And to make this all even better, I got most of these decorations from the Dollar Tree!! Didn't break the bank but didn't have to skimp on that 'wow' factor! 

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out those bats. I just used black cardstock and double sided poster tape to attach them to the wall. Super easy and super cheap! If you don't have a Silhouette machine, no worries! You could totally print out some bats and cut them! This would obviously be a little more time consuming, but would still get the job done! Because, in my opinion, those bats just make the entire display! I love them so much! 

Those skeleton hands are one of the few things that didn't come from the Dollar Tree. I found them at Target in the Halloween section and they were still pretty cheap! I think they were only about $3 each. 

That cool, vintage, white truck is something we carry in our online shop! It is so awesome and versatile! I keep it out year round and just change out the decor in the truck bed based on what season or holiday it is. So fun! This time I found some black flowers and that black tree at Hobby Lobby. Again, pretty cheap and ON SALE! That headstone, rats, spiders, skeleton hand cup and small skull are all from the Dollar Tree. The big skull is from Target. 

I went out to our tree row here on the farm and grabbed some dead branches. Put them in one of my old, galvanized buckets with some of that floral green foam to help them to stay in place. Then I just covered the green foam with some dark gray spooky cloth stuff I got from the Dollar Tree. Then I used some spider webs (also from Dollar Tree) and strung it through the branches. Lastly, I added the tarantulas to the branches. These also came from Dollar Tree and I attached them using the twist ties that they came with in the packaging. So easy and again.. CHEAP! 

But there you have it, my first ever farmhouse Halloween! I love that it's neutral, classic and yet still fun! And I also really love that it all was inexpensive! 

xoxo,

Ok, now I'll finally show you the big reveal!! :D 

Yep, she has a old school t.v. that only plays VHS tapes! Ha! We picked it up for $5 at the thrift store! She loves watching all the Disney classics on there! :)

She LOVES unicorns! So we, of course, had to incorporate those into the design. ;)

The unicorn head came from Hobby Lobby and that cute unicorn lamp came from Target. The "I believe in Unicorns" banner came from Cracker Barrel (my mama got it for her). Also, she found that horseshoe out here on the farm. She decided to keep it because it is bent into the shape of a heart. :)

I made the curtains and I painted her desk. That desk was also used at our wedding to hold our guest book.

My Grandma made her bed quilt. She absolutely loves it! She helped pick out all of the fabric. Also, she is spoiled. ;)

She loves that she has her own mirror. The "Don't forget to be Awesome" sign came from Hobby Lobby in the clearance section. It was a $5 find! 

That teddy bear was given to her by her daddy when she was born. It sits wearing a tiara given to her by her aunt. The rose painting is a watercolor painting I did that she loved and asked if she could have. She's a little sweetie! (the framed drawing is a drawing of her when she was a baby that was done by my younger sister)

There is still one last wall that I haven't shown you. It's not quite finished yet. It's a pretty big statement wall and once it's finished you'll be the first to know! :D

But there ya have it! Her room went from not so cute at all to super cute, cozy and sparkly! Almost a year later and she still LOVES it! 

>

                             xoxo,

• Foam Pumpkins from the Dollar Tree
• Mod Podge
• Paint Brush (for mod podge)
• White Spray Paint ( I used Rustoleums Chalked spray paint in the color Linen)
• Floral Napkins ( you can find the napkins I used in our online SHOP under 'Project Supplies')
• Sand Paper (I used 220 grit)

1. First, you will want to spray paint your foam pumpkin. You do this because whatever color the pumpkin is will be the color that shows through the napkin.
2. Once you pumpkin is dry, it's time to apply the pretty floral napkins you've picked! In order to do this you will need to separate the layers of the napkin. Most napkins are 2-3 ply. Remove the layers without any print. This will leave you with the one layer that has the cute print on it.
3. Next, fold your napkin into fourths and cut a small triangle out of the center corner. You could also do this step before step 2 if you'd like. :)
4. Now, start brushing the mod podge onto your pumpkin. Start with the top and then place the napkin (with the hole going where the stem is) onto the pumpkin. Then cut your napkin along the 4 folding lines. You can now apply mod podge to the rest of the pumpkin. Press the napkin onto the pumpkin. Just do the best you can. There will be wrinkles and areas where it is overlapping itself. Don't worry about this! Just make sure that you've covered the entire pumpkin with the napkin. Let it dry.
5. Once your pumpkin is completely dry, take your sand paper and begin to sand the entire pumpkin. Remove all excess napkin and sand the wrinkles. This will give it a bit of a distressed look and will hide any imperfections that it might have. 
6. After you've sanded your pumpkin and are happy with how it looks then all you need to do is apply another coat of mod podge over your napkin. This will ensure the napkin is completely adhered to the pumpkin and will protect it from tearing. 

This was our first harvest together as a family. My husband grew up on this farm so this wasn't anything new for him. It was, however, a first for me and our girls. I grew up in a small farm town and each summer I would see all of the wheat trucks waiting in line at the elevator as I walked by on my way to the pool. But that was really the only harvest "experience" I had ever had until this year. Here's how our first harvest went...

My husband ran the grain cart just as he did all those years ago when he was still just a boy. We ran two combines and had about 5 other crew members who drove the trucks that were loaded down with the grain. My job was to provide supper each evening for all of the guys. (If anyone is interested in the meals I cooked and the recipes just let me know! I'd be happy to write up a blog post for ya!)

I was a bit nervous. I hadn't really ever cooked for this many people before and I wasn't sure what to really expect since I hadn't ever worked a harvest before. First night I was the most nervous. So, I made a meal that I had made thousands of times. Spaghetti bake. Making a very familiar meal helped me feel a bit more comfortable and less nervous about the whole thing. After that, it was all downhill and I really started having some fun!

Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of work. Making homemade meals each night with sides and desserts while also taking care of the girls, house hold chores and any other thing that the guys needed or anything else that needed taken care of. Each evening I would have our oldest daughter, Annaleigh (7), watch our youngest daughter, Kayleigh (8 months) while I loaded everything into the truck. The drinks, plates, utensils, the coolers full of food etc. We had gotten a pretty good rhythm down by the 3rd night. Once I had everything loaded up I'd just leave the mess in the kitchen, grab the girls and we'd rush the food out to whichever field they were in all while keeping my fingers crossed that the food wouldn't be cold by the time I got there. Thankfully, that never happened! And the guys were always so appreciative to get a home cooked meal each night.

The girls loved watching the combines and I loved watching the girls take it all in for the first time.

Annaleigh loved helping and riding along whenever she got the chance!

Miss Mae (Kayleigh) was fascinated by the all the big implements and she was always so excited to see her daddy in the evening. :)

And daddy was always happy to see his girls. I love this picture! Annaleigh holding onto her daddy's leg, Miss Mae with her tongue hanging out, as usual, and Jerrod's beard flowing majestically in the Kansas wind. ;)

In the picture below Jerrod is cleaning up his tractor after it getting coated with the fine dust from working in the field.

And then the sun was setting and the rains came to help settle all of the dust that was stirred up after almost 2 weeks of long days and lots of hard work. We had completed our very first wheat harvest as a family. :)

I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure how it would all make me feel. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull off making yummy, homemade meals each night. I knew it would be different to see it all first hand as a woman, mother and wife of a farmer instead of just being a child on her way to the pool and seeing all the wheat trucks lined up waiting for their turn at the elevator. But, I didn't realize how much of a humbling experience it would be and how full my heart would feel. It was such an amazing feeling to work together as a family on such a big and important task. Even though it was a very busy and exhausting 2 weeks I was SO very thankful to have my husband home each night. Which is something that just didn't happen when he was working in the oil field. Moving to this little town and living in this little farmhouse has been such a blessing to my little family. I've decided that wheat harvest might just be my favorite.

If you ate today, be sure to thank a farmer. :)

XOXO,

Heather

Being out here where it's quiet, surrounded by God's creations and where the prairie touches the morning sun... I have abundant inspiration! I am bursting with ideas! I have yet to be able to work on things for my business as we are still settling into this new life. But, once I am able, I will have MANY things to show and share with you!

Most of you also know that 6 MONTHS ago (that's still so crazy it's already been that long!) we had our baby girl, Kayleigh Mae. She is just the sweetest little thing but between updating the house, taking care of both of our girls and helping on the farm it just hasn't left much time for my business. But, it is never far from my mind!

Which leads me to some exciting news! At our previous home I worked out of our garage. Which worked really well but I had to share the space with my hubby. Which was fine. We split the garage down the middle and we each had a side.. but it was still a bit cramped. Here at the farm we have several buildings. Most are used to hold things for the farm and such BUT there is one building that is for me!

                     to the left from the doorway and to the right from the doorway

I

My hubby will be adding electrical and insulating it. I WILL HAVE AN AIRCONDITIONER!!! Here in Kansas it gets HOT. I'm talking like a million degrees in the shade kinda hot and after working several years in a hot garage with no AC I'm pretty much stoked! I'm also not exaggerating. It gets hot and I'm delicate. And I WILL HAVE AN AIRCONDITIONER! :D But, I'm just moderately excited about that..

I'm mostly excited about this being MY space. I will be painting it and making it a place that will reflect my style and that will inspire me. I have a few ideas for a feature wall for staging pictures. I haven't quite decided which idea I want to use but I'm excited to make it my own! It also has an AWESOME old screen door.. I love it! I plan to plant flowers.. maybe add and awning.. make a Wildflowers & Pistols sign.. So many ideas! It's going to be a cute little workshop once I'm done with it and I can't wait. It's just one of the small blessings that have come with us moving out here.

But, that's it for now! Soon we will be putting in the electrical and all that good stuff then I get to make it pretty! I'll be bring you with me during that whole process. :) I will also be sharing pictures of our farmhouse with you as well as before and after pictures of some of the rooms I've redone. Now that we're mostly all settled into this adventure I promise I will stay in touch much more frequently!

Also, thank you for sticking with me even while I was MIA for a bit!

xoxo,

Man, I haven't written a blog post for awhile. I should really get back to doing this thing... But, anyways! If you are here reading this then you have probably heard that we just released 3! NEW milk paint colors to our line up! Whoop whoop! And as always I have named them after some pretty amazing ladies and I'm gonna take this time to tell y'all their stories! So, here we go...

Let's start this off with our soft, and oh so sweet aqua milk paint color, Emmaline. I chose to name this color after my sassy and sweet little niece, Irelynn Emmaline. She has some serious attitude but she uses it in the sweetest way ever! She knows she's cute and she uses that to her advantage! If she is doing something she isn't supposed to or is giving attitude after being told no she likes to give you sweet smiles and adorable faces in order to get her way. By the way she's only 2. ;)

Next up is Johanna July! Johanna is our pale, happy yellow milk paint color. She was a Black Seminole. The community in which she lived was made up of black people who had escaped lives as plantation slaves in the Old South. They ran to freedom in Florida and lived with members of the Seminole tribe. In the early 1800s, the Seminoles were forced out of Florida and were relocated to a reservation in Oklahoma. Johanna and her family decided to head to Mexico to start a free colony. They did a lot of traveling back and forth between Texas and Mexico. Her and her family learned many horse skills from the Mexican cowboys and they were often employed by the U.S. Army and scouts. As a girl, Johanna became and expert rider! She learned to ride bareback with only a simple rope looped around the horse's neck and nose. After her father died it was up to her to take care of her mother and sisters. So, she started working as a domodora (horse tamer) for the U.S. troops stationed at Fort Duncan, Texas. She was famous for her knowledge of horse folklore and all the ways to keep a horse healthy. Johanna always wore thick braids in her hair, bright dresses, gold earrings and flashy beaded necklaces. She married but she wasn't the best housewife. She always seemed to burn dinner and her sewing tended to unravel. She never really learned how to keep house since her mother and sisters always kept house while she tamed horses. Her husband wasn't very forgiving. He became angry with Johanna and was a violent. One afternoon Johanna decided she'd had enough. So, she slipped quietly out of the house and in a nearby field picked a long stalk from a Spanish dagger plant, braided it into a bridle, and rode a horse straight out of town. She wasn't about to let a man control her happiness. She did remarry two more times, but only to men who shared her same passion for taming horses. She preferred to walk barefoot so she could feel the earth under her toes. On more than one occasion, she caught the local train (which didn't stop in her small village) by standing in the tracks when she wanted to get on. Forcing them to stop. :) She was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn't about to change for any man.

Last but certainly not least is Raven Wilkinson. Raven is our soft, sweet ballerina pink milk paint color. Raven was 5 years old when her mother took her to see her first ballet in 1941. The famed Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo was at New York's City Center Theater, performing the ballet Coppelia, about a doll that comes to life. After the curtain fell and the final dancer took her last bow, Raven turned to her mother and told her she was going to be a dancer when she grew up. Four years later, at age 9, she was able to take the first steps towards her dream: She began to study at the school run by the Ballet Russes. She was a natural-born dancer! Her teacher and the director of the school noted her refined, elegant form and nurtured her. In 1954 she was given a full contract and made a member of the Ballet Russes. Raven was the first African-American dancer to be a member of any major ballet company. She was quickly promoted to soloist, and she toured with the company for 6 years. Her time as a performer wasn't an easy one, though. It was marred by prejudice and discrimination. One night while staying at a hotel the threats became far to real. The Ku Klux Klan left a burning cross outside of her window. After that season, the company suggested that she might reconsider performing in the South in light of the prejudice and danger she faced. After 6 years of touring under these tough conditions she decided to take a break from dancing and joined a convent. But her love for dance refused to go away. After just short 8 months of life as a Catholic nun, she left the convent and returned to the stage. Despite all of the discrimination she faced both personally and professionally she never gave up on her dream and her passion. And with that strength and determination she helped pave the way for other African-American dancers.

There ya have it! I'm sure you can see why I have chosen these women (and that strong willed toddler!). Their strength and determination is both admirable and beautiful!

I can't wait to release more new colors and be able to tell you the stories of other inspiring, dream chasin', tough, strong-willed, beautiful women! :)

xoxo

Here is what the dresser looked like to start with...

The darker edges that faded to light reminded of ombre and I knew I had to give it a try! And I gotta say, I LOVE how it turned out!

I used our Wildflowers & Pistols Milk Paint Base with No Pigment with an acrylic paint added in. To lighten the color I just added in some of our Priscilla color (bright white).

Even if you add in an acrylic paint to your milk paint base it can still crackle and chip! So, you can make ANY color of milk paint while still getting all the awesome characteristics of milk paint!

II updated the hardware using Rustoleums Rosemary paint. It's so pretty! Similar to a rose gold color. :)

Check out all that amazing crackle I got on this piece!!

And not to mention all of that chipping!!

I'm seriously crushing over this ombre look! I love how the color fades!

I love this color so much!!

The colors remind me of the beach! This one is definitely going on my list of all time fave pieces that I've done! I love it so much! I hope you enjoy it and that it gets you inspired to create something fun and beautiful! :)

           xo

Hey y'all! As promised, I have made this blog showing how I took an ordinary kitchen table and turned it into a sofa table. This was SO much fun to make!

Here is what the table looked like before -

It wasn't anything fancy. The table top was laminate and it slid apart to make the table bigger but it was missing the extra leaf. I had this table for over a year and I didn't really like it and I was lacking motivation and inspiration to redo it. Then, it just hit me! (you know.. about a year after picking it up ;) ) I decided I wanted to make this into a sofa table. So, here's what I did...

First, I removed the top. I just flipped it upside down and removed all of the screws that attached the table top to the base. Once I did that this is what it looked like..

This is obviously just a picture of one side of the tables base. But, this was now going to be the base for my sofa table. I just had to make a few modifications :)

I decided how deep I wanted the sofa table to be and I cut out the excess. In the picture above you can see that I just cut out a piece in the middle between both table legs. I repeated this same step on the other side of the tables base cutting and removing the same size of piece. I just used a hand saw to cut the wood.

Now, it was time to put each side back together!

I removed the excess piece. I held onto it because I was going to use it for the next step. I never waste any wood scraps ;) - I grabbed my wood glue and glued it back together. To hold it in place I clamped it together tightly. I let the glue dry. By this point it was getting late so I just left it like this over night.

The next morning I grabbed those two pieces of excess wood and...

I used the excess wood to help stabilize each side that I had cut and glued. I screwed it onto each new side of the tables base in the middle between each leg.

To cover the seem..

I used wood filler to help give each side a seamless look. Once the wood filler was dry I sanded it until it was completely smooth.

Now, I needed to attach the two base pieces together as one..

I cut two pieces of 1"x2"s and then screwed them to either side of the base to help stabilize and connect the base back together. (Also- I glued each base piece before attaching the 1"x2" boards then to cover the seem I applied wood filler. Then sanded smooth once dry.) The table was very sturdy!

Now, it needed a new top!

I screwed down 3 boards of reclaimed wood. I ended up not having to cut or modify any of the 3 boards (amazingly enough!) After screwing each board down attaching it to the base I sanded each board until it was smooth. Then I stained them using a dark walnut color. I decided I wanted the wood to resemble barn wood so I grabbed some W&P Milk Paint- Pearl and I dry brushed it onto each board. Next, I painted the base! I decided to use a custom mix of W&P Milk Paint to create a unique color. This new paint color will be released very soon!!! :D

Here's what the final product looks like!

Isn't this color awesome!? It's kind of like a sea foam color with a hint of gray. I wish everyone could see this piece and color in person! These pics just don't do it justice!

I am SO happy with how the new table top turned out! (I'll be writing a blog tutorial on how I did it sometime soon!)

And just for good measure here's a side by side before and after pic :)

I hope y'all love this as much as I do! But, what I hope even more is that this will inspire you to create something beautiful and help give you the confidence to get started! :)

~Heather

Heather

Why did I change the names of my paint colors? Well, honestly most of the old paint names had no meaning to me…I didn't really connect with them. And I figured if I couldn't connect to them then other people probably didn't either. I wanted each color to take on its own life and to have a personality, if you will. My business’s new direction is based on being true to yourself, taking risks, embracing your free spirit. I wanted my paints to have names that are named after some of my favorite women, but I also wanted them to remind you of someone that you might know to give them their own spirit and personality.

Let me help you to get to know some of these fine women. :)

Regina and Joy

Regina was my great grandmother. Regina was the older sister to Veronica. Their mother passed away when they were very young. Regina was 9 and Veronica was only 4-5. Her cause of death was lead poisoning that she received from an operation she had done. After that their father refused to see any doctors of any kind and he never remarried. Later in life Regina married my great grandfather and had 8 children. One of those children were named Jerry. He was sent to the Vietnam War where he lost his life at the young age of 21. This was very hard for Regina, as it would be for any mom. Before his passing, she always had this light about her and a sense of humor (or so I've been told), but after Jerry died that light had dimmed and the humor was replaced with sadness. This isn't to say that she was never happy, because she was. She had many blessings, but, she had been broken. One of those blessings was their youngest child, their only daughter, who would later become my grandmother. Her name is Joyce. She is a beautiful woman inside and out. She is ornery like her father and her light shines wherever she goes like her mother. She's also an amazing baker! Her dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls are famous in my hometown! My grandma is another strong woman in my life and so I’ve named a color after her, just as I’ve named colors in honor of my great grandma, Regina. My grandpa, John, has always called her "Joy.” Her favorite color also happens to be yellow so it couldn't have been more fitting for me to name one of my yellows, a color of light and happiness, Joy.

 Pearl

Pearl is the middle name of my paternal grandmother. Linda Pearl - she might just be the most stubborn, strong willed, kind hearted woman I know. I can remember listening to her stories and opinions as she and my sisters would wash dishes in her kitchen. She would give us her ideas on everything from how best to keep sponges clean to the competence of the United States president. She has taught me that even women, and maybe especially women, ought to think for themselves. Pearls are admired for their natural beauty and I can’t help but admire my granny for the same reason. Also - the picture that is placed inside of the frame that represents this color is a picture of my granny and grandad. It's one of my favorites!

 Zora May

Zora May's real name was Missouri but everyone always called her Zora May. Which is kind of a fun insight at their accent.. One can assume that they pronounced Missouri as Missoura and that's why they called her Zora for short. Zora was my great great aunt. Unfortunately, I never met her and there aren't too many stories about her.. However, there is one story that was passed down by another aunt. She claimed that Zora was poisoned and killed by her second husband. Zora passed away at the young age of 44 and had only been married to her second husband for 2 years. This was never proven but it's a story of speculation that has been handed down from generation to generation. I wish I knew her true story. But, sadly all I know is that she had 12 children, died too young and carried a beautifully unique name.

 Lottie

Lottie's real name was Charlotte but everyone called her Lottie. This color was originally called 'Grandma's Quilt' because she made the quilt that hangs in my mothers living room. And one of the colors in the quilt is this one. The quilt was made from her old dresses. She would get a new dress each Christmas but wouldn't wear it until the one she wore everyday was worn out. She'd then put the old, worn out dress away and use it for quilts. She was a very small woman. Short and petite. She was said to be very sweet and caring but if you crossed her you'd definitely hear about it! With that being said, she didn't anger easily. She was like a volcano. It usually took you several mess ups before she exploded ;) One of my all time favorite family legends is about this tiny gal. There was what we call the Range Wars of the West. Family legend has it that these boys came riding in on their property. She stepped out of their sod house with her rifle and shot one of the man's hats clean off his head and threatened to go lower if they didn't leave. The men decided to go ahead and ride on out of there. She had this quiet independence about her and she was very feisty. She was tough and stubborn until the day she died. She passed away at 98 years old and outlived 5 of her children.

 Annie

Annie is named after Annie Oakley, one of my favorite women of all time! I'm a gun enthusiast myself. Unfortunately, I don't have as good a shot as her but I'm still pretty good if I do say so myself. ;) I have always been drawn to Annie Oakley because she was a feminist but would never admit to it. She was a woman of conviction but never had to shout it out. She lived her life without fear. She wasn't afraid to live by her beliefs, she wasn't afraid of what people thought of her, she wasn't afraid to shoot someone, she wasn't afraid to be herself, and she also wasn't afraid to love. Here is my favorite quote of hers.. "I ain't afraid to love a man, but I ain't afraid to shoot him either."

And now onto our NEW colors!

 Esmeralda

Esmeralda was chosen because this color reminds me of a gypsy and what gypsy did I grow up with and love? You guessed it! Esmeralda from The Hunch Back of Notre Dame. (the disney version) This color immediately made me think of a gypsy because it's the color of Esmeralda's eyes and her corset in the movie. Gypsy life can be very appealing. Living by your own terms and a life full of wanderlust.

 Lucile

Lucile was my aunt. She was actually my great aunt, but we always called her Aunt Cile. She passed away a couple of years ago and I miss her dearly. It wasn't until her passing that we learned her first name was actually Emma, so she was a bit mysterious. She was a teacher in a small one-room school house for awhile, and although she never had any kids of her own, all of her nieces and nephews (everyone from my grandpa to my own daughter) were her children. She was vibrant and fun and she made THE best strawberry pie! She was very involved in her community and was the best kind of friend that you could ever ask for. When she became older and moved into the assisted living home she knew everyone's name within a few weeks and when her eyesight went she knew everyone by their voice. I can remember when she held my sister’s son for the first time, she cried because she felt so blessed to be holding a great-great nephew. She was amazing like that. There was never any doubt how much she loved her family and friends.

 Annaleigh

Annaleigh Joy is my daughter. My brown-eyed girl was named for my granddad’s mother, Anna, and my maternal grandmother, Joyce. As you can see, I’ve made a habit of honoring the strong women in my life. Annaleigh’s favorite color is purple. Well, she says all colors are her favorite, except white! She is my mini me which is both a blessing and a curse. She has the MOST beautiful imagination and I pray she never loses it! She's my barefoot, free spirited, sensitive, sassy little girl. I wouldn’t be doing my girl justice if I didn’t also mention a trait of hers that's been passed down from generation to generation. The girl is stubborn, not unlike her mama or our other female relations. What can I say? We come by it honestly!

I will continue to introduce you to some pretty great women as time goes on, especially as we release new paint colors!! But for now, I wanted to share a few of my favorite and most influential ones. We are in very good company here! These women were each the original Wildflowers & Pistols.