Fun Finds For The Kitchen

 

The thrift store has been very good to me lately.  This past week my finds were all about the kitchen. 

 

Take this group of silver butter knives for instance.

Each one has such a lovely design on it. 

 

My favorite is the one in the middle.

I have always found it fun to use butter knives . . . is that weird? 

 

It's just such a lovely way to add charm to a simple meal family meal.  Plus a mini lesson in table etiquette is always a good thing for my girls.

 

My adventures in thrifting also turned up these two small bowls with pretty flowers.

Their size is larger than a butter pat dish but I can't figure out what they would be used for.

 

For now, they make a great base for pillar candles.

My favorite find of the week is this metal trivet.

I can't tell you how long I have looked for one of these. 

 

I've always thought they would be such a great help in the kitchen and the perfect way to add a little old school charm to my counter tops.

 

There are a few area's with slight rusting, but for the most part it's in great shape.

 

I adore the scalloped edging and the sweet heart design in the middle.



As for the rust . . . any suggestions on how to remove it?

 

Robin



Love At First Glance

 

 

Love at first glance.

 

Their is just no other way to describe my excitement upon finding this lovely butter dish.



 

Our old glass butter dish plunged off the counter top and broke months ago.  I've been meaning to replace it . . . just hadn't done it for some reason.

 

I must have been waiting for this one.

It's pretty heart shaped handle . . . 

And delicate rosebud detailing is a delightful way to add vintage beauty to our everyday lives.

 

Hubby say's it's much too fancy to use everyday . . . I chuckled and said  "No, it's perfect"

 

 

Hubby thinks it looks dirty . . . I assured him it has been washed thoroughly.

 

 

Hubby's not a fan of the tarnish . . . I told him "it adds to it's charm".

 

 

He's not convinced.

 

 

I'm confident it will grow on him. 

 

And who knows, maybe I'll shine it up for him a little later on. 

 

For right now . . . it stays just the way it is.

 



 

Perfectly tarnished and delightfully gorgeous!

 

 

Have a great day,

 

Robin



Changes To The Bathroom

 

I've been feeling like our main bathroom needed a little sprucing up.  Not much has change since I redid the space over a year ago. 

 

Nothing earth scattering or over the top. 

Just a quick freshening, if you will, using things I already had around the house.



 

First I added some new artwork like simply framed vintage postcards. 

 

Postcards are always such a great thing to frame don't you think?  Perfect for small spaces such as this.

 

The next item to address was our lack of a towel rack.  The old one use to hang over the toilet, which I was never very fond of.  A few months back, it was accidentally ripped off the wall by one of my crazy kids.

 

To fix the problem I hung a simple hook next to the sink and it works perfectly!

Plus,  since I'm a lover of all things simple, this seems to "fit" my style better.

 

I've hung my favorite lace edged hand towel on the hook. 

Which I think is the perfect combo.

 

I wanted to add a little more vintage charm to the space and one of the ways I did that was with the addition of a recent ironstone plate find to hold the soap.  I love it's stained, cracked finish and it works perfectly as a soap dish.

I also moved things around on the shelf creating new grouping and added my collection of pale blue glass bottles to the mix.  

 

 

All the changes were simple and easy to do.  Somehow they have made the space feel quite different and new.

 

What simple changes have you made lately to give your home a fresh feeling?

 

I'd love to hear about it.

 

Robin

Fabric Lined Milk Crate

On top of the refrigerator is the space I have designated to hold the kids school lunchboxes.

The crazy, cluttered look it produces has been getting on my nerves just a little too much lately and I decided to come up with a way to store the lunchboxes - with a  little vintage, farmhouse flair.

 

A few years ago I picked up this black, chipped metal milk crate.



 

Yesterday I sewed together a simple fabric liner.

It's now the perfect place to stash lunchboxes!

Have a great day,

Robin

Linked to:

Creative Things Thursday

 

Simple Kitchen Display

It seems I'm all about simplicity around here these days.

Not sure how it's come about really but I'm rolling with it.

A great example of what I'm digging lately is this quick arrangement in my kitchen window.

Can't get much more simple than that - - somehow it speaks to me and I'm love it.

What's got your attention lately?

Robin

Linked to:
Blissful Whites Wednesday
Country Whites Weekend
 

Valentines Day Decor

At times I'm a slow starter.  

Valentines Day always seem to bring it out in me.  I always have grand plans . . . then suddenly it's the day before and I'm scrambling to get things done.

This year, true to form, I dug out my box of Valentine decorations YESTERDAY.

With such little time I kept things very simple.  Thank goodness I was motivated last week to do some sewing otherwise I would have had nothing new to decorate with this year.

The hanging hearts I sewed together last week are still hanging from the bedroom doorknobs.

The redwork pillow is still sitting on the chair in the living room along with the sweet heart shaped pillow my daughter sewed together.

From my box of decorations I pulled out a handful of bead board hearts and scattered them around the kitchen and living room.

The Valentine I made for myself fills up one shelf in the hutch.

Vintage Valentine cards were added to existing displays in the living room which made things simple.

And finally, pops of red were used wherever I thought it was needed.

That's it!

I'm ready for Valentines Day!

How about you?  Are you ready?

Robin

New Kitchen Table

I was at the thrift store a couple weeks ago and found a farmhouse table that I immediately thought would be perfect for my gravel patio come spring.

It's been sitting in the garage ever since.  That is until today anyway.  I figured instead of having it sit out in the garage I'd see if it would work in the kitchen.

It's a truly lovely table.  

Very heavy and sturdy with a planked top that I love.

Simple legs - - that I love.

A nice wide apron - - that I love.

Plus it's fits perfectly in the kitchen.

Sorry gravel patio . . . the kitchen took your table!!!!

Granted the current color is NOT pretty or lovable.  It's a weird green color with a very orangeish sealant over the top if it.

But do you see the color underneath the paint.  Right there by the nail hole?

That part is perfect.

I'm thinking, stained wood top with a creamy white colored base.  Lot's of distressing of course to mimic it's current distressed state.

Maybe the patio will see this beauty come springtime after all.  But only for a makeover!  

Then it's back to the kitchen.

Robin

First Attempt At Redwork!

Remember back when I talked about my love of Redwork and my desire to give it a try?

This past weekend I found the time to start a project.

A nice and simple design to ease me in and get me started.

I have to say I'm totally hook.  

My mind is swirling around with dozens of project I can't wait to start.  When I was finished stitching the design, I sewed it onto a simple linen pillow cover and it looks perfect on my living room chair.

As much as I loved the process of working on this piece it surprised me to realize it wasn't my favorite part of the project.  

My favorite part surprises me even now as  I look back at it.  

I'm amazed how the simple act of sitting down to work with a humble piece of fabric and some thread had the ability to gather my family together.

As I sat on the living room sofa with my feet up and fingers stitching away, one by one my girls appeared and joined me for a chat.  Sometimes one child at a time or more often than not,  all three of them would stop by for a while.  

It was a time to connect, to catch up and share some time together.  Something that we sadly don't always have the time to do in our busy schedules.

Simple words, some laughs - - a pure moment of togetherness that I will cherish.

On a side note, while I was working on sewing the pillow cover together my youngest decided she wanted to sew also.  She cut out a heart shape from felt and sewed together her first pillow.  I'm so very proud of her . . . didn't it turn out cute!

Her pillow looks great with mine don't you think?

Talk to you soon, 

Robin

A Valentine For Me

Last night I was feeling sort of crafty.  Watching TV or reading just wasn't keeping my attention.  So I gathered some supplies to make myself a Valentine -- no matter that it was eleven o'clock and I really should have gone to bed!  Who need sleep when crafting is calling!

Scrapbook paper, stamps, ink, red felt and my trusty sewing machine was all I needed to finish one off in record time.

It's simple and sweet but Oh' so much fun to make!

Took me back to my grade school days.  

You know, back years ago when everyone made homemade cards for Valentines Day.  I really think we should bring back the tradition.

I've placed this beauty on my hutch in the living room.  It spreads a little cheerfulness to the room and makes me smile.

How about you?  Do you make your own cards?

Robin

Linked up to:

Transformation Thrusday
 Treasure Hunt Thrusday
 Be Inspired @ Common Ground