Mantel Changes

In my last post

I shared

a few living room changes.

You know the décor

redo's that we love to restyle after the holidays.

 

Recently in our family room/library,

I changed the mantel top

and wall décor.

 

This room is so hard to photograph.

It's either too bright or too dark.

But here goes~~

The angle pic shows better with the light.

 

To the top of the large

Tuscan countryside framed piece,

I added this finial painted honeysuckle bloom.

The vases to one side

bring in a bit of wintertime color.

The vase with my dried garden hydrangeas

is a gift from my son.

The framed pic in the center

is actually a card I purchased from our

anniversary stay at Hotel Del Coronado last summer.

To the left side

I have a trio of vintage school books

and topped with a wire birdcage and wood birdie inside.

 

The mantel runner is a gorgeous piece created by my grandmother

many years ago.

She crocheted the pretty edging

on a beautiful brown textured fabric.

 

It's the perfect size for the mantel top.

 

To each side I hung

coordinating floral prints under glass.

These were on the other end of the room,

moved them here

and love the look.

 

Well that's it for today.

Another room with a few changes.

Have you been doing this too?

 

Have a wonderful winter day.

 

See you next time.

Hugs

Celestina Marie

 

 

 



Winter Changes

Making décor changes

after the holidays

seems to be what we all love to do.

 

Nesting our way to a new fresh look

while waiting for spring.

 

I've been doing this a lot this season

and I catch this redecorating bug

every new year.

 

When the house is all cleared of the

Christmas décor

it looks so bare

and the perfect time,

having a clean and empty palette

to style in a new way.

 

 

I've moved tables and chairs around

from one room to another.

Changed wall décor from one

room to another.

Basically shopping the house.

 

I love seeing how an item takes on

a whole new look in a new spot.

 

 

To the left of the sofa,

I brought in this round vintage table

that I had in the master.

I love it here much better.

This table is 50 years old.

It was in my parents home.

It has a marble top

with wire on the door.

I painted it black with a little added distress.

 

On the other side of the sofa,

I moved this half table from the

family/library room and it is working

nicely here.

 

 

For the walls,

I left the window over the sofa for the winter

with the vintage pattern wreath

in the center.

I 'm in the process of creating a

rag wreath, but it's not complete.

To the left,

I hung a gorgeous fountain

my mother made in 1979.

I added glitter roses

with a black butterfly.

On the other end of this wall,

I found this Paris print

at the Good Will.

It had a gold frame,

so I gave it a neutral paint color

with a little distress

and

I love it with it's new look.

Across the room

is my vintage hutch turned entertainment center.

 

I added the vintage lace runner,

neutral pitches, and a gorgeous, now vintage,

pitcher and bowl created by my talented mother.

The lamps are miss-matched

in design, but the same height.

I added them after painting them white

and they blend nicely, although different.

The shades are the same

but will have a rag art trim soon.

I never had 2 lamps on this buffet top

and the change is working.

 

Here's that treasured piece hand created

by my mother

many years ago.

She loved white décor too.

I displayed this with my recent

platter purchase

from Rachel Ashwell's

Shabby Chic Couture.

They look like they were made to go together.

 

I found this lace runner

at a favorite antique market

some time ago.

It has been on the fireplace mantel

in this room.

Change was welcome here

by placing it on the hutch top.

These are the lamp shades on their way

to receiving a rag trim around the bottom.

I am working on it at the moment.

Pics to come later.

 

Moving around to the mantel,

it's more of a winter ~ in between look.

Black and white

not much color yet, just calm and peaceful

while nesting the winter away.

Bird houses

and snowbirds frame the ends

with candle sticks

and glass Swedish

snowball tea lights 

in the center.

 

I left the mirror

in place after Christmas,

but may or may not

change it for springtime.

 

I don't  often display evenly,

as I prefer uneven displays

in odd numbers 3,5 or 7

(learning's from my days in interior design)

 

However, this works because the number of things

is an odd number not counting the mirror.

 

You know there are really no rules if you love it!!

Adding a bucket of boxwood

and

long stems of spring hopefuls

help to fill the space

by the fire.

Thanks for stopping by

to visit my few little changes.

More to share later~

but for now,

I have fabric rags to rip

for the lampshades.

 

See you soon.

Stay warm!

Hugs,

Celestina Marie

 

 Joining
What We Accomplished Wednesday

 

 



Thinking Spring

The cold, long winter has

most of us

Thinking Spring~

and it can't get here too soon.

 

Valentines and Easter Eggs,

Spring Gardens

and

Sunny Days

are my inspiration for creating.

 

Here are a few new treasures

filling the shelves

in my shop now.

 

 

 

 

Pretty eggs with roses

and a few with hydrangeas.

 

And a little Farmhouse too~

 

 

 

A pretty French cottage basket to hold

special treasures

 

with a pretty fabric lining

and little wood

fleur di lis in the center.

 

So the creating continues

and

my new monthly newsletter

is on it's way soon.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by.

 

See you soon.

 

Stay warm

 

Hugs,

Celestina Marie

 

joining

Etsy Cottage Style for

Cottage Garden Party

 

Green Willow Pond for

What We Accomplished Wednesday

 

Ivy and Elephants for

What's It Wednesday

 

 

 

 

 

 



Rag Basket Recap~

Hi Friends~

It's almost the weekend

and I hope you

all have something fun

or relaxing planned.

 

 

During the week, since my rag basket post,

I received many emails about this project

 

So I thought I would share the

directions with you today.

If you'd like to see the other styles
I created
visit
HERE

 

 

This might make a fun weekend project

and easy to do with the kids too.

You know if you are snowed in,

this would make a great project

with a bit of fabric from your stash

and an old wire basket.

 

**************

 

To begin

find a vintage or new metal or wire basket.

One with an open weave to tie the rag strips through.

Next, pick your fabric.

For this basket I used

a French script style in a cotton.

 

Begin ripping fabric strips.

 

Leaving curled and stringy ends

is best for the homespun look.

 

The strips should be torn in 6-8 inch lengths

and about  1 1/4" wide

to give enough fabric for tying.

 

After complete

you can trim shorter if desired.

As you go along you will

see what works best for you

in the strip lengths.

You may need a shorter length for tying

depending on your basket.

 

 

Keep tieing the strips all around

gathering them close together

and tight till you have something

like this in the end.

 

Display and fill with your favorite treasures,

Christmas ornaments,

supplies,

Easter eggs

or springtime nest.

 

 

I hope this helps answer a few questions

on this project.

 

Many of us have an old wire basket

around perfect for this idea.

 

Have fun and let me know what you create.

 

Enjoy the weekend.

 

Hugs,

Celestina Marie

 

 

 

 

 



Cottage Brushstokes

Today begins a new linked party

called

Cottage Brushstrokes

hosted by;

Etsy Cottage Style

 

This is an exciting time for me

because this one is all about

painted treasures.

You don't have to be an artist to participate.

You can collect all kinds of art

on every medium too.

As for me,

I am the painter and

did and do paint on all surfaces.

 

 

Since I have been painting for way longer then I

care to disclose (over 30 years)

I thought I would start with some pics

from the beginning of my world of

cottage brushstrokes.

 

 

I searched through many

albums and box loads of pics

collected over the years of my journey.

Pictures when digital cameras were not even around

and no way to save on a computer.

 

To begin, I picked a few to start

and left plenty of room for

many more linked parties to come.

 

*******

 

In the beginning on my career path

in decorating painting and interior design,

I used to cut my own wood

for the hand painted goodies

that were so popular in the country and folk art days.

Now we call country, farmhouse.

 

There's a little different twist on the color and style however,

but still a country look gone kind of modern

while keeping with the homespun

cottage and a bit of the French look too.

 

Over the years I have painted everything and every type

of surface from A-Z.

 

Taught classes in decorative painting,

designed for a company in miniature,

had booth space in many a mall,

gave demos in stores,

painted on fabric,

redesigned furniture and interiors

and even painted for the White House twice.

 

 

To say I've been busy is an understatement.

But, I have loved every minute of my journey

and I would not change a thing.

It is a blessing to live out your dreams

and I am so thankful.

God is so good!

 

The pictures that follow are an overview

of just some of the painted items I have enjoyed.

I just did not know where to start to share

my cottage brushstrokes, so I will let the pics

do the talking.

 

Tons of lampshades

 

Texas Bluebonnets for the souvenir market.

 

                                 

Baskets to Stepping stones.

 

 

 

Trays and fruit and lots and lots of furniture.

The sewing cabinet below

stays in my mind

because it was one of the

most unique style vintage pieces

I found to redesign.

The tools and items on the top

are hand painted on.

People in the shop

used to walk up and touch to make sure

they were not real.

 

From garden décor

to roosters.

and lots of picnic baskets

of every kind!

 

Then there were chairs and benches.

Here are a few.

 

Vintage school desks from long ago.

 So there you go~~

all before my world

took a turn to shabby chic, cottage roses and

French and Farmhouse styles.

 

***

The designs above

are many of my own

and many from decorative design books

I studied with over the years.

It has been so much fun

and still is!

 

Thank you for joining me for this first

Etsy Cottage Style and

Cottage Brushstrokes

new link party.

 

For more fun posts click on the link above to join the fun.

 

See you next time,

and till then.

you know what I'll be doing!!

 

Hugs

Celestina Marie Design

p.s. sorry for  some blurry pics.

 I could not get these scanned

so they are picture of a picture!

XO

 

Joining

What We Accomplished Wednesday

Rednesday

What's It Wednesday