Christmas greenery!

I have been very busy with Christmas since I am hosting and haven't had much time to blog! What I love to do is clip greenery from my yard and enjoy bringing nature into my home. I clipped some boxwood shrubs and set my vase on top of ... I think the only college book that I kept and never sold. It was a keeper since I now use it a lot in my decorating. At least I put it to good use and it comes with a lot of memories!

Flameless LED Candles!

 

The "Flameless LED Candles" are a safe way to add soft light to your decorating. They even have timers on them so you never have to turn them off! If you have a Hobby Lobby near by, they are 50% off and tomorrow is the last day! Happy safe decorating!

A Colorful Thanksgiving!

 

When my husband brought these "baby bell peppers" (about 2" long) home from Walmart, he thought I would love these to add to a salad...Yes indeed I thought they were cute, but the first thing I thought of was decorating for Thanksgiving and perfect to fill my cornucopia with. Pictures first and salad later!

 

 

If everyone is like me, they still have a collection of "Beanie Babies" tucked away. I usually try to save a seat for this special bird since he only comes out once a year!

Happy Halloween!

Just before the big candy day,  I decided to add a few simple decorations for Halloween.

My mother-n-law bought the painted gourd 20 years ago at a craft fair. When gourds dry, they become very light and when you give a shake, you can hear the seeds inside.

Ann from "On Sutton Place" has a tutorial on how to make a gourd beautiful and pictures of other craft ideas you can make from gourds. She has a lovely website full of creativity and inspiration!

Mr. Owl has been on vacation since guarding my fig tree early summer. I decided to put him to work for Halloween, then he can rest for the winter. Hoot Hoot!

Have a happy and safe Halloween...Boo!

Fall wreath with "Dollar Store" flowers...fast & easy!

I usually shop for flowers at "Hobby Lobby" but decided to give a go at making a wreath from the "Dollar Store" floral aisle selection. I know at first you can be overwhelmed by the bright colors they offer, but I was able to pick out a selection that seemed to be surprisingly, fairly nice.

I started by using my old trusty grapevine wreath that I have had for years. The flowers usually come in a bunch of about five blossoms each. All you have to do is leave a few inches of the stem on each flower and clip them with your wire cutters. Start out with randomly poking one color of flowers throughout your wreath and then add the other color. Easy, fast (took about ten minutes!) and cheap to make. No need to glue so later you can change out for a new season. Do you have any "Dollar Store" floral projects that you have made?

Fall decorating

Fall is falling a little behind down south. It takes a while for it to get here, so we have to push it along with a little decorating.

 

This is my Magnolia Wreath I made over a year ago and I added fresh leaves turned upside down which has a velvety texture and a burnt orange color.

Coffee Table Makeover!

 

At first when I found this table at a garage sale, I was hesitant if I really wanted it or not. Since it was the end of the day and the lady was slashing prices, I got it for $10. I thought...well I can at least practice on trying out making homemade chalk paint.

I lightly sanded it and gave it two coats of my homemade chalk paint I made with the Valspar sample size satin paints in soft camel from Lowes and  Pottery Plaster from Hobby Lobby and of course water, which if you don't work fast enough, you have to keep adding more because it starts to thicken! For the accent color, I used Martha Stewart Living metallic paint in Golden Pearl.

A couple of days later, I gave it a couple of coats of clear paste wax. I was going to try giving it a coat of dark wax too, but everyone seems to like the look of it now. Maybe I will just keep it like this for a while. Thanks for all the inspirational blogs out there...I did it!

Boot planter makeover!

This boot was almost kicked to the curb by my friend and good neighbor. We both had a garage sale and she had some items leftover that she had me pick through and kindly gave to me. I noticed on her patio she had this old (badly needing a makeover) boot planter.

I had the itch to take it home and re-paint it for her.

 

I just got out my craft paints and painted "George" (that's what we named it). Gave it a couple of coats of a clear lacquer spray and done!

It's "Howdy neighbor again", but sadly it was good by to my friend. She retired and moved away to her new home and "George" now has a new stomping ground too!

Honoring Memorial Day!

I gathered up a few things to decorate for Memorial Day in honor of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is a federal holiday and can you believe it, our school district has to make up two "bad weather days" and they chose Memorial Day as one of them....so the kids will be in school in my town!

I like to use the faux candles that light up with batteries which makes them safe to place in flower arrangements.

I also like to use rocks, stones and glass eggs when decorating birds' nests and of course twigs that you gather up from nature walks or from your own backyard. This egg is called a "magic glass egg" that changes color from opal to blue when held in the palm of your hand and also has a different look when wet.

And don't forget to save your old bottles, the are great for repurposing into vases. This blue one is perfect for patriotic holidays.

The state flower of Texas...beautiful bluebonnets!

Bluebonnets are plentiful this time of the year in Texas. On Easter day, I got to see a beautiful display from nature!

Spring it on!

Ok, Spring has already sprung and Easter is around the corner, so gather up your eggs and ideas to bring out some cheer and leave the cold winter behind.

The candle was made from sheet music. I just cut to size and overlapped a little and used mounting adhesive tape (tape used to mount pictures in scrapbooking), however next time I might use rubber cement to get a better seal at the seam. I lit the candle and let it drip a little to give it a special touch ( A little advice: the candle is for aesthetic use only, do not use the candle to burn later because the paper will probably ignite and you do not want that to happen!)

 

I love to use twigs and old vines from not only my backyard but from family, friends and neighbors too. (A little advice: keep a small pair of garden clippers in your car because you never know where you might be and see that perfect twig or vine to clip.)

The wire purse was my grandmother's and I will cherish forever. It had tulle in it and a small satin ribbon on top. I just updated it by filling with moss and adding a little bracelet.

With so many ideas to decorate eggs, this is just one simple way. I blew the raw eggs out to make them hollow. I had some pretty floral tissue paper that came with a roll of wrapping paper. I cut the flowers out individually and put them in place and painted Mod Podge on the flowers. After it was dried, I painted the entire eggs with Mod Podge.

Happy decorating!

It's Rodeo time!

 Get your western theme kicking off with a pair of cowboy boots and stuff with straw, twigs,  flowers and succulents. Down in the south, it is rodeo time!

My husband found this picture that someone threw out for trash pickup. It looks like it might have been someone's artwork and I can not believe that they would kick it to the curb. I decided to give that artist a little respect and keep it for myself. I just had to mount it a little better so I used adhesive spray on the back and mounted it on foam board. Love it and the frame it came in too.

A cottage touch with a "hobnailed" vase floral arrangement

 

As a child, I remember having in my bedroom "hobnailed" (raised bumps) milk glass lamps.

Now, I have a few vases in my milk glass collection which I cherish and love.

When I added the flowers, it gives it a cozy cottage touch.

 

See how it is made...

What a LOVEly time to decorate....Valentine's Day!

Decorating with mirrors gives off beautiful reflections in your room!

I love bringing nature into my home!

 More of my milk glass collection.

Candy dishes are also nice to bring out and fill for Valentine 's Day!

Lighten up!

A part of my milk glass collection that I changed up a little. I just added hearts and white birds for the occasion!
Click here to see more of my milk glass collection.

My milk glass vase with the raised bumps known as "hobnailed".

Hope you enjoy your LOVEly day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Decorating with milk glass

I love the white, pure and clean look of milk glass. It is very inexpensive and you can find a variety at garage sales, thrift stores, Etsy and vintage antique shops.

The white bowl is not milk glass, but blends well with the other pieces.

Just add a bit of nature (and if you are lucky to have freshly picked lemons this time of the year,...what a nice treat and very juicy for making lemonade later)!