Giving a plain jane homes pretty details......

My house is a 1959 split level. It is what I think one of as one of the most boring and unpractical home designs ever. When we moved in it was white walls and boxy-ness. I have to admit it, I an an old-house girl. I dream of hidden nooks and crannies and tons of character.

But, I think just because you don't live in something that's already gussied up with gingerbread and arched entryways, or already has molding that does laps around your ceiling, that's no reason to give into the boring room blahs. Think of it more as a blank slate waiting to be fancied up. It's all about working with what you got and taking it a step at a time for plain jane builds new and old.... 

Do you notice  in these pictures how just a little bit of  woodwork really elevates the space?

 

Via French Larkspur

 Via Thrify Decor Chick

Have you improved your own white box and added architectural interest?? Join in next Wednesday, September 7th for  a linky party.. Molding and more!

Show us how you've added molding, fretwork, board and batten, mantles, and other accents!

Jen

P.S. I am headed out to see this sweet girl this weekend. Have a great weekend! See you Monday!

Art on the Farm...

I have some exciting news! This year at the Nada Farm Sale  October  7 and 8th(Which was mentioned in September's Midwest Living magazine!),  there is going to be two days of Art on the farm to go along with the sale! And I am going to be teaching 2 classes!

On Saturday morning I'll be teaching and art under-glass class:

Reflections of the prairie mixed-media art :

Bring your coffee and join in on a two hour class where we will  create a mixed-media mirrored art piece made from a magnifying glass using vintage botanical prints,typography, twine, paper, text, decoupage and the inspiration of the peaceful surroundings. It starts with a 15 minute prairie walk/meditation to gather inspiration. Suitable for all skill levels, Each student will leave with a completed, unique art piece.

$38.00

9 am to 11 am  Saturday October 8

  This class is near and dear to my heart. I love that we are going to start the morning 15 minute prairie walk with some self-reflection time. It's about connecting with nature and personalizing our experiences in this beautiful place we've been given. Anne Marie's farm and prairie is amazing first thing in the morning. It's one of the quietest, most peaceful places I've ever been.

After my class on Saturday, Jeanne Oliver is teaching 2 amazingly creative classes.

 and

You can register by e-mailing her at
jeanneoli at hotmail (dot)com  and see more information about her classes on her blog.  Her last class on the farm earned rave reviews!

and there are more, if you are looking for  a fun time with the girls, you can shop the sale Friday and then  make it a full day of creative classes! 

 

 On Friday night, October 7, Jill Harris, is teaching a jewelry class from 4-7 and then the very talented Jeanne Oliver and I are co-hosting a class specifically aimed at bloggers and any one who wants to be able to find ways to sell what they are making and self-promote:

Avenues to an artful business

 

There is such joy in simply creating, but there is something so fulfilling about being able share it with others as well.

Have you always wanted to find ways to let your artwork shine or create paths to promote your unique creations?

This mini-class will cover ways to:

-Remove the fear and take the steps you need towards being published in national magazines

-Learn about the process and tricks for opening an on-line Etsy or Web store

-Get hints and information about what you need to open a booth in a co-op space or antique store

-Sell or consign your items wholesale to retailers

1 hour  6:30 to 7:30 pm Friday night

$18

It includes /2 hour of pure information and ½ hour of Q and A time. Shop the sale a bit and then come to class!

I am very excited about sharing this class as well. When I first started blogging and trying to get published with the other blogging dinosaurs in 2007, I really didn't know any one who I could ask questions about all of the things mentioned above.  I was so intimidated sending things into magazines, and the idea of starting an Etsy store made me so nervous I was nauseous ! I kind of had to figure it out myself and struggled through a lot of things I didn't have to. So this class is  a great way to get  a jump start on all of those things you have questions about.

If you are interested signing up for either one of these classes, you can reach me at thecraftyhome at comcastdotnet. 

Jen

Real women eat potatoes....

Grown in her garden,

dug from the earth,

 covered in dirt,

 as big as her hand,

 and washed, cut, and tossed in olive oil and onion powder and then 

roasted in a shallow pan at 400 degrees,

for 30-45 minutes, turning a few times, then sprinkled with sea salt so that they have a creamy warm inside, and a salty, crispy outside.

forget the carbs!

Jen

Back in the swing of things...

I always feel a mixture of sadness and guilty relief the first day of school. So happy to get back into a routine and have some time to myself, but a little sad I don't see my little chickens all day long, and a little guilty for looking forward to some free-time.

And the first couple of days are always exhausting for everyone. My two older girls have been crying at night that they don't want to go to school because they don't get to see me for 6 hours, they don't know any one in their class, and it's too long of a day from home. I think after a full day, when they finally get to night-time, it just hits them full-force, and all of the emotions they keep inside just kind of tumble out.

It's hard to remember sometimes that things we take in a stride as adults are much harder for their little spirits to deal with; We've been having a lot of extended cuddling sessions at bed time.

Then bright and early the next day, after a good night sleep, anxieties are forgotten, and they are ready to head off again to see their friends and tackle the day. And then I am  happy that they are okay to go, and that we are all ready to get back in the swing of things...

Jen

Chalk Talk....

 After seeing Dana Tanamchi's amazing chalk art, I decided to play and give it a go myself..

 Not horrendous, but I think it is nothing  compared to her work.  

I am in just awe of her talent.

Her perspective is amazing.

I can't believe it's chalk! I can't tell you how much I had to erase just to do the simplest things!

 and it's so precise!

You can see more of her amazing work on her site here....
And a chalk board linky party here at Bowl full of Lemons .

Jen

Shop talk...

I'd really love your opinion please.....

I spoke with a good friend today (who I find is very wise.),  And told her my dilemma;

I am finding I am having a hard time narrowing down what I should be focusing on for my shop in fall. I am leaning towards mostly home decor,but have so many ideas and I feel of scattered about it... So I want to know... Are you pillowed out? What do you find you are willing to buy on-line for your home? What style do you like? What would you like to see in my shop? What would you like to see me make? Where do you think styles and trends are going. Be honest, there are no wrong answers, only appreciated ones.

After I asked her about it, she told me I should ask you. See how wise she is. So here we are.

What do you think?

Jen

Are you tired of me talking about Country Living magazine yet?

If you didn't get the September makeover issue if Country Living (which is a good one I must say, but I am biased.), you can also view the pics they took of my kitchen on their web site.

Here

I know a lot of you asked me why they didn't show more pictures, so

if you want to see the entire make over start to finish,  including before with the dark cabinets and how we painted them, you can follow the journey we took from burst pipe,hair pulling and tears to pretty new kitchen here .

Jen

My new fabric collection....

I've been playing around on Spoonflower after I had such a great response to my hand printed curtains. I am now offering a similar pattern right from the site in a few different colors. They come in quilting weight, an awesome cotton/linen blend which is awesome for tea towels, pillows and more and a few other fabric weights as well.
My first collection is called

 the Vintage birds and script collection.
Right now I have 4 colors

* the fabrics keep showing up and then disappearing.. you can see them HERE at the spoonflower site.*

light aqua

light grey

grey and blue

and dark grey. 

you can click right on the pictures to take you to patterns on the Spoonflower site. It's a great site and there are a ton of great fabrics as well. You can also order swatches to make sure you like the fabric beforehand. Thursday, August 18th is free swatch day. So you can also get  a free swatch of one of my fabrics as well. I am always up for trying something different, and I can never find the fabric I want. It's in my head, but I can never seem to find it on-line...so I thought, why not?

Jen

I'm back and Country Living questions...

Did you miss me? The family and I popped out for  a bit of  a break last week.

Though as you can see we did have  a bit of excitement before we left..... 

Oooops.

We still have no phone service.

We went up the Lake coast to the town's of New Buffalo and South Haven,  Michigan for a few days.

 We stayed at our friends little cottage in the woods. Now I want  a little cottage in the woods. Every night after the kids were in bed, we just sat up with the windows open listening to the frogs and crickets and read books. At one point it was pitch black out and there was a weird noise a few feet from our open window. We were a bit.. what was that?! Being the suburbanites we are, we had to check it out and a deer was hanging out about 10 feet from the window just doing his thing.

 We hit the beach and were completely blessed with amazing weather and somewhat calm waters. Though my little one fought the waves a few times and the waves won.

 My inner geek came out when I started finding these heart rocks... then I started collecting other rocks with tons of other ideas. Next thing you know, we have lugged about 40 pounds of rocks back.

 We had lots of ice cream.

 and hubby indulged me by driving me around while I took pictures of cool old buildings. Isn't he the best?

 We went to South Haven one day. It was beautiful. I hinted to my hubby that we should go back there, just the two of us.

 In this one store I really got  a kick out of the fact I knew a bunch of people on this book shelf. There was Fifi's book, and the Giannetti's new book too.

 and I had to have a shave ice on the beach. I swear that other one is not mine.

After about 4 days with the kids in the car I was ready to stay here. :)

Let's just say I've found that girl's can duke it out pretty good even when they are strapped in seat belts.

We had  a blast, Michigan is beautiful, Tim Allen was right. :)

It's good to be home.

I've been getting quite a few questions about

the Country Living photo shoot and I am going to answer them in my next post, so if you have one, ask away! 

Jen

New items in Etsy and a Beth Quinn winner!

 I have a new item stocked in my Etsy store I am very excited about!

 I took vintage labels from The Graphics Fairy and a few other places I've found and had them printed into fabric.

This is  a totally washable cotton/linen blend and can be sewn, decoupaged, glued etc onto anything you like such as tea towels, clothing, canvas bags etc... 

 You can do all kinds of cute projects like pictured above, and it also give you an idea of their sizes. Unlike regular fabric ink jet printing will not fade over time with repeated washings. There are 7 labels in a sheet and are ready for all of your ideas!

 Some great vintage ironstone mugs that I came across.

and some new tea towels with a british flavor!

The winner of Beth Quinn's gorgeous jewelry is

She dreams big

Congrats!

Jen

P.S. Thank you all for such wonderful comments about my Country Living feature! It's been a dream come try for me, and totally surreal!