Great Day for a Giveaway~

To add a little zip to your Thursday, I have something fun for you all today! A giveaway from Burlap and Blue!! Not familiar with Burlap and Blue? Well, let me take a minute and introduce you...I just know you'll become fast friends.

Burlap and Blue is a fun little etsy store that features vintage-inspired goods for your home and family. (Linda, the creative force behind Burlap and Blue, also writes a darling blog by the same name.)

Linda creates darling cakestands, coasters, and tags...and sweet vintage-feel goodies for the little ones in your life like matching games and wooden blocks.

Linda has generously offered to give one reader of the Shabby Nest a $25 gift certificate to her shop! All you've got to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. The drawing will be open until 11:59 EST on Friday, July 2nd.

And don't worry...if you don't win the drawing, you can still pick up some sweet swag from her shop at a discount! Simply use the code shabbynest15 to receive a 15% discount on your purchase - this code is good until next Thursday (July 8).

Good luck~

A Few Things About Gift-wrapped Walls, Some Vintage Etsy Goodness, and a Winner~

First...I have a few questions that came up on yesterday's post that I wanted to answer.


1. The most asked question....Where did I get that fabulous paper? I purchased the wrapping paper for $7.89 from Tai-Pan trading - a local store in Utah with one location in California. Unfortunately, I don't remember the brand and I threw the packaging away (what kind of blogger am I?) I'll see if I can find out for you all the next time I'm at the store. (I checked out their website and they don't offer online shopping...sigh.)


2. I have used regular desk staples to do similar projects in the past - and they work great - but this time I used my staple gun. I only stapled around the edges, and then once or twice where the seam is. The staples may have shown on a more subdued paper, but as luck would have it, the pattern really hides them. (If you click on the photo below to enlarge it, and look carefully, you can see one of the staples...but it's not that noticeable.)

3. I didn't consider using mod podge to seal the paper, or applying fabric with liquid starch (although I love that idea) because I want to avoid anything that might make for a messy removal process since this is a rental house. Does anyone have experience with removing wall coverings applied with liquid starch. Is it really as easy as they claim?

4. The bag is from DownEast Basics. They don't have this particular style anymore, but they do have a fabulous line of clothing and accessories (their clothes just keep getting better each season! Love them!)

And finally, not a question, but my favorite comment from yesterday's post was from Mary who says, "Personally I LOVE the juxtaposition of the bold wall pattern to the sign that says 'simplify.'" I hadn't thought about it at the time, but boy is she right!

Next, I wanted to share two of the latest vintage goodies that I will be adding to my Etsy.

First up! This sweet little turquoise vase in a funky blossom stand. I just love this! And, you know, turquoise is Pantone's color of 2010! I personally, think this vase would look fabulous with some Gerbera Daisies sticking out the top! It has some serious personality!

And if you're like me, I have a soft spot for vintage silverware...especially when it's been engraved. This sweet baby spoon bracelet features an engraving on the ladle portion of the spoon that appears to be a name. I can't quite make it out, but you know it was important to someone once upon a time. I just love imagining the stories behind sweet pieces like this one.

Finally, the winner of the Lisa Leonard $75 gift certificate giveaway is... Twig from Twig Decor! Drop me an email Twig...and we'll get you set up with your prize!!

Thanks for being such great readers!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday~

Penny Planets~

Or alternate "punny" titles...

The World According to Mr. Two

It's a Small, Small, Small World

The Weight of the World on her Scale

Okay, enough of my feeble attempts at humor, and down to business.
I have mentioned a few times before that my mother is a collector. And to use the word "collector", may just be putting it mildly. Basically, if there is anything I need, or really, if there is anything I want, chances are she has one....or several....of exactly what I am looking for.

Case in point, these darling vintage piggy banks. Or, as Mr. Two calls them, Penny Planets (he's a clever one, that Mr. Two).
While visiting my mother's home last week, she bequeathed upon us several of these darling Penny Planets. My children adore them. And they are very sweet.

But, alas, I do not have the room for all of these tiny worlds, and so I am starting a new venture, and that is, I am adding vintage goodies to my Etsy.

Every once in a while, when I inherit, or happen upon, a great vintage find, I'll list it in my Etsy. You'll find these Penny Planets there shortly!

Have a great day~

Welcome Back Etsy~

Thought you might like to know that The Shabby Nest on Etsy is open for business again. I've missed my little spot in the Etsy universe. Hope you have too!

And for my grand re-opening, I'm offering a gift with purchase...one free scrabble tile pendant!! (actual design may differ from pendant pictured.)

But hurry!! This offer is only good on orders placed by next Friday!

I Spy~

I hope my cute bloggy friend Lulu doesn't mind, but when I hopped over to visit her blog the other day, I noticed this very cute photo of her entry. (Which I obviously "borrowed" and posted here. ahem.)

Image by Lulu & Co.

And what do I spy on that sweet entry bench? Why, it's one of my No. 6 pillows. It looks so cute sitting there all vintage-like. It was like getting a little Christmas gift to see that pillow in a happy customer's home.



These little darlin's will be availabe in my Etsy shop when it reopens in January. But, until then, enjoy this photo...or, even better, hop on over and enjoy Lulu's fun blog.



Have a great day~

Somethin's gotta give~

I'd like to be outside enjoying the first real snowfall of the season...

Or taking a winter carriage ride....

Or actually getting my Christmas shopping finished....

But, instead, I'm up to my ears in these....


And because my list of to-dos is miles and miles long, I have to be realistic. I just can't do everything. So I'll be shutting down my Etsy store until mid-January. Hopefully by doing so, what's left of my sanity will be preserved. Just kidding...kind of. ;-)

Have a lovely Sunday~

Gift idea~

If you've read my blog for any length of time at all, you probably know by now that I am a bit infatuated with silhouettes. And of course, I have a little thing for pillows as well.

Please welcome the latest addition to the Shabby Nest line of pillows. The Silhouette Pillow - of course yours would feature a custom silhouette. I actually made this one for the Princess for Christmas. Shhhhh. (don't worry, she doesn't read my blog unless I drag her over to look at something I've posted.) I adore the tan on white and the ruffled edge.

I can make a customized pillow for you (or your little Princess...or anyone else on your Christmas list). I just need a profile photo of said individual. Offered now in my Etsy.

Edited to add: I've had some of my pet-loving readers ask if I can do pet silhouettes...Sure...if you can get a good profile pic of your pet, I can make a pillow!

Coming up this week on the Shabby Nest...

• Ironstone
• Window Shopping
• Repurposing Dresser Drawers

Have a great Monday~

Dressing my nest~

There is a lot of truth to the assumption that we dress our homes in much the same way as we dress ourselves. I have always loved neutrals. I graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. I remember one specific class in college where we were discussing colors, and focusing, in particular on "neutral" colors. One of the girls in my class made a comment about how she loved all of the neutral colors in my wardrobe. I had never really noticed until that moment just how drawn to neutrals I am. Whites, beiges, tans, grays, blacks.

And now, a couple of years later (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it), my house is dressed in neutrals as well.

Of course, I do like to throw in a pop of color here and there. Take these fun shoes, for example. A girl's gotta love a red pair of shoes. And these sweet little things were made extra special by the fact that they were on extreme clearance at one of my favorite stores. (Tar-jay to be exact). So home they came.

And that brings me to the remainder of my story. I just love the ruffle and button detail on these shoes. I mean really love it. And I began to wonder how it might translate into a pillow. (Because no matter how I try to focus on other things...my mind always comes back eventually to home decor.) So this is what I came up with.

How I love this pillow. A little less feminine than the shoes, but still with a ruffle and a button. AND made from men's suiting fabric - that's my favorite part - so that it's a little bit masculine as well. Ah, sweet success. Can a person love a pillow? Well, I think I'm in love with this one. If you like it as well, it's listed now in my Etsy.

And to think, it's all because I decided that I had to add a little pop of color to my neutral wardrobe. Do you decorate like you dress?

Don't forget tomorrow is the Frugal Friday Linky Party. For you night owls, MckLinky will go up tonight at midnight EST. Can't wait to see what you all have up your sleeve this time!!!

Have a great Thursday~

Monogram much?~

A dear friend of mine needed some special gifts. She wanted something personal. She knew I made necklaces, and she came to me asking if I would be willing to make two personal, unique but classic necklaces. She basically gave me free reign to do what I wanted. WOW. I thought that my drawings might be a little more whimsical than the situation called for. So after a bit of deliberation, I asked her to give me the initials of each of the lovely ladies she was gifting.





This is what I came up with. Vintage ledger paper, slightly enlarged to make it a bit abstract, a faux freshwater pearl, and a MONOGRAM, of course. I think they turned out simply lovely. So lovely, in fact, that I've listed them in my Etsy store. (Great Christmas gift alert!)








And a little fall foliage for good measure!

My sister Holly is celebrating her 1 year blogiversary today! She is giving away some darling posy pins. Bop on over to her blog and enter to win!!! Happy bloggy birthday L'il sis!!

And speaking of giveaways...if you haven't entered the drawing for the lovely necklace from Pampering Beki, scroll down to yesterday's post and do it! You have until tonight at 11:59 pm EST.

Have a great Thursday~

Posting about Pillows~

Another crop of pretty pillows...

Look at this lovely special order Rosette Pillow done in white. I *heart* it completely! In fact, I love it so much I'm going to list another one in the shop...



Look at those lovely little posies...

I am a romantic at heart...and I just love the fact that flowers and ruffles are so stylish right now. What's a romantic girl to do? Add them to...just about...everything.

This pillow is made from a painter's drop cloth. (There's always another project to do with those...check out my drapes...and my tablecloth...) I got this idea from all of the "corsage" shirts we've been seeing this season. And a little tutorial I saw here. I just love the scruffy, puffy flower on this pillow...

Here's a closeup in all of its frayed loveliness...

And finally, this fun Halloween pillow using a great vintage graphic from The Graphics Fairy (one of my favorite blogs...OH the inspiration.) I'm loving this.


All of these are now listed in my shop...just waiting for someone to love them and give them a good home.

Coming soon on the Shabby Nest...

• "Green" totes - repurposing sweaters
• How to turn a Christmas Wreath into an Autumn Beauty
• Make your own party platter

Have a great Tuesday~

Etsy Fest~

I have been a busy, busy girl! I took the rosette idea and ran with it, and here are the two stunning results! I. am. so. in. love. This ticking pillow is the one that I gave away during my 300th post giveaway, but if you'd like one for yourself, it is available now in my shop.

I also made a lovely version in tan linen. I adore the shabby/romantic sophistication of these pillows. (And they look fabulous in my bedroom chair!)

I also listed this great pillow featuring a vintage french photography sign. Just love it!!!

Of course, I couldn't resist turning some of the rosettes into brooches...and they are in the shop now as well.

I also tried something new with my pendants. I have been making scrabble tile pendants for a while now, but I was longing for a different shape to work with, until I happened upon some rectangle wood pieces in the craft shop. They were just what I was looking for! I decided to use them to make collage pendants which included my drawings with vintage script backgrounds. I adore how they turned out! They are not pictured with chains, but will be sold with them.

FRONT

BACK

These "mom" pendants can be special ordered with numbers on the back....mine has a "4" on it for my four kiddos, of course! These would be perfect for Christmas gifts...hint hint! (Just for today, I'm offering 10% off purchases of the "mom" pendant! Hop over to my Etsy and get yours! - I am not going to have the Mom pendant listed yet, so if you don't see it there, don't worry! Just convo me on Etsy and let me know you want one!)

FRONT

BACK

Oh, and one last thing I forgot to mention before...last week I reached the milestone of 1000 followers on blogger! I am so thrilled! I just want to thank all of you who read my blog! You all mean the world to me!!



Have a great Tuesday~

Rosettes...brooches...a winner~

Happy Friday to you everyone!!
The rosettes are multipying, and some of them are even becoming brooches!

Just lovin' them on my sweater!! I'm going to list some in Etsy along with the new pillows...

and speaking of the rosette pillow...

the winner of my 300th post giveaway is From the desk of Mrs. S. So, Mrs. S, drop me an email, and we'll get that pillow to you!

If you didn't win, but you'd like a rosette pillow of your own (or if you'd like to actually see what one looks like...ha ha) I'll have some in my store by next week...

I can't list them until then because I ran out of polyfil...good planning, I know. I promise to let you all know as soon as their listed!

Have a great weekend.

Summer Lovin'~

A little heads up! Just added these two prints to my Etsy store.

Backstage Dreams

Summer Lovin'

Don't forget Tomorrow is the Frugal Friday Linky Party! Mr. Linky will go up at 12:01 EST for you night owls! Hope to see you all here tomorrow for some Frugal Decorating bliss!!

And if you missed Tuesday's post, you have until 11:59 EST tonight to enter the RHBDesigns giveaway.

Have a good Thursday~

Patching Things Up~

I was a busy girl yesterday. I pulled out the old sewing machine and went to work.

A while back I had the idea of making some "custom" t-shirts for my toddler boys by using some fun vintage clip art images, cotton canvas and (what else?) photo transfer paper to make patches that I could sew onto some plain tees. I found a vintage firetruck image that I just loved. Printed it out (twice), ironed each one onto the canvas, and then realized that I had inadvertently printed them out bigger than I thought, and they wouldn't work for the boys' shirts.

But I knew I would come up with a brilliant idea sooner or later so I held on to them. And yesterday it hit me! I had some lovely ticking fabric that I could use with the firetruck patch to make a darling pillow.

Isn't it cute? I made one for the chair in the boys' room, and one that I will list in my Etsy! Love. it. so. much.

And just so you can see... I did get some t-shirts done for the boys. Here they are with cute pictures of dalmations (or firedogs as the hubby calls them). So it all worked out in the end. Yea!

EDITED TO ADD: My fabulous-ly stylish friend Kasey is having an amazing giveaway at her blog today. Amazing. That's all I'm sayin'.

Have a great Thursday~

Treasures and Tags~

Here is my latest curbside find. The hubby just rolled his eyes when I stopped for this one, but he knows me well, so he didn't say anything. And I have plans, YES I have plans. Any guesses?

I just added these darling shabby fabric tags to my Etsy store. Perfect for gifts or embellishments or just because. They feature my crown drawing and some sweet black and white check ribbon.

And just in case you were hoping to see an "Inspire-Me Tuesday" post, I think I'm going to permanently change them to Wednesdays...so y'all come back tomorrow for some Inspirational goodness.

Have a great Tuesday~

Custom Orders~

One of the best parts of having an Etsy store is when my customers send me photos of my pillows in their homes.

A few weeks back I made these 4 custom bolsters for a client who wanted to use them in her daughter's room.

She just sent me photos of them as bumpers in her daughters crib! They couldn't be more precious!

And just out of curiosity, is anyone else having trouble with the post date and time option on blogger? I normally write my posts in advance and set them to appear at 12:01 am on any given date and it hasn't been working. This just started happening about a week ago. Anyone have any suggestions?

Have a great day~