Showered in Shabby Chic by Taylor

My cousin-in-law Crystal is expecting her second baby in September, and this one is a GIRL!!! From the second she found out, she knew she wanted a shabby chic themed nursery (yay!) and our family threw her a shower with the same theme. Here are some things I did to decorate- and best of all, they all work for a small budget!  You can find a similar template for the Wishes for Baby activity at http://meohmy.bigcartel.com/product/wishes-for-baby-boy-orange-blue-yellow or you can just type up your own!

Me with the beautiful mommy, Crystal.  Please excuse the strange face I am making lol.

The baby bottles were filled with candy and we used them for prizes in STORK bingo.  I painted a metal tray with chalkboard paint to make a "Welcome Baby" sign.  The fabric banner was made in about the same way as my burlap banner in a previous post.  Her name, Peyton, was stenciled on using fabric paint.

We laid a lace tablecloth over a pink plastic table cloth for a pink and white Shabby Chic look:)

On the gift table we laid a lace tablecloth over a yellow plastic cloth to tie in some yellow.  Inspired by a Pinterest post, I found a great template for wishes for the baby.  Guests filled in the blanks and dropped them in the jar.  Crystal is going to save them for Peyton's baby book.

I set aside a basket for the Wishes for Baby template and some pens.

We strung a clothesline and used clothes pins to hang up Peyton's new baby clothes.  We could have strung a line over the whole house, there were so many new things!!

It just isn't a baby shower these days without these cute tissue paper poofs!  Love them!

Look at all those gifts!  The yellow blanket on the rocking chair was Crystal's baby blanket, and the pink striped one was mine growing up.

Craft day by Hilary and Taylor

Today was the first day Taylor and I had a break in our crazy schedules to get together and do some much needed crafting! ( like the song says... School is out for summer!!)We decided to make some canvas paintings using only mod podge, paper, vinyl stickers, stencils and canvases. For our vinyl sticker paintings we chose to use song lyrics from our wedding dances. We just celebrated our one year anniversaries ( June 4th for me, and June 18th for Taylor) and thought it was appropriate to give our new homes decoration from our wedding days! Our second picture was inspired by a pin on pinterest, doily canvases. Finally, both being pet lovers we had to show our love of our pets by making silhouettes. We hope you and enjoy our pictures and become as inspired as we were today! We hope post more more frequently throughout the summer and post about not only home decor and crafting, but also add a style portion to create a diverse blog to meet everyone's needs!

Porch Makeover by Taylor

Well, if you are wondering why you haven't heard from us for a while.... three letters: EOG!  We are both prepping for the end of the school year and things have been crazy, but I do have some pics to share- my porch makeover!  (I don't have any before pics because it was basically just the two rockers.  I am adding to it day by day, but this is what I have so far:) We are currently making over our living and dining room too so there will be LOTS to share this summer!

Craft On! by Taylor

Just had to share my new craft room sign! I framed a crafty version of the increasingly popular Keep Calm and Carry On signs. It inspires me every time I enter the room!

Chevron tray by Taylor

I am a huge fan of the chevron pattern, but lately I have been seeing a lot of chevron done by hand and I love how it makes the pattern look slightly less perfect (you know us shabby chicers love the imperfect)! I tried it for myself on a wooden tray that I got at Hobby Lobby. First, I spray painted it gray. Then, I used yellow craft paint and a small sponge brush to paint zig zags onto the surface. It only took two coats of yellow paint and I was done! I have it in the guest bathroom now, and the yellow gives it a much needed pop of color. Now I can't wait to have someone come and visit so they can enjoy it too!

Check out a few items on etsy!

The cotton cottage has decided to sell online! Check out just a few handmade items that you can purchase without going to the antique mall!

The festival of tables by Hilary

Today I went to the table of festivals with my memaw,mom,aunt and cousin. We got to see so many ideas for table top decorations. I snapped a few pictures for everyone to see the great ideas that the women had. A special thanks for my Aunt San for inviting us all to go!
I hope you guys get some good ideas from the pictures! I'm dying to have my own table next year!

An Eclectic Mantle by Taylor

While at the Raleigh flea market with my good friend Katie a couple of weekends ago, I found some really interesting old frames. They were painted various shades of blue and the paint was chipped and peeling just like I like it! I decided to use them to make over my previously boring mantle (so boring that I didn't even bother to take a before pic- we r talking one picture and some old candlesticks). First, I looked online for some inspiration of what I could put with the frames so as not to overpower my mantle. Let me tell you, it is not easy to decorate a stone fireplace! After many trails and errors (and pix messages to Katie), this is what I came up with! I love how eclectic it looks! That's what's fun about decorating- putting unexpected things together and coming up with the perfect combination.

A trip to the flea market by Hilary

Despite the dreadful weather the hubby and I decided to spend our Saturday morning at two of the local flea markets (barnyard flea market and the hwy 161 flea market). One I didn't have much luck at, but the other two I found a few interesting and antique pieces! I haven't decided if I want to put them in The Cotton Cottage or paint and keep them for myself! I guess I will just have to wait and see! Here are my beautiful finds! Hope everyone has a fun & safe weekend!