Historically, dough bowls were used in making bread.  The bread was mixed and kneaded in the bowl and left to rest.  Modern day dough bowls are used for decor purposes though I am sure some folks still use them as they were intended for creating bread sensations.  You can usually tell an antique dough bowl by the weight, the aged patina, and even the odd shape.

Our challenge was organized by Danielle from Faith and Farmhouse.  Over 5 days, ten bloggers each posted ways to style a dough bowl according to the daily prompt for Kitchen, Dining Room, Entryway/Mudroom, Coffee Table and Designer’s Choice.  

Dough Bowls in the Kitchen

This dough bowl has been sitting in my kitchen since we updated My Tuscan Inspired Kitchen.  It is the perfect display for these gorgeous counters.  I often use it to hold fruit, or items to use in cooking a meal.  I’m getting ready to make some scones and cookies so I gathered all of the ingredients which fit nicely in my dough bowl and I am ready to go!  

Dining Room

I am blessed with a large family so we have a good sized dining table in our dining room that we use for all major holidays.  This table is the perfect size for my largest dough bowl.  For this challenge, I decided to go simple and only placed a berry garland in the center of the dough bowl.  Then I added some candle sticks and a vintage candelabra.  Though simple, this decor was quick, easy and, I think, impactful.  I will probably add some pinecones too.  Check out my post on how I reclaimed my dining room as part of the One Room Challenge. 

These elegant candles are 15″ Flameless wax tapers from Lights.com.  The beauty of these candles lies in the safety feature of having the ambiance without the danger of a live flame.  They are battery operated and come with a remote for easy use.  You will see them again in my Designer’s Choice dough bowl.

Entryway/Mudroom

Our home is a split entry/ranch style.  Last year, I upgraded the entryway.  I was lucky to participate in Woodgrain’s feature wall competition at the Haven Conference.  I update the entry with this beautiful feature wall.  Then we added a new door with sidelights and changed up the look with the $100 Room Challenge.  With the new secretary, I really don’t have a place to functionally use a dough bowl.  So I placed a round dough bowl at the top of the steps for convenience.

Normally we just drop our keys on the piano.  But I love the idea of using the dough bowl since it holds much more!  I can set items there to bring to the car like my shopping list, air pods, masks, etc.  Centralizing these items in one staging area reduces the chance of multiple trips back into the house for items that I forgot to grab.  I also added a few items that were left behind by my kids on their last visit and a photo for a friend who will be by to pick it up.  In my never ending quest to declutter, this entry dough bowl makes things more visually appealing.

Bonus, I added an antique dough bowl at the entry to bring some color into the area.  She looks great with this Christmas cactus who surprised me with some blooms this week.

Coffee Table

We don’t keep alot of items on our coffee table because we’ve had dogs over the years who like to eat reading glasses, Roku remotes, cable remotes, note pads, pens, etc.  I usually start my day with a hot cup of coffee, a note pad, and the Today Show.  It’s my time to jot down my plan for the day and any genius ideas that might surface as I prepare for my day.  So I decided to use my dough bowl on my coffee table to keep my morning items together.

I am confident that I will start using my dough bowls more decoratively as the clutter continues to disappear from my home.  It’s all a process. 

Life is definitely simpler with only one of my five children still at home. I no longer play chauffeur, stylist, or room  mom.  I am definitely enjoying the opportunity to focus more attention on decor, simplifying, and polishing up my home.

Designer’s Choice

We recently replaced our deck on the back of our home.  It’s a spacious addition to our home and I’ve been decorating sporadically waiting for the wood to be ready to stain.  It’s been mild this week in Alabama so we’ve been back out there with coffee and cocktails enjoying our property.  This is the perfect place to showcase another dough bowl.  And I used my favorites…succulents?

My bodyguard approves!

This  was such a fun little challenge.  I enjoyed seeing everyone’s style and ingenuity for each day.  And honestly, though I love my dough bowls and they are visible in my decor, I rarely use them.  That is soon to change as I have so many new ideas on how to style a dough bowl.  As I was styling my kitchen dough bowl on day one, I thought, “Dang!  This dough bowl is convenient!”

How do you style or use your dough bowl?

Here are some other ways I’ve styled over the years at my store, The Blue Building Antiques.

How do you style your dough bowls?  Share a photo on social media and tag me!

Dough Bowl Challenge 2021 Blog Links

Here are the links to the other dough bowl posts.  Be prepared to be dazzled!

Faith and Farmhouse

From Farmhouse to Florida

 Gathered in the Kitchen

Hen and Horse Design

Saved from Salvage

Shop at Blu That’s me! You’re here!

Sweet Valley Acres

White Lilac Farmhouse

Bushel and a Pickle

If you enjoyed this hop, please feel free to pin some of the images!  You can do that directly from the photo!  Just hover over top left corner and save the inspiration for later.

The post 50 Ways to Style a Dough Bowl appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I love to use natural elements like pinecones to decorate around my home and my store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment.  The pinecone is a great accessory to any decor.  They bring a rustic and natural beauty and warm up the atmosphere.

And the best thing about a pinecone?  You can usually get them for free.  Once I decided to write this post, I started noticing pinecones everywhere!  Different shapes and so many sizes!  Literally everywhere!

Here are some examples of how I use the pinecone in my decor!

Fill a lantern or terrarium or cloche with some pinecones to add some character to these items.

Build a pinecone tree!  Here is the tutorial for one that I built.  Pinecone Tree Tutorial.

Arrange some pinecones on a mirror or around a cloche to create a wonderful centerpiece for your table or sideboard or entry way.

Add some pinecones to a dough bowl or serving bowl to add some texture to a room or a display.  Vary the sizes of your pinecones for dramatic effect.

Scatter some pinecones around larger decorative items.  Use different sizes to attain a different effect.  

I use pinecones to add dimension to a display or to a photo.  Pinecones are great to use as fillers for empty spaces or to provide an appealing balance. 

I use pinecones for every post summer holiday or decorating event including Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

And again, one of my favorite uses of pinecones is as fillers to create charm and depth to a display.

How do you use pinecones to decorate?  

The post How to Use the Pinecone in Your Decor appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Stuff just shows up!  When you have a building with CONSIGNMENT on the side of it, stuff just shows up!  I have been very lucky lately because a sweet couple has been bringing me architectural pieces from homes that are scheduled for demolition, most noteably doors and mantles.  I am simply in LOVE with 5 and 6 panel doors.  Folks, they just don’t make ’em like this anymore.  If these pieces could speak, just imagine the stories, the history!  But they do speak…through patina!  Have you every wondered how to get a chippy finish on an old door?

Here are a few that have recently arrived:

Can you see those beautiful colors peeking out from beneath the top layer of paint???  I become obsessed when I see these colors.  The world stops revolving and I must reveal the patina!  REVEAL THE PATINA!  REVEAL THE PATINA!   The chanting is incessant until I get it done.

Here is the teaser picture:

And this is what was lurking beneath:

How do you REVEAL THE PATINA???  Well, I sort of stumbled upon and today I will share my secret.

Of course, the first thing you do when you see chippy paint is…pick at it!  It’s like bubble wrap!  Can’t stop yourself.  But after ten minutes, it gets old and laborious and tedious.  So the next logical method is to use a scraper.  This is a little quicker but still quite tedious and still laborious.  Which leads me to my preferred method:  Power Washer!  Eureka!  Jackpot!  Definitely the way to go!  Check it out:

It’s fast! It removes the debris and loose paint quickly and painlessly!  Dress appropriately with safety glasses, boots and preferably long pants and long sleeves.  Not only does proper dress and gear protect you from spiraling paint chips and water, it also makes clean up easier.  Trust me, it’s difficult to get wet paint chips off of your body!

Always test your paint for lead.  Homes built before 1978 often contain lead based paint!  3M has a wonderful test kit.  I got a sample at The Haven Conference several years ago.  It was super easy to use.  Here is my affiliate link: 

You can control how much or how little chippy paint remains.  Linger on a spot to remove more paint.  Do a quick pass for a less chippy look.

I recommend sealing the door after you’ve achieved your desired patina.  That ensures that you won’t have further flaking and you patina remains intact.

I have my eye on a nice and powerful Ryobi pressure washer!  In the meantime I borrow my daughter’s.  It’s their smallest model.  It is very effective for these small tasks and is super affordable at Home Depot for under $130.  Here is my affiliate link if you would like to shop:

I’ve done a few mantles as well.  The best candidates are the old old mantles with layers of paint.

Here are my favorites from the last few months:

And just because it was in the vicinity when I was working on the mantles and doors, this chair now has a chippy new look as well!

And just because…here are more of my custom doors:

This is one of my favs…that aqua!

This last one might just be my favorite!  

We always have a great supply of doors at The Blue Building!  Stop by and check them out! 

OTHER CHIPPY POSTS:

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I am all about creating things I love for my home at a fraction of what it would cost to buy new!  So when Gina Luker of The Shabby Creek Cottage tossed out a Drop Cloth Challenge to a bunch of bloggers I was ready!  I needed a quick and easy drop cloth project.  I have been drooling over all of the farmhouse pillows that are everywhere on Pinterest and Instagram these days.  Time to make some for me!  And really…can you ever actually have too many pillows???  I think not!  What an easy way to update your decor in a few minutes! Simply switch out your pillows!  Better yet…use a Drop Cloth as fabric!

I recently had someone consign an estate at my store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment.  I love handling estates!  It’s like Christmas Day!  You just don’t know what you are going to find.  Every time I grab another box or bag of goodies I get excited.

Donna, a friend of one of my dealers, had recently moved and decided to down size.  She had some fabulous Mid Century decor items.  In the lot, I found two 22 inch pillow forms!  Perfect for this Drop Cloth Challenge!  It’s been a busy month at the store so, again, I chose an easy project…Drop Cloth pillow covers!  I wanted to make changeable pillow covers so I could keep the same pillow forms, switch out the covers according to the season and store the covers flat when I am not using them.  No big clunky pillows to store from season to season…just the cover.

Supplies for Drop Cloth Pillow Covers

One drop cloth, any size

Scissors

Sewing machine

Silhouette Machine (for stencil) but you can free hand your design

Black craft paint

Small paint brush

Two 22 inch square pillow forms

I had a huge section of Drop Cloth left over from a project from April  when I recovered an ottoman.  It was a pretty complicated project for me, being my first upholstery project with real cording and all.  Read about it here.  I’m still snickering about that project!  It was for the Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest and the theme was Mix N’ Match.  What do I do?  A plain Drop Cloth ottoman, no pattern, no color, nothing mixing and matching!  I was so overwhelmed by the actual upholstery project that I solely concentrated on just that…getting the darn thing completed.  Well, live and learn is the lesson!  It turned out pretty good for my first project but I certainly did learn a lot in the process!

I have basic sewing skills.  Translation:  I can pretty much sew a straight line.  So this project needed to be simple.

The Drop Cloth that I had was so huge that it was actually pieced in the middle.  I really liked this seam so I decided to use it in my pillow for added character.

Getting Started with a Plan

I cut  three 24 inch x 24 inch squares out of the Drop Cloth.

One square will be the front, the other two will comprise the back with a pocket so I can slide the pillow form in and out easily.  Sounds simple, right?

Time to Sew!

I finished one edge on each of the back pieces.  Note:  I did take a shortcut since one piece of the Drop Cloth had a finished edge already!  Yay!  I love shortcuts!

Next, I folded this over to create the pocket.  I sewed it into place.

I did the same to the second back piece.  Then I simply sewed all of the edges of the four sides together making sure to have my pretty sides facing each other.

I turned the cover inside out.  To my surprise, the pillows fit perfectly!  And I had a beautiful pillow cover, pocket and all!  I removed the pillow forms to apply the stencil to the fronts.  I used my Silhouette machine to create a stencil for my first pillows.  I simply selected a few messages that I like.  I used black craft paint to stencil the sayings onto the pillows.

Hopefully these pics make sense.  This was soooo much easier that I thought it would be!

The only snag in this whole project occurred when I wanted to stage the pillows.

Apparently I didn’t realize it was nap time!   Her Highness does not like to be interrupted during nap time!

This project was so very easy that I will be making many more pillows!

The post Drop Cloth Decor appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Usually my displays consist of grouping items that are for sale somewhere in the store.  I group certain colors together and always make sure to have some varying height in the display.  For Valentines Day, I group pinks and purples with beige and white in varying mediums like vases, porcelain, framed prints, jewelry and candlesticks.  For Fall, I do the same with brown, orange, green and beige.  So I started by walking around my store and selecting items that I thought would look great together!

One way to spruce up any display is to use foliage or greenery, either in vases or pots.  Sometimes I use fresh plants and sometimes it stick with artificial.  But in almost every display you will find some type of plant.

I also try to throw in an unexpected item, something that would not normally go with the other items.  For this Fall display, that crazy item is my old Ford pick up that I bought from Miss Mustardseed at The Chapel Market 2104.  This year, I added the horse trailer that I purchased from Coastal Charm Interiors again at The Market on Chapel Hill 2015.  I always try to add a little piece of the unexpected…anything to make the customers stop and linger and look a little more closely.

I couldn’t resist this old chalkboard that came in on consignment.  My daughter Carly went to work and added this little fall saying that just seemed perfect!  I grabbed small easel to make this the center point of our display.  

Next I added this little concrete pedestal.  It was too darling to ignore.  I pictured it holding some pumpkins but we didn’t have any at the time so I used the gourds instead.  I topped it off with this cheese dish cover that was missing its base…perfect for a wanna be cloche!

The tall basket with the tin insert was found in one of our vendor’s spaces.  The fruit branches came in on consignment.  In the spring I will switch them out for some hydrangeas if the basket is still here!

The little glass bottle was found in another dealer’s space at The Blue Building.  I grabbed the fillers from the weeds out front!  Haha…nothing is sacred!

Finally, I came across two little pumpkins mixed in a floral display.  They belonged in the pickup to complete the display!

And Voila!  Our fall display completed from items that were just sitting around the store!

Happy Fall Y’all!

I am so happy to be participating in Hometalk’s Home for Fall Blog Hop!  Check out some incredible Fall tips and projects on this great Blog Hop!

LINK / http://www.hometalk.com/hashtags?filter=%23HomeForFall

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There is no doubt that today’s “recycle, reuse, re-purpose” lifestyle was born during the depression era.  It was definitely instilled in my dad and his siblings.  It is wonderful to see this revitalization in my children!

Growing up in my house, Dad did everything.  He was the plumber, roofer, electrician (this one was often scary but Wild Willy always got the job done), painter, mason and brick layer…you name it, he did it!  And what was incredible is that he did all of these project and repairs with supplies that were laying around the house.  Soup cans, aluminum foil, paperclips…everything could be used as a tool.

So it is no wonder that I am frugal (yes, cheap-to quote my children)!  With five children, it was important (and still is) to try to make due and save where we could.  I love the feeling of having created something that I saw online with items that I have laying around the house or items picked up at a steal from the local thrift store.

I am constantly drooling over my favorite blogs with all of their cutting edge accessories.  I WISH I could afford to grab $65 boxwood wreath on a whim…someday!  So on my regular trips through the thrift stores in the Birmingham area, I am always looking for DIY supplies for knock offs.

Here are the items I grabbed the other day from America’s Thrift Store in Alabaster.  Fortunately, this store is 2 blocks from The Blue Building so it is like having a treasure trove in my backyard.

I purchased 2 bunches of dark greens for $.39 each, one pic frame still sporting its cardboard corners for $.49, and one grapevine wreath with some greens tucked loosely amid the grapevine for $1.50.  Can you visualize the project???  A boxwood wreath mounted on a wooden frame!  Total for supplies after tax…$3.12.

 I grabbed my trusty staple gun an ten minutes later I had this…

I know it is hard to see in the pic below, but I simply stapled a group of branches to the wooden frame (see the staple in the center of the pic).

To make the wreath fuller and to fill the holes where too much gold frame was showing, I simple lifted the branches that were already stapled to the frame, tucked a bunch beneath them, and stapled them into place.  I lifted branches out of the way and to the side so that I could wiggle my staple gun under already stapled branched.  After securing the branches with the staple gun, I simply moved the previously stapled branches back over top of the newly stapled branch.  This helped to hide the staples amidst the branches.  You can add as much greenery as you like.  I preferred to have some of the gold frame visible.  But, I think a wreath without any of the frame showing would be great as well!

These will look great scattered around my store The Blue Building…especially with spring on the way!

The post How to make a boxwood wreath CHEAP! appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I must admit that I was a little intimidated by this simple gadget.  But the instructions were very simple and very accurate.

It was already assembled (always a bonus) and super stupid simple to attach, load, and start using.  It did, however, take me a few tries to get the paint stick loaded.  The first time I pulled back on the stick to load the paint, I didn’t see any paint load.  It took several times before the paint started loading in the stick.  I assume this was the “vacuum” getting primed and ready for me.

Here is a picture of the first couple of strokes on the wall.  You will notice that it is a bit blotchy.  The roller has holes throughout that enables the paint to seep through.  It takes a few practice swipes for the roller to load completely.

Once the roller is full of paint the application is smooth and super fast.  I was able to quickly and beautifully roll an 8 x 10 square foot section in about 10 minutes.  You simple twist the handle to fill the roller.  No stopping is required until the paint stick is empty.  You can refill the stick in less than 2 minutes and be rolling again effortlessly.

I found that if you keep the roller moving as you twist the handle to refill the roller, the roller loads more evenly.  If you twist the handle to load the roller but have the roller resting against the wall, paint can accumulate in the corners and result in the excess paint dripping out of the roller ends.  The paint stick stores wonderfully during breaks.  I found that if I completely used all of the paint in the paint stick, turned the unit upside down to rest with the roller side down, and wrapped the roller/shield with a plastic bag,  the paint stick was still fresh and ready to go after a short break (I even wrapped it and left it overnight and was able to resume quickly in the morning).  Just be sure to wrap the plastic snugly around the roller…try to eliminate any air pockets to avoid drying of the roller.

After the room was finished, I disassembled the paint stick for cleaning.  Cleanup was easy with warm water and the kitchen sink.  It was a bit difficult to get water flowing through the long parts so I would recommend cleanup in the bathtub next…simply more room.

The next time I used the paint stick, it was a little more difficult to get the paint loaded.  I had to disassemble again and found some paint was dried from the last time.  So, make sure you remove ALL of the parts and clean the unit thoroughly.

I will say, however, that this great tool is only about $27 at Lowes…in my opinion…it is cost effective to go buy another if the pre-used stick is hard to load.  It is definitely work $27!

I love this product!   It saved me more time and aggravation over the Christmas holidays as we completely painted three bedrooms!  Hats off to HOMERIGHT!  I can paint a room in less than an hour!

The post How to Paint a Room in Less than an Hour! appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Hats off to Layla from The Lettered Cottage and the wonderful group of ladies affectionately known as The Pike Road Ladies for hosting such a phenomenal event.

While last year The Chapel Market was a great success, this year was even more exciting! There were double the number of vendors! There was delicious catered food!  There were incredible buys and the vendors absolutely outdid themselves with their displays!  There were milk paint and chalk paint presentations!  I could not get enough of the vintage finds and pretty little things!  Seriously, I think I walked through the market about 20 times just looking and soaking in the inspiration!

Here is the lovely Layla, on the left:

Those other two beauties in the photo above were my companions for two days!  I had the pleasure of helping KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms and Laura from Finding Home with their booth.  Let me tell you that these girls are even MORE fabulous in person!

This is the Chapel before the excitement began:

I arrived at Pike Road on Friday morning.  I had offered to help Marian, Miss Mustard Seed with her booth setup and lend her a table for check out.  First on my mind was a photo op with the one and only Miss Mustard Seed.  Last year, I was so caught up in the excitement of helping her all day that I realized (too late, on the ride home) that I had never gotten a picture with her!

So, first things first:

Marian has got this market stuff down to a science.   She and her sweet assistant Kriste had done a preliminary layout in her studio back in Pennsylvania so all of us avid readers could get a preview of her space.  I helped unwrap ironstone, and if you know Marian–there was A TON of ironstone! Once everything was unwrapped, Marian simply fluttered around placing items in their perfect place.  Sadly, it only took about 2 hours for the entire booth to be unpacked and ready for shoppers!  I say sadly because my work was done…in 2 hours!!!  I enjoyed every second!

When you walked into The Chapel Market, the first booth you came to belonged to Thistlewood Farms and Finding Home.  I don’t know how it came to be, but there could be no better greeters than the vibrant and trendy combo of KariAnne and Laura.  The remainder of the day on Friday was spent helping these sweet blog friends set up their booth space.  We laughed and priced and laughed and staged and laughed and staged and priced and rolled t-shirts…which I got to model on Saturday!

The Chapel Market started early Saturday with the quaint community joining in the fun.  How about these beauties:

I visited with Kara Fox of Little Golden Fox.  Kara is MMSCP retailer.  We met last year helping Marian with her sales. This year Kara had her own booth!

I helped Lucy of Lucy’s Inspired for just a few minutes…I had to get my hands on some of that beautiful handmade jewelry!  She has the coolest industrial theme and she rocks it right into her jewelry.  So talented and creative.

Isn’t she gorgeous

?

The Urban Farmgirl caravan traveled all the way from Illinois.  Her space was rocking ALL DAY!

You can see why!

There are always a few people you meet at these events who stand out.  One of those was sweet Linda of Coastal Charm.  We chatted about the business, about trade shows, about merchandise, furniture, etc.  It was a pleasure to run into Linda throughout the day and I know we will be hitting some more Alabama shows soon!

Isn’t she darlin’?

And her booth…wowzer!

Southern Accents Architectural and their salvaged items never disappoint!

Littleville Blue is located in Cullman AL and Lordy!  Did Teresa and Rena put on a show!

Shaunna West of Perfectly Imperfect had an incredible booth set up with chalk paint and milk paint for sale.  It was fun to listen to Marian give one on one instructions to first time customers…if only they knew!  And Shaunna’s crew never fails to create the largest and most incredible displays.  Where do they find these mammoth displays.

All in all, it was a fun filled day of meeting folks and making connections, wandering through vintage heaven, sharing stories, and absorbing inspiration!  I am soooo excited to get back to Blu and Yellow and get to work!  But I am secretly wishing that The Chapel Market 2015 was just around the corner!

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