourced items and some of my original art in a little vignette took me right back to my childhood. 

The red mushroom print is an original of mine. My daughter gave me print making supplies and this mushroom was the first lino block I carved. I am framing some of the prints to sell. 

This vintage crewel that I just found gives me all of the seventies vibes. The rainbow is perfect for the cottagecore look.

I found the old leather binocular case (and binoculars) at a local flea market. The case is pretty busted up, but the red interior was perfect with the other red items. I added some moss and mushrooms that I made from tangerine peels to the lid. 

The worn leather adds warmth and texture to the vignette and helps to ground it. 

The wall pocket with yellow mushrooms on it is a vintage find and is made for scissors. But, it also makes a perfect planter or vase. The red flowered quilt is the back of two 1970's, handmade quilts I recently thrifted. I am pretty sure nine year old me had a long, quilted skirt made out of this exact fabric.

The book the wall pocket is sitting on is a German art book, I loved the cover and I think it adds more texture to this cottage grouping.

Tapestry Headboard for a Curated Guest Bedroom

Our guest bedroom has been what many guest bedrooms become--a dumping ground for this and that. Up until two years ago it had pink carpeting. This is what it looked like when we moved in--horrible vertical blinds, weird, on the wall lighting, a white and gold fan.

When we moved in there were dolls on shelves behind plexi-glass in three corners of the bedroom. Those came out immediately and holes were filled, but not much else happened in the space.

Then we rented out our home for one year and the renter who lived in this bedroom put a bazillion holes in the wall. Now, new carpeting and curated finds are coming together to create a guest room that will be cozy and eclectic and may look as if your eccentric, well-traveled great aunt lives in the space. 

The guest room is still a work in progress and the walls will get painted soon, but I wanted to share the headboard I made for the space and some of the items that are driving the design in here.

This project started with a thrift store tapestry with beautiful embroidered flowers.

I had an idea in my head and made a simple sketch to help the idea in my brain take shape.

I cut the edge off of the tapestry.

I joined together two pieces of pressboard to get the size headboard I wanted. I was going to staple on top of this pressboard and leave an edge for a reclaimed wood edge. Using spray adhesive, I secured a piece of memory foam to the pressboard. I then covered the foam with a white muslin.

I then stapled the tapestry to the front of the pressboard along the foam edges. After finding the right pieces for the frame of the headboard and sanding and clear coating them, I attached them with screws screwed in from behind the pressboard. Using clamps helps when doing a project like this by yourself.

We hung it on the wall using a French cleat. Before hanging it, I did attach side boards to create a clean look.

The rug at the end of the bed, also a thrift store find, helps to anchor the bed and adds some of the colors I want to use--greens, reds, and pinks. The thrifted, velour, pink chair and the pink afghan crocheted by my grandma (who passed 38 years ago) add to the color scheme and the eccentric, great aunt vibe.

Opposite the bed is my husband's armoire desk. I painted this green three years ago. A curated collection of art and objects add interest and curiosity to the guest room.

I am still deciding on a wall color. We made add a wood wainscotting treatment to the bed wall as well. I will share the completed space when it it done. The headboard is comfy and is definitely a statement piece in the space. 

The headboard took about two hours total to make and is unique and adds texture and personality to the room.

May Day Vignette with Vintage Finds

Did you celebrate May Day as a kid? We would make cone shaped baskets with pipe cleaner handles and fill them with flowers and hang them on our neighbors' doorknobs.

Today I am celebrating May Day with a sweet, springy vignette created with recently sourced, vintage finds.

And because it was spitting snow today in Montana, an indoor spring vignette is perfect to lift my spirits. These two pairs of vintage prints have a lovely faded look. 

I especially love the little girl print planting flowers. 

A candleholder with tulip shaped candle cups and an old green bottle with some fresh flowers from a birthday bouquet incorporate more spring vibes.

The vintage wood box with a floral print on top has the cutest red handle. It was the red handle that first caught y eye while thrifting.

Because dandelions are the only flowers blooming in my yard right now, I added a few dried peonies from last spring's bloom. 

My "theme" for my May 31st and June 1st POP-UP SHOP is "Cowboy Cabin and Country Cottage". These sweet vintage finds will be perfect for any country cottage and will be available for sale at my pop-up shop.