DIY Vintage Equestrian Feed Sack

I never seem to be quick enough with the auctions on Ebay.  I always lose.  And it's so frustrating, right?  Not so long ago, I missed out on a couple of amazing feed sacks that I really really wanted.  Thought I had them, but lost in the last few seconds, literally.  I couldn't seem to find anymore like them anywhere so I just decided to try making them myself.  It took forever, mainly trying to figure out just the right font to use, and then cutting out all those letters.  But luckily, it's summer and sometimes it's pretty relaxing to sit and cut things out like when we were kids, right? 

Here's how I made them.....

To start, I washed and bleached a couple of pieces of dropcloth, dried them and laid them out flat to start stenciling on the words and art.  The fonts I used are available for free download on 1001freefonts.com.

The font I used for the TRAINERS' CHOICE sack was called Libel Suit.

The font used for the word OATS is called Steelfish.

And the font used for the words FOR RACEHORSES is also Steelfish. 

Fonts used for the JOCKEY OATS artwork is all Steelfish.

You can play around with the sizes.  I don't remember the font sizes that I used because I tried so many different sizes.  It really depends on the size of the piece you're going for.  Both my framed "sacks" are 22 x 28" so they would fit into a 22 x 28 inch sized poster frame that I picked up at Walmart.

The horse and jockey artwork is easy to find online, just google horse silhouettes.

After I had all my letters and artwork printed and cut out to use as stencils, I laid them on my dropcloth to determine their position.

To get just the right color, I used craft paint and mixed together 1 part Skyline with 2 parts Steel Gray.

Then I started stenciling it on lightly.  Make sure that you don't completely paint in the letters.  Otherwise it won't look aged and original, it will look like you painted on fabric.

I could have actually gone lighter here but this was my first experiment.  I stenciled the artwork on first and then did the words around it.  It seemed to be easier to get everything even that way.  And that's it!

I absolutely love how they turned out.

My hubby brought home this fantastic green piece in the photo above from a storage auction.  It was originally wood but the stain was in bad shape and the hardware was dated.  So, I replaced the hardware with something better, painted it this amazing shade of green, Valspar Homestead Resort Olive, and then distressed it with Minwax special walnut stain and wiped off.  I wish I had remembered to take a before photo so you could see the sorry shape it was in.  I am loving the pop of green color.

As you can see I've updated with pillows and the same curtains I added to our den.  The blue pillow fabric came from here.  The bird pillow I made by stenciling a bird silhouette onto green fabric that I already had.

My thoughtful hubby picked up that sweet old oar behind the couch at an auction.  It was in perfect condition and I think it's lovely.  :)

The green seed stock sack I actually did find on Etsy several months ago, so of course, I made a pillow out of it.  I'm crazy about that green color.

Also, see that vintagey looking record player on the bookshelf?  My hubby bought that for me because I absolutely love listening to old Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald albums.  Problem was, it was a color that I didn't care for, burgundy.  Can you paint those??  Well, I sure did!!  I taped off the dial in the center and just spray painted the whole thing white.  Love it!!

If you have anymore questions about the DIY sack and art, I'll answer them in the comment section!  :)

Farmhouse Table

Last week I came across a fabulous gem that just happened to be in our own store.  I don't work there that often and sometimes my hubby will get sneaky and bypass me completely when he finds inventory so that I won't want to keep things for myself.  So, I happened to pop into the shop early one morning last week to do some cleaning when this fantastic piece stopped me in my tracks right at the door.

Of course I immediately called him and asked if I could take it home and being the sweet man that he is, he didn't mind at all.  So we loaded her up and I parted with our barnwood table I built and put it in the shop in it's place so it really was a win win, right?!

This farmhouse table must have previously had a sink in it as there was a hole in that shape in the top.  I didn't care cause I knew I could cover it with a piece of wood.  The patina on the table is probably the best I have ever seen.

It is the perfect worktable for our kitchen.  The perfect height for being able to use for rolling out pastry and baking.

The other side has an open shelf space that is perfect for storage.

I also worked on another open shelf project with a thick piece of barn wood that my hubby found in a local creek.  It's been drying out and aging for about a year and I finally decided to use it for my cookbook collection.  I really do like having them displayed for inspiration.

The wood pantry that used to sit in that area is now in our laundry room where we needed storage, so that worked out perfectly as well. 

And yes, I do enjoy changing things up in the kitchen often.  :)

Anyone else the same way?

Have a great day!

Baby Chicks

Our baby chicks arrived a couple of weeks ago and I am completely smitten with them.  I never realized they could be so much fun. 

One of the highlights of my day is simply watching them play, and our whole family is enjoying them which makes me happy.

We bought 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Rhode Island Reds and 1 Easter Egger.  The Buff Orpingtons are my favorite.  So friendly, sweet and curious.  Our little Easter Egger is a bit shy but she is slowly coming around.

The Rhode Island Reds, which we have had before, are fun and seem to be the leaders of the tiny group. 

They have grown quite a bit in two weeks.  I snapped their picture right after I put them in their brooder when they first arrived.

Baby chicks suffer from the "big hand syndrome" so for a while every time we would stick our hand in to play with one to get them used to us, they would all run to the corner for cover.   But now, they run to greet us, which is so sweet. 

We haven't named them yet because honestly, it is really hard to tell them apart, other than the different breeds.

If anyone has any name suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

Den Updates

Hello!  It's been quite a while since I've posted anything about our den and there has been a lot of changes since that post so I thought I'd share them today.

This is the room we all spend the most time in, other than the kitchen, as this is where the TV is.  :) It's also always been the room that I tend to put everything that I don't love as far as furniture goes but I wanted to change that since we do spend a lot of time in here.  First thing I did was get rid of our old TV stand.  I hated it.  And when you're looking at the TV, you can't help but see the stand it's on so I wanted something pretty to look at. 

Hubby found an old fashioned dresser so I removed the top two drawers, cut the center wood brace (to allow for the DVD and cable box), painted it, distressed it and changed the hardware to come up with this.

It was a long awful winter and I really was tiring of the plain white curtains we had so I bought these lovely cheerful ones at Target.  I don't think I've ever loved a curtain so much.  :)

Hubby picked up this old vintage table at an auction.  The iron horse statue evidently goes on the top of a fence?  Another find that I love.  And I simply can't get enough vintage books lately.

I bought the same curtains for the living room, which has also had changes that I will share next week.  Our den is carpeted, which I don't like but it does make the room more cozy and our dog loves to lay in there so it's staying.  :)

The artwork on the wall above the couch I spent an entire rainy afternoon putting together and painting with old wood planks and various shades of neutral craft paints and stains after seeing a similar version online.  It's one of those pieces of art that just makes me happy looking at it.

And that's it for the den changes.  I've come to discover that I really do prefer a neutral color palette in our home with pops of color added by using fruit or fresh flowers.  I like it simple.  Oh, we also painted the walls Simply White by Benjamin Moore.  I'd like to find a rug to go in there as well, but am not sure about a rug over carpet?  What do you think?

Enjoy your day!
Diana

Our New Coop

In May we are expecting 7 baby chicks and we are thrilled!  There's nothing like the taste of eggs fresh from your backyard.  I've spent the last month planning, designing and building a chicken coop for them to call home. 

I've never built something of this size before but wanted to give it a try.  I honestly designed as I went along, no plan, nothing.  Well, I kinda had a plan but it kept getting tossed cause it wasn't working.  And it was going to be painted white but then I received the Williams-Sonoma Agrarian catalog in the mail and I fell in love with cedar, which happened to be on sale at Lowes.  So there ya go...

I was trying to keep it easy and cheap.  And it's not perfect but nothing I ever build is.  It will do it's job and that's what matters.  The bricks were all found and I just did a random boring pattern because I don't have a brick cutter and didn't want to mess with it.

I'm crazy about the barn door on the end.

Can't wait to collect eggs here with my youngest.  :)

I really like red with cedar so I picked out this hibiscus plant to make it pop.

My hubby, who is still recovering from heart problems, bought me this beautiful peach tree and watching it come alive with blooms makes me smile.

I still have to add sand underneath the coop and finish up a couple of details and then it's ready for the chicks.

That's it for now!

Any of you raise chickens?   Any advice or suggestions? 

What have you been up to??

Simple Stuffed Peaches

If you're anything like me, you start craving juicy summer fruit way before summer arrives and before perfectly ripe fruit hits the farmers market or grocery store.  When those cravings hit, I love to make these stuffed peaches because cooking less than ripe fruit in the oven brings out the flavor.  These are so simple and inexpensive to make with so few ingredients but taste like pure heaven. 

Let's get started, shall we?  First, butter the bottom of a baking dish and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take 3 peaches (more if you like), cut them in half and remove the pit.  I used white flesh peaches here because they are my favorite.  Then scoop out some of the flesh to make room for the cookies.  We use Biscoff cookies in this because I think the taste is amazing paired with the peaches.  Take 7 or 8 cookies, put them in a ziploc bag and smash them up.  You could also use a food processor but I think it's easier, with less to clean, to mash them in a bag.

Spoon the cookie crumbs into the peaches.  It's okay if some spills over. 

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of brown sugar over the top of the crumbs.  This caramelizes the top a bit.

Then dot the tops with bits of unsalted butter.  Pop them in the oven and bake for about 15 or 20 minutes depending on the size of your peach.   While you're waiting, whip up some fresh vanilla cream. (1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 TBS powdered sugar.)

And that's it.  While the peaches are still warm, dollop the fresh cream over the top and watch it melt into the sweet, buttery caramelized crust on top of the peaches....

It is heavenly.......

Over the top delicious.....

You're welcome.  :)

Farmhouse Bathroom

It's been a long time since I've given our master bathroom a facelift and since I was so happy with the Simply White paint I chose for the kitchen, I wanted to extend that color to our master bathroom, as well.  A cool find from hubby also played a part in giving this room a redo. 

I know there are lots of folks that don't like radiators or that want to cover them up but not me.  I love the cast iron and view them as a piece of art.  There weren't any old radiators in our 100 year old home when we moved in and I never really cared that much until I started seeing really cool versions of them. 

And as luck would have it, hubby was given several radiators a few weeks ago.  A couple of them were huge and so heavy that they maybe would have put a hole through our floor so I chose this small one. 

I cleaned it up, primed it and then painted it Simply White as well.  I really love it and actually wish it was a working radiator.  That inspired a redo, so I pulled things from around the house, picked up a few things and repainted Benjamin Moore's Simply White to give it a new look.

As you can see, our master bath is small.  But that's okay, I love it anyway. 

For the counter top, I wanted to add a few things to give it a masculine touch as well since my hubby also shares this bathroom.  So, I picked up a vintage shaving mug and brush, as well as a vintage wood leather straight edge sharpener.  It reminded me of a bread board so of course I had to use it.  :)  For fun, I found an old photo of a barber shop price list online, printed it off and framed it.

I love the patina on the wood handle of the old shaving brush.

For the other side of the vanity, I attached an old photo I came across in a flea market to the inside of an old apothecary jar that I filled with soaps. 

I was drawn to the old photo because, if you look closely, and I did with a magnifying glass, it is a woman working in her garden, tending to her tomato plants.  And this was written on the back.....it makes me smile.

I pulled this very fragile vintage fruit basket from the dining room and filled it with white fluffy towels for beside the tub. 

I mentioned before in our previous master bath redo that we don't have a shower in here.  Our only shower is upstairs. 

We use this bathroom for taking long soaks in the tub so I try to make it as peaceful and comfy in there as I can so that whoever takes a soak in there, will feel relaxed and special.

I also moved our Gray Farms sign from the kitchen to right above the tub.  I like it in here much better.

The three storage baskets on the wall came from Pier 1 many years ago and were made for a book shelf but I simply turned them on the side and screwed them into the wall for towels or whatever else I feel like putting in there.

I have pretty much decided to paint our entire upstairs hallway area in Simply White because it is just such a peaceful color.  Our floors up there are dark wood and I think the two will contrast nicely.

I was hoping to give the bathroom a farmhouse feel.  Hopefully I accomplished that.  Or it could be that the word "Farms" on the wall is what makes it feel that way.  ;-)

If you'd like to see how we did our bathroom countertops in reclaimed barn wood, click here.

Do any of your have radiators in your home?  Do you cover them up?  Do they work?

That's it for now!   Enjoy your week!

Diana