Dollar Tree Candy Project...

I am linking up with one of my FAVORITE BLOGS 
Cottage Instincts with this project
.... And I am so honored to be added to this site
Oh and I am linking to this awesome blog too... 
oh and this one too

I decide this year to add a little candy to my decor and I REALLY wanted to do a project that was quick and easy and not a lot of mess !

I am STILL working on my craft room in the basement and after the holidays I plan to spend a lot of my time crafting the winter away but I had the need to do something NOW

I was inspired by our living room wreath which by using what I had on hand ended up with a candy theme

So ... I set out to fill in my tree with this easy and CHEAP project

I bought these styro disks at the dollar tree, had christmas red paint on hand and a cellophane basket bag

I laid the paper over the table and whimsically painted on the disks to make them resemble a peppermint candy

I painted the other side after this one dried and then wrapped each one in cellophane and tied the ends with vintage yarn (like the stuff we tied out hair up with in the late 70's)

I then stuck them inside the blankish spots on my tree...

The only thing is ... one by one I am giving these away from the tree whenever the kids (friends kids) come for a visit because they LOVE them!

I have another dollar tree candy goodie in the next few days to show you and that one too is being taken by the kids LOL

Fallish tour...

Because we are packing to move I did not take any of my fall goodies down from the attic this year

I kind of just stuck with goodies I got at the dollar store or things I bought at yard sales this year

A welcome...

for our new home!

I have been designing wreaths for 10 years ~ in fact I had a wreath business that was very good to me
I was able to create and make money by doing it
I still pass by homes that have my wreaths on their doors and I smile

I loved making wreaths ~ but I stopped doing it about a year ago!
I am not even sure why I stopped!

So tonight I was thinking about decorating the new house even though I will be painting and cleaning for almost the whole month of October

What could I do that would make the house LOOK welcoming while I was making it welcoming

A WREATH

I had a grapevine wreath on hand and  3 ~ 4ft lengths of HUGE fall leaves and some green florist  wire

I made this

wreath for our new home

It will stay until Thanksgiving

I like the colors as the new house is brick and there are maple trees
I think it will look welcoming on our front door
I can't wait till Friday to see
It is really full and whimsical and best of all it was FREE
I am going to add a step plant stand with varying shades of mums to the porch as well!
I am so excited
We will close on FRIDAY!!!
Just not sure about the time yet!

Easy Peasy Project

Here is an Easy P ~easy Picture Frame Project for our new bathroom

I am not a blue person,

unless you count the blue of the ocean or the blue of my hubbys eyes or a baby blue blanket

 I don't have very much blue in our home at all ... but I will NOW because our new bathroom is mostly  BLUE TILE!

The tub and toilet and sink are cast iron baby blue

The floor and halfway up the wall is coordinating baby blue tile

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our theme for the bathroom is BEACH!!

I plan on painting the walls a crisp white ~ and using  various shades of blue and lime with black cottage accents

~~~~~~~~~~~

SNEAK PREVIEW

Here is a super quick, easy and cheap project I whipped up that will coordinate with the theme and the bathroom color

The hubby bought these license plates while we were at our favorite place... Virginia Beach!

One for me and one for him!

How cute I thought and instantly knew I would frame them for the bathroom

80% of the accents that will be going into the bathroom are from Virginia Beach so I though how fitting these were

Off to the dollar tree for a frame

I had striped green and blue paper

So all I did was cut the paper to fit the frame ~ and glue the two license plates on the paper and I had an instant and sweet reminder of our place... our blue place!

I will show you soon how this project coordinates with the theme as the bathroom is my very first project in our new house!

Un~Ballard...

I am so inspired...

Our new (almost) kitchen has an area above the cabs that needs a shelf...

and over the door way too...

I wanted to make a shelf for cute storage...

BUT

HOW THE HECK WAS I TO DO THIS?

Then I came across THIS blog post by Traci and I knew I could so do it!

(PLUS she is givng one away) WOHOOOO

Step by step... WOW!

I am so excited!

Oh and Traci seriously has the home of my dreams... her makeovers are exactly what I want for my home!

She does not even know me... but she is my new FBD... favorite blog designer!

A red accent kitchen

Well I am back... to creating and thrifting and posting about it! I am again participating in this: I want to thank Rhoda for inspiring me to think outside the box and to create what is in my heart I actually painted all these things for my kitchen using the FREE glidden paint that I got in the mail My choice was DELICIOUS ~ I am loving red right now~ My task was to paint shelves that I picked up for a buck each A frame I got for 5 bucks A basket that I got for 1 buck

My kitchen is small and DULL~ I have my washer and dryer in it too and that makes it look even more blah especially on laundry day

I wanted to paint a backsplash but decided to instead use a frame and put pictures of us through the years... they are all haphazardly arranged in the frame but I think they look cute

My theme in the kitchen is FOOD IS LOVE... cook with it so that is why I also have a heart by the sink... it was a large tin heart and was a buck.. I painted it DELICIOUSI had a small blank space near the end of the cupboard so I added this basket Now, when I walk into the kitchen I see the brightness of the red and it makes me SMILE... and isn't that what life is all about?

Foyer/Stairwell Declutter

For some strange reason I enjoy embarrassing myself on my blog with before and afters I swear that I do not live in squallier

This is the catchall area at the front entrance of our home It is a mess, all the time Hubs jacket, a bag of Tupperware that I need to return to my friend, junk mail in the basket, my keys, an umbrella holder with everything but umbrellas, shoes, and much more I declutter it and it goes back to this all the time...

I got to my breaking point and took everything out of the hall

I decided that I needed a table for the foyer instead of the hanging thing and basket so it was on my list to find one on my travels for CHEAP... when I remembered that I had a beautiful drop leaf that belonged to my grandma in the attic I picked up this basket for 50 cents at the thrift shop and painted it to match my custom made coat hanger on the wall I also

added a primitive tag that reads JUNK on one side and MAIL on the other

So here it is... all nice and neat I love the basket print that my MIL gave me for Christmas one year You can probably see my Le Sport Sac hanging on the rack... I bought it for 10 bucks at our shop All my grade school and high school days I wanted a Le Sport Sac but could never afford one so when this one came in I had to have it ...when it went on sale A paint job on the wall would be nice and a new area rug... but that will come in time For now it is neat and is staying that way so far...

50 cents~trash to treasure~question

I am joining 2 parties in one day

I want to thank Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch and Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality for hosting these fun and educational blog parties each week Click on the names to be transported to their inspiring blogs and to see the other fabulous participants

My Aunt gave me one of Ms O's (oprah) favorite candles for my birthday so ...

I needed a candle holder for our bedroom

I visited my favorite thrift shop and found this ordinary wooden holder for 50 cents

These candle holders are quite abundant in my neck of the woods... as I am sure they are in yours

I sprayed the holder with black paint and when that was dry I sprayed it in spots with mahogany paint

To match these chargers over our bed

I took gold plastic chargers that I got for 50 cents each and sprayed them black and then mahogany after the black was dry

I then stenciled our initials in light green and placed them over the bed

I used tacky glue to attach the ribbon to the back to hang

In the summer I keep the bed & bedroom very light.. just 2 comforters and a lightweight quilt

I have 9 pillows on the bed in this picture but since then I bought 2 more pillows

We both LOVE pillows and can't get enough of them... 11 pillows, all are used.

I only buy washable pillows!

We are not fancy so why should our pillows be?

I am a firm believer in not having things ONLY for good...

we deserve good too, all the time & not just saved for the company!

I am having an issue with this wall... hubs dresser is on this wall and I have space for stuff on the wall

My idea is to wake up to things that bring me joy... the hub loves the clock so it has to stay

Not necessarily where it is now though... I am not sure this is all even proper feng shui!

He has to at least have some say though.. not much .. some!

Anyway right now I have our wedding invite framed with another charger plate that I freehand painted words that describe our relationship

LOVE CALM PATIENCE FAITH RESPECT

I think I either need more things or less things... I am not sure!

I do know that I don't like the layout anymore but I still want to keep it simple

oh and I did have another picture there to balance the grouping but I took it down because it was just not ... it

Even though I have no clue what it is...!!!

Any ideas?

Thanks so much for stopping by... you are welcome anytime!

Tablescape of sorts

~If you read my blog in the past you will know that I have a small home full of joy!~

Our dining room table seats 4 and I change the look at least every 2 weeks

The hub and I are together 12 years (dating) 10 married 9/17

I decided to make a scape of us this time

I bought the wicker suitcase for 1.00

The mirror was 97 cents at CTS a while back

I got the berries , the candle and holder with a gift certificate for my birthday

PLUS

I picked up 4 place mats... 1.29 each

The thing about place mats is they just don't fit my table, they over lap and drive me crazy

What I really wanted was a runner but all the runners were so colorful and had a theme

I like things that are generic so I could make my own theme

So I decided to sew the place mats together to make a runner

I think it turned out cute!

A bathroom makeover

I am joining MET Monday again this Monday and I want to thank Susan from

Between Naps on the Porch

for hosting this fun day! Click on the butterfly to be brought to Susan's wonderful blog

Okay … this is embarrassing, very embarrassing

I cannot even help but wonder

WHY

I am even showing this on my blog…

but yah take the good, yah take the bad and you go on…

BACKGROUND We live in a very small but cozy home which was my grandmas It is a duplex that is over 130 years old My parents live downstairs from us and they are our landlords…

this is a complete other story

There have been subtle changes that we made to our home but never anything too big because this home of ours is temporary until we buy our home

We were supposed to have moved to our new home by now but it FORTUNATELY fell through and we are looking again

In the meantime I had purchased goodies for the new place for almost every room The half bath was going to be a beach theme…

We LOVE the beach…One of our favorite places on earth is VA Beach Instead of letting all my goodies sit in boxes, I decided to Paint our TINY full bathroom (6x4) in a seashore theme The bathroom has beautiful harvest gold tile… ahem!

And stunning harvest gold fixtures… ahem!

The walls are horrendous! Peeling paint everywhere from improper paint being applied to a small and moist environment by other tenants before we moved in I painted the walls so many times I GIVE UP… The walls need to be completely redone by a professional, I am not one I scraped the paint off the wall, hey it was peeling anyway

Here it is...

I took a mauve, gold and cream color acrylic paint and with plastic gloves swirled and pounded the paint on the wall to look like the beach at sunset & sunrise…

bright gold and red and peach and pink and just... YUM!

The wall does remind me of the beach now… and it actually goes with the harvest gold fixtures LOL And when I add my picture and signs… not much of the wall even shows through It took me 1 hour from start to finish to complete this job… And here it is

The Seashell sign is from VA Beach for 3.00 The She Sell Seashell Sign is from CTS for 3.99 In the bathroom I have lime green towels and rugs and a white striped cabana looking shower curtain This picture above is a reminder of the hubby and I at the beach. I bought the frame for .25 and I shabbied it all up and then added this watercolor print that I bought from eBay for 12.95

Here is my favorite tin sign above. I bought it at KMART for 9.99 Green glass jar with sand, stones, beach glass and shells from VA beach... plus a cats meow and a beach chair The sink (look at the gold and faux marble) includes a Sand dollar in a lime green frame from the beach for 3.50 A ceramic striped cup and toothbrush holder I bought at a thrift shop at the beach the whole set including the tissue holder which I will show in a sec was 6.99 I shabbied the bottom of the cup and brush holder I also have my Willow Tree Woman from my hubby which I adore! This door knob hanger was a great find at Michael's 5 years ago for 1.00 each... 90% off!! I bought 3 of them and have used them ever since in my bathroom Maybe it is because I really like them they seem to fit in with each theme I do So there is my beach theme bathroom I really like it for now... until the fall when we get the professional to fix the walls!!! Maybe by then we will have moved into our new home... who really knows... either way I will be sure to take pictures of the new theme too!

Sweater and No Sew Pillows

I bought these pillows at CTS for 6.99 each

They are huge and I love the BUTTONS

plus

They match my plaid curtains that I got at Walmart for 9.99 per panel

I was STALKING the curtains for MONTHS until one day they went HALF OFF!

Back to the pillows

They measure 16x16

I LOVE THEM!

I know I should not love inanimate objects but these are ADORABLE

I really needed an accent pillow to go along with this change to my living room

I was shopping yet again at $General and happened upon this floral print... in pillow cases!

I DO NOT SEW...

but I also did not pass up this set of pillow case for 5 bucks

While I was standing in the aisle I decided to split the case in half and cover the 4 plaid pillows

I used to have in the living room I did not actually do this in the aisle... I did it when I got home

I used wonder under to secure the cases and pushed the pillow into the case and then sealed it with wonder under AGAIN

I was a sight let me tell you... totally NOT the way to do it... I believe that the NESTER calls it mistreatment's...

is it or ALL fabric projects that don't follow the rules?

Check out her inspirational blog here... shown is th plaid pilow I covered with the pillow case I createdAnywhooo... here is my finished couch

I love it... or maybe I am just proud to be able to do something like making pillow without screaming

"MOMMMMMM HeLp!"

In this picture is our couch with a stack of suitcases in the corner and a Belleek lamp on top

I love the mirror that is hung diagonally... I got the mirror for 7.47 at CTS a few months ago

I tend to pick things up that I like and THEN put them together in a design...

probably not the way I should design... but it works for me, it may take me months but it eventually comes together!

Vist to our local JCP Outlet I picked up this... A shutter magazine holder!!!

I admired this in the catalog a few seasons back but could not bear to shell out the 59.00 for it

So I waited and found it at the outlet for 9.99!

WAHOO!!!

Basket Remake

This HUGE basket was $2.00 at a garage sale this past weekend

It measures 20x20 and is 8" deep

I loved it for it's solid structure and for it's color RED!!!

I was not at all fond of it's red velvet lining

At another sale I bought white pip berries for 1.00 per length and I bought three lengths... these things are normally 18 bucks per length so I was EXCITED and in fact my GF said my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when the woman told me the price

So I removed the lining and added the pip berries to the outer edge of the basket

I plan to use it as a catch all next to my hubs chair in the living room

He watched me add the berries in horror today... but when I told him the price... of 3 bucks total he smiled and said it was nice...

Still not sure if he meant the basket or the price