"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." - Isaiah 32:18

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Little Things

"We sometimes underestimate the influence of little things..."
~ Charles W. Chestnut


Hello again, friends!

I am hoping to write today about the importance of little things in the home.

I'm thinking mainly about the details of home decorating.

~ ~ "It's the little things that make life wonderful..." ~ ~

And I would add... that make a home wonderful, too!


Have you ever walked into a big, beautiful home... maybe the type of home that is new, and a lot of money was spent on it... but it didn't feel like a home?

I think that's because the details, the little things, have never been incorporated. 

Of course this is only my opinion, and I am no expert, but I thought it'd be fun to show you a few of my little things...


I got a few new, fun things for my home, so that's what got me thinking about this topic.

I found a piece of antique embroidery on Etsy that I fell in love with.

Here's a close-up...


I was so impressed with this piece because it's from the 70's, and it's very difficult to find vintage embroidery from that era that doesn't have browns and oranges in them, since those were the trendy colors of that time.

I decided to make it into a pillow...


Isn't it adorable?!

The embroidery is on a blue linen background, which I think makes this a bright and airy throw pillow... perfect for summer!


I do want to mention something else, too, (hopefully I won't get too off topic...) and that is that it's important for those of us who live in older homes to be mindful of our home's history when decorating.

That's why I make pillows from antique fabric, instead of buying new, trendy pillows from popular stores. Nothing against those trendy pillows!!! I actually think they're quite cute, and I can find myself admiring them when I'm shopping at places like Hobby Lobby... But in the end I know that most of them wouldn't work for my home.

I want my home to have an authentic feel!

Here are a couple more examples of my 'authentic' throw pillows...


Both of these are antique needle points...


Another little thing that is new to me is this adorable set of four blue children's cups.
(I say children's cups because they are much smaller than standard cups.)

I just picked them up the other day very inexpensively at an antique store.

I love opening my kitchen cupboard and seeing them all lined up like this...


They are a bit of a mystery to me, though, because they have these painted windmills on them which makes them look Dutch, but the bottoms say Japan. 

Hmmm....

Oh well. I love them!


They match my other blue and white dishes that we eat on frequently...


Another wonderful little thing...

My mother gave me this Scandinavian print with antique frame the last time I visited her.

I've really been enjoying it on my buffet.

The colors are perfect!


~ "Never stop doing little things..." ~
~ Anurag Prakash Ray

The last thing I want to show you is my new copper tea kettle.

Isn't she beautiful?!


This is a dream come true for me because I've been looking for one of these for several years, but it seemed like every time I'd find one it would either be too expensive or in poor condition.

This one was perfect!

I plan to actually use it, which my grandma assured me I could do, since the bottom is perfectly intact! (I like to run all my antique finds by her.) No rust or holes or worn down spots! Yay!

It is replacing my old kettle that looked like this...


Nothing is wrong with it. It works just fine, but it's just a little too modern for me.

It is in the donation box awaiting my next Goodwill run.

I try to replace rather than add when I bring in new household items. It helps to not accumulate too much stuff. I don't want a house full of stuff. I want my house to just have useful and well-loved pieces. 

Oops! 

I almost forgot! 

One last little thing that I am very excited about!!!

We took the kids to lunch at a Swedish restaurant today, and while browsing through their gift shop I came upon this gem...


An Elsa baby book?!!!

I am over the moon!!!

I realize my Elsa is three, and no longer technically a baby, but I have never made a baby book for her! 
And now I have the perfect one!
(Elsa Beskow is a Swedish author and artist. Her work is most inspiring!)


It is such a beautiful baby book, and filled with the most charming illustrations...


Each one is cuter than the last...


And of course, plenty of blank lines to write on...


I am SO excited to get to work on it, and maybe even prop it up on an easel to display in her room.

I get butterflies just thinking about it!

You all know I am a sucker for this type of thing! 

I can't help it! Haha... I NEED beauty in my life!

And the best way I've found, is in 

~ Little Things ~


Take care sweet friends...


xo,

~ Courtney ~





4 comments:

  1. Love your blog, very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are fabulous finds! I love the pillows. They looks so sweet. The baby book is really special, too. How exciting...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yes, I get very excited about things like this! I'm sure you can relate with all of the wonderful knitting that you do.😊 Little creative outlets like that can be so therepeuric. Thanks for the nice comment!

      Delete

I love receiving your kind comments! They make blogging much more fun when I can interact with friends!