Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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The Unveiling

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To review: I had this piece left over from my sideboard turned kitchen island.

I ended up (today) with this:




I am very excited about this project! I will post a tutorial in the next few days explaining what I did and what I learned not to do.

I’ve been craving a chalkboard in my kitchen for a long time. I was going to buy one, but one day I was staring at that leftover trim and a lightbulb went on in my brain. I could make a chalkboard. And so I got to work and over the next 3 or 4 days, I put it together, painted the frame, painted the chalkboard, aged the frame and ta-dah! Here it is!

Since the chalkboard is between a window and our side door, which also has a big window, it has been hard to get a photo. Wouldn’t you know it – the one day I want it to be cloudy in order to take a picture, the sun is shining away. The color of the frame is a bit more turquoise than indicated, but it is pretty accurate. The turquoise was so intense that I “antiqued” it this morning and I like it much better. The chalkboard has to be seasoned yet but I haven’t any chalk! My dog, Riley, hasn’t been feeling well at all, so I am staying home today. We’ve had a worrisome two days, but he seems to be getting better as the day goes on. I am very relieved!

Hope you like it. I promise more photos (with chalk) and the tutorial in the next day or two.

I am also posting this on:
Stop by Gina’s blog The Shabby Chic Cottage!

And I am posting on:

Please visit Cindy’s blog, My Romantic Home to join in.

I’m also linking to:


Visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and join in the fun!

An Idea

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Happy November! I have a soft spot for November – Thanksgiving is in November and so is my birthday. I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.

I’m in the middle of a project. It involves this:


which used to be part of the buffet that I turned into a kitchen island:

It was on the back of the buffet – but since it was going to be an island, I wanted the top to be flat. This piece has been propped up in a corner of the kitchen awaiting some sort of inspiration.

Now I have an idea. We’ll see if it turns out!

A Quick and Easy Office Chair Re-Do

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Hello, Happy Monday! We all have them – office chairs. To my mind, they are necessary but unattractive. After my recent post about my creative space, I started obsessing about my ugly office chair (which I conveniently left out of my photos.) What could I do that would pretty it up but cost nothing?

I went through my linens and found 2 pillowcases I thought might work. One of them was embroidered by my grandmother and has her standard hand-crocheted edging. The other is a battenburg lace pillow sham that I used many years ago.


The great thing about the sham is that it slips neatly over the seat of the chair.


The other pillowcase slips over the seat back and with some discreet stitching, fits rather nicely. I positioned it so that it covers up the adjustment knob on the back of the chair.


And there is my seat cover! It costs nothing and will do nicely until I actually make a slip cover. Both pillowcases can be taken off quite easily for washing. This looks a lot better than the nubby grey fabric that magically attracted every stray dog hair. I may cut out the interior panel on the Battenburg lace case at some point – or I may not. I think this suits the look of my little studio nook nicely.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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