Fotini, Author at Farmhouse Chic Blog

{ All Things Thursday Blog Hop #3 }

July 25, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: all things thursday blog hop, blog hop, crafts, diy, diy projects, link party, recipes 4 Comments

Welcome to week #3 of our blog hop!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will link up and stay awhile 🙂

Once again, I was so inspired by all the creativity shared last week!

Please be sure to check out what projects I featured, here!

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week!

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Now lets party!!!

{ Send A Smile }

July 23, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: best friends, Cardstore, Cardstore.com, friendship, friendship cards, greeting cards, online cardstore Leave a Comment

Do you ever have days where you just need to talk to your best friend? I had one of those days last week, she dropped what she was doing and came over just to be a listening ear. It was so nice to know I can call my best friend and rely on her advice!

I wanted to send her something special just to let her know just how much I appreciate her! I hopped on Cardstore.com and browsed their friendship cards. I found the perfect card and attached a photo of her and my daughter!

Cardstore has a tremendous variety of cards, from ‘Thank You’, birth announcements, invitations and so much more! You can’t go wrong with their selection when you’re looking for something special! You can easily personalize the inside with additional picture and/or your own meaning message!

I hope it made her smile 🙂 Her friendship is one-of-a-kind!

friendship card

{ Fab Pins of the Week }

July 19, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: backyard, backyard space, candles, fab pins of the week, lanterns, outdoor space, Pinterest, potted plants

Happy Friday, it’s the weekend, woohoo!!

Any big plans for the weekend?

We’re embracing the weekend with some much needed r&r 🙂

This week I’m sharing some beautiful outdoor inspiration!

Let’s get to it!

1. source 2. source

3. source 4. source

1. I absolutely adore the warmth, yet simplicity of this outdoor space! The beautiful neutral tones, mixed with metals and natural wood is the perfect match! I’m still in full force of transforming our outdoor space, and this gives me much inspiration! Not to mention, in that worn wicker basket, is my favorite flowers! Oh, how I love hydrangeas!

2. Is this plant real or fake? You will just have to head over to The Golden Sycamore and find out for yourself! I love how Allison transformed this ordinary planter, into a polka-dotted beauty! Her technique is simple and can be used to create many beautiful planters for you to enjoy or as gifts!

3. I really love the thoughts of using an old piece of furniture and adding it outdoors! This antique beauty gives this outdoor space a personal touch by allowing you to add family sentiments and pictures. You could also use a piece like this to store small gardening tools or as a beverage station! I’ll be on the lookout for a stunner like this to add to my space!

4. Outdoor lighting can really make a space! How amazing are all of these candle lights? You can hang these from a pergola to create a warm, inviting feel. Or you could hang them from trees in the yard, if you have them, like pictured here. Unfortunately, we don’t have trees in our around our home. I’m not fond of them real close to the house, but it would be nice for decor like this, or even a hammock 😉 You can find old lighting at the thrift store or garage sales, take out the electrical wiring, add a candle and transform them into one-of-a-kind pieces for your outdoor area!

Please be sure to visit the original source links I have provided to give credit where it deserves! Unfortunately #’s 1,3,4 I was unable to find the original sources, so I have provided the direct pin links.

Follow me on Pinterest!

{ All Things Thursday Blog Hop #2 }

July 18, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: all things thursday blog hop, blog hop, blogging, crafts, diy, features, projects, recipes 2 Comments

Thank you for everyone who linked up to our first party last week and made it a success! And to those of you who are back, or here for the first time, we’re so glad you’re here! I can’t wait to see what you’ve all been up to this week! So much amazing creativity was shared last week, here’s a few I picked to feature!

Absolutely gorgeous kitchen makeover! I’m in love with every detail!

Barn Kitchen Tour from The Poor Sophisticate

What a neat idea for repurposing your wine bottles!

Wine Bottle Wicks from Glitter, Glue & Paint

Beautiful wreath perfect for Summer!

Seashell Wreath from Purple Hues and Me

And here’s what I’ve been up to this week:

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{ Fab Pins of the Week }

July 12, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: blue and white, classy, color combination, country, diy, fab pins of the week, herb garden, no bake dessert, peach tart, Pinterest, summer dessert 2 Comments

Happy Friday!
This week I’m swooning over the non-traditional mix of blue and white!
This is such an eye-catching color combo and so classy!

1. source 2. source

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1. I love the arched windows, beams and openness of this dining room! It’s a stunning color combo for this space! It appears a bit country but classy with the modern elements. Be sure to visit the source for the entire home tour! This home belongs to a Sea Captain!

2. No bake peach tart.. It had be at no bake! Not only is this pretty to look at, but I’m sure it’s just as divine to eat! The perfect dessert for a summer bbq or Sunday afternoon brunch with the family!

3. This photo incorporates the white and blue in a more subtle way by using them as accents. I’ve been finding many mismatched pieces from goodwill and Marshalls. You could easily start with a few small pieces and grow your collection as you find them! Buy beautiful vases and use shades of your favorite flowers to don them! I love the mix of peach and ivory used here!

4. I’m tellin’ ya, I think with all the adorable herb gardens I’ve been seeing around Pinterest, I could fill my entire backyard full, haha! I absolutely love this one! It would be perfect to have resting in the side corner of your deck or hanging on an open space on the back of the house! The white and blue plates are what make this piece super adorable! Head over to the source for all the details!

Please be sure to visit the source links for to view the original content!

Follow along with me on Pinterest!

{ All Things Thursday Blog Hop #1 }

July 11, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: blog hop, blog party, diy, projects, recipes 2 Comments

I’m so excited to announce I will now be taking part in a weekly blog hop with three other {fantastic} blogs! If you’re here and linking up, welcome to our FIRST party! Each party will be start every Wednesday evening! Each of us will share our own projects from that week and choose our own favorite features that were linked up! When you link up your project will be seen automatically on all four blogs!

I can’t wait to get started!! Please be sure to grab a button and save the date each week 😉

Here’s what I’ve been up to this past week!

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Our 4th of July: Recap

July 9, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: 4th of July, barbeque, bbq, celebrate, celebration, family time, fireworks, love 2 Comments

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July this year! We had a really great evening having family over for a bbq followed by going to my in-laws to watch the local fireworks show!

Dinner consisted of ribs, brats and barbeque chicken. Sides were loaded baked potato salad, cauliflower salad, hummus with organic flaxseed chips, and triple berry cheesecake for dessert! I also offered for munching, fresh local picked cherries and rosemary parmesan popcorn!

Here’s a few of the many pics I took that day!

Star Wars 7th Birthday Party

July 8, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: boy birthday, boy birthday party, crafts, diy, Pinterest, printables, r2d2, Star Wars, Star Wars birthday party, storm troopers 8 Comments

When it came time to start thinking about my son’s birthday, I asked him to pick a theme and a few main colors. He chose Star Wars as the theme and red, blue and green as the colors. With that crossed off my list, I started browsing the web for ideas (cuz this Mama knows nothing about Star Wars!).

With the theme and colors in mind, I went ahead and ordered my invitations! I went to TinyPrints and browsed their fantastic selection and narrowed it down to one that fit our theme perfectly!!

I didn’t go overboard with the party decor because we wanted to surprise Christian by renting a bounce house for the day, which eliminated a lot from the budget! I got a lot of things from Michaels dollar bins, Target dollar corner, Hobby Lobby and a few things I lucked out on at Old Navy! I made a tissue paper tassel banner which was quite time consuming but I loved the end result! My husband had the fabulous idea of turning an old Pepsi cooler into R2D2, so one evening we transformed it and were thrilled with how it turned out! I bought 3 pool noodles from the dollar store, cut them in half and used duct tape and electrical tape to create lightsabers. The boys loved these!!

Christian spent the night away from the house, so when he came home that afternoon, the party was in full swing, bounce house was up and his friends he hadn’t seen since school let out were awaiting his arrival. He was so excited I thought it was going to cry! That made it all worth it 🙂

Party Invitations: Tiny Prints
Storm trooper printables: Clean & Scentsible
Storm trooper ‘thank you’: Unable to find the original source for the printable.
Treat bags & ice cream cups: Spiral Sage
R2D2 and Darth Vader Piggie Banks: Old Navy

Our inspiration….

Our own r2d2!

Sharing this party on these fabulous blogs!

{ DIY Housewarming Gift }

July 1, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: craft paint, diy, DIY gift, gift, housewarming gift, Martha Stewart, wooden utensils 27 Comments

We were headed to a housewarming party over the weekend, and I wanted to come up with a special gift to give the lucky new homeowners! While I was at Homegoods, I came across a pack of wooden utensils and snatched them up!

Once I got home I knew exactly what I was going to do with them, so I got started! First, I got my alphabet stamps and a permanent marker and began to spell out each utensil name. I colored over each letter with permanent marker and quickly pushed onto the utensil, repeat until completed. Next, I used a small piece of painters tape to tape around the bottom of the utensil, each one at different lengths. I then grabbed my Martha Stewart metallic craft paint and began to paint the bottoms of the utensils. I put them upside down in a mason jar to dry. I coated them a good 3 to 4 times for a solid coat. Once completely dry, remove the tape.

To dress them up a bit, I bought a white dish towel, tucked them into it and wrapped a piece of twine to secure. I also included a yummy Summer Berry Cheese Pie recipe! And there you have it, a fun and simple housewarming gift! I’m going to make us a set of these because I thought they were just darling! I love the painted tips < 3

Sharing this project on these fabulous blogs!