Monogrammed Wedding Pillow Give Away!!!

I was looking back through our old posts to see if I had ever shared my updated wedding pillow.  Do you remember our original wedding pillow?  Here is a link to the original.  Wedding Pillow  Not long after I created this fun pillow I designed this more traditional wedding pillow. (But apparently I have been too busy to write or photograph it). 

I love this pillow.  We still use a white hop sack with a beige/gray embroidery thread, but I have added the cord for a more traditional look. 

 

 

 

As always, we embroider the wedding date on the back of the pillow.

 

 

 

In honor of our 6 new facebook likes yesterday (I know it may not seem like many to you, but to me, it is marvelous) I have decided to give one of these wedding pillows away. (With the feather down insert of course).

 

 Pillows can be purchased, if you don't win

 :( 

They make a great wedding/shower/baby gift and retail for $75.  Pillows measure 16 by 24.

 

 

So all I need you to do is like it and share it to win it on Facebook.  I will draw a name at random on Sunday night, and announce the winner Monday August 12, 2013

 

I will then contact you privately about your order :) And by the way you don't need to live in Lynchburg to win this pillow.  I will include shipping to the lucky winner.  Please help me get 6 more likes!

 

thank you!

Rebekah

Guest Suite

I am learning how to be a mother of three children these days. Most days I consider a success, with a few hiccups along the way, of course. :)

 I can't believe that Sterling is already nine weeks old.  I was looking through pictures of her just a few weeks ago and I can't believe how much bigger she is now.  Well nine weeks after her birth, we have finally seen the last of her visitors come and go and I thought I would share with you the guest suite I decorated in time for her birth.  I wanted a soothing retreat for our guests, and I am just thrilled with how it turned out, maybe because it is one of the only finished rooms in my house right now.  My dining room, living room and work room are all currently in a state of remodel. 

 

This room started with the curtain fabric.  I found it a few years ago at a high-end design shop here in Lynchburg.  The shop was closing it out for $4/yard!  I don't know about you but when I can find a great linen priced below the cost of lining I swoop it up. 

 

 

My mother likes to read so a comfortable chair was a must.  I found this 1960's wing chair in the basement of a local upholstery shop.  I loved the lines so I had it reupholstered in a beige linen (again the color is pulled from the original curtain material).  As you know, I like to move my furniture from room to room so I find that by covering it in a neutral fabric I can change the entire look by just changing out the pillows or adding a new throw. 

 

 

 

 I love this rustic ticking fabric, and it was the perfect choice for a custom table skirt. 

 

 

 

I decided to stay with very traditional artwork for this room.  All of the apple prints came from a Finder's Keepers Sale last fall.  I think I paid $18 a piece for them! I think our next sale will be mid-fall 2013.  I can't wait. 

 

Here are a few pictures of inspiration rooms for this project... if only money were no object! 

 

Velvet and Linen

Via Pinterest

James Michael Howard



James Michael Howard

Via Pinterest

Suellen Gregory

 

As I said earlier in this post the rest of my house is torn apart.  I am currently working on my living room/dining room, work room, and master bedroom.  I should know better than to attempt multiple rooms at once.  I don't have the budget, and I loose focus.  Too many choices!  Here is a sneak peak at my work room.  I really do think this is the prettiest 10 square feet of my entire home.

 

 

Excuse the iPhone picture! Full room reveal coming soon (I hope!).  In typical Rebekah style I've already changed out the chair at my sewing table. Maybe that is why room reveals are few and far between these days. When finished this room will have over 60 yards of  Brown Damask Schumacher fabric.  Dreamy!

 

Rebekah

 

 

July Sale!

Happy

 

Independence

 

Day!

 

 

 

I dropped off new pillows and table runners at both Urban Merchant and Black Dog Salvage, and in honor of our Great Country, I have marked everything at Black Dog 25% off for the month of July.  Stop in and buy me out so I have room for all our new fall decor! (Coming in late August).

 

Rebekah

 

 



Tips for Photographing a Newborn

 

I finally have about 5 extra minutes and I wanted to share a few more photos from Sterling Grace's newborn photo session along with a few tips from my talented cousin and professional photographer Krista Joy about photographing a newborn.  Here is a link to Krista's website. Krista Joy Photography

 

 

 

Tip #1

 

Keep all props and set ups safe, soft and warm for the little one. 

 

 Don't have any set ups that make mom and dad uncomfortable (i.e. suspension shots/swaddled from a branch).  For example, in the photo above we wanted the rough texture of the barrel, but I did not want Sterling's sweet newborn skin  to get splintered or scratched so we stuffed the barrel with pillows and then topped the pillows with a cozy blanket.  Not only does it look great but we protected her skin from the harsh edges of the barrel.

Keeping baby Sterling Safe. 
 What you can't see in this photo is that both my husband and I are standing about 2 inches away from her just in case she decided to move.  Photographing a newborn is not a solo task, it requires multiple spotters.

 Lastly keep the space warm.
 We had a little heat to warm the space so Sterling would not get cold.  After all, we don't want to torture the poor dear.

 

 

 

Tip #2

 

Best Laid Plans

 

Bring along lots of props.  Before we started this photo session we poured over other newborn photos on the Internet to be inspired.   I loved the idea of a baby in a barrel.  Honestly as we got into shooting this series of photos we could tell they were not going to be the best photos of her.  She was awake and cross eyed for most of this series...and moving (see how she is not in focus above)...it was time to move on. 

 

 

 

Tip #3

 

Accessories

 

Plan these out ahead of time.  Head bands, bows, hats, clothes changes...these all take a good photo to a great photo.

 

 

 

 

tip #4

 

Candid shots are sometimes the best.

 

  After all the preparation some of my favorite pictures are those Krista caught of my family just being my family.  Christopher taking Sterling's hand, me holding her between set ups and her hitting her daddy in the face when he kisses her with his scruffy beard are few of my favorite captured moments.

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more

of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 From my family to yours

 

Rebekah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sterling Grace

 

I want to introduce you to our newest family member, Sterling Grace.  She is absolutely perfect.  I am taking this summer off to be with my children, they really do grown up so quickly.  I would love to write a few articles this summer, but at this point I consider it to be a successful day if I put a load of laundry in and see it through folded and put away.  It is really the small things!

 

 

Love,

 

Rebekah



Memorial Day at Black Dog

 This will be my last post before I meet my baby girl.  My due date is tomorrow, so today I thought I would tie up a few loose ends at Black Dog, and bring in a few patriotic items for the holiday weekend.

 

 

 

Thankfully I have my mother and sister in town, so they did all the heavy lifting.    Here are a few pictures of our new products.

 

 

Patriotic Pennants $9

Assorted Vintage Apothecary Bottles $4-8

Coral Pillows $48

Picnic Basket $42

 

 

Red, white and blue assorted pillows with down inserts $48 each.

 

 

Indoor and Outdoor Fabrics $10/yard

 

 

 

Burlap Table Runner $32

 

 

 

 Pillow Covers $28

 

 

Chalkboard $38

Vintage Flags $20-35

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Check out Salvage Dawgs, the new season airs June 1 @ 11 pm on the DIY network. 

 

Rebekah

 

ps Don't you love Kandi's new door!  Talk about fun!

 

Hot Pink Front Door: Valspar Berry Blush

We were so excited to get our new doors put in last year.  They completely updated the house and let in tons more light.  It was just in a "we do things half a$$ around here and then leave it" type way... Yes.  That is right.  We opted to order the doors unstained because it saved significant cash AND because we think we can do everything ourselves. 



FRONT DOOR BEFORE
 

FRONT DOOR AFTER

 FRONT DOOR AFTER AFTER

No biggie right.  Just stain these fiberglass doors.  How hard could it be?  Truthfully.  Not that hard.  Anyone could do it.  JUST GET THE RIGHT KIND OF STAIN!  You know how you just walk into a store, ask an associate a question, and then go with his answer without even considering he may be wrong.  Don't do that!  We just went with the can of stain the sales guy pointed us to without even so much as a second thought.  That is, until we started staining! 

What we needed was gel stain.... what we were using was regular stain.  Big difference here people... huge!  For whatever reason we still didn't really question this product selection (at least not enough to start over) until about a week later, when it was finally dry to the touch, but if you touched it it peeled right off. 

Not exactly the look we were going for.

At this point we had already paid our contractor to hang the doors and even though they looked terrible up close we decided to just ignore it.... for a little over a year!  In a "we do things half a$$ around here and then leave it" type way.

Finally this spring we decided to remedy the problem.   Will stripped the doors and I painted them.

This picture is completely inappropriate but I think sums up his feeling about this quite nicely.... if you can read through the pixelation.

Just to complicate things further.  It is sad when your two year old stops taking naps for many reasons, but this is a huge one!

I think we only brought home 5 samples to choose from.  We are making strides in over coming our color choosing issues.  We had a couple blues, green, another stain, coral, and hot pink.  Would you believe the hot pink won?!? Valspar Berry Blush to be exact.

I LOVE it!  It makes the house so very happy to me.  This place has come a long way from when we bought it.  It was one of those places that everyone insisted was haunted (more on that another day!).  But now, I think it is apparent that people live here.  Happy people.  Hot pink front door type people!  It couldn't suit us any better!

In the same group of pictures on my camera was this beauty.

Blessed beyond measure!

Kandi

Find me at: DIY Dreamer  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Miss Mustard Seed, Sugar Bee Crafts, Elizabeth and Co, Rain on a Tin Roof, Coastal Charm Chic On A Shoes String