A Day in the Life of Ramona: March 2009

Friday, March 27, 2009

Finials ~ Still Not My Final Word On 'EM

My thoughts on finials....hooked on 'em and that is my final word.

I wrote about finials last May...and today while refreshing my spring decor I realized how often I think of them to add that little extra something.

I never tire of them...I don't think I ever will....and do you want to know why? Because I use them in unexpected ways...sometimes I even surprise myself with the different ways finials add that "Ta~Da" factor...don't you just love it when that happens?!!

Before we take a peek...let me tell you how much I love the sweet gathering of pals Julia from Hooked on Houses ~ brings together each Friday....thanks Julia...you are a real gal~pal!

Rusty metal final on an up~side~down tomato cage...

Fence post finial painted and added to a tired ol' looking gate...result ~ a not so tired ol' looking gate!

Baby finial I added to one of my pincushions...see. ~ the unexpected!

More unexpected ~ I added a chubby finial to the bottom of this basket hanging from the kitchen pot rack....just something fun to look at and easy ~ peasy to remove...

A finial added to the bottom of this nest~ola...

No thing is safe from being finial~ized!

I found this old Easter bunny decor thing~a~ma~gig and decided it needed a bit of something extra....

Solution ~ and up~side~down nest and a finial...TA~DA!

I love to attached large fence post finials to rods that I hang quilts over...

Fancy pants finials are charming too and welcome in our home...

These three finials were painted black, sanded to within an inch of their lives and attached to this cool old bird house...

Sweet finial on sweet bird house I found at a sweet antique show...

So here's an idea ~ get yourself a cool wire~y garden thing {found this one at JoAnn's Fabrics} and add a finial ~ Ta Da~ville found!

Yep, it is now more special!

Last, I took and old peel~y candlestick, added a nest, a bit of hay, and a dollar store egg that I topped with a finial...instant Ta Da ~ ness!

I am always on the lookout for finials and items that just might find a friend in a finial...

Pop on back over to Julia's for more fun~ola and see what we all are hooked on...it is for sure, the fun~est part of our Fridays!

Happy Weekend Friends ~

Smiles ~ Ramona

Friday, March 20, 2009

Hooked On Plate~olas

Welcome Spring!

It has sprung!

And I am here to tell you we couldn't have waited another day....even though I am sporting my ol' Uggs today....just knowing that we have turned this important seasonal corner gives me the strength to go on!

Thought I would jump on over to Julia's Hooked On Fridays party and cha, cha my bad self into the spring decorating mood with something that I have blogged about before...but I am so dog~gone hooked on this that I thought I would blog about it again and again...

Plates.

I am hooked on decorating with plates. Why? Well, lets see...you can find them anywhere and pick them up for a song and a dance {insert a cha~cha here}....you can even use a piece from your everyday set....platters are interesting to display....as well as metal trays and other serving pieces.

Broken?...don't be so hasty and toss that puppy....display it in a outdoor pot....inspired ~ I know...who says recycling isn't decorative...not me!

When you grow weary of any of your single plates or platters that you have used to display....just fill them with cookies and give to a friend as a thank you gift and let them keep the plate...now your styling baby.

Okay, enough of my yik~ity~yak and let us move along because spring is sprung and I don't want to waste one minute of it...

I love this new grouping I put together while spring cleaning recently...

Plates gleaned from Home Goods...a.k.a. my happy place...

Up close and personal...

Spring grouping by the front door...

A recent addition to the dinning room wall...

Another checkerboard plate....we got a theme going here folks...

One of my favorite groupings in the kitchen by the stove...love the tarnished platter...the tarnish~er the better...that's my motto...

Baby chipped plate in a pot of ivy...

Looks like sweet little plates growing in a tidy row...

Now when I break a plate...I am just not as sad as I used to be...

One of my favorites....I'm hooked!!!

Grab a some refreshments and head on back over to Julia's for more inspired ideas that folks are hooked on...I can't think of a better way to start the season.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Smiles ~ Ramona

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Pillow Parade Marching Through Blog~land

"Thou shalt sit on a cushion

and sew a fine seam

and feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream"

Okay...if I must sit on a cushion...then I shall. But first I shall gather them all up and be in a parade...cha, cha, cha!

When I heard about the Pillow Parade that blogging golden girls Kari and Kijsa are hosting...well I just couldn't help my little ol' self...I had to jump in line and march along...cuz at the end of the day there isn't anything more important than the cushion you rest your noggin on and the charming~er the cushion, the better.

Yeah baby!

I LOVE house pillows...I just can't stop sewing 'em...

Dish towels aren't just for dishware any longer...

I stitched this bad~boy into a pillow

before he knew what hit him...

One of my "drop cloth" house pillows....stuffed with buckwheat hulls...

Drop cloth house pillow pals...

I saw this sheet at Target...and fell in big time love with it...all I could think was ~

I'm going to make a skirt to wear and some pillows for the living room...

...and...I did...

Another house pillow...house pillow obsession!!!

I think that checkerboard is the friendliest fabric friend...don't you?

The details...made a tube and tied the ends in knots...

Matching curtains in the nook...and my favorite saying stenciled on the walls...

Checkerboard...makes me smile...

Another dishtowel pillow...stuffed to within an inch of it's life with buckwheat hulls...

Seen here hugging a curl~y, swirl~y pillow friend...

My newest house pillows for spring...linen and burlap roof....stuffed with buckwheat hulls...

More spring pillows...

A closer peek~a~loo...

Simple~dimple house pillows...hand painted with love...

See the roof of this pillow....it is made from an old pair of pants my sister gave me years ago...

More wildflowers...

I hope that you enjoy the rest of the parade back over at Kari and Kijsa's...thank you ladies for hosting such a fun party!

Pillows are so easy to make...you don't even have to sew...just hot glue the fabric together if you fancy. If you can't find a print you have in mind...don't fret...just paint the fabric...if I can do it, ANYONE can do it. Just let your imagination go wild and more importantly...have fun.

Smiles ~ Ramona

Friday, March 6, 2009

A Half A Yard Of Fabric Love

I have a serious thing for fabric. When I spot some yummy yardage that I love, my heart beats faster, I might weep, my creative mojo kicks in...yep...I'm hooked on fabric. Thanks to Julia from Hooked on Houses for giving us a place to give our obsessions a shout out.

So in an effort to be more practical and less wasteful...I decided to only buy fabric with a purpose in mind and not to be forever adding to the collection of yards and yards marinating at home...

BUT...that was no fun and it was making my mojo hurt.

My solution...when I coveted a delightful piece of cloth I decided that I would only purchase a half a yard!

It was a brilliant idea...because you know what I discovered? There is a whole world of mojo nurturing fabric thirst that a half a yard of fabric can quench.

Take a gander at what I am rambling on about ~