Magazine Monday #4

Hello, All!  How was your weekend?  I hope well.  For today's Magazine Monday, I am mixing things up a bit.  I love to find inspiration from all sorts of different places!  In honor of the Spring which is in full-swing, today I will be sharing a few fabulous gardens from one of my favorite websites, Houzz.  Have you ever visited?  The site has a wealth of information, where contractors, merchants, private homeowners, and yes, even bloggers like yours truly, can upload their photographs and include information about their specific projects.  Today's post will feature some of the most beautiful and glorious flower gardens I have found (if only I could show them all!!).  To view any project and its pertaining information, simply click the link below the photo.  I will feature these inspiration-only posts from time to time on Magazine Monday.  I hope you enjoy!



On this charming Cape, there is a definite cottage feel to the garden, and I adore it! 

More here



I love the softness of the white and sweet lavender color here. 

Details here



EVERYTHING about this landscape appeals to me, from the wonderful English ivy on the house to the gorgeous climbing clematis on the lamppost, to the beautiful borders, and the amazing mature trees in the wooded backdrop!! 

View info here



How charming is this garden?  I love the vibrant color, climbing ivy, and fragrant lavender! 

More here



In this beautiful garden, a combination of hydrangea is the focal point.  How elegant!

See more here



In this small space, every element is manicured to perfection!

Info here



Both this house and garden are just fantastic! 

See more here

I love all the elements on this gorgeous Tudor revival!  Beautiful color combines perfectly with the gorgeous masonry!

View details here

If you have enjoyed this post, you might appreciate my Garden pinboard on Pinterest.  You may view that here.  For up-close detail photographs of flowers, you may like my Pretty Petals board.  You may view that here.

Until next we meet.......

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

A Simple Sunday

Sometimes it's the simple things that make your day special

A morning cup

with the one you love....

simple flowers from the garden,

stolen moments

to be treasured and shared.

Happy Sunday!

From my collection:
Rustic tray, years ago, from Target
Kettle, Mackenzie-Childs Flower Market, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Butterfly cups and saucers, Horchow/Neiman Marcus Exclusive

Brown plates, Tai Pan Trading
From my garden:  Cape Daisies and Sea Lavender

Three Helpful Cleaning Hints

Hello, Blogland friends!  Thank you for popping in today!  When the Spring season is in full bloom, for me it's time to throw open the windows, downsize and donate; clean and spruce up whatever has been neglected over the winter.  In other words, just as the world is born anew, I love to start in the Springtime with a  fresh outlook and a fresh start. Today I am sharing a few of my favorite tidbits I use all the time, and certainly in the Spring.  I hope you enjoy!  I also should mention that I have not been paid for any endorsement, these are just tips I'd like to share!

Prolonging Fingerprint-Free Stainless Steel
I definitely subscribe to the age-old adage "Necessity is the mother of invention."  I am all about improvisational ideas!  One day while cleaning, I found I had run out of my stainless steel cleaner.  I looked through my cleaners, and the only thing akin to steel cleaner was my Swiffer Multi-Surface Dust and Shine Spray.  The cleaner is indicated for wood, granite, leather, and marble, but it worked wonderfully on my fridge!

I found that using the cleaner creates a sort of protective barrier on the steel, and it doesn't fingerprint as quickly!  Please view the two videos below!  In order to view, you may have to visit the full website from on a PC.

Part I

 

 

Next, I cleaned with the Swiffer Multi-Surface Spray.

 

 

Part II

 

Cleaning the Crevices of a Glass-Top Range

The advent of the glass top range was supposed to make our lives easier, right?  Temperatures would be better-controlled.   It would be easier to clean. No longer were the days of dismantling the range to clean messy drip pans. 

 

In some ways, I do agree with that. However, how do you clean the crevices along the top of the range? Before I thought of this idea, I would take a butter knife and run it carefully along the edges, but noticed even with my gentle hand, there were tiny abrasions.  I thought of a simple solution that really works. 

You will need:

Dishcloth

Small plastic ruler

Cleaner of your choice

  

Here is my range before.  Pretty clean, but ick, those crevices! 

 

Dampen and tightly wring out your dishcloth. Wrap your ruler in the dishcloth.

 
 

Spray your range surface with cleanser. With the wrapped dishcloth, use the edge of the ruler to trail along the inside edges of the range top.

  

 

After. All clean!!

 

 

Keeping Your Bathroom Mirrors Steam and Streak-free Longer

I can't claim this tip as my own, but it does work!  A few years ago, I became a fan of the BBC America program "How Clean is Your House?"  The show featured two ladies:  Kim and Aggie, a Brit and a Scot, who would go into some of the messiest houses in the UK, and subsequently the USA, offering cleaning tips with candor and humor.  It was one of my guilty pleasures, for sure!  I loved seeing those spaces transformed!  On one of the episodes, after cleaning a bathroom mirror, a client was told to then apply and wipe off shaving cream.  It prevents the mirror from steaming up after the shower has been used, and also repels dirt a bit longer.  It sounds wonky, but really, it works!  If you are a busy person like me, anything to alleviate the time-crunch helps. 

I hope these tips have been helpful, and that you are enjoying some sunshine wherever you are!!!!!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Set Your Table With Flair--Perfectly Imperfect Sunday Tea

Hello, and happy Sunday!  I hope you have been enjoying your weekend.

If there's one thing I have always known, it is that I am full of contradiction.  I flip-flop back and forth in my tastes, and that influences several aspects of my life.....be it the European hodgepodge that is my décor aesthetic, the range of music genres I enjoy (of which there are several!), or what I choose to wear.  Although I do have an affinity for the very refined, sometimes it is the imperfect that catches my eye.  When setting a table, I typically like things very specific, with a theme; perfectly polished silver, matched linens and china.  For teatime today, I am stepping away from that regimen.  Combining mismatched china, linens, serveware, and using items not for their intended purpose lends itself to a certain romantic and whimsical vibe perfect for Spring.  I hope you enjoy the post!


The foundation for my tea began with a slightly tarnished antique silver tray.

A stout pitcher with pretty damask detail will pour rather than a kettle today.

Sweet little saucers of delicate grey, white, and soft cornflower blue

are joined by teacups of depression glass

and dainty little teaspoons.

Mismatched antique tea towels

play sweetly with premade tea sachets.

A depression glass compote makes a lovely makeshift vase,

next to bunnies of soft blue who look on in curiosity.

 

A twiggy little wreath is the perfect nesting place for extra dishes and spoons that don't fit on the tray.

A perfectly imperfect tea.

From my collection:

Tray, FB Rogers Silver Company, Local Antique

Damask "Corrine" Pitcher, Horchow/Neiman Marcus Exclusive

Saucers, Plant Tuscan Fine Bone China, England, Local Thrift

Depression glass Teacups, KIG Malaysia Old Sandwich Pattern, Salvation Army

Depression glass compote, Indiana Glass Company, Sandwich Pattern, Salvation Army

Vintage tea towels and twiggy wreath, Local Consignment Shops

Bunnies, Takahashi Japan, thrifted

Teaspoons, Grace Teaware, HomeGoods

If you would like to view the tutorial to make these pastel tea sachets, you may visit the post on my blog The Crafting Table by clicking here.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Transferring Images Onto Metal

Hi there!  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!  Spring is in full bloom, and for me, now that weather is permitting, I can't wait to get out into the garden and tinker around.  When gardening, having a receptacle or container with you when you head outdoors is always a good idea.  It keeps things easily accessible, handy, and ready to use.


In a previous post, I shared a new little bucket I had purchased from Tai Pan Trading.  I thought it would be fun to outfit the little guy with some charming lettering fit for the outdoors.  I hope you enjoy the post!

First, I began by deciding what I wanted to write on the bucket.  Here is where I utilized my very, very, very rusty high-school/two-semesters-in-college French.... (almost twenty years ago, oh no!  Did I say rusty?)  I decided to use 'Jardin des Fleurs,' which translates roughly to garden of flowers or flower garden (please correct me if not).  I used a photo editor to create the graphic below.

 

Notice it is backward.  It is crucial to print it this way because when you transfer the image, it will transfer the image from left to right correctly.


Tape waxed paper onto a standard-sized sheet of printer paper.  Make sure it is completely flat with no excess, ripples, or bulges before folding over and taping down.

**Trial and error tip:  I only tape two sides, otherwise, it causes a paper jam because the paper is too
   thick with the tape to be fed through the machine.  Trim the open sides to fit the size of the paper.

In my HP machine, I fed the paper in with the waxed paper side facing upward.

**Trial and error tip:  I printed using only fast-draft quality ink.  When I printed the image with best
   quality, it tends to run because the wax paper is very slick, and as it is fed through the machine, it  

   caused the ink to bleed.

Very quickly after printing, place the image onto the metal, and using a flat edge like a ruler or credit card, firmly move over the image while holding it steady in place.  You must do this very fast, because the ink dries quickly.

There are some small imperfections, but I rather like them.  If you do have a mishap and need a do-over (I speak of course from experience, ha-ha), a baby wipe or paper towel with alcohol will clean it up.

 

Voilà!  The perfect little receptacle for your garden tools,

or clipped flowers.

(Closeup)

All ready

for work in the garden.

This method is easy, and would likely work on watering cans, galvanized buckets, et cetera.....the possibilities are endless!  Until next we meet (Au bientôt)........

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤