Monogrammed Slipcovers

Hello everyone!

Well, I did it!  But not the way I set out to.  Remember when I bought the monograms at Hobby Lobby to use on my dining room slipcovers?  I was going to dye them grey first.  Well, I did do that, but they turned out shiny and smoke blue looking.  Not the color I intended.  

I realize that the picture above doesn't show the color that they looked like in natural light, but trust me when I say that it wasn't what I was going for.  

So, I tried bleaching one to see if that would turn out any better and it just turned a light shade of pink.  Now, I  was going completely in the wrong direction!  So, a blogger friend of mine suggested I paint them.  

So, that is what I did to get the color I wanted.

After painting them, I was happy because this is the grey that I wanted!

Since I painted them, I didn't iron them on.  I just used fabric glue again.  I may regret this because now I may have trouble washing these.  I may have to figure something out when that time comes.  Luckily, this room is seldom used though.  Also, my slipcovers were not custom made.  They are just basic store bought covers that I've had for many years.  So, I'm not going to lose sleep if this turns out to be a bad idea down the road.  

I decided to place them on the front instead.  It just looked like they belonged there instead of the back.

What do you think?  

I'm very happy with how they turned out!  I'm sure they're not perfect, but I knew they wouldn't be since I didn't have these done professionally anyway.

And speaking of imperfection........

In my next post, I will show you something I did to a piece of furniture that is perfectly imperfect!!!!  And that is why I love it even more.  Stay tuned............

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Embroidered Monograms

Hello everyone!

I really love the look of embroidered monograms but can't always have them done the professional way.  You either need a special machine or have someone do it for you.  I wanted the look without the inconvenience.  So, a trip to Hobby Lobby and a few dollars later bought me these.

You see, I've used these before.  I used them on some lampshades and loved how they turned out.  So, when I decided I wanted to monogram some other items in my house I knew these would work again.

I wanted to add a monogram to the little lavender filled sachets that Ann made me a while back.

I thought they would look good displayed in a bowl on my coffee table.  Since they were plain, I thought a monogram with my first letter initial would be pretty.

Here it is just lying on top of the sachet.  All I had to do was use a little fabric glue on the back of it and press it down.  Easy peasy!  These are iron on but I didn't trust the heat of the iron with the lavender inside.

Here they are on the coffee table.  (Please excuse the messy sofa in the background.)

See what a difference?  

Now, what about the "D"'s that I bought.  I plan on using them on the back of the dining room slipcovers.

Since these will need to be washed from time to time, I will iron these monograms on.  I am thinking I need to dye the monograms first though.  The white doesn't stand out very much.  I'm thinking of a soft grey color.  They sold black monograms, but I didn't want them that dark.

So, what do you think?  Do you love the ease of these iron on monograms as much as I do?  They can be glued on too if it isn't something you can iron on. There were several different fonts, sizes and colors available at  the store.  This could get addicting!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

~ Kelly ~

Summer Days

Hello everyone!

It's been quiet around here.  Not much new happening.  We've been enjoying the lazy days of summer and trying to stay cool in the process.  

Last weekend, we spent some time visiting friends at a campground on the lake.  It was a lot of fun.  We cooked out and made smores over a camp fire.  My oldest son even kayaked.  One couple brought their birds with them.  (They were camping there as well.)  We all got a chance to let it rest on our shoulder.  Her name was Angel and was very friendly!

As you can see I was a bit hesitant having it on my shoulder!  I'm not really a "bird" person. 

We all got the chance to hold him.

These pics were taken with my husbands iPhone so they aren't the best.  Sorry!

We've been spending time at the pool.

And eating out at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

We've caught a few good movies.

Man of Steel

World War Z

And............sleeping late. 

This is what I see most mornings, when I wake up.  No kidding!

 And take a look at what we saw in our neighbors yard the other morning.

That was an unexpected surprise!  We don't see a lot of deer in my subdivision.  She darted in those woods right after we took this picture.

So, how has summer been treating you so far? 

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly~

Don't Do What I Did!

Hello everyone!

There is something missing from this room.  Can you spot it?

No?  

What about now?

Or now.

Did you guess?

If you guessed there is no rug in here, you would be right!!!

And why is there no rug in here (you ask)?

Because, when I noticed my dog created a hole in the sea grass (from playing tug of war with my husband) I picked it up to move it around and was horrified to see adhesive from the back of the rug stuck to my floors!  I should've taken a picture of it.  It was awful.  

So, out came the harsh chemicals after plain scraping and soapy water did not work.

It took me over 3 hours to remove the residue left behind from that rug!  I had to spray WD-40 on the floor and then scrape the gunk off as much as possible (careful not to scratch my floors).  Then after cleaning that up, there was a fine residue everywhere still left behind.  Basic scraping would not remove it.  So, Goof Off came to my rescue.  It is a powerful solvent meant to remove sticky stuff.  I was worried my floors would be ruined by it, but the residue left behind was already ruining it, so I didn't have much to lose.  

Voila!  everything came off!  It didn't take the finish off my floors either.

So...........now, I don't even want a rug in there anymore.  I actually like it better without one too.  It was a blessing in disguise I guess.

So.....where is the rug that caused all of this trouble in the first place?

Did I mention today was trash pick-up day?

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend.

~ Kelly ~

Candlelight in the Summer

Hello everyone!

I've always loved candles.  I prefer simple white candles in a clear or frosted container or chunky pillars grouped together.  I love the ambiance that candles provide.  I also don't think they should be reserved for holidays only.

With it being too hot to burn a fire in the fireplace, I like to light candles instead.

I've placed several on my coffee table and mantel and really enjoy the soft light they put out.  

On the front porch, I placed my favorite lantern between the two rocking chairs.

We like to sit outside at night and listen to the sounds of crickets as the candle burns softly.  It fills the porch with soft light that only a candle can provide.

Do you like to burn candles in the summer too?  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-us-Wednesdays

Good Reading

Hello Everyone!

Happy Friday!  It is Father's Day weekend now.  Do you have any special plans for the "man" in your life?  We plan on having a relaxing weekend and cooking out.  

I wanted to share a few new magazines that came home with me recently.  They are just the thing for sitting on the porch and pouring over for some great decor inspiration.  

The one on the left is all about summer living.  Quite appropriate right now, don't you think?  It is full of water front homes that have a bit of coastal cottage decor.  Here's a peek.

This home is located in Canada and the owners own a home interiors shop.  It's an amazing home!

In the next magazine, it's full of cottage style in my favorite shades of "white"!  There are some bloggers homes featured too that you will probably recognize.

Marilyn Thompson's home from A Beautiful Mess.

Dusty Lu's home.

Miss Mustard Seed's home.

So, if you're looking for some great summer inspiration, these magazines would definitely fit the bill.  The magazine with all of the blogger's homes featured is actually an Autumn issue though.  

Also, thought I would share a new pillow design that I used in my kitchen.  I'm loving adding a little bit of pattern around my kitchen table.

It coordinates perfectly with the place mats and other pillow I'm using in here.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Garden Style

Hello everyone!

I realized that after looking at my bedroom and bathroom that I favor a garden style in there.  I love decorating with greenery and flowers.  

I recently received a green and white pillow cover that I ordered from Etsy.  I planned on using it with the monogrammed pillow.  I think it makes the perfect companion pillow.

After looking at pictures of my bedroom in my last post, I realized that a lamp with a burlap shade would look better in place of the pharmacy lamp on the other side of the bed.  

Do you do that too?  Things look fine in person, but then when you see them in pictures you see something "off".  That's what happened with me.  So, this lamp came up from the basement and now looks better than what I had in here before.

My bathroom hasn't changed too much.  It still has floral prints and a vintage cottage style that I love.  All with a garden style sensibility to it.

I noticed that when I looked out the window above the tub I got an interesting view of the garden below.

It's really coming along!  We should be able to harvest squash and tomatoes soon.  We have peppers and cantaloupe growing as well.  The peppers are already being eaten!

Oh.........and forgive me, but I just wanted to share something new in my garage now.  My husband just bought it for me yesterday.

It's a 2013 Ford Escape Titanium.  My newest love!  We are planning a day trip somewhere later this week to enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Chippy and Green

Hello everyone!

Remember in my last post that I moved my distressed dresser out of the family room?  Well, it ended up here.

Along with the dresser moving here beside the bed, I added some pops of green that were once in my family room as well.  The purple moved out of here and into the family room instead.  I just swapped things out!

I brought my monogrammed pillow in here and set it on the chair.

My green throw is now draped over the bench.

The dresser that was on the left side of the bed switched places to the other side.  

All of this is possible now since the walls and furnishings of this room remain neutral.  

Greenery replaced the purple flowers and to my surprise, my husband finally repaired my antique chandelier hanging over the bed!  

Now all of the lights work perfectly!!! I've had the chandelier for years but it never worked right until now.

I like how the green and brown accents in the room coordinate with the cow canvas hanging over the bed too.

Do you have fun plans for the weekend?  We're just taking it easy.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~