Fresh Green

The celery green and chocolate brown bedroom. Yes, you read right.....celery green.

I'm not a big green fan. It just happened. When decorating this room, I wanted a fresh, clean look and Mr. Heaven approved of the colors, (actually he really doesn't care how I decorate, but I did hear him say under his breath, "thank goodness it's not pink").

Lets discuss some of the "issues" in this room:

*Boring Beige Carpet/Walls- carpet HAS to be pet friendly (as you can see in the pic). I also like to change accent colors in the bedroom, and even with a change, beige is in it for the long run.

*White Tab Top Drapes- I like how it pops against the beige

*Bed in the Middle of the Room- This is a really big room and I move my bed around a lot. Sometimes it's in the dormer under the window (where the chair sits). Remember when I told you a couple of posts ago that I can't sit still. Neither can my furniture.
*No Dust Ruffle- Hate. Dust. Ruffles. I think they look good, but I just don't like vacuuming under them, washing them, repositioning them, not being able to see under the bed (monsters and lost items!).)etc. I might give into a coverlet that goes to the floor. Maybe. Stay tuned.
*Ugly Chair in Dormer- Breathe a sigh of relief. This chair will be recovered as will it's partner . At this point, I can't decide. Should I go fun and funky (celery and brown cheetah fabric or flowers similar to pillows), warm chocolate tweed, or sensible beige?
*Not a lot of Foof on the Bed. You know I love foof and frou frou like all of you, but lets face it, I am a REAL person. I throw together my bed in the morning, and get in at night. I might add that I am quite skilled at making the bed with Miss Cocoa (see above picture) on top of the covers. As much as my bed would love to spend all day getting ready for a magazine shoot. It does not. If it did, a dust ruffle, shams, IRONED pillow cases would be applied to the bed. Large ornate pieces would be on the bedside table. I decided to show you "fresh, simple, usable lifestyle".

*The Honey Brown Piece of Wood on the Right Side of the Bed- Wooden drawers built into the side of the dormer.

Let's move on to the closeup shots-

I actually did choose fabric with a little pink in the design. Don't tell.

The comforter that started it all.

This chair fabric DOES NOT work with the pillows, so as soon as I decide on fabric and my upholsterer has time for this chair, it will be recovered!

Chocolate curtains and a new Paris plaque are hung in the bathroom.

I really like this celery green shower curtain that I purchased.

Usually, when I go to the ocean, I am smitten with the beautiful blues. On our recent trip to Mexico, I really noticed the greens. Could it be that I was longing for green grass and leaves on the trees at home?

As I'm typing the windchill is -15.

Our house had a beautiful garden with many shades of green.

I was surprised to find that the third floor bedroom of the beach house we stayed in (pictures courtesy of margarita-villa.com) was accented with greens. Pink girl and cousin stayed in this room.

The view of green off of the 3rd floor sundeck. Brown palapa roofs and green palm trees similar to the palette of my bedroom at home. Outdoor temp- no comparison.

Blessings to you,

Ele, Cocoa (first pic.-bed) and Sage (first pic.-floor)

Puppy Tag Love

The AMAZING Karla put together a Puppy Love Tag Swap, (in honor of her sweet puppies that were born last month). I love cooperative swaps because you receive a little art from more then one person. I sent Karla 6 tags. Karla put together tag books with tags from 6 different people, added a cover tag from herself, and the end result is a wonderful little book.

I am always amazed at the creativity that flows from bloggers when they participate in a project such as this. The first tag is from Karla Nathan, the hostess. The words "what means this thrill" under a fairly somber couple, just cracked me up!

This tag is just so pretty. Would you believe that the back is as pretty as the front. I wasn't surprised when I saw it was from Andrea at Vintage Bella Studio. Andera makes lovely things.
I wish the picture below showed the glittery details and the beauty of the rose a little clearer, but you'll have to take my word for it, very elegant. The back is as nice as the front. This pretty tag was made by Mahala at Simply Sage.

This tag is just like it says, "sweet". The background paper is from a children's story and fits in perfectly with the picture of the little girl and puppy. The background of the tag looks as if it is water colored. It's a wonderful look. The sweetest tag is made by Ali Gripp.

My heart did flutter when I saw this tag. It has everything I love, a little millinery flower, a heart with mica/glass glitter, ephemera text (page from a French book), and pink trim. This tag is made by Jen Kershner.

How cute is this tag made by Caitlin at Chaotic Creations? True puppy love complete with sweet puppy kisses. The back of this tag has a puppy paw print on it. I'm sure Karla has gotten lots of sweet puppy kisses lately! Caitlin even did a little hand work on the felt heart in the corner. Nice touch!

The last tag is from Kathy in Chicago. It is an elegant Victorian looking tag. Beautiful lush looking rose and pearl trims on the bottom. Stunning!

Thanks to all of you who tag appears in my tag book, and again to Karla.....the amazing Karla!
Below are some of the tags I made for the swap.

Blessings to you,

Ele

Belated Valentines

Happy belated Valentines to all of you.

I knew it was just a matter of time and Mr. Pink Heaven would want to leave the snow in our backyard, not to mention the sub zero temperatures. For a couple of weeks, we experienced a 90 degree temperature change, and the view from our house changed from this:

to this:

This is the view from the house's main floor patio, (Mayan Riviera- Tulum, Mexico) . The picture above is from a bedroom balcony. Although, I think our snow is quite pretty, the warm weather was a WELCOME change. We are back home again freezing, but happy.

I hope you all had as beautiful a Valentines Day as I had.

Blessings to you,

Ele

I Heart Vintage Buttons

I can't sit still. Even in front of a TV, I can't sit still.
Any time I have to sit still, I have a bag of handwork in front of me.


Sweet Beth sent me tons of beautiful vintage buttons. In my handwork bag, I put in a piece of fabric (a great piece that says, "hope, love, charity, faith"), a needle, thread, and my wonderful bag of buttons. The next time I was forced to sit still, these hearts transpired.

I "heart" the vintage buttons and was drawn to the soothing shades of cream and white. CRAFT TIP: I sewed the buttons on freehand, but if you want to draw a shape on your fabric first, a blue embroidery pen is great. This pen draws in a light blue color, and the ink disappears when touched with water.
I had to show a closeup of this stunning button.

I think I might frame one of these hearts in a shadow box. Do you have any other ideas?

Blessings,
Ele

Fleurs en Bleu

Looking out my farm house kitchen window, this is what I see.

My vintage church studio building surrounded and covered with snow. It is looking pretty lonely as my visits this time of year are few. I am still cleaning, and organizing my house.

It is cold outside, but the sun shines brightly. The air is fresh and crisp. Despite the beauty of winter, it is this time of year that I begin to hold on to the promise of spring blooms. I am well aware of designers who are shouting, "get rid of the silk flowers", but I wonder.....do they live where I live? Do they KNOW that the upper mid west growing season is extremely short? Do they realize that some of us yearn for blooms. Dare I say....even fake? Every year, I promise myself that I will not succumb to traditional FAKE blossomry, but I do. Especially when I came upon this huge bouquet.

My dining room table can seat 12 people, and this bouquet is a grand size. I was also pleased at how well it matched the upholstery on the chairs.

Fleurs en Blue.

Flowers in Blue.

Admiring the blue hydrangea flowers, I realized that I have a blue flower theme in my home.

Blessings, Ele