Bunnies Everywhere

I guess you might say that here at Sweetwater the decor "hopping down the bunny trail"!

In the spirit of minimalism, our Easter decor is just all about the bunnies.

The front hall table has this great rabbit print.

The painting is called "Young Hare" and it was painted by Albrecht Durer in 1502.

I have always loved this print, so it was a happy day when I found this cast iron door stop to match.

Thrifty Craft Room Flooring

We have lived here at Sweetwater for 23 years!
We still refer to this as our "new" house even though we have lived here longer than any other house....go figure!
After we moved in, it took about three years for Mr. S to finish off the lower level!
One part of the project was the creation of my dream craft room.

Imagine being able to start from bare concrete walls and floors and turn it into the best space ever!






We were on a pretty tight budget....so choosing a flooring option was kind of a daunting task.
The floor needed to be really really tough!
It needed to be easy to care for.
It needed to be pretty!
It really needed to be CHEAP!

Goodness! Gracious! Goodwill Goodies #2

Welcome to another edition of what I hope will be an on going series!

I would love to have you post some photos of your Good Will Goodies!
It is always fun to see what other people buy at the thrift store!

Wheat Grass Time!

Welcome March!  

Did you know that March 1st is the beginning of meteorological Spring?

Ahhh....Spring!

In Minnesota, we know that "real" Spring probably won't happen until May!

For heaven's sake, Mr. S still has his fish house out on the frozen lake up north!

But that doesn't mean I can't have some touches of the season around the house!

That means it is time to grow some Wheat Grass!

Goodness! Gracious! Good Will Goodies!

Sweetwater Style has it's roots in thrift store shopping with panache!

pa·nache

noun

noun: panache

1.flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

flamboyance, confidence, self-assurance, style, flair, elan, dash, verve, zest, spirit, brio, éclat, vivacity, gusto, liveliness, vitality, energy

I am not so sure about the flamboyance, but I would like to think that I approach thrift store shopping with gusto, confidence and zest!

I have decided to post "Goodness! Gracious! Good Will Goodies!"  every week or so.  The series will be all about how to get the most out of your trips to the thrift store.

How To Revive a Droopy Hydrangea!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope your day is filled with hugs and kisses....especially the chocolate kind!

AND

I hope that you have flowers!

Mr. S surprised me with a lovely bunch of flowers from the grocery store!


Now before you go thinking...."what a cheapskate"!  You need to know that  my favorite part of getting flowers is the fun of doing my own arrangement!  It is sort of a gift within a gift..

 Thanks Mr. S!

Do you see the lovely Hydrangea in the center of the arrangement?

I do love me a Hydrangea....even one that has been DYED pink!

If you are also a Hydrangea lover, you know how persnickety these lovelies are!

YUP....THEY SOMETIMES DROOP!

Flower Arranging Hacks You Need To Try!

Seems like so many of the popular web posts I read have the word HACK in them.
Seems like that word can make a post popular!
But what exactly is a HACK?
Inquiring minds want to know!

A hack is an easier way to do something, a shortcut.

Sweetwater Style is all about making things easier and taking some thrifty shortcuts! 

For your viewing enjoyment, here are my favorite Sweetwater Flower Arranging HACKS!

How to Make a Birch Branch wreath. Repost

For your reading and crafting pleasure I am reposting the directions and inspiration for the birch branch wreath that was a feature in my Minimal Valentine Decor post.
Enjoy:


This Birch Branch wreath in this photo is one that the Sweetwater Sister-in-Law made for me long ago.  It is a perfect accent for any Valentine display.

(BTW..I found this photo on last year's post with a round up of other people's Valentine Ideas....VALENTINE IDEA POST)

 Back to the wreath tutorial....

I have a whole bin full of birch branches leftover from Christmas....
They are cluttering up the garage.....

HMMMMM....I was thinking I could make a smaller version of the Heart Wreath...

How hard could it be???
Well it turns out it was a tad bit harder than I thought....but I did figure it out (with a little help from a friend)!

A Minimal Nod to Valentine Decor

Here is the great question I pondered as I wrote this post title.

Is it Valentine or Valentine's???

I think it is properly Valentine's.....but that sounded silly....so I went with Valentine!

All you grammarians out there need to weigh in on this and help me out!

In any case, Valentine's Day is only 10 days away.

Source

Somehow, in our empty nest, all out red, pink and purple hearts and streamers seem a bit much!  

I have been adding a few touches of the season.  

I am going for a minimalist theme here.

Painting the INSIDE of the Kitchen Cupboards!

Cleaning and organizing the kitchen cupboards is a great project at this time of year.  I started to do just that at the beginning of the month.

In the process....I looked...really looked at interiors of the cupboards!
YIKES!

The melamine laminate has the scratches and scuffs that come from normal use over time. The original white has become dull and yellowed.

I decided that they need a fresh coat of paint.