Rusty Cottage

it's been awhile

2011-10-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in over a year but I am still out here. Here are some other places you might find me:

Rusty Cottage on Facebook - Find out about sales, new items and me!
My Pinterest boards
Rusty Cottage on Twitter - I am trying to use this more ;)

AND......................

I just reduced everything in my shop. I am calling it my "I don't care about profit" sale.

Click on the photo to take you to the shop:

Button, button whose got the button?

2010-05-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

These bunches of vintage button beauties are all currently for sale in my shop.

Mention this blog post and I will cut your shipping cost in half!

Go here to visit my shop and to learn more about them.

Vintage Rayon and Lace Seam Binding

2009-09-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

I added some new items to my "vintage" Etsy shop today.
Click here-->Rusty Cottage

Such yummy, fun colors!

You can also click on each picture to get right to the listing.

"It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day!!!"

I especially love this green stretch lace seam binding.
I have some ideas for this!

featured on paper*cakes finds flickr friday

2009-07-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am so excited...two of my items were featured on Paper*Cakes Finds Flickr Friday.
Go here to see the actual post.
I love Chelsea's Paper*Cakes blog, too.
If you haven't ever visited her then you are missing out!

Vintage Seam Binding

2009-07-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

I love vintage seam binding! I was very lucky to find some at an estate sale last year. I have held on to it for a year and never used it. I have seen so many people use it in different ways. So, this week I decided to list it on eBay to pass on to someone who can put it to good use. It is so vibrant, soft and clean! If you are interested you can view the auction here.

that exciting news i promised

2009-05-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I never shared my exciting news. Most of you probably already saw it on my other blog. I recently opened another shop on Etsy! It is devoted more to "crafty" things and supplies. Here is a link to my new shop, LovingAddie. I have SO much more to put on there but can't find the time. I am in the middle of preparing for a garage sale; perhaps after that is done I will be able to put some more items on there.

this was meant for my kitchen, but...

2009-04-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

ended up not working out so I just listed it in my Etsy shop. I really like the letters but it just didn't look right in my kitchen.

Keep checking back...I have something exciting to share with you...and no I am not pregnant! :o)

new "old" spools added to the shop

2009-04-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

even more items added today

2009-03-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

The infamous rooster toppers for making tassels.

A beautiful 50s 60s era carpet bag/purse.
Never used. Original tissue paper still inside.

Another tassel topper.

A beautiful hibiscus oil painting in a vintage frame.

new items added to the shop today

2009-03-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

a request for a hurting friend

2009-02-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

My heart is aching today for a dear friend. Becky at Sweet Cottage Dreams lost her oldest son yesterday. My thoughts and my prayers are with her. I cannot imagine losing a child.

Becky was one of the first people to comment on my blog. I have had the privilege of hearing her sweet voice over the phone. After taking a trip to an antique shop and posting pictures on here Becky spotted a sweet little cottage embroidered picture that she wanted. I snatched it up for her and in the mail it went. She was such a kind and delightful person to get to know.

I don't know any details (and I really don't need to) all I know is that she is hurting and needs our prayers. Will you please go to her blog and let her know that you are thinking of her?

2009-02-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

You should stop over here to see all of the awesome red and white polka dots!

I opened my own Etsy shop

2009-01-31T09:52:00.001-08:00

I am always "exploring my creativity" and have always said that making crafty things helps relieve stress for me. Soooo...with that said...I decided to open my very own Etsy shop. Here are some of the things that I recently added. You can click here or on the link in my sidebar.

The one with the spiral staircase...

2008-12-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

This was the first home we toured.
It's for sale if you're interested :o)
$279,000

Built in 1888
Features 3 story walnut staircase leading to cupola, original oak hardwood floors, back service stairs, master suite w/ walk in closet, gas fireplace and sitting area, 9 foot ceilings, 8 foot bay windows, sunroom/breakfast room, granite counter tops in kitchen, hammered copper range hood and all new stainless, etc.
(we took one of the ads)

Hubby smiling like a goofball (he didn't want to be in the picture).

In the sun/breakfast room

As you are going down the back service stairs to the finished basement.

Going up the spiral staircase from the basement.

Going up...

Keep going...

The door to the cupola

Looking down from the top of the staircase.
So neat!

I am thinking that I would like this place for Christmas. Whatcha think?
Wouldn't you just love hosting parties at this place?

Bed and Breakfast Tour

2008-12-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

If you haven't...see my first post about our B&B weekend with photos of the outside of the home.

This is the home across the street from the B&B that we stayed at.
We were fortunate to be able to tour this home during the Christmas home tours.
I will be showing pictures of it on my next post.

An old fire pit (??) behind the B&B.
There was also an old tree that still had a chain hanging from it from the days of slavery.
A sad reminder, for sure.
Main door

Porch area
~ ~ ~
The next several photos are from our room.

The name of our room

Some goodies on our nightstand.

One of the beds

Looking into the bathroom

Bathroom

Look at all of the windows...during the day this room is so bright
and filled with our Creator's gorgeous sunshine.

Our very own Christmas tree :o)

In the bathroom

Cute touch
~ ~ ~

The next several photos are from around the house.

A painting of the home

I hope that you enjoyed seeing photos of the Pink Rosebud B&B.
If you are ever in the Plattsburg area and need a place to stay,
John and Susie Huffman are delightful hosts!

Be sure to come back to see photos of the home tours.

Button Flower Bouquet Tutorial

2008-12-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Below are step by step photos on how to make a button bouquet.
This is a great gift idea for a little girl or for that whimsical person in your life.

You will need wire cutters, floral wire (not the flimsy gage), needle nose pliers (not completely necessary) and of course, buttons (I love using vintage).

Take one floral wire stem and bend it in half

Choose the order in which you want your buttons to be on the stem...
I like to go ahead and stack them before I begin.

Begin with the button that will be on the top
You want to slide the wire through the holes that are on the top-facing side (in other words, the part that will show when looking down at the flower)

"Thread" it all the way to the end of the bent floral stem

Slide the rest of them down, like so. :o)

Make sure that they are nice and snug up against each other before you start to twist the wire.

Simply twist like you would a twist tie.
This is when you might want to use the needle nose pliers.
It can be difficult to get your fingers up close to the bottom of the buttons in order to tightly begin twisting (make sense? hope so)

Just keep twisting, just keep twisting, twisting...

The very end is sharp so you will want to clip that end off.
Also, if you would like your flowers to be a variety of lengths you can trim them up how you please.

Here it is all finished

Side Note: Don't worry...I haven't forgot about the B&B or home tour photos.

An early Christmas gift for me!

2008-12-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

About 3 weeks ago John, Addie and I all went for a Sunday drive. It's something we do from time to time. We drove through the country on back, winding roads and ended up in a small town called Plattsburg, MO. I had heard of this time a lot but never been to it. We drove around the town and soon discovered that it is full of history and gorgeous (let me emphasize...GORGEOUS) homes. They especially have a lot of old, Victorian style homes.

We turned down one particular street that had several huge homes. Most were homes that people lived in but one was a museum and one was the above home...a Bed and Breakfast to be exact. I have never stayed in a B&B before and I casually mentioned to my husband that we should come stay there sometime if my parents would watch Addie. The next day my father called to tell me that they wanted to give John and I a weekend to ourselves for Christmas (meaning that Addie could come stay with them).

To make a long story short, this past weekend he took me there. He even took me to their annual Christmas Home Tours that was going on that weekend! I was totally in my element!!!

I literally took at least 100 pictures and I can't wait to show them to you! But for now I am just showing the outside because it is late and I am tired and loading pics on Blogger is exhausting.

If you are anywhere near northwest Missouri here is their website. They are such a delightful couple, they treat you well and it is very inexpensive.

Snow

2008-12-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

We had our first "big" snow last week.
It was practically all melted by the end of the day :(

I loved the little critters that it brought out.
This little guy was trying to decide if he could get up that skinny pole and into the bird's corn.
He opted for the corncob stand that Hubby put together. Yumm!
Scroll down to see the pretty Cardinal "husband and wife" that stopped by for a visit :o)

Twitter

2008-11-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know we did!

We woke up to our first snow this morning. :o)

Hey, do you have Twitter?
I am fairly new to Twitter but would love some followers over there as well as on here. I don't have any Rusty Cottage followers yet (I just recently added the "follower" gadget). If you have Twitter leave a comment with your name so that I can follow you. You can follow me by clicking on that link in the top right that says "Twitter Me".

Thanks to all my loyal readers!

Love,
Anna

Life is Full

2008-11-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a bad blogger lately :( Thanks for checking up on me, Rechelle! Life has been nothing short of busy. I am also blogging over at my other blog. I tend to blog there more frequently. Nothing is really happening with the cottage. We have our reasons for waiting and holding off on the remodel but I am not going to bore you with them.

Here are a couple of things that I have been up to, besides working and being a mother and wife.

I love decorating for fall. This is my first year getting to decorate outside. So fun!

Some of our outdoor fall decorations. My wonderful husband and a friend went and got me about 10 cornstalks from the field. I put some of them in that cream container in the corner. It "completes" it! :o)

Love this iron basket that I got at a local greenhouse. Some of those pumpkins and gourds were dipped in wax and are supposed to last a really long time. We will see.

My Grandmother gave me this idea. Put votive candles in small glasses. It looks so pretty when the lights are off. I tried to get a decent picture.

I hope you are all enjoying your fall as much as us.
Til next time!
~Anna

A "Joyous" Inspiration

2008-10-07T12:32:00.001-07:00

I am sure that many of you have either made your own version of this project or have at least seen a dozen versions of it. It was introduced to us by none other than the incredibly talented Joy at Joys of Home.

I have wanted to do it ever since she first showed us. Obviously I have been a very busy momma!

I made this for our daughter's room. I am slowly working on a pink/green room for her (see this post).

Don't forget to enter my giveaway over at my other blog:
Boogers, Bibs, Books & Bubbles

Grand "Opening" Giveaway...

2008-10-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

at my "mommy blog". If you use coupons head on over to my other blog Boogers, Bibs, Books & Bubbles for quite the hefty giveaway. And don't worry, I didn't leave the kids out...there is something for them as well. I hope to see you there!

Look what I made...

2008-10-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at making my very own tassel. I think it turned out quite nicely. I was very pleased with myself (not to sound boastful) and how easy it actually was. The hardest part is finding the time to bring it all together. I loved shopping for the fun fringes and ribbon. I have already purchased other supplies to make even more. I made an extra. The tassel pictured is for sale...$22 if you are interested. Price includes shipping. First person to post a comment or send me an email saying they want it gets it. I accept Paypal or you can mail your payment. The colors are creamy tans/beiges and yummy chocolate.

Please Pray for this Family

2008-09-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

I received this prayer request in an email from a friend today. This small town is only about an hour from here. I cannot imagine what this family must be going through. Please keep them in your prayers and if you can help at all that would be wonderful.

Last Tuesday afternoon a three year old boy, named Colten, was severely injured in a lawn mowing accident in Polo, Missouri. He lost one of his legs in the accident, and the other had to be amputated. Extensive injuries to his back side has left him without a rectum. He lies in a drug induced coma at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

Please keep this child and his family in your prayers over the next several months. He is at a very high risk for developing infection because of how the injury occurred.

As for the second part of this request I was not sure of how to even begin to word it. This family has no health insurance coverage. The need for help will reach far beyond his medical bills. This is a young family who's father is self employed.

An account has been set up in his name (Colten Newman), at
Bank Northwestin Polo
305 Main Street
Polo, Missouri
64671
Telephone #660-354-2111.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I don't even know this family but my thoughts and prayers will be with them for a very long time.

Red

2008-09-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

I got these new porcelain canisters from LTD Commodities a few weeks back and I just love how red and vibrant they are. Being that we live in a "white-walled" rental, I am always looking for ways to add color and brighten things up. As you know, I am using a deeper hue of red in my living room...but as far as the kitchen goes, I am going for a brighter "Daisy Cottage" type of red. I will show you more photos of my "red" kitchen decor at a later time.

Dilemma: See the little stainless ovals on the front? Well, some sort of symbol or word would go perfectly there but I don't have a clue how or what to do. Suggestions and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated. All of you are so creative and crafty...I am sure someone can give me an idea. Thanks so much!

Remember that white pedestal compote (I think that is the name of it) from Goodwill...well I finally found a use for it. I battled with that for a while. For now I like the faux fruit in it and it is fitting for our kitchen.

Oh by the way, notice anything different???

Yep, new background, an extra column and some bling for you (up there in the right corner).
Feel free to post it on your blog (you will earn EXTRA brownie points).

I hope you are having a great week!

~Anna~