Vintage Inspiration Friday #51: One Year Give Away!

Hello, hello, ready for a Give Away?

I missed my 2 year blog anniversary back in June,

so I thought I'd better get busy to not miss my one year

Vintage Inspiration Friday

 Birthday!

(Hope you like what I have planned. I'm Excited!)

I love lots of different styles of decor

and I can't pigeonhole myself in one particular area,

but just having come on a journey with my Living Room

I've realized that Romantic French Styling has been my biggest inspiration.

So for a Give Away to celebrate Vintage Inspiration Friday,

 I thought I'd share two of my "go-to" books with you all.

Carolyn Westbrook's

The French Inspired Home

And Selina Lake's

Romantic Style

and just to let you know how much I love and appreciate you

supporters of Vintage Inspiration Friday and my blog

I'm going to add in one of my Key Pendant Necklaces .

A little vintage watch face on an old key

with a little bling for some fun!

Here's the deal for entries:

Separate comments please, for each one.

1. Please follow my blog and let me know.
2. Grab my Give Away button for your sidebar.
3. Spread the word with a Blog post.

And then, when you participate in

Vintage Inspiration Friday

I'll count it as an extra entry.

(one link up for each week, please)

that means three more chances to win!

Ends September 3, 2011

And now from last week's wonderful entries:

My sweet friend Sharon from Sharon's Wannabe Cottage

demolished a boat sized island and "found" this

great workbench to open up her wonderful kitchen.

Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict

continuously has me lusting after her linen creations.

White Whimsy uses Coffee Bean Sacks

to make a great table runner for her buffet

and framed art.

And A Few Pennies More shows us with a great tutorial,

how to create a Feed Sack Dress Form that looks so vintage.

joining in on

Hope you'll join in this week,

please include a link within your post

or button on sidebar.

Remember we're starting the Give Away today,

so please leave your comments here on this post!

You all are the best.

Thanks for making my life so much fun!

xoxo,

Vintage Inspiration Friday, Birthday Give Away starting tomorrow!

This is a heads up for the fun that's starting tomorrow for

Vintage Inspiration Friday!

but you can grab the button on the sidebar today!

 Entries for the Give Away start on tomorrow's post,

but you can still say Hi, today!

xoxo,

p.s. thank you for all the great advice for Charlotte's Great Room!!

If you haven't checked in, just scroll down for her Design Challenge post.

Design Challenge #3 Charlotte's Great Room

Hi Everyone, Time for another Design Challenge!

Today, Charlotte from Butterbean Row

is hoping for some good advice on how she can achieve a softer, casual,

updated look for her Great Room.

She has great elements that are a little masculine and rustic,

and needs our help to bring in a little chic.

Take a look, and think about her ideas.

Lets' see what we can suggest!

In Charlotte's Own Words

1. Being on a budget, I need to handle this re-do in stages.

2. I love all things white due to the inspiration of decorating blogs such as "White Ironstone Cottage", "My Romantic Home", "Common Ground", "Faded Charm" and many others.

3. I love country French and that casual elegance of some lovely flowers in an old bucket.

4. Casual but elegant. Not fussy.

5. I need HELP arranging items on my mantle and built in book case. I have never figured out what to do to make it pretty and not so cluttered looking.

6. My sofa is reddish brown leather. Is there a way to accessorize to brighten it ?

7. Thanks to you all for your help!

♥charlotte

This is Charlotte's Entry.

Don't you love the lighter brighter wall color,

and that great blue console table?

I can see where this lighter color could be incorporated in to the rest of the Great Room.

Thanks so much for all your great design advice and ideas,

I know the recipients really appreciate you all taking the time to weigh in!

OK, let's share our thoughts and help Charlotte get started!

And a special "Thankyou" gift will be going out to

 Eileen at Cottage Beach House

for spreading the word about Design Challenge!

xoxo,

Bird Prints on the Cheep, Cheap

Vintage Bird and Botanical Prints

are always a staple in home decor;

they just never go out of style.

And in the catalogs you can usually find some form of them for sale.

I've found a lot of the smaller prints in flea markets,

 but the larger ones are a little more scarce.

I love these from Ballard Designs but they had a sizable price tag for the set.

I'm not the first one to blog about this,

but one of the best sources for quality prints is calendar art.

Cavallini and Co. puts out fantastic poster size art calendars

 each year in several wonderful themes.

Birds, botanicals, Paris prints, vintage maps, and butterflies

just to name a few.

I didn't buy one for this year,

and I regret it, because now there isn't a one out there,

but I did have my 2010 calendar.

I had a print that was a little outdated, but the frame was still good.

so I trimmed down a calendar page,

and now I'm using it in my kitchen.

(goodbye...little peaches!)

(hello, sweet birdie and nest!)

(better shot in the dining room)

Sorry, it's so hard to get a good shot without glare.

And this is a vintage print that I found at a garage sale for a few dollars.

I just painted the old oak frame black;

now it's similar to the pricey catalog ones.

I have it in my Dining Room above this old metal flower stand.

and this one, let's just not talk about it...

Even Miss Wrigley is skeptical...

an old print and a dry brush of paint, ta da!

(sorry for the glare again)

There are a lot of inexpensive ways to find great prints

Don't be afraid to buy a "less than" print and frame if the price is right.

A little paint and a print exchange can result in a usable piece of art

without paying break-the-bank prices.

Joining in with these great parties this week:

And Good Life Wednesday at A Beach Cottage

See you all Tuesday morning with another

Hope you had a great weekend,

love,