I am full on decorating for Christmas! I know some of you wait until after Thanksgiving to start, but breaking out our Christmas decor always puts me in a wonderful mood. It could be something as simple as adding some Mercury glass acorns to a bowl filled with shredded vintage sheet music.
Or placing bottle brush trees into an old milk glass dish.
Adding a joy banner to our new flocked tree.
To even upcycling a wood plaque with a simple Christmas image.
It all makes me happy. And at my age I feel if it makes you happy (but doesn't make you fat!): go for it!
Jeanine
Or placing bottle brush trees into an old milk glass dish.
Adding a joy banner to our new flocked tree.
To even upcycling a wood plaque with a simple Christmas image.
It all makes me happy. And at my age I feel if it makes you happy (but doesn't make you fat!): go for it!
Jeanine
I love Rae Dunn's ceramic pieces. I mean, who doesn't, right?! After spying some copycat projects on Instagram, I decided to make my own Rae Dunn-inspired candy jars.
All you need are some jars (I bought two of these from Hobby Lobby and the the third is a pickle jar!) and clear sticker paper. Download the Skinny font from DaFont.com and print out your words onto the label paper. Cut to size, peel, stick and done!
Super easy, right?! I filled mine with peppermints and candy canes from the Dollar Store.
Jeanine
All you need are some jars (I bought two of these from Hobby Lobby and the the third is a pickle jar!) and clear sticker paper. Download the Skinny font from DaFont.com and print out your words onto the label paper. Cut to size, peel, stick and done!
Super easy, right?! I filled mine with peppermints and candy canes from the Dollar Store.
Jeanine
Don't these Mercury glass bottles get you in the holly-jolly spirit?! I picked them up from the Dollar Store. I used my Cricut to cut out the noel and joy words, and added tea-stained seam binding and some vintage floral enbellishments to them. I'm in love! I have to go back for more.
This reindeer ornament is also courtesy of the Dollar Store. I added it to a cute wood frame with some burlap as the background. The peace is a self-sticking label from a package I picked up at Hobby Lobby.
And while I haven't started officially decorating for Christmas yet (well maybe I have...a little), I have started playing around with some ideas. This is a sweet little vignette in our family room/basement. I also added a small tree to the room.
It's still a work in progress, but I'm thinking of going with a red and white color scheme, and tags, tags and more tags!
How are your holiday decorations and projects coming along?
Jeanine
I'm enjoying the last few days of our Halloween decorations. Hard to believe I'll be packing it all away in a few days.
I didn't do a lot in the new she-shed/tea room this year. Most of our Halloween decor is in the house or on the porch.
Sometimes less really is more.
I'm already itching to decorate for Christmas, but I'm going to pace myself.
And enjoy Halloween on Wednesday!
Jeanine
I didn't do a lot in the new she-shed/tea room this year. Most of our Halloween decor is in the house or on the porch.
Sometimes less really is more.
I'm already itching to decorate for Christmas, but I'm going to pace myself.
And enjoy Halloween on Wednesday!
Jeanine
Thanks to my friends at Realtor.com for including me in several home decor/DIY posts over the past few weeks. The first was on utility fabrics and how to incorporate them into your home.
The second was on decorating with pumpkins! - one of my favorites!
Go to Realtor.com to read the full articles.
Jeanine
The second was on decorating with pumpkins! - one of my favorites!
Jeanine
Raise your hand if you've started some Christmas projects. I know I have. First one of the season is this Santa paddle fan. Easy peasy when you have one of these...
We got a few of these at a local fall festival and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. All I did was print out my image on sticker paper, cut to size and then peel and stick. I finished up by adding the little noel and snowflake embellishments. I also made one for Halloween:
This is one side and here is the other.
I have one fan left and that will also get a Christmas makeover.
I love that this project only cost me a little time and effort! And I'm super excited to be starting some Christmas projects.
Jeanine
We got a few of these at a local fall festival and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. All I did was print out my image on sticker paper, cut to size and then peel and stick. I finished up by adding the little noel and snowflake embellishments. I also made one for Halloween:
This is one side and here is the other.
I have one fan left and that will also get a Christmas makeover.
I love that this project only cost me a little time and effort! And I'm super excited to be starting some Christmas projects.
Jeanine
Halloween is just a couple of weeks away and I've put the finishing touches on a few last minute projects. This one is my favorite! I found this little velvet-y address book at our local thrift store. Once I picked it up, I knew it would make for a great mini book of spells. I found the image on Pinterest and added it to the front of the book using sticker paper.
Here's how I have our staircase for Halloween. I found some creepy books (Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.) on eBay for pennies and I used them to line the steps. I'm secretly hoping my boys will crack open one of them and read some of these classics.
I'm pretty much done decorating for Halloween and have even started a few, gasp!, Christmas projects. I hear there is something like only 10 more Fridays until Christmas...
Jeanine
Here's how I have our staircase for Halloween. I found some creepy books (Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.) on eBay for pennies and I used them to line the steps. I'm secretly hoping my boys will crack open one of them and read some of these classics.
I'm pretty much done decorating for Halloween and have even started a few, gasp!, Christmas projects. I hear there is something like only 10 more Fridays until Christmas...
Jeanine
I had a couple of girlfriends over for lunch the other day and wanted to set a pretty table for them - and play around with some ideas for Halloween.
Each setting included a white pumpkin plate from Target's DollarSpot, an orange or black plate from the Dollar Store, a gold charger plate and these great napkins.
If you look closely you can see some creepy books I bought from eBay and skull shot glasses. I tucked those away before the girls came over, but I will definitely be putting them back out for Halloween.
Jeanine
Each setting included a white pumpkin plate from Target's DollarSpot, an orange or black plate from the Dollar Store, a gold charger plate and these great napkins.
If you look closely you can see some creepy books I bought from eBay and skull shot glasses. I tucked those away before the girls came over, but I will definitely be putting them back out for Halloween.
Jeanine
If you're like me, you've probably seen a bunch of candy tin makeovers on Pinterest. What I didn't know is that you can't really paint over them unless you burn them. Yup, you need to burn off the existing paint to have a cleaner surface for glue and paint to stick to.
So I asked Mr. Okio to break out his blow torch. After he got done laughing at me (!), he simply used tongs and burned them over our stove burner. Gee, why didn't I think of that? Anywho, my first upcycle is above.
No blow torch was needed for this next project. This is a thrift store makeover. I picked up the little faux slate sign a few weeks ago. I gave it a few coats of black chalk paint and then simply wrote my creepy message. Yes, I have the handwriting of a 6 year old. Sigh!
This welcome mat is from Pottery Barn (last year). My spiffy shoes are from Target.
These were super easy: Mason jars specimen jars. The images are courtesy of the Graphics Fairy. I'm making a bunch more just to add in random spots about the house.
How are your Halloween decorations coming along?!
Jeanine
So I asked Mr. Okio to break out his blow torch. After he got done laughing at me (!), he simply used tongs and burned them over our stove burner. Gee, why didn't I think of that? Anywho, my first upcycle is above.
No blow torch was needed for this next project. This is a thrift store makeover. I picked up the little faux slate sign a few weeks ago. I gave it a few coats of black chalk paint and then simply wrote my creepy message. Yes, I have the handwriting of a 6 year old. Sigh!
This welcome mat is from Pottery Barn (last year). My spiffy shoes are from Target.
These were super easy: Mason jars specimen jars. The images are courtesy of the Graphics Fairy. I'm making a bunch more just to add in random spots about the house.
How are your Halloween decorations coming along?!
Jeanine
My husband was about to throw this broken shovel away a couple of weeks ago. Guess who grabbed it and made this super simple Jack o' Lantern?
I gave it a few coats of orange spray paint and then drew the face on using a Sharpie. My 11 year old thinks I should have painted the handle green, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks.
Jeanine
I gave it a few coats of orange spray paint and then drew the face on using a Sharpie. My 11 year old thinks I should have painted the handle green, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks.
Jeanine
After months of nagging asking my husband nicely, he finally got around to helping clean up my tea room/she-shed. Here's the before:
I was sad to see the black and white flooring go, but the tiles were so old, dirty and peeling. This time we opted for a marble-looking peel and stick tile from Armstrong.
They were very easy to use. You basically peel and stick after cutting to fit your space. Luckily, my hubby only had to cut a few pieces to fit in random areas.
He did an amazing job! Once the floor was done, we got busy laying some pea gravel.
The grass never seems to grow in this area and pea gravel seemed like a good solution.
I'm really loving the look!
We finally replaced the thatch roof that blew off during Hurricane Sandy(!).
All that's left is to paint the doors. They will be white. I'll also be adding our annual Halloween touches this weekend. We spent about $350 for the tile, pea gravel and thatch roofing. Stay tuned for more updates!
Jeanine
I was sad to see the black and white flooring go, but the tiles were so old, dirty and peeling. This time we opted for a marble-looking peel and stick tile from Armstrong.
They were very easy to use. You basically peel and stick after cutting to fit your space. Luckily, my hubby only had to cut a few pieces to fit in random areas.
He did an amazing job! Once the floor was done, we got busy laying some pea gravel.
The grass never seems to grow in this area and pea gravel seemed like a good solution.
I'm really loving the look!
We finally replaced the thatch roof that blew off during Hurricane Sandy(!).
All that's left is to paint the doors. They will be white. I'll also be adding our annual Halloween touches this weekend. We spent about $350 for the tile, pea gravel and thatch roofing. Stay tuned for more updates!
Jeanine
Raise your hand if you've started decorating for Halloween. I know I have. I just can't help myself...
I've done a few Pinterest copy-cats - like the skull and this spider web using an embroidery hoop. I picked up the hoop at our local thrift store. Below is the before. Such an easy project for Halloween.
Speaking of the thrift store, this how the little wicker basket I got a couple of weeks ago looks now:
The pumpkins are from Target's DollarSpot. I downloaded the tags from Twelve on Main.
This is what this year's corner hutch looks like. I'm still pulling out pieces and am hoping to be have everything out by October 1st. Wish me luck!
Jeanine
I've done a few Pinterest copy-cats - like the skull and this spider web using an embroidery hoop. I picked up the hoop at our local thrift store. Below is the before. Such an easy project for Halloween.
Speaking of the thrift store, this how the little wicker basket I got a couple of weeks ago looks now:
The pumpkins are from Target's DollarSpot. I downloaded the tags from Twelve on Main.
This is what this year's corner hutch looks like. I'm still pulling out pieces and am hoping to be have everything out by October 1st. Wish me luck!
Jeanine
I haven't done a thrifty find post in a while, have I? I didn't hit many garage sales this summer and when I did, they were kind of a bust. Our local church thrift store never disappoints, though. Lookie what I grabbed today: orange & black books, slate chalkboards, basket o' pumpkins and a repro scale. All for, wait for it...$4!
As you can see, I've already started re-working some finds. Here are the books. I hand-stamped the word autumn on the black one, added one of the faux pumpkins and have them stacked on a repurposed cake plate (also a thrift store find!). Even the Scrabble pieces are from the thrift store. I'm already working on the basket makeover too.
Have you seen these pretties at Target in the Dollar Spot? I grabbed two sets of them before they sold out. Each comes with 2 pumpkin plates for only $3. Yes, please!
It feels good to be back to blogging and thrifting. I missed both so much!
Jeanine
As you can see, I've already started re-working some finds. Here are the books. I hand-stamped the word autumn on the black one, added one of the faux pumpkins and have them stacked on a repurposed cake plate (also a thrift store find!). Even the Scrabble pieces are from the thrift store. I'm already working on the basket makeover too.
Have you seen these pretties at Target in the Dollar Spot? I grabbed two sets of them before they sold out. Each comes with 2 pumpkin plates for only $3. Yes, please!
It feels good to be back to blogging and thrifting. I missed both so much!
Jeanine