Thursday, June 24, 2010

Along the Garden Path





























Taking a stroll  along the path of a beautiful garden filled with spring and summer blossoms is one of my favorite things to do. The soft sweet smell of honeysuckle, the delightful scent of different roses, each unique and just as sweet as the last. The rainbow of color and fragrance sooth away even the most stressful day.

Some of my favorite flowers greet me as I stroll– purple coneflowers, multicolored morning glories, my favorite English roses and majestic angel trumpets. A young vine ever so gracefully winding its way up a Victorian trellis catches my eye.  As the path leads me back to our front stoop, I’m greeted with overflowing vintage planters and baskets that have been filled with some of my very favorite flowers.

I don't often have time for a leisurely stroll like this, but the floral accents I’ve brought into my home awaken the same sense of calm. A handmade cushion sewn from floral fabric is tucked into the corner of my favorite rose-patterned chair. In the bedroom, I've brought out a light floral bedspread for the summer and set a heart-shaped pillow covered with pink blossoms. On the hall table, I've put a bouquet of freshly cut roses in a cut-glass vase and above it a beautiful wreath covered in silk hydrangeas.  Whenever it catches my eye, I feel for a moment that I'm back walking through the garden.

Pretty floral-shaped soaps are piled into a rose-covered berry dish on the bathroom shelf. I told always tell myself that they are just for company, but I can't resist their luxurious fragrance for myself. In the kitchen, the tiny buds and leaves encircling my vintage china tea cups and plates remind me of the flowers waiting for me outdoors. When I sit down with a cup of my favorite tea on a busy day, it refreshes me almost as much as visiting the garden outside my door.

When you surround yourself with beautiful floral accessories, you can re-create the feeling of a stroll along your own garden path throughout your home. If you need some help creating this delightful garden space, you'll find all the inspiration you need at Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 25th 2010 as we present "Along the Garden Path"



Photo Contribution 1:|  istock photo

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

W*I*P

My studio (notice the name change from "workroom" to "studio" this week, next week it will be an "atelier") is definitely a W*I*P* (work-in-progress). To be honest we are ahead in the construction phase. We had planned for the west wall this past weekend~ the south wall this coming weekend and the closet  (where my sewing table is housed) for next weekend~ but things went so well that we put together the corner of the south wall last weekend too. There has been a design change for the south wall so some of it will have to wait until our next trip to Ikea (woohoo another egg and shrimp sandwich for me)
Here is a picture of the west wall~ doors closed. Yay!! I have doors to close. Notice the lovely bookshelf~ my divine personal organizer (DD#2) color coordinated my books :~)

Below is a picture of the largest cabinet with the doors open~ 6!!! slide out baskets!! Wow~ I can't wait to fill them with needlepoints.
[[sigh]] aahh! the silk cabinet~ I can fit two more baskets in this one(woohoo again)~ DD put each silk in a separate baggie because they were 'stringy'~ nice job Girlie.

In the south corner is a nice sized cabinet holding more of my trims. I would have to stand on my sewing table to get a good photo ~ so that is not happening! DD#2 thinks I have enough trim to open a store. Maybe? Maybe not?

This weekend the divine-and-and-long-suffering Mr. C'est Chouette will tackle the sewing area ~ I know he thinks it will be the most difficult to do ~ so I think I will do the cooking all weekend~ now where are the take-out menus?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Shades of Red, White, and Blue

When I think of the colors red, white and blue, I'm reminded of Fourth of July parties, picnics and fireworks. Our annual Independence Day celebrations are always filled with family, friends, laughter and fun. My favorite summer foods are cooked on the barbecue, almost as delicious as the company I'm in. On that day, I feel like the whole world is celebrating with me.

Everywhere I look, I find so many beautiful combinations of red, white and blue. Whenever I come across them, they make me smile with fond memories of those celebrations and family times. There's the vintage apron hung on a hook and waiting to be used when company comes for dinner. Its cheery red roses are still bright against what used to be a vivid blue, but has faded with time. When I open the linen closet, blue and white checked linens – once my mother’s finest picnic linens, still bearing traces of childhood Fourth of July picnics – always catch my eye. In the kitchen, white vintage china decorated with tiny red and blue rosebuds sits elegantly on a shelf I've painted white.

Even when I don't intentionally plan to decorate in those colors, red, white and blue find their way in, catching me by surprise. I've hung a white canvas with big red roses on a wall that's been freshly painted in a pale robins egg blue. It just seemed right to put it there. My red and blue glass sun catcher, floating in a window framed with white lace curtains, sparkles in the sunlight. On the table, my treasured velvet strawberries inside a  vintage blue bowl. The tiny cracks in the glaze, giving away it’s age.

What is it about the shades of red, white and blue that tells us they belong together? Maybe it's the history behind them. Or maybe it's our own memories of the happy times. All I know is, when I'm surrounded by shades of red, white and blue, everyday is a celebration of life, freedom, and love.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 18th 2010 as we present "Shades of red, white and blue"



Photo Contribution 1: The Quilt Shoppe |  Photo Contribution 2: Cameo Kids Boutique |  Photo Contribution 3: Esprit de Joie

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Re-Do! Yay!!!

It is time for a workroom re-do! If I don't get this figured out soon, I will have to move out completely. The floor space in my workroom is exactly 1/2 of my ceiling space ~ never a good thing. Mount St. Needlepoint needs to be moved ~ and I have the faith (and now the organization) to move that mountain.
With the help of  the divine Mr. C'est Chouette~off to Ikea we went. With a shopping list in hand ~ I was pretty sure  I knew what I wanted. Thankfully Mr. C'est Chouette listened endlessly to my needs~ he should,  he lives here too~ and offered only constructive help and in a most loving adoring way (it was our anniversary after all).
We arrived at Ikea at 10:45 Sunday morn and left at 4:15 in the afternoon. We made three trips to the rented Suburban with four full carts. The Suburban was filled to the roof~ not an inch to spare. But I think we thought of it all. Mr. C'est Chouette was such a help to me~ keeping track of numbers and needs~ as much as I love an Ikea room as it sits on the showroom floor~ you still have to buy each component part~ yikes!! I am so not a details person sometimes! The divine and long suffering Mr. thinks we lifted 1000# three times Sunday and I can feel each one of those 1000# in my old bones ~ but all is neatly stacked in the garage~ we will start assembly this weekend. I think I am about to be really happy with my workroom. I will post pictures of my progress~ no "befores" though~ oh my my! no "befores"~ it is shameful to treat vintage needlepoints in such a way.

So have any of you ever eaten an egg and shrimp sandwich? Is it a Swedish thing?~ because I have eaten Swedish and Norwegian food my whole life and never eaten an egg and shrimp sandwich~ but I can't wait to have another

Monday, June 14, 2010

...a'shopping we will go.....

This past weekend the divine Mr. C'est Chouette and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary~ and as we do for most of our anniversaries, we went antiquing. This year in Stillwater MN. I love Stillwater because it is a delightful Victorian town with tons of great houses to "gawk at" and tons of antique stores to "shop at".

Shop I did! I found tons of new-to-me vintage needlpoints and two lovely second-use needlepoint
tuffets (you know~ I never saw one like mine until I starting making mine :~0) ~ anyway these two are pretty gorgeous as they are~ but you know me~ I can't leave needlepoints alone~ these surely need to be "c'est chouette-ified"! And you know what else I am thinking? I think I love them enough to keep for myself. It is time to redecorate the bedroom and I need a jumping off point~ two tuffets just maybe will do!

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Waiting for Beauty

I have held on to this black needlepoint for about 4 years waiting to find the perfect silk~ finally found it in another basket in the same room ~ who knew!?!

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Which girl can resist....

...a good shoe?
Apparently not me~ I grabbed this adorable needlepoint of a great shoe as fast as I could. :~)