In my quest to decorate our home and to prove to all of you that pink is not the focus of my life, I’m going to share “before” pictures (something I hate to do) and then later on the “after” pictures (whew, I feel better already). I’m taking a big risk because I’m not positive that what I’m doing will look good. I’m showing you this before I’ve finished. But remember, risk taking is at the center of creativity. So, here it goes…

In the spotlight is our fireplace that resides in our YELLOW family room. It has a tall mantle that’s too high for a mirror. I’d have to stand on a chair to see myself. So, I found an old window, hung part of a “cutter” antique quilt behind it, and now it’s the focal point of the fireplace. It didn’t matter that the window pane goes across the center of the quilt block. I knew that would happen no matter what I put behind the window.

So how did I hang the quilt? First, I stitched a sleeve on the back of the quilt. Then I put a wood slat through the sleeve and made sure the slat was about 1/2″ longer than the quilt on each end (but not longer than the window). I put an eye hook on the top of the slat at each end. The eye hooks are attached with tiny nails to the frame of the window.

My idea is to line the mantle with whiteware pitchers of different sizes. I started with one…

then found two more…I’m shopping ebay, garage sales, friends houses, any place I can think of to find more pitchers. Home Goods has to be a destination place for me soon! I only need about 12 more and then I’ll show the after pictures!

And guess what? I’m getting ready to start the slip cover for our old RED chair. I’ll show you the “before” chair in all it’s glory in the next post.

Meanwhile, if you love decorating like I do, Andrea over at http://www.cottagemagpie.com/ has been to Ikea and posted a wonderful office space.

Off to find white pitchers…

Anne

Kimberly over at Fat Quarter Shop http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com/has a contest going on her blog right now. It’s all about a pink Jolly sign and somehow almost everyone is guessing it’s me that sent it to her! It’s something about me liking pink.

Now that I have the wonderful photos from Gregory Case, let’s just review them and see if I really like pink that much. I mean help me out here…I can’t have the reputation if it isn’t really true!

Here’s the photo taken in our living room. Do you see that much pink? There are White curtains on the windows everyone! What about that White table and the White in that chair? White birdhouse? BLUE bitty bird? Maybe there’s a tinge of pink on the walls, but not enough to really count! INNOCENT I am!

And look at this photo of “Postcard Cuties for Summer”! I’m seeing some RED, YELLOW, even BLUE! The only pink in this picture is the Adirondack chair and who wouldn’t want a pink chair like that? Oh, and then there’s the tiny bit of pink on the wall. Again, not enough to even count. NOT GUILTY for sure!

And this one taken in our family room? I’m seeing some YELLOW walls and lots of WHITE pillows and bedding. How about that BROWN dog? Maybe a bit of pink on those pillow ruffles but come on…every pillow needs a ruffle and I can’t help that they were pink. “Buttons and Bows” might have a little pink in it, but only because it was in my fabric line. I can’t help that. FALSELY ACCUSED again!

For goodness sake I can’t help it if the lamp shade is pink. It came that way from the store! Did you notice that YELLOW chick and the BROWN bunny? Maybe there’s a pink block or two in this “Postcard Cuties for Spring” quilt, but it’s spring and everyone wants a pink bunny don’t they? It’s almost slanderous being accused of liking pink so much!

OK, I can explain about the pink in this guest room. It had to be painted pink or I couldn’t have used the pink Target shower curtains that were left over from Quilt Market. I would have had to go out and BUY curtains, and that would have been expensive. Especially when you have these basically FREE shower curtains, just sitting there. This would be considered a “thrifty” pink and doesn’t count. Especially when you put a WHITE bed in front of it.

So there you have it everyone. I’m innocent! How on earth did I get this reputation for liking pink so much? Kimberly, I’m innocent right? Just ask her…she’ll tell you!

Yesterday was a photo shoot day at Bunny Hill with the famous Mr. Gregory Case and his assistant Elena. Not only are they the best photography team around, they are also dear friends of mine. I haven’t updated the slide show on my web site for almost a year and wanted some new pictures! Ta da! Coming soon!

Elena and Greg arriving.

I’ve always looked at books and magazines, enjoyed the photos and never once thought about what went into shooting the photographs. Now I look at everything differently. Staged photos mean a lot of moving things around, a lot of finding just the right props, a lot of arranging and rearranging over and over. Staged photos mean a LOT of work. Everything looks different through the eye of the camera and it’s the photographer’s eye that makes a good staged photo. Sometimes we move things no more than an inch just to get a good picture!

While Greg and Elena were working their magic, the Bunny Hill committee was not very impressed (sorry Greg). They were busy napping and just couldn’t be bothered. I snapped these pictures with my camera as Greg and Elena worked.

Bitsy rests on the day bed in our great room with her soft fleece blankie.

Chelsea sleeps on the chair in the Living Room. She also has a soft fleece blankie.

Noel came to visit with Nireko, my assistant, and was busy eating all the cat food while we worked. She got in so much trouble Nireko made her pose in one of the photos. Here she is sleeping on the floor. I don’t think she can get up after all she ate. (: You will love the photo when you see it! She laid perfectly still and did exactly as she was told. Good dog, Noel, good dog!

Then, at the end of the day when I was so tired I could hardly pick up the computer mouse, I found this award waiting for me from Angela at http://www.cottagemagpie.com. To think that I make her day is so humbling because believe me she absolutely makes my day! I love to visit her blog, can’t wait until she does a new post, and if you have a decorating question she will help you! Free! Just email her and she’s there. The rules to this award are that you can pass it on to up to 10 bloggers. I would send it back to Angela, but how silly is that?. It could go on forever with us! (: Thank you Angela! You make my day too!

When I give a free pattern http://bunnyhilldesigns.com/dynamic/?page=Free%20Patterns NOTHING makes me happier than seeing what you do with it! It’s like someone gave me a present over and over! Rebecka Schafer, of Lincoln Nebraska sent me this photo of her mini quilt featuring little “critters”. I just couldn’t believe she found this fabric in just the right size. Each square has a different little animal! Then to make my day even better she put a bunny in the photo! She bought “Iris” from one of my favorite blogs http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/ If you’d like to see the collection of miniature quilts click here http://www.flickr.com/photos/11824218@N07/sets/72157603428702502/. Email me your miniature quilt photo and I’ll post it on my blog and add it to the collection!

Yesterday was “Bunny Club” at our local quilt store Thimble Creek. This is a wonderful group of ladies who have talked me into getting together once a month for talking, sewing and general fun. Did I say talking? Well, it ranges from quiet chatter to hysteria…4 hours worth! And all the while they sew! They get previews of what I’m working on and sometimes an occasional project. I really need to take my camera each time, because the things they accomplish are amazing! My friend Bobbie Ball made the Garden Bunny pattern and added a picket fence in the border. It’s so cute! Could someone out there remind me to take my camera on February 8th? I’ll make it worth your while. While you’re at it could someone help me get more organized? Isn’t there some kind of computer program that will open each day and tell you what you need to do for the week? Please don’t tell me it’s built into my computer. I’ll feel like the dummy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs,

Anne