Garden Party

As I mentioned in a prior post I recently celebrated a significant birthday.

And I debated on whether to let it go by relatively unnoticed or to embrace it. Ultimately I decided to embrace it with a garden party.

It was the perfect opportunity to make some of the decorations and foods I've seen on Pinterest.  I made doily bunting with twine, doilies and muffin cups, all purchased from the dollar store.  Then I sewed several doilies together to make a backdrop for the drink and sandwich table, all of which my husband patiently helped me to hang up.

I borrowed drink dispensers from friends and tried out some new sangria and drink recipes. I'll share the recipes in a future post.

The weather cooperated with a sunny,warm day, a switch from the cool, wet August we had been living through.

I got out all my white linens and decorated with fresh flowers from the market.

A closer look at one of the flower bouquets I created.

I would be remiss without thanking my husband, Mom, daughters and sister all who helped me with food prep and last minute set up.

It was a day I will thoroughly remember.

Future posts to come with recipes and the friends who helped me celebrate!

Little Red Wagon - Pretty Polka Dots

Well, here we are with our 200th Little Red Wagon challenge!

And this week Jan has chosen pretty polka dots for our theme. And actually she says they don't have to pretty but there does have to be dots.

I created this card featuring dotted paper:

So if you can dig into those wagons and link up your dotted project over at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create!

Little Red Wagon #199 - Layers

Time for another Little Red Wagon challenge.

This week Joanne wants us to layer up our creation.

I made this card:

It has four layers not counting the base and the wooden accents.

So dig into those wagons and link up your layered creation over at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Handcrafted Birthday Cards

I celebrated a significant birthday with a garden party this past weekend.

And as several of my friends are scrapbookers/cardmakers,I received several handmade cards.

All are very unique and gorgeous.

I thought I'd share them here as I'm sure they'll provide you with some cardmaking inspiration.

From Avril, this pretty  rose adorned card:

From Linda and Julie, this pretty card, love the pop of colour on the black and white:

From Dee, this sweet interactive card:

From Sharon, this gorgeous card:

From my Mom, this beautiful card, love the colour scheme and the embossed doily:

From Monica, this striking card, love all the details:

And from Kathryn, this very pretty card created using Cricut Craft Room:

I love them all!
Thank you so much ladies!

Little Red Wagon #198 - Sunshine!

This week we're bringing more sunshine into your summer and want to see your projects with a sun on them.

I used my Cricut to create this 'faux' sun card:

I say faux because this is actually a daisy that I've adapted to create a sun.

And a closer look to show the glittered edge.

So, if you can, please play along with us at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create!

A Vintage Ladder

At a antique show in the spring I purchased a vintage ladder to display/hold afghans.

Once I got it home, there was only one place to put it and as you can see below, it really needs something more:

So I decided to make a banner to dress it up a bit:

Much better I think.  And some closer views of the banner:

I made it using bits of things I already had including Memory Makers rub-on letters I have had for years.

And some closer views

The colour is a bit washed out here,  it's really more tan in colour.

I am linking this up to Tweak It Tuesday #51 over at Cozy Little House.

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Red Wagon #197 - Paper Piecing

Happy Wednesday all!

Time for another Little Red Wagon challenge and this week  Jayne wants us to paper piece on our creation.

I made this card:

It was pieced together using 4 different dies!  And I love the brick embossed background.

So dig into those wagons and joins us over at Little Red Wagon with your pieced project, we love to see your creativity!

Master Bath Reno and Reveal

Well, here is a much delayed post.
You may recall from posts earlier this year, that we redid our bathrooms last fall including the main bath, powder room and ensuite bath.
But I never revealed the final ensuite bath.

Well, today is the day, here we go!

Here's the before pics of the ensuite bath, a paint colour from my tuscan influenced period, 80's fixtures with a little bit of updating via paint and knobs over the years.

Single sink, small corner shower.

An oversize, noisy jacuzzi tub that saw little use since installation of a hot tub outside.

Then a walk-in closet that was not making best use of the space and only had room enough for my clothing.

So in addition to the ensuite reno, we had the closet redesigned and enlarged by taking about a foot or so extra space from the master bedroom.
Here's a couple of pics from the during stage, walls are pulled right back to the studs.
See that black pipe beside the window? We had to cover it in a unique way as there was no way to make it flush within the wall.

And here's the after pics.

Double sink vanity with a carrera marble top.  The top originally came broken but we found a local source to replace it and they did it within a week!

We used bevelled subway tile to cover the lower portion of the walls and painted the remainder in tranquility by Benjamin Moore. I choose brushed nickel faucets and lighting by Kohler, love them!

And remember the black pipe? We covered it so that it appears to be a column, almost as it we planned it that way and it gives a nice architectural detail.
The floor is in a porcelain marble-look tile, the same as the main bath but in a 13 by 13 square instead of a 18 by 18 square, love both looks.

And here's why this post was delayed so long, I tried several times to get a good photo of the shower but this is the best is gets.
Anyway, good bye to the corner shower and large tub and hello large shower!
We used a combo of subway tile, a feature wall with a mix of glass and marble tile and a marble tile floor. We installed a rainshower head as well as a wall shower head.

And having used it for several months now, we love it!
And here is how the closet links the bathroom and bedroom, it is a walk-through.

View from the bedroom, we were unable to move the toilet :( but the closet now contains mine and my husband's clothes with room for more :)

We are so so happy with the result!