Raised In Cotton

Broken Vintage

Can I let you in on one of my favorite vintage hunting secrets? I never pass up the chance to buy broken china, pottery, concrete garden urns or statues when I see them at auctions and flea markets.  Even though the intended purpose for the piece might have long passed, there are still so many creative possibilities you just have to stop and think about it for a moment before you pass them by. For instance, I bought this wonderful garden planter from Jim ( my favorite antique dealer) when I went to his sale a few weeks back.

The base was broken off of it so it would not sit straight but the bowl part was beautiful and intact. I just could not pass it up and knew it would look nice on my farm table.  Instead of gluing the base back on, I simply rolled up a grain sack and placed it around the bottom. Works like a charm and the dried hydrangeas look really pretty against the weathered concrete.

The next time you're out and about, take a second look at those broken treasures you might have otherwise passed up. I bet you can make something beautiful out of them for your homes.

Don't forget about Fifi's giveaway!

Curious Sofa Halloween Open House Part 2

It was a dark and spooky night at the Curious Sofa Halloween Open House~

The bathing beauties awning was even dressed for the occasion~

Yes those are skunks crossing the bed~

The magical artistry of~

Greg Johnson~

Julie Reed~

Lesa Dailey~

Simply stunning don't you think?

Check out Deb's blog for more behind the scenes info on the Open House~

Curious Sofa Halloween Open House and New Online Boutique

Please join me for the wonderful Curious Sofa Halloween Open House event.  Trust me, it will be AMAZING!

I am also pleased to help announce the brand spanking new Curious Sofa Online Boutique~ For those of you that have always wanted to visit the famed store, now you can shop online!

Vintage Style Mantel Decor

Do you enjoy redecorating your fireplace mantel with each season change? A mantel redo is one of the best ways to freshen up a room and especially easy when you add a few things you already have around the house. This is a look at my late Summer mantel before I change it for Fall~

I used a central color theme of tarnished white and silver to contrast off of the fireplace stone. Layering two oval white frames, a piece of rusty iron fret work,mercury glass pedestal, unframed vintage mirrors (these are a decorating staple for me), metal candle stand and a old trophy cup filled with soft pink roses for a serene looking Summer mantel. 

 

 Vintage muted color and texture is always a great combination in my book especially when decorating a mantel~ try it!

 

 

 

Loving Vintage Cupboards and You

OH MY STARS~ I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for leaving such wonderful comments on my 5 year Blog Anniversary.  Beautiful and joyful living is what I hope for all of us and I will do my best to continue sharing ideas and inspiration working towards another 5 years! So how about more antiquing, baking, crafting, decorating, photography and farmhouse living postings in the future? I have so much to share with you Dear Friends~ {{{{Hugs}}} 

The winner of the giveaway selected using Random Generator Number is # 62 Dawn~ Congratulations Dawn!

Let's get the ball rolling for another 5 years~ 

Have I ever mentioned that I love old cupboards? A nice big weathered cabinet with honest paint will forever and always stop me dead in my tracks at any antique mall or flea market. They offer a graceful appeal to any room and their versatility is only limited by what you find to store in them.  Today I thought I would show you some of the ones I have in the farmhouse and how I use them~

Chalky white painted cupboard in my dining room. I will fill it with mercury glass for Christmas but right now it holds a collection of ironstone. The simple lines are timeless on this piece and it is one of my favorites.

 

 
 

Found in Marburger last Spring~Early French gray painted half cupboard that stores extra glasses and plates. I was on a true mission in Texas trying to find just the right gray painted cabinet for the farmhouse and when I walked into the booth and saw this I  knew it was the one.

 

 

 Pine constructed stepback cupboard with original buttermilk paint. “Bertha” is HEAVY and holds small appliances including a microwave, wine rack and canned goods. 

 

This sweet cabinet holds pottery bowls and linens. It also has a pull out dough board that comes in handy when I make bread or pies. 

 

The kitchen usually has wonderful sunlight streaming in through the windows~Which is great for me considering I just had to upgrade my glasses!

 

  

You remember the blue-green cabinet in my laundry room~it is not very deep so perfect for this wall. I have all my “tools” and laundry needs inside.

 

I put this cabinet in the guest bedroom in front of one of the windows but I also think it would work well in a bathroom..or hallway or entry or.........

 

Do you have a cherished cabinet or old cupboard in your home? Would love to know how you decorate with it. 
 

Raised In Cotton Blog Anniversary Giveaway

5 years ago this month I wrote my very first blog post to market the antique store that my friends and I were opening.  The first few weeks I had maybe a handful of comments and most of those were not even from people that lived close enough to visit the store.  Some days I would question why I was even attempting to post with hardly any response.  But then something wonderful started happening, I discovered other bloggers who loved leading a creative lifestyle and to say the least I was smitten.  Over the last 5 years I have been blessed with new friendships and some amazing opportunities that otherwise may not have come my way if I had not taken a blogging chance.  I am a caregiver at heart and that extends to how I feel about sharing a little bit of myself with you. Offering ideas, inspiration and finding joy in simple life pleasures is my passion that I hope to extend through my blog to you Dear Readers~Why do I call you that? Because I am    

eternally grateful to those of you that take the time out of your busy days to visit with me. 

I think 5 years of your dedication to me calls for a really, really nice blog anniversary giveaway~So I came up with a gift celebrating each of my blog years all to be given to one delightful Dear Reader~

 

*A pair of beautiful Jeanne d Arc Living curtain panels in lovely flax material with French graphics and tie tops. I kept these back from when I was selling them online just for my blog giveaway. 

 

• Framed French cheque with decorative black and creme script from my friends Gwen and Teri of French by Design.

• A gift set of four yummy Ginna Rose Atelier Royal Bee Soaps.

• Two past issues of Jeanne d Arc Living Magazine. 

 

• I saved the very best for last, but I am excited to include the very hard to come by “Jul” Christmas book from Jeanne d Arc Living. It is no longer in print!
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• All you need to do is leave me a comment and please include your blog or email address in the text. I will draw the winner next week:) 

I have so much to share with you, heck it might take me another 5 years:)) Lastly, Thank You, Thank You for all the farmhouse laundry love! 

To all my Canadian and International friends~ of course you can enter~my pleasure:)))

Simple Farmhouse Laundry Room

The modern apartment decorating for my daughter is going great. Trying to find interesting but budget friendly furnishings has been somewhat of a challenge . Of course being a vintage loving decorator I am all about being thrifty but some of the new stuff being sold just looks poorly constructed to me. Maybe thats one of the reasons I have always favored the look of antique furniture. Just something about the honest paint, patina and texture of old pieces that tell a great story.  In the mean time, I thought I would show photo's of our finished farmhouse laundry room that turned out like this~

 

The room flanks my kitchen and has a couple of doorways leading into it. I thought it would be a great laundry room and it also holds my refrigerator. To hide the plumbing behind the washer and dryer, I used cotton cording and constructed a curtain out of three grain sacks and attached it to a shelf that I had made from some vintage corbels.

 

 

 The easy part is that I can change out the grain sacks and vary the look behind the appliances.  I used a pair of Pottery Barn roll up shades in a gauzy cotton fabric (found on Ebay) for two of the windows.

  On a smaller window I once again used my trusty cotton cording and hung an old lace dresser scarf for a make do curtain. 

 

I clipped a bundle of fresh lavender to the cord and placed a vintage tin rose tray above on the window sash. 

 

 Easy,  but still lets in tons of beautiful sunlight. On the antique blue green cabinet, I used an old fishing creel to hold more of that handy cotton cord.

 

 I have a  white washed wicker laundry basket on rollers to hold linens sitting in front of the windows. 

 

Hope you enjoyed a look at my simple farmhouse laundry room:)  Have a great weekend and in a few days I will be having my 5 year blog anniversary giveaway~Trust me you will love it:))  Also, tomorrow I am heading out for another junking trip and Tweeting with photo's all day if you want to come along just hit the Twitter icon in my left sidebar:)) Blessings to all of you:)

 

Swoon Worthy From Matthew Mead

Have you seen the latest swoon worthy mock cover for Matthew Meads new magazine? This just about says it all for me~ Faded beautiful colors with a touch of rustic ROMANCE~ Click the button on the left sidebar to head straight to his site and order this stunning publication!