From the Editor... I am completely overwhelmed by the response to the first issue of Simply Shabbilicious. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you who took the time to email, for helping to promote the magazine and for your total support and encouragement. Thank you especially… for sharing my dream. In this issue we tour two beautiful American farmhouses with very different decorating styles. Judy Kent shows us that even the smallest creative space can be ‘shabbilicious’ and we enter the whimsical world of Dutch doll maker Marijke Ooijen. In response to your requests, I’m excited to announce that the next issue of Simply Shabbilicious will have the option of being viewed as a free online e-zine or purchased as a printed magazine. I look forward to hearing from you, so please feel free to connect with me at any of the options shown below by clicking on the icon. Shabbilicious hugs,
Kerryanne
Home Tours 8
Heaven’s Walk ~ Laurie Shoemaker
31
Thistlewood Farm ~ KariAnne Wood
39
Get the Look – Farmhouse Living
Creative Spaces We Love 21
The French Laundry ~ Judy Kent
Getting to Know… 43
Marijke Ooijen
Regular Features 20
Tips – how to clean chandeliers
29
Blog Spotlight
52
Shabbilicious pages on Facebook
53
Shabbilicious Shopping Guide
59
Books We Love with Kris Mears
61
Contributors Page
62
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It was love at first sight for Laurie and her husband Rog when they discovered their farmhouse on a country road in Plainwell, Michigan. Set on 12 acres, ‘Heaven’s Walk’ had everything on their list; a big yard with trees, a spot to grow their own vegetables and a place for their dog to run and play. As well as a beautiful old house that had already been renovated, the property also had an abundance of apple, pear and cherry trees, nine acres of woodland and a huge old hip-roofed red barn that dates back before 1895, when the farmhouse was built. Laurie, who describes her decorating style as a mix of ‘shabby boho prairie chic’, enjoys filling the house with ruffles, roses and rustic touches of wood and leather.
In the rooms of Heaven’s Walk, faded floral fabrics mix with white ruffled pillow slips and distressed Florentine trays hold vases full of floppy blush pink rose sprays. A crocheted lamp shade hangs by an old pair of shutters in the corner of the living room and Turkish rugs are scattered throughout the house. Laurie’s beautiful handmade dream catchers adorn the walls in several rooms of the Farmhouse.
One of Laurie’s favourite rooms at Heaven’s Walk is the guest bedroom. It has a painted wood plank floor and unique closet doors, which Rog built to look like old barn doors. Rog also made the beautiful prairie workbench (following page) for Laurie’s studio office space. Laurie finished it with Milk Paint before distressing it.
You can read more about Laurie’s home at her blog Heaven’s Walk
http://heavens-walk.blogspot.com or connect with her on
Laurie makes her dream catchers, oversized faux rosaries and tangled prairie hearts to sell. Please email her if you’d like to order one.
Welcome to the Closet of Dreams at French Laundry, where Judy has turned the storage space of her studio into her ‘happy place’.
The shelves hold an assortment of vintage hatboxes, tins and baskets, all overflowing with inspirational goodies.
From the moment you step past the glass door with its stencilled curtain, you know this is a very special room. Judy used a modular unit with labelled drawers from Michael’s to store most of her supplies and says it feels good to be able to put her hands on whatever she needs with a minimum of effort.
Judy says it is amazing what you can do with old peanut butter jars and tin cans when you have a can of white spray paint and lots of pretty papers to work with. Her creative storage solutions are perfect for the open shelves of the closet room.
Judy wanted a storage space that was both functional and pretty to look at… and yes, those pretty candy lights are up all the time.
As well as storing her own crafting supplies, Judy has also filled the shelves of the ‘Closet of Dreams’ with inspirational objects and the artwork of people who inspire her.
You can connect with Judy at her blog… French Laundry, on Facebook or Pinterest
Visit Judy’s Etsy shops… The French Laundry shop Elegant Farmhouse shop.
Buckets of Burlap Eclectically Vintage Laughing with Angels Simply Me Shabby Story
Knick of Time Tuesday WOW us Wednesday
@ Savy Southern Style
Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits Thursday
@ Stone Gable
Junkin Joe @ The Cottage Market Transformation Thursday
@ The Shabby Creek Cottage
When the Wood family moved from the big city to the quiet country side of Kentucky five years ago, they breathed new life in to this gorgeous 1918 farmhouse. Thistlewood Farm is a turn-of-the-century farmhouse at the corner of where a cornfield meets a long winding country road and for KariAnne and her family it is their forever and ever house. A house filled with laughter and joy. A house filled with blessings.
From the moment you step through the door at Thistlewood Farm you are greeted by the peace and tranquillity of a neutral colour palette and a decorating style that shows KariAnne’s keen eye for detail in every room.
While KariAnne’s style is often inspired by Pottery Barn, she prefers to shop at thrift stores, yard sales and anywhere that starts with outlet. Regular readers of KariAnne’s blog will also be familiar with her curb side pickups and amazing DIY transformations.
In the kitchen
KariAnne’s sense of style is particularly evident in her farmhouse kitchen and butler’s pantry, where she’s undertaken some very clever DIY make-over’s and décor projects . . . all of which are documented on KariAnne’s blog Thistlewood Farm.
Master Bedroom
If you would like to read more about KariAnne’s farmhouse adventures . . . stop by for a glass of sweet tea at
Thistlewood Farm Or connect with her on
Romance and nostalgia are kept alive in the studio of Netherlands artist, Marijke van Ooijen. This doll and bear artist is passionate about her original creations and spends a large part of everyday creating them in her South Holland studio. Marijke first became interested in doll making in 1992, after her youngest child went off to school. The spare time allowed her to study doll making and refine her craft. Over time she developed an individual style of her own and began exhibiting her handmade creations. From there she started teaching doll making workshops and later went on to attend a scholarship in Russia.
Marijke’s dolls are all hand made from Polymer clay and each one can take anywhere from two to three weeks to complete. The inspiration for her doll creations comes from her passion for nostalgia and old things. Being surrounded by the beauty of vintage items allows her to dream and bring her creations into existence. She sources vintage materials like lace, textiles and shoes to add that nostalgic and romantic shabby look to her beautiful bears and dolls.
Marijke van Ooijen runs creative doll and bear making workshops in her studio in Wateringen, South Holland, Netherlands. For more information about Marijke’s workshops, visit her website:
http://www.marijkevanooijen.nl/
Learn how to make Marijke’s whimsical characters in her new book. Available in her webstore
Marijke van Ooijens beautiful dolls and bears are available for purchase in her webstore.
SHOP Follow Marijke’s creative journey on her blog.
BLOG For further enquiries, please email Marijke at:
Shabby Prim Delights White Lace Cottage Time Worn Style Queen Bee Cottage Katie’s Rose Cottage Click to visit
Villabarnes Handmade ornate mini crown US $14
Evelyn and Rose Lavender heart sachet US $10
The French Laundry Rare antique rhinestone crown US $425
Dorothy Jane Jane Austin quote tags US $4.50
A Little Bit French Religious French Necklace US $22
1000 Artist Journal Pages Dawn DeVries Sokol Journals offer their makers a safe place to dream, doodle, rant, and reinvent themselves. They offer viewers rich, visual inspiration. There is a fascination with these revealing and often beautiful pages of selfexploration and personal expression. Journals offer a tantalizing, voyeuristic view of an interior life. This will be the first book to offer over 1000 journals in one eye-catching, visual format, and should attract a wide swath of artists who fully embrace or experiment with this medium. Click here to visit the Book Depository
Collage Couture Julie Nutting Play dress-up with your art! In Collage Couture you'll learn how to sketch fashion figures, create stylish dresses from patterned paper and apply a variety of textured backgrounds to collage pieces. With styles ranging from cute to elegant, sweet to sophisticated, these mixed-media projects will transport your art from the studio to the runway! Collage Couture features 22 super-pretty projects, from collages on canvas to framed shadowbox art to gifts for your fashionista. Play with your materialspaper, paints, ink and markers to create pieces you'll be happy to display and share. And don't forget the details: learn how to add eyes, lips, hair and, of course, clothing! Indulge your inner girly-girl with Collage Couture!
Cocaine Blues Kerry Greenwood The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honourable Phryne Fisher ... she of the green-grey eyes, diamante garters and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions ... is tired of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels and dancing with weakchinned men. Instead, she decides to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia. Almost from the time she books into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops and communism ... not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse ... until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street. Mystery, mayhem and humour combined with interesting characters and a glimpse into Melbourne of the ‘20’s, all add up to a great read.
With sincere thanks to the following people for their contribution to this issue of Simply Shabbilicious. Laurie Shoemaker Heavens Walk
Judy Kent The French Laundry
KariAnne Wood Thistlewood Farm
Marijke Ooijen Website and Blog Barbara Garrett The Everyday Home Farmhouse Décor Shop
Kris Meares Tag Along Teddies CREDIT: Graphics used in the layouts on Pages 4, 8, 21, 28, 31, 54 – 59 are by Raspberry Road Designs © Susan Darter, Raspberry Road Designs 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Thank you Susan.