Lately, the word charming seems to be everywhere. That cottage style, skirted furniture, mixed patterned, colorful, old world, grandmotherly decor is back in full force. And I'm here for all of it. Of course, I've been here for it , for a very long time. I was decorating that way while the rest of the world was painting their walls greige. Removing pattern, adding white sofas and banishing lace to the back of the closet.

I've been thrifting and shopping for second hand items for decades. And I was doing it long before it was trendy to scour the shelves for bargains and sift through yard sales bins. My husband and I picked up everything from small accessories to large pieces of furniture to decorate our first apartment. Some items were bought and displayed straight away, while others needed...well...a little love. One such purchase, a $5 milk can we found at a local moving sale decades ago, fell somewhere in between.

Several years ago, I wandered into my favorite fabric warehouse, stumbled upon the most gorgeous red checked fabric and decided I needed to have it. At first, I just made panels for my kitchen . Then a year or two later, I decided it was so pretty, it was exactly the style and color the living room needed. Unfortunately, by the time I went back to buy more, that gorgeous pattern was discontinued. So I grabbed the last of what was on the roll...barely enough for the living room curtains, but I made it work.

Oftentimes, when my husband goes out riding on his ebike, a bike he built himself, by the way, he brings back treasure. You may remember that on his last trip, he brought back a slew of curbside finds . Among them was this old metal birdcage. He thought it would look perfect in our cottage style garden and he wasn't wrong. Now, I'm a huge fan of rustic decor, unfortunately, this piece was just a little too rustic - or should I say, rusty - for my taste.

Putting in a new window? Follow this step-by-step DIY guide to build a custom window sill and install trim to make your view a beautiful one, inside and out. The moment I walked through the front door of this old cottage, I fell. And hard. It was dripping with charm in every room, from the gorgeous floor to ceiling stone fireplace in the living room to the sweet built ins in the hallway. Of course, being so old, the house also needed tons of updates, and honestly, we renovated almost everything right away. But some of the smaller tasks have taken us years to tackle.  Like replacing the worn octagon window in our family room .

I turned a tiny teapot into a lamp in minutes without cutting, gluing or electrical wiring. Here's my quick and easy tutorial that won't damage your teapot in any way at all. Well hello friends and Happy July! My oh my, is it hot outside! I've been spending tons of time poolside, enjoying my favorite season. However, I've also been crafting in the AC when the heat gets to be too much. And today, I have such a fun DIY to share.

This week I used a homemade cardboard box projector to help me create a painted fireplace screen with a design I found online. It was a quick and easy way to create a hand painted piece of furniture and simple enough for beginners to accomplish with success. When I was in high school, I took an art class and I've been hooked on painting ever since. Back then I did a lot of freehand work. I learned about shading and brush strokes. I created outlines, brought my designs to life with color and it quickly became one of my favorite pastimes. Until.