cottage

 

 

These pillows are $5 each at Walmart!  And had a nice sparkle to them.

My rose and bluebird paintings get covered up with foam core board and burlap, then I add angel wings for the holidays. The foam core is held in place with a couple of small nails into the frames.

Everything looks better under glass!  I added a couple of cloches to this display, and used books for different levels.

This is a pre-lit garland from Kohls that I ended up getting free with good ole Kohls' Cash.  I added dried hydrangeas then rounded up all of my angels.

The stained glass piece that my friend made fits this lace heart so well that I might leave it up all year. Heck, I've already got a start on holiday mishmash by leaving out the Valentine heart.  I should slap an Easter egg on it and go for it.

 

I'd been a little worried about having enough volunteers for the tour, but my friends dropped by to help out.  We also ended up with some Americore kids that needed some public service hours (the tour benefitted the non-profit, Healthcare Access).  So, all bases were covered and there were plenty of helpers.  Instead of them helping an hour then leaving, they stayed all day and we turned it into a party! There was crafting, visiting, and just hanging out going on.

Having my pals there sure made the day extra special for me.

Any day that you get to laugh with your friends is the best kind of day.

Twinkle decided to be the greeter. She is always a good helper too.

Having my entire house clean at the same time was the hardest part of the event.

Especially with a husband and kids around. I had the kids' rooms cleaned and ready ahead of time, then the girls asked to come over to stay.  I told Sugarwings she could sleep overnight before the tour if she promised to be invisible like a fairy and not leave a trace behind. She took that as a challenge and slept on top of her bed with a blanket so I didn't have to remake the bed.  She took a lot of pride in being an invisible fairy and keeping  her room perfect.

Both girls were pretty cute about helping with their rooms. They fixed up their doll house and decorated a bottle brush tree to put in it and added a Santa and sleigh to the rooftop.

My whole family went through some displacement and discomfort getting ready and I appreciate their efforts. None of us could find anything, since I'd hidden every day objects in cabinets and closets.

Usually, a cup of pens, a notepad, and reading glasses sit on this piece of furniture, but things like that were tucked out of sight for a couple of days.

And I had the table set for a pretend dinner party, which made morning coffee time not quite as comfy as usual. The grand fairies had breakfast at their craft table, my husband and I shoved plates out of the way at the dining table.  And we went out for dinner on Saturday night!!

It was the perfect excuse not to cook.

But this was only for two days, and while it might not have been as convenient as normal to live in the cottage, that wasn't a big deal and was worth the effort. My family deserves a big thank you for putting up with all of the hoo-ha.

As do my friends for spending the day with me and helping with the guests.

A friend came by to take photos to shop around to magazines while everything was cleaned up, and I hope that they turned out okay, because home tour set up is different than a magazine shoot.  Having a bare floor and no coffee table is ideal with 400 people walking through the home, but for a magazine article, I'd have cluttered it up a bit. But I'm sure that the photographer understood angles and got shots that made it feel less bare.  I wasn't able to help her, and she was grabbing shots when the light was good and between rushes of guests.

I might have already posted some of these pics, but thought I'd just throw them all in here. So, I'll leave you with the rest of the shots I got that day-

(ps-  A $5 poinsettia plant and some evergreens picked from the yard make great cut flower arrangements! I was able to make quite a few for that $5  investment)

 

 

 

 

This tin box is covered in old wallpaper and a postcard, then filled with shiny brites.

I snipped a branch off of an evergreen and added some to two vases with a couple of roses in them for a budget minded floral display.   

A snowman soap dispenser gets used all winter, then packed away til the next Christmas season.