Shabby Hookers Set

Hello friends! If the rest of 2009 follows suit to this first week, it is sure to fly by! Over my holiday break, in between bouts with the flu bug, I created a Shabby Hooker set for my sister to give as a special gift. I love making these and you will soon see some new ones in my Etsy shop.


I love this floral patterned paper against the distressed, antique white wood.

To coordinate, I created two smaller Shabby Hookers that feature a rustic, red dot pattern with greenish-brown glass knobs.

Together they make a nice contrasting set!

Forcing PaperWhites

A few weeks ago I attended a Christmas brunch with my sister in the home of one of her coworkers. She gave each guest a gift of paperwhites, so that they could be forced indoors during the winter months. I think that giving your guests a small gift is such a thoughtful and wonderful idea, it helps them to remember your special occasion. Recognize the gift tag? :)

I have had my eye on some pale blue and stone pottery pieces at Michaels for the past couple of months. When we moved into our current house, we debated on whether we should paint the living room blue or yellow. In my absence, Max went with yellow, and we have many times since then wished we had gone with the blue. Due to the height of the room, it's open to both floors, we're not repainting it anytime soon...though I would love to! We've desperately been in need of an area rug to cover the wood floors in that room but Max and I never agree on rug types. He likes shag...I like anything but shag! So in the days before Christmas, I found a rug that I liked which would work well with the existing colors yet pull in some of the blues we were longing for. Thank you Santa (Max's dad) for standing in my corner of the boxing ring to be sure that this rug made its way into our house! With my 50% coupon in hand, I knew I had to run back and see if any of the pale blue pottery was left because it would be perfect for my new paperwhites. They had a piece that would work perfectly so I also snagged some smooth river rocks, in two different tones, that would help to pull the look together.

I mixed the rocks then filled the container about 2/3 of the way full. Next, I added enough water so that it would barely reach the top of the rocks. If the bulbs sit in too much water, they'll rot. The paperwhites were then nestled in the rocks, roots down, so that they would grow upright. That's it! I placed the planter atop an old chest I bought for Max for our very first Christmas. Knowing what to get a guy I had only dated for a few months was difficult but I somehow knew this would be the perfect thing. We've both loved it ever since and it has served several purposes in all three houses that we've been in. I cant wait until they bloom! The flowers will be a cheery reminder that spring always follows the cold wintery months.

Tattered Rose

I have shared a couple of inspiration snippets with you over the past few weeks, and though I am not ready to reveal the completed project, I am going to share a small piece of what I have been working on.

I have had these pink silk roses for years. Literally, years. A Joann Fabrics was going out of business and I thought these roses were so lifelike (and cheap!!) that I had to grab 'em. I have used a few here and there but I still have a couple left.
Though they are nice in their current state, they were just too...perfect for what I'm needing. So, I grabbed my Distress Ink pad by Jim Holtz in the color tattered rose. Tattered rose, perfect! I was going for a shabby look so I inked up the rose petals as much as I could until I was satisfied with the look. I find myself distressing just about everything I create in one form or another. I either ink the edges or scuff them up with scissors...or both! I love the shabby look and think that distressing adds a nice softness with a worn in feel. Here's the finished tattered rose beside an original: The distressed look helps the rose to blend in better with the overall project scheme. At least I'm hoping that it will!