What? Already?

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I decided to take advantage of the warmer weather here and decorate the outside for Christmas.

I broke my own rule.  I NEVER decorate for Christmas until at the very earliest of the day AFTER Thanksgiving.

I was inspired by so many wonderful ideas on pinterest that I decided to change up my holiday decor.

I am cheap frugal and refused to pay the big $$$ for my "new" decorations.

I had priced the glittery balls for the tree and was SHOCKED at the price of one ball.

I had priced florist ribbon and again about fell over at the price of a bolt of ribbon.

So what is a woman to do when they want to change up the decor on a budget?

THRIFT.

Hubs and I purchased  2 bags full of assorted sizes of Styrofoam balls at our local thrift store.  Ready 50 cents a bag.

Garland $2.50

Small tree $8.00

I painted the balls and then covered them in glitter to match.

The other supplies were from our craft room box(es).

 The ribbon was "borrowed" from my Mom, along with the urns.  Hubs painted the once well worn white urns black.  The boxes are empty and recycled from my office junk pile.

Up close of the balls and ribbon. Must say I am very pleased with the outcome!!

The cheap camera does not show the pretty color of the paper.  The paper is actually a lime green, red, white and silver.

The silverware also came from the thrift store for a mere $2.50.  I must say it didn't turn out as pretty as I had in my mind.  I have seen these trees on pinterest and their silverware was front and center and bold.  Mine tends to blend into the tree.  Not sure what is so different except the trees on pinterest are smaller and the branches are not so full.

Well there you have the beginning of our Christmas decor.  More to come next week when we finish with the inside of the house.

Would love to see your decorations.  Send me a note with your blog and I will stop by for a peek.

Peace.

Gift Wrapping.

Since the Holidays are approaching us fast.  Not to mention the stores are throwing them directly in our faces, it got me to thinking.  CHRISTMAS wrapping ideas.  I always try to come up with different ideas.  One time I will wrap each persons presents in one style of paper and no one else got that paper. Another time I used basic crafting (brown) paper and applied rubber stamped decor on them. Once I used comic papers for everyone.

I have been inspired by Older and Wisor blog (olderandwisor.blogspot.com).  She has a sidebar 31 Ways to Wrap Your Crap.  You MUST go check this one out. 

Lollipops designed to be Cherries.  How simple and CUTE!!

Balloons.

Dollies.  You can find these at thrift stores.  I bet you could even find the jewelry too.

I have seen many ideas using paper towel rolls, but never thought to use as "ribbon".  Must try this year.

A "double" gift.  The actual gift and the magnets.  Again, these are purchased on the less expensive side.

Gosh, I would love to do this one this year as well.  Dried orange slices and craft paper.

Simple. 

These would be adorable on gift food.  Love it.  Love snowmen!!

These are so cute, simple and inexpensive.  Much better way to wrap then the outrageous priced store bought ribbon!!!!

What ideas do you have for this seasons wrapping?  Do share.

Peace.

A Happy Accident

I have always been a "use what you have kind of person".  I have never really been someone who has had the luxury of, if I want it or see it, buy it.  So when we decided to repaint the "guest" room.  (By the way it is hard for me to call it the guest room.  It will always be our eldest sons room.  He has moved into his own home, but you know how us Mom's tend to be.....) We pulled it together ACCIDENTALLY.  I swear it was all by accident. I hope it doesn't look like a bad accident

The paint was chosen by both hubs and I.  It is a linen sort of color.  Not tan, not beige, not creamy white, just linen.  I would need to get off of my rear end to check the actual name. 

 The red comforter is an old one we had when the boys were little and wanted matching comforters, even though they did not share a bedroom.The bed is our youngest sons, who lives with us, but now has a full sized bed.

Sadly, I still need a small office space and it has been this room for about 4 years now.  Why change now? 

This artwork was given to me from a family member.  I love it for sentimental reasons.  I also just love it.  The red, accidentally works well with the red comforter.  The mat of the artwork is a perfect match to the new wall color.  I swear, NONE of this was planned.  When hubs hung the art he grinned and said "Hey, check this out."  I was like check what out?  Duh, the mat and the wall are a perfect match.  OMG!!!!!!

The color doesn't show up so well.The swan is sitting on a a navy blue hutch and it just so happens the comforter is reversible and guess what the other color choice is......BLUE!!  I swear accident!!

Here is the before.

I must say I am very happy with the results.  Thanks hubs.  He worked hard on his days off while I was at work to finish paint the entire room. 

We removed the upper shutters from the windows and will be hanging full length panels sometime soon.

Hope you enjoyed the accident.  We are very pleased with it. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Peace.

Kitchen Ideas

Lately I been feeling the desire to change up our home.  We have lived here for about 9 years.  We have made several changes, cosmetic. Like most of us who like to decorate I LOVE to change up our home. I am constantly moving furniture, changing out vignettes.  I think I drive my family, mostly my husband crazy. 

I am contemplating changing the color of the kitchen.  It was a horrible wallpaper when we bought.  We "temporarily" painted it yellow until we had time to do it the way we wanted.  Temporarily has lasted us about 8 years.  We painted OVER the wallpaper to save time.  NOW it is time to painstakingly remove the wallpaper and repaint.  FEAR sets in.  What will we find beneath the wallpaper.  Are the walls in good condition or is that why there was wallpaper.  This is what has stopped me from changing it sooner and $$, but mostly the fear of the unknown.  In the past, at our other houses I would have jumped in with both feet and not thought twice. I was also younger then and worked part time.  Which meant there was more time for dealing with the messes that I uncovered.

 My kitchen is very small and little to no natural light.  The one window it has is under a covered side porch, facing South.  Not much light comes in here.  I am a bug in the dark....I am drawn to natural light and I fear..yep there it is again FEAR my kitchen being to dark.  At the same time you will see I am drawn to dark colors at the moment.

Here is the window.

I have always wanted white cabinets.  And now I have them and a son who is in the tire business......well get where I am going.....dirty finger prints EVERYWHERE. Currently the kitchen is painted a cheery yellow. The cabinets have the "original" hardware from when we purchased the house....mismatched.  I would be changing the hardware and moving it down where I can comfortably open the cabinets.

We have thought about painting the counter tops.  There are so many options for that.  You can buy a kit or simply paint the tops from directions on the web.  I would like a darker top. Leaning towards brown or black tops.

I really like the grey/blue of this kitchen with the white cabinets and brown tops. VIA Nina's Nest

I am then found drawn to the black AND white cabinets.  I love this look.  I even like the original floor.  Would love to find wood under my beautiful vinyl. VIA Goodbye House Hello Home

Still keeping the white cabinets and incorporating blue.  I do have blue in the adjoining den.  LOVE this kitchen from Modern Cottage. Love the black floors and the crisp white cabinets.  I also like the partial open cabinets and the baskets.  I have asked the hubs to remove the drawers from four of our cabinets and create open shelving. 

Then here is the bomb.  I am drawn to BLACK distressed cabinets.

Would I like the distressed part?  Does it feel "abused" and in need or repair?  Or does it feel homey and current? It would hide fingerprints and such....

HELP.  I am sending out a cry for help.  What is your opinion?  Please post a comment.

Thanks for stopping by.

Peace.

An AMAZING Give Away at .......

You must check out this amazing etsy shop and all the creativity there. I have been an unofficial follower of this site for several months.  Now with her recent give away I must log in officially and so should you.  Go to http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/.

She is amazing, but so are all of the blog that I stalk view on a daily basis.  Here is a little tease.

I absolutely love the silver treasures!!!

The AMAZING give away!

Go check it out.  Maybe someday I will figure out how to do advance posting and have a give away from Amish Country.  Would you participate?

Light Bulb Moment

Simple and fun.

Light

Mechanic's funnel

Candle wreath

Nifty lamp with awesome shade.

Sadly, not my idea.  I bought this at a local primitive store.  Just Enough Antiques in Smithville, OH.  She has some awesome ideas.  A second trip or more is in the works.

Thanks for stopping by.  What unique ideas do you have?  Please share.

Peace,

Stephanie

A change is brewing.....

Just like the season change so does my decorating mood.  So with this past week being more like late Fall/early Winter, I thought I better get in gear and decorate for Fall before I miss the occasion.

This is how the entrance to our home looks for this season.

The hubs and I purchased pumpkins and mums today at a local market.  I opted for cheap thrifty pumpkins.  All were $1.00 a piece.  I tried my hand at a white pumpkin and put our last name initial on it.  I rather like it. 

We added a little charm to the plain, plastic, black pots the mums came in. Hubs wanted the fun pumpkin/gourds on the steps.  The little orange one is bumpy and fun.

A little vignette that changes with the seasons.  A friend of mine gave me the "acorn" that she found while thrifting a few years back.  Still works for me.

With the help of the hubs, this is our first attempt at a topiary of pumpkins.  I must say I do like the smaller pumpkins.  I also must confess, we cheated.  All the other posts about topiary's have been somewhat messy, clean the pumpkin, cover the inside with Vaseline or cooking oil to keep it from drying out......blah, blah, blah.  We Hubs simply cut off the stem of the lower two and ran a dowel rod through the center making sure to not come all the way through the top pumpkin.  No mess, no sealing, easy peasy.  We will see if it holds up to the weather.

Well simple and thrifty.  That is the way we roll at this house.  I hope you enjoyed the new look of the entrance.  Please share by posting a comment on how you decorate your abode for the Fall/Autumn season.

Thanks for stopping by.

Peace,

Stephanie