Oldies…

Due to a hectic schedule I don’t have time to create a new post…so I am sharing posts from my very early days…some 300 posts back. I randomly selected Ready for Visitors, Foodscapes, and So long old friend.

Check out my Thrifty Shopping articles on examiner.com.

• Inspirational decorating with thrifty finds
• Repurposing floral frogs
• Affordable watercolor art and frames
• Classic black and white purses
• 10 Chalkboard paint ideas
• Five Free Cell Phone Features
• Organizing with jars – Part I
• Organizing with jars – Part II
• Organizing with jars – Part III
• Dishes add color and whimsy to the garden
• Wallpaper Art
• Transforming a Goodwill table
• Repurposing flashcards
• Top 10 ideas for recycling greeting cards
• Hoops and fabric equal art
• Decorating with drop cloth curtains
• 10 uses for orphan sheets
• Organizing with Gladware
• Round robin clothing exchange and more

Thanks for stopping by Cottage Lifestyle and examiner.com.
Renee

Radio Flier Fire Pit…

I think this is one of the most unique recycling ideas EVER. As I approached a recent garage sale I could smell wood burning. When I turned to look for the fire…this is what I saw…a fire burning in a radio flier wagon. I asked the homeowners how they thought to use the wagon as a fire pit. Here is the response I got from the homeowner. “We wanted to buy a fire pit so we could enjoy some fires this summer and when I went to buy one they were $100. In this economy I couldn’t justify spending the $100…so I thought…What do we have around the house that could be used? We realized that we had this wagon that could not longer be used to haul the kids around…so why not turn it into a fire pit.

Thanks for stopping by Cottage Lifestyle and Examiner.com...
Renee

The Best Neighbors…

 

This is what my happy hour neighbors made for me. Yes, that is what I call my neighbors G & C. At least once a month in the winter and several times a month in the summer, I walk across the street to enjoy happy hour with my 80+ year old neighbors G & C. In the summer we sit out on their patio which is three stories up and watch all the neighborhood action. We live just a few steps away from a lake that has trails for walking, running, biking and roller blading, as well as a band shell that hosts a concert every night from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Never a dull a moment during the warm months.

Every Christmas I make carmels (caramels) for them and G makes me a wooden spoon. I don’t know about you but I can ever seem to have enough wooden spoons. During a recent happy hour G showed me the salad utensils that he had made for one of their children (they have 10 between them…they each lost a spouse 30+ years ago and were lucky enough to find each other 28 years ago). I think he got the hint I wanted a set because of my enthusiastic reaction.

Last week when G & C came over for lunch they brought me my own set, handmade by G. He is an incredibly talented woodworker. LOVE ‘em. Plan to donate all the other salad tools I own. Thank you G!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by…

Renee @ Cottage Lifestyle

Let's Play Games...

I love old game boards. My talented friend Suzanne made three game boards for me. She does such a fabulous job of making them look old. They use to be strung together as a headboard...now two of them are hung as art and one sits on a dresser in a guest room. When my nieces were young we would take the headboard off the wall and play with the game boards. Not only is Suzanne talented, so is her sister Barbara who makes rugs...check out their website Old Glory Rugs and Games.

Thanks for stopping by...
Renee @ Cottage Lifestyle

Foodscapes...

This post will require your trust because the photos aren't the best quality and size, therefore you may be wondering what you are looking at. Stick with me and I guarantee if you read the entire post and follow the link I have included you will be thrilled.

The photos (above and below) are called foodscapes and were designed and taken by Carl Warner. Each foodscape was made using real food. Every photo will mesmerize you as you try to figure out the food that was used. For example, in the photo below you will see bread mountains, broccoli and pea trees, califlower clouds and a cumin road.

To achieve depth and give a realistic 3D feel to the photos, each still life is composed on a table 8 ft by 4 ft and the foreground is only 2 ft of the table. The photos will be used in an advertising campaign by a supermarket in England.

You can see better quality photos of the foodscape images, as well as many others by visiting Carl's website, carlwarner.com. If you go to his website...once it pops up click on the green Website Square (first square) and then click on the Orange Square (second square) labeled Fotographics and click on any image to see a larger version.

I hope you enjoy the foodscapes as much as I did. I am thrilled my friends Bob and Peg introduced me to Carl's foodscapes..

Let me know what you think.