Tuesday, August 24, 2010

~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!


 



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




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}

Thursday, August 19, 2010

~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!}



Tuesday, August 17, 2010

~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}


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

~ 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




Friday, August 6, 2010

~pillows pillows pillows!~

hello everyone!

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



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!


the La Forteress pillow is made with a nice
lightweight linen....


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




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


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~


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...



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...



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




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