A quick easy Candle Wreath!

 

 

Simply get a Dollar Tree small green styrofoam wreath and take the pointed end of each leaf and start poking them into the wreath at an angle. This is a quick way and is not permanent because when the leaves start to dry out, they become loose. Just keep in place until after the holidays and it will be just fine. If you want a more permanent wreath, you need to use wire pics and attach to each leaf and then insert into the wreath as explained on my post, Magnolia wreath in the Spring & Summer too! Fresh greenery added to your holiday decor gives a fresh and elegant look!

A Vase makeover!

A simple and quick way to change a vase from a color you don't like.

I really don't like the mauve look anymore but love the shape of my vase and would like to paint it one day. I decided to just cover it up for now so I took an old dress I made and wrapped it around the vase (any old piece of material will work just as well.) An instant transformation without getting your paints out!

Decorating your mantel

Prop up a mirror, add whatever you like. Greenery and twigs always give it a special touch. Just have fun adding pieces you have available around your house.

Christmas Decorating

 Use tulle to tie a pretty simple bow to your chairs!

 

A fresh wreath with deco mesh trim!

 

 Drinks for Santa!

 

Just a simple display with my silver pine cones!

A Christmas Wreath makeover!

Before

It was time to give this wreath new life!

After

While I was at Loew's purchasing some poinsettias, I noticed a basket of Christmas tree trimmings off to the side and kindly asked if I could have them. I got them for FREE since they were going to throw them away! I just added the fresh branches to my artificial wreath. It was very easy to put together since the artificial wreath branches are wires too so then you can be able to twist and turn them to put your fresh branches in place. A fast and easy fresh wreath and it smells nice too!

Decorating with pine cones

There are many ways you can decorate pine cones to add to your holiday decor. These are just a few ideas and also a fun project to do with your kids or a friend....from going outdoors and collecting them, to bringing them into your warm home to decorate and sit down with a nice cup of hot chocolate!

(Just a little tidbit....I recently was on a trip and wanted a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night and only had limited ingredients on hand, but I made the best hot chocolate ever.

1 cup milk

2 dark chocolate truffles

1-2 packets of sugar in the raw

Just heat in the microwave  30 seconds at a time and keep stirring in between until chocolate is melted and hot!

 Back to decorating holiday pine cones..

For glitter pine cones, use a brush to paint craft glue on the pine cones either on the ends only or the entire cone (I used Mod Podge, but any thick craft glue is ok). Next, sprinkle with glitter. A fine glitter gives it a more elegant look, but you can use any type of glitter. Have fun using any color or several colors in a grouping.

Another option is spray painting your pine cones. Gold and silver are great colors, but don't be afraid to try other bold colors. Red, green and white are also great choices too for the holidays. Pine cones are not just for Christmas decorations, so why not use them all year round to display in a glass bowl or basket. Choose colors to match your decor. Gold is one of my favorite and I use for all seasons!

Bleached pine cones have more of a "beachy" appearance to me and also takes a little more time to achieve the final look. I soaked them in a container filled with bleach for a couple of hours and let dry for several days. The pine cones will close up after they have soaked in the bleach and as they dry out, they will begin to open. Too much trouble for me...I still like the gold ones!

And of course, the Natural look pine cones. Just do nothing or spray a little clear lacquer paint on them. Bring nature into to your home with beautiful pine cones that you can decorate many different ways and best of all, it is very inexpensive to do!...Gold is still my favorite!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love to decorate for the Fall and Thanksgiving, and not to mention all the good cooking too! Enjoy, take it easy and "give thanks" because Christmas is just around the corner!!!

Happy Veterans Day!

A Wreath for multiple seasons!

Remember my magnolia leaf wreath I made at the beginning of the summer? (click here to see the original wreath). It made it through the hot summer months and the leaves gradually turned brown just in time for Fall. Soon it will be time to make a fresh one for Christmas....That is one good thing magnolia trees are good for, "Decorating!"

Happy Halloween!

NO ERASING involved to create your own personalized chalkboard from technology...well, at least it only takes a click of a button to erase. I did this one really fast and Nest of Posies has great ideas and links for Free downloadable fonts and chalkboard backgrounds. This will do for now, but I have a real repurpose chalkboard project that I want to make...looks like I will be doing a lot of erasing to achieve this perfection.

Scare those crows away!

I thought maybe I scared him off or the Wizard had problems getting him home...well he is back for the fall season! Scarecrows are fun to make and you can add your own special touches too. Just take some old clothes and stuff with newspaper. Make a head out of muslin and use craft paints for his features and stuff with poly-fill pillow stuffing. Stuff garden gloves too for his hands. Take a dowel stick or baseball bat to prop up his body and head. For his hat, I used an apple basket. Finish off with a little raffia to stuff around his head, feet and hands and to tie the ends. Use your imagination!




                    Happy Halloween!

Fall into some new pillows!

The Fall season is always a fun time to decorate and to throw in a punch of orange. I made these pillows for a special friend of mine. Orange and teal are lovely coordinating colors for your decor all year too. Pillows are an easy way to create a new fresh look and so many styles and textures to choose from.

Halloween Cobweb Decor

I think I have slacked off on my house cleaning chores! Halloween is a fun time to decorate and this is a simple addition to a chandelier. Just purchase artificial cobwebs and have fun placing them everywhere. Now I am ready for our guest, The Adam's Family!

Halloween Spider Vase

Use an old wine bottle (this long skinny bottle was from "ice wine"). Paint spiders on the bottle with craft paint. Fill it up with crystal acrylic rocks. Put beads on a wire and loop around the bottle neck. Place a decorative stem in the vase and you got it!

Fall Decorating with White Pumpkins

Instead of always using the traditional orange pumpkins, they now come in a variety of colors and are fun to decorate with for the Fall. Just glue some glitter on the seams to dazzle them up...There are many ways to be creative!

Fig Preserves Finally Finished for the Fall Season!

I finally finished making my yearly fig preserves and gifts too! These make great host/hostess gifts which is more personable and everyone loves. Since fresh figs only last a couple of days and I had my share of eating them and giving some away, I also froze them on a daily basis. When the figs stopped producing, I had a nice supply in my freezer waiting for me to get cooking. It is a simple recipe that I use, just plan on spending most of your day cooking!

"Under the Gnome"

After

Before

"No place like Gnome", "Gnome Sweet Gnome"....ok I just got a little carried away! A very good friend of mine asked me to give her Gnome (or Menehune) a facelift after basking in the sun for a number of years. I just got out my craft paints and spent some time with the little guy and finished him off with a couple of coats of clear lacquer spray paint. Hope his little friends don't get jealous!

Decorate with gold pine cones!

Get a jump on decorating for Christmas and also use to display all year round. Spray paint pine cones gold or silver and arrange in a decorative box. Gold or silver always brings out a festive feel in your decor!

Frame your crochet work!

My mom crocheted this kitty cat and I have always wanted to have it framed but did not want to pay a lot to have it done. As I was searching in my closet, I finally found a square frame. Just place a piece of black foam board on the back and place the work on top and insert into a glass frame tightly. Easy to do and a lot cheaper than done professionally!

Can you believe it...yet another shrinking product!

Much to my surprise as I go to reach for a box of  Whole Wheat Ritz crackers at my local grocery store, they decreased the size! The previous net weight was 14.2 oz. and it is now down to 12.9 oz. I decided to give them a call (the parent company's phone # is located on the side of the box) to express my disappointment and of course they did their talk about inflation. The company mentioned that they did a survey and most consumers preferred the product to have less crackers than to keep the same amount and increase the price. I kindly asked if I could receive a coupon and they were happy to do so. I received my coupon within ten days. The coupon states, "Good for One FREE Nabisco cookies or crackers product  up to $4.99." A FREE product just for taking five minutes out of your busy day! As our Ol' Pal "Andy Griffith" used to say, "Everything taste great when it sits on a Ritz!"

Hobby Lobby weekly coupon!

Don't forget to use your Hobby Lobby weekly coupon....Almost every week now, it has been 40%  off of one regularly priced item. Great to use for items that rarely go on sale or never go on sale at all! Coupons are also available through your mobile device and you can also download an app too. Check out the link below...

 http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/weekly.cfm

Sofa table makeover!

After

The process

Before 

... I was excited to get started with my new upcycled project that I purchased for $30 at a garage sale. The wood grain on the top was beautiful, but had lots of scratches so I decided to strip the old varnish off and sand it down to the bare wood. I then stained the top and brushed on several coats of fast-drying polyurethane. The rest of the wooden areas on the piece, I sanded lightly and applied a couple of coats of primer then a couple of coats of latex paint. The rattan areas were spray painted black and sprayed a clear lacquer finish. The drawer pulls were also spray painted black and the bottom of the legs of the piece were accented with black latex paint. What a difference!

Another pretty quilted table scarf!

Another pretty quilted table scarf made by my mom! On my list to make a small quilting project soon!

A lovely "origami bouquet"!

My daughter made this beautiful origami bouquet for me. This arrangement would be a nice display on your office desk to show co-workers your colorful personality! The website below can help you get started and learn more about this traditional Japanese art of paper folding.

http://www.origamiway.com/ 

Also, check out the direct link below to the page on their website where they have included my photo along with their instructions on how to make a flower. Thank you "Origami Way"!

http://www.origamiway.com/origami-iris.shtml 

Easiest beaded loop earrings anyone can make!

All you need is loop earrings and add a few beads. Switch beads out with other colors to match your outfit. This is super easy to do!

"Jewelry making" done the easy way!

A recipe to share,"Broccoli and Bacon Salad"

I must admit, I am a "tweaker" when it comes to recipes. I occasionally get a recipe that I like to tweak a bit. Lots of times, you may tweak a recipe because you don't have a particular ingredient so you substitute something else or maybe the recipe needs less salt, sugar, etc. Sometimes you may just want to add something completely different. Whatever the case may be, don't be afraid to experiment with recipes. Just make sure, as you are "tweaking," to write it down so you will have the recipe to share. This is my version of Broccoli and Bacon Salad...Enjoy!

Refresh an old eucalyptus tree

After

Before

I wanted to throw out this eucalyptus tree I have had  for a really long time and decided to give it new life by spray painting the container and replacing the moss with an updated new color. The leaves are delicate to clean, so use a spray duster canister.

"An Upcycle Project"

Sterling Silver Beaded Earrings....Simple to make!

You just need these basic jewelry tools (long nose pliers, round nose pliers and cutting pliers.)

Repaint old pottery!

After

Before

Wayyyyyyy long ago, I made this in college. It started looking ancient and I was just about to kick it to the curb for someone else to pick up or pass up. I got out my red spray paint and gave it one good coat. After it dried, I brushed on water-downed black latex paint and quickly wiped it off with a wet rag. Looks better, I guess it's a keeper for now!

Candlesticks customized to fit your color scheme!

These were unfinished wood candlesticks where I brushed on latex paint (any craft paint works well too) and immediately used a damp rag to wipe off. When dry, I brushed on gold craft paint in random areas and also used a damp rag to wipe off. The trick to this project is to work fast!

A great gift idea too!

The perfect quilted table scarf!

This lovely table scarf was quilted by my mom.

Quilting is one of her gifted passions!

A coffee table makeover...Finally!

 

After 28 years of scrapes and dents, I sanded the top down to the bare wood, gave it a stain and put several coats of polyurethane.. I spray painted the bottom black and distressed it with the sander and gave it a couple of coats of paste wax. New again!

Matching aprons...a fun sewing project!

Create something fun to wear for your little girl and her doll with matching aprons. I took an adult size apron pattern and sized it down to a girl size and then did a lot of guess work and made a doll one too. This is a nice gift idea and something a little girl will cherish!

Something Fun to Sew!