~french farmhouse love~

hello there bloggy friends!

what a beautiful sunny day it is here

in the Pacific Northwest!

apparently it's heading towards the mid 90's today,

a bit of a change from our 60's & 70's of late....

but that's just fine, a few more good swimming days for the kiddos....who are enjoying their last 10 days of summer break.

I thought I would show you a shot

of our front garden while it's still in bloom.....

Oh, I never mentioned our stone farmhouse?

really?

that truly surprises me.....

all the chats, all the pictures....hmmm..

ok.

.....of course it's not mine....

I'm just day dreaming.....

of lavender fields in the french countryside....

of maybe someday....;)

isn't that just the best color of blue for cabinets?

love the rustic door....

and you may not know of my love for exposed beams...

so beautiful.....

I love the turquoise side tables...

what a cute pooch, huh?

and love travertine floors.....what is this though?

carpet on stairs??? whaaaat???

well the house is so darn cute, I can overlook

this small infraction....;)

{my sincerest apologies in advance if I offend anyone who has carpeted stairs!!! ;)

I really don't mind them so much...}

what a lovely home!

speaking of France.....

I thought I would show you my latest creation....

I was having a little fun with some more

french graphics....and came up with a new

chair slip for the linen shoppe!

The Paris Flea Market chair slip

 

Paris Flea Market Chair slip

and a little bit of burlap to bring in Fall.....

The Paris No. 13 burlap grain sack pillow

and

......over in the linen shoppe.....

so go take a look if you like!

have a wonderful week everyone!

xoxo,

Shellagh

{all french farmhouse pics from Period Living}

~lovely farmhouse & Q's answered ~

hello there!!

we've got marine air here this morning.....

it feel so nice & refreshing...roughly 65ish...

I had lots of questions regarding the

"birds in a nest" tutorial

so I'll do my best to answer those today....

then I'll show you a fabulous farmhouse!!

{sneak peek above....}

ok...your Q's....

on how to get this

from this

and this!

if you missed the post

click here to catch up

Your Questions:

Q: Is the ink permanent? Can I wash it?

A: Yes, it's permanent!  Hand wash inside out w/ a very mild soap is best & hang to dry!  The dryer will fade the image!!

Q: Does the fabric smell like Citra-Solve?

A: Just a tiny bit, until you iron the image then it's barely, if at all, noticeable.

Q: Will another brand work?:

A: I think so, I've heard it does but I've never tried another brand so I couldn't tell you for sure! 

Q: Is there any way to do this w/ an inkjet printer?

A: Nope....tried it &  n o t h i n g ...

Q: Where do you find the images?

A: The Graphics Fairy is a fantastic place for

free images with no copyright issues.  Click here for her blog!

Q: Where did I get my fabric w/ the nice weave?

A: It's the natural hopsack linen from JoAnn's

Superstore.

Q: Where do I find Citra-Solve?

A: At natural food stores, like Whole Foods in the

Pacific Northwest.  Click here for their website

Q: Does this method work better than the iron-on

method?

A: I think so!  I like it because the image soaks right into the fibers of the fabric....looks like it's always been there.  There's no shiny or plastic covering on the image like iron on. 

Q: Do I just take the image to a kinko's or someplace

to enlarge?

A:  Yes, but make sure the copier is toner based.

Not all copy shops use toner copiers.  I tried Office Depot & theirs did not work.

Q: Do I need to make a mirror image if there's writing on the image?

A: Yes, you can do this under printing preferences on your computer.  It's usually in the same place where you change your image from portrait to landscape.

I think that's everything!

Let me know if I missed your question!

OK.....now for some farmhouse eye candy...

yum city.....

this is Pamela Kline's lovely Canadian home on Prince Edward Island....

ok...can I just say I am dying for painted

wood on the walls & ceilings of our home????

and hello craigslist?  I'd like to order this farm table for...... let's just say..... hmmmmm.....$100 bucks?!

she loves decorating with "toile and ticking!"

too funny!!

love this bedroom!

{of course :)}

her cute little grandsons in their

awesome bedroom!

I am IN LOVE with this next picture!!

she had her home's longitude & latitude printed

on the pillow! How cool is that???

now I gotta hurry.....my friend's waiting

for me at the gym to do water aerobics...

I told her 5 more minutes on my blog post...

so no proof reading today...

no preview before posting today....

I hope I don't embarass myself...

I need this place....

what a dream huh?

have a wonderful day friends!

I'm gonna go jump in some water now!

:)

xo,

Shellagh

{all images Country Living, except my own of course!}

~summer days~

hello there everyone!

just a few beautiful images

to stretch out these last couple weeks

of summer......

I don't know about you guys,

but my garden is not doing that great....

I'm talking my piddly little vegetable garden....

we had such a nasty wet spring,

that I didn't even get stuff planted until

I'm thinking the end of JUNE!!

but I am not complaining anymore.

oh yes, I was complaining profusely

in the midst of it....sniveling, whining, etc...

but now I'm just enjoying our last month

of a wonderful summer!

it just goes too fast!!

we have so much fun staying up late,

sleeping in (well the girls sleep in....not me

anymore.....6:05 and bing! the eyes are wide open!!)

swimming, bike riding,

enjoying fresh flowers & outdoor meals...

fresh fruit from local farmers....

love it all.....

the kiddos go back to school Sept. 8th...and

I seriously am not looking forward to it....

but then we slowly switch gears....

watch football, carve pumpkins,

plan halloween....and so on.

how about you guys?

are you anxious for the change of season?

or

hanging onto summer..... for dear life?

Have a wonderful week!

I'm trying to get around to say hi to everyone

when I can.....hope you are all doing well!

xo,

Shellagh

{all images by Robin Stubbert}

~ birds in a nest tutorial ~

hello all my bloggy friends!

thanks to you........I have

been busy, busy, busy.....:)

.....sewing for the linen shoppe!

I want to say a big thank you

for all your super sweet & supportive

comments!!

I feel like I have a huge support team....

and I do!!

I thought you might enjoy a little tutorial

on how I do some of the work.....

First of all ~ I cannot believe all the

different methods available

for ink transfers!!

I've tried several and I like this

method although it's not always

perfectly easy.....let's just say......

 in this tutorial I'll show you

how to put the image on a piece of fabric

for.....you guessed it ~ a pillow!

the first thing you need is your fabric

already cut to size..

I'm using a natural linen for this pillow~

next you need an image, any kind of

image will work,  anything that can be printed!

NOTE:  the image has to be printed on a laser

 printer.....not on a home inkjet-

the inkjet will not work.

next you flip it over so the image is facing

the fabric & tape it where you want it

keeping the image in one place is really

important because if it slides around,

your picture will be blurry!

on this one, I'm going to use

the Citra-Solv method

I forgot to tell you ~ you need a paint brush!

now grab said brush and brush the citra-solv

onto the paper where the image is

now pay no attention to the ugly thumb

in the picture....sheesh....little scar, a few wrinkles...

shoulda been a hand model!

ok where was I?

yes.....painting the stuff on the image....

keep going until it's all covered....

like so....

now for the muscles....

take something hard & round ~ like an old

doorknob....;)  or a spoon or something like that!

and burnish it....

that just means rubbing it really hard, but

not so hard as to tear the paper.

make sure you burnish the whole image,

without missing anything.....

I've done that plenty....and if you miss

something & take the paper off....you are out of luck!

it's impossible to retape the image

without smearing it.....unfortunately.....

so carefully peel off the paper and

like magic.....your image!!

then you can use it for all kinds of

projects.....are the wheels turning yet??

I used it for this little guy....

which is available in the shoppe....

over on my sidebar....

I just finished this little guy here ~

really simple, but I love the graphic

it's available in the shoppe as well :)

Gotta get back to work!

{btw...80 and sunny,

mid 90's by Friday....

...lovely!}

Enjoy the rest of your week!

xo,

Shellagh

~pillows pillows pillows!~

hello everyone!

It's Friday.......my favorite day of the week :)

click here for: Le Pegase feedsack pillow  

I've been busy sewing all week and

finally have my new stuff in the store!

I thought you might like a peek....

I've been using some really neat

vintage french feedsack graphics

 ~ lots of fun to play with!

these pillows show my favorites!

 click here for: La Forteress feedsack pillow

the La Forteress pillow is made with a nice

lightweight linen....

next up....cow pillow....love cows right now...

click here for: french milkmaiden feedsack pillow

the milkmaiden pillow is a simpler version

of La Pegase......the Pegasus pillow has piping

and a cute tie closure, the milkmaiden has an

envelope style closure.

This one's fun...a little different fabric...

very distressed, vintage feel

click here for: 1898 linen pillow

Now for the romantic ruffly stuff.....

you know how I love my ruffles! ;)

these are really so fun to dream up!

ok so first up is the extra big

Monogram Ruffle Pillow....

customized with the initial of your choice~

click here for the: Monogram Ruffle Pillow

this pillow is made with a wonderful

 linen & cotton fabric.....I love it because the texture

is so awesome!

it's made with teeny little ruffles all the way around.....

ok next ~

my 14 yr old daughter tried to steal this

one as soon as I showed her...

and she's not a ruffle kind of girl...

click here for the: Paris Marche Ruffle Pillow

and lastly.....my favorite (I think....)

the "Birds in a Nest" Double Ruffle Pillow....

this one is made with natural linen, and has

a double row of raw edged ruffles...

click here for the: Birds in a Nest Double Ruffle Pillow

that's all of 'em!

well, I do have a couple others waiting to

be sewn but.....for now...

Thanks so much for coming by!

oh wait~ almost forgot the weather!

Anne, this is for you :)

ok....overcast skies breaking up for a sunny

afternoon.....right now it's just about 70, and the

high today is mid to high 70's!

crazy weather but I'm loving it!

btw.........

I'd love your feedback on my new stuff :)

Have a fabulous weekend!!

xoxo,

Shellagh