The Float, It Was Not Fun

I was in charge of our church's float in the town's Christmas parade this year.  I had no idea it was going to be a very time consuming and emotionally draining adventure.  NOTHING was easy.  I've already mentioned having to make the costumes as they had disappeared.  My friend Stephanie helped me cut out and sew.  I had forgotten a lot about reading a pattern.  My sewing machine gave me a lot of trouble then I realized it was Charlie going behind my back changing the thread tension.  Then I had a spool of bad thread that kept breaking.  It was not fun.

The stable that we use is stored behind a storage building and is in the elements year round.  This makes for a very unstable stable.  I had a lot of help with fixing that problem but it did not go as I planned.  We were at the last minute making sure it wasn't going to fall on anyone.  It was not fun.
Mom and I spent an afternoon using zip ties to add garland and greenery to the trailer but having to watch Charlie at the same time.  It was not fun.

The day of the event the sky looked very "rainy".  That was more than I could handle.  I had a melt down and later had to apologize to my parents.  Getting hysterical was kind of fun.
It did not rain and the event did end up going smoothly.  People were so nice and shouted very sweet things about how great the float looked.  And we were in the paper the next morning.  What a great ending!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

I started my decorating last week.  My kids both have Christmas trees in their rooms.  Katherine is now on her 2nd tree.  The first I bought when she was born and we were living in an apartment so it was a small table top tree.  Now they both have 4 ft trees that I bought for less then $5 at Wal-mart on clearance along with all the trimmings.  They each have their own labeled box with a star and ornaments.  This has worked well with Katherine's handmade ornaments she comes home with each year.
I saw an idea somewhere about how to organize your ornaments using plastic cups.  Simply hot glue rows of cups onto a piece of cardboard that fit into your box.  You might wrap your glass ornaments in tissue then place them in the cup.  This has worked so great!

Katherine's tree...

Charlie's tree is kept on top of his dresser.  He's 2 and can't be trusted.

Onto some more decorating....

My New Closet!

I'm so excited to have completed this project!  You might remember this "before" photo from the beginning of this year when one of my resolutions was to be more organized.  Well 11 months later.....I got started.   It took only 3 days to complete.  I got rid of 5 bags of clothing, shoes, purses, and any clothing hangers that were not white.  I also removed the dirty laundry basket to another location.
After putting all my clothes on matching hangers I color coded them from light to dark.  I had no idea I wear so much black.
Well, here she is after some wallpaper, shelves, and a new light fixture!

I'm beaming with pride.  If you come over, you will be pulled through several unfinished rooms to come see this one! 

Differences of Opinion

I am in charge of the decorating in our home.  Usually I have a clear idea of what I want and rarely ask Chuck's opinion about colors, patterns, bedspreads, etc.  He has a say in how much I spend.  I do keep in mind that he's a man and I wouldn't want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home. 
Our bedroom is in need of a makeover.  I put some wallpaper up behind our bed when we first moved in.  It looks great... from afar.  It was my first attempt and that's exactly how it looks.  I would like to take the paper down and try again with painting a pattern of some sort.  But deciding on an all over color has been a challenge.

So I found some rooms on line that I liked and asked Chuck's opinion.  I was really surprised that the one I like the best he found "a mess".  From Decorpad, here she is.....

He hated everything about it.  But I love the mess, it's an interesting room.  It looks like it has a bit of age.

This was the bedroom he liked the best.  I'm sorry but I don't know who to give credit to for this pic.

I like this room but it's too sophisticated for me.  It doesn't suit me at all.  Too masculine.  I do love that chandelier and round mirror though.
I'm still hunting for that perfect color that we can both happily live with.

My 1st Church Activity

I've recently been put in charge of our church's activities.  I'm really into it!  My first one to plan was our Trunk Or Treat.  I went to my trusty notebook full of pulled out magazine ideas and chose a couple to try.  Martha Stewart is always a good place to start as well.  She had the idea below of the hanging decorations.

I will warn you that the directions that come with some of her projects are not great.  This one had no suggestion of what kind of paper to use so I chose scrap booking paper.  After folding my first 12x12 paper into a fan my hands felt arthritic.  This project just did not work.  My back up plan was to use newspaper which was free and much easier to work with.  I chose not to add the faces, it didn't look good with the newspaper. 
My next  project idea was also by Martha Stewart, candy corn pom poms.  Aren't they cute?!!

Again, the directions to these could have been better.  My outcome wasn't near as pretty but good enough.
Here are my homemade decorations all together.

I did not have a beautiful backdrop for my hard work but I'm happy with the overall effect.

On the food tables I crafted some arrangements with sticks, more newspaper pinwheels, and some dollar store black birds.  I also used purchased Spanish moss.  I could have used some out of our tree but I didn't want to risk bugs getting into the food.

I learned all kinds of things working on this party.  I am considering doing another blog especially for these events.  I was hoping one already existed but if it does I haven't found it.

Inspirational Closets

I would really love to have a beautiful closet.  My current one is not the worst closet I've ever had but it is not beautiful or inspirational.  But the lighting is definitely the worst, a persnickety fluorescent ceiling fixture.  Sometime it comes on when the switch is flipped but most times not.
As a teenager I loved getting dressed for the day and would obsess about never wearing the same thing twice in a month (I kept a calendar to keep track).  Yes, a bit dramatic and incredibly self absorbed, but fun!  These days I find myself throwing on whatever is clean and not terribly in need of an iron.  But lucky me!  My mom was cleaning out her closet and gifted me some fabulous clothing and shoes. Sadly, there is no room for them until I start throwing stuff out.

So, I've been looking for some inspiration on line to get me started and found some! 

ERINN VALENCICH'S Closet as seen on House Beautiful.com

Clutter Control Freak blog

Real Simple magazine

From the Desk of Annie: The All Things Interior Design

From the Desk of Annie: All Things Interior Design

I saw a lot of "celebrity" closets which were interesting but not really inspirational for a normal size wardrobe and closet.  I just stuck to the smaller versions of rooms I liked.  It appears that I really like chandeliers and wallpaper in a closet.  Fun!

Fall Tablescape

I was lucky to be given the job of decorating for a small church event.  My mercury glass collection is pretty so I was sure I was going to be using it.  At first I was thinking of pairing it with hot pink then Mom suggested to go with a Fall theme.
After redoing the porch I was inspired and knew I had some Fall decorations that would look great.  In my search for a tablecloth I came across a brown damask one that I had forgotten about.  What luck!
I needed more than what I had at home so I shopped Mom's house for some stuff.  She always has great things, including the battery operated candles.  They added a nice soft flicker to all the glass.

I was also in charge of the dessert.  My favorite thing for a crowd is a cupcake.  No messy cutting of cake!  I found a recipe on Annies-Eats.  It called for making your cake from scratch and to use the classic buttercream icing recipe but I used my own recipe and a cake mix.  I really liked her idea of the apples and the impressive look of the final cupcake. 
If you want a taste of Fall you'll love this one also from Family Fun, "Mini Pumpkin Tarts".  The recipe called for a can of pumpkin but our Publix didn't have any so I used canned sweet potato.  This turned out great!  They are on the top tier in this photo.

These "acorns" were so much fun to build.  I found this idea also on Family Fun.  They are just donut holes topped with chocolate icing and rolled in toffee.  The stems are pretzels.  They turned out super cute!  Now the taste isn't near as good as they look but who cares!

Front Porch Facelift

Our front porch was looking worn and ragged from a long very hot summer.  My poor hanging baskets have become "leggy" and rather unattractive and the wreath I had to have several months ago, I'm tired of looking at.  It's time for a seasonal change.

I don't remember what I had on the door last year but I pulled two sad looking wreaths stuffed away in the attic.  Here's one of them.

I spent some time combining the two and it looks so much better. 

         

I gathered some of my second hand finds and whipped up a new look.  This is the first time I've been able to do that without having to buy anything.

I'm ready for some fall weather to come now.

A Thrifted Find Gets A Makeover

I purchased this at a great estate sale two weeks ago.  The sale was a lot of fun due to reasonable prices.  We don't have many of these sales around here and they're usually overpriced. 
I picked this frame up for $5.00.  It was a broken mirror for a dresser but I was thinking it would be a cork board for my desk.  I bought a roll of cork with a coupon for about $9 and the fabric was on sale for $4.

I am pleased with the results but now I need to make some cute thumb tacks and finish the entire laundry room project.

A Space Of My Very Own

If you have spent any amount of time with me, you have heard me whine about having no where to craft.  We currently live in a home with no dining room which has been my spot in the past.  My loving husband suggested I use some space in our bedroom.  I HATE that idea.  A crafter needs a spot where they can leave a mess.  The only place we had left was the laundry room.  Here are some before shots, prepare yourself for a mess.

Although this room has cabinetry it's not functional.  Here is an example, the drawers cannot open all the way because the knobs of other drawers are in the way.  Ridiculous.

And one of the cabinets is so deep, my arms cannot reach the back.  I have to fit my entire upper body into the cabinet to reach anything in the dark cave.  Ridiculous.

 

We're still working on making this functional.  I have a lot of work to do.  Did I mention that this room originally had not one but TWO bands of wall paper border when we moved in?

I believe I ripped this stuff off within minutes of walking into our home for the first time.  Sadly, I never took the time to wash off the glue left behind so that has to be done before I paint.   
I hope it will be done by the end of the week!

Another Chandelier Makeover

This is what our light in the master bathroom was,

a miniature ceiling fan with a naked bulb. I've been wanting to replace it with something glamorous. I've found several fixtures that would be lovely but I don't want to pay $150 or more.

Last spring I went to an estate sale and bought a bag of vintage crystals for $12. The metal loops linking the crystals were brittle and had to be painstakingly replaced with jump rings but it was worth sore fingers.
And here's that $2 fixture I picked up at a yard sale. 

I sprayed it with a can of primer that I already had. I like the gray color of the primer. My next step was to figure out how to add the crystals. I decided to use silver necklaces found at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 then drilled holes into the fixture.

Here's the end result with a total cost of $17!

Remember the two mirrors I picked up at yard sales? I'm happy to say that they've both found happy homes.

The first one was added to my collection of clocks and mirrors. This collection I built without even knowing. It wasn't until after we moved that I noticed they would all look very nice together. It appears I am drawn to round objects. The large clock on the lower right was a recent bargain from Winn-Dixie of all places.

The next mirror I spray painted silver and hung above a nightstand in our bedroom. Now both nightstands have some balance.

I must say thank you to my husband for doing all the hanging and in such a speedy fashion. Wow that obsessive compulsive behavior comes in handy!

Flower Bed Makeover

We've spent the past several weekends working on our front flower beds. This is what the front of our house looked like when we bought it a year ago:

What was planted in the flower beds was ugly or refused to thrive. The only plants I saved were two hydrangea bushes that I transplanted to a cooler location. They are so happy now and have tripled in size.

Chuck worked really hard on laying the bricks correctly. It bothered me that they were not level and covered just about everything that bothered to grow.

Below is a photo of the drip system we installed to keep my new plants happy. The hose is on a timer that comes on in the morning for 30 minutes. I've covered all the hoses with a cedar mulch that was cheap and it smells nice.

Chuck put the system into my hanging baskets too. It has worked so well!

My plants have grown a bit in the past few weeks but I'm really looking forward to what they will look like in a month. I am pleased. Ta-dah!

Thrift Find Makeover

I've been hunting for some type of table to go onto the front porch. Something that would hold a plant and a nick-knack or two and weather nicely. Within 2 hours of voicing this to my friend Ginger, she finds this typewriter table for $5 at Salvation Army!

I did not like the brown painted legs so I painted them. I was tempted to go with a red or yellow but I already had black.


I found this colorful Swedish cookie tin for a nickel. .05! My fat little bird was .99 and the bird cage was 3.99.

I painted the bird and the cage and added some ivy plants to the tin. I thought they turned out pretty cute. However, my little bird did not survive her first week. She was blown off the table by the leaf blower.

I've been wanting a forsythia wreath for a couple of years now and finally bought one for $15 at Michael's. It was 50% off and the very last one. Since painting the front door black I've discovered that it's difficult to find a wreath that doesn't just blend in.

I feel like something is still missing. The brick above the table looks naked. It needs a sign or some house numbers.

I priced house number signs and decided to go with a homemade version. I like it! I added just another plant and a watering can. Wallah! I am pleased.