Sharing Shadymont, My Mountain Cottage

I had the afternoon alone yesterday, so that meant I needed to check out my favorite consignment shop.  I found a few items that caught my eye, and they came home with me. First, is this small shelf.  I attached it to the old door I refinished a couple years ago. Tiny shelf ($4.99) I decorated this oval frame for winter with some berries and pine.  The sled ornament works for winter as well as for Christmas, so I kept it out too. The next item I bought was this sweet wall hanging.  It was half-priced at $2.00. Do you have a favorite chair or sofa, that you gravitate to?  I do.  I always sit on the love seat.  I keep my laptop, its charger, my kleenex, some lotion, ink pens, etc. on the table beside me, so I bought this small metal container to corral them. It was about $3.99, and is the perfect size. The other items I bought can be used for Christmas, or Winter décor.  These wreaths/candle rings wer...

My last post was all about the fact that I've been tweaking/changing my Christmas decor.  ALREADY!!  Well, I decided to do a little "fill-in" on the mantel.  It just looked too sparse.   (I don't know why the mirror photographs this way). Just needed to "up the ante" a little!  I had my husband bring my lighted garland up from the basement, and I did a little addition. I had just enough of the peacock feather ribbon left to run through the greenery. My turquoise ornaments from the consignment shop worked perfectly. Now isn't that better? So much for keeping things more minimal!! Much better.  I think this looks more elegant than the original. So, no more pretending I can be a minimalist, 'cause I CAN'T !! I hope you'll join me for these fun parties:   Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters Stuff Serenity Saturday @ Serenity You Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, ...

I found a photo somewhere online, maybe Pinterest that showed 2 stools painted black and a bird nest on one of them.  I loved the colors used, and decided to paint the same picture on canvas.  I started by using a pre-primed canvas, and blended black, brown, and white for the background.  Next I laid the canvas aside to dry.  Once it was dry, I painted on the tree limb and a bird nest.  So here is the finished canvas. When I first saw the photo, I immediately fell in love with the simplicity. The other picture is a tree limb with a bird.  I used the same procedure to paint it. (UPDATE:   Per Jann Olson, the benches were painted by Lynda Bergman).  She's an artist, which I am not, but her benches inspired me with the colors she used. Jann had featured them last week, so that's where I saw them.  Lynda blogs at: http://lyndabergmandecorativeartisan.blogspot.com/ My paintings are not the quality of the inspirational benches, but my...

This weekend, it will be official!  Autumn will be here, according to the calendar!   Our temperatures have become a little milder, and our days shorter.  My granddaughter (6) asked me today what I liked about Autumn.  We each named off different things we liked.  She loves the colorful leaves, pumpkin farms, trick or treating, cooler weather, etc.  I explained to her that I loved those things too, and toasting marshmallows, the smell of a wood fire coming from someone's chimney.  It was so sweet to get her take on what Fall means to her.  Smart little girl, my Rheagan!  I picked her up from school and carried her to get her nails polished.  She chose light green polish!  Then we had a snack next door at a sandwich shop.  I love our talks!  You can learn a lot from a 6 year old, especially one with a vivid imagination, and a creative spirit.  She loves doing crafts, drawing, coloring, and "writing books", oh and ...