Lots of Felt and a New Project

I told you about how I have been SLOWLY reorganizing my house in the last post. Why slowly? Well, I get distracted sometimes, especially when I am working in my hobby room...

I found lots of felt from different places in the room. I guess I collected them over the years little by little. I started to line them up and color-coordinate them.

Look at all these colors!



and some more...



Looking at them made me wanna make something...and I actually started cutting them today. I will post the finished item with a tutorial soon!

I Goofed Twice!

Last fall we began the redecorating process of our red living room. We lightened things up by painting the walls SW Aria Ivory, removing dated curtains and reducing the number of accessories.

After:

Before:

New pillows were made for the chairs and I found a funny little French marble top table to replace the too big skirted round table.

Things seemed to be progressing nicely.

Later, some bargain curtain hardware was unified with paint/glaze and after input from RDH followers the winner of the gray silk versus white linen curtain debate was selected – although I never announced my choice.

I sewed and hung my new curtains and after only a few days it hit me. Something was just not right. The curtain hardware finish seemed out of place and the windows looked empty with just one panel. Why I made only one panel per window, I do not know.

Needless to say, I goofed twice in the same room!

The curtain hardware issue was easily fixed in a few hours with some white paint to match the woodwork.

Amending the curtain situation, however, was a different story. My first thought was to make four more panels. I liked the gray silk and it was not the color which bothered me. See how empty this looks!

The problem with this idea was the fabric was purchased several months ago and dye lots vary from bolt to bolt. The chance of getting more fabric to match the existing curtains was pretty slim. I ordered a fabric sample from the bolt from which my new fabric would be cut anyway and kept my fingers crossed.

The sample arrived and much to my surprise and delight it matched perfectly. However, while I was waiting I had another thought. I decided to play “musical curtains” and move the gray silk panels to another room in my house. It was love at first sight!

Now I had a decision to make. Keep the curtains in their new room or make four more panels. Which did I choose? Stay tuned for the answer!

Link Love No. 40!

This week passed by in the blink of an eye for me. There is something I am working on but I can't reveal it ‘till March. I have been trying to squeeze the time to work on that into my schedule... and it has been fun! When I am focused on a project, I forget to eat or drink. Time flies by so fast! I have to make an effort to keep looking at my watch, so I won't miss my children’s pick up time.

Another thing I have been doing is to slowly reorganize my house. I have been working on each room, going through the closets and cupboards. I usually have three bags for "Sale", "donate", and "throw away". Sometimes if I am in the "zone", it's easy to part with the things and the clean-up goes fast. If I am not so much in the zone, my mind is blank, don't know where to put what. The whole thing takes a long time too.

Well, for the above two reasons, my family didn't eat very nice dinners this week. I felt a little guilty, so I cooked better meals Friday and Saturday. It should even things out, right? :)

I see in this week’s link party, more Valentine’s crafts, and they are fun! I hope you all are getting inspired by them! Well, here are my favorites for this week...

This is one of those Valentine’s crafts I just mentioned...Fast Daze shared a really fun Wreath, inspired by Tatertots & Jello. She also used the tutorial from “A girl and Glue Gun” to make felt flowers. How colorful and pretty!


Holy Cow!! Talk about big project, I mean, really BIG. Backwoods Cottage shared a STUDIO she built with her husband. Yeah, you heard (read) right. A STUDIO! She posted the step by step photos on her blog, so head over there to check them out! I would love to see the picture of it all moved in and decorated studio too! Amazing job!




You Seriously Made That? shared this pretty headband. I have seen many crocheted headbands before, but I really like this style and the colors of the yarn. Great job!


When I saw the picture of this plate, I was in LOVE! I love Jane Austin and Mr. Darcy... Grey Luster Girl was inspired by Pottery Barn and created this plate. Sooo romantic!


This is also a Valentine project, but without the usual red and pink. I love how A Crummy Marriage Blog layered the fabrics for the letters. What a fun way to make it more interesting!



Thank you all for sharing your great projects! See you at the next post!

New - Blog of the Month Feature

One of the things I like best about blogging is discovering new sites. (Hopefully you do too!) It seems almost every week I find a new and incredible blog. To help spread the word about new blogs and recognize some long time favorites, I am excited to announce a new “Blog of the Month” feature on Red Door Home.

Calendars by Jessica Swift

My plan is to spotlight one favorite blog during the first week of each month. (This will be hard decision as there are so many wonderful sites and only twelve months in the year!)

As a bonus and thank you, the featured blog will also receive a button link to their blog on the side bar of Red Door Home until the next blog of the month is announced – a free month of advertising!

So, if you have a blog and would like to be featured or have a favorite blog you think everyone should know about please leave a comment below or email me. I can’t wait to see your suggestions!

Baby Girl

Hmmmm...what's missing?

Her.

This is our sweet Margaret's favorite snuggle spot in the house.

Things that aren't captured in this photo but are lurking about:

crib (which is conveniently on wheels)

diaper genie

bouncy chair

night stand full of burp cloths

sound machine

diapers, wipes and diaper cream

assorted recently changed baby clothes and baby blankets

And me (in my pajamas) snuggling with the baby girl.

xo

P.S. First photo taken pre-babies.

Cork Flowers

I posted the winner for the Say it On the Wall giveaway on my sponsors' page. Don't forget to head on over there to see if you are the lucky winner!


A few months ago, I found this wonderful item at Tuesday Morning for a really great price.
So many beautiful cork flowers in different colors and sizes...I love the wooden box with a glass top that slides open too. I can use the box for a display box, when I am all finished using the flowers.


I guess I could use the flowers pretty much for anything. Scrap books, card making, making hair accessories, decorating frames and so on. Hmmm... What shall I make?

I look at them, stuck them up, and lined them up to form some ideas for now. I think this is one of the fun parts of making something.


With this many flowers, maybe I can bring an early spring in my house.

Thank You Dovecote Décor!

The week after the New Year I received some exciting news. I was the winner of a fabulous giveaway sponsored by Liz, Benji and Viive at Dovecote Décor in conjunction with Wind Rose Antiques.  

What did I win?

 

This fantastic English rosewood stationary box with inlay valued at $350. Needless to say I was thrilled!

 

The box arrived a few days ago and is even prettier in person than it was in the picture. According to the enclosed tag, the box is from Staffordshire, England and dates to the 1830’s - a true antique and treasure.

Although I have not settled on a permanent home, it is currently residing happily in my dining room.

Besides writing a wonderful blog called Dovecote Décor, this talented trio also has a shop by the same name.

I was delighted at the selection of antiques, lighting, accessories, and more that I found while visiting their online shop. Here is just a sample of some of my favorites.

Thanks again to Dovecote Décor for this incredible giveaway. To see more great pieces, click HERE.

Link Party No. 40 and New Basket Makeover

I have been staying low...it's been about three weeks, and I still haven't gotten over this cold! I went through the whole symptoms like, cold chills, aches, fever, and so on. I took antibiotics and thought that everything is over... boy was I wrong. I think I have whole other thing now. Massive cough, and sneezing, followed by aching and fever... Holy cow!

I am still functioning though. Well, three small kiddos clinging how can I not.

I thought if I am up doing things, might as well, do something fun and take my mind off of these annoying flu symptoms.

I decided to do one of the projects that I have wanted to do for a while. I found this basket at one of my usual thrift store trips last summer. It had a yucky liner attached to it. I came home, took that off and cleaned it well...

Before...


After...


I made a new liner with a type of polka dot pattern fabric. It is removable for washing, and has drawstring to close it shut. If I don't want to be bothered by opening and closing the fabric, I can always fold the fabric inside.


Large corsage adds extra character to the basket...


I think it will be fun Spring/Summer basket.



Whenever I do a basket makeover, the hardest part is parting from them. I put so much thought and effort into them; I can't deny feelings of attachment there. Since I don't live in a 100,000 square foot home, I can't keep everything.
I am thinking about putting some of my creations in my etsy shop...

Well, we shall see.

Now, it is your turn to show us what you have been working on! Here are the rules;

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<center><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoA01dPDcxCv9Ku09VYtszSXA0_T7FXqIzGCrwEgkVFc0iH6Odrctb37Xnb2X1S-la8wBXHBzIAuYLRqt-QdLdVoVbXgOK8JmMJuJJddy66mk2pygB_tIigOtSDA50N0l7LEbzg3Ii-M/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a></center>

Thank you for your participation, and making this link party sucssesful and fun!

Meet the Chef

I do believe that I misrepresented myself in my last post (as many of you seemed quite impressed that I had the wherewithall to be baking muffins at midnight). The Banana Walnut muffins (which were delicious and didn't last long) were a wild hair on my part.

You see, I've been waited on hand and foot by my dear sweet husband...for months now. By the the time I reached the last few months of my pregnancy, he began doing all the grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking. That wonderful trend has continued thus far (and honestly, I hope that it never ends).

So while it was a brief moment of inspiration, my time in the kitchen has been sparse to say the least!

Here's a quick picture of my favorite new dad and his cherished son.

xo

Rerun of a Rerun

My basement entrance is back in print again!

Better homes and Gardens recently republished their special interest publication “100 Decorating Ideas – Big Style for Small Rooms.” So in case you missed it the first time around in August of 2010, here it is again.

My basement entrance is idea number eighty-six.

Photographer - John Bessler

Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional editor and producer for Meredith Publications

The original story (shown below) about my basement remodel appeared in the July 2009 edition of Better Homes and Gardens – although the entrance picture included me in the photo. This article also featured pictures of the sitting area, play area and small space under the steps.

Photographer - John Bessler

Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional editor and producer for Meredith Publications

Photographer - John Bessler

Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional editor and producer for Meredith Publications

Photographer - John Bessler

Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional editor and producer for Meredith Publications

Photographer - John Bessler

Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional editor and producer for Meredith Publications

So I guess you can call this a rerun of a rerun! Hope you didn’t mind seeing it again.