Summer Home Tour

Hello Everyone, Welcome to my Summer Home Tour, 2017. I'm joining Marty from A Stroll Thru Life and a talented group of bloggers who are sharing their Homes decorated for Summer. If you are coming over from Haneen's Haven, so glad that you came by today and I hope I'll be seeing you again, soon.

Summer Door Decor in the Sitting Room

I've been "Summer-fying" the kitchen sitting area this weekend, and you all know that means changing up the quilt, pillows, and the florals that decorate the old door and mirror behind the wicker settee. I had this post named "Summer Swag in the Sitting Room", but it dawned on me some of you all might not be familiar with that term... a swag... meaning a gathered bunch of flower stems.  It's not a wreath and it's not in a basket. I guess it gets it's name from being similar to a swag curtain. Fabric that drapes down and is gathered together and sometimes tied with a ribbon. OK, whatever we call it, I have one here on the old door.

A Spring Entry

...and talking sheep...

You know me, during each season I usually change things up more than once. For Easter, I like things a little more pastel. Easter is about the only time you'll see "pastel" being used around here. But for earlier in the Spring Season I've used various shades of browns and greens, mostly in the Kitchen Sitting Area, since I like to use my brown and pink floral quilt. I went with the same colors here in the Entry, using a brown and green check ribbon to hang my mossy O, and then my sheep print on canvas.

Out of my Comfort(er) Zone

So far in the 2& 1/2 years of living here, I've managed to get away with not showing you our Master Bedroom. There are a few reasons why I've not shared it; here are my excuses...

A January Entry

I always tend to lean toward a more neutral and white color palette during the month of January. Whether it's due to the oversaturation of color during Fall and Christmas, or because it's bleak and snowy outside, I seem to crave a clean look after the new year. Clean and fresh feeling whites and neutrals are what I need, because once Spring starts to creep up out of the landscape the rest of the year means "color".

Christmas Dining Room

I love this time of year, 

but getting dark around 4:30 can be frustrating,

especially when you're editing photos and realize

that you need just one extra shot.

I tried to make use of the lower light 

and just add a little twinkle.

So, let's take a peek at the Dining Room,

all dressed up for Christmas.

A Thanksgiving Entry

I'm about ready for Christmas and I know that you all are too, but because I consider this blog to be sort of a "virtual diary", I have a few more pics of Thanksgiving I'd like to share. Each year I go back through my photos to see what I did back then, and try to come up with something different. I don't want to be tempted to do the same thing each year just because it's easy.

Early Fall Entry with a new Chalkboard Print

With each new season I try to create a vignette that's something a little different than I've done before. That's not always easy because there are tried and true elements that I'm happy with and just look "right". The lamp, the clock, and the shutters and mirror; those are all part of this spot. But I love to play with faux flowers, and then add a seasonal print, painting, or needlework... and what's a Fall Entry Vignette without at least one pumpkin?

Roses Revisited...

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd stop by for a quick update on this last week. I'm sharing some pretty and peaceful photos from a few years ago that were taken on my sunporch. That was my favorite spot for photos, since the room was north facing and the light was always perfect. I've never had regular rose bushes, but we did have this lovely Knock-Out bush in the front yard. It would bloom proficiently from Spring, all Summer, then into late Fall.

I'll share some prettiness before I bore you with my day-to-day fun...

Vintage Blooming Prints and the Consult

I don't have a lot of "blooms" around here yet. I've been putting off planting containers outside until I felt more like taking care of them. Some days I don't get much accomplished except laundry and putting something easy together for dinner. I'm really missing the color of my spring containers full of Geraniums, Million Bells and Lantana. So for now, I'm enjoying these old prints on the console in the Entry. Hopefully, I can get some plants out in a few weeks. It looks sort of bleak and forlorn around here.

Hall Bathroom Shelf and an Update

Hi Everyone, things have been pretty quiet around here the last few weeks, but I wanted to say "Hello" to all of you and check in. One thing that I've finally managed to get accomplished is to put a few things up in the Hall Bath. 

Thanksgiving Table-top Vignette

Through my inevitable "process" of tweaking and changing up,

I finally decided on the tabletop vignette in the Dining Room.

Enough of you have confided to me that you're as OCD as I am, 

and cannot... will not, leave something alone.

Not until it's been done to death 

and we reach the place where it "works".

Fall Birdies

Does that title sound like I've lost my marbles?

Like a crazy cat lady that spends all her time bird watching with her felines?

don't answer that...

Hope you all are having a great Labor Day Weekend. We stuck close to home except for a fun trip on Saturday to a new winery in the area. I'll show you a few pics and share a link with you soon. They also have a sheep farm, so that was the real draw for me. We've had a heat wave this last week, and it's supposed to break in the next few days. We had such a wonderful taste of cooler weather earlier. Hopefully, that will bring us back to the 70's. gosh, I'm more than ready. 

Entry with a Vintage Sunflower Print

I hadn't done much if anything, different with my Entry Area since I received the wonderful Sheep Print from Canvas Pop, earlier in the year. But now it's time for a little more "Late Summer" sprinkled around in here. 

Canvas Pop Print

Ode to a small white table...

I've always had a "thing" for small white tables. 

I think it's something about having a clean white canvas...

a place to decorate that's not overwhelming.

It can be seasonal, Holiday, themed...

a small white table can be anything you want it to be.

Create Your Own Canvas Art

So...are you ready for a fun Give-Away?

I need to share a little "backstory" on this. About 6 weeks ago I received an email from a rep at CanvasPop. I know you all have heard of them; their company makes wonderful photographic prints transferred to canvas. I've seen them on other blogs, and have been impressed with their amazing quality of work. They were generously asking if I'd like to send in one of my photos to be turned into a canvas print/image.

WOW, how super!!

Except as you all know and hear me complain about mention, I have very limited wall space in our new home, and I've been taking my time making decisions about wall decor and art. I pretty much dragged my feet on this opportunity and went through all my photographs of the last several years, but could not come up with anything that really grabbed me.

CanvasPop Website.

If you have a minute watch their very cool video!

Then I had a thought...(this can be so dangerous) what I really would love to have would be some sort of vintage image on the canvas. I wasn't sure what that would be or how to get that to work, but I got back with them and asked if it might be possible. The only stipulation would be that the image would have to be something in "the public domain", meaning that the artist must be deceased at least 100 years so it will not still be copyrighted.

Where do you find a vintage image that is no longer under copyright?

I thought I'd give Etsy a go, and sure enough there are endless images available in the format that it takes to have the image copied on canvas. I think I paid $4 for this image to be downloaded to my computer. If you do a Google search for downloadable images you'll find them tons of places. I happen to love vintage images of sheep. What's your obsession? I guarantee that you'll locate many options. 

This is what I chose, but if you want a photo canvas of your kiddos, or your pets, or a perfect sunset from your own photograph, then that's available too.

CanvasPop has lot's of options to choose from and they will customize your canvas to best accommodate the size of your image. This Give Away is for a free 16x20 image on a .75 wrapped canvas. And if you don't want to wait on the Give Away, then there's a 35% off coupon discount available to my readers, you'll just need to use the code COMMON35 at checkout.

Here's the .75 wrap. I chose to have the print extended over the edges, but you can also choose white or black, so that you won't lose any of your original image.

It comes ready to hang, with a professional wire and hardware.

I'm enjoying my little gal here on the Entry Console for now.

Here's How to Enter:

1. LIKE CanvasPop on Facebook
2. LIKE Common Ground on Facebook or become a follower of this blog, Common Ground.
3. SHARE this Give Away image on your blog, Facebook, or some kind of social media.

Then please let me know back here on this blog, Common Ground with a separate entry comment.

Is your brain doing backflips thinking of all the possibilities?

Hope you'll enter, since the you can get so creative!

The Give Away closes Friday at midnight.

I'm joining here:

The Scoop at Stone Gable

Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life
Wow Us Wednesday Savvy Southern Style
From My Front Porch to Yours
The Charm of Home
Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush

{ The Canvas Art was gifted me by CanvasPop in exchange for an honest review, and I can say they were so nice to work with and exceeded ALL my expectations for a quality product. And they're fast too!}

Decorating with Seasonal Botanical Prints

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Easter! We had an early dinner/late lunch at my sister's. What would you call that...Dunch? Linner? Since there aren't any little ones running around, (except their doggy, and you can't call Harley, little), things were pretty low key, and I got to enjoy my belated vanilla coconut cake. yum.

Painting Antique Frames

What a joy it was to turn over those calender pages, to see what March will bring. February was cold and snowy and brutal for so many of us. March is my Birthday Month, and it always signals the start of Spring. I feel my optimism and mood lighten with that one little flip of a calender page.

A week or so ago, Hubbs and I hung up a few oil paintings that he's given me over the years. They are my favorites, but I was just guessing at where they should be. Wall space in this house is scarce, and I'm trying to be selective about what I'm putting up. So we ended up changing things around because the space really needed something bigger.

The Spring Forecast is Green

One of the things I loved most about having a shop space or antique mall booth was the styling and designing. I always had plans for each new Holiday and Season rearranging furniture and displays. That part was something I truly enjoyed, and I've really missed those days that I could bring in some new items and then just "play". Taking a color scheme and expanding on it with prints, dishes, linens, and accessories was and still is, one of the best ways for me to get my creativity and inspiration flowing.

Toile pillows for the sitting area...

If you're like me this first week of January, you're wandering around the house looking for something to "change up". I loved my Red Tartan Plaids in the sitting area for Christmas, and I wasn't even tired of looking at them, but at the same time I needed to clear out the Christmas decor and make January "fresh".