Jeannie In A Bottle, Baby

I may not have a Jeannie in a bottle, but I did find this

super cool rusty cast metal Jeannie looking urn a few

months back.  No luck having three wishes to be

granted, but it does make for a cute display piece to

set my little pinecone pixies.

Just added some large exselsior tucked in a few trees

(yup, those trees again) and some little cute faced

gents.  Their expressions melt my heart.

Little guy on the right is saying to the chap on the

left, “Man, you sure can

play that sax beautifully! 

Please play me another song!  How about

‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’

…all jazzy and blues soundin’.”

 

Now I have Christina Aguilera’s “Jeannie In a Bottle”

song in my head.  And speaking of her, anyone

watching The Voice this season?  I’m hooked and

hoping for Cassadee to win, but am fond of Terry,

too.  Love his Scottish accent…Just saying….

Christmas Nesting Homespun Style

Today I am linking up with Anita at

Cedar Hill Ranch

for her Homespun Holiday get together. 

This year I have been making all kinds of things using

that ever-so-popular organic fabric - burlap.

I had bags full of scraps – and don’t like to throw

anything away – so I decided to use them and make

up some burlap bird nest ornaments to be used on a Christmas tree.  I thought that they would be cute on a tree mixed with bird or nature related ornaments.  All but one

went into the store that I sell at…have to keep ONE

for myself to use on my tree.

Years back my mother gave me a big box filled with

nothing but broken bits of jewelry.  Instead of going

out and buying “mini” eggs, I decided to use little

pearls for the eggs.  Along with the “eggs”, I added

some exselsior, a feather and dried foliage from my

neighbor’s cutting pile in front of his house.  (Yeah,

he gave me the stink-eye till I explained to him what

I was doing picking through his mountain-sized

pile of yard cuttings!)

In order to clip the nest onto a Christmas tree, I used a

little hair clip and added a smidge of hot glue to hold

it in place.

Another fun thing to make with my scraps of burlap

pieces was this Santa banner….and yes, it went to the

store, too.  I think I will make another for myself….

…because I think it looks cute on the old cabinet filled

with my vintage Santa candy container boots.

Every year I pull out some of my favorite Christmas

cross stitch pieces that I made years ago, like this

small “Merry Christmas”…

…and this Woodland Santa carrying his tree home.  I

usually frame my pieces with antique frames so that

they have more of a “been around awhile” look to

them. 

Thank you to Anita for hosting a fun get together

today!

Wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Simple Simon

Mixed in with my everyday items are this year’s

Christmas decor.  Tiny little packages wrapped and

adorned with vintage millinery and jewelry sit at the

bottom of a little tree with Santa standing guard.  The

backdrop for this vignette are some of my favorite

ironstone pitchers.

 

I tucked tiny trees inside of the old restaurant

creamers that have green patterns on them.  My great

aunt’s little heart box sends a heartfelt message: “ ‘Tis

The Season To Be Jolly”.  I love that little box because

I know my aunt Lottie didn’t have much and I have

something that belonged to her..and it is so sweet.

Old game pieces spell out holiday messages on top of

a favorite old ironstone platter.  Tucked next to Santa

is a simple vintage package tie on.

And this is the little holiday grouping in the white

hutch this year.

Pretty simple.

Simple Simon…I like him!

Thank you for all of your sweet comments left in my

last post.  Again, I apologize for the word

verification..and Mona, I know it is a pain in the back

side…but necessary as a means to keep the swarm of

spam from raining on my blog parade.  Maybe I will

remove it soon to see what happens.

I hope that many of you were inspired by

Kim’s Link party! 

Stop by to see what other links are going on in the

next week or so.

Till next time, stay warm and dry.

A Farmhouse Vintage Christmas

Welcome to my vintage farmhouse Christmas laundry room!

I am linking up with the lovely Kim, over at Savvy Southern Style blog, and sharing some photos of some Christmas adornments in our recently remodeled farmhouse laundry room.  I call it “vintage” because most of the items used to decorate the space are vintage or up-cycled pieces.

Do stop on by to see what all of the other lovely women are sharing over at Kim’s link party.  Kim’s party hosts a variety of Christmas vignettes and stylish mantels decked out in Christmas finery.

Click on the photo below to take you on a little ride to her blog.

We started out the decorating by sending Santa off on his blue vintage tractor.  He drove across the fields till he reached his Christmas tree farm.  After picking the perfect tree – his trees come with Christmas bulbs…a new hybrid tree, dontchaknow – he tied it down on his tractor and drove it home.  He got a lot of pitch on his hands so he will be using the SKAT soap to wash off.  Yea, I know what y’all are thinkin’.

Decorating our home this year was done pretty simply.  I still need to add the fresh Cedar garlands and then I will be all done.  I only brought out about 1/16th of my Christmas decor.  Less is more, that is what my son said – which made me quite happy to hear!  So let me share with you the laundry room….

My favorite 1930’s stitched picture hangs on the wall next to a corner shelf. Sweet little cottages are surrounded with snowflakes and snow…so cozy!  Clipped on the shelf is an old Christmas card a friend bought for me.  It matches the stitched cottage piece perfectly…she has such an eye for detail.

 

The shelving above the washer and dryer were decorated simply with bottle brush trees, a mica star and a glitter Santa.

Newer bottle brush trees fill old Scottish and English crocks and ….

…a 1931 bowling trophy.  I had the trophy for sale in my space at the antique mall, however I brought it home because it is a really great old piece. (I think I am going to keep it….) Tip:  to keep the trees from falling inside the vessels, I wadded up some brown paper bags and stuff them inside the crocks and trophy.  Just sit the trees on top of the paper and there you have it.  If they get a little wonky on you, just add a little glue to the base of the tree or even some double-sided tape to make it stand up straight.

Old postal scales allow a spot for the mica star to sit on top as a glitter Santa stands almost at a salute!

It’s raining cats and dogs here right now, so the photos aren’t as good as if the sun were out, but that is ok.  We need the rain!

~~~~~~

So that is it for now!  I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Drive on over to Kim’s now and be ready to be holiday inspired!

A Speck In The Sand

The little

things in life

 are the most 

important.

Nothing fancy,

 nothing colorful,

 nothing expensive....

....just the pure enjoyment of the free

 things in life that are right in front of us. 

 As I get older, I guess my outlook on life is different than when I was a younger woman.  Sometimes we all feel like just a little speck on the planet, but just remember that God knows how many hairs we have on our head - so that is a pretty darn important speck, if you ask me.  To be loved like that makes this little speck in the sand very happy.

That's all.

**************

Note:  I had to turn on word verification - SORRY GIRLS - because I've been enundated with hundreds of spam comments.  Those WV's are tough on my eyes and I get flustered when having to type them in, however I had to do this for my blog until blogger can take care of the issue.  I had over 200 comments left since yesterday - which is my no means a norm for me with my little blog - so it was a bit disappointing to see that they were mostly all links to some unknown sites, which I am sure were network pollution.  If any of you are having the same problem, then you will understand.

Till next time...



Some Zeep, please….

  

The other day my husband was asking where the soap was to wash his hands with in the laundry room sink.  Well, being as there isn’t any counter space now that we have ripped out the built in cabinets (and no regrets what-so-ever!!), I was thinking about what to do for a solution.  A few days later, I was in one of the spaces at the antique mall that I sell at and the European enamelware piece was sitting high up on a shelf.  It really blended in and I nearly missed it.  (So glad I didn’t!)  At first I showed it to my friend who was working in her space because I knew she would like it.  She said that it would be perfect for my laundry room – and she was right!  I didn’t want to spend the money on it, but it was one of those things that I knew would not last long and it does go nicely in the remodeled room. 

No Zand (sand), No Soda, but yes, we will have some Zeep (soap) now for him!

******

I just want to take a second to thank everyone who has so kindly donated money to my friend, Nancy.  You can read about this in my previous post.  Donations are still being accepted through November 30th. 

Calling All Angels……

Ever have a thought enter your mind and you just cannot stop thinking about it?

This happened to me the day before what would have been Jordan’s 29th birthday. 

The thought was this:

“Do something to help Nancy.”

It wasn’t just a quiet thought, it was more of how a parent would tell you to do something.

I kept thinking about Nancy all day. 

Who is Nancy?

She is a dear friend of mine who owns a home in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.  Her home of 25 years, that of which she shares with husband Joe and their two Scotties – Angus Ryan and Becky Blue-Bonnet – was severely damaged from the surging ocean waters during hurricane Sandy.  Their home sits just three blocks from the Jersey Shore. 

Nancy's Becky Blue-Bonnet:

I cannot even begin to imagine their loss.  No bed to sleep on, memories from keepsakes destroyed, buckling wood floors and water damage that is beyond belief. Nancy’s 95 year old mother lives with them and, on top of everything else,  she is dealing with taking care of her mother who has very demanding health issues. 

I know that so many people lost so much with this storm.  My heart goes out to all of them.  I watched their faces on the news as they looked at what once was their refuge, their home, the place that memories were made in/at. 

So basically, this post is a shout out to everyone who would like to sponsor a family who has lost so much, the Benanito-Sgromolo family.  I am asking pretty much for money donations – any amount is appreciated, believe me. 

If you would like to help Nancy and Joe, just drop me an email and I will give you the details on how to go about doing so.

sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net

“What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!”

Matthew 10:27

Calling all angels…..

And The Winner Is…..

…..ta da!!!….

Deanna, the cutie pie from Laurel Leaf Cottage Blog, wrote:

“Hi Becky! Sign me up please!! This is such a sweet offering!! I would love to win !! Thanks so much! ~Deanna”

And Deanna, you are the winner of the Farmhouse Laundry Room tid bits!  I hope you will have a ball with the old stuff!!  :)

Just drop me an email with your address over at sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net!

 Congrats to Deanna and thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! 

((hugs))

It’s Time For My Fall Giveaway!

Note:  Because of all of the horrific devastation of hurricane Sandy, I have extended the giveaway date to November 12 instead of November 5.  At this time in everyone's life, I feel that there is so much more attention and energy needed to focus on the real important things in life rather than a giveaway on my blog.   Our thoughts and prayers are extended to all of you who have been in the path of Sandy's wrath and to those families who have endured such hardship in the loss of loved ones and property. 



Peace to all of you...and warm thoughts coming from California.

Well, I do believe that I am a bit behind in blogging these days!  As many of you know, life just gets busy with work and such….however, as promised, I am having a little giveaway to celebrate my five years ( that is 699 posts) of blogging AND MY NEW blog remodel. 

The ever-so-talented and sweet-as-can-be

Keren

(over at Free Pretty Things For You blog)

was given a huge “wish list” of items for my blog remodel job!  These included : a red roofed cottage, a gnome, bluebirds, Scottie dogs, a Union Jack (because of my ancestry) and an American Flag…and lots of pretty flowers.   Keren ran with the design ideas and came up with what is now the updated version of Sweet Cottage Dreams.  Thank you to Keren for her patience and understanding my vision.  There are many blog friends out there who have had Keren design their blogs and I know from speaking with them that they all love her as much as I do!  Keren also has free image giveaways and an amazing artistic eye for all things cute and vintage!  …love you, Miss Keren!

If you recall what I wrote in my

Farmhouse Laundry Room Remodel Post,

 I had bought several items for the remodel over the past year, all of which had a rustic farmhouse vibe.  Because I edited what I really wanted to use in the room, I had leftovers.  Oh darn!  So this is the compilation for the giveaway….

1. small galvanized scoop

2.  old wardrobe brush

3. an old eye glass case from New York

4.  an antique shoe form that is great for holding a ball of twine – and yes, the twine is included.

5.  an antique scale with a wonderful aged patina…..

….and cool writing on the side.

**PLEASE note:  I am sorry, but because of the cost of shipping, I can only offer this to US residents.  I hope that my overseas friends understand.

So here how this all works for a chance to win:

1. Leave a comment on THIS post if you would like to be entered to win.  If you do not have a blog, be sure to leave your email address in the comment section so that I have a way to notify you should your name be chosen.

Pretty simple. 

HOWEVER, if you would like for more chances to win….here is how…and other chances are always cool, right?

Please NOTE: 

for each.

chance.

to win.

leave a NEW comment.

This makes it soooo much easier when it comes to selecting the winner with the random number generator.  If you only leave one comment, that is one entry. 

2.  If you are already a Google Connect Follower or a Linky follower – see all of the smiling faces on my top right sidebar – just let me know and your name will be added for a second chance. 

3.  If you post about the giveaway on your blog, or grab my giveaway button (below) to your blog's sidebar linking back to the giveaway, you will be added again.  Just let me know that you did this, via a new comment.

4.  If you are a NEW Google Connect or Linky follower (as of now), leave me a separate comment letting me know this and your name will be added in again.

I hope that the instructions are clear.  If not, you can email me at sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net so that I can answer any questions.

I will announce the winner on Monday, November 5th by 7 PM, PST.

Thank you in advance for participating!  See you all back on November 5th! 

…prayers for everyone in the path of hurricane Sandy….may the grace of God be with you.

Hello, My Name Is Becky And.....

I. 

LOVE.

Old.

Books.

Yes, I am a book junky.  My favorite books are the old school books, antique leather books, old prayer books and Bibles…. and the cuter the graphics on the spines, the better.  There is something about books dated from the late 1800’s through the 1940’s that tug at the old heart strings.  From the adorable drawings and graphics to the musty smell of the old paper - old books are one of my favorite things to look for while out shopping.

Throughout the house are stacks of them.  Some hold inquisitive gnomes (below) rest upon some old leather bound books and others are contained within the confines of an antique book holder (above).

They aren’t just for reading, but for decorating with, too.  Not only do they help with layering vignettes, but they add color and dimension, too.

Hooked on books....should have been a librarian!

Smiley Face

Fiona is smiling big today as the weather is nice and cool.  She has that sort of Elvis lip snarl thing going on.  Makes me hum a little Elvis in my head right now.

Love my girl!  She makes me laugh!!