Chippy Autumn Porch

Found this table buried under STUFF in the garage.

It's so perfectly chippy and it needed rescued.

I've been asking for help with this all summer long, but there are so many projects going on around here that it just wasn't priority. So, yesterday I managed to do the job myself.

It now has a new home on my porch.

Love the big chunky legs.

And it's the perfect place for my new window box.

Made of an old window and some reclaimed wood.

It holds my dried sunflowers.

And the pumpkin from my daughter's garden.

I've been on the lookout for some bittersweet to add to my Fall decor, but haven't been able to find any, so I settled for some artificial for now.

Time to get on with another project.
Thanks for having a look at my chippy Autumn porch.

Karen

As It Is

Sometimes I feel like the normal, everyday goings on, just suck the life out of me.

Like there's no time left for me after tending to what everyone else needs.

Don't get me wrong…my life is good, but I crave a little solitude at times.

Time to think, be creative or just do nothing.

It seems like it's been a while since I've done that, so with camera in hand, I stole away a few moments of time this morning to just be.

Nothing staged.

Just things as they are.

The chippy cabinet door on my porch with the flower long gone from the old green bottle.

A burlap coffee bean sack stuffed with pillows, cushions the iron bench where I sit and drink my coffee in the mornings.

Sunflowers hanging from the porch post to dry.

They managed to grow all on their own with no help from me. Scattered seeds left by the birds and field mice, from last years vegetable garden.

There was no time for growing vegetables this year.

My old weeding wagon is almost hidden from the towering weeds that have taken over my garden.

Some of the weeds are quite pretty, like this morning glory that has climbed the fence that surrounds the garden.

I hesitated slightly as I turned the knob to enter the garden shed.

I never know if I'll meet a family of mice or chipmunks when I walk inside.

So far so good, but you never know.

Pots and garden supplies fill the shelves.

A birds nest found last Fall sits near the window.

Walking back to the house past the picket fence.

Time to get back to reality.

Thanks for joining me on my short journey of solitude this morning.

Hope you enjoyed the photos of things as they are in my world.

Have a great day everyone and remember to take a few moments for yourself now and then.

Karen Ann

A Chalk Board A Chippy Window And Some Birds

I can't believe summer is almost over and I haven't taken time to say hello.

You know how it is…life just keeps happening and it sort of gets away from you.

The good things and the bad suck you in and there's only so much time and energy to go around.

I won't bore you with the details of my goings on, but I would like to share some photos of a few projects that I've worked on over the past few months.

I finally managed to make the large chalkboard for my dining room.

I have not, however, managed to write anything on it yet.

 I replaced the brown chippy window on my living room wall with a white one and...

 added these sweet white birds to the mix.

I've been working like a mad woman on my house and will have plenty of pictures to share with you in the days ahead. Hope you've all had a great summer so far. Hugs to all of you!

Karen Ann

Flea Market Decor

My flea market treasures

   make a lovely romantic space.

 Vintage floral containers are a pretty solution for storage.

 Pillows made from vintage bark cloth add softness and comfort to my space.

 A little chippy shabbiness in my space makes me happy.

 Tattered millinery flowers are always one of my favorite finds.

A scarf like the ones Grandma wore draped across an old lamp softens the light and adds to the comfort  factor.

 A basket filled with vintage hats is a nice pop of color in a corner of my space.

 Candles are a must here.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find something inspiring here and will come back sometime soon. It  always brightens my day to read your comments.

karen

New Life For An Old Chair

What better place to show off my updated pressed back chair than against the old rescued hutch in my dining room. This old rough chippy chair had been on my porch for years and had seen better days. I brought it inside and freshened it up with a quick almost dry brushed coat of turquoise paint.

 Last Fall I had such a nice harvest of pumpkins and gourds from my garden, but this year's garden was a failure.

 I opted not to spend money buying real ones and instead used some of my faux decor.

 I grabbed up the pretty blue blanket from my daughter's donate pile as she was moving things into her new house last month.

 This small stick wreath was packed away with the faux pumpkins and seemed like the perfect thing to hang on the hutch door.

I'm loving that old chair all over again.

karen

Prairie Star

My chippy old window seemed like the perfect place for displaying my prairie star.

Instead of just using it as a Christmas decoration, I brought it out of storage and adorned it in a shabby chic fashion and now it hangs above the fireplace in my bedroom.

I know it's not a very original idea, but that's why I buy decor books.
Sometimes I'm inspired by other people's ideas and come up with my own twist on things and other times I just like their ideas straight up.

Anyway...I hope some of my ideas inspire others at times too.

Thanks for looking.

karen

Thinking of Grandma

Yesterday I spent the day shopping with my mother.

When I arrived at Mom's house, she gave me this beautiful old statue that had belonged to my Grandmother.

 It's very old and a bit shabby and chippy and I love it.

Grandma has been gone for many years, but I remember the times I shared with her like it was yesterday.

 She had a passion for gardening.

Especially flowers.

 As a child her place seemed magical to me.

 This morning as I was thinking of Grandma, I went out to my own garden and brought in a few of the flowers that are still blooming.

 Thanks Mom for the beautiful reminder of Grandma.

karen

Organize

I've noticed fellow bloggers sharing their words for the new year.

Although I'm not very good at keeping up with what's going on in blog land or why people post what they post, I like the idea of having a word for the new year.

Last year, for me, it was all about keeping things SIMPLE.

 This simple white chippy window frame is one of my latest found treasures.

I picked it up for $20 at "The Antique Emporium" in Ebensburg, PA.

They had 2 left if you're in the area and you're interested. The glass has been replaced with screen, but I'm thinking of removing the screen and inserting chicken wire.

 To me, keeping it simple means repurposing whatever I can whenever I can.

This stuffed leather heart was made from a repurposed coat that I found at the local thrift shop.

I will continue to seek simplicity forever I think.

I've found that keeping it simple is difficult when there is a lot of clutter surrounding me.

That being said...this years word for me is ORGANIZE.

I do love my "STUFF" and can never imagine being a minimalist, but in order to "keep things simple", I need the "stuff" to be organized.

In the months ahead, I will be doing just that...

getting organized.

I plan to share photos of my ideas for keeping organized and will be selling the overflow.

I'm not sure if I will be selling on Etsy or Ebay, but either way, there will be a lot of vintage and antique items for sale.

Today I plan to start with this ...

It's just a small mess, but I need to start somewhere, so here goes...

Stay warm everybody.

It's cold out there.

karen