rain, snow, sun...repeat, plus that blue shelf!

April's spring-flowering bulbs are finally pushing their way up through the soil...cheery daffodils, fragrant hyacinths, flowering magnolia trees are now blooming across the countryside and we can see there's a definite start to spring.

However; in an instant, a spring snow can fall and cover all those blooms with an icy glaze.

But in April, snows like this don't last long, and even though we're still getting an icy wind from the North, predictions are for a temperature of 80 degrees Saturday. For me, that's a little too hot...I hope it's not an indicator of a hot and humid (translation: miserable) summer to come!

As some of you may have read, I've been eyeing an old blue shelf that's been hanging in our barn for ages...it was here when we moved in. And with the help of my blogging friend Jance at Prims by the Water...a CupboardScape creator extraordinaire, and lots of suggestions from her readers, I was determined to bring that old blue shelf back to life!

I'm guessing it's as old as the barn (there was a 1959 Official State Yields catalog from Dekalb in a drawer) so down from the wall it came. I gently brushed off the dust & cobwebs and I rubbed on a light layer of Feed N Wax. 

While not as dark as the photos make it look (the foyer doesn't have a lot of light) the wax did darken the blue color...but it was so dry and flaky, I felt like I needed to give it a little protection. I'm hoping as the wax sinks in over time, it will lighten back up a bit. 

I placed the shelf on on a table in the foyer, and then I tinkered, and tinkered, and then tinkered some more with what to set on top. And so, here's the (probably not) final result:

                                           

Some little  gadgets were hanging on it,

so I brought those inside as well.

I've had this table runner for ages

but never found just the right spot

for it...this seemed like a good match to me.

Whoever "A" is, he seems to have lost his

drawer pull along the way...

while "F" still has his intact!

On the left I placed a milking stool that
belonged to my husband's grandfather,

and in front, is a photo from his grandmother.  

A flickering battery candle is tucked in an
old Mason jar I had in the cupboard.
The lime/orange garland I had planned
just seemed too fussy for this simple shelf,

so I bought a rosehip & nutmeg one instead.

Trying to add more family pieces,
the shelf is sitting on a length of barn wood 
from my father-in-law's barn. 

I tucked little pillows
(there's that "pop" of red again)
in a rusty egg basket, and put some
hyacinths in an old crock
(they make the downstairs smell wonderful)

And there you have it...I'm looking forward to changing it up with the seasons. Flags for summertime, pumpkins for fall, and greenery with Santa for winter.

Heartfelt thanks again to Janice for taking the time to stage so many wonderful options for me, and to her friends for sharing their suggestions! I love it and feel like I have a brand new piece of furniture.

A final thought...

I can't help but wonder what the 1959 farmer (or better yet, his wife!) would think about bringing that old barn shelf into the house!