Ikea Trip

I played hooky the other day and ran off to Ikea to do some shopping.  I rarely make the short trip across town to visit the store, maybe once or twice a year at most.  I was disappointed to find construction going on in the housewares/storage/office area.  It cut the store down to half it's size.  Despite the construction I did manage to find a few items to take home with me.

A pretty metal lantern, you can never have too many for the summertime.

A lamp to place on my bedside table.

I adore the pull string.

Oh, and since I'm talking about new purchase how do you like my new watch?  Not from Ikea, but from Charming Charlies - - an amazing store by the way.  I love to wear this watch with a couple chunky silver chain bracelets all on the same wrist.  Somehow it makes me feel stylish - - even though I'm SO NOT.

Back to Ikea stuff,

I picked up this set of curtains to make a tablecloth for my dinning room table.  It has and look of linen which I love and it's so soft.  Can't wait to get sewing.

And last but not least, pretty greenery.  I'm obsessed with this stuff.  I've used it all over the house and always think of new ways to use it.  I picked up four new bunches for me and two for my mom.  They come in very ugly orange-ish plastic pots but I just pull them out and place them in pretty containers like this footed bowl.

Crazy for Cows

The past few days have been cold and windy and I've found myself inside with no pressing issues to deal with.  It was the perfect chance to play with some of my treasures.  I tweaked a few displays and I thought I'd share the desk area in my living room.



I'm still crazy about the farm sign I painted a while back.

A new lantern from Ikea adds yet another galvanized lantern to my collection.  You can never have too many if you ask me.

My favorite cow in my collection is this rusty, cast iron one.  Isn't she sweet.

Resting on top a pile of books, she's the perfect accent to the farm sign hung above the desk.

Have a great day,

Robin



Pretty Sugar Bowls

This week is shaping up to be busier than normal and I feel bad about neglecting my blog so I have a quick post to show off a few new items I've recently picked up.

You all now my infatuation with anything white . . .many of you have a similar condition I'm sure. . so when I spotted two pretty sugar bowls I snapped with up quick.

The first on reminds me more of an urn than a sugar bowl,

I love it's fluted sides and pretty handles.

The second is also very pretty but seems more fragile and delicate.  It's covered in tiny cracks which doesn't show up in my photo so much but gets my heart pumping.

How your all have a more relaxing week than I am, talk to you soon,

Robin

Obsessed with Cutting Boards

I'm not quite sure when or how my obsession with cutting boards began . . . it just sort of crept up on me all quiet and sneaky like.

Have you ever had that happen? 

Your just strolling along, minding your own business then  WHAM!!!!  You realize your always on the lookout for more.

Realization dawned on me last week as I strolled through the aisle of my local thrift store and happened to glance into my cart.  It contained the usual suspects . . . white china, bits of tarnished silver, a few baskets and two flannel shirts . . . surprisingly it also held two small cutting boards.

Surprised as I was, with a grand total of $2.00 they were staying in my chart!

The first cutting board is tiny and adorable.  It will be perfect this summer for cutting limes for Margarita Fridays.



Until then, it lends a helping hand to the dog treats container in the kitchen window by bumping up the style meter a bit.



 Aren't these little doggie bones adorable? 

I like spreading them a round on the cutting board for quick access.

The second cutting board is a fun oval shape which I thought was unusual and pleasing.



I've used it all over the kitchen, but this morning I was up early so I set out some breakfast food on it for the girls.



I thought it was so pretty I snapped a few pictures before they could mess it up.  I'll have to do this more often just for fun.

Hope you have a lovely day,

Robin

Handy Wood Bins

Micheal's recently had a three pack of wooden bins on sale and I picked up a set thinking it was just what I needed to organize a few things around my kitchen.

The largest bin I had a most fun with.
 

First I gave it the same painting and scraping technique I used here.  Next, I stenciled on a few numbers since I'm always looking for ways to add numbers or letters to my home.

The result is a  box that looks like it's been a round for a long time and well loved.

I added two simple jar candles and then filled in around them with small white flowers and green and white berries.  Whatever I could find in my stash of floral supplies.

Placed on the dinning room table, it's the perfect spring centerpiece.

The smallest of the bins was simply painted red and then slightly distressed.

It adds a the prefect pop of color on my counters and pulls double duty corralling small items like salt, pepper and cinnamon/sugar.  Plus I love how simple it's made getting everything to the dinning table come dinner time.  Simply pick the whole thing up and plop it on the table - no more thinking about what we may or may not need.

The middle sized bin was also pulled into kitchen duty on the other side of the room.

After a quick coat of white paint, a slight distressing and the addition of a chalkboard label - - it now keeps our phone charger neatly under control.  Even has plenty of room to hold small items like seeds and peat pots neatly stacked until I have time to plant them.

I'm thinking I may go back and pick up some more bins to help organize the girls stuff in the bathroom.

Hope you have a lovely day,

Robin

I'll be linking up to these parties:
Tell It To Me Tuesday
Primp Your Stuff
Vintage Inspiration
Treasure Hunt Thrusday
Show and Tell Friday

Numbered Wall Art

This quick and easy project took less than two hours to complete and added a colorful, graphic punch to my living room makeover.

Two, small reused wood plaques from Micheal's and one piece of scrap wood from my stash of mis-matched leftovers where given two coats of creamy white spray paint.

While I waited for the paint to dry, I printed out three numbers in different fonts.  After tracing them unto the painted pieces I simply colored in the numbers with craft paint.  To hang them on the wall I used picture hanging strips from 3M - - no nails necessary!  Love that.

Have a great day,

Robin

DIY Photo Ledge

One of my favorite features in the newly decorated living room is the photo ledge.  It turned out being the perfect element to fill up the large bare wall. 

Plus it was so easy to put together. 

I used Ana White's tutorial to get me started.  Her easy instructions made the shelves a snap to build and it took less than a half hour to build both shelves.

I did tweak the original design to work a little better for me.  Knowing that I wanted a deeper shelf than the 1X4 the plans called for I replaced it with a 1X6 instead.  Making the ledge wider allowed me to place larger items like the lantern.

Hubby was concerned that it needed a little more support to accommodate the wider depth.  A simple solution was to cut an angled piece wood to add as an end cap.  I simply attached them from the back and the bottom with screws, and tacked them to the front with two finish nails.

The result is a simple, easy project that packs a very stylish punch!

Have a great day everyone!

Robin

Linking up here:
Inspiration Friday