From Eat-in-Kitchen to Coffee Nook

Hey! Today I wanted to share another of our

home improvement projects.

Most older homes have both an eat in kitchen or breakfast nook 

AND a formal dining room.

However we decided that we wanted to make the "formal" dining room

our everyday dining room, so that left this little spot without a purpose.

My husband and I just love coffee, and our kitchen has limited space,

so I decided to make a little coffee nook!

I found those two cozy chairs at a consignment shop in town, 

and Ryan built the little bistro table.

 

We have coffee here almost every morning.

It's really beautiful with the morning light coming in the windows.

We framed out those windows in Farmhouse style

and also updated the paint on the walls, with Kilim Beige from Lowe's.

Ryan built the light fixture, and I love the country feel it provides.

 These little shelving units were perfect

for our coffee makers and mug collection.

It's such a cozy little spot and a very functional space for us.

So I'm curious - do you have family meals in your breakfast nook

or in a formal dining room?

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

jessica

Painted Coop

I had so much fun painting this coop this weekend!

I imagine in the winter it will be a nice pop of color.

 I found this quote in How to Be a Wildflower by Katie Daisy.

If you haven't discovered that book, I highly recommend it :)

Since our farm's name is Starry Fields, 

all of the flowers are star shaped. 

Hope you had a good weekend!!

xoxo

jessica

Two Lives Linked: A Modern Wedding Ring Quilt

Last year two of our dear friends got married.

The bride has modern taste, but also loves

the country.  She's an architect, so I knew

she would appreciate something structural.

I found the inspiration for this quilt on Pinterest,

but it was very small (about 9"x9" I think).

So I created my own design on a much larger

scale.  I imagined zooming in on a Double Wedding Ring

and cropping it so that you only see two of the rings linked together.

Does that make sense?

Then I backed it with that gorgeous arrow

tapestry from Urban Outfitters!

Before I bound it I embroidered their names, wedding date,

and one of the arrows from the back.

I hand-quilted it in straight lines, using pearl cotton.

I also quilted around each of the arcs.

Then I bound it with some scrappy binding I made.

 

For my first quilt design it actually went fairly smoothly.

I didn't save a pattern, but if y'all are interested I may

think of whipping one up.

I kind of want one for myself ;)

xoxo

jessica

Farmhouse Fireplace Renovation

About three months ago, we bought a farmhouse on 20 acres.

We love the land, and the house, but the interior design didn't match

the exterior.  It was all farmhouse on the outside, formal on the inside.

We've been doing some renovations and redesign, and this fireplace

was the first thing we did!

About an hour after we closed on our home, 

Ryan started ripping this facade off the wall.

(we were kind of excited to have our own place)

We updated the brass by unscrewing it from the fireplace
and spray painting  it with black high-heat spray paint.
Then, Ryan built the white frame and screwed the stained wood mantel piece on top.

We attached it to the wall and began shiplapping
at the mantel until we were about 2" from the ceiling.
We then added a 1x2 and a 1x3 for trim at the top.
I caulked the spaces between the trim pieces and painted it white.
We think it made a huge difference!!

Oh let's see them again side by side:

  

I promise it's the same fireplace ;)

All that slate tile was hidden underneath the wood - yay!

More reno projects to come, we've been busy!!

Jessica

Reverse Applique Football T

It's football season y'all!

So today I lit a pumpkin spice candle, turned on the game, 

and whipped up this little t-shirt for Charlotte!

Y'all, I am so in love with reverse applique.

It's like regular applique but faster and easier and...reverse.

I'm gonna make one for my other two kiddos too! and maybe myself!

You know you want to try it out - keep reading for the tutorial!

Supplies:

t-shirt

jersey knit material (or an old t-shirt you can cut up)

embroidery floss

needle

scissors

Step 1:

Trace your pattern onto the shirt.

I used cookie cutters, but you could also print something

out that you find online.  This will be the line that you sew along.

Step 2:

Place your colors of knit under your design.

You can either just pin it in place, or use a little

craft glue to baste it.

Step 3:

Sew along the design that you traced with embroidery floss.

You can just use a running stitch.

(be careful to only sew two layers, not the back of the shirt!)

Step 4:

Now carefully separate the top layer from the bottom layer
and make a small slit with your scissors in the top layer.
I highly recommend a pair of tiny applique scissors for this,
but you can use regular fabric scissors in a pinch.

Step 5:
Now slide your scissors in sideways and begin to cut away
the top layer of t-shirt, revealing the color beneath.
This is the most fun step!!

Step 6:
Turn the shirt inside out cut the excess around the edges -
this is most important if your t-shirt is white.

And you just repeat those steps for the football!
I love this heart-shaped one for the girls,
but I'll do a regular shaped one for Hunter's.
I think she liked it!

Happy Football Season!
Jessica

Let me introduce myself...again

Once upon a time, when Pinterest was new and social media was young, I had a blog.  

It was a happy little blog, one that stretched my creativity and hopefully, inspired others to do the same.  

We had one little girl, and my husband was finishing school.  And then many things changed.  

The good kind of changes that brought joy and adventure to our lives, but made keeping up with a blog difficult.  

And so the little blog waited.  

It waited while we moved to Japan with the Navy, had two more babies, moved to Virginia, 

and finally landed in Kentucky.

We bought a farmhouse on 20 acres and named it Starry Fields Farm. 

Ryan got out of the Navy, our oldest is in school, and we're feeling more settled each day.

In three short months we've acquired two cows, three cats, six goats, and eleven chickens! 

We've planted two gardens and our property has a beautiful little creek running through the woods. 

So what is to become of the little blog?

I actually sewed something the other day, of my own design, and I enjoyed it so much I began to wonder.

Do people even blog anymore?  Isn't it all snapchat and live videos on Facebook?  

Well, perhaps, but I enjoy writing and it pushes me to be creative, 

which is honestly good for my mental health.

So I've decided to go for it.

We've done several renovations on our farmhouse that I'd love to share with you, 

as well as our adventures with farming, and I'd like to get some new sewing/crafting tutorials up. 

So that's where we're going to start. 

Sound good?

It does to me.  

If you used to follow along, I'm so glad we're back together.  

There's a community here that I've missed! 

And if you're new, well thanks for stopping by.  

I hope you find some of my past tutorials helpful, and I hope you'll enjoy the new adventures ahead.

 

Jessica

{Create} Fabric Hairbow

As much as I craft you would think I could make a decent ribbon hairbow.  But the thing is - I really stink at making ribbon hairbows.  I just can't seem to get it right - even when I follow really great tutorials.  So instead, I dug through my fabric stash and created this little bow.

I love it.  

It's so simple to make.  

It will be the perfect accessory to your girl's summer wardrobe(or yours!).  

Just follow the easy instructions below!!!

You'll need:

 a small square of fabric - about 6"x6"

a hair clip

some trim or ribbon for the center

a glue gun

a sewing machine/thread/scissors/etc.

STEP 1:

Cut a 4"x2" rectangle out of card stock for a pattern.  You don't have to do this, but I like to so that I can position it anywhere on the fabric.  Cut out two rectangles.

STEP 2:

Pin the rectangles right sides together.  Place marks 1" apart along one of the long sides.  

Preferably in the center.  This will be your opening for turning.

STEP 3:

Use a 1/4" seam allowance and stitch around the rectangle, leaving the 1" opening.  Clip the corners.

STEP 4:

Turn it right sides out and topstitch the opening closed.  Press well.

STEP 5:

Now, scrunch up the center of the bow.  Just fiddle with it until you like the way it looks, then top stitch right over the folds to hold it in place.  

 STEP 6:

Select your trim and wrap it around the center of the bow - gluing it or hand sewing it in the back.  Lastly, glue the clip to the back of the bow and enjoy!!

Happy Sewing!

jessica