French mannequins

Since a lot of the bloggers I'm following love the french mannequins, I thought I'd post the ones I have in my shop so that you could be inspired if you're not fortunate to have a vintage one.

Miniature linen mannequin with a finial top.   

This little mannequin is wrapped in french script linen with black and white checked grosgrain ribbon.  If I was better at photographing, you could see the sweet little birdie on top.   The mannequin beside her is also linen with black piping and a finial top.  Both look great adorned, but I personally like them just as they are.  

Harlequin Romance

Found this little chest in a junk shop for $30.  It had a bright pink undercoat
and big pink wooden knobs.  At first, I was going to leave it chippy pink & black but
it was too garrish.  I decided to paint a harlequin design, but as I was walking
down the scrapbooking aisle at Hobby Lobby, I saw this paper & decided to try
decoupaging it onto the drawers.       Hmmmmmm   much harder than I thought..

Aligning all those squares was NOT easy.  After attaching the front of the drawers
onto the chest, I saw how crooked the drawers actually are.   Although I'm not super pleased
I did think it turned out cute and would work in some little vignette.   

Found the roman numeral clock face knobs at Hobby Lobby &  thought they added a nice touch to the harlequin pattern.

Great Give away

Grayce Willow will arrive in May.  Her mom loves crafting &
gathering
chippy shabby things.
So I used what she had collected and put together her nursery.

The wicker rocker was a vintage find.  the box springs
was bent, had 2 pieces of the bottom frame missing, and had
no batting.  My upholsterer did a fantastic job
                           of refurbishing this seat.  Lauren's mom is making the bedding
out of these three fabrics.
 It hadn't arrived the day I took these pictures.

                               Lauren's christening dress, slip, booties are
                               on display until Grayce is able to have her
                               picture made in them.

The frame awaits the birth of Grayce.  The antique
basket will hold diapers.

Antique frame has silver leaf behind the glass. The owl
decal was placed on top of the glass so that the frame wouldn't
be damaged.

The willow branch was placed in the corner by the
changing table. Hair bows adorn the branches.

Dream

Curtains and a bird's nest were hung on a wilow branch above the window.

Everything's ready for the arrival of Princess Grayce! 

Touch of Spring

Ahhh  Nothing is sweeter than tiny birds in a bird nest nestled among
a green hydrangea tucked gently inside a beautiful cloche.  

Precious transfer on burlap.  Only $29.00

Set of 3 topiaries in varied heights.  Beautiful compliment to a mantel or side table.

Sweet songs of SpRinG

Red tulips give a burst of color to any tabletop.

Farmville Virginia

Each ware house was filled with name brand furniture.  Century, Henredon, Clyde Pearson, Thomasville, Lexington, Hooker,

When I heard people talking about Farmville, my first thought was it must be like Canton, TX or Marburger Farms.  We kept asking questions & people would just say "everybody goes to shop there.  There's so much stuff it'll take you a week to see it all."

So what kind of shoes do we wear?  How do we dress?  Do we take a trailor?  We had no idea.  So we headed out in my friend's Tahoe, had on our most comfy flip flops & layers of clothes.

We drove into a little po-dunk town.  The whole thing was maybe 2 miles long.  We stopped at a little gas/convenience store to ask where this huge place is located.  The little girl said, "Go 2 blocks turn left and there it is."

We followed the directions & we saw one little quaint place after another and at the very end of the street........  there was the "warehouses".  OH MY!

One warehouse had nothing but millions of rugs from India, Pakistan, Turkey.  The sales rep was so amazing
We walked in with a painting and our color palette, and told her the size we needed.   She walked to
one main area.  Called her guys over & started saying "Flip, flip, flip, pull, flip, flip......pull, pull"
TEN MINUTES later we had purchased 2 fine wool rugs.  She was a-maaaaaazing!  

Everyone was right.  Our day went way too quickly.  But we
got most of what we went for.  We had to stay focused.  I hope I have
the opportunity to visit there again one day.  But it will be a 2 week trip next time!

Dream Home in Virginia

This summer I had the opportunity to fly to Virginia to decorate one of my former client's home.  I had 4 days to decorate 3500 sq. ft.  Their previous home had 3300 sq. ft.  But one knows that when you plan to use what you already have, it never fits just right in the new place.    However, we did work like maniacs to place things & use as much as possible.  Much to my surprise this little town did not have the resources that I'm accustomed to having, so I had to create using what she had.   

Actually this is the first time she was able to use both hutches and server in an actual dining room.

Custom floral arrangement using 3 other arrangements.  :0)

The grand piano now how it's own grand room. The rug was purchased in Farmville VA. If you've never been there, it's a designer's dream come true.  Warehouse after warehouse filled with furniture, accessories, rugs..... Heaven on earth! 

Nothing new was purchased for this room.  But it looks brand new because we pulled chairs & the rug from other rooms   The picture over the mantel had been stuck in a closet for years. But now it's showcased.  

The green pottery was a new purchase from a quaint little shop in Farmville. 

She owned everything that we used above the cabinets & on the counter. We just re-created!

OH dear, we even took a picture of her husband having to pause "Call to Duty" so he could help us move something.  He's totally addicted!