Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Guest Post - Roper Rhodes


Anybody planning a bathroom redo anytime soon? We redid ours two years ago and I scoured articles, Pinterest, and blogs for inspiration. It was helpful gathering ideas and going into the remodel with a game plan and a stockpile of vintage goodies waiting to be displayed. 

I'm excited to welcome Alice who is guest posting on my blog today from Roper Rhodes who can give you some great tips on reflecting your style in your bathroom remodel. Enjoy!



How to create a 
vintage style bathroom


There are an infinite number of ways in which you can style your bathroom. Many people at the moment would prefer to have a modern bathroom that is stylish yet minimalistic with very few accessories, little decoration, and lots of shiny surfaces. This is not to everyone’s taste though; a vintage style bathroom can look just as good, if not better, than a modern one. Here are some tips on how to makeover your own bathroom in easy ways to reflect that vintage look.

If your bathroom already contains a fairly new suite, you probably won’t want to replace this as it can get a little pricey. Instead try adding a few touches here and there to get the vintage feel. And remember that not every piece needs to have a function in the bathroom. For example, search antique shops and auctions for furniture that is going cheap. A gorgeous accented armchair or sofa with colours that match the rest of the room would look fabulously vintage beside the bath tub.

On the other hand, you might have a bathroom that does need new appliances such as the sink, toilet or bath tub replacing. There are a number of places that produce ready-made suites that already have a vintage look, such as the cabinets by Roper Rhodes. You can also keep an eye out for authentically vintage pieces such as those old fashioned but stylish peach or avocado coloured suites. These are likely to be a bit more pricey, but are definitely worth it if you can afford them.

Shabby chic is very in at the moment. This means that you don’t need to source items that actually are shabby because they are on sale everywhere. If you’re handy at DIY, you could buy cheap pieces from charity shops and paint them up yourself. They look particularly effective in pastel shades with the edges slightly worn away. This can be done super easily with a piece of sandpaper. Just make sure not to overdo it!

Finally, try adding some vintage accessories around the room for those few finishing touches. Watch out for things like vintage soap dishes that you can place on the edge of the sink or the bath. Antique perfume bottles will have a similar effect as will old fashioned framed pictures and signs. Before you know it, you’ll have a unique and fashionable bathroom.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Thirty-One Certificate Giveaway


I have a fabulous giveaway for you all that I am so excited about! My sweet friend Cara is a Thirty-One consultant and has offered to giveaway a $20 gift certificate to her Thirty-One Website!!!!!!

Here are of some of the great items you can choose from!





 To see more please visit Cara's website

There are five entry possibilities, so start entering now on the Rafflecopter widget below!

A winner will be announced on Friday, May 10 at 8:00 a.m.!! 

Good Luck!!!!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Great New Finds

Come enter the Thirty-One Giveaway I have going on HERE!!!!!

It has been a VERY long time since I've posted about any new finds I've come across lately. It seems I post about them most often on Facebook and Instagram, but I've found some really great things recently that I wanted to share here as well!!

For instance, like these awesome metal prescription file boxes!!!

These might be my most favorite finds to date! 


A baby carriage wheel I plan to use in my son's industrial chic room


Large ironstone pitcher

A sweet Baby Ben

The start of a new collection it seems....like I need another one - mini dustpans 

They're just so cute I can't resist!

I love this green color!! 

My whisk brooms are accumulating rapidly. 
I found a place to display them that I'll share with you soon!

This rustic wood tool tote


Another lavender bottle - although it doesn't look so lavender in this picture. 

And a sock stretcher - I now have three!

So there you go! A few of my favorite recent finds. 

What's your favorite? And what kind of things do you collect?

If you'd like to see sneak peeks throughout the week and other inspiration, be sure to follow me on Facebook!!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:


Friday, April 26, 2013

We Have a Winner

The winner of the Shabby Apple Grand Prize Giveaway is Anne from White Lace Cottage!! Congratulations Anne!!!


Thanks to everyone who entered!! Please come back on Monday where I'll have another great giveaway starting! You'll have a chance to win a $20 Gift Certificate to use toward a Thirty-one product of your choice!!!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Sponsored Post - GlassesUSA.com

I remember being in the third grade when I started to notice the fact I had to squint a lot to see the board  in school clearly. I mentioned something to my dad about not being able to see well and off to the eye doctor we went. It was determined that I did indeed need prescription glasses

I remember being SO excited waiting for my glasses to be ready to be picked up! I was excited to be able to see again, but I think I was most excited that I would own a pair of eyeglasses! It made me feel so grown up!! 

I laugh now looking back at pictures of me in my huge round glasses with the blue marble looking eyeglasses frames! It was the early 90's after all. There weren't many stylish choices. Especially not like the ones offered today at GlassesUSA.com!

I got my first pair of contacts when I was in the 7th grade and have been wearing them primarily ever since. I got a pair of glasses in high school to have just in case............I still have those glasses................with the same prescription from high school. Over the years I have had to wear the glasses a time or two with my outdated prescription, so I'm thinking it's about time I get a new pair. I'm so glad to have heard about GlassesUSA.com!!

Looking through GlassesUSA.com there are so many fun options!


There's pretty Designer Ones






Even sunglasses


And the best part is GlassesUSA.com has a Virtual Mirror feature where you can upload a picture of yourself and "try on" different frames to find the pair you love best! Test it out!


GlassesUSA.com is offering two discounts to you lovely readers! Take 50% off + get free shipping on all glasses with code LOOKSHARP. Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses with code Blog10.
Besides their high quality frames and lenses, they offer a 110% lowest price guarantee and a 100% satisfaction guarantee along with a generous refer-a-friend program. Additionally, you can stay up-to-date on all GlassesUSA happenings through their Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Disclosure: I was compensated to write this post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 




Saturday, April 20, 2013

Second Life for a Chippy Chair

Last summer I shared a space we created out of doors on our patio HERE. In this post I shared, for the first time, a gorgeous and perfectly chippy chair.

See - perfection!

I moved the chair to my front porch in October to decorate for my son's birthday party and for the fall. 


Shortly after, we came home from work and found the chair literally broken into pieces. It had been an extremely windy day and all we can figure is the wind caught the storm door and it slammed into the chair, breaking it. That was a sad, sad day. Sigh....I really loved that chair. 

We stuck it in the garage with the idea that we would eventually figure out ways to repurpose the pieces. If you saw my post about my Frankenstein cabinet, then you know Nate and I enjoy building things using what we have. 


A few weeks ago Nate was out cleaning up his garage and was in the mood to build. After awhile he came in and got me to show me what he created. I was blown away!!! It was pure genius on his part on what he put together!!

He took one of these windows that was broken that my stepdad gave us


Some pallet boards, furring strips and the legs of that gloriously chippy chair and created this:

 A clever, one-of-a-kind table!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how much I love it!! 

 From the beautiful chippy legs

 To the rusty window latch

 And the rustic look of the table top

 I'm so glad there's a second life for that chippy chair after all!!

 


I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:




Monday, April 15, 2013

New Items in the Shop!

Over the weekend I worked on adding some new items to my poor, neglected etsy shop!! I just thought I would share a few of the new things I listed in case you'd like to stop over and check it out! ;)

I have lots and lots of ironstone pieces, including this beautiful pitcher!!





That's just a small sampling of what's in the shop! I'll also be adding some grain scoops very soon!

Shabby Apple Grand Prize Giveaway!! *CLOSED*

The generous folks from Shabby Apple have asked me to host a fabulous Grand Prize Giveaway!!! One of you will win a $50 gift certificate allowing you to pick what you love!!! 

If you are unfamiliar with Shabby Apple, they are an online dress boutique that specializes in vintage and retro dresses. Click here: vintage dresses to see their selection!

Here are a few of my favorites that they offer:





So beautiful!!!! Below are the guidelines and entry possibilities!

Your prize is a $50 gift certificate for any one item

The giveaway is limited to those with a USA shipping address

Please include your email address when entering

A winner will be chosen on April 26 at 8:00 a.m.

All entries will be verified so please be fair and follow the rules. :)


Mandatory entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):
Please become a follower of Shabby Love by GFC, Linky Followers, or email 
All ways to follow can be found on my right hand sidebar


Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry) : 
Visit Shabby Apple and tell me what item you would pick if you won
Please follow Shabby Love on Facebook
Share about this giveaway in some way. Leave a comment with the link. 

Good luck to you all!!!!



Saturday, April 13, 2013

Door Shelf Tweaking

I've been doing some tweaking lately!!! Do you remember the old door we added shelves to? Well, as we have slowly progressed with our kitchen redo (we have all the trim and baseboards installed, now onto the countertop and backsplash!!) I have simplified my kitchen decor a little. I have gotten rid of quite a bit and moved things around. I don't want to show too much of my kitchen right now, so I'll just show you the changes I made to the door shelves. 

Here's what the door looked like before when we first added the shelves and got it in place behind the pallet cabinet: 



And here's how it looks now!!

I was having a hard time getting everything all in one shot so I had to go to the farthest corner of the room and get an angled shot - sorry!

 I kept a few of the same elements and changed up the rest. 

As you saw in the original picture we had our microwave on the cabinet. Our only outlets are all the way across the room and I hated seeing the ugly extension cord needed for the microwave, so we moved it over to the counter. I'm still not sure if I like the new placement yet, but I do love the little baking station I set up on the pallet cabinet, so it may just stay. 



 This little hanging wire basket is also a new addition!!!

 One of my whisk brooms from my growing collection!




 I love the new spot for my ironstone butter pats! Much more visible!


What do you think? Do you like the original or tweaked version better? 

If you'd like to see sneak peeks throughout the week and other inspiration, be sure to follow me on Facebook!!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to: