Let's Pop Some Color In There

 

You who know me know that I love decorating with WHITES and NEUTRALS. . .but you also know that I enjoy POPS OF COLOR, too. . .Life is too dull without them. . .for me anyway. . .

The popularity of an all neutral FARMHOUSE DECOR is not too far away from our farm homes of the past. . .Most kitchens cabinets were painted white. . .Often the living room and kitchen walls were also in a neutral tone. . .Bedroom walls usually broke away from the white theme and opted for colors such as candy pink, mint green, and denim blue. . . A house totally in neutrals was rarely the case as it is today. . .

Let's face it, life on the farm was and is hard work. . .rewarding but demanding and endless. . .The average farm wife loved color. . .bringing CHEER and a SMILE. . .Maybe that's why I, too, enjoy POPS of COLOR for our FARMHOUSE . . .

I was playing with the pegs one day last week. . .working toward a Spring and Summer look with the new HEART wreath I found while junkin'. . .I like the all white theme. . .lived with it a few days. . .then decided I needed a little color. . .It looked a little bland to me. . .I was inspired by the lovely plant, too. . .

LOOK HOW ADDING A LITTLE COLOR MAKES THE EYE LINGER IN THESE BEFORE AND AFTERS. . .

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

 There are no rules that POPS OF COLOR must to be flowers. . .

How about a GREEN CABBAGE?

This garden rabbit needed something to nibble on. . .

Cabbage? . .I can hear you shaking your head. . .Sure. . .Why not? . .

With a couple of other additions. . .the VIGNETTE comes to life. . .

The thing I've learned in all these years of blogging and decorating the FARMHOUSE is that NEUTRAL BACKGROUNDS work well in any season. . .It contributes to a CALM and PEACEFUL setting. . .but every now and then I need a little more SPICE IN LIFE. . .Not too much. . .Just enough to make me SMILE. . .

. . .from my Farmhouse to Yours. . .

 

 

Going Big in the Kitchen

When the SPRING and SUMMER seasons arrive, there is much activity going on around the farm. . .outside and in. . .and the FARMHOUSE KITCHEN certainly sees its share of baking, canning, and home grown meals. . .With the prospect of it being no different this year, I decided to stock many of the of the necessities close at hand in GIANT CROCKS and GLASS STORAGE JARS. . .

Canning supplies are hidden in the #8 CROCK. . .baking needs and miscellaneous in the others. . .

A huge canister of flour for breads, biscuits, and cakes. . .10 pounds of beans ready for measure. . .to cook with ham or sausage Creole style (Yum). . .I can leave them simmering all morning on the stove while I'm working in the garden or doing other chores. . .so typical of farm ladies over the years. . .

Large chopping boards clean and ready. . .The bin filled with coffee, sugar, canning salt. . .

Next week you'll find me in the kitchen. . .canning PUMPKIN BUTTER (Recipe HERE) from the puree I froze last Fall. . .Then a few jars of JAMS (One Recipe HERE). . .(Another Recipe HERE). . .Afterwards followed by SAUERKRAUT (Recipe HERE) with the super bargains of cabbage going on right now. . .Won't be long until we have strawberries. . .I have a new recipe for STRAWBERRY BREAD that I'm dying to try. . .Everything will be at hand now . . .LOVE IT!!!!!

How about you? Are you ready to go BIG in the kitchen (grin)

and hide the clutter in plain sight?

. . .sending your way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



 

 

SUNDAY: Angel in a Pick-up Truck

SOURCE: GRANDMA'S DREAMS

 

I have an awesome true story for you today. . .sent to me by my 'adopted' sister who lives in Oklahoma. . .It happened during one of their ice storms. . .I was blown away when I read the letter. . .See if you agree! . .(the name has been changed and the letter is mostly unedited)

 

"A few weeks ago a co-worker told me a story that probably most people would think was fiction. . .but this is what Anna told me. . .definitely something unearthly happened to her the night of the ice storm. . .She has a worman friend that she talks to on her ride home if she's worried or scared. . .She puts her speaker phone on in the passenger seat. . .Well, it was very icy and sleeting so she called her friend and they were talking the whole trip. . .She came to a big hill and she could tell it was solid ice on a very narrow highway. . .She came to a complete stop and waited while two other cars went around her and down the hill. . .They slid and spun and finally made it but she didn't want to try. . .She was too scared. . .Along came a black pick-up truck that stopped beside her. . .A young man came over and she rolled the window down only about 2" or so. . .He wanted to know if she had trouble. . .She told him she was just scared. . .He told her that she could make it and how to do it. . .He had lived in Alaska before moving here to Oklahoma and knew how. . .for her to stay calm and lightly touch her brakes all the way down. . .He then got in his truck and passed her to the bottom of the hill, where he pulled over and stopped. . .waiting for her. . .So her friend on the phone told her that God had sent that man to come to her rescue and encouraged her to go ahead. . .so she did. . .scared to death. . .Didn't slide until right at the bottom where she was to turn off onto a different road. . .She kept seeing the black pick-up waiting but she still went very very slow. . .Just at her turn her car slid a bit but she turned the wheel and the car stopped sliding. . .She looked back and the black pick-up truck was GONE. . .nowhere in sight. . .As she related what happened to her friend on the phone, the friend laughed and said it must have been an angel. . . 

The next day at work as Anna was buying groceries, the cashier (a woman Anna knew from the church) asked Anna if she made it home alright the night before. . .Anna told her the story and the woman said, "That's INTERESTING". . .The cashier had two brothers, both had passed now from cancer, but one of them once lived in Alaska and bought a black pick-up when he moved to Oklahoma. . .He lived on such and such street--within two blocks of the icy hill. . .She said she carried their photo with her all time. . .pulled it out of her pocket and showed Anna, who gasped, "That's him!!!! That's the young man right there!!!!" pointing at one of her brothers. . .Then Anna told her what the friend had said--that he was an 'angel'. . .By now the cashier was crying. . .and I had chills and tears throughout the story myself. . ."



SOURCE



"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."

Psalm 91:11

 

HAPPY SUNDAY,  EVERYONE!!!

 

 

 

Daisies--Ironstone--and Milk Bottles?

Working outdoors in the flower beds inspired me to bring a little Spring inside. . .Bored with traditional bouquets, I decided to do something a little different. . .

Pretty self-explanatory. . .Yep. . .I still like to shake things up a bit. . .Just another lesson in FARMHOUSE making-do. . .

 

HAVE A LAZY DAISY WEEKEND. . .

SUNDAY: Heart Song

"Once upon a time there was a great man who had a little girl. As she was growing up, the man would hug her and tell her, "I love you, little girl." The girl would pout and say, "I'm not your little girl anymore." The man would laugh and say, "You'll always be my little girl."

Even after she left home and went into the world, the man would call her and say, "I love you, little girl." The day came when she received a phone call that the great man had a stroke. He couldn't tell the little girl, who was not so little anymore, that he loved her, and so she went to his side.

When she arrived, he looked small and not so strong at all. He tried to speak, but he could not. The girl climbed up on the bed next to the great man and laid her head on his chest. She thought of how she had always felt protected and loved by him. She felt grief for his words of comfort and the loss she was about to endure. Then she heard, from deep within, his heart beating out the words he could no longer say. . .I love you, little girl. . .I love you, little girl. . .and she was comforted." --Patty Hansen from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul

While I did not write Heart Song,

it IS my story of a deep and loving relationship I shared with Daddy. . .

I was there when he passed into another life. . .

His last words were,  "Love you."

 

Daddy's birthday is this week. . .

Thank you for allowing me to be a bit sentimental. . .

in remembering a great man in my life. . .

 

"LOVE YOU, TOO, DADDY"

Yikes! Stripes!

Know what I like the most about our bath? . .It's so versatile. . .It can be dressed up or dressed down. . .It can be made plain and simple or shabby chic frilly. . .It can easily change with the seasons. . .or change every week for that matter. . .With a large room, strategic placement of "necessaries", and a background that doesn't interfere with most themes, the bath lends itself to any number of farmhouse styles. . .rustic. . .simple. . .chic. . .country. . .

It was by way of a subtle suggestion that I recently changed the bath. . .again. . .It's all the Honey's fault. . .(grin). . .At the time I began gathering ticking for the living room, I also pulled out anything that had stripes. . .mainly to find out how big a stash I had. . .The piles ended up being stacked in the bath. . .in various places. . . 

"Hey. . .That looks good in there" said the Honey one morning.

"I'm collecting for the living room." . . .I was half listening.

"Oh. . .Okay. But I like it" and he was off to begin his day.

About five minutes later, it dawned on me what he said. . .more so that he noticed at all. . .I went to look for myself. . .began pulling a few items from the piles. . .and Voila!!! . .A new look. . .

Ticking and stripes are a huge decorating statement this Spring. . .Around here it's very hard to find vintage ticking. . .but there's plenty new ticking to be found at fabric stores. . .I'm really glad the Honey made the suggestion. . .

While we're in the bath. . .did you see the post at OUR OLD COUNTRY STORE about OLD TIME FARMHOUSE all natural soaps? . .I used them in the bath décor this winter. . .The room smelled fresh and clean. . .but not over-powering. . .My skin loved them, too. . .You know. . .Mother's Day is coming up. . .These soaps in a basket would make a great gift. . .(hint hint). . .I get no compensation for any sales. . .Only wanted to pass along a true discovery. . .

 I certainly hope Spring is coming your way. . .The sun is finally out here and the fields are drying up. . .Won't be long before I venture outdoors to play in the dirt. . .I'm definitely getting a touch of Spring fever. . .Happens every year about this time. . .

Decorating With Something Simple. . .Brooms

"At one time, a farmhouse wasn't complete without a set of brooms and whisks to sweep the dirt out the door, clear the cobwebs out of the corners, whisk away the fireplace ashes, and quickly remove crumbs from the table."

Brooms are no longer an important cleaning tool for the farmhouse. . .but they can be an interesting decorating element. . .I find myself buying vintage brooms as often as I see them. . . and have quite a collection. . .It's also a folk art that is no longer practiced in this area of the Delta. . .So, John and I decided to revive it. . .to learn how to make simple round and whisk brooms. . .Where better to learn than at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky, since the Shakers were the ones who 'invented' the technique of making the flat broom that we all know. . .We headed to Kentucky for a weekend workshop. . .If you'd like to learn more about our experience--read the story of 'sweeping the yard', see more of our broom-making weekend, and find links to tutorials and other broom-making information, I have another post at: The Folk Art of Brooms and Broom-making . . .This post is all about decorating with a very common element. . .the broom. . .

Many think using brooms in their décor requires a primitive setting. . .or a Fall vignette. . .Not true. . .Brooms add a touch of plain and simple style anytime of the year. . .I enjoy adding broom accents to our farmhouse because they are a part of our heritage. . .and because I actually use them. . .I'm sure you've noticed them before in my posts. . .Such as this one on REAL SIMPLE STYLE . . .

 

What could be more 'FARMHOUSE' than this? 

Another reason to use brooms in your décor is that they are relatively cheap. . .Buy them at flea markets and antique malls and you'll get a double perk: Inexpensive and Instant Patina. . .I do prefer the vintage or handmade brooms for my own collection and use. . .but it's not necessary.

Yep. . .We made these at the workshop. . .We do need practice. . .(smile). . .Yet, our attempts make a decorating statement when stacked in a wooden bread bowl. . .

I've included a few more decorating ideas below. . .some favorites from my  PINTEREST BOARDS. . .

(SOURCE)

WANT MORE INSPIRATION?

VISIT THE DUNCAN FARMSTEAD PINTEREST BOARD

BROOMS AND BROOM-MAKING



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WANT TO LEARN MORE?

VISIT THE FOLK ART OF BROOMS AND BROOM-MAKING

 

 

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So LOVELY. . .So FARMHOUSE. . .Brings a SMILE. . .

Hey. . .I just had a thought. . .Maybe part of that smile is. . .

ACTUAL USE OPTIONAL