Tuesday, May 26, 2009

New Product at Aunt May's Cottage

I've been dreaming of these for a long time and finally figured out how to do them. I love the way these mirrors hold a faint image and still reflect as they should. I will be trying several versions of these picture mirrors in the next couple of weeks and they will be available for you in the Cottage soon.

I REALLY love this one and may make one just for me.


See? You can still see the reflected image. It's just a little muted where the other image is.


I like this one a lot, but it gave me goosebumps when I first saw it. It's so real looking, that it's kind of spooky at first glance.



What do you think?

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Yes Virginia, There REALLY is a Cottage

Let's take a look as you enter the showroom.... (click to enlarge any photo)

To the left.........


And to the right....(hmm.....daybed needs more pillows). That's my desk in the back corner. I do my inventory there and wrap up orders.


A peek from the other side. To the left........


And to the right....


Past the front hall that still needs lots of work.....All of the walls and the cathedral ceiling in the workroom are also this wood siding stuff. Dark, dark, dark...


Into the work room (that also needs lots of work). This is the stainless steel bench where I make floral wreaths, swags and arrangements for my home. I love this workbench because you can glue to your heart's content and just scrape it off of the bench. Overhead on the beams, I hang the dried florals and baskets. I hope to get this room painted a light color with white cabinets sometime before winter this year. It's a dark room but has lots of natural light, as you can see.


The other side of the workroom. This is the table where I paint and craft. You can see how the sun streams throught this big picture window. Back on the buffet are some arrangements I did for a wedding recently, and my funny little bear that sings, "When I'm 64", gift from a friend for my birthday. Sometimes I have a little TV on and will take a break to watch some DIY or craft shows. I know, I know, it's a little overkill with the TV, but hubby wanted a flat screen for our home viewing and this doesn't fit in the bedroom cabinet.


Still in the workroom, a place for the silks in an old cradle. In the background some lamps that need work and a few supplies. I have four of those tall dressers with supplies in them. I don't know how I could do without them!


I love this old stacked cabinet. It was in hubby's garage for years with tools in it before I met him. He wanted to throw it out and I wouldn't let him. Someday I will clean it up and paint it ivory. It has no glass or doors on the bottom, but isn't that what FABRIC is for??


More florals.....

Into the kitchen. Remember back when we re-did this? That door came from the main house and we made it into a pocket door here. It leads to the bathroom. I left the old hardware on it because I like it. Inexpensive ceramic tile on the floor and I still need to paint the cabinets white. The cabinets came from Restore for $50.00 and the dishwasher and stainless sink came from the main house, too.

Still in the kitchen looking at the rest of the counter area with the Fridge. See?, I have one cabinet partially painted. It's a different kind from the others but still looks pretty good. We bought the stove and fridge when a local appliance store went out of business (very cheap). These windows are sliders and look out over a little wooded area between the main house and the cottage. Birds abound out there and I always hang a hummingbird feeder outside the sink window so I can watch them while cleaning my brushes.


Looking from the pocket door toward the back door. It's so chippy and old that it makes me smile every time I see it. I almost hate to paint it because it's so charming (and original to the cottage). See the ceiling? Well.........we had a leak in the roof from so much snow this past winter and will need to replace that part of the ceiling when we find out if the leak is fixed. I was just sick, let me tell you. There are no built-ins on the right side of this kitchen. Instead, I chose to use a large cabinet with shelves that came from an old schoolhouse (I painted a gazebo scene on it), an old radio cabinet that the microwave sits on, a Hoosier that someone painted white (not me) and an old aqua cabinet that had scary clowns on it. It's really chippy, but I sanded the clowns off as they scared my granddaughter. I don't know why they put such pictures on children's furniture.

Walking out the back door, we can stop by the pink honeysuckle bushes that are now blooming. What a heavenly smell!!


Thanks for stopping by and please come to visit me at the cottage again.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy May Day!!


Oh, let's leave a basket of flowers today
For the little old lady who lives down our way!
We'll heap it with violets white and blue,
With Jack-in-the-pulpit and wildflowers, too.
We'll make it of paper and line it with ferns,
Then hide - and we'll watch her surprise when she turns,
And opens her door and looks out to see
Who in the world it could possibly be!
-Virginia S Miner