Fairy Garden

John Henry recently became enamored with fairies.  I had seen some very cute fairy gardens and I asked him if he wanted to make one.  He was all for it!  We set out to do it without buying anything.

There was an old wooden planter in our yard that I had never planted anything in.  Every year this flower (I don't know what it is, anyone want to help me out?) grows on the edge of it, and that's it.  It was practically begging to be made into a fairy garden!

We also had a cedar bird house that had all ready lost its bird perch- it's as if the fairies were wandering around our yard leaving us hints!

We perched the house up high with a tiny terracotta planter, and then made a ladder from twigs and bailing wire from the garden up to the house.  John Henry put some nice soft straw in the house for the fairies to make their beds with!

I had some scrap Sunbrella fabric that we made a bunting and a flag out of it.  Sewing something that small is no easy task, it turned out a little rough, but then fairies like little things a little shabby chic, right?

John Henry painted all the rocks and and insisted that we make a sign to let them know that this was a place for them!

We used an old canning ring to make a sand box.  We had some colored floral sand and John Henry chose to fill it with pink, red, and yellow sand.

We made them a pond out of the lid of a cocoa tin.  It's John Henry's job to make sure it gets clean water every day.  We made the beach with crushed oyster shell.

We dug some creeping thyme up from another part of our yard, added some chicks and hens (John Henry's favorite plants.)  Some pine cones and a few other little decorations finished it out.  

John Henry and I are both enchanted!

Have you created a fairy garden?  Share the link in the comments!

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Sharing this post at:
CSI Project's Kids' Summer Craft Week.   
Not Just a House Wife

Chalk Board Lettering

It has been a goal of mine to improve my chalk board lettering for some time now.  I ave seen Dana Tanamachi's chalk art all over Pinterest and have been so inspired:


Here are a few examples:

(all images are from Dana Tanamachi's website.)

Aren't they beautiful?

However, no matter how much I practiced, I could not get good clean, dark lines or sharp edges.

So when I saw this pin from In My Own Style I clicked over lickity-split!




So after reading these tips from Diane, I got out my chalk board and chalk and work on my sign for next month's (in two days) Artisans in the Grove.

It is no Dana Tanamachi, but it looks a ton better than even my best try in the past.

Door Table (is that like a wall flower???)

I've noticed that my coffee tables never sell at shows, I I think I know why.  I use them as displays.  I think people don't notice the table because they are looking at what is on the table, or they don't want to take away my display table, and may not even know it's for sale.

So, I came up with a solution.  I built a simple yet awesome display coffee table so that if I have another coffee table I can display it on its own and this one will remain for my display.

Here's the top!  I found this cool/strange old door at the RE-Store.  It was a kind of Dutch door, but only the top 18 inches or so opened.  Strange, huh?  Anyway this made it the perfect length for a largish, but not huge coffee/display table.

I screwed four legs that I found at good will to the bottom and that's it.  No painting, nothing, just like that.

Here she is in action, and just to make her feel good, she did get noticed quite a bit.

Here is a close up of her 'charges.'  She did an excellent job displaying the little pretty things.

Small Projects

I haven't shared very many smaller projects here.  Some of you know that I've been sick for a long time.  Now that I am feeling better I am working on decorating this "new" house, I thought I'd share some of the smaller objects I've been working on as I get this house ever-so-slowly put back together.

I used to have a two bright green frames holding my jewelry.  They didn't go well in our bedroom here, plus it was time to drastically purge my jewelry.  I hardly wear any of it anymore, so I only kept the few things I wear and the the pieces that are the most special to me.  Then I made them a new holder.

I saw this on Pinterest.   (YAY Pinterest)

The original idea came from this blog:  http://www.cosascositasycosotasconmesh.com/
It's not in English, so I can't search for the original post though.

Enjoy my experimental photography.  

Vintage Pretty

So, I've been working with a few friends who are responsible for putting together a couple of wedding receptions. . . something I hope to be doing more of in the future!  I shot some photos as 'ideas and inspiration' for one bride to look at and choose from. I thought they turned out so pretty that I wanted to share them here.

Imagine some baby's breath tucked in here and there.

Tiny chalkboards and vintage treasures. . . 

Table numbers painted on weathered old barn wood with vintage lace. . .

 Glass containers filled with happily aged items, vintage tins and clothes pins. . .

 
Pressed glass milk pint on monogrammed burlap. . .

Vintage and colored bundt pans creating nests and surrounding jars to hold baby's breath. . .

Tea stained tags to personalize in any way. . .

Doesn't a barn wedding sound fun?

The Apple Cup Lamp

Hehe.  I couldn't resist.  A little tribute to my beloved Washington State and a play on my own blog name.  :)

OK, now down to the details.

Oh, and I know my potting bench isn't the best back drop for this lamp, but it is one of the very few places in my house with decent natural lighting and I really needed that to show you the finish on this lovely.

First, the lamp shade is painted Oil Rubbed Bronze and you can't tell in this photo, but it ***sparkles***.

Have you all read about the faux Mercury Glass paint treatments?  I've tried a few of them I've found on various blogs and haven't really been happy with how things turned out.  I decided that was because I was doing them on glass (duh?) and I wanted something more solid behind the finish.  Plus I hadn't really loved how the finishes turned out.  They looked TOO painted.

So today I think I found my magic formula.  Of course I don't have a before pic. . . I know, I suck.  But just think about those heavy bronze lamps that you see quite often in thrift stores.

I alternated spraying a very fine mist of water and a very fine mist of Krylon's Looking Glass Spray Paint in very quick succession, being careful not to let the water build up enough to run.

I took a zillion shots trying to capture the finish close up. This is as good as I could get.  See those whitish looking spots on the flat portion of the base?  Those are actually covering the entire base and are not white at all, but just create a nice 'texture' in the paint, although it is totally smooth when you touch it.  I really love how it turned out.  The brass offers a solid back and a when the light hits it you see subtle hints of amber beneath the finish.

Here are a few shots of the intricate details on the base.  Pretty, aren't they?

How about one last full shot.

I liked how it turned out so well I almost decided to keep it.  I need a lamp on my night stand, but this one is just too big and would be out of scale, but I may be on the lookout now for a smaller bronze lamp to call my own.

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I'll be sharing at Domestically Speaking's: Power of Paint

Spring Wreath

Even though I stopped blogging for a while, I didn't give up on my commitment to make a new wreath for each new season.  I'm particularly delighted with my spring wreath.

Best of all, everything but the ribbon was from a thrift store.  The entire thing cost me around $6.   You can't beat that!

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 I'm sharing at:
Cherished Bliss's Craft and Tell

Awesome Sauce

I have a friend who says that a lot.  I like it.  I think this fork and spoon must be how you eat Awesome Sauce!

In case you can't tell, this picture was taken against my front door and these giants reach a good ways beyond the door knob.

If only. . . and if. . . and then. . .  these would not be going to Rustique Diva's next weekend, but would be staying in my kitchen.  I LOVE them.  But, alas, they are going, unless of course they sell first.

They are for sale for $50.  Email me if you are interested.  Applehouserevival@gmail.com

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I'll be sharing at:
The DIY Showoff's: DIY Project Parade
Today's Creative Blog's: Get Your Craft On 

Mason Jar Fixture

Some of you may know that I'm a bit of a lamp junkie. 

Well, I've been trying to um 'treat' that problem by selling some of my lamps.  This doesn't seem to be working very well, instead, I find myself buying more lamps because i tell myself, "welllllll.  I can just sell another one."  Sigh.

Anyway, here is one that i actually intended to go in my bedroom, but because all projects for the Apple House have been put on hold (again, more on that soon, I promise) and I had a friend who saw it and loved it just as much as I do, I decided it was better it go in her dining room that sit in my workshop collecting dust indefinitely. 

My friend is a Mason jar fanatic.  Even her kitchen glasses are Mason jars.  I think this fixture was meant for her, and really, who am I to argue with fate?  I can't wait to see it installed in her dining room!

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I'm sharing at

The CSI Project: Lamp Week

CSI Top 10 - *blush*

I just love all of the inspiration that goes on over at CSI.  I've only periodically linked up projects (all of them from Yarnnation, this is the first one from AHR.)  Well, what do you know. . . someone else found my Fresh Eggs sign a little inspiring too.