Valentine Madness!
I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day and when I found some vintage Valentines similar to those we used to hand out when I was in elementary school, I just had to decorate our den for the occasion!
‘Nuff said!
I just had to do it!
An old flat, water hyacinth basket (Goodwill) became the background for an assortment of Valentine elements.
The focus of our den, done up in hearts and flowers.
…a series of close-ups…
…champagne dreams…
…cavier wishes????
…a touch of country…
…wearing my heart(s) on my tablecloth….
…a serving of flaming hearts1…
…a new pillow with a heart-felt statement! (The pillow is a custom order item that is new in the Thirty-one Gifts Spring and Summer Catalog!)
Flossie Christmas 2015
The Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. It may be a ridiculous dream that I harbor but this residence is a continual inspiration for me.
Our den and the hub of our home.
Over-the-top? That’s part of the charm! This is our den and the year-round color scheme is red and gold.
I found this painted metal reindeer head at Goodwill and it set the theme for Christmas 2015.
It’s always fun to open the holiday decorations I’ve kept stored to find the perfect thing for this year’s theme wrapped and waiting to be uncovered!
Although difficult to see, almost everything on the tree is reindeer or sleigh themed.
I just had to “see” my Mr. Bear Snowman this year regardless of my chosen theme.
The wonderful, woolen, stuffed reindeer is a treasure I’ve had for years as is the red, wooden sleigh with brass runners. The “bag of goodies” is actually a Hallmark presentation sack for an over large present.
This set of small trees stays out all year (as does our Christmas tree, which is remeniscent of Italian cypress) and are again decorated with reindeer, some in the form of cleverly designed gift tags.
These “snowy” magnolia leaves were a post holiday bargain a couple of years ago. I added shiny, silver curly-cues for glamour.
The painted, wooden reindeer cutout was another post holiday bargain from last year.
In late October, I found these cloth covered reindeer at Target and couldn’t resist them. I also found the perfectly sized sleigh for them.
The “cypress” tree lives in this corner all year.
This door received the musical, gold angel/musical notes/Santa treatment.
My desktop tree also has some reindeer elements.
Not a reindeer and not exactly a cooked goose but graceful swan that was welcome to the table.
Another view of the dining area of our “great” room.
The sofa table gets one of my fav finds: the little, candy striped, cake pedestal which is holding my bronzed booties under glass.
Our largest bathroom also gets treated to some holiday cheer.
I love the recent development of tiny, battery-powered lights. Case in point: this snowy tree which can stay lit even with the lights out.
The lovely embroidered winter scene was created by my sweet mother-in-law many years ago and it perfectly reflected the wintery tree figure (from the Biltmore House) right down to the silver star broach that I added to the embroidery piece. The silver tea service (another family heirloom) suits the icey feeling of the vignette.
Not even our master bedroom can escape the Biltmore influence. The partridge-in-a-pear-tree figure was purchased from the shops at the Biltlmore House.
The headboard gets a touch of class.
I combined three different small decorative items into one delicate, small “wreath”.
I’ve fallen in love with the trend to use lots of mirrored surfaces in decorating and have chosen our bedroom to explore that trend.
The colors in our bedroom required some beautiful tinted glass.
I may have shown this before but again here is my sewing room wreath. Naturally, it showcases pincushions, needle sharpeners, spools of thread, tape measures and various fabric creations. This concludes my 2015 holiday offerings. On to the New Year!
1960s Ranch House with 1980s Owners
Here is a photo of our little house during the decade it was built. I used my iPhone to photo shop the 1980s couple (my husband and me) into the foreground. We’ve added a larger den and dining room to the back of the house. We also added a wrap-a-round deck and a screen porch. A small front door portico was added but needed to be rebuilt when we recently had a new roof installed. You can look at some of my other posts to see the new gable end, front porch portico and the new white posts.
Approximately 1200 Sq. Ft. of newlywed heaven
Renovations to Flossie’s Residence #2
Today our wonderful contractor and his co-worker installed the new columns. What a difference they made! He even did away with the need for one of the original posts to be replaced thereby cleaning up the appearance of the whole front porch area. I am thrilled because I wanted it gone so badly. Next we have to decide whether or not to use the fish scale siding on the short carport wall or use the Hardy board siding we’re using on the other exterior, non brick areas. We shall see.
Renovations to Flossie’s Residence
We desperately needed a new roof which in turn called for structural improvements. We expect a radical upgrade to our 60s ranch. Here is a photo of our work in progress featuring our cement sentinels.
Outdoor Euphoria How-to
Several years ago we painted our front door a coral toned red. Ever since then I’ve wanted to add red accents to the front porch and the carport. In January I began stockpiling my raw materials to do that. In addition I wanted to use a blue and green color scheme on the screened porch. These photos show the result.
Some items you might have noticed are the rugs I used on the backs and seats of the benches. I spray-painted some older wicker chairs a gorgeous red. I repurposed a bedroom bench by covering the seat with a coordinating print shower curtain thereby making the seat weather and pet proof. I found a beautifully embroidered seat cushion on clearance and a charming red ceramic “bird” birdhouse. The “avian apartment house” was a long ago craft fair find. For the carport door I chose to hang a ready-made framed piece consisting of a silhouette of a rusty red rooster. The cabinet was an on line find and hanging above it, is a floral canvas piece that I picked up at a discount store. The large rooster is painted metal but his companion, Miss Hen, is a ceramic piece.
I spray-painted the mailbox by the door and hung a decorative piece of painted metal above it.
On the brick wall, we have had hanging for years a white painted pseudo-window to which I added a ready-made floral wreath.
As you probably noticed I am enamored of white rabbits, chickens, birds and cats.
Among the collection of items I used on the screened porch, most all came from different places but meshed together well. I attached the three green topiary balls to the three aqua blue flowerpots by running string from the balls through the hole in the bottom of the flowerpots and tying it off with a craft stick. The sun shade is actually a shower curtain that I hemmed on the long edge and through which I ran a curtain rod. I bought matching green ribbon and sewed lengths of it to the seat and back cushions on the swing to hold them in place. The small table cover is actually another shower curtain. Personally, I’m in love with the blue and green lantern. Also you may have noticed the wicker birdcage. It was once white then became bleached now it’s a beautiful lime green! Needless to say I’ve had loads of fun with this project. Thanks for viewing it!
If you’re like me, you are forever tweaking your creations. Case in point, today I added to my humble carport tableau. I “roped” a metal rooster clock (must always know the time when you’re busy outside) and added a wooden letter “G” to its tail! Yee haw!
Fancy & Flossie 