Hi Folks! I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. Someone asked a question that got me thinking about decorating styles although I seem to go there all the time anyways...didn't need much prompting! :) What is farmhouse shabby? ... not granny chic or shabby cottage chic...where quite a few have been. I looked around on the internet & couldn't find much information. Anyways thought I might see what some other folks think about farmhouse shabby style an offer some insight. My idea of it may be wrong and I'll just put some things I like & think would work with fit this style...and  some that I remember from my grandmothers rather small farmhouse cottage...most just call what I like junk! ...shabby... in not so nice of a way! I am by no means fancy,stiff,frilly,cutesy,shiny or sparkly! UN-Ironed things...I love! Folks are comfortable when they visit our well lived in home and my family feels loved & cozy...except in my crafting area which is a total disaster area most of the time...you don't want to go there...trust me! Anyways take a look-see and see what y'all think. I just mostly talk to myself on this blog anyhow. :)

Not sure what style decor I use, if it has a name...junktique perhaps. I love primitive old painted furniture (nothing shiny or varnished)or plain old wood pieces, chippy picture frames & mirrors, checks, stripes & small flowers mixed say just on pillows, old kitchen utensils (green), old tablecloths, aprons,flour sacks & towels (love flour sack curtains for a kitchen), old raggedy faded not perfect sort of quilts , chenille spreads (neutral colors), old rustic chairs & benches, grainteware or enamelware (chipped & rusty...non of the pottery that looks like it's metal), old punched tin, old painted ceiling tiles,some doilies not too flowery but plain,old hooked rugs & rag rugs,rusty wire baskets,not perfect tole trays,old pottery planters, wood cutting boards,dough bowls,& trenchers, old boxes & crates, dried flowers & herbs for vases which are mostly crocks,old bottles & canning jars, old wash day items (washboards,ironing boards,metal beat up tubs & pails,old wooden signs, primitive wall boxes, wood flour bins,old china with roses kind of dulled with age and mix up the shapes & patterns,green pottery, Italian tole lighting used outdoors & on the porch, hooks, etc perferably rusty, old rusty gates & headboards in the garden, old painted wooden fence, shutters, doors indoors, old garden tools & metal outdoor chairs ( the kind that burned your back side & legs from the heat of the sun in summertime), ...better stop for things seem to be endless that I like.

Grandma lived in a farmhouse cottage (not a big house)with 2 porches...critters everywhere a few goats,2 horses,a mule,3 cows,lots of chickens,and some pigs at the edge of the woods behind the garden,cats,dogs,birds,she worked in the garden then canning what she grew,made & sold butter, eggs, & milk (she didn't make those)she always had on an apron with a hankey (including one pinned inside her dress with her money in it or in her bra), she heated her house with coal and wood...iron stoves & fireplaces,carried water in from the well but did have an aggravating hand pump in the kitchen,washed clothes outdoors in a galvanized tub & scrub board and a wringer washer,she made her own lye soap, had an outhouse which I was scared to death of especially at night (heard every scarry sound imaginable & saw things that were not there) and bathed in a galvanized tub or a wooden barrel filled with rain water hid out back by the porch surrounded with rose of sharon,she made all her clothes & sewed for others,made quilts,crocheted,made chalkware items,made the prettiest wreaths from old thread spools from the mill with drieds...she loved flowers,herbs & flowering trees (roses,cannas,rose of sharon,wisteria,lilies,magnolias, etc),even painted now and then,...had 8 children to raise(one stillborn & one got rabies at age 10)...she loved folks at their church...grandpa was a minister,carpenter & the town barber until he had one of many strokes then Grandma took the best care of him for many years. She also loved to read, play the piano & so much more...How did she do it? and she did learn to drive. And she did make pillows stuffed with feathers,rags,straw,dried grass, and sawdust from her visits to old tent camp meetings. Oh! I forgot the willow tree...some of my memories aren't too fond of that tree...them thin little branches didn't feel too good wrapped around my legs.

Squeeky screen doors,bubble glass pained windows,lanterns,kerosene lamps,pull strings for lights,glass door knobs,ice cream churns,wooden ice box,hooiser & granny cabinets,iron cookware,graniteware,produce stand out by the dirt road,porch swing,old pine chairs,old worn baskets.... Just had to add a few more things I remember from that small country farmhouse...then there were the country sounds like cricketts, bob-whites & smells ...like a wet dirt road from a small shower or grandma's biscuits!

I guess to me farmhouse shabby would be a combination of some of these things but maybe something totally different altogether.

May your life be happy and blessed bunches... Country Rose

Please remember to type in AB4B in your search box if you like prim, primitive, shabby, vintage, old, antique, cottage, rustic, handmade, handcrafted or handstitched treasures, needful & wantful things...and much more!

Hi Folks, It is SUMMER or so they say! It has seemed like Fall a couple days here in the Smokys. Great time of year to enjoy the outdoors in the mountains...especially sitting on the porch. I love to sit in the swing listening to the birds sing and the creek...if ever I have time that is. All this rain has made the weeds grow in the garden...still in a drought though they say eventhough there are thunderstorms most evenings as of late. I did manage to get some OOAK make do sawdust pillows listed; made the old timey folk art make do way...using what one had on hand. I love these pillows  that some call flatback, flat, early settler, early simple, however one chooses to describe them or call them, I still love 'em and use 'em everywhere. In my home, on the porch, or in the garden.

Sometimes I call them grandmas front porch pillows because she did make and use them as her mother did.  I use  vintage & or good quality fabric in cotton mostly...such as ticking, duck and just simple country farm or prairie style calico prints. Made always with old,tattered and worn in mind with imperfections being intentional for character & charm.They fit so many style decors: primitive, prim, country, cottage, farmhouse, mountain, rustic, cabin, early settler, colonial, saltbox, early simple & even shabby, granny chic or the newest farmhouse shabby . They would also look great on an old bench in or sitting in front of the garden shed. Just simply needful or wantful things that are always one of a kind for they never turn out exactly the same...due to the grungy ageing process & the sawdust shavings. I only use clean fresh pine sawdust shavings which are very thin...not the heavy powdery part which I save for pinkeeps, dolls and make dos...this does make a nice flatback to look at but not too comfy.  I usually have some listed ...but they do tend to become habit forming as far as collecting goes and smell nice too!

Don't forget to type AB4B into your search box for lots of wonderful items offered by members of the most fabulous & friendly group Age*Before*Beauty...you are sure to find something needful or wantful offered by these multi-talented folks. Primitive, Dolls, Folk Art, Handmade Jewelry,Painted treasures,Hang tags, Scented oils & sprays,Soaps,Books & Patterns for Crafts, Hooked Rugs,Penny Rugs,Punched Needle,Ornies Bowl Fillers,Lighting,Templates,Hand stitchery,Curtains,Paintings,Pinkeeps,Make Dos,Hand mades of all kinds,New Old Vintage Shabby or Granny Chic, Retro,Cottage...the list goes on for all kinds of wantful things. AB4B is a great group for those who may not be sellers too!

See Y'all later! Prim Blessings,Country Rose

Hi Folks! I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. Someone asked a question that got me thinking about decorating styles although I seem to go there all the time anyways...didn't need much prompting! :) What is farmhouse shabby? ... not granny chic or shabby cottage chic...where quite a few have been. I looked around on the internet & couldn't find much information. Anyways thought I might see what some other folks think about farmhouse shabby style an offer some insight. My idea of it may be wrong and I'll just put some things I like & think would work with fit this style...and  some that I remember from my grandmothers rather small farmhouse cottage...most just call what I like junk! ...shabby... in not so nice of a way! I am by no means fancy,stiff,frilly,cutesy,shiny or sparkly! UN-Ironed things...I love! Folks are comfortable when they visit our well lived in home and my family feels loved & cozy...except in my crafting area which is a total disaster area most of the time...you don't want to go there...trust me! Anyways take a look-see and see what y'all think. I just mostly talk to myself on this blog anyhow. :)

Not sure what style decor I use, if it has a name...junktique perhaps. I love primitive old painted furniture (nothing shiny or varnished)or plain old wood pieces, chippy picture frames & mirrors, checks, stripes & small flowers mixed say just on pillows, old kitchen utensils (green), old tablecloths, aprons,flour sacks & towels (love flour sack curtains for a kitchen), old raggedy faded not perfect sort of quilts , chenille spreads (neutral colors), old rustic chairs & benches, grainteware or enamelware (chipped & rusty...non of the pottery that looks like it's metal), old punched tin, old painted ceiling tiles,some doilies not too flowery but plain,old hooked rugs & rag rugs,rusty wire baskets,not perfect tole trays,old pottery planters, wood cutting boards,dough bowls,& trenchers, old boxes & crates, dried flowers & herbs for vases which are mostly crocks,old bottles & canning jars, old wash day items (washboards,ironing boards,metal beat up tubs & pails,old wooden signs, primitive wall boxes, wood flour bins,old china with roses kind of dulled with age and mix up the shapes & patterns,green pottery, Italian tole lighting used outdoors & on the porch, hooks, etc perferably rusty, old rusty gates & headboards in the garden, old painted wooden fence, shutters, doors indoors, old garden tools & metal outdoor chairs ( the kind that burned your back side & legs from the heat of the sun in summertime), ...better stop for things seem to be endless that I like.

Grandma lived in a farmhouse cottage (not a big house)with 2 porches...critters everywhere a few goats,2 horses,a mule,3 cows,lots of chickens,and some pigs at the edge of the woods behind the garden,cats,dogs,birds,she worked in the garden then canning what she grew,made & sold butter, eggs, & milk (she didn't make those)she always had on an apron with a hankey (including one pinned inside her dress with her money in it or in her bra), she heated her house with coal and wood...iron stoves & fireplaces,carried water in from the well but did have an aggravating hand pump in the kitchen,washed clothes outdoors in a galvanized tub & scrub board and a wringer washer,she made her own lye soap, had an outhouse which I was scared to death of especially at night (heard every scarry sound imaginable & saw things that were not there) and bathed in a galvanized tub or a wooden barrel filled with rain water hid out back by the porch surrounded with rose of sharon,she made all her clothes & sewed for others,made quilts,crocheted,made chalkware items,made the prettiest wreaths from old thread spools from the mill with drieds...she loved flowers,herbs & flowering trees (roses,cannas,rose of sharon,wisteria,lilies,magnolias, etc),even painted now and then,...had 8 children to raise(one stillborn & one got rabies at age 10)...she loved folks at their church...grandpa was a minister,carpenter & the town barber until he had one of many strokes then Grandma took the best care of him for many years. She also loved to read, play the piano & so much more...How did she do it? and she did learn to drive. And she did make pillows stuffed with feathers,rags,straw,dried grass, and sawdust from her visits to old tent camp meetings. Oh! I forgot the willow tree...some of my memories aren't too fond of that tree...them thin little branches didn't feel too good wrapped around my legs.

Squeeky screen doors,bubble glass pained windows,lanterns,kerosene lamps,pull strings for lights,glass door knobs,ice cream churns,wooden ice box,hooiser & granny cabinets,iron cookware,graniteware,produce stand out by the dirt road,porch swing,old pine chairs,old worn baskets.... Just had to add a few more things I remember from that small country farmhouse...then there were the country sounds like cricketts, bob-whites & smells ...like a wet dirt road from a small shower or grandma's biscuits!

I guess to me farmhouse shabby would be a combination of some of these things but maybe something totally different altogether.

May your life be happy and blessed bunches... Country Rose

Please remember to type in AB4B in your search box if you like prim, primitive, shabby, vintage, old, antique, cottage, rustic, handmade, handcrafted or handstitched treasures, needful & wantful things...and much more!