Front door Spring decor...vintage umbrella floral arrangement

Happy Spring everyone!  I so look forward to this time of year.  Charlie and I were just out in the flower beds, digging to see if we could find new little plant sightings.  Sure enough there are lots of new, green sprouts peeking out.  

With Spring comes a time of renewal, a change to change things up and start fresh.  Ever since I saw this umbrella floral arrangement on the cover of a Midwest Living magazine I've wanted to find an old umbrella and do the same.  I believe this is the cover photo but I'm not exactly sure...pretty close if not.  This photo is pinned on my March Inspiration Board: Going Green. 

Pinterest source

One day while out junking I found a vintage umbrella with a beautiful ivory looking handle.  I knew it had to come home with me and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it.  A trip to Michael's for some fake florals and I was good to go.  The girls helped me select these flowers.  I love that they selected colors that just happen to coordinate with my color kit that I've recently been using for my Color Studio class assignments.  Large peonies are always a favorite flower of mine and these look pretty realistic. 

Here's my finished umbrella on my front door.  Pretty simple in nature and I added in my old chippy chair, suitcase and watering tins for a fun photo shoot.  

Such pretty colors and a fun welcome to our guests.

I just tucked in the florals, using a few grocery sacks for stuffing here and there.

My tried and true favorites, my watering cans are like old friends to me.  The suitcase?  I jokingly tell friends that I keep it packed with a few of Eric's things....just in case.

I'll be filling these up soon to water those first pretty flowers of the season.

Bright and sunny and so welcoming.  Bring on Spring...I'm so ready for you.  

Now.....I must go dig in my flower beds a bit more.  The girls made their first big outing in their new truck today with a friend.  They ventured into town for some Orange Leaf yogurt.  I worry.  Like all mamas do.  I worry more now.  I know they'll be okay.  But I worry....

Favorite Finds: Aqua Love

Or is just me or is aqua a popular color these days? A few of my favorite finds for today just happen to be popping up in aqua. Check them out:

Love this little aqua Pyrex dish with the Amish people pattern. Just right for fresh, juicy strawberries.
Have a fettish for aqua? Here's a whole cupboard full of aqua Pyrex dishes. That would be fun!

(photo from pyrexpixie)

Want to find Pyrex in a certain pattern/color? Just do a search on sites like Etsy. Here are lots of turquoise colors + lots of the little Amish people pattern I love.

Here's a few items from my own stash. Of course, I love the blue canning jars of any size. The little aqua dish in front called my name at a thrift store. And the two vases in back were recent finds from Nell Hills, my favorite home decor shop. My new craft room will match those colors on the vases. The linen tablecloth was a great find for $2 bucks at a local antique shop. It's got a few stains but it didn't stop me from making the purchase.
Be still my heart. Button cards in a chippy white frame. I totally want one in my craft room. So lovely.

(photo courtesty of brandywineboutique)

And isn't this bedroom simply fresh and delightful. I can imagine that it smells like a fresh dryer sheet in this room. :) Love the aqua painted iron bed, the comfy aqua chair and the buttery yellow bedding accents. Add a few magazines and I could stay in here all day.

(photo from suziebeezie.tumblr.com)

Eggs. Robin's Blue eggs. Spotty and cute.

(photo from pottery barn)

And how cute is this photo? Very! Lots of aqua goodness paired with coral and black. A cute little store display or perhaps a dreamy pantry nook. Lovely.

(photo form decor8blog.com)

I'm feeling totally inspired to create things using the color aqua, how about you? Visit my Pinterest site as my love for aqua is present in lots of pins. Have a happy day and here's wishing you aqua....I mean blue.....skies.

Note: If you want to start a Pinterest site of your own you have to request an invite....then an email with set up instructions will be sent to you. Have fun!

Favorite Finds: Cubby Love

Hi guys. As the end of school approaches and summer on it's tail, it seems that these are some of the busiest times for my family. There are lots of practices + ballgames and our attention gets drawn to the great outdoors. That means that some of my creative time indoors lessons a bit. But in keeping with entertaining all of my wonderful blog followers, I'm implementing a new feature on my blog called Favorite Finds.

With my Favorite Finds posts, you'll be seeing a glimpse at some of my favorite things. Everything from paper crafting to vintage to sewing to organization to flowers, etc. I'll be sharing some of my own personal finds along with fun photos from my Pinterest site , the web + fun blogs. Lots of eye for sure! I'll try to give proper credit links whenever I can. :)

Today my favorite finds all start with my recent junk venture to Two Days. This is a new shop located in Topeka, Kansas that is open the first Friday and Saturday of the month. The building is absolutely beautiful. Would love to have an artsy studio here. And it's about a block from hubby's work so we could go to lunch all the time!
I never leave a junk shop empty handed and this day didn't fail me. With a new studio on my brain, I always have new storage needs in mind. I got this trio of old, wooden goodies that will be fabulous in my new room. On top is a letter sorter or something of that nature. To the bottom left is a wooden paper tray. Oh how I love these. I've shown you here on the blog how I used these for kitchen storage. (if I find the link I'll post it). My very favorite find was this wooden cubby. The owner told me that the lady that brought the cubby owned a silver shop and it housed silver pieces. I love it when you get the history behind a good find! I'm not sure if I'll hang these two larger pieces together or if they'll sit on a desk. I'll love them either way.

Now for some other cubby love. I've had my eye on these cubby organizers from Pottery Barn from some time. Two of these lovely chippy cubbies will come to live in my new craft room. They'll house my Papertrey CD cases of stamps.

(photo from Pottery Barn)

I also love these larger cubby pieces from Pottery Barn. They remind me of chicken nests we had as kids on the farm. I would love to have a row of these in my dining room.

(photo from Pottery Barn)

How about this chippy white cubby organizer that Heather Bullard spied at a flea market? She finds the best stuff ever. Love her blog.

(photo from Heather Bullard)

This is a fun idea...using glass knobs and dowels to create ribbon storage in an old wood box.

(photo from allendesigns.typepad.com)

Here's more wooden box storage that's been mounted to a wall. Would love this in my closet for all my shoes and sweatshirts. Definitely putting these on the list.

(photo from baileyhomeandgarden.com)

I'm thinking one of these old crates would look stellar next to a leather chair. And look at that pretty pillow. swoon.

(photo from blogg.aftonbladet.se)

Okay, that's it for today. I am in cubby love, how about you? Have any favorite cubby photos or links? Add them to my comment section so I can see. :)