Cue the Chorus of Angels

Alleluia, Alleluia!   The porch is finished!

Thanks to my talented husband, we've gone from this (a slab of concrete):

to this:

After many many days/weeks/months/years of hard work, last week Frank left me with this beautiful blank slate.





And I have filled it with furniture and items I've been collecting for years now.  I have many tutorials and details to share.  For now let me just take you on a little photo tour...

From our foyer you get a glimpse through the dining room of the brightly colored pillows on the day bed.







Years ago I found these four cane chairs at the Habitat Re-Store, then painted and reupholstered them, thanks to an upholstery class I took.



My dream of a day bed on the porch has come true.  I sewed a zippered cover for the twin mattress, and created deep foam bolsters for the back cushions.  I'll have a tutorial about that coming up.  It really makes the bed feel more like a couch.  Until you want to toss those bolsters off and take a nice afternoon nap!



I picked up this old wood crate from a thrift shop.  Frank made a top for it, and I painted then distressed it.  More on that to come.








Here's our lovely 13 foot pew in all it's glory!  I haven't done a thing to it, other than wipe it down.  I had plans to paint it or strip it, but for now I'm liking it just fine.







 I picked up this old high chair from Craigslist.  We modified it to fit up to the table and I sewed a "strap" to hold our little girl in.  More on that to come.



These pine Windsor chairs were hand-me-downs.  I had plans to paint them too, but I think I'll sit on it (ha!) for a while.  That yellow-y wood usually bothers me, but I don't mind it so much here.  It's similar to a color in those Suzani pillows.







Extra seating waits for guests here.  We hung the folding chairs on bicycle racks.

This table sits right under our kitchen window and is a handy place to set out snacks or a buffet dinner. And my duck finally has a home, holding a dish towel.   Under the table I've stashed a few crates full of toys for EB.

I created a unique light strand out of collected jars.  I've had this vision forever and am so glad to see it come to life!  These lights create the perfect ambiance for a late evening gathering.  I've got a step-by-step for you coming soon.



Frank helped me make this huge chalkboard.  It's long enough so that kids can color below, and adults have space to write above. 





A screw secures a simple tin can to the wall to wrangle chalk and an eraser.



You guys, this space is more than I ever could have dreamed.  From the pale pale blue ceiling to the cool breeze from the ceiling fans, to the bright happy colors, I am totally in love!  I've spent most of my time out here since we finished (I'm stretched on the day bed as I type!).

There are a few more little projects to finish up, but I'm SO glad we have this space to use all summer.  It's still cool enough here in Brevard that we're living with the windows open, so this space truly feels like a new room in our home.  I have a feeling we'll be living out here for a good chunk of the year.  

Here's a look at some memories we've created here so far...









Last night we had a party, and the space worked so well.










Thank you, Frank, for building the porch of my dreams!  You are the best husband I could ever ask for.  Love you!

Thanks for sticking with me through this super long post, y'all!  Don't forget to come back to for future posts on:

• creating cushions for a day bed
• distressing new wood to match old wood
• creating a "strap" to hold a baby in an antique high chair (or any chair, really)
• how to make a twinkle lights out of collected jars (canning jars work well, too)
• making a giant chalkboard

This will probably be my last post before Haven.  Can't wait to meet many of you there!  Rhoda is one of the founders of Haven, and I'm linking up today to her fabulous porch party.   Click over to get lots of porch inspiration.  And if you don't already, you should be following along as she fixes up her sweet new-to-her home.  I'm so impressed with what she and her parents have done so far.  The transformation will be incredible, I can already tell!


(For more on our porch progress, click here, here, and here.)

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Spring Flowers

After a week away, we came home to blooming flowers!  This was the first time we've had winter pansies.  I planted them in the fall and have enjoyed them all winter.  They're on their last leg I think, but I'm loving it while it lasts.  And our tulips popped up!




Happy Spring!


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Floral Spring Wreaths

Back in the day (maybe 10 years ago?)  I made two floral lampshades.  I just hot-glued fake flowers onto a cheap lampshade.  It was romantic and whimsical.  They lived in Elsie's nursery most recently, but I'm way over them now.  (Soon I'll share the "new" lamps I'm using in there.)  I decided to upcycle the flowers into something fresher.  This is what I came up with:

Here's a look at the old lampshades:

I was thinking I'd have to disassemble them, removing each flower, then attach them individually to the wreath.  But, I started to just cut the shade apart.  I knew the shade itself wouldn't be usable anyway.  Look what happened:

It was a perfect arc for the wreaths I had!  I just trimmed away the extra shade.

I used floral wire to attach them to the wreaths.

I picked up some green ribbon to wrap around the wreath, to visually blend the flowers and the twigs of the wreath.

The striped ribbon didn't stand out enough, though, so I got some wider solid ribbon and liked it much better.  I used hot glue to join the two ribbon ends in the back.

 From the back some of the old white lampshade shows.  I'm fine with it though, since it mostly blends in with the white petals.

Even if you're starting from scratch, this would be a great way to assemble a wreath.  You could use heavy paper or cardboard on which to glue your flowers.  Then just attach that to the wreath.  It will be super easy if when I decide to change the wreaths up.

The white and green color combo is classic, and will be seasonally appropriate for months!  St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, and even into Summer. 

What's going on with you guys?  Any happy crafting coincidences lately?

Check out my fave link parties:  Southern Hospitality,  At the Picket Fence,  Serenity Now, and Making Lemonade

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