A Raggedy Ann and Andy Fourth

This family of rag dolls come to visit me every year. This year they are perched on top of my hutch in the dining room.

That little maple bench is one that my father made over 50 years ago. It matches the pine finish on the hutch moulding.

The pine finish will soon be updated to a much darker Cherry finish to match the entertainment cabinet. In fact, so will the dining room table top and coffee table top.

This flag belonged to my husband's uncle.

It is old and has only 48 stars. 
I think it may be made out of wool.

There are more Fourth of July posts from last year. Just click on the pictures on the sidebar to view them. 

I hope you all have a wonderful 
4th of July and stay safe!

xoxo 
Bunny Jean

I am sharing at:
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Tweak It Tuesday

Fourth of July Hutch Decor

Today I would like to share how 
I have decorated my dining 
room for the 4th of July.

I painted this patriotic bunny way back in the mid 80's. I taught folk art classes at a little gift shop. It was one way to earn some extra money while still being a 'stay at home mom'.

One of the ladies who took my class went on to publish a series of folk art painting books that was published by Plaid that were sold at craft stores like Micheal's and Jo Ann's.

Welcome to our dining room. I haven't shown you much of this room since we moved to our new desert home.  

It is part of the 'great room'. 

 I've had this furniture over 15 years. I  loved the cottage look of it but now I am rethinking the the pine and may paint it. 

I also have a nice sized eat in kitchen.

Even with all these  tables it seems that most meals are still eaten in front of the television...

You can click these links to see my kitchen.

 Americana Kitchen 

Part One

Americana Kitchen

Part Two

Back to the dining room...

 That runner is a long chiffon scarf that I used to wear every year for Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

Who's that sitting on the lamp?  She must be part of the Rag doll family that comes to visit every year.

They are sitting on the maple bench my father made over 50 years ago. That wool flag is also very old and has only 48 stars. 

This little cutie was made for me by my eldest daughter.  
I will never part with her... ever!

Looks like she will have a great view of the parade. 
She even has her flag all ready to wave.

Did you notice my fancy draperies? 

Okay, so they are just painter's drop cloths and the red is a tablecloth split down the middle. 

I pull back the 'linen' part when the sun is not blazing through the window. It looks really cute having the layered tie back curtains. Like the curtains I drew as a child.

So lets take a closer look at the dishes.

If you turn the star the flag moves 
back and forth and you will hear music!

Our National Anthem.

The cherries are from Target and are 'faux'. Dinner plates are from Target, salad plates are my everyday set by Thompson and are from Macy's, the little bowls are from WalMart.

These tumblers and blue vase are from the Goodwill Store. 
Stars and napkins are from Dollar Tree.
The tray is from Ross.

Now let's take a look at the other side of the hutch.

Oh  I see flowers... and a fern!
Of course they are also 'faux'.

This wire stand holds many different decorations throughout the year. Looks like I might have fresh eggs for the morning...

My little Humpty Dumpty(s) have lived with me for years... 
and those chair pads are almost vintage!

I guess by now you know I like to hang onto things. 
That must mean I only buy what I really like.

I love sunflowers and these will be brightening up my house until the end of summer.

I hope you enjoyed my post today 
as much as I have enjoyed writing it. 
I know it was really long.

I wont be visiting  you for a few days as my eldest 
grand daughter will be visiting me again. 

She will be 24 years old next week! 
WOW!

xoxo 

Bunny Jean

I am sharing at these fun parties:

Let's Dish 

Rednesday 

Pink Saturday 

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday

My Americana Kitchen ~ Part Two

My Americana kitchen.

I painted this little Americana Folk Art Bunny way back in the mid 80's when I use to teach decorative folk art painting. I taught how to paint this bunny at one of my classes for beginning students.

Yesterday I shared photos of the kitchen in my Texas home, and today I am sharing the kitchen nook in my present California home.

But... it doesn't look like this anymore. 

This was how it looked when we first moved in and before I tweaked the decor. Those red chairs are back in the dining room and the blue chairs (from yesterdays post) are back here in the kitchen nook area. 

The chandelier will most likely get painted when I redo the furniture in the near future. I am thinking about white, just for the wood  part. 

This is the top on the hutch.

Those little yellow cats are symbolic of my big cat named Norton. He was found in the shipyards of Norfork, Va. when he was a little tiny kitten and was so dirty and oily that he was thought to be a black cat .

He traveled all the way from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast of Washington State. All that way in the backseat of my daughter's car... along with her sailor husband, a toddler and a baby. 

His next move was down the Pacific Coast to Northern California in a mini van. He squeezed in with three dogs, another cat, a very elderly grandma, two grand kids, a grown daughter and of course me. 

The Mr. had already moved a month or so before and the boys flew. That was a preview of how our three cross country moves would be like over the next 12 years.

The coyotes got Norton one month later... right off our front porch. No one had warned me about coyotes. I sure miss that cat. He lived seven happy years. The other animals all lived to be over 14-17 years old.

Okay... back to the kitchen. 

This little (inexpensive) hutch was purchased online as a display for the shop I had in Texas. (I have two of them.) I will be painting one of them black to coordinate with the table and chairs that will also be painted black. I am thinking of replacing the back of it with some beadboard paneling painted white.

The Shaker pie safe cabinets (from yesterday's post) are actually sitting on each side of the hutch at the present time. 

As soon as I paint the table, chairs, hutch and pie safes, I will take more pictures to share  with you. I am pretty sure I will be going with black as I have two tall skinny chicken pictures framed in black that go above the pie safes.

Well thanks for letting be share my kitchen(s) today and yesterday. If you missed the Texas kitchen yesterday be sure to take a peek. It showed more of the Americana dishes and painted furniture pieces.

I am joining these parties:
Tabletop Tuesday
Sunny Simple Sunday

xoxo

Bunny Jean

 

My Americana Kitchen ~ Part One

It’s time to bring out my Americana Dishes. 

Those three little tins were found at the Goodwill. They were already painted that color and all I did was print out and add the number tags. The little drums are Christmas ornaments from my twin boys when they were just little guys.

These blue glasses were a gift (over two years ago) from Marigene from In The Middle Of Nowhere. 
It was my first bloggy gift and I was SO surprised!

Thanks again Marigene!

These were my everyday dishes for many years. They are Susan Winget from 1994. The napkins were from Sears and I still have the matching seat pads.

This covered pie dish was added in 2006 and was found at Tuesday Morning. Printed all around the bottom plate is  

“As American As Apple Pie”.

My Former Texas Kitchen

This is what the kitchen looked like back in 2008. I loved those Waverly curtains… and so did the new owners so I left them. The wall paper was from Big Lots and was actually quite nice. It was a name brand that had been discontinued. But for that particular house in Texas it was perfect. 

Red and white ticking stripes on the bottom and small navy stars on a mottled beige background on the top half.  
Yes... I even liked the border! 

Also, that little highchair in the corner is a real antique from the 1900's.  It was found in an old barn on a ranch in the Gold Country Hills of California.

The chandelier was something I bought when I worked at Ethan Allen in Northern California. The color band were perfect with that kitchen.

The dining set was an unfinished set from 1982. We first stained it a very dark, almost espresso to match the cabinets in the Washington State home. In 1985 I painted the set blue. 

I also broke the ‘wood law’ of mankind and painted the kitchen cabinets the same blue. They had round cherry stained knobs and it all looked very Shaker like. 

The Mr. even made little cubbies under the top cabinets. Then I got even more daring and insisted on  the same cherry stain for…

Wood countertops and a wood floor!

Back then everyone told me just wasn’t done. Not back in the 80’s. So I settled for wood look Formica counters but I did get wood floors… to the dismay of all my neighbors.  

Funny how they all loved it once it was done.

This is still the Texas kitchen from 2008. You can see The Mr. hadn’t let me paint the cabinets in this home. I did have plans to paint the island blue, but we moved.

The blue cabinet is actually two Shaker pie safes that I had in the previous house I had mentioned earlier. They are just what the blue kitcjen cabinets had looked like.

Well that's it for My Americana Kitchen ~ Part One. I will be back tomorrow to share My Americana Kitchen  ~ Part Two how the kitchen looks here in my home in the California desert.

xoxo 

Bunny Jean

I am sharing at these parties: 
Tablescape Thursday 
Tabletop Tuesday
Let's Dish
Sunny Simple Sunday

Wednesday’s Bunny Hop Party #40

Happy Happy Spring!

Yes... I know it actually getting closer to being summer, but I always seem to be a little late to catch on. In fact I was late to my own party again this week :/ 


Most of you have been really busy lately. Hopefully you have had some nice weather to enjoy  your gardens and not just do your “spring cleaning”!

I have tried to get some gardening done on the cooler days… Sunday it was forecasted  to be 107 but I don’t really know how hot it got…. just too hot for me. So I stayed inside and tried to clean and organize.

Buddy was sitting out on the patio while I had my morning coffee. His highlight of the day is when I take him (and Buster) for a walk. Lately I have been too lazy in the mornings. I have to go before 6-7 a.m. or it gets too hot, so we go at night after sunset. Last night it was 97 degrees at 10 p.m. Notice that the candles are not sitting on the candlesticks... they will melt if I put them out this time of year.


A few evenings ago we almost stepped on a snake. It was directly just a few feet in front of us. I am so glad the dogs were sidetracked by someone coming out of their house... we stopped and then I saw it. It looked like a rattler. (This was just a few doors down from our house.) It was very still... and when it did move it went sideways just like a Sidewinder. Yikes! I will be getting the dogs vaccinated ASAP!

Enough of that...  

Now it's time to share some highlights from last weeks party.

 

Hyacinths for the Soul 

Sarah shared a lovely tribute to her mother.

Savannah Granny

Ginger shared such pretty photos of the flowers in her garden.

 

The Girl in the Wild West

Helengrey is a new blogger and this is her first time sharing at the Bunny Hop. Please take a look at some of her other posts and get to know her.

If you were featured at the Bunny Hop, you are more than welcome to take this bunny button home to display on your sidebar.

<br><a href="http://bunnyjeansdecorandmore.blogspot.com/p/bunny-hop-wednesdays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss115/BunnyJean678/BunnyHoppartybutton-3-1.jpg"/></a><br>

So now it is time to party!

I hope every one has a great time sharing and visiting as many other links as possible.

xoxo

Bunny Jean