After the Storm...

Summer in Calgary and thunderstorms go hand in hand. We can have a beautiful , warm sunny day and by the evening, we're paying for it in the form of a thunderstorm. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE them, but they sure do give the plants a beating. Earlier this month our peonies that run along about 25 ft of our driveway were in full bloom. The weather had been rainy when they first opened and I never got a chance to get out and take pictures of them. Two days after they bloomed, we had a MASSIVE hail storm and they were completely destroyed. It was pretty sad actually. Half of them were laying down on the driveway, petals all over the place. What ones weren't completely beaten up, were bruised and tattered looking. So my idea of doing a post about our gorgeous flowers was washed down the sewer drain that day.

This happened last week, minutes after I'd finished the first coat of paint on the shelf I was painting for the sunroom. Before this was taken it was warm and sunny. The storm took about 40 minutes to pass over and after that it was warm and sunny again. Crazy!! 

Not only do our flowers get beaten up, but our weeping birch out front does too. After every storm you can look outside and see a sea of twigs and small branches blanketing the lawn. Most times I just go about picking them up and throwing them with the rest of the kindling for our fire pit. Today however, I looked out there and got an idea. Bring some inside and put 'em in a vase. Hmm... would that look ok? Let's find out.  : )  

I started with a vase I recently picked up at a thrift store for a couple bucks. This was just 

a little experiment to see if I liked the look enough to follow through. Me likey so far! 

Then I grabbed some twigs from the yard, got out some floral foam and dried moss. 

First I cut a piece of the floral foam and pushed it into the bottom of the vase. Then I started shoving 

the twigs into the foam, it holds really well. As I went along I began adding the moss. 

Here's a shot of the moss. I love the texture of it all! You'll notice the plant next to it 

magically disappears in the reveal picture. It just wasn't doing it for me. 

Ta da!! 

Ms. A declared that it was beautiful when I set it on the table. She's was also making sure I was taking pictures for my blog while I was putting it together.  : )  Such a cutie. Anyway, what do you think? I'm liking it for the now. We'll see how long it stays there. I just wanted something with a bit of height for the corner. There had been a couple of antique crates stacked there with a tall plant on top. Ever since I moved them and put this side table there it's felt empty in that corner. So the twigs will stay until I start moving things around, again. 

Have you made anything from twigs for your space? If so, please share. I'd love to see it!

Sharing with: 

Funky Junk Interiors 

Changes in the Sunroom

Hi There. Many of you have already seen our garage turned sunroom. Well, this past week while I was on holidays, or staycation if you will, I added a few new accessories. The first was a shelf above the TV. This is what it looked like before.

Not to shabby for a room that was once a garage! Don'tcha think? : )  Well, I wanted more room to display things. So up with the shelf. It was one that we'd had sitting in the actual garage side of our garage. It needed some serious help and only stayed up for a few days before I took it 

down to give it a fresh coat of paint. Here's what it looked like before. 

Lots of water stains and some sort of mark that resembled the bottom of a paint can. 

Kinda gross, huh? 

So I took it down, sanded, and started painting. This was after the first coat. It already looks
a zillion times better! I used the same paint that we used on the folding wooden chairs in the room.
Last night I did the second coat to finish it. This afternoon I sanded it a bit to give it a
shabby, beach cottage look. And here it is now. 

Much better! Did you notice the addition of my new bird on the right? Love it! $5 at a thrift
store. I've seen similar ones at Pottery Barn, they started a $25 for a small one! And I
have to say, mine is better looking. : )

There's a couple new pieces I put up on the wall. On the right, a basket I picked up for $1 at a thrift store. Under that is a paper umbrella in a nice dark aqua color. On the left I hung my textured bag, and the little boat used to be on the right. The other walls got some new accessories too. Where the textured bag used to be is now home to four cooper cookies cutters in sea life shapes. They were a gift from my mom years ago. I love them and a can't wait for the copper to get all weathered looking.  : )

The little boat hangs above the love seat that's on the right. That was a Kijiji find for $5. It's soo cute! 

I'm still not quite sure what I want in it, but the shells are ok for now. The little bottle has sand in it from the British Virgin Islands. It was a gift from Ms. E's mom, Ms. J, after she'd taken a trip there. 

One last look. I'm really happy with all the little changes I've made. Sometimes I can't believe I'm outside when I'm in there. It's soo cozy and homey. We just love it! So what do you think of the shelf addition?

If you'd like a look at the entire sunroom please click here. 

Sharing with:

Michele @ Primp's Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

Sarah @ A Beach Cottage's Good Life Wednesday

Debbie @ Debbiedoo's Newbie Party

Gina @  The Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday

DaNita @ Delightful Order's Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Shaunna @ Perfectly Imperfect's DIY Furniture Makeovers

Courtney @ French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Vanessa & Heather At The Picket Fence's Inspiration Friday

Wendy @  The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday

Jenn & Jenna w/ Saturday Spotlight