Folded Gingham

MOVING.....

You can now find me here.... 

http://foldedgingham.blogspot.com/

So book mark the page or add me to blogs you follow.

 

Tiff

The inside...

I really don't know what is wrong with my camera, the pics seem a bit fuzzy, maybe it's not the camera, just the person operating it!! Anyway, here are some recent pics of the house, mostly just some fall decor.  I didn't go overboard this year, I just didn't feel up to it and the house is feeling stuffed as it is, I really just need to declutter. Oh, and a side note to this post while we are on the subject of decluttering. My friend Debbie and I are going to have an "antiques and decor" sale sometime during the first week of November. We both have stuff we have collected that we no longer want/need/ or use so it's time to let it go. If you are in the area, let me know!

On to the pics...

 This is a large floorcloth that I made this summer. I cheated and used the back side of a piece of cheap vinyl flooring.

Here is a larger view, it sits under a small table in my family room in front of the fireplace.

And here are two smaller ones I made for my kitchen. I really hate the tiles floors, so I'm trying to hide them a bit. Eventually I want to put down wide pumpkin pine flooring and get rid of the tile all together.

Here is a closeup of the chicken one. 

 And the cow one.

Here is the mudroom. Ick, again with the vastness of tile! And I still want to change the light fixture, but that requires money, LOL!

Eek, what a bad pic, but it will have to do for now. This is right by the door in the mudroom.

 
Hanging on the mudroom wall, near the halfbath. Sorry again for the bad pic.

Hutch in the mudroom. It sits between the hall closet and the bathroom.

Looking into the half bath in the mudroom.

I think I will cut the tour here, as this post is getting picture heavy as it is. I will continue tomorrow.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

Long time away...

You know when you haven't done something in soooo long, it's really hard to get back into it.  I kept telling myself that I was going to start blogging again, and even took pics of lots of stuff with the intention of blogging it. But, life just happens and I just didn't get around to it. 

However, tonight, I'm giving it a try again. 

So, the big question is, where do I start?  Should I go back months or should I start with today.  I think I will just start by sharing some outside pics of the house.

 
The house.

The new planting bed we put in this summer. It still needs some work but it will have to wait until next year.  We added it because the leech field is in this part of the yard and the grass wouldn't grow well, so I wanted a planting bed to give more color to the yard.

A close up of one of the old wheelbarrows that I got this summer at a big yard sale.

 
 
 The front porch. I added metal hanging bats to the ceiling, if I get a chance I will take a new pic. Oh, and there is the other wheelbarrow I got along with the old wicker rocker(already painted in a vintage pumpkin color, perfect for a Fall porch). The crock on the right, I got for $10 at another yard sale this summer.

 
Porch again.  The rocker didn't have a seat, so my oldest son made a wood one for it and it works perfect, now I just need to make something for the back rest.  The little pumpkins are all from our garden, didn't get any big ones, but lots of little ones!

This picture was taken after the first frost, so the birdhouse gourds on the fence look horrible.  This is an old plow that I got at yet another yard sale this summer, I snatched it up when I saw the price was only $15.

Here are the gourds in their prime, before the frost.

The front door kitchen vegetable garden.

Another view of the garden.  It was an experiment this year, next year we know what will be better to plant.

 

A small portion of the bounty from our garden.

Sunflowers that the boys planted this year.

So that's it for tonight.  Tomorrow I will share the inside.

Until next time,

Tiff

Goodwill in the garage...

It's pretty sad when you have a bag from(not for) Goodwill sitting in your garage for months that you totally forgot about.  I honestly don't really remember when I got this stuff, but it had to be at least 4 months ago.(edited to add, I just found the receipt and it's dated 10/23/2008, so it's from 5 months ago!)

First, an assortment of glass candle holders, all were $.59 a piece except for the big lead crystal ones on the left that were $.99 a piece.  I don't even know why I buy these, I just seem to love them and be attracted to them. I must have a dozen different pairs by now. I don't display them, they just sit in my pie safe, and are occasionally taken out for a party or tea. So why do I buy them?  They don't really even go with my house. But I just love glass things. Maybe I should find a way to display them(along with my dozen or so cake stands that I love) and forget about whether or not they go with scheme of my home...

And then there was this pretty cream and pink serving piece($4.99). Again, not really ideal for my house, but it caught my eye and I couldn't pass it up. Maybe I can find a spot for it in my youngest daughter's room...

You know, I just need a vacation cottage somewhere that I can decorate in my alter ego style...whites and pastels with a english cottage feel.

There was also this buttery yellow twin chenille bedspread for $7.99. Couldn't pass it up apparantly:)  Another thing that may end up in my daughter's room.

And now I'm off to wash everything and maybe figure out how to get my glassware out of hiding.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff 

Summer outfit...

I made this little outfit for my youngest this past August. The pattern is from Oliver & S  and was super easy to whip up. I just wish I had made it a size bigger so that it fit him this year too.

 

I'm organizing my new craft area this weekend, what a pain!  And I know how I would love it to look, but I'm not sure how to achieve it without spending money. For now, I will just have to settle for clean.

Have a great weekend,

Tiff

Copying...

So,I have been drooling over these bird's nest glass bells in the William Sonoma catalog but could not justify spending $60 or $90 on one....

  

Instead, I decided to do my own interpretation of them. And it only cost me about $13.  I bought the jar at Target last October for $9.99, I don't know if that is the real price, but that's what they sold it to me for since it was the last one and there was no scanner tag and the manager didn't feel like looking it up :) Then I got the bag of moss(which I still have a ton left) at goodwill for $.99. The bird's nest with blue robin's eggs came from the Christmas Tree shop on sale for $1.69(yes, not made in America, but until I find a real one that a Robin is willing to donate to me, it will have to do). And the random flowers and twigs I stole from other things around my house.  Here is how it turned out(sorry about the lighting, we have no sun here this morning)...

   

I don't think it has quite the drama of the glass bell, but it looks pretty good in person and is a nice display for Spring.

And on another catalog inspired idea, here is what my youngest daughter wants her room to look like now. This is from the Land of Nod...

 Maybe we will redo her room for her birthday. Guess I better start cleaning out the house for a yard sale to raise the cash. I'm really trying to put the household on a budget, but it's so hard when I love to decorate!

Have a splendid day,

Tiff

Kitty's 1st Birthday....

So there isn't much going on around here, other than still trying to get the house in order. But it is Phoebe's 1st birthday today and my youngest daughter baked her a cake from scratch....

 

Happy Birthday Phoebe !!!!

Have a great night everyone,

Tiff

Preparing for our garden...

Well, I think we are all finally on the mend, YAY!!!  And hopefully Spring isn't too far away now.  I planted my vegatable garden seeds and today I will start my flower seeds(that I saved from my plants last year).  This is our first year for a vegatable garden, so it is sort of a guessing game as too how many plants I need for the space I have and what plants we will eat the most of and how how much each will produce.

 

I didn't invest in grow lamps, just trying out nature with a full sun window.

 

But I did buy this little gadget, it's simply called a "pot maker", and it works like a charm. All you need is newspaper and you can make as many seedling pots as you want. Then when it's time to plant in your garden, you just put the whole thing in the ground, so there is no disrupting the roots.

 

These ones are waiting for the flower seeds.

And I can't forget to say a GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! to my sister Shelly. I love you and hope you have a great day.

                  

 

I'm off to clean the kitchen, do laundry, and then plant!

Have a great day,

Tiff

Where is Spring?????

I am officially sick of winter!  The kids had another snowday yesterday because we got about 10" of snow, enough already!!!  Plus, I'm still sick, it's been over a month now and I can't shake this. I really need the warm air to come so that I can open up the whole house and get rid of the germies. Poor hubby found out yesterday that he has walking pneumonia but he can't take time off work so we both just have to muster through our day.  So that is why the lack of posting, I have just been too tired and sick.

Anyway, on to more fun things.  Here are some goodwill finds from a week or two ago...

First I found this ceramic cow to add to my cow collection in my kitchen window. I don't know how old he is, but he is definately not new, he was $2.99.

 

Then I found a ton of crocheted doilies, I particulary love the pineapple ones. I have no idea why I collect doilies, because I really don't display them or use them, it's just something about them I guess. Maybe all the handwork and time that went into making them.  These were $.99 a piece.

 

And look at this gorgeous blue toile with the farm scene and cows! It's a heavy weight fabric and this is a 2yard piece. Now I just need to figure out what to make with it. It was $1.99.  And the wood rolling pin was $.99.

 

5 100% wool sweaters that were all half price($2.49), I will use to make cute waldorf dolls and stuffed creatures(I will have to make a post soon about those).

 

Two beautiful vintage drapes that really look like "todays" designs. I was thinking about making Spring pillows out of them. ($2.99)

 

And last, two sheer green polka dot curtains, which were half price($.99). I plan on using them in the play room/ craft room. I'm making that area very bright and vibrant, totally different from the rest of the house.

Oh, and I'm very excited that our new sofa arrived this morning. The thing is a monster in size but the little ones love it and it will be great having a ton of seating in the main family room.  Once I get that room done, I'll post a pic.

Have a nice day,

Tiff

Snow Day and Swap...

We woke up yesterday to school being cancelled and a winter wonderland outside...

 

I love how the snow was sticking to everything and it stayed like that for most of the day.

 

 

 

 

  The kids had fun too...

 

Have you seen this Easter Basket swap???  Go sign up....

 

Have a fantastic day,

Tiff