Fall Decor and Becky's first Blissful Whites Wednesday!!!

 Fall is one of those seasons that I look forward to every year. It is the time when the heat finally begins to fade here in the Arizona desert. Mornings and Evenings begin to cool down and I finally get to sleep with the windows open. Unfortunately it occurs rather late in the year for us.  Temps have only just begin to dip below 90 for the daytime highs, so it can be hard to really get in the spirit and go all out for Fall decorating. I do however have my weaknesses. White pumpkins being among them.

 It was great to bring out the handmade pumpkins I made a couple of years ago. Bringing out the old decorations is like saying hello to old friends. If you would like to make some yourself, you can find a tutorial for them here.

One of the things I'm so happy about is the recent availability of other varieties of pumpkins here in the valley. In addition to white, we can also those yummy grey green pumpkins too!

Well, you can see I don't go too crazy with fall decor here, but I love the little that I do.

***********************

As many of you know, Kathleen over at Faded Charm has retired her White Wednesday party. We all miss her party very much, so I am very happy to tell you (if you don't already know) that Becky over at Timewashed has picked up the reigns and will continue to throw her own version, called Blissful Whites Wednesday! Please pop over there and join in on the fun. I know she would love to have you!

Bottle Angel Class

There's one more class being held here at my desert cottage before the year is over.

I'm very excited to share it with you all. These are the wax bottle angels that I made last year and taught a class to some very good friends of mine. We (as always) had a wonderful time and they not only suggested that I send them in to Sommerset, (which I am) but they also suggested that I teach the class again this year. 

So I am doing that too !!! I've already started filling spots and I am very grateful for that. :) But I did want to open it up and invite anyone else who would like to come and play,  to join us!!

The class will be held here at my home on November 10th. The cost of the class will be $65.00.

Please email me at karenvalentinedesignstudio@gmail.com if you are interested and I will send you the small list of supplies you will need to bring. I hope to see some new faces this time!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!

French Marketplace at Sweet Salvage

 

The Sweet Salvage sale is going on again for the next 4 days. This month's show is one of my favorites to date!! The theme is French Marketplace.

 They had some gorgeous white bedding from my favorite line, Bella Notte.

 I adored this dresser. Unfortunately, I don't think hubby would understand getting rid of our perfectly good dresser to replace it with another. And check out those industrial cubbies above it!!

 There are shelves, and bookcases packed with lovely little treasures...

And fun pieces tucked away in every nook and cranny.

 Check out this French drying rack!! There were two of them there, and the other was huge!!!

I've seen these all over Pinterest! Betcha it finds a new home this weekend!

 Okay, seriously, my mouth dropped open when I saw this chair. I wanted it soooo badly! The apolstery was beautiful and the grain sack fabric was actually pretty soft. I cried when I had to walk away. :(

 One thing I can always count on is a wonderful selection of awesome chairs!!   If only I had more than one home.... Hmmm...I think I have a Pinterest board called that!

Another lovely chair, and some great burlap coffee sacks. I'll show what I did with mine in a few posts!!!

 They do the prettiest vignettes!!!

 And they always have lots of wonderful smalls, so you never have to leave empty handed!!!

 mmmmmmm.... Lace.

 I loved this area. The photos just don't do it justice. I want some cool industrial lights, unfortunately these were just too big.

Carolyn Westbrook was there for a book signing. How cool is that???

They always have stacks and stacks of yummy vintage suitcases.

and as always, some wonderful architectural pieces.  I look forward the sale every month and I am always inspired when I visit there. Next month is the Christmas show. Whoopee!!!

Kitchen Makeover Reveal!

Before

 I am sorry I have been away for sooo long (again).  I have spent all my free time working on transforming my old, outdated and very much disliked kitchen into something I love so much!!!

Here it is again from a couple of years ago, before I convinced hubby to at least let me paint the insets. Too "country" for my style and definitely too much wood. I had to cover the table top, because it's wood too!!!  Even though the kitchen has a ton of windows, all that wood just felt very dark.

After

Now it feels bright and clean and fresh!!! I love it soooo much! We replaced the old grungy brass hardware for black hardware to match the knobs and handles we added a few years ago. I still love them, so those stayed.

Before

This is the other side of the kitchen, taken just before the re-do. As you can see, the painted insets helped a little, but it was definitely NOT the look I wanted.

After

It makes me happy just looking at the photos!!! LOL!! We took out the dishwasher because we were unable to use it anymore due to horrible hard water build up. Since it's just me and hubby at home now, we don't really need it anyway. We finished the inside and added a shelf, so now it holds the tall serving pieces that won't fit in the other cabinets.

 We took all the doors outside sprayed  primer on both sides and then sprayed the paint on the fronts only.  I used a roller to do the insides after they were hung because we didn't want to run the risk of messing up the paint job while they were face down getting painted. 

I have plans for that corner cabinet door above... I'm going to make a template with paper, and cut out a piece of masonite to fit inside. It will get painted with chalkboard paint and then I'll use velcro to hold it in place. I also still need to paint that green wicker basket black.

I borrowed this wood tool caddy from my studio, and I'm afraid it's not going back. I love it too much in here!!!

One of the added benefits of doing this is that I was forced to go through all the drawers and cabinets and completely reorganize, and PURGE!!! I had stuff that was put away 13 years ago when we moved in, and has never been touched since!!!  There is definitely a garage sale in my future!

Painting all the window frames was definitely the hardest part, but it was sooo worth it!

 After everything was installed, I mixed up some glaze and just edged the doors and drawers with it. It was just the right finishing touch.

I have a few things I still want to add. I need to find a sisal (or something similar) area rug to go under the table, and a mat for me to stand on at the sink. I'm making little linen seat cushions for the chairs, and I think I'm going to refinish the table top with a slightly gray-er stain to try and give it a more weathered look, but we'll see...

Well I hope you enjoyed the reveal! I get a smile on my face every morning when I walk in there now!!!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends! 

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!!!

              And Inspire Me Monday at Create  with Joy!!!!