A little humor and why my subscribers are getting shortened posts~ (How's that for a dumb title?)

In my box of goodies that I won over at sweet Kasey's blog, there was a cute little sign. It says "please, no soliciting." I just love the colors and the sweet script writing. But in my neighborhood, we don't really have trouble with door-to-door solicitors, so I didn't want to hang it outside. Then it hit me...

Ha ha! Isn't this funny?!? (If I do say so myself.) We are on the opt-out list for phone solicitors, but there are always those that find the loophole and call to bug us anyway. I just thought I'd put in my two cents worth, by putting the sign by our phone. (Too bad those darn telephone solicitors can't actually see it. sigh.)

EDITED TO ADD: I've had a lot of people comment on the phone. It is from Pottery Barn a couple of years ago. It's called the Grand phone. I don't think they have the wall version anymore, but they still have the desk version (which is actually what I wanted, but we had this ugly wall jack, so I thought the wall version would be better) Here's the link.

And I also wanted to let all of my readers know, that I have shortened my RSS feed. This means that those of you who subscribe to my blog via readers like bloglines, google reader etc. will now be getting a truncated version of my posts that wont include any photos. I found out that the blog that is stealing my blog posts is using my feed to do so. (If you haven't heard about this unfortunate situation, I wrote about it here.) In any case, now the offending blog is only getting short versions of my posts with no photos. My sincere apologies to my subscribers who are now having to deal with these truncated posts in their readers. I hope you will continue to read my blog...you'll just have to click over if you want to see the entire posts. It's just too bad that those who are less than ethical can ruin things for all of the other bloggers out there who are wonderful and supportive and who give credit where credit is due.



And since I'm on the subject of my readers and subscribers, I want to thank you all for your wonderful comments and for coming to visit me here!! I want to apologize for the fact that I don't comment on all of your blogs as often as I should. I do visit. I really do! And you all are wonderful. Just know that I'm there, enjoying your inspiring posts. My readers rock!!



Have a great Tuesday~

This stuff is goooood.

Stay with me till the end for the Bomobob giveaway winner! :)

Speaking of Bob, I had to brag about my advertisers yet again, cause you know -- they RAWK.

My newest advertiser, Amanda at Imperfectly Beautiful, has the caaaaautest Etsy shop you ever did see. When I saw these on her blog, I had to have them. They were even packaged so sweetly when they arrived, I could just die:
Squeal! I did! I squealed! YES, they are Christmas decorations. YES, I am going there. It's only FOUR months away peeps. That's like, only a third of a year. Geez.

The blocks were much bigger than I thought they would be. I love all the details -- some of the paper even has sparkles (hard to see here):

Squeal! Sparkles!

I can't tell you how pleased I was when I opened this up. Amanda does a great job, you must go check her out here. She's working on an upcoming giveaway for you lovely folks too:And at Cara's giveaway post for The Sheet Boutique, I told you how I bought the EzzzySleep fleece sheets.

They came super fast and uh. my. gawd., they are they most amazing sheets we've ever had!:
I know the picture doesn't convey how comfy these are. They are so soft, I'm not even kidding. When I opened them up I was a little worried they would be too hot, but they are so comfortable, even though it is still fairly warm around here. I am SO thrilled with this purchase. Like sleeping in a fluffy cloud.

The winner of Bomobob's fantastic giveaway is (randomly picked) Erin from Home is Where the Heart is! Erin, e-mail me and I'll get you connected with Bob!

Come back tomorrow -- I have some fun little projects to share. :)

Steelmaster + Henri Bendel = My New Work Space

I would imagine looking at this Steelmaster Cabinet, which has spent the last several years hanging out in garages, does not inspire images of a beautiful work space.

But look at all the wonderful drawers, just the right size for office supplies, small samples, catalogs, drawing materials and on and on! With the multitude of drawers and its size being just right for the left corner of the room...I absolutely have to make it look pretty!

That should be possible, I mean, it came from Henri Bendel for goodness sake. Oh? What was a Steelmaster cabinet doing living at Henri Bendel? Well I imagine someone there found it as useful as I did once it became mine.

For years it was perfect for housing all kinds of supplies used in making my sample garments. And how did it become mine? A friend snatched it up for me when they stumbled across a liquidation sale of goodies from the back rooms of Henri Bendel's Michigan Avenue Store, when sadly it closed.


Let me get sidetracked for a moment...I loved that store, a boutique full of absolutely perfect finds. During the time Henri Bendel was open in Chicago I was studying fashion at SAIC. I would walk the aisles lovingly adoring the new styles from favorite designers as the goods were hung on the racks...though I never once actually purchased anything there. Hum, too many customers like me and you can see why they closed.

Anyway, fast forward. After I stopped working in fashion the cabinet became forgotten, collecting dust and grime. But I couldn't part with it, I guess I knew it would be needed again someday. After a good cleaning it is showing its promise.

The next step, primer...and you know I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Lemons or Lemonade

A few months ago our sons reported that "something strange" was happening to the wall behind their toilet. I sent hubby downstairs to investigate. He discovered what can only be described as "blisters" on the walls, and being the manly man that he is, he popped one and found that it was full of water. Blistered, sagging walls meant only one thing, we had a leaky pipe somewhere above or behind that wall. Fortunately we found the leak without having to tear out the entire bathroom. The leak was repaired and we treated the ceiling and walls with a mold blaster and then we waited and waited and waited. Would the repair hold? Would we find another leak? How were we going to repair the ceiling to match the existing texture? Would we have to tear the walls off down to the studs? Would we let our misfortune drag us down to the depths of depression or would we rise to the challenge and meet it with a truckload of creativity?We choose the latter.

We covered the hole in the ceiling with inexpensive tongue and groove paneling.The original plan was to cover the damaged walls with strips of plywood, but when we found subflooring for two dollars a sheet we went with plan B.Sure it resembles a sauna right now, but wait until you see it with a few coats of paint.

Congrats - Sweet Baby Girl

Hello everyone!

Boy, the weekend went by so fast. Too fast! The next one is going to be a long weekend and I am already so looking forward to that one.

I have created this card for a co-worker at the office who just gave birth to a baby girl--beside making the card for the challenges that is, LOL.

For Kellie's Sketch Challenge #2, Kellie has provided this wonderful sketch which I used for the layout of my card.

This card is also for the Cute Card Thursday challenge. Challenge 75 - New Beginnings! This week we want to see your cards for new things in your life/those you love...new baby, new home, new car, new job...whatever new beginning you like.

A third challenge, somewhat similar, is from Stampin' for the Weekend Challenge Blog. The theme for their Challenge 13 - Anything Baby goes!!

And I'm sneaking my card into a fourth challenge at Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog. Their theme is STITCHING. I've sewn real stitches with my sewing machine, and also did some faux stitches around the edge of the circle.

I haven't done too many card with the opening at the bottom --my usual is at the side--but I have done it with this one.

And I've decorated the inside of the card leaving plenty of blank space for the office crew to write their good wishes and sign their names.

Stamps: Magnolia Tilda with Baby, Congrats sentiment from Hampton Arts G Studio, Recollections clear stamps Sweet Baby Girl.

DP's: Chatterbox Scrapbook Walls Rosey Flowering Vine and Loft Bias Plaid. Tools: EK Success border punch and corner punch, Marvy Uchida scallop circle punch, McGill flower punch.

Thrifty Monday~

Today I'm joining Rhoda's Thrifty Monday Linky Party.

I wanted to share another of the little treasures I got from my Mom's house while we were out visiting. Check out this great little cheese dome.

Of course, I didn't really care for the base in it's "before" condition (can you say 1970's vintage - and not in a good way?), so I decided to give it a nice little coat of paint.

And here she is in all her freshly-painted glory. Pretty cute, huh? Of course, I didn't seal the paint, so I won't be using her for food, but the starfish look pretty cute.


Or here she is sporting another thrifty free find from my mom's...some vintage tin measuring spoons. I think she'd look pretty cute in my kitchen with these babies. Just sayin'

Hop on over to Rhoda's and check out the other great thrifty finds...
and have a great Monday~

Open letter to a new Momma

Today we celebrated the upcoming birth of a new baby boy. The mom-to-be is one of my last friends to have their first child, and there is something so incredibly special about that. Something so special you just don't get when you are pregnant with that first baby. You wonder why everyone has constant big goofy smiles, fluffing all over you and can't keep your hands off your belly. :)

And then you have that baby. And you know.

So Momma B., this is what I hope you remember over the next few weeks:

For at least the new two years, probably more, you will have very little control over your life. It starts with labor -- you can't plan it (I know, it killed me too!), you can't tell that little one how or when to come, and you can't control how the labor will go. All you can do is relax, let go, breathe, and realize you have to give it up to the people that know best...the nurses, your doctor, God.

After the baby is here, you will have zero control over your life because that itty bitty patootie will rule. your. world. You will feel exhaustion like you've never known. You will want to give your right arm for a few straight hours of sleep. You will have to plan to leave the house well ahead of time. And when you do leave the house, it will be 30 minutes later than you had planned.

Speaking of sleep, even the best sleepers (ours slept through at FIVE weeks) will drive you absolutely mad at times. They will sleep three hours at a time for a few nights...sleep for six one night...you will get on your knees thanking God...and then that next night they will will wake up every two. It is a bit maddening. There are also nights when they just don't want to sleep, thank you very much. They would rather just lay there staring at you, thank you again.

Because of this, there may be times you will look at your child at 3 a.m., begging him to PLEASE JUST GO TO SLEEP. You may not even like him much at those moments. YES -- I said it, there are times you just are not nuts about them for being itty bitty and helpless and ruling your world (at 3 a.m. nonetheless).

And then that moment passes, and in the middle of the night, you will look at your baby's sweet eyes in the dark, rub his tiny head and you may just cry because you are so incredibly blessed to have this child. To be rocking this child at 3 a.m. You will realize there is no place you would rather be, ever.

You will be overwhelmed at how people love your baby. Yes, you know your friends love you. But you will realize you didn't have a clue how much they love you until you see the way they love your child. You will realize how much you mean to the people around you, because of the way they love your baby. It will overwhelm you, the love you will feel in those first weeks.

A few weeks after that sweet bubby is born, you will start needing a little somethin'. Just a little -- a little something in return for all that feeding, loving, feeding, smooching. And then. THEN, your child will smile at you. YOUR CHILD. He will smile at you like you are the sun and the moon and the stars and it will be one of the best moments of your entire life.

You will spend the rest of your days trying to get your child to smile at you like that again.

One of the biggest changes I noticed after our son was born was the new "weight" of being a Mom. It's the best way I can explain it. It's like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, in a good way. You now have a life to look after, and that is a really big deal. Sometimes that weight is really noticeable. You will feel it all the time -- but mostly when you leave the baby with Daddy for an hour. Or with Grandma for an evening so you can go out with friends.

From the day that baby is born, you are ALWAYS, ALWAYS thinking about them, worrying about them, wondering about them. You may not realize it, but it's always there. That weight lessens as they get older, but it's only because you get used to it. You are now a Mommy, and that comes with so much wonderful responsibility.

Your life is about to change for the better. You will never be the same. You will come back and read this a few months from now and have a whole new appreciation for these words. And when someone you love has their first baby, you will try to express to them the crazy, indescribable love they are about to feel, and you won't be able to put it into words for them either.

You are about to meet the love of your life, and I am so happy for you.

Big photo practice

Purple Passion

Hello. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

This is my card for the Magnolia Down Under Challenge #21.

I hope that you will hop over to MDUC and check out the wonderful cards from the other DT members and also join in the challenge. There is a prize, a $20.00 voucher from our sponsor for this challenge, The Scrappin' Kats. Now back to the card,

The challenge this fortnight is….. A Recipe - 1 flower, 2 ribbons, 3 brads and 4 papers/pattern papers.

I think the hard part was finding the 4 DP's that would go well together. But knowing that I was going to make this a monochromatic card made it easier. I chose the colour purple because this card was also created for Passion for Promarkers. Week 14 Challenge - A Passion for Purple! The colour combo this week is at least two purples (you can choose from lilac, lavender, amethyst and aubergine).

For the layout, I found Beatrix's wonderful sketch to use for this card, at Everybody-Art-Challenge for their week #54 challenge.

This is how the inside of the card looks.

Nothing more to write about.....I've been sitting here for the past 10 minutes and I've drawn a blank. I guess this has to be it. Ciao and have a wonderful weekend.

Stamps: Magnolia Tilda with Butterfly, MSE clear stamp set Thinking of You, Inkadinkado Cheerful Wishes.DP's: Hot Off the Press Joy's Vintage Paper Collection and Jacie's Vintage Paper Collection.Tools: Martha Stewart Butterfly punch, Marvy Uchida daisy punches, scallop circle punch, Colluzle oval and circle templates.

The Stella & Dot Jewelry Giveaway Winner Is...

Ashley, who entered by saying "love, love, love the Devi Bangles!
But then again, I think I'm falling for most of the jewelry!"

Congratulations Ashley! Here are some of the other pieces of Stella & Dot jewelry Ashley could also select as her prize.

For those of you who didn't win, thanks for leaving your comments and helping me celebrate the addition of the Stella & Dot e-Boutique to my blog. And remember, all orders placed through my boutique by September 30th qualify you for the Bonus Giveaway valued at $118!

Fianlly, I hope you'll visit the Boutique in the future when the jewelry urge hits!

Thanks...Janell

Bomobob art giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed!

Well hello there! I'm so happy you love my tile project as much as I do! I'm thrilled that I inspire you -- I've never done any tiling in my life, and I did it in a weekend on a wing and a prayer. I couldn't believe how well it turned out. YOU can do it too! For reals!

To continue the month o' giveaways, my friend and advertiser Bob from Photos by Bomobob has offered one of you another one of his beautiful prints!
Just in case you don't remember, take a look at some of his gorgeous work:
How fun for a playroom? Kid's room? Office? The colors are just beautiful:

Sigh. I love this:

His photography showcases how the simplest subjects are the most beautiful:

Seriously. Amazing.

I love the whimsy of this carousel:

Oh, how fantastic would this look in a cottagey kitchen or bedroom?

Bob is offering one print, (size 8x8 or 8x10, depending on the original dimensions) or one of his 4x6 print sets of your choice! To win one of these beautiful prints, leave a comment here, then go to Bomobob's Etsy site here and pick out the print you want to win. Come back here and let me know which one you would love to have.

That's it! Thanks Bob for this great giveaway! This one ends at 8 a.m. this Monday (the 31st).

A few announcements -- I'm hosting a Before and After bloggy party on Monday, September 7th! It can be anything -- a painted room, a craft project, an organized space, changing out accessories, whatever! All you MUST have is a before picture! :) I hope you can join me!

I did a guest post for Kennesha over at Me and My House this week! Go check out my Goodwill Survival Guide post when you get a chance.

Finally, don't forget to head over to houzz.com to comment on my feature there and get in on a chance to win the large Ballard Designs pear! The entries end at 5 p.m. EST time on Sunday the 30th. (I just saw that even my Stepmom and Dad commented on there! Sniff!)

Oh yeah, and have a GREAT weekend!! :)

Ramadan Wallpapers - Islamic Ramadan

Ramadan is the sacred month of fasting for Muslims who continue their fast from sunrise to sunset for the whole month. Ramzan or Ramadan fasting is considered as one of the five Pillars of Islam which strengthen their faith and respect for Islamic religion. The holy month of Ramadan is famous because it is said that during this period great Prophet Muhammad received the knowledge of Quran. Thats why during Ramadan, muslims follow fasting, daily early morning bath, both morning-evening prayers, visit to mosque, quran reading and other traditions to receive complete fruit of performing their Islam duty.

Every muslim must keep fast of ramazan to keep Allah happy and seek blessings from him. The Ramadan lasts with a fast breaking feast celebrated as Eid or Eid-ul-Fitr and prayers to Allah 'May Allah accept our fasting, forgive our sins, and guide us all to the Straight Path. May Allah bless us all during Ramadan, and throughout the year, with His forgiveness, mercy, and peace, and bring us all closer to Him and to each other.' Our visitors can express their devotion to Muslim religion and respect for Ramadan month by setting these ramadan wallpapers by downloading for free. More more fresh updates, please visit http://www.giftsngiftideas.com/ramadan/

A Rocky Before

I came across a photo of what our fireplace looked like when we moved into our home. How's this for a "before" photo.Yes, we had our own rock climbing wall. Our boys loved climbing those rocks! However, they weren't too fond of having to pull the rocks off the wall and haul them into our yard when I decided to remodel the fireplace. But thanks to my hubby and sons hard work, we have an "after" to be proud of.Joy @ JOYSOFHOME

Giveaway Time + 'Geranium' by Benjamin Moore + Thanks Bedford Brown

Look at this striking wall color which makes the whimsical white lamp just pop. This vignette captured my attention while touring a spectacular condo designed by Bedford Brown in Portland's 2009 Street Of Dreams. In a post on the home show, which highlighted this room among many other favorite scenes, I asked "what exactly is this red+orange color? I must find out."

Thank you Tony Loeffler of Bedford Brown, the team behind the design, for providing the answer in a comment on the post.

The fabulous color is Geranium by Benjamin Moore. Now I just have to figure out where I can place just the right amount of this color...somewhere in my home!


And if I were to coordinate jewelry with home decor I would most certainly select this Stella & Dot Garden Party Necklace as the perfect accompaniment to any room painted Geranium! What piece of jewelry will you select should you win the $150 Giveaway? Enter now, the giveaway ends tonight!

Frugal Friday~

Some of you may remember the pixies I started making last Halloween. For those of you who are new to the Shabby Nest, let me introduce you to my little Halloween friends. These are rare Halloween Pixies...not easy to capture, but very friendly. They are one of my favorite Frugal OCD (Obsessively Consumed with Decorating) projects. They don't cost much - if anything- to make and they are very versatile!

These little pixies have seen many reincarnations since last Halloween. Christmas Pixies, New Year's Fairies...

Because of the overwhelming response, I even offered a tutorial on how to make this little lovelies here.

One of my very favorite things about these little pixies is having my sweet readers send me photos of the pixies they've made after being inspired with a little pixie love here at the Shabby Nest. A few weeks back one of my cute readers emailed me this photo of a pixie centerpiece she made for her in-law's 40th Anniversary. The pixies are their sons and granchildren. So sweet! Thanks Anne for sharing your creative twist on this project with us!!

This photo courtesy of Anne Ferguson

If you've made pixies of your own, or if you're feeling inspired to make some after seeing these, please be sure to email me and let me see your finished project!!

Have a creative weekend~

Garden Architecture

Ever since we moved into our home, we've been adding architectural elements to give it more style and character. We've been doing the same with our yard and garden. We've bought and built simple structures to add character and height. They look beautiful from spring to fall surrounded by blooming vines and bushes. During the winter months when the yard and gardens are so gray and barren the structures give a charming visual interest and stand as a monuments to natures life and beauty.
A few years back we built this rose arbor using doors.Then we added this trellis and door that leads into our vegetable garden.Recently we used scrap wood, found next to a dumpster, to build two seven foot tall obelisks. Once we figured out how to cut those pointed tops (thank you internet), they were a fairly easy build.
Son #3 painted them with a mis-tint exterior paint.We placed them in our vegetable garden. They serve as tall, fancy tomato cages. There's only one problem---I want at least three more of these beauties!
Joy @ JOYSOFHOME

Linked to ASPTL DIY Day