19th Etsy seller giveaway~Cottage Ruffles

Welcome to Serendipity Chic Design's 19th weekly Etsy seller giveaway. Today I will be introducing you to Cottage Ruffles.

Being an Etsy seller myself, I know the hard work, dedication, and love that goes into handmade items. Therefore I would like to promote my fellow Etsy sellers through weekly giveaways. It will give them the opportunity to show off their hard work, and you the opportunity to win or purchase a unique one of a kind item for your home, garden,or personally for yourself to wear.

Hello! We're a Mother and Daughter team with a passion for creating beautiful handmade items! I have over 35 years of sewing experience and enjoy creating designs based on the fabric choices, color suggestions and general ideas that my daughter provides. We collaborate on every design, shaping the final product toward perfection with love and laughter. We draw inspiration from the sea and sand, from beach huts and quaint cottages, from rustic farmhouses and red barns, and mostly from each other. We adore ruffles, rosettes and a beautiful piece of fabric!

These fabulous women let me choose the item to giveaway. I went with something that hasn't been offered yet and you will all LOVE to have in your kitchen. The winner will receive a set of 2 ruffled red ticking dish/tea towels. Of course I am going to tease you with a few photos of these beauties!

I know....they are GORGEOUS!

What I love most about this shop are two things. First being how unique and chic every item is. Second, their prices are great! I wish I could sew like I can paint, but I can't. That is when I find women like these to solve this issue for me! I'd rather pay someone else than stress behind the sewing machine.

My personal favorite item in their shop is the "Samantha" pillow. Not only is it my daughter's name, but I love chiffon. It looks so elegant and chic all at the same time.

Here are a few more for you to drool over....

OK, that is it for sneak peaks. You are going to have to head on over to Cottage Ruffles to see what else they have to offer.

The rules for the giveaway are short and sweet. You have 3 opportunities to win!
1. Become a follower or subscriber of Serendipity Chic Design (If you already are, just let me know)
2.Visit Cottage Ruffles and heart their shop on Etsy.
3. Tweet, blog about, or advertise this giveaway on Facebook. Just send me the link.

As simple as that....Choose one of the options above, or all three. The more you do, the more chances you have to win. Please leave a separate comment for each opportunity.

The giveaway will run from Tuesday May 23rd until Sunday May 28th closing at midnight.  PLEASE NOTE...this giveaway ships to the US only....

PLEASE NOTE....I have had to pass on a couple of winners because I had no way of contacting them. PLEASE leave your email address in your comment if you do not have a blog I can contact you through...

Click HERE to find out more about being an Etsy giveaway host at Serendipity Chic Design

Good luck to everyone!

"Meet Me On Monday" ~Theme party #2~SIGNS

OK, so I will admit that I was a nervous wreck that no one would show up for my first themed linky party last week. I was so relieved when people actually started to post their links. To top it off, I was blown away with everyone's masterpieces. It is so nice to see so many of these lamps get a second chance at life! Here are a few that really popped out at me....

Kammy from Kammy's Korner has a new take on milk glass....

Debra from Capers of the Vintage Vixens is the queen of all things romantic and vintage. This chandelier clearly tells it all.

Merrilee from Lilledale blew my mind with this vintage cake carrier....

You will love Ali's take on a lampshade from My Third True Love.

Be sure to visit Heart Break Kids to find out why you should no longer throw away those little toys you step on all the time....

Rachel at Big Lives did a makeover that is literally a night and day transformation.

See what Jenn from Flea with Me does with a stinky old lampshade.

Now here we are, week #2. The theme is signs! They must be handcrafted by either yourself or someone else. They can be any shape or size...Big or small...Painted on a board,a wall,canisters,furniture or your favorite flower pot. The ideas are endless and I can't wait to see what you have come up with.

The sign I created this week was done on a shelf board that was hanging in a storage room....

CHALET

Can't wait to see what all of you come up with.

The theme for next week is POLKA DOTS. If you don't have anything, you have a whole week to come up with something! It can be anything from home decor, to fabric, to clothing, to recipes, etc...you get the idea....

Now for the rules.....

1.Please link your specific post, not your blog
2.No giveaway or Etsy shop links
3.Grab my button or link my party somewhere on your blog.



Linking to THESE parties....

Shabby chic robin's egg blue mini farm table

It was a long  fun weekend at the school tag sale I ran on Saturday and Sunday. I was pleased with how I personally did after all of the work I put into it.

On Saturday night after the first day of the sale I ran out to get us chinese food. Of course I stopped at Goodwill on my way. I found 3 AWESOME pieces. I will share one now and the other two over the week.

Here is the before of a mini farm table I found. (oops, I almost forgot to take the before photo) It wasn't that bad looking to begin with, but really needed a bit more character and to be brightened up.

Sorry but the after photos aren't the greatest. I had already brought the piece to the tag sale and had the top covered with serving dishes and flowers. You should be able to get the idea though.

Now I have to say, "THANK YOU DAD!" My parents are selling their home and builing a new home on a lake. They are so deserving of this change in their lives and I am so excited for them. That being said, for as long as I can remember, my father has been a HUGE collector of antiques for his own personal collection.  They are unable though to pack all of it up and bring it with them. Well guess where the majority of that stuff is going? You guessed it, to me! He has given me free reign to keep or sell whatever I want. I will share a photo of a lot of the miscellaneous with you on another day.

In the meantime, he is constantly finding free pieces for me to paint. The best thing is that he knows my taste. Here are a few of the things I am going to tackle and complete over the week....

I know, right? Are you drooling, because I haven't been able to stop. I can't wait to slap some paint on this stuff!

I also can't wait until tomorrow to share my second themed linky party with all of you. Come prepared with your signs to link up. I will let you know tomorrow what the theme for the following week will be.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

A couple of reminders....

Good morning everyone!

I have a great table makeover to share with you tonight, but in the meantime I am up and running to get out of here for the second day of our big school tag sale that I run.

Just two quick reminders.....

Don't forget that Monday is the start of my second themed linky party. The theme is SIGNS!!! I can't wait to see what all of you have come up with. If you didn't make one, you can still post one as long as it is handmade.....

Second, my GIVEAWAY from Semi Sweet Studios ends tonight. Be sure to enter. You have the choice of a few photographs that will add gorgeous eclectic appeal to your home....

Everyone have a great day!!

Fresh flowers in vintage jars~shabby chic cottage decor

Sorry, no major projects this weekend. I am the chairperson for a huge tag sale at Sami's school. The downfall is that I have to do everything. The upside though is that we vend our own table and can make some money on our own. So, I've been schlepping my stuff there all day today.....

I wanted to add a little color to my space so I decided to use a bunch of the vintage jars I found in the BOTTLE DUMP. I scrubbed every single one to perfection. I added some twine around the body of the bottles with a price tag. My tags are recycled from old business cards with outdated information. I picked ferns, azaelas, lily of the valley, lemon balm, and ajuga to put in each one.

They all came out so pretty. At least if they don't sell, I will have great centerpieces to display at home....

Be sure to end my Etsy seller GIVEAWAY...

Landscaping and gardening for low to no cost

When we purchased our home 13 years ago, we knew we had to have a vision for the "dump" we were about to take on as our own. I can still remember the day Randy, myself, and my parents came to "clean" after the closing. Mind you, I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with our second child, but nothing was stopping me. I remember Randy and my father tearing out dog pee infested carpets, cleaning hundreds of beer cans from the yard, gagging at the smell and appearance of the fridge, my mother on stools scrubbing the walls with bleach from ceiling to floor, carrying out loads of garbage, etc.

Trust me, some of the house is still a gutted mess after all of these years, but we are chipping away slowly but surely. Now, onto topic...."the yard"....Oh my God! What a mess this was. I honestly didn't even know we had a yard. It was covered with cut trees, brush, years of leaves, loads of cat litter dumped outside the bedroom window, etc. Once we started clearing it all away, I was so excited to realize we were living on a goldmine. There were large rocks, ledge, slate patios, and tiered garden beds (minus the flowers) everywhere! I honestly had no idea when we bought the house any of this was here. That is how overgrown everything in the yard was.....

Now seriously onto topic. Although I already had great bones to work with, we didn't have much money to invest into the yard. So, I am going to tell you how I have landscaped over the years for low to no money.....

Here is a photo of one of the tiers.

I wanted to make steps here because this area goes up to the shed. I drove up and down our dirt road looking for flat rocks. I was able to make these steps for free using rocks around me...Trust me, there are plenty of free rocks around for all of us....I am also in the midst of making another stairway....

I will admit I was very lucky to have 2 natural slate patios here when we bought the house. Yes, these would have cost a fortune to have done. But, there is upkeep and landscaping around them that I continue to do for next to nothing.

Over the years, some of the slate tiles have cracked and we have not had the money to replace them. So I have rearranged the puzzle pieces by pulling some out and extending the perennial gardens. Yes, I have paid for some perennials, but for the most part, I have traded with friends or split mine up and spread them throughout.

One step down from the large slate patio, there is a mini one....

To fix this small area for FREE, I removed the broken slate and spaced the remaining ones apart more. I wasn't to happy with the large gaps so I used some FREE moss I just happen to have everywhere in my yard. I pulled it off the rocks and inserted it between all of the cracks.

Here is a photo of the before of this area this year so you can see that I do a lot of work and maintenance every year...No one said gardening comes easy..UGH!

Lastly, I wanted to share the cost of my man made pond with you. I showed the "how to" and the clean up of it HERE about a month ago.

I literally did this entire landscape for nothing. I was given the pond bed by a friend. I know this isn't something you turn around and get for free everyday, but look at tag sales and on Craig's list. They are out there for low cost. The rocks were of course taken from the land. The perennials came from other parts of my gardens. The trellis is a vintage crib that was given to me....The bird bath was my grandmother's. And Oops, I lied when I said everything was free....I did pay $25 for the stone bench. And now after I just wrote all of this, I realized it isn't all showing in the picture. You can see it all in the link I just gave though of cleaning the pond.

In conclusion, work with what you have. Gardening and landscaping do not have to cost a fortune, nor do you have to hire a professional. Yes, it is a lot of work, but personally I love the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my yards. The rewards are overwhelming. When I have a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my kitchen table, I know it's because of what I have done. When a humming bird is inches from me, I know it's because of the research and perfect flowers I have planted for them.

Not only is there free stuff out there, but your garden can become a wonderful haven from what you find at thrift stores, tag sales, and even the dump. I have seen bird feeders at tag sale for 50 cents...And again, you have the environment around you for landscape materials...

I have plenty more yard to share with you. I will give you all of my tricks of the trade and secrets along the way.....

I just want to remind everyone to link up to my first ever themed LINKY PARTY...the theme this week is light fixtures.




Linking to THESE parties