Inspiration Bins and a Scetnsy Win

I have a habit of picking up little "this and thats" at the thrift store or on clearance. It may be a bag full of pulls, a metal house number, curtain rings, hooks, or a monogram. It could be finials, balusters, wood feet, or a miscellaneous part. It's always that little item that is very inexpensive but when I see it the wheels in my head begin to spin.
I keep my this and thats sorted in bins. When I need a pretty knob or a little something to finish off a project, the starting point for a new design or just a reason to smile, I pull out my containers. It's wonderful to have that perfect finishing touch or an object of inspiration tucked away, just waiting to be pulled from it's bin.

Congratulations to Michele of Houseful of Heathens! Random Generator picked her comment, number 84, as the winner for the Scensty giveaway. Michelle, please email me your info so I can send it to Chilly from Scentsy.

Living Room Vignettes

These are the vignettes in my living room

in the middle of the summer months.

Brass birds and oil paintings collected from thrift stores.

That's a real, live orchid that I've managed to keep living

and blooming for several months now.

I just purchased this orchid hoping to be able to keep it blooming too.

I love that it has twice the blooms.

The ceramic shell came from a Goodwill in Virginia,

the lotus flower from a thrift store in my hometown.

I love the reflective and airy look of the silver and glass

on the glass end table I found on clearance last summer.

I don't love having to clean kitty prints and dust off every week.

A little summer scene using a vintage lithograph of birds

and faux dollar store ferns.

A Take Home With A Story

Last week I posted about our day at Lucketts.
Today I'll show you what we took home.
You already saw the beautiful mirror that my daughter purchased. It's new green paint looks fabulous in her living room.
She also got a few old bullseyes. We hung the set above her kitchen window to give it a little architectural interest.What did I take home?

I fell in love with these
two good-sized pieces of vintage architecture.
An old corbel and what I think is the base or the top to a column. The nice thing was that they both fit inside my carry-on bag.

The not-so-nice thing was that when my bag went through the x-ray machine I heard the TSA agent call for a "bag check."
Then another TSA agent picked up my bag and tested it for explosive matter.
She asked if she would be hurt by anything when she opened my bag.
I explained that it was just filled with a couple of old architectural pieces.
When she opened it she told me she had to call her supervisor.
The supervisor came over to examine my bag.
After I told the two about the wonderful store where I purchased the pieces they decided that I appeared to be a reasonably sane woman and I likely wouldn't be using the blocks of wood to knock anyone over the head in order to hi-jack the plane.

Don't you just love it when the items in your home can lead to
a great story?!?!Don't forget to enter the HouseHold Words Giveaway

An Obsession

The other day as I looked around my home
I was reminded of a joke that my youngest son would tell when he was a preschooler. He would ask, "Mom, what's under there?"
to which I would reply, "Under where?"
and then he would begin to snicker as only a little boy can
who thinks he tricked his mother into saying a naughty word.Well it seems that I have
an "under where" obsession. Nearly every item in my home that has space under it I have managed to fill. Yes, I do seem to enjoy "what's under there."

Colorful Closets

Simple Joys...those glimpses of life that we should take time embrace, the reminders that it's the small and simple things that make life beautiful.

The closets of our home are full of color. . . . .
even when there are no clothes hanging in them. For nearly half of my mother's life she has been making these
yarn covered hangers. (A tutorial can be found HERE)

She has literally made hundreds of them for family and to give as gifts.
I remember taking a trip with a college friend when I was in my late teens. My mom put a bundle of these homemade hangers into my suitcase for me to give as a hostess gift for my friend's relative whose home we stayed. I was proud as well as a little embarrassed (the mixed emotions of a teenager) to present the made-by-hand gift.These colorful hangers have been a part of my life for most of my life. They remind me of my mother's creative and hardworking hands, and of her giving spirit.

They are a simple joy.
Do you have a made-by-hand simple joy?

SNS #58 brings you - collections!

Welcome to Saturday Nite Special #58, the collections edition!

If you're new here, join in! There are three categories to link to. Home Decor as well as Crafts, Sewing, Recipes, plus the 3rd themed link up. Check below for this weekend's theme.

Party starts Fri night and ends Sunday 11pm pacific, so you have all weekend to join!

I LOVE to highlight inspiring posts during the event on the sidebar, so make sure you check in several times over the weekend. You may be next. :)

this weekend's theme

~ collections ~

 You might say I collect a few things. :)

I like grouping like minded objects together so they have a larger visual impact.

 I've recently received a few NEW collections in my mailbox over the last week from Anything Goes Here's Etsy shop,  with more on their way. Aren't these faucet handles the coolest?!?

My intent had been to do some really super creative things with the new collections arriving, however remember that power outage I talked about? I just discovered it knocked one of my work computers out so I was a little busy making a ton of phone calls instead. Guess I'll have to share what I do with it all in my Christmas reveal post. :)

Speaking of Christmas and cool junk...

I've officially decided that this year, my Christmas decor will be all about 'whatcha already got vintage'.  Meaning, a whole lotta junk will be prettied up some for the festive season. :) No cost kind of decor, of course. :)

 This cute little coke box and bottle display sits underneath my twig chandelier, on my kitchen island. The crate is pretty handy for rolled napkins and cutlery too! A touch of real greens totally speaks Christmas without being blatant about it all.

Even the cogs on my desk got a little colour thrown in. I love the odd green one and the greenery again just adds a tiny hint of what's around the corner. (and hey... that's fresh snow you see in the pics!)

There's a reason I Christmas-fied up my collections. It's time to get in the spirit of things because...

~ December's themes ~

All about Christmas!

The themed linkups will change for the month of December! We'll all be busy with the preparations, so why not focus on what we need to do anyway and make it fun!

Dec 3 - your favorite things you and your family can't live without (for shopping inspiration!)

Dec 10 - your fav Christmas recipe

Dec 17 - your full home Christmas decor reveal

Dec 24 - No theme. Just let'er rip! SNS will be up for those loving the extra browse, however I won't likely be highlighting or commenting. It's time for family. :)

Dec 31 - Share this years' Christmas story

I hope you'll join in the fun!

Be sure to check the themed linkups master list to add your newest creations anytime.

List HERE.

In other news... inLinkz now costs party hosts $2 a month. 

If you decide to use the feature for your own link party you host, your registration through my button (also located on my sidebar) will help support SNS weekends. Thank-you!

 

~ SNS blah blah linkup rules ~

1. Please link up your intended post, NOT your blog homepage url. (post, then click the title of your post, then cut and paste that url) If your post has been deleted, please try again.

 2. Please put a link in your post (button or text) that leads back to the party so others can see what's up! (see BUTTONS label under main blog header)

 3. This party is geared for DIY type projects we can all attempt to make ourselves. Items for sale may be linked up IF your entry is posted on your blog and in tutorial style.

4. For Home Decor and Crafts, Sewing, Cooking, please link projects up that are new to SNS and/or within 1 month old.  This helps keep content fresh!

The 3rd weekly themed link may have older posts and not brand new to SNS and will remain open for your new additions at any time. Click HERE for the main list.

If you can't decide which category to enter yours in, please just pick ONE and go with it. It's all good!

Frugal Friday~

For today's Frugal Friday I present.......things in jars.

Don't laugh.
I can hear you.
I mean it.

Don't underestimate the power of like things displayed in great jars. Just look at these...

Photo from Pottery Barn

Photo from Pottery Barn

Photo from Delightful Home

Photo from Country Living


Unless otherwise credited photos are mine

So go gather up those buttons/shells/rocks/clothespins/paperclips you have lying around and put them in a pretty jar. Big impact. Little Money.

Now it's your turn...

You know "da rules"...

1. Please link directly to your post and not just to your blog.
2. Please link back to the Shabby Nest, so that others can enjoy the Frugal goodness.
3. Comment, comment, comment...show our participants the love!