The Screen Door

There are literally a billion places between Hendersonville and Asheville to find amazing things!  When Rebekah was in North Carolina visiting with her family we did our best to hit at least a million of the billion.  And, by do our best, I mean we made it to two places....  You see, when you leave 2 husbands with 4 kids locked out of the house in a rain storm and you have the keys with you... they kind of panic! 

We were at one of my favorite places on earth, The Screen Door, in Asheville, NC.  We had perused through most all the booths of this warehouse style, vendor based, store.  We had both fallen head over heals in love with our own little treasures.  Mine, a set of vintage lockers, FOR $40!!  Rebekah, an absolutely beautiful vintage dress form.  She was perfect in every way.

Then came the phone call.  Frantic husband on the other line yelling they are stuck outside in the rain with 4 hungry kids.  I had to literally drag Rebekah out as she has made friends (of course) with one of the vendors and was picking her brain.  It was a 30 minute drive back to Hendersonville so I did have to make a phone call to the frantic husband to remind him he did still have car keys and his wallet so he didn't have to stand outside in the rain with hungry kids... there are plenty of dry places to eat very close.....

Long story short we left without our treasures but here is a sampling of a few of the amazing and unique finds you can score at the Screen Door.

 This place is full of unique and one of a kind finds.  Furniture, art, vintage, industrial, linens, etc. etc.  If you are in Western NC, make it here.  It's a must!

Kandi

P.S.  My chair WILL be finished this week.  I have discovered it is actually made of the hardest wood known to man so reupholstering has been a beast.

Canvas Rag Wreath and Gallery Walls

I was looking back at some of our old posts, and I came across my Canvas Heart Garland; I think I could have done a better job explaining how to make my Canvas Rag Wreath and I want to talk a little about gallery walls. I have absolutely loved this wreath and garland. I think it looks great on my family gallery wall. In the neutral colors it is so versatile, but it can also be made with bright colored fabrics to go with any party theme.  So here is a quick tutorial on how to make these wreaths. 

Here's the Canvas Rag Wreath on my gallery wall. Have you noticed both Kandi and I love creating gallery walls? Do you have a gallery wall in your home? Or does the thought of creating a gallery wall intimidate you?  Creating one is really simple, just pick out a common theme.  In this wall above, I have a couple of common themes....gold frames, and golden shells were used, and all the pictures/art have an antique quality.  What makes this wall special to me are the pictures of my Grandma (front and center), and her father (upper right corner).  I lay my frames out on the floor and establish a pattern before I start poking holes in my wall. If you missed Kandi's Gallery wall on her Play Room Makeover, here it is.  Kandi used three colors in her wall,(white/green/black) and kept all of her pictures to black and white. She has also mixed in a couple of pieces of art, and a mirror.  I know she is still looking for the perfect H to finish this wall.  (But knowing her, it will never be finished!) Isn't this a great family gallery wall!

For more examples of Gallery Walls check out my Pinterest Page
Rebekah Moody

 Back to our project, and a wider look at the gallery wall....

Quick Canvas Rag Wreath Tutorial:

Your Supplies:  Wire wreath form, Scissors, and Canvas Drop Cloth (Painter's Cloth)

I make a little cut at one end of the canvas, and then tear my strip of canvas so that my edge is ragged.  (Canvas is great to work with because it tears easily in a straight line) Strips should 1" wide by 8" long.  You need what seems like a million of these strips! I like my wreath really full.

The last step is to tie your strips onto the metal wreath frame.  And repeat!  About a million times!  This project takes me about 3 hours.  But it is so worth it!

Finished!

Here it is, again.  The process is the same for the garland.  I used a clothes line.  Cut to your desired length, tie knots in each end.  Then start tying on your canvas rags.

Hope you enjoyed project.  It is an easy "no sew" way to bring fabric into your home for any holiday or party! 

Rebekah 

Forcing Branches to Bloom

Am I the only one who gets serious spring fever about now?  It doesn't help that we keep having  warm days only to head right back down into the twenties the very next day.  Teaser!  I love more than anything to have fresh flowers in my house and about this time of year it is easier than you might think to achieve that Pottery Barn blooming branch look for absolutely free!  Just head outside and get to clipping. 

Faux Plum Blossom Branch from Pottery Barn.
Faux branches have their place but why use them when you can have the real thing!!

February and March are the perfect time of year to start forcing branches.  It can take from a couple days to up to 8 weeks to see blooms on your branches.  Here is the process I use. 

1.  Find your tree or bush that blooms in spring.  Forsythia, Dogwood, Crabapple, and Cherry are my favorite and all force easily.  I used forsythia here and am cutting my Dogwoods to force into bloom next week. The forsythia took me about 3 weeks ( I cut the beginning of February).

2.  Look for branches around dime size diameter with beginning buds and lots of them.  Cut more than you think you'll need because some of them will not work.

3.  Cut and put straight into a bucket of water.

4.  I bring mine to the rarely used downstairs shower and give them a good bath in tepid water. 

5.  Cover with a trash bag and close the curtain.  If you can't put them in a dark area then use a dark trash bag.  The trash bag keeps the humidity up and moves them along quicker.  Change your water every few days.  A 65-70 degree area works best.

6.  In one to eight weeks depending on the branch and how close they were to bloom at the time of cut, you will have your beautiful flowering branches!

It really is that easy.  Step 7... show them off!  Change your water every few days and they'll last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on the type of branch.

These shots were taken in my entry.  Here are some things you should know....

1.  We can't pick a wall color.  Ever.  Recurring problem.

2.  There is another mirror in the garge with much better scale for this spot.  I've been too lazy to hang it.

3.  I've had this fabric draped over the dining room chair for 3 months.  I'm going to use it very "soon".

4.  The bookcase is going to get painted very "soon" as well.  (Your "soon" and my "soon" might mean entirely different things :-)

Now, go cut some branches!   Think  how beautiful they are going to look on your Easter table and without spending a penny!

Kandi

****MAKE SURE AND ENTER OUR OWL FRIEND GIVEAWAY  HERE****  ENDS 3/11

Linking up here.




Our Favorite Banana Bread

This week has been so crazy for Kandi and me!  Between sick kids, snow days, working hubbies, unexpected visits, and major projects that we are just not ready to share; life has sure gotten in the way of us connecting with you, and we are sorry!  I am finally sitting down, after putting my babes to bed, and I thought I would share with you my Banana Bread Recipe. 

As with all of my recipes, I have tweaked a recipe that came my way years ago.  Hope you enjoy, this is one of my family's faves....

Banana Bread

Cream together in a Food Processor

1/2 C Butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 C mashed bananas (3-4)Best when very ripe
1 C sugar
1/2 C Buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can mix 1 T vinegar and milk to measure 1/2 cup liquid)

Add to creamed mixture

1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon

Mix, then add

2 Cups Flour

Mix and pour into a greased bread pan.  My family loves chocolate chips in their banana bread, so I add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips at this point.  (mini chips are key, anything larger will sink to the bottom of the bread)

Gently stir chips. (don't get carried away, or they will all sink) Wipe sides of pan and place in preheated 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Rebekah

An Owl Friend

I have finally gotten on the Owl bandwagon....and I have to say they are really cute. 

 I want to make a couple of owls for Christopher's new room and I was telling Kandi about this project, and she said Harper would love one...so this is what I have come up with...I hope HK loves her new owl friend. (I had to make one for my niece Elli too!)

My first edition is photographed below, you can see I have already started to make changes.

I think Potterybarn Kids is responsible for this latest craze....

Penny & Joy Owl Plush

Aren't these book ends adorable!  I think I will be making a couple of these for C's room.

Here is a great tutorial by Ashley Johnston on how to make an owl.

A Snuggly Owl

 

I have made quite a few changes to this original tutorial, & once I perfect my owl, I will share it with all you sewers.  I am also working on those cute owl bookends.

But for now, I don't think Christopher and Elli mind one bit that these owls are not perfect!

C is holding my second edition (I added the legs)

Look at those smiles!  It is all worth it.

So precious!

I can't wait to see Harper with her new owl friend.  I have been so busy with Christopher's room remodel, but I promise I will get an owl tutorial out soon!

Rebekah

***UPDATE! Here is the link to my Owl Tutorial.***


This is where I linked up
      

Fine Craft Guild

Snow Day

I wanted to share these beautiful images of my camellias covered in snow.  I am looking forward to sharing my latest project with you later this week.

Rebekah

Children's Art Display and a Playroom Update

Both of my children go to preschool.  My son attends 5 mornings a week and my daughter 2 mornings a week.  That means they come home with a minimum of 7 pieces of art each week!  Has anyone else out there ever been caught throwing it out?!?  I finally had to tell my 5 year old that I just can't keep every single thing. Does that make me a bad mom?  I do keep the extra special things!  He seems to understand... well kind of.  

In an effort to rediscover my refrigerator and better display their art I came up with a super quick, easy and free way to display the precious artwork that they are always so proud of!

In digging through a "junk" drawer for a candle last week I found a pile of drapery clips I had taken off curtain rings.  Those, along with a ball of twine from the dollar spot at Target, and a few push pins (which will soon be replaced by screw in hooks that I know I have somewhere in this house!).

I had a large blank wall right over a pile of toys.  The perfect place!  Tie your clips onto the twine, tie ends of twine to your hooks (or push pins for impatient people like me) and  attach to the wall.  If you do not have extra drapery clips, I have also seen this project with clothes pins.  Done!  In 15 minutes you can mark two things off your to do list... display your child's prized art work, check....and clean off the fridge, check!  

I wanted to show a couple other playroom project that have gone on since the reveal.  I'll use this super awesome "during" photo so you can see the giant fluorescent light box in the back of the room.  Maybe it was functional but I'm not sure there is anything I hate more in the world of lighting  than florecent bulbs.  I even took out the bulbs to make it less noticeable until I could get it totally out of there. 

Have you ever in your life seen a bigger mess!! 

It has since been replaced with track lighting that makes the gallery wall look 100% more awesome!  Made a huge difference in highlighting the photos and adding more light to the room!  Thanks Will for being so handy!  You can look back at the original Play Room Reveal post to see the difference.   

A couple other inexpensive playroom art projects. 

The "i can do HARD things" free printable is from an awesome blog called  Kiki Creates.  She is creative, smart, focused on God, and all around inspiring!  Go check her out! 

And finally, I can't help but smile when my son recites to my daughter when she's whiny... "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit".  Yeah, right!  Print from Children Inspire Design.  They no longer have this one but have great things that are super affordable.

While some of us are enjoying a snow day (Rebekah)... I'm sitting her looking at a sunny day... super jealous!!!!!!  Not even a flurry last night!

Kandi

Here is where we link up!