Welcome to the New & Improved Silver Pennies!

Notice anything different?  Well, if you're a regular reader, probably a lot.  Thanks to my tech savvy husband Silver Pennies got a much needed over-haul.  It now looks so much more like 'me' - beachy and shabby chic.

We have a new web address: www.findingsilverpennies.com, but blogspot will still forward all your bookmarks.  As part of the revamp we created the logo using the wheat from the silver penny:

We also created a banner in Picasa using the logo image and other images from the blog.  It was really quite easy and I found this tutorial on Pinterest:

We've added some tabs at the top so you can learn a bit more "about me" and some other fun things.

I'd like to also take this time to thank you all for reading.  I really enjoy coming up with projects and writing to all of you.  Thank you, thank you for the lovely comments.  They inspire me so much.  

I'd like to thank first my husband for all his hard work and patience as I spend more and more time working on the blog (and make him help!).  Thank you so much to Nancy Chase, at the Sea Rose Cottage, she has helped me with so many of my chalk paint projects.  A huge thanks to all who have featured me:  Shannon at AKA Design, Jenna at Daily Do It Yourself, Laura at Whimsical Perspectives and the Tip Junkie.  

Over the past week or so I've received several 'awards' from other bloggers who like Silver Pennies.  I'd like to thank Jessica at Four Generations One Roof, Fiona at Just Paint it White and Lesli at My Old Country House.  Please visit their sites, you won't be disappointed.  I'm grateful for all this love.

Well, what do you think?  Do you like the new design and new logo?  I can't wait to hear!

Cheers to Chile!

Wine Class at The Fruit Center

Whenever I think of great wines places like France, Italy, Spain, Australia and California spring to mind.  I have never associated wine with the South American country of Chile, in fact, I've never even looked in the Chile section when selecting wine.

On Friday night, Luke and I went on a much needed date night to The Fruit Center in Milton to hear of Tim's Excellent Adventures in Chile.  We met some lovely couples and got to try six amazing wines all from the Viu Manent Vineyard, founded in 1935 by a family of Catalonian immigrants.

Tim shared with us his trip to the vineyard through stories and a wonderful slide show rich with photographs of seafood, clay oven baked empanadas, gorgeous avocado dishes, fresh Chilean fruit and of course amazing wines.  

Wine notes

We started the evening with a Sauvignon Blanc.  According to the tasting notes, this wine is clean, pale and bursting with the aromas of lime, chili pepper and melon.  I found all this to be true except could not taste the chili flavors.  This Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect on a warm summer's evening out on the back deck and at $7.99 a bottle is a bargain price.

A platter of cheese and fruit to accompany the wines.

I was surprised to hear that the employees of the vineyards still hand pick and hand harvest all the grapes.  They are also still hand sorted to pick out any grapes that are discolored, any twigs or anything that would taint the wine.

The other wine that we really loved was the Reserva Malbec.  According to the wine notes it is lush with flavors of plum and blackberry with notes of chocolate.  This was only $10.99 a bottle and we were surprised by the price because we enjoyed it so much.

We enjoyed a delicious grilled flat bread pizza with mozzarella, roasted tomatoes and fresh torn basil.  This was a great accompaniment to the wine.

Through Tim's stories, the fantastic photos of his trip and sipping these gorgeous wines we almost felt like we were there on the journey with him.  One day, hopefully, we'll make it to the vineyard itself to have a tree fort lunch overlooking the valley and go horseback riding through the vineyards.

From Viu  Manent 

For now, we'll enjoy the bottles we got watching TV on the couch.  Looking forward to going back to the Fruit Center again to hear another one of Tim's Excellent Adventures.

Wintertime Blues

I know I should be grateful with the snow we just received.  Us New Englanders (specifically those living on the South Shore) have been waiting til now for some snow.  We got our first dose over the weekend.  Very late for this neck of the woods.

And just like that we were in a winter wonderland.  Well, for a day or two and then it felt just like spring again.  Long walks up to the beach with the dog:

Minot Beach in January

60 degrees up at the beach in January!  Crazy, crazy weather and with this crazy weather we get crazy, crazy bugs.  Tummy bugs.  Unfortunately, I suffered through Tuesday night with the latest one.  Fingers crossed my guys don't all get it too.

I laid on the couch all day on Wednesday with these beautiful spring flowers to cheer me up

I got the metal frame holder and jars from Antique Farm House.  Love that site!  My little guy, Conor, also kept me quite entertained with building pillow boats and castles at the other end of the couch.

Spring isn't really that far away, is it?  Happy (and healthy) weekend everyone!

Sail Away with Me (Chalk Paint Pillows)

Chalk Paint Stenciled Pillows

As many of you know, I love all things nautical!  I had just painted red stripes on John's bureau for the union flag

and had a bit left on the brush and thought that I would try doing stencils on some linen fabric.

I did a little sail boat and then used some cute polka dots for behind the boat.  The edges of the linen and the blue polka dot material are slightly frayed adding that shabby chic look:

I carried out the polka dots on the reverse of the pillow:

For the other pillow, I stenciled nautical pennants and used denim material behind.  The edges of both materials are both slightly frayed:

The denim is also carried out on the reverse of this pillow:

I love the ASCP in Emperor's Silk on this and can't wait to experiment with painting more fabric and pillows.

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DIY: The Key to my Heart

I don't know if it is me, but I've started seeing keys.  You know those old vintage, skeleton keys every where.  And you know what?  I'm in heaven!

Yesterday, I told you about the key art I made for our master bedroom reveal:

As I told you, I made this with my grandfather's old keys.  I'm told he kept them all on one big ring.  I particularly love the one with the heart and the one with the number 2.  It just happens to be my favorite number.

Keys are everywhere right now.  I saw this fantastic key coir mat from Ballard Designs:

Ballard Design $24

And this fantastic print from Restoration Hardware dating from 1940s:

Restoration Hardware $375

And then there is this very sweet key to my heart sign from Home Decorators Collection:

Home Decorators Collection $249

These are lovely but it seems crazy to me to buy them when you can make your own for so much less.  If your interested in making some skeleton key art here's what you'll need:

Materials

Skeleton Keys

Wood

Paint or stain

Epoxy

I had some wood already so I sanded it down and used the Special Walnut stain I already had for our 'reclaimed' wood headboard.

Staining the wood

Once the stain dried.  I lined up the keys how I thought I wanted them.  The more variety of color and shape the better.  Don't put all the keys going the same way.

E-6000 is fabulous!

Waited for it to dry and then hung in our bedroom.  Easy peasy!  This craft cost me nothing.  I had everything even my grandfather's keys.  So essentially I saved us between $250-$375 by doing it myself.  Maybe I can put that toward more chalk paint?!?!  A bonus is that I have a bit of my grandfather's life in my own home.

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Master Bedroom Reveal

Happy Monday!  I know you've all been waiting ages to see our bedroom and I don't think it is fair to make you wait any longer.  Well, here it is:

After

Perhaps, you'd like to see the space before and then I'll tell you everything we've done:

Before

Luke and the boys patched the large crack under one of the windows and we cleared everything out to get ready for painting.  We started by painting the walls.  We used The Paint Exchange's (awesome paint recycling company in North Scituate) Seagull Gray.  It really brightened the walls and brought a little more warmth.  It is a great color and reminds me of the weathered wood of many homes here in Scituate.

After

I wanted our bedroom to be cozy and also relaxing.  I love that shabby chic beachy look but also love heavy elements of natural wood that we incorporated into the room.   The bedding and large pillows with the gray stripes are Ikea, the dust ruffle is Shabby Chic from Target.  The rug is antique persian with lovely sea glass colors of green, pink, blue and cream.

The 'reclaimed' wood headboard adds a rustic element while the handmade garland of starfish add beachy charm.  You can see how we created the headboard here.  The bedside table was repainted with ASCP in Old White and Paris Grey.  A gorgeous combination and it was my first attempt with chalk paint.  I discussed that here.

Bedside table in Old White and Paris Grey

The picture above also got a makeover.  It is a sweet little picture of a sandpiper, but the frame was a bland cream and had been banged up over the years.  ASCP in Provence with clear and dark wax gives it a heavier and more distressed feel.  More appropriate for the painting and our room!

Sandpiper frame in ASCP Provence with dark wax

And here is the other side of the room before:

Before

Yes, that is our lovely Poppy looking for her favorite place under the bed.  She was very upset when she found that the bed was gone.

And after:

After

The white sheer drapes are Shabby Chic from Target and the roman shades are from Home Depot.  The dresser is antique from around 1880 and has a beautiful marble top and the glass is spotted with age.  That is actually one thing I love about it.  I purchased it when pregnant with Conor (3 years ago) at Goodie's II in Scituate Harbor.  My mom wants me to paint it but I'm not going to.  I love it just the way it is.

My bedside table includes an arrangement of dried hydrangea from our summer garden and vintage looking clock from Ikea and a trinket from my grandmother that used to carry make up.  Oh, yes, and the current issue of Coastal Living, one of my favorites.

Luke's gentleman's dresser that we picked up for $10 that I refinished.  I painted it with ASCP in Old White and finished with dark wax mixed with white spirits.  If you are interested in seeing the before and after go here.

Gentleman's Dresser in ASCP in Old White

What makes our bedroom such a lovely space now is the details.  That was something we didn't have before.  For instance, I love this photo of John and Luke.  It was from his brother's wedding in Cornwall and John was only 2 1/2.  I love the frame.  I got it at Home Goods around that time:

Hanging on either side of the window next to the Gentleman's dresser are two rustic boards.  These hold so much meaning in my family as they were my grandfather's.  Gramps, as everyone called him, but in their neighborhood everyone knew him as Matty and I heard he was quite the life of every party.  I, unfortunately, never got to meet him, but feel so lucky to have great momentos from his life. He was a carpenter and during WW II he worked in Boston trying to repair damaged boats.  This was something he retrieved from the shipyard:

My mom mounted this emblem from Le Terrible, a French Destroyer, which was repaired in the Boston Navy Yard in 1943.

On the other wall is this board with all his old keys:

I used the same stain from the headboard - Special Walnut - to complement the headboard we made.  A handmade handprint dish sits on Luke's bedside table.  A father's day gift from John that has so much meaning.  In John's favorite color - red.

And here is the view through the looking glass:

What do you think?  Do you love it as much as we do?  We simply love it and so does little Conor who joins us each night around 5am!

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