Clean & Simple Geometry in the Living Room

 Hello + Hello!

How are you my friends?

I hope you are well.

I've not had the chance to share a space in my home for awhile,

and so....

I thought you might enjoy seeing a whole other side of the

decorative person I am now.

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

Some of you remember the photo I had shared with you a few years ago

of my living room wall:

Well,

over a year ago, I decided to shift things around a bit in the room

by moving many of the multi colored items that once occupied the space.

Some items found homes in other areas of our house,

and frankly some of them found new homes

 via Etsy & My Instagram Shop.

 

>>>>>---------------->

 

I was longing for a simpler style...

a less "occupied space".

So I painted the walls a refreshing cream and pale powdery blue.

Geometric triangular effects on the

television wall are meant to resemble

sound waves;

as the rest of the room is divided top and bottom

cream and blue.

 

It worked its magic on me,

&

I'm so happy now to have a less

"busy"

space to come home to each night.

 As you can see however, I didn't get rid of

my quirky style...

 

 

....nor my funky color lovin' heart.

Isn't it wonderful how you can use all the same

elements in different doses...

for such amazingly

polar opposite looks/styles?

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

Well, I'm happy I did.

This past year has been a whirlwind to say the least;

so having a calm and relaxing space to call

HOME

is

worth every drip of paint rendered.

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

What lovely redecorating have you found yourself up to?

 

Cheers,

T.

xx

 

All images courtesy of Annetta Bosokova.

A Lovely Surprise... My "Get Well Soon" Blog Feature

Hello + Hello!

Just stopping in here to say a big

Hi!

(long time no speak....sorry about that)

Frankly January is always MY craziest month.

I wish I could have a slow peaceful month like most folks who actually complain

about being bored in January.

But, alas no. I be hoppin' busy!!

I've been off to market for a week in

Atlanta....then came home to be stuck in bed for a week with the flu.

Icky!

Next it's taxes, inventory & the one good thing...magazine/blog feature deadlines.

Eeeeep!

But, all in all it's truly necessary and ultimately..... good stuff in the end.

>>>>>---------------->

Well,

anyway....until I can have a bit of time to myself to formulate a

well written creative blog post for your enjoyment....

today I'm going to share a surprise blog post which was featured

by a sweet old friend

Claire of

Heart Handmade UK

What a happy day it was (after being so sick)

 to wake up and have such a sweet feature

on my home and studio.

Claire is always reporting on the charming-est

parts of home décor and crafting.

If you've never taken the time to slip over to her blog....

well....

you are in for a big treat!!

I love all that she features,

 and find myself pinning and re-pinning from

her Pinterest feed & her blog

on a regular basis to my own

Pinterest Account

I urge you to take a moment & refresh yourself

at Claire's

beautiful blog.

I know I did...

I bet you won't be sorry you did!

Cheers,

T.

xx

 

 



My Home is Open to the Public this Saturday & YOU'RE INVITED!!!

 

  Hello + Hello!

Long time no post!

Yeah....I've been a little behind on blogging lately...

BUT

for a great reason....and ultimately an even BETTER cause.

My home,

amongst 4 other amazing homes

will be on tour this Saturday December 7th from 1-5.

It's a benefit tour for

Bethany Christian Services

which is a very worthy adoption agency

who works with

people both locally and abroad.

If you want more details you can head right over to our shop blog

Grandiflora Home and Garden

to find out more about tickets & special discounts we are offering to

ticket holders the day of the sale only.

 

I've quickly uploaded a very few photos of my home

FROM LAST YEAR

 via my  

INSTAGRAM

feed.

 

After all.....

....I didn't want to spoil the fun for what my home looks like this year,

as there have been many changes and additions to the decor

as you can probably imagine!!!

My hubby and I have been working very hard on a tight time schedule

&

an even tighter budget

to make our home festive with

second hand treasures,

Christmas décor

&

good old fashioned talent

to bring you the

charming-est

Century Old

1913

Christmas Bungalow

you have ever seen!

LOL!!!

So,

if you're local...

come on out for a really fun day

touring not only my cozy cottage....

but

FOUR

other homes

decked out for the Christmas Season.

YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.

Both of my sisters'

(also current & former owners at Grandiflora)

homes will be on tour, as well

as another gal who's hubby is a home designer/contractor...

as well as

Tami's sweet stone house, just down the road from me.

See more of her home story on her

blog right over here.

I

hope you can be a part of this wonderful tour

for a wonderful-er

cause!

;)

Hugs,

Trish



The 32 Things I've Been Doing Since We Last Spoke

 

 Hello + Hello!

How have you all been lately?

Long time no speak...

yeah, I know....my bad.

Quite honestly I needed a little break from the internet/blogging,

but...just for a bit.

I guess I should've given a warning...but you know...it just didn't happen.

WHAT DID HAPPEN HOWEVER

was a bunch of stuff!

Whew...have I been a busy little bee.

In addition to my normal everyday job at

Grandiflora

this is what I've been up to while not

mothering...or wifey-ing

(is that a word?)

Ha ha ha!

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

Anyway...here goes:

Above you'll see that I painted a dresser for my son's room.
I also did a bit of fun painting for Etsy & Grandiflora items.

Next, I ripped up a neat old butterfly book and went a little

crazy with the gold and white washi tape!

I love how it turned out!

Then I started on some projects I can't reveal yet....at least not fully.

Isn't blanket stitching just the most relaxing thing?

I tried my hand at making a grocery tote from vintage sheeting....

it was actually going quite well

( I don't sew....no....frankly....I don't like to sew...not enough patience.)

until the machine decided to be stupid and I almost

threw it through a window!

(Well not really....but I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time.)

Needless to say,

I may be calling up one of my seamstress friends to finish it for me?

 I feel that I've been surrounded by books and magazines lately as well.

Truly I've not had the chance to really enjoy all of these lookers yet...

but everyday I savor a page or two!

I have been out picking and thrifting for finds lately.

Most of them go to one of my Etsy shops....but a few I either keep,

or send into Grandiflora.

I love shipping out orders from Etsy

&

washing and caring for the sweet vintage items.

A couple of other things I've been up to in my silly life are:

taking care of the t-shirt ninjas that seem to have invaded my life...

they demand fresh Asian food...mainly Spring Rolls.

I roll my eyes every time they get their swords out!

 

Our Chickens seem to have forgotten what a nesting box is....

or maybe they are practicing for Easter?

Again,

more photography for Etsy of this lovely vintage wallpaper.

Found a funny old photo strip pic of

hubby and I in 1992!

( Buah ha ha!)

Another chair that needs a little help...son picked it out for me.

(Frankly was pretty impressed with his selection!)

And....last but not least,

the new glasses arrived.

It's been mostly rainy lately....so it seems all I've been up to is

using the front of my shirt as a windshield wiper.

But there was a day or two when I was able to pull out the

new prescription sunglasses!

Whoo hooo!

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

Well,

I hope you're all enjoying your early Spring?

And....

that you're going to have an excellent weekend!

I hope to see you back again sooner rather than later...

but here is to a much needed break.

Cheers my friends!

T.

xx

Grandiflora Style: A View Into My Brick & Mortar Shop

Hello + Hello!

Just wanted to pop by and

put a plug in for our shop

 Grandiflora Home & Garden

 here in our sweet town of

Lynden, Washington USA

which is located just 5 miles South of the

Aldergrove border crossing

( British Columbia, Canada )

&

only about 15 miles inland from 

Washington's 

Pacific Coast.

Feel free to head on over to the

Grandiflora Blog that I write

to find out more about what we do and sell there.

This is just a fun flyer I worked up for some of the new releases that

we have out in the shop right now.

If you're local please pop by for a breath of fresh air

&

a treat yourself to a cute product for you or your home.

(We have super cute scarves & jewelry too!)

Make sure you say

"Hi"

if you're visiting ok?

Cheers!

T.

xx



Love Jolt: Neon Washi

 Hello + Hello!
I wanted to share a little love jolt with you today....
neon pink washi tape.
>>>>>---------------->

I admit to a little bit of
Valentine's Day

wishi-washi-ness

goin' on right here in our little living room.

 So,

I've been waivering with painting my walls white for some time now...

frankly I've been feeling a bit too exhausted to do it lately ...

but maybe sometime soon?
Until then, I keep trying out new and wild ideas.

As many of you know, I've had this fun clustering of

embroidery hoops with different fabrics off and on for more than a few years now.
It's called a swatch wall.

I've changed out colors & added some doo-dahs,

but recently I got my hands on some

neon pink washi tape!!

It was more than a little fun going hog wild with it!!

 I'll be the first person to admit that many of my friends and aquaintances online

have inspired me...and my wishi-washi swatch wall.

Selina Lake, Jane Schouten of ATLITW & Tif Fussel of Dottie Angel

to name a few.

I am always so thankful that these lovely ladies are willing to share their

gifts and talents to inspire the rest of us!

 I thought it would be fun to inject a little love into the picture

for this

Valentine's Day Season!

 Armed with more ideas than time,

I started having all sorts of fun with tape, paper, yarn & scissors.

It was jolly good fun!
(sorry been watching a bit too much Downton Abby lately I guess)
Hopefully this will inspire you to
get your hands busy and crafty with simple little things like
tape, paper, yarn & scissors.
It doesn't take much really.
About an hour and you'll have your windows full of red hearts...
or your kitchen cabinets posted with love quotes.
C'mon....
it's fun to decorate for holidays isn't it?
I think this neon washi tape is what's gotten me through some of these
dreary rainy days of winter lately.
Give it a go...I DARE you!
Ha ha ha!
Let me know what you turn up with ok?
I look forward to your comments sooooo much!
Have a lovely week my friends,
T.
xx

Welcome to my Studio Tour; a Before & After Affair

 Hello + Hello!

How are you all doing today?

I hope you are well?

I was wondering if you'd like to go on a little tour of my colorful studio?

Some of you know that I took this room over from my husband after our kiddos were born and we needed the space throughout the rest of the house for bedrooms.

( My craft space was once on the second floor and was first inhabited by Tristan and

then was taken over by Elliot.)

Chad used this room like a den for the computer and his guitars among other guy stuff.

It was a quite a ManCave in olive green, persimmon orange and black!

(Think cozy Starbucks colors from 2000)

As you can see it was dark, dark, dark!

(Pardon the pre-digital snapshot.)

Wish I could show you the rest of the room....but alas...we must move on.

>>>>>--------------->

As our needs have changed over the past 10-12 years here in our

cozy cottage bungalow....

I realized I wanted a space where I could still be on the main floor of the house,

&

yet be out of the mainstream walkways.

(ie: NOT WORKING AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE.)

I needed a room to create in and do business in.

Voila!

(After 4 years of hard work and rearranging....)

My new studio does all those things and more!

I need to say this:

I am very thankful to my hubby for all the help, support and generosity of giving up this space for me. He realized how important it was for me to have a work space of my own.

(Fortunately we have a larger basement, and he's happy to have much of that space for his things.)

 

Light filled and cheerful is what I was going for here.

I was also craving a feminine touch.

Living with one man and 2 boys doesn't allow for much in the feminine colorways.

The poor boys endured many of these items in our living space

 as they waited patiently for this room to be done.

But,

as soon as it was....the pink all came to live in here!

I love it!

(I think they might too!)

 I can store my hoards of vintage hangers here... 

 ...store my funky collections too!

 I had been collecting bins and containers for years!

It was wonderful to finally begin to find organization in all my chaotic cardboard boxes.

I tried very hard to purge as best I could as I was filling every bin.

Admitting that I still have all my vintage stock in plastic tubs in the basement would be the right thing to do here.

Anyone who has Etsy shops filled with vintage goodness knows that you still need a storage area for all the goodies whether they are listed....or are awaiting their debut online!

Mine are exquisitly shelved and stored in new storage containers awaiting their happy homes.

 Here's a happy little white feather tree with some Christmas spirit!

The funky old pj's were found thrifting....

I couldn't pass up the adult full sized hot pink footie pajamas!!!

Someday they will be a photo prop...just you wait and see!

Here's a shot of the swanky hot pink neglige'

See!

You just never know what you might use old junk for...this is a perfect

Bachelorette Party card!

So you see....collecting junk can actually be useful!

C'mon....work with me here people!

LOL!!!

The
"work table"

was once one of the two doors to this room.

I just plopped it on top of the two rolling rack storage bins from the craft store and made do.

I don't need the door to the hallway anyway...so why not?

It was a way to save some cash and get funky creative all at once!

The scene on this worktable changes with the seasons, or the work I'm doing at that moment.

I also had fun with my wall space!

This photo (above) was taken to show how you could use

washi tape to enliven a boring cork board.

I'm so happy to have two windows and two doorways to let lots of light into the studio!

I also have a fair amount of wall space to work with for artwork and shelving.



 The artwork and what-nots change frequently as I find new goodies thrifting etc...

the jadite green rocker above was used with both my little boys

(now 6 & 9)

as they were babies being nursed or rocked to sleep.

It holds a special place in my heart.

>S I G H<

This fun deer head was silver and sat around at our shop poking shoppers with it's antlers.

I guess folks just weren't interested....or not "getting it"...

SO,

I took him home and doctored him up with a

vintage fabric mod poded makeover!

He now lords proudly over the studio

making sure nothing but good times and whimsy would be had by all who enter the space!

Thank -you

so much again for visiting with me here on the blog.

I always appreciate your visits, comments & questions.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my

creative space....

May it inspire you to make a space of your own, whether it be big or small...

all creative space is worth working for.

Believe me, after 4 years of picking away in my free time on this...

I'm happy to say:

"It was totally worth it!"

Cheers!

T.

xx

My Newly Remade Swatch Wall Reveal!

 

 Hello + Hello!

Hey all my friends!

Guess what I FINALLY got a chance to take a photo of?!?!?!

YEP...

....my newly reworked Swatch Wall!

I'm not sure if you were counting the weeks since I promised that I would rework the wall and get back to you???

But,

it's officially been TOO MANY!

I've been crazy busy over at my shop

Grandiflora

helping to put out Christmas Decor

(among many other various details)

SO...

here it is!

My new Swatch Wall:

 I was so excited to try taking down the pink in my living and dining areas for the fall.

I have to admit, it's pretty nice to see it gone for a bit.

I kept the turquoise and blues but added a big punch of more mustard!!

 Making my hoops was very theraputic too!

I collect vintage fabrics and doilies....so I didn't have to go far for inspiration!

I would like to put some more detail into the hoops...but for now this little

smidge of embroidered

"hi!"

will have to do.

 It's been great adding the boys'

hand prints from Kindergarten to the mix as well!

 I never know what a hoop will turn out like until it's done.

I've also hung my hoops on top of eachother in layers for added texture.

I'm sure there are those more

"serious"

folks who think I'm a total dingbat for decorating this way...

....and to them I say:

"Yep! I am just a bit crazy...and I'm all the happier for it!"

They can be as serious as they want to....but me???

I CHOOSE JOY!

 Adding some cozy candles has been essential for those really cold/wet nights.

 I love to burn candles in this enormous hurricane.

The boys pressed these leaves for me to use from our own maples.

 I also love to keep cozy blankets on hand for chilly nights...

 ...these woolens stay on top of the game cabinet for spur of the moment blanket forts or living room campouts.

My boys and hubby and I all have fun playing board games together here in our living room.

We also like to watch movies together....but.....

 It's been fun to have the Swatch Wall surrounding the flat screen T.V.

I mean seriously...what else do you hang on a T.V. wall???

.....

Just thought I'd also show you our

His & Hers

chairs too which face the T.V. Swatch Wall.

 

Well....

hope you have enjoyed your time here on this little living room tour?

What do you think?

Do you like a swatch wall in your home?

What do you hang on your T.V. wall?

Just curious...

Thanks for stopping by and being patient with me on my journey to

reimagine my

Swatch Wall.

Want to see what it looked like before?

You can...just head right over

HERE

I'd love to hear your feedback!

Cheers!

T.

xx