Ever since I saw sweater pillows in Pottery Barn's catalog, I've wanted to make one myself. That day finally came Saturday when a couple of my friends and I had a craft day. We found some pics for inspiration and headed out to thrift stores.



These pillows are super fun and easy. You can use cotton or wool sweaters, but wool is my fav. I especially like to shrink it first. If you've ever accidentally put a wool sweater in the wash, you ended up with a doll-sized sweater. That's shrunk wool. Shrunk or "felted" wool has an amazing texture. You can buy it in craft stores, but it's easy to make your own.

Most thrift stores have an endless variety of sweaters.



I got a little side tracked when I saw these pinks and greens. I thought they'd be fun for spring even though I originally went in for some beige sweaters.



When you get home, toss the wool sweaters in the washer and dryer. You will want to put them in a mesh bag or closed pillowcase though so the fibers don't clog your washer.

I found some great ideas on Pintrest for making flowers, so we embellished our pillows. I'll share the link with you on how to make these at the end of this post.



You can put them on hats or headbands too!



Here's a couple of our projects! Aren't they awesome? Tamara made this one for her daughter for Valentine's Day.

You can get creative with all kinds of embellishments. I found this at Hobby Lobby.



If you have more patience that I, you can sew the trim on, but me....Hot glue and presto!

 

Here's the blog I found with easy directions to make the flowers. Hope you have some fun making your own!

My son had some fun of his own with this video. I asked Garrett to help me upload it to youtube and he did some "creative remixing" with my voice. This is what I'm paying college music production tuition for?? If you need a good laugh, you are bound to get one here!

Want a fun girlfriend project? These books also make great homemade Christmas gifts! Tamara and I had so much fun with this project. It's almost impossible to mess them up because the purpose is to make them look distressed and vintage. Slop on the paint, rub it on...it doesn't matter.



On these, I used silver paints. Some I spray painted and others I used Plaid Treasure Gold in Pewter. Just put on a glove and rub it on.



You can use thrift store books, or even hardback books that you are done reading. Just remove the book jacket.



Jazz up the cover with stencils.



Here's the one I used:

Embellish the books with silver or gold jewelry findings, buttons or other blingy things. I got some of these at Michaels and some from my own stash.



This is a super fun project! Tamara did all of hers in bronze, but you can experiement with all kinds of colors and embellishments. Have fun!

Yesterday I showed you my neutral palette in the living room, but I saved the punch of color for the kitchen. I LOVE red!



You may have seen a lot of this deco before, but changing up the flowers for the holidays add a dramatic change.

A dish of ornaments makes a splash of red on the kitchen table. I love my Dollar General salt and pepper shakers. Paying $2 for them kind of balances out how much I paid for the harlequin platter at The Red Chateau! Thank God for Groupon!!



But, I got the hobnail glass and vintage silver spoons at a garage sale dirt cheap. The spoons are even monogramed with "C". I even got napkins this summer for a dime!! Aren't they cute?



I especially love the corner by my stove. It displays my mother's apron, an amazing vintage cookie plate with mercury glass on the bottom and some vintage tart tins.






I found this bottle of cake decorations at The Rink! I went crazy! I love small little details. It hasn't even been opened!



Adding a few red ornaments to the cookie tins makes a perfect pop of red.



Quick Change Artist: I switched out the flowers in this kitchen urn by the sink and added a couple of sprigs of greenery. Super fast and easy, but makes the Christmas theme carry all through the kitchen.  



I added more red flowers in a big urn along with a few ornament sticks.



Cheap ways to change up a shelf:
Add a single ornament to a glass garage sale candle holder.
Hang candy canes in a little purse or put them in a glass.
Display old Avon purfume bottles like this bird.



My $3 upside down dented lampshade repurposed as a flower pot all dressed up in red!



Don't be afraid to hang stockings in random places! Who says they are only for the fireplace?



The grande finale: Embellish your light fixture with extra greenery and bulbs!



Have a beautiful Christmas! If you want to visit my other blog, you might enjoy reading these Christmas stories:

Mistletoe Market

What is Your Nothing Except

Is Your Christmas Too Extravagant?

O' Skinny Tree

Habitual Ritual: The Meaning Behind Tradition

Last year I told you I traded my fat tree for a skinny tree. Why? It doesn't take as long to decorate and the same amount of bulbs make it look totally full.



To get this full look, I start by adding ribbon. Save your money and make your own ribbon! It's a lot cheaper and you'll get a much more glamourous look! I like to use a variety of textures within the same color family. Here I used a chiffon, burlap and a giraffe print.



I like to use fabric for ribbon because I can just tear wide strips of fabric on the grain. I usually tear about 12-18" strips so the ribbon is really plump. Chiffon works really well, but I also used narrow strips (about 6" wide) of printed burlap on this tree.



I even used a wad of burlap for the tree skirt. I just puddled and bunched it up underneath the tree.



I was going for a more neutral look this year so, I used a white, silver & beige palette in the living room. My favs: mercury glass, linen, burlap and anything silver. (I saved the red for the kitchen. I'll show you that in a bit).  As you know, when I shop estate and garage sales, I'm always on the look out for anything silver and the holidays really give me permission to bring it all out! I also love vintage linens.



Filling jars and bowls with ornaments is one of the easiest ways to all holiday cheer.






Here, my three of my favs: mercury glass, silver and glass combine for one amazing pop of wow!



A couple of years ago, I made a ton of these silver leaf ornaments. There's not enough room on my tree for them so I spinkled them around the house. I originally bought one at Target, copied the pattern and cut out a bunch out of matt board (found in the framing dept at Hobby Lobby. You buy it in sheets larger than poster board for about $6 a board). Yes, my hands hurt after cutting out 25 of them, but it was so much fun! It was worth the pain.



I also did the joy letters the same way.




If you want detailed directions on how to do this, check out my blog post  on  Glitter Words.

If you aren't using your silver coffee creamers and sugar bowls, use them for display! Fill them with a touch of greenery and a little pinecone. Sometimes it's the simple touches that make the biggest splash of holiday cheer!



Same thing with your silver serving trays! Why hide them in the pantry? I use them all over the house. Layer one on a footstool for a easy reach for a drink.



I love to repurpose items. This coffee urn is now a beautiful vase for my entry table.



I absolutely LOVE this pop of red from a vintage candy tin. What a super steal it was! 10 cents at a garage sale! I also got the card holder for a quarter and spray painted it. Spray paint is my best friend! Black and white photos are a great way to add a touch of nostalgia.


Ok...enough for today. Check back soon. I'll post kitchen photos this weekend!

It's not Christmas decorating, but you might also enjoy a new video I uploaded, Decorating with Repurposed Junk.

I love the day after Thanksgiving. It's an ephoric day of Black Friday bargains and massive Christmas decorating!! I can't wait to get out my boxes of decorations, put on some Christmas music and sip on some hot cocoa! Some of you got a head start though! Cheaters:)  My daughter saw a comic the other day with a turkey snapping at Santa Claus saying, "Wait your turn!!"

Each year I love to make something new to add to my decorations. That way decorating triggers nostalgic memories as I recall the fun I had making them. I can't wait to unpack these linen stockings I made last year.



I used vintage napkins for the cuff because I love the texture of washed linen. Fabric covered buttons, ribbon and jingle bells...Festive at its finest!

I often buy vintage linen tablecloths at estate sales. Some have holes or stains, but here I had enough to salvage for the stocking body.



If you want a little more bling, hang an ornament from the button. I LOVE mercury glass!



Want to make your own? I used McCalls pattern 2991.



Be sure to check back. More Christmas decorating ideas to come!

Want to check out my other blog? Tissues for your Issues, inspiring devotionals for Soul-healthy women.

Do you ever get tired of your furniture? At one point, I was in love with this bookcase, but after ten years it needed an update! I wanted to tone down the dark colors in my house and bring in some white. I almost can't believe I'm even saying that! There was a point when white was this decorator's enemy!



It's amazing what a coat of paint can do! Check it out now!



I used a color called Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore and rubbed a bit of walnut stain by Watco on after I sanded to bring out the undercolor. All this was inspired by Deana at Alchemy Fine Living. Check out her blog. She is incredibly talented and inspiring!



The stain gives a touch of sheen which I really like and I love how the orignial color shows through after I sanded it.



I have to say that the thing I was most proud of it the way I rigged lighting in the top 3 shelves. I bought a shop light at Home Depot and concealed it inside the top shelf with a cup hook. I drilled a hole in the top of the bookshelf so I could thread the cord out the top and down the back so it wouldn't show. I put a lamp in the 2nd and 3rd shelves and plugged them all into the same extension. My brother had given me a remote switch and I plugged it in as well and hung it on a nail on the top shelf. So now, with the flip of one switch, the bookcase is all illuminated! Needless to say, Fall break was very productive for me!

Oh, I almost forgot. I gotta show you my new bling I put on my lampshade. When I go shopping, I take pics of things that inspire me so I dont' forget. This idea for the trim wasn't mine, but I wasn't going to pay $275 for the lamp I orginally saw it on. I had some extra trim at home. I cut out a circle of felt and basically hotglued about a yard of trim on it starting in the center and circling around. A vintage pin I have completes the look.



By the way, this lamp used to be my parents. You wouldn't believe how yellow the glass was from 50 years of my dad's cigar smoke!! I almost threw it out, but I loved the glass. I had never rewired a lamp before and didn't even consider myself capable, but I knew the lamp was otherwise useless. The cord and the glass had seen brighter days. It actually wasn't that hard. When I took it apart I put the glass in the dishwasher, and I love it now!



Before I did either of these projects I imagined them finished. Our imagination is such a gift from God! We can't create without it! But we need a healthy imagination in other areas of our life as well. If you'd like to learn more about that, check out my post, How Healthy is Your Imagination? 

Happy Decorating!

Do you ever get the urge to make something? I do! I love to make things for myself and for my friends. Creating something is amazing therapy. Here I'll show you step-by-step how to make this grace plaque, but you can use your own spin and creativity to make something uniquely yours!

I have a friend who LOVES pink. You've probably heard the expression, "We all bleed red." Not my friend Dru. She bleeds pink!



For me? At the moment, I'm still hooked on green...

So...here's the HOW TO: Start with a blank slate. I got this board at Michaels for .99 cents and primed it to start. Priming isn't necessary but it helps with paint coverage.



Pick out your colors

I squirt out a bit of several colors on a styrofoam plate and use a foam brush to apply.



I purposely don't blend the colors because I like it to look distressed.

 

Next, I select a font I like, enlarge it to the exact size I want and print it out. Sometimes it may take a few attempts to get the font the right size. 72 is the largest font size in the drop down menu box on Word, but you can type in larger numbers until you get the size you desire.



Get some tracing paper, the dressmakers kind. Mine is ages old, but if you don't have any, you can get it in the fabric department at Walmart or Hobby Lobby.



Place the tracing paper glossy side down on your project and position your letters on top of the tracing paper. Use a pen or pencil to trace your letters onto the project.





Now simply paint over the transfered letters.



Now comes the fun part...embellishing! I got this "drawer pull" at Hobby Lobby. I took the screw out and hotglued it onto the wood. I also used a couple of fabric scraps to add more interest. You'll see that below.



To jazz it up even more, I screwed cup hooks on the bottom of the plaque to hang crystals.



Lastly, just for a bit more of an antiqued look, I rubbed a touch of stain over the dried paint. It also gives it a glossy look.



Tadaaa!



Here's how I did the green plaque. I started with several shades of green:



Slop it on...seriously...the messier the better.



Little scraps of fabric go a long way to add additional texture and charm.

scrunch it all up and hotglue it together.



Another beautiful project! Knowing you made it from scratch makes it even more special! 



I got the crystals from Pottery Barn. They are actually Christmas ornaments. When they went on sale for .99 cents, I bought several. Who says Christmas ornaments are only for Christmas!

If you want the font I used for Grace Sufficient, click here for the pdf file.

Have fun! I'd love to see what you end up creating!

It started in the Spring and it's lasting through the summer. My love affair with green is still going strong. Here's a few things I've done lately. Proof still that a little color goes a long way to making a big splash.

Remember my purple passion from the fall? It's gone...at least for now. I revived my kitchen by taking out all my purple flowers from the fall (they're nice and comfy in the garage) and replaced with green and white. Mostly from Dollar Tree and Michaels (1/2 off!!).

 

I've been eyeing this green silk velvet for a long time and finally splurged. I won't say how much I paid, but suffice it to say that all this dumpster diva would splurge for is 1/2 of a yard. But...I got 2 pillows out of it. Here's my fav:  

Tiny splashes of green here and there give everything a new feel.

Here's another pillow I made.


A simple flower change in the dining room blends everything with the rest of the house.



Check out this butter dish I got for $4 at an estate sale. If you didn't know...estate sales are like garage sales on steroids, especially on the last day. Almost all estate sales sell everything for 1/2 price on the last day.



The lid swivels and opens. It's so cool.



With 2 boys in the house, I don't know when I'll get to use it, but for now, I'm leaving it out so I can just look at it. Pretty things make me smile.

Oh, guess what...speaking of the next time I'll get to use it reminds me of holidays and holidays are for celebrating with family...and I'm so excited because I'll have a new family member soon. Not a baby, but an awesome sister-in-law. My brother Joe is getting married to Janet!!



My husband John is going to perform the nuptials. Janet is awesome and our parents have been friends forever. If my mom and dad were alive, they'd be so happy!

Forgive the sidebar, but I just had to share! Haha. I also sprinkled more green throughout the kitchen. This silver tray is my favorite. I got it at a garage sale for a couple dollars. It has a lid, but here I'm just using it for display.



I wanted to elevate it a bit, so I took a little shell dish that I picked up for a quarter.



turned it upside down.



and it became the perfect base for my silver tray!



By my sink I added some green.



Basically, in all of these little vignettes I didn't change anything except the color of flowers. Sometimes I get lazy and don't have time to remix, but I'm thrilled with the updates. I love the little things. Like this box of matches with a green succulent candle. When I find something I like, I usually buy several. I have these all over the house.



I even added some green in the laundry room.



I picked up the oval frame at a g-sale for 50 cents. A scrap of fabric and a brooch I no longer wear jazz it up. The birdcage is a decal from Michael's $1 bin that you scratch off onto paper with a plastic popsicle stick that is enclosed.



My friend Darla...love you girl, gave me 2 of these tea towels.



I embellished one of them. I so LOVE it!



One final splash of green. I found these at Dollar Tree. I've seen them at decorating boutiques for $12-$15, but dollar tree sells everything for...well, a dollar. So, I bought 12 packages!!



I didn't buy all they had. I wanted you to have some too:) I put some in a vase.



and some in a shell.



and some under a cloche.



Ok...that's all for now. Happy decorating!

WITH GREEN!

Every season it seems I have a new favorite color and this spring, it's green! I'm totally in LOVE!
It's amazing how just a new punch of color can spice things up!

I didn't spend a dime on refashioning my new porch. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit. Maybe a couple dollars on little paint bottles at Hobby Lobby.

I didn't even buy the geraniums! After a Whiz Kids banquet, Shannon and Kari were clearing the stage and they made me take them! I didn't even want them at first because I didn't think red was going to work with my new porch. I'm so glad they forced me to take them home. I think the red makes the green pop!  

Here's a few things I repainted. If you like the colors, I even took a pic of the paint so you can get the same color. Hey, why not? Even Pottery Barn shows you the colors in their catalogue.



I was actually going to throw these things away because they had been on my porch for sooo long. They were dirty and UGLY! But, my motto's always been, "Don't throw it away, repaint it!" So, before I tossed them out, I though I'd just try to see if a bit of paint would salvage them and it did!

Both of these projects were base coated with Leaf Green and streaked with a touch of Forest Moss. 


The lettering was done in Sawgrass. I do a lot of my projects at my kitchen table. Spread some newspaper and use a styrofoam plate for your palette. I use foam brushes for most everything.


When the paint was dry, I finished both projects by wiping on some stain to give them an even more distressed finish. 

 

If you want to know how to transfer words in pretty fonts to your project,
 click here to read the instructions. 
You can find some really neat free fonts at 1001fonts.com.



I bought this cross below at a garage sale two or three years ago and never found a home for it. The poor thing sat outside leaned up against the fence in a forgotten part of my yard. It was super rusty from being out in the rain and snow, but when I started painting everything in sight, I grabbed this too. I didn't paint the entire cross. I left some of the rust on purpose to give it a more vintage look. Actually, I like the rust with the green. Whoever knew rust would be popular? Maybe someday, my wrinkles will be in style too!

and here's my favorite new item. Drum roll please......

This also sat in my garage for a couple of years until the inspiration hit me. I even tried to give it away at one point, but none of my friends wanted it. So, after $3 and 3 years later, the former navy blue, gold and cream piece makes it debut in green!



Dru and Darla....eat your hearts out! You didn't want it then and you can't have it now!

First I painted it the Sawgrass Green and then swiped a few streaks of Basil Green and Forest Moss. Ta-da!

The final touch is my old "tea room" sign getting a new touch of color. The old fabric swatches that embellished the plaque were red, so I pulled them off and hotglued new fabric swatches on and finished it off with a crown drawer pull from Hobby Lobby. I just removed the screw and hotglued it in place.

A complete porch transformation on a dime!

I should have taken a picture of this before I started so you could see how ugly it was, but you can trust me....it was an ordinary ugly drawer divorced from it's dresser. For that matter, if you're not into shabby chic decor, you may still think it's ugly, but I love the transformation of an old junk drawer to a new display piece.

You can find old drawers at thrift stores and curbsides, but I got my for $3 at Habitat for Humanity. What a fun day that was. Ran into a writer friend of mine and we stopped and yacked for a half an hour on the hardware isle. Last weekend was perfect weather for a small painting project in the garage.

It was really fun distressing this piece! I found an awesome youtube video with step by step instructions on how to master the art of destruction. Now that I've leaned how to do a small project, I'm trying to talk myself into doing my kitchen. I might need some help for that project though. There's LOTS of drawers in my kitchen.

Here's another piece of junk I wished I had taken a picture of before its transformation. Found it at a garage sale at the Norman fairgrounds a couple of weeks ago. It had a pair of gargoyles encapsulated by an aztec-ish pattern of bronze circles. Yuk! But after a little sandpaper, primer and paint, check it out now.



I love the touch of crackled paint.

Crackling is fairly simple. I used Folkart Crackle Medium. After the primer, (I had to prime this project because the tray is metal. Without a primer, the paint would scratch off) I painted a bronze base coat. When that dried, I painted on a think coat of crackle medium. When that was dry, I painted a top coat of black and watched the crackling begin. 

I used this stencil and then misted bronze spray paint over it. I didn't want harsh coverage because I wanted a vintage finish. When the bronze spray paint was dry (just took a minute) I lightly brushed some black paint over the design and wiped off the excess with a wet paper towel to make it even look more aged.


My new tray makes a great new place to display some of my coffee table favorites.

After I packed away my Christmas stuff...(I'm embarrassed to say this just occured last weekend. It's hard to get in the mood for all that strenuous packing. I't so much more fun to put it up!) Anyway, I couldn't bear to bannish all that glitter and bling to the shed. It doesn't all scream "Christmas". I think keeping out a few choice ornaments through February won't brand me as a redneck decorator. 

Oops! Just noticed there's a strand of lights I missed. I better get back to packing!

Decorating with old books can be a lot of fun. Here, I'll show you step by step how you can make your own.

Start out with an old hard cover book.

Spread some newspaper and put on a latex glove. Rub Treasure Gold on the book with your finger. You can find this at Hobby Lobby or Michaels or maybe even Walmart.

Don't worry about getting it evenly distributed. The point is to make it look old and distressed.

 

You can even rub some on the papers for a more antiqued look.

Next, play with a variety of fabrics and ribbons to embellish the book.

  

Next, glue your fabric to the inside of the book and wrap the corners like giftwrap. You can use a variety of glues. Hot glue or spray adhesive works well for the fabric.

Finally, glue your trim to the rough edges of the front fabric and you are done! If you want, you can even decorate the inside cover to conceal the rough edges of the fabric. If I was giving the book as a gift, I would probably finish the inside, but for me, I'm not bothering. I'm on to my next project!

Now you know what to do with those old books you see at garage sales and thrift stores! Happy decorating!

I'm into small details. I love to celebrate the tiny things.

Sometimes it's the small things that make the biggest impact.

Remember these metal cups? They made everything sooo cold. But this cup lost its family and was all by itself. Marked 10¢ at a sale, I thought surely I could find a place for it.  A vintage sticker glued on the front with three purple stems makes this vintage cup a part of a happy family again.

This vintage candy dish had a cracked lid so I got this crystal and marble beauty for 3 bucks. Toss in a couple of flowers and a a former cracked candy dish has a new lease on life.  

 

 

 

 

A splash of purple flowers tucked into a mini creamer helps spread the purple love around.

Small splashes of purple around the kitchen help give the new accent color more a more dramatic effect. This arrangement is simple: one hydrangea with a bit of greenery and one purplelion (my name for a purple dandelion look-alike...I don't know the names for flowers, I just clip and tuck.)

Can't forget a bit of flowers by the coffee pot, another former cracked pot turned flower vase.

I still have more purple to come! Even if you're not a purple fan, you can take these ideas and make them your own with your favorite fall shades. Whatever your favorite color is, give the glory to God. He has created colors we haven't even seen yet!

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:9

I bought some flowers at Michaels and Dollar Tree last week. As soon as I got them home I realized I needed MORE! I don't know how to do floral arrangements, but my way of decorating with flowers is more of a "clip and stick" style. I clip em and stick em EVERYWHERE. I buy a variety of flowers in the same color family and clip and stick them all together...in anything I can find. From vintage silver, coffee cups, pitchers and upside down lampshades like you see here. Got this one at a garage sale and liked it better with flowers in it. You name it, and this week I put flowers in it. 

Take a peek at some of the other things I did.   

Here's a coffee urn I bought at a garage sale for 5 bucks! I love to repurpose my vintage finds. Isn't that what God does with our lives? If you feel like an old coffee urn that has lost her cord in a day where Starbucks and Keurig makes you obsolete, rest assured, God has a purpose for you and it will be more beautiful than you can imagine! He makes us all things beautiful in His time. 

I like this coffee pot better as a vase and I absolutely love the purple daisies from Dollar Tree. You don't have to spend a forture to make your house look like a million!

A little splash of color goes a long way to update a fall color palette. All the flowers in my kitchen were red and while I love red, my eyes were getting tired of seeing the same color. I boxed up the red and stored those flowers in the garage. Someday, what is old now will be new again. In the meantime, purple is my new red! Here is a coffee cup I bought at Michaels in their dollar section. Just three stems from a sprig of mums along with a splash of green adds a punch of fall. I love the contrast of the stark white coffee cup with the purple and green.

I bought an entire bag of the green balls at an estate sale for $1. I have no idea what they are, but you'll see through out my pics how a couple here and a couple there spread the green around the house.

Here's a couple of tips for fun fall decorating:

Whenever you see something you like at a garage sale or an estate sale, even if you aren't sure where you would use it at the time, buy it for inspiration. It's fun to play with a variety of textures.

To sprinkle a touch of nature, add pinecones to a small plate, coffee cup or tray like I did to this 50 cent thrift store silver dish. Pecans or walnuts in their shell or acorns also are a great way to add texture.

Cut or tear strips of fabric to use instead of ribbon to embellish vases.

This bronze frame below used to be red. I loved the frame but the red clashed so I put on a latex glove and rubbed some Plaid Enterprise Treasure Gold onto it. It only took about a minute! Then I found this white vase hiding in the garage. The white, along with a sprig of bachelor's buttons, sets off the display of bronze.

Here's some more daisies in a silver tea cannister. Can you tell I have an extreme fondness for anything silver?

Later this week, I'll share some more of my purple passion! Happy decorating!

Remember, He has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecc 3:11).

 

If you ever go garage saling or estate saling with me, you may wonder why I buy some of the things I buy. When I get home and show John my "finds," he just scratches his head.

About six months ago, I picked up this interesting burlap peacock, (or is it a chicken? I'm not sure) at a sale for $2. I'm positve it was a beauty in it's day, but today...not so much. I actually bought it for the frame that it was stapled to, knowing that when the inspiration hit, I would buy some new burlap and paint a new design on it.  

The other day I was flipping through a Ballard Design magazine and saw the inspiration for my new art: a burlap bee on a tote.

Burlap pillows and decor are all the decorating rage right now, but you pay a small forture for rage.

 Unless you do it yourself!

If you enjoy the satisfaction of creating your own designs, burlap is $4 a yard.  So, I used the picture of my inspiration tote to draw a larger design on newspaper.

 After I cut it out, I outlined the design on burlap and painted it.  As you can see, my painting skills are limited to things that I can basically color in, but...

A few staples later, I have a new wall hanging!

 

 

Last weekend called for some decorating therapy! After I sold an old desk on Craigslist and the empty spot it left behind begged to be filled. It might be awhile before I can find just the right buffet that I want for this spot, so in the meantime, I covered a folding table with a linen tablecloth and began. All I needed was a foundation to begin.

 

I hate storing my pretty serving pieces away. I love to put them on display! Otherwise, they'd only get used for holidays. When I'm not using them for a buffet, at least I can decorate them. The boutiques do!

So, can I tell you a little about a couple of my favorite pieces here? I am a tight wad. I hardly ever pay full price for anything. That's why I love estate sales. One person's discards is now my delight! I'll start with my new cake stand, front and center. I've wanted a silver vintage cake pedestal with a glass dome forever. Not wanting to fork over $200+ for the one I wanted, (my taste has never matched my pocketbook) I finally came up with a way to create one. The pedestal is actually made out of 2 garage sale finds: a silver serving platter and a silver bowl turned upside down. I glued them together and now I have the silver vintage pedestal I've wanted for a fraction of the cost! I got the glass dome at Pottery Barn where they sell the pedestal and cover seperately so I didn't have to buy both!

In case you hadn't noticed, burlap is all the decorating rage this season and it is sooo cheap. Just a little scrap over another vintage tray created a shabby layer to spotlight my mother-in-law's scale I asked for after she passed. It's one of the few treasures I was able to fit in my suitcase and salvage after her death. After years of sitting on the shelf, the crystals were yellow, but I took them off and ran them through the dishwasher and now they are a spotless reminder of someone I loved. A couple of succulent tealight candles found at The Rink are complimented by a dragonfly matchbook and add just the right touch of green to an otherwise too brown palette. Can you tell I'm into the small little details?

Ok, one more burlap treasure. I've seen these pillows at boutiques for $50. Girls...they're burlap! I can make 3 pillow covers for $5 and slip them over pillows I'm tired of! Here's a pic of my inspiration pillow I found online. I made a stencil with an exacto blade and painted it on a piece of burlap. If you mess up, that's okay. Just use that one for practice and once you get it down, cut another piece. I used a 20" square for mine but you can make any size. There's such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I get from making things and from sharing my ideas with you!

 

I found my next treasure at Dillard's. Like I told you earlier I rarely pay full price for anything, but I thought this piece was so versatile and inexpensive. Each tier swivels in and out, so each plate can either be stacked neatly underneath the top for easy storage or spiraled out for more display. For 40 bucks, I get a lot of decorating options!

 

Last weekend I really needed to make something. For me, there are times when creating is a necessity. It's therapy! For some of you, you totally understand what I'm talking about and the rest of you are just scratching your heads, but there is a refreshing that comes from creation.

I love what the word inspire means: to breath into; to infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit as by a divine or supernatural influence. In fact, inspire comes from the Hebrew word naphach which is the word that Genesis uses to describe how God breathed the breath of life into Adam. God fashioned Adam and life came forth. Adam was His masterpiece, his inspiration.

I like to think that when I create something that my inspiration comes from heaven and life comes forth. Maybe that's why I feel so refreshed. Maybe that's why creating is a necessity for me. What about you?

 

Check out my weekend project. It was super easy. I've had this closet door for awhile in my office but I got tired of the flowers and wallpaper "couture" stickers on it, so I removed them and decided to do a little paisley action.

The paisley design is a stencil. I laid it over my project and misted bronze spray paint over it. Misting gave a faded and vintage coverage which made it look like it's been this way forever, all worn and antiqued. Then I added a drawer pull and a tassel to embellish it a bit.

   

 

 

This Dumpster Diva/Garage sale queen celebrates decorating and vintage remixing. Lately, I've discovered that I have a lot of sistas!! So I thought I'd share a little peek into some of my favorite finds. Scroll down and check out my my pics.

You should have seen my office before I cleaned it up! My space hardly ever looks like this. Usually there are papers EVERYWHERE...because for some reason, I have to be able to touch them and see them. If they are all filed away, like they are in the picture, I don't feel in the grove.

I love decorating and everything in my office either came from a garage sale, thrift store or estate sale. Things are somehow more special to me when no one else saw the value in them. Like my "desk" for example. It was covered with a sheet and .25 cent glasses at a garage sale. All I saw were the legs, but it was love at first sight. I casually asked the owner how much she wanted for the table. "Oh, that thing?!! You can HAVE it when the garage sale is over." It had been sitting outside for so long it was the color of a ten year old fence. But after a little paint and sandpaper, it's just the right shade of shabby chic.

The bookcase was another miracle. I had always envisioned a bookcase to go on top of this table, but finding just the right one when I was in the mood to look was about as lofty as thinking I could do a triple axle the first time I went skating...but it happened! The day I went looking for a bookcase, I found one...for $5!!! It was brown in its former life. But that's why I love spray paint. I bought so much at WalMart one summer, the clerk thought I was getting high.

Oh...and my chair...$7 at an estate sale. I LOVE my chair. More spray paint and a little fabric for the cushion, and ta dah! It's my fav and it spins and reclines too.

 

Ever since I saw sweater pillows in Pottery Barn's catalog, I've wanted to make one myself. That day finally came Saturday when a couple of my friends and I had a craft day. We found some pics for inspiration and headed out to thrift stores. These pillows are super fun and easy.

Want a fun girlfriend project? These books also make great homemade Christmas gifts! Tamara and I had so much fun with this project. It's almost impossible to mess them up because the purpose is to make them look distressed and vintage.

Yesterday I showed you my neutral palette in the living room, but I saved the punch of color for the kitchen. I LOVE red! You may have seen a lot of this deco before, but changing up the flowers for the holidays add a dramatic change.

Last year I told you I traded my fat tree for a skinny tree. Why? It doesn't take as long to decorate and the same amount of bulbs make it look totally full.

I love the day after Thanksgiving. It's an ephoric day of Black Friday bargains and massive Christmas decorating!! I can't wait to get out my boxes of decorations, put on some Christmas music and sip on some hot cocoa! Some of you got a head start though! Cheaters:)  My daughter saw a comic the other day with a turkey snapping at Santa Claus saying, "Wait your turn!!" Each year I love to make something new to add to my decorations.

Do you ever get tired of your furniture? At one point, I was in love with this bookcase, but after ten years it needed an update! I wanted to tone down the dark colors in my house and bring in some white.

Do you ever get the urge to make something? I do! I love to make things for myself and for my friends.

It started in the Spring and it's lasting through the summer. My love affair with green is still going strong. Here's a few things I've done lately.

WITH GREEN! Every season it seems I have a new favorite color and this spring, it's green! I'm totally in LOVE!

I should have taken a picture of this before I started so you could see how ugly it was, but you can trust me....it was an ordinary ugly drawer divorced from it's dresser. For that matter, if you're not into shabby chic decor, you may still think it's ugly, but I love the transformation of an old junk drawer to a new display piece. You can find old drawers at thrift stores and curbsides, but I got my for $3 at Habitat for Humanity.

This Dumpster Diva/Garage sale queen celebrates decorating and vintage remixing. Lately, I've discovered that I have a lot of sistas!! So I thought I'd share a little peek into some of my favorite finds.