Hi Everyone! Wanna Know About A Candle Giveaway??

Kims Country Cottage is having a candle giveaway.
How Fun!
Go check it out...
http://thecountryshopkeeper.blogspot.com/2009/06/under-big-top-soy-candle-giveaway-ends.html#comment-form

~~ Below is her banner. I couldnt get it to link directly. So please copy and past the link.~~



http://thecountryshopkeeper.blogspot.com

~Tammy

Are U Gals Ready For The Weekend!!!

I can't believe it is already Friday! My gosh this week just flew by.
I thought I would share with you wonderful ladies what else I have done this week besides my dining room redo.

This first thing I did was paint my cabinet in the mud room. It was a barn red color and I did like it okay. But as I have talked about before, I am attempting to add more of a colonial look mixed in with my primitive decor.
Baby steps for me, still trying to find my way.
So I decided to paint the cabinet black. I really like the way it turned out. In the photos it appears shinny, but in person it isn't.
I am considering sanding it and then staining it. I thought it would look good for some of the red underneath to show and then stain would give it more of an aged look. Well, that is my plan, but who knows when I will get around to actually doing it.
Below is a before and after photo of the cabinet.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Closeup of shelves.

See the shine in the pict's! Gosh dang it!!
It really isn't like that in person!! :(
Okay, the next thing I did was after my dining room redo.
In one corner of the dining room, I did have a stack of old wooden fruit boxes.
Old display in dining room...

I knew I didn't want to get rid of them so I decided to move them up to my kids bathroom.
This is a room that is impossible to decorate, not to mention impossible to keep clean!
There is a high, small, window in the bathroom. I always felt it needed some type of small cabinet under the window. But I could never find what I was looking for. I wanted little cabinet to hold extra towels and t-paper. Also an easy access spot for my daughter makeup, hair brushes, etc.
I thought these boxes worked great for that.
New Display in kids bath...

The small cheese box on top holds her hair brushes. I used one of my larger blue granite pots from the dining room to hold extra t-paper and a small wooden box where I have an easy to reach roll. I do need some new towels for in here. Some pretty ones, believe me, it is on my list. But this is just a thrown together project, so please try not to pay too much attention to my towels. :)


If you ladies are anything like me (which I would say you are).
I seem to get something new for my home every week.
Even if it is something small or a tiny nick knack, I buy something new at least once in the week.
So I have decided, that on Friday's I am going to be showing off my new goodies I found through out the week.
And here they are...
First, I will start with my favorite! These actually came in today.
I LOVE Candles!! Simply cant get enough. I have at least one burning everyday, sometimes more than that.
I purchased these amazing candles online from:
Endless Esscents ~N~ Flames
http://www.candlesby-valerie.com


These are so fabulous. A 20 oz jar candle in the design and scent of Smores!! I bought the jar candle to burn. But now that I have actually seen it in person, I may not have the heart to.
See the wonderful details of graham crackers, chocolate squares and marshmallow!! So cute!

Price was: $14.00
I also purchased these small Smores design candles. I bought these for display. And its a good thing because I know I couldn't burn these cuties!! But yes, they are actual candles and you can burn them. They also have the scent of Smores. They are life size graham crackers with marshmallow and chocolate design inside.

Price was: $4.50 each.
If you love candles as much as me, you must go check out her website. Because these are not only adorable, they smell soooo yummy!

This week I also bought online this fabulous old wooden candle box with sliding lid.
I purchased this from:
Black Cat Primitives
www.blackcatprimitives.com

Price was $20.00


This makes a perfect bottom stacker for my collection of now 2!! :)

Hey, Every collection must start somewhere. LOL!


I also got this Betty or Whale lamp from the local craft and antique store that I always go to. I would say it is a reproduction because of the price, but you sure cant tell by looking at it!! I Love it!
Purchased from:
The Rabbit Patch Cottage
Herrin, IL

Price was: $19.00

And last but not least, I purchased this wonderful twig wreath.

Price Was: $11.00 (from a local craft supply store).
Here is a photo of my foyer, where I have my new box, my new lamp and my new wreath.




I hope you all had a wonderful week. And wishing you all a fabulous weekend!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time, Happy Prim wishes to you all!! ~Tammy

Working On Finding My Passion!!

No, Sorry Hubby, not the kind your thinking of!! LOL!!
My Passion for decorating my home!!

I have been a busy little bee the last few days. I got great inspiration from Dawn, as I talked about in my last post.
Before reading her post about finding your passion, I was in a decorating slump. I wanted to change somethings in my home but I didn't know what I wanted to do. All I did know is that I was tried of just about everything! I would look at other photos and just drool. Then I would look around at my home and get frustrated because it wasn't what I wanted. I was stuck in a rut.

So back to Dawn's post. She said to start with your favorite room in your home. So I did... which is my dining room. Even though it is my favorite room, I was still tried of the way it looked. I wanted something new. It had looked pretty much the same for years. The only thing that had changed was that more and more got put in there. Every time I bought something new, it seemed to end up in the dining room. Time for a change.
So how I started was... I moved most of the items out of my dining room and just piled them up into my living room. Leaving only the furniture and the items I knew I wanted to keep.

Then I went through the items.
I asked myself do you LOVE this piece or is just filler?
Filler, as in:
~ Items I once loved but now have grown tried of.
~ Or items I bought online, at auctions, yard sales or antique stores and once I got them home thought, "What was I thinking!!".
~ Or of course the one I am terrible about... items that I couldn't find a place for anywhere else so I just stuck it somewhere. (For me that meant the dining room!)

Below I have added before and after photos.
I still consider the room a work in progress.
I feel like it still needs some tweaking here and there.
But I think it looks good. It actually looks better in person than in the photos. I tried over and over to get good shots... but I am horrible at taking photos.

Now I must warn you... compared to what it looked like before, it does look somewhat bare in photos. This where the, "it looks better in person" is very true!

So here is a view of what I have been doing. Let me know what you think. And yes, it is okay to be completely honest. If you don't like it, let me know. If you think it looked better before, it is okay to say so. Or if you see something I should do differently, just let me know, I'm always up for suggestions.
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my post!

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Okay, I know I have went nuts with the before and after photos. But since I have taken this far. Here are just a few more misc photos of the New changes!

Okay ~ I Took Dawn's Advice! :)

Hi Ladies!
Well, last night I read Dawn's(Just*Simply*Prim)Blog. And in her blog she talks about finding your passion when decorating your home. I replied to her blog last night saying I was drawn to the Colonial style. Which I am. I LOVE it. When I look through decorating books and magazines, I fall in love with every Colonial style home I see. And Linda's (Behind The Red Door) pictures of her home always make me drool!
But is that my Passion?
So this morning when I got up, I looked around my home. I thought about Dawn's post and began to walk through my rooms.
Even though right now I am pretty much tired of most of things in my home. And I am in the mood to change somethings... I asked myself,
What is your passion... What Do You Love!
And in no particular order this is what I came up with.
I LOVE:
The patina of Antique Wood.


Items With Old Worn Paint.

Old Wooden Chairs.


Antique Teddy Bears.

Old Quilts.

Yellow Ware and RedWare.

Old Wood Bowls.

Antique, Home Made, Children's Toys and Furniture.

Early Jars. Especially ones with pontil bottoms.

Dough Boxes.

Crocks and Crock Jugs.


Antique, Early Americana.


Early Antique Cookie Cutters.

OLD Wooden BOXES (I love old wood boxes)

Old Baskets.

Early Blue Calico (and antique brown homespun)

Antique Baby Shoes.

Old Wooden Buckets and Firkin's.

Antique Early Brooms.


All of these things I do have a definite Passion for. I can never get enough. Also one more thing I Love.
I love Brown and Mustard Yellow.
Nearly every room of my home is in one of these shades. So what I have discovered is my passion seems to be the "Farmhouse" Style.
But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Colonial Style.
... Is there such a thing as a "Colonial Farmhouse Style".
Hummm... I need to do some research. Can I have the best of both. Somehow tap into the Colonial decorating qualities without giving up the things I most definitely have a Passion for. Maybe just maybe.

Thanks so much to Dawn for a wonderful post last night. Thanks so much for stopping by everyone. Today is hubby's day off from work... so heading out to spend some time with him.
Happy Prim Wishes to you all.
~Tammy