Pretty Petals

Hello there White Wednesday, nice to see you!

 

I am really enjoying looking at all of these white wednesdays... they are fun to look at. Thank you to Faded Charm for being such a wonderful hostess. Somehow looking at whites is so relaxing and easy on the eyes. I am happy to play along again this week and I made it just before Wednesday ended. 

The daisys are blooming! They are one of my favorite flowers... just love how happy they are. I couldn't resist sharing this old bicycle basket full of some daisys... I can imagine the sight of a little girl carrying flowers in this basket on her bicycle all the time.

  
   

 I LOVE mirrors, and I do not pay attention to the rules that say you can only have one mirror in a room. I usually have them on every other wall  or propped here and there. They add so much light and simple beauty to a room in my opinion. This one sits on top of my headboard. 

   

I love my linens... before I was ever Pretty Petals... my business name was Pretty Linens. ;)

 

 I know I know, the door and chandelier again... but I love my door and little chandelier so.  Please indulge me and try not to be too annoyed by yet another photo of the door. I have a feeling it is going to be on my blog alot.... I am thinking I NEED another one so that there is a variety to share.
 

Thank you for stopping by today! there is a giveaway below this post if you would like to enter. Thank you to those of you that left me the nicest and sweetest comments. love to you all... xoxo
  

A spark~a~ly kind of Giveaway ~ for you!

 

I have been blogging for over three years now, 442 posts, so many good times and sweet friends along the way. I started my blog for a place to enjoy my hobbies and relate to women that love the same things as I do... to enjoy creating and antiquing for my shop, not much has changed since that first day of blogging. I remember that feeling when I first discovered some of my favorite blogs. I couldn't believe there were so many people out there that loved so many of the sames things as I did! I also loved that feeling of being inspired to try new things that I had never thought of before.

Along the journey, there  have been times when blogging with so many other beautiful, inspiring and talented women can feel a little overwhelming and and a teeny bit intimidating.  There are so many amazing talented bloggers, shop owners, designers, artists, photographers, and so on... This blogging community keeps growing and growing... and it is exciting to see where technology is taking us!

 

Every once in awhile, it can leave a girl feeling a little tiny bit lost in the mix. Do you ever feel that way too? I can't help but think that even the most seasoned bloggers must feel this way once in awhile? So in the spirit of sharing a little bit of my insecurities with you , I have been feeling that way lately. Just a little bit lost in the mix... wondering just where exactly do I fit in?  

  
  

When I have those times of insecurity, I have to reel myself back in and remind myself of the reasons I started this little blog in the first place. It is to be me... to enjoy what I love to do no matter how many people read my blog, follow my blog, support me, like me, find me worthy. None of that really matters at all!

So I wanted to offer a little giveaway not for any reason other than to thank all of you who have left me encouragement or a kind word over the years. Thanks for listening to me babble and letting me share my excitement over this project or that... and most of all for making me feel accepted here in this vast world of blogging we have ourselves in!

Please leave a comment here to this post and I will enter you into the giveaway to win this necklace I made as a token of how much I am so thankful for all of you! Anyone can enter, even international readers... I will draw a winner on Sunday July 4th.

 Please be sure to link to an email or blog... thanks and wishing you all a wonderful week! xoxo  

Comments are closed, Thank you!!!

~ Le Petit Chandelier Workshop is now open!

 

 
 

 

If you would love to learn how to make one of these sweet little petit chandeliers yourself... please join me as I have set up a little online workshop for us to make them together. The instructions will be set up on a password protected website and they will be emailed to you within 24 hourse (usually sooner) of your purchase.

As you may remember in my last post about them I have been in love with vintage french chandeliers forever... and since I can never seem to find one I thought I would try to recreate one to enjoy... especially one with those fancy colored opaque drops! I will share full instructions on how I made them, a supply list and lots of support along the way. I have tried a few different ways of making these and there is definately a few tricks to getting them just right..

You can find all of the details right here at my shop if you would like to join in... I can't wait to see all of these beautiful chandeliers you gals come up with! 

 

Here are a few buttons if you would like one... xoxo Heather
 
 

In the Trenches...

One day I was in an antique shop looking at an old door and a lady told me about a place in the city called Construction Junction... she said they have a ton of old doors... and all sorts of recycled building materials taken out of old homes.

I had never heard of it! How could I have lived in this city for all my life... and had never KNOWN of Construction Junction!

I bugged my husband forever to take me there with his truck because I had a FEELING I would need a truck at a place called Construcion Junction! Finally I got tired of waiting for him, and truthfully I didn't really want him to go because you may remember he is not a fan of the whole door as art thing...  so off I went... in my jeep... thinking that IF I found a door or some other treasures I will just shove it in there somehow. You wouldn't believe the things I fit in that thing.. or maybe you shove all sorts of things in your car too? lol

Let me just SAY... I pull into this place that looks like a garbage pit... there are TONS of recycling dumpsters. It is run by the city of Pittsburgh to encourage recycling of products and to cut down on waste. As soon as I walked through the dusty doors my heart about lept out of my chest! There are DOORS as far as the eye can see.... I mean, beautiful OLD all wood, heavy doors! Glorious I tell you!

In every shade imaginable... and about 80 percent of them are OLD! oh the chippy paint...

 

 

Some have beautiful details... and are VERY Tall

 

some of the doors with hardware like this one went all the way up to 100.00 in price... (which still is not BAD for a beautiful wood door)

But most of the regular sized doors were only 20.00!! what??? can you believe it?

I thought my friend Natasha would love this minty green door....

How sweet is this little buttercup??

 

Oh, maybe you need a lid for your toilet???

 

or some spindles??

 

 

or how about this super CUTE retro kitchen!!

 

or some BEAUTIOUS old columns...

 
  
 

ok ok, back to the doors heather... Now I have a plan to buy ONE door.. and only one. (that is all that will fit in my little jeep otherwise I may have left there with 10. I knew I wanted it to be white, not too chippy... didn't want paint falling everywhere, and I wanted it to be the right size for where I wanted it.

 

There were SO many choices... all of them beautiful!

   

   

 

this one was a little rough... but I love the glass insets.

 
  it really boiled down to these two that I pulled out below...

  
 I am kicking myself for not buying both... maybe I will go back for the other.

 

 

This dirty girl is the winner! .. yes I do call my doors girls... what sold me on this one was that beautiful bright white paint and the horizontal insets... just love those!  All she needed was a good scrub and her shiny white paint will shine through! I can see the potential...

   
 

 

She is perfect! What do you think?  I really love it... it is just the right size... only 20.00.... and the beautiful horizontal insets... and oh I do just love it.

So if you aren't so much into the door thing as art then you won't really GET this post... but for those of you who DO get the door thing... can you even believe how many beautiful doors can be in ONE place? I am telling you, you need to DRIVE to pittsburgh to visit me... and get you a door too! Or better yet... check your local city for a recycling center of building materials.

There were SO many parts to the recycling center that I didn't even get to look through... I can't wait to go back... I think I might need a door in every room. Mom if you are reading this... we need to go! but next time, I need a truck.

xoxo Heather
 

Le Petit Chandelier

  

Oh how I love french chandeliers...especially teeny petit ones. I can always spot them a mile away by their unique shapes... they have that certain French look to them you know? Sometimes they are quite pricey... from hundreds to even thousands of dollars.

So I thought and thought and thought about how I could make a sweet little petit chandelier for myself. Since I couldn't find one ... (or afford one)... then why not MAKE it?? lol! I tried a few attempts after carefully examining beautiful old chandeliers that I love... the first few tries didn't work out so well... but now I think I finally got it!

 
  

This little sweetie is not electrified... it is just meant to hang and look pretty... and sparkle in the sunlight.

 

I keep moving it all around... there are so many places where it looks sweet.

I especially love the opaque green drops... they add a sweet pop of color to my room. I think it looks quite vintagey... don't you?

  
 
I think I might need two or three more! How cute would these be for a wedding hanging all around sparkling under a white tent???  Can you see the vision??

I am thinking I am going to offer an online workshop on how I made this... maybe some of you might like to make one too? If so, keep an eye on my blog... I am working on getting the workshop set up and then I will post about it here to let you know when it is ready if you are interested. Then we can all make them together!

Have a wonderful day!

xo Heather

p.s.- I had so much fun at the where bloggers create party! Still making my way around to see everyones spaces... but wow there are so many beautiful ones!

Where Bloggers Create II ~~ Party !

Hello and welcome to the Where Bloggers Create II party~ yay! Welcome to my little space. I was so excited to participate in this party this year because I actually have my room finished... last year it was only in its beginning stages. I shared my craft room a little while ago so some of you may remember it. I took new photos for the party because I wanted to show the room layout a little better... and I changed a few things since then. 

 

My craft room is a space I created on one half of our family room in the downstairs of our home. I used these old doors hinged together to seperate my space from our family room space.

 
 

The doors hide most of the MESS!

 

 

This is one of those industrial shelving units you usually buy for your garage (target)... I loved how deep the shelves where and how high they were too... I can pack a TON of stuff on here. I dressed it up with some silky curtains and now I love it. As far as all the junk on this thing... I think a studio/work area is really the only place where you can pull that off and have it look cute, right? lol!

  

I have all of my favorite things in my little room , lots of flowers... jewelry....ribbons... lace... and papers.
 

 
and a few things just for fun!

 

A favorite old dress...

This hoosier cabinet has been in my family for many years... I use it as my desk, and my computer tower and printer are housed underneath behind the doors. Love how it is all hidden away.

 

 

 

 

This table is where I create jewelry... although I sometimes still work on my dining room table. It just depends on where my family is.

 

I keep lots of jewerly in these old boxes... then I can carry them with me upstairs or down.

 
  

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so excited to hop around and see everyones Studio spaces! There are over 450 people that are participating... can you believe that?? This event is being sponsored by  Where Women Create... there are prizes that are being given away...  you can find all of the details right here.  

A special thank you to Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage... who is our sweet hostess and must have worked SO VERY HARD on organzing this party. ;)

I am off to see everyones beautiful spaces... have a wonderful weekend.

xoxo Heather
 
 

White Thursday?

 

HEllo, Well, I wanted to post for White Wednesday but didn't get my post done in time... and I have never done a white wednesday before so I am not exactly sure of HOW it all works. I do know that I LOVE seeing everyones whites out there in blogville.

I love my cowboy hat above... just waiting for the right place to wear it. It isn't a common site for people to wear them much here in PA suburbia...

 

A perfect summer purse...

Some shells from my son's collection

a white rose from the garden

a few trims and things... I love the lace on the card. It was a sweet gift from my friend Laura

  
  a vintage ballet tutu

monogrammed linens from my stash

Hope you enjoyed my whites for white wednesday even though it is thursday. If you know the scoop on how white wednesday works would you mind letting me know... am I supposed to sign up on a list? 

(edit* figured it all out about the list, thanks so much ladies!)

xoxo Heather

Bella Notte Linens, Bedroom Inspiration

I am sure you know of Bella Notte Linens, beautiful beautiful beautiful. 

I am trying to refresh my Bedroom a little bit... feeling a little tired of the super soft colors I have in there and am wanting a little more of a sophisticated look. I have been feeling that way with most of my decorating now... clean, simple, a little bit sophisticated and lots of comfort. Mixing in some darker colors with the light. The photo above is my dream bedding set... if I had an extra thousand dollars that is... ;)

This pillowcase is AMAZING... and the COLOR... that is mY color right now. I am LOVING LOVING that beautiful deep ocean~  peacock~ turquoisey blue!

and in velvet makes it all the better. Isn't it just beautious?

Come along and see more of my wish list...

LOVE the simple beauty of this set, with the pop of raspberry pink, and chocolate brown... just yummy.

 

and this picture is just too pretty for words... the epitomy of feminine. The photographer is Jay Graham  ... he is AMAZING. Browse through his work... his photos take my breath away. I wish I could spend just one hour with him learning.
 

lovin this beautiful green throw... 

 
  

 

I just want to curl up in this bed... love that beautiful pale gold color.

and I have never been much of a purple girl, but for some reason I am loving it so much lately.

What is your color lately? do you have one? I usually have this color that I am obsessed with every few months... funny how colors do that to us.

I think it is the artist inside of us, when colors speak to us, you know?
 

 
You can see all of these product photos and much much more of Bella Notte Linens on there website, be sure to look through the photo gallery. Jaw dropping gorgeous stuff... and the photography... perfection!

Which one was your favorite? I wish I could have one of each!

A girl can dream!

Polly Wreford, an inspiration to me

One day I would love to develop the knowledge and skill to become a professional photographer, particularly an interior design photographer. It is a dream of mine! Anyway, I am sure that many people that have dreams of becoming something one day probably have people that inspire them... Polly Wreford is one of those people to me, her photography work is GORgeous and she also shoots for some amazing designers and stylists.

 

I believe the above photo was taken for Laura Ashley..

 

This one is for Designer Atlanta Bartlett... who I also love!

Behind every amazing designer/stylist is a really AWESOME photographer capturing the spirit of the design through the lens...

 All of the photos in this post are by the amazing Polly Wreford...

 
  

 

 
  

 

 

How beautifully she captures these gorgeous rooms!
 

 You can find more of Polly Wreford's photography in Easy Elegance, by Atlanta Bartlett... love this book! 

Happy Weekend everyone! xoxo Heather
 
 
 

The peonies are gone until next year...

 
  

Hello Bloggers, How are you?

Today is kindof a rambling post... but that is ok because this is my little spot so I can ramble right?

I was wondering is it me or does blogging seem different lately? I have heard a few people say it and I wonder if you think so? I guess all things go through periods of change.

I think some trends are changing... and lots of blogs have come and gone along the way of my three years here in blogland... maybe due to venues such as facebook and twitter. I personally am not a fan. I have a facebook but it creeps me out that old boyfriends, distant relatives and people that I barely knew in highschool can see my every move all in one place. It is just weird to me... maybe it is me who is weird?? lol! 

  

 

anyway, moving on... I picked the last of the peonies for the year. If you look close at this table you can see remnants of something red. lol!! I must have missed cleaning that up. Usually this table is covered in legos... I had to clean them up for this picture. Who really wants to see legos in a pretty picture? but just know... they are usually there... and all over every other inch of my house too. Oh well... I will miss those little legos one day from my sweet little guy so I am not complaining too much. :)
 

 

 

sad to see the peonies gone for the year... but I know they will be back next year. I have loved having them in my house these last few weeks.

 

I will share photos of the whole room as soon as my husband finishes the baseboards... it is taking him foREVER.

 

 

I have been trying to get back in the swing of things with being creative but it just hasn't been too often lately. I did make this necklace. I have been too busy with my garden. I love gardening this time of year... but usually once the hot summer heat comes around I am not much into the gardening scene anymore.

My Mom let me borrow this magazine she bought at Barnes and Noble... it is the British edition of Country Living... SO MUCH BETTER than the AMerican version if you ask me!! I love it... and I am on a mission to find it at my barnes and noble so I can get it all the time.

Here is a peek at one of my fave pages. Love love it.

 

Oh I made this little paper doll girl too... I call her Virginia Mae. ;) Love that parasol.

 
Ok so I have to know... has the Silly Bandz fever hit your life yet?? I found myself at 5below the minute it opened to get some of these for my 8 year old because they keep selling out everywhere. me and about 5 other moms were there right at the open of the store with the same agenda. I had to laugh! This is what my life has become... a crazy mom on a mission to be first in line to get the goods for the silly bandz craze in my household right now. For those of you that don't know...they are rubber band bracelets that are shaped like animals and guitars and things... the guy who invented these things is a millionaire now. Why couldn't we think of this?? We are pretty creative people here in blog land??? we could be millionaires right now!

 

 

A favorite tablecloth I pulled out to do something with. aren't the colors divine??

  
 
  well, I guess that is all the rambling for now... thank you for stopping by my little world. Talk about a mish much of things to talk about today. wishing all of my fellow blog friends a very happy week!

xoxo Heather