Red Metal Flower Sconce

I found a wonderful red metal flower sconce at Hobby Lobby.  It is just my style.  I hung it in my kitchen next to the window.

It is the perfect accent to an otherwise boring spot.

Have you found any treasures lately?

Christmas 2013

It has been a busy season this year at my house but I finally got around to taking some Christmas pictures to share.  This is  my dining room.  The red hobknob vase was my mothers.  I wanted something simple to show it off, so I only added some faux red berry twigs.

I added some silver bells to my wire basket with a candle in the middle.  I love the scent of cinnamon candles and not just at Christmas - it's my favorite candle scent all year round.

In my hallway, I set up a small display with this sweet stuffed bunny front and center wishing everyone who walks by a "Merry Christmas".  To the side is a bowl of vintage silver ornaments for fun.

In the playroom, the shelf is decorated with holiday stems in my mercury glass vase, a santa hat for the teddy bear, and a mini tree that was decorated by my grand-daughter, Riley.

Here is a close up of the stems in my mercury glass vase.  I found them on sale at Hobby Lobby and I just love them.  I am enjoying changing this vase out for the seasons.

I decorated the dresser with some gold beads draped over my old chippy window and some little stuffed animals on the side, since it is the playroom after all.

I even have a little tree in my bathroom on the window sill - there's a little bit of Christmas everywhere, lol.

I turned a candle holder into a wreath and hung it on the wall!

And finally, moving into the living room - this bunny also sits on a candle holder.

Here is the front of my fire place all decked out with our Christmas stockings.  My old tool box holds greenery, cranberry beads and mason jar candles filled with epsom salt snow.

The mantel has silver and cranberry beads, some candles, an old Santa and some pointsettia flowers.  The chalk board reads "For unto us is born this day in the City of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord!"

I do not have a traditional Christmas tree, I have a Christmas "stick" (my kids named it).  I don't care, I love it anyway.  It sits in a white pitcher and bowl and has dainty ornaments hanging from the branches.  Do you have any "untraditional" "trees"?

Here's a closer look:

And, finally, a small display of bottle brush trees.  I kind of love them - I seem to add to my collection every year.  This year I added a small stick reindeer to the mix that I found at a local craft fair.  There is also a cloche filled with red and green vintage ornaments.

Well, Christmas is just a few days away.  Seems to come sooner every year!  I want to wish each and every one of you a Blessed Christmas filled with unexpected blessings!

Peace, Love, Dog!

Using more fence posts as the wood for this rustic sign, I started by painting it grey and white washing it, just as I did for this post.  I used these stamper stencils from Hobby Lobby - they were only 99 cents each and perfect for this project.

Here is how they turned out -

I have a dog, so I was drawn to this project.  Again, it is rustic and simple and I am very pleased with it.  I'm planning on gifting these to some of my friends with pups.  How about you - do you have a dog and are you drawn to canine crafts?  I have a Schnauzer named Denver and he is my little buddy.

Dollar Store Vinyl Signs From Fence Posts

On a recent trip to the Dollar store, I found some vinyl stickers that I thought might make some great signs.  I headed to the hardware store to purchase fence posts - they are rustic like pallet wood but without the hastle of all the nails!  I had the hardware store cut them for me.

Next, sand and paint them -

Paint a few!

Carefully apply the vinyls - smooth out starting in the middle and working your way outward.

Try some other colors too.  For this one, I started with a grey color and then painted white on top to give it a barnwood kind of look.

They look nice and weathered!

Why not do a bunch?

Have you tried using fence boards to make signs?  Do you prefer them over pallets like me?  I will be posting soon about another project using fence boards!

Rice Neck Warmers

It's starting to get a little cold here and my daughter has a birthday coming up, so I decided to make some rice neck warmers.  I've been wanting to do this for a while now - like LAST year, lol.  Anyway, I researched Pinterest for some ideas and just chose bits and pieces of the ideas that seemed best for me.  I started out with a rectangle of scrap fabric.

I didn't really measure per se, just kind of wrapped it around my neck and guessed - it doesn't have to be exact or be any certain size.  Again, what works best for you.  Then I folded the rectangle in half and sewed two and half sides, leaving an opening at one of the short ends for filling.

Then I gathered my supplies.  I used white, long grain rice along with some cinnamon and cloves.  I used a 5 pound bag of rice, 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of ground cloves.  Mix this in a bowl. 

This made just short of two neck warmers for me.  Next, use a funnel and pour into the open end of your fabric.  Fill it about half way.  You want it to have enough space inside to conform to your neck and shoulders and not be too hard.  We are ultimately going for warm and comfy!  Then, that's it - just pop it in the microwave for 1.5 to 3 minutes, grab something warm to drink, and snuggle in.  It's a simple project that gets a lot of ooohs and aaahhs - plus it smells delicious!

Do you love neck warmers as much as I do?  Do you prefer the spicy ones like me or the lavender scented ones? 

Rustic House Number Sign

As I mentioned in this post, I have been giving the front of my house a little face lift.  I decided to move the house address numbers from beside the front door to over the garage.  I had a piece of pallet wood in my collection and it had a wonderful knot in it plus it was the perfect size for this project.

I then dry brushed some rustic red paint (Fireweed by Sherwin Williams) on top so that the house numbers would be more visible.

It turned out pretty well and matches my front door as well -

And here's a shot from the street:

A quick and easy update!

From Messy to Managed!

There are a few times of the year that I feel like organizing things.  One of them of course is in the Spring for traditional Spring Cleaning.  But, I also like organizing right before the holidays - kind of out with the old and in with the new - and also the feeling of starting fresh after the holiday decorations are boxed up and put away.  So today, I tacked this little red metal vintage cabinet in my kitchen.

Here's the mess that I started out with -- I hate that I ever let it get this bad.

I know - awful right?  So, my stategy was basically to take every single thing out - sort it - then put back only the things that I needed/wanted in this cabinet.  Here is the final result:

And the bottom half -

So much better.  I will be tweaking it a bit here and there as I go along, but it feels so much lighter.  Isn't it amazing how much better organizing a mess can make you feel?  And it doesn't even cost any money!  Even better.

How about you?  Do you just do Sping cleaning or do you have other times of the year that inspire you?

My Mom's Birthday Tradition!

Today would have been my mom's 80th. birthday.  After she passed away, I wanted to find a way to keep her memory alive.   I would have taken her out to lunch and given her a gift if she were here to celebrate - since she's not, I have gone out to lunch and bought a keepsake every year since she has been gone.  Today, I went to my favorite antique store and out to lunch.  This is what I came home with - a red iron horseshoe.

I love it's rough look and it's symbolism.  I am not superstitious, but just to be politically correct you should always have your horshoe facing upwards so the good luck fills up not spills out!  I put it in my china cabinet with my mom's china.

This way, I will have countless treasures and memories!  Do you have any traditions that you have made up?  Any creative ways to keep a loved one's memory alive?  It's very comforting.

House Face Lift Beginnings

I love my little brick bungalow house.  It is cozy and perfect for me.  However, I have been thinking lately of adding a little color to the exterior.  I've been thinking about it for a while actually - a long while.  I keep putting it off because I was kind of afraid of not liking the color and having to re-do it all.  That, and all the work that goes along with it.  I finally decided to take the plunge realizing that it is just paint.  Soooo, here is the garage before:

And here it is after - the color is Sherwin Williams Artifact.

I love it.  It adds depth and drama to the front of the house.  I added some painted trim around the front door as well in the same color.  Here is the before pic.

And the after:

A very productive day!  Next I want to paint the bay window and the window over the garage the same color.  I think it goes well with my red door too.  How about you?  Do you stick to neutrals for the exterior of your home or do you go for color?

Fall Craft Fair!

Today, the weather was wonderful and my youngest daughter and I decided to attend the Kimmswick Missouri Fall craft fair.  I hadn't been there in ages.

It was crazy crowded with lots of quaint little shops and more than enough booths with crafts and food!  I absolutely couldn't leave without a corn dog and a funnel cake, lol.

I found some wooden growth charts made out of wood that I loved -

It would be fun to put these in the playroom somewhere and mark each kids name down like in the olden days!  I also found these shabby looking boards with knobs for hanging whatever on and I loved them a lot.

I think I must make some!  We ended up coming home with some apple butter, pumpkin pecan butter, and some pumpkin potpourri that has little pumpkins in it that I couldn't resist!

Here's a closer picture to show the detail:

Love it! We had some great mother-daughter time!  Have you been to any Fall festivals?  Pumpkin butter or apple butter?  I'm a pumpkin fan myself.