{Home for the Holidays} Link Party #5

Thanks so much for all of you who participated in our
{Home for the Holidays}

Link Party!

We made lots of great new friends through the party!

Tonight is the last {Home for the Holidays} party of the 2011 Holiday Season!

Also ~ We are thinking of starting a weekly party for you all to
share all your great projects, not just for the holidays.
 Leave a comment & let us know if you would be interested in partying here!

Party Rules:

1. You must be a follower of {The Corson Cottage},

if not please be so kind as to become one!  The more the merrier!
2. This week please feel free to link up your year end review posts as well!

3. Link up your holiday related posts!

 Home, Decor, DIY,Craft, Inspiration, Recipe it's all good.

4. Link back to the party and visit other party guests!

It's that time again...

Get your party on!

Our Best Before & Afters of 2011

Long time...no posting.
I have been a little under the weather this week.

We had an absolutely fantastic Christmas!
We are so blessed to have spent great times with our families that we can cherish.
I hope you all did too.
I hope you all have a great New Years Weekend!

Looking back at 2011.
We did A WHOLE LOT of work around here this past year.

I thought I would recap a few of our biggest and best projects of 2011.

We started outside and worked on our curb appeal a bit.

To see more of our curb appeal go here.

Here is the before shot.

I would still LOVE to change the front door. 
But the handy hub says no for now (too big of a job & we want to move out....)
Okay....ok....I will let him have this one for now......

Then we moved inside and worked on our front & back porches.
And let me tell ya....they were in some serious need of some TLC!!!

front porch before

front porch after

You can see more of our front porch here.

back porch before
(well...really somewhere in the middle this project got a wee bit outta control)

awhhh...much better  back porch after

To check out more of how we transformed our back porch go here.
The porches are definitely some of my favorite rooms in our home.
I love the crispness of the white.

Next we moved on to the dining room.

dining room before
Early Fall 2010

dining room before
Late Fall 2010

As you can see we went with a lighter color on the wall to help
brighten up what always seemed like such a dark space.
When we first moved in I painted the walls that navy color and I never liked it for that room.

dining room after

And....FINALLY we (well...mostly Travis) refinished our hardwood floors!!!
YEAH!!!
This project made such a difference in our home.
I just love how it brightened up the room and made it look much more finished.
To see more go here.
We also refinished the hardwoods in our two bedrooms upstairs.
Check them out here.
We did not stop there....

We moved on to the living room that still needed a little love.

living room before

living room after

We spruced up the living room with some new carpet.
We also swapped out an old dingy sofa for one my little brother had in storage.
To see more of our living room transformation go here.
This is another room that if I had my way the paint color would so be gone!
It was another oops too dark.
It will do for now.

We also updated our bathrooms this year.

bathroom before

bathroom after

To check out more of this bathroom update go here.

upstairs bath before

upstairs bath after

You can see more of this update here.

Well......I say not to shabby of a year here at the ol Corson Cottage.
Cosidering the obstacles we faced with my health in early 2011.
We certainly accomplished a lot around here in the later part of the year.
We managed to take what once was our fixer upper & turn it into a home.

Now...if we could just find that perfect buyer for our home!
.........
We would be in business!!!
And moving on to our next project.

Hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

Don't forget to stop by for our last
 {Home for the Holidays}
Link Party of the season tonight!

Carrie

linking up to

It's Overflowing

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Remodelaholic

French Country Cottage

The Shabby Nest

Funky Junk Interiors

Between Naps on the Porch

A Blonde's DIY Life

{Home for the Holidays} Link Party #4

So glad you could join us for the party!

I'm sure that you are all busy busy preparing all the last minute details for Christmas!

Here's to wishing you & yours a safe and wonderous holiday!

May your hearts be filled with the spirit and cheer of the season.

I just want to thank everyone who participated in last week's party!

I picked a few features that I didn't want you to miss!

The mantel and advent calendar is from Thistlewood Farm a new blog on the scene.

 If you all have been  introduced to the Thistlewood Farm blog yet,

 be sure you stop by & let her know what a wonderful community that blogland is.

She has an absolutely beautiful home that is all decked out for the holiday season!

Aimee from Its Overflowing showed us how to make these whimsical Anthrpologie

knock off snow globes.  Aimee is super sweet and has a really cute blog stop by to check it out.

There is lots of eye candy going on over there!

Two Thirty-Five Designs shared how to make this super cute unique advent calendar.

Be sure to check out her blog....love the modern mix.

{Happy Holidays}

Time to get your party on!

~ Red Gingham Pillow ~

When I was decorating throughout our home for the holiday season,

I needed a quick and easy pop of red for our bedroom.

{Red Gingham Pillow}

Now, it's been a little while since I had the sewing machine out....

But, I picked up this red & white gingham fabric at Hobby Lobby for $4.99/yd.

I only needed 1 yard and I managed to whip up 2 lumbar pillow covers in no time.

I think they added that simple touch of holiday to our bedroom.

I've always wanted to make pillows and maybe even sell my pillows someday.

Well...I have sold a few at Market Days in LeClaire before....see them here.

I think this little project has motivated me to get back to making some more pillows.
I intended on working on these last year. 
But my health took a lead role with my back issues and surgery.

Now that I am finally past all that!
Time to get back to business!

Hopefully you will be able to see some more pillows this Spring here on the ol blog.

If you would like to see more of our Holiday Decor go here.

Carrie

Linking up to
The 36th Avenue
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest

Sensational Stocking Stuffers Under $15

Santa.....

We have got

Sensantional Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Great deals too!

1. Ikat Bowl ~ $8 CWonder

2. Capri Blue Candle Tin ~ $12 Anthropologie

3. Homegrown Monogram Mug ~ $4 Anthropologie

3. Alphabet Scented Candle ~ $7 West Elm

4. Alphabet Letter Paperweights ~ $7 West Elm

Do you ever secretly want to be your own Santa?

If I were Santa I would most certainly bring me

the Ikat bowl & Homegrown Monogram Mug.

Hopefully you all are putting the finishing touches on your
shopping if you are not already done.

Carrie

DIY White Washed Wood Floors For Less ~ Being Featured

Here is what our back porch looks like today for the holiday season.

A while back I did a post about how to white wash wood floors for less.

Well, Cassity from Remodelaholic has been so kind to feature our

DIY White Washed Wood Floor Project.

Thanks so much Cassity for the feature!

Head on over to Remodelaholic to check it out.

To see our original post go here.

This porch is still one my favorite rooms in our home.

I love the rustic white washed floor.

Nothing says cottage to me like a rustic painted wood floor.

And I just adore the crispness of white...white walls, white trim, white floors.

I think my Dash & Albert striped rug from Dwellings

really warms the space up nicely too.

It is one of my favorite projects we completed in our home.

Also ~ for anyone who is interested it is still holding up great!

Carrie

~ Just a reminder ~

Our {Home for the Holidays} Link Party is Still Going On!
If you haven't linked up be sure to stop by and see the great projects this week.

{Home for the Holidays} Link Party #3

Time flies when you having fun at all these holiday parties!

I can't believe it is almost Friday again and time for...

{Home for the Holidays}

Link Party

Thanks again to everyone for linking up last week & sharing your great holiday decor!

Here are a few features from last week's link party that will just warm your hearts!

Jen from At Home in the Northwest showed us how to make

a great looking personalized gift for under $10.  I love the simple cottage look of this doormat.

Christie from Three Pixie Lane showed off her Ski Lodge Christmas.

Love how warm & cozy it feels.

Jane from Modern Jane shared her festive Christmas Tree.

I'm loving the white, silver & blue ornaments!

What is a party without a tour of one's home???

Don't forget to take our Home for the Holidays 2011 Tour before you leave the party!

Party Rules:

1. You must be a follower of {The Corson Cottage},

if not please be so kind as to become one!  The more the merrier!

2. Link up your holiday related posts! 

 Home, Decor, DIY,Craft, Inspiration, Recipe it's all good.

3. Link back to the party and visit other party guests!

 

I guess it is time to get to the party!

So what are you waiting for?

Get your party on!

Holiday Home Tour 2011

Welcome

{Home for the Holidays}

With The Corson Cottage

We have Decked the Halls

(I do mean literally.....my maiden name is Hall...(chuckle:)

this holiday with all kinds of Christmas Cheer!

So, as a guest here at The Corson Cottage

I would love to invite you in for a cup of hot cocoa

with whipped cream & marshmallows...of course!

(Hey nobody said we had to watch what we eat this time of year)

I hope we will warm your hearts this holiday season!

Our Front Porch....come on inside.....burrr....it's chilly out there!

I have been very fortunate to have been blessed with wonderful memories

of the holiday season.  As I was decorating my home this year it made

me think of all the great times we had decorating our home

when I was a kid.  I actually think decorating for the holidays was my first decorating

memory ever.  I can remember my Mom would turn on the Christmas music and make Dad turn

off the TV and it was a family affair.  She would make hot cocoa and we would all decorate the tree.

 There were always holiday touches all throughout our home.

Won't you join us in our warm & cozy living room?

I can remember stringing cranberries and real popcorn making homemade garland

for our trees as a kid.  I could not believe my Mom was having us put food on the tree?

Really??? 

This year for the holidays I have been inspired by the warm heartfelt memories of my past.

So I made my own garland and hung it on our gallery wall you can see it here.

If you would like to hang in the living room a little longer feel free to visit here and here.

Hmm are you getting a little hungry?  I think I smell Christmas cookies baking in the kitchen.

As I get older it has become more and more important for me to

recreate the spirit of the Holiday season in our home for Travis & I. 

  Hopefully someday maybe a little Corson too.

So this year I went all out!

I made sure there were simple holiday touches in every room.

Our tiny cottage kitchen gets a little crowded maybe we should move on into

the dining room it's much more comfortable.

I really think, who am I kidding, I KNOW the dining room is my favorite room on our tour.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

I love all of the natural elements, the fresh greens, the poinsettia, my new lanterns!

We always spent most of our time at the dining table on holidays.

We could spend hours talking, laughing, eating, just being merry & bright!

For me it was important to create that feel in this room.

All the comforts of holiday you can sit down & stay a while and enjoy yourself in.

To sit and stay for a while in our dining room visit here, here & here.

Need an extra seat?  Let me show you our back porch.

This is our reindeer.....I haven't name him yet.

Any suggestions?

Our back porch is directly off the kitchen and the dining room.

It works perfect for extra seating.

Let me show you the upstairs....

Our office even has been touched by the little Christmas elfs.

I even got a little crafty and made this ribbon Christmas tree art you can see more here.

Our bedroom

I don't know about you but the holidays wear me out!

I hope you can see your way out.

I am going to curl up with my cozy cable knit throw.

I hope I have warmed your hearts with all the best of holiday spirit this holiday season.

I am so thankful and blessed to be able to make memories for my family

just like the loving memories my Mom made for our family.

I feel like I have finally created a

{Home for the Holidays}

Wishing you & yours a very safe and

Happy Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year

The Corsons

linking up to

Don't forget to join us on the rest of the Fridays in December!

{Home for the Holidays}
Link Party

also linking up
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Somewhat Simple
The 36th Avenue
Saved by Suzy
Hooked on Houses
The Shabby Nest
Chic on a Shoestring
Simple Home Life
Whipper Berry
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm
Between Naps on the Porch
Cottage & Vine
Savvy Southern Style
It's Overflowing
Space 46