My Cottage Retreat

WARNING

If you hate pink, STOP!

SKIP THIS POST.

Brace yourselves people. It's really pink.

Here is the view as you enter. I took this picture at 8am in the morning.

Doesn't it look dreamy?

My cottage retreat measures 11.5X11.5 including the closet. The color scheme is pink, brown and cream with a touch of chrome here and there. The 35X60 white folding table was a gift from my daughter for Christmas from JoAnns. When I’m not scrapping I can use the same table to cut fabric. The white table skirt was made with the same fabric as the window curtains. Ready and waiting are all of my pink tools in a wooden box from Michaels and my Fiskars pink cutting mat and rulers. And when not in use my pink cutting rulers decorate my walls. Under the table I have two 3-drawer plastic carts one is for cards and the other has everything that I use to make my December Daily albums and Christmas stuff. The TV was a gift from darling husband who is always looking out for me.

Swag I made inspired by one I saw on Etsy. The vase was a Mother's Day gift from Chris and next to it is my altered atg gun. Jar and bling from Michaels This is my caddy. It cost me $5 at AC Moore and was the color inspiration. Close up of my atg gun. Adhesives 3 Tier basket from Lillian Vernon My tool box from Michaels On the left is a bakers rack that Fern brought home years ago. I used it in my last scrap/quilting space in the corner of my bedroom and was very functional. I love this piece of furniture. The baskets are from Walmart and fit perfectly. It holds my stickers, embellishments, and paper sets. I use the sides to hold the many camera, IPOD and printer cords, heating and hot glue guns and so much more. The box on top has all of my pictures which will be for future LOs. Can you see the book on top? It’s my story about me from my birth until now. Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, it’s about some princess named Maritza from the 20's that I purchased from Ebay. How cool is that book. I will use the pages for scrapping and later I will use the cover for something not sure what. The giant scissors and button are from JoAnns (button use to be yellow). On the right side is a plate rack that I use for embellishments that I like to display, i.e. flowers, bling, brads, ribbon, etc. My suede brown chair is in a perfect location for TV watching, sitting with my laptop or for some hand sewing. The pink suede ottoman is from Target and is great for propping my legs while I’m do all of the above. I use the storage for current magazines. The extra large ironing board is not just for ironing. I use it as an extra table when necessary or as a side table for my coffee and snacks. The cover is from Etsy and my pink iron from Target. My Cottage quilt was made with a collection of pink fabrics from Country Stitches Quilt Shop. I consider it a cherished keepsake of the times I shopped there, the many classes and later working at the shop. It's where I met some of my closest friends and the many fond memories created. The store is now closed; very sad. The back has brown fabric and quilted with pink butterflies to match my room.

The next wall has two bookshelves that we had since we moved to Florida. They have been painted and used in my son’s room, my daughter’s room, Family Room and now my room. I painted them the same color (cottage white by Behr) as the ceiling. The bottom coat is black so I plan on distressing when I get the nerve. On the top of these shelves is the 3 tier dessert tower from Homegoods that I used for my daughter’s wedding. It cost more than I wanted to pay but I knew that it would eventually find a home in my cottage so it was worth it. On top is my Slice, Cuttlebug styling a cozy from Etsy and my Bind-it-all. The 2nd and 3rd shelf hold my scrapbooking magazines and books. The Sterlite plastic shoe boxes hold all of my scrapbooking stuff, i.e. paint, flowers, ink, stamps, etc. and the 4 pink Iris storage boxes are for pages in progress. I’m trying really hard not to buy anything that I don’t have the room for. I really wanted curtains with roses but the room was sooooooo pink I decided to make white curtains instead and I’m glad I did. It lets me add more pink stuff without feeling like I’m in a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. It also does a great job filtering the sun. This room looks like a dream in the mornings.

Dessert Tower from Home Goods

This is my attempt at a shabby chic lamp. Not too shabby. LOL Dress form from TJ Max embellished with suede ribbon and Prima rose. Jar from Michaels, Frames from TJ Max use to be green. Cuttlebug cozy from Etsy. Here is my one and only Ikea shelf with 5 cubbies. I could have bought the larger unit but it was important to keep my extra large ironing board out and open. That was first on my wish list for when I had my own room and I knew I did not want to expand too much. The first box holds my unused chipboard mini albums, 2nd box holds completed mini albums and the 3rd holds miscellaneous stuff. The remaining cubbies hold my 12X12 and 8½X11 papers. I bought this from Ebay a while back. In my last space it was pink and now it's brown.

Bird and Cage from Michaels Souvenir apron from last year's scrapbook retreat made by Damaris' mom This is my quilting area where you can find my Horn sewing table which is the throne to my beloved Bernina sewing machine. One side of the closet holds my quilting books and magazines and on the other side is my Jason Castro shrine and some files. Meet Tiffany Sally Taylor doll, sole survivor from my youth. Fern added one shelf on top for another row of bags. I keep all of my fabric in bags which are sorted according to colors, quilts in progress, future quilts and left over fabric from past projects. The bags are from the very first quilt shop I visited and worked and is now closed. I don’t plan on expanding, so this works for me. I love that all of my quilting stuff is in one location. The corkboard is from Homegoods and the pink chair is from Ikea. Here Tiffany is modeling a Ritz original.

This is lace trim I purchased from Etzy. I trimed my table with it. $5 clock from Walmart with Heidi Swapp decal Don't remember where I got this and I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet. Light Switch from Etsy Plastic $3 garbage can from Walmart with Heidi Swap decal. The fan was one of my mother’s day gifts from Fern. Of course, I would have preferred to have a chandelier but at my age the fan will serve me better. I love the butterfly chime that I picked up at JoAnns for a dollar. Watch me bling up my fan. If you look closely you can see that I already started.

My calendar

OK I'm done for now. It has been so much fun putting together and thanks to my loving husband for all his enthusiasm and help. He has played such a big part in this room. And I know that both of my guys secretly go into my cottage and wish it was theirs. LOL. I know it will be ongoing but for now it’s my cottage retreat.

If you made this far, thanks so much. Sorry if you got sick. LOL