The Back Porch

John repaired and painted the back porch that is off the kitchen, and he used the same green metal for the roof that is on the house. The old porch on this little house was in pretty bad shape. He didn't have the time to do this project when we were here last year, but was able to get everything finished this visit, just days before the much needed rain began. We missed the garden furniture season this year so we'll need to wait until we come back next summer to outfit the porch with some comfy chairs and side tables. Now I will need to get busy planting some flowers around it, and it will look like it has always been this way. I think the house looks as happy with the 'new' porch as we are.

Fabric Collage Wall Hanging - Mom

The subject of this wall hanging is my mother's senior picture that was taken at Fulda, MN High School in 1945. It measures 12 1/2" x 23 1/2", excluding the hanger. I used mainly vintage fabrics as well as other vintage embellishments to enhance the piece. The background fabric is a remnant of the new fabric I used for the pillows on the antique daybed, and is the only new fabric that I used. I printed the photograph onto cream cotton, and stitched it to an antique undergarment remnant. Just below the photograph is an antique collar from Japan that is decorated with sewn beads. The flower, at the bottom right, is a large Rose of Sharron from our yard that I dried last year and adhered to fabric with matte gel medium, and then stitched it to the collage. There are three mother of pearl buttons along the bottom, and a mother of pearl buckle at the top that encases a rose print silk ribbon. The same rose ribbon is used for tabs at the top that a wooden spool slides through to make the hanger. A pale green ribbon attached to the spool suspends the piece on the wall in the living room.

Antique Daybed

My husband bought this little metal antique bed/cot last year, and I finally got around to making it useful. I found a local children's furniture store where I was able to order a special cut mattress to fit its odd size, and it only cost an additional $10 to make the special cut. That was a pleasant surprise. I dressed it out with a dust ruffle, pillows and a spread made out of a combination of vintage barkcloth and new fabrics. It will be useful not only for extra seating, but also for an extra bed for a guest.

PS - The wood brace in the before pictures was used to straighten the spring frame and has been removed.