Harvest Decorating

* Any highlighted words will take you to that post.  So enjoy!

 

 

So here we are in the month of November and I realized I NEVER even tried to write a post in October.  Shame on me.  I did happen to take a few photos of my Halloween/Harvest decor so I thought today would be a good day to show all of you.  I went pretty simple this year.  Isn't it funny how our decorating tastes change over the years or in my case it has changes almost every year.  These first two pictures show  the only real Halloween  decor I displayed this year.  I just was not in the Halloween spirit this year.  My poor kids!  They love the month of October.  So on with the tour....

 This side table/pie safe is sitting in my living room in front of my very large window.  I love having a table there but this one is a bit too high.  I hope to have that rectified in the future.  The skull I got last year after Halloween at Walmart.  I absolutely love it.  There is a button you push that plays the theme music from the movie "Halloween".  It is awesome.  I made the "Autumn, Harvest, Give Thanks blocks a few years ago.  Everything else was from around the house.

 Here is my side table I got from Goodwill while living in Michigan.  I still need to paint it but have not decided what color or if I should just re-stain it.  The cloche was the one I made  back in the day.  It is the one that made Allison of House of Hepworths go viral with hers.

 This is my coffee table in my living room.  I got that tray/cupboard door from the Habitat Restore. The ceramic squash was from Hobby Lobby in their clearance section, and the faux plant and sign are from Tai Pan Trading.  Absolutely Love them. 

 Here is my Dining table center piece.  I was trying for a bit cleaner look this year and used what I had around the house again.  The tray was from Goodwill in Michigan, the pitcher is from Ikea, wooden sticks are from a blind that I cut down, that faux foliage ball is from Tai Pan Trading, canning jar and pumpkins were from my stash from last year, and the rot iron bracket is from Hobby Lobby.  Got it for anther project but had never used it until now.  The table runner is just a scrap piece of fabric (can not remember the name of it) you use for Swedish Weaving.

 Here is a closer look at the vignette.  I really love how simple it is.  Lots of texture there.  LOVE IT!

Here is what my dinning room looks like now.  It is coming along.  I will do another post on my new addition...  The utensil wall art.  It is my FAVORITE!!!!  And so simple.  Well thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have a great week.  :O)

Projects here and there

So I decided to take a little break and spend some time with my family.  It sure has been nice and  we have had some fun.

 But it is about time for school to start here (in 2 weeks) so I better get in gear and start posting again.  I mean can I really expect the kids to get back in to school/homework mode if I myself can not get back into blogging?  So here I am back from a fun summer break.  :O)

I thought I would show you all some fun little (and I mean little) projects that I have been doing over the summer.

  I had painted the inside of the front door black last fall.  I love it.  But it needed something.  I had  leftover ruffles from another project and thought they would work great to make a rag wreath.

 Next, I changed out the blue Christmas ornaments that were in the cloche I made a couple years ago.

 I had gotten these green moss rocks quite a while ago so this was a no cost change-a-roo.

 If you have never gotten on Groopdealz than you are missing out.  Check out the fun personalized kitchen rules subway art I got.  It was an awesome deal.  I LOVE IT!!!  It has even helped the kids table manners.  Maybe the kids can learn to be civil at the table.  Ha ha ha.

 It is hanging in my dinning area.  I also FINALLY made the curtains for the window in the dinning area.  They match the living room curtains.  I know why did I have them match?  Because I loved the fabric.  I was thinking of doing different curtains in the dinning area but did not want to spend any more $$$$$ so I had to use the same fabric as the living room.  That is alright cuz I still like them.  Just gives it a little more of a finishing touch in there.  See...

 I had decorated the tops of my cupboards last fall and never showed you all.  I know shame on me.  I had these miss match baskets and some fake grass ( from my neighbor who worked/worked for Albertson's warehouse here in Utah) and he had all of this fake grass that he was getting rid of.  I guess they had an over abundance and was going to throw it all away and he saved it.  Then I got some.  Wish I would have gotten lots more.  Anyways,  I spray painted the baskets black to make them match and put the grass in them.  The memories sign I got from an antique store that was going out of business.  And wouldn't you know it,  the lady that owed the store and I had met via our blogs a year earlier and did not know we lived in the same town.  CRAZY I tell ya.

 I don't know?  I am wondering if I should paint the memories sign.  The finish on it right now is like galvanized metal.  What do you think?  Come on give me your input.

Another part of the cabinets is small so I needed something to fill it up with out it looking cramped.  I made the "B" blocks back when we were living in Michigan.  The egg basket I got from the Goodwill there too.  More of the grass and some fake fruit.

 Here is a better picture of the "B" blocks.

 Just another view of the top of the long cabinets.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have/had a wonderful summer like we did.  As always have a great week.  :O)

Gallery Wall

I know I have showed several pictures of my living room and a certain wall but have not talked about it.  I jumped on the Gallery Wall band waggon last year.  I knew ofter I put the board and batten I wanted to do a gallery wall on the main wall that stretches from my front door to the kitchen/ dinning room.

 I just used what I had around the house.  I have been hoarding stuff just for this purpose.  See the rectangle mirror on the very top of the wall?  I got that at the Goodwill while we were living in Michigan.  It was actually a candle holder.  It has these little feet on it. And it is heavy.  I just popped the feet off and use a few Disc adhesive plate hangers.  I hung it up and it has never moved since.  Those Disc hangers are awesome.

The "B" was the one from the dinning room from this post.  I liked it in there but LOVE it so much more on the Gallery wall.  I really enjoy looking at my wall every time I walk into the living room.  Not bad for using only what I had around the house. 

Hope you all have a great weekend.  I know I will.  I am at the SNAP! Creativity at Your Fingertips Conference.  If you are there look for me and say hi.

Favorite Projects of 2011

After going through this years posts, it seems like I did not get very many projects done.  When in reality I have gotten quite a few more done than I have posted about.  I better get on that.  *New  goal for 2012:  Be a better and more frequent blogger!   So here are my favorite projects this year  (and in no particular order)....

 

1. Board and Batten in the living room.  You can read about it here, here, and here.

2.  Shelving for our food storage.

3.  New flower garden for next year (2012).

4. Book page wreath.

5.  My Halloween table scape.

6.  Room redo on a very tight budget.

7.  Our ADULT Christmas tree.              

Hope your have had a wonderful 2011 and here's to making 2012 the BEST ever! 

New Updates to the Living Room...

Since I had so much time on my hands because I could not blog, I added a few things to the living room.  I started this make over last year..  Like June of 2010..  So yes, it has been slow going on this one..  I hope to have it complete this summer.  Or as close to complete as possible...  :O)  I started off by forcing persuading the hubs to visit a store I have been wanting to go to for like EVER... DownEast Basics...  LOVE IT....  I found a new sofa to put in the living room..  I have been eyeballing a Pottery Barn one but could not afford it.  I know I could have gone to IKEA and gotten theirs but it just is not that comfortable..   So I kept looking.  So off to DownEast Basics we went (dragging the hubs to whole way)..  I walked in and there she was..  Just waiting for me...  I sat on it for like 30 minutes before I even bought it so I know it is comfortable..  And trust me...  I have already taken a nap on it and it was heaven...  The best part... It was only...  WAIT FOR IT...  $650.  Yes you read that right...  And it is the Pottery Barn sofa I wanted....  :O)  And for half off...  Score!!  Doing a happy dance right now... 

 I got the pillows from a friend that got them with her Pottery Barn club chairs she got off of KSL...  They did not match her decor and she so lovingly gave them to me..  I forgot to take a close up of them so I will have to do that soon...

Next update was the new area rug I got at Lowe's...  I have been looking ALL OVER for the perfect rug for this room...  But I was not willing to pay over $150.  So the hunt went on..  I found this one that is 7'7'' x 9' I think at Lowe's.  Best part...  It was on clearance for $ 87.  HUGE SCORE and even bigger happy dance now....  :O)  I love the way it looks with the new sofa...  :O)  It does have a large floral pattern but it is still a neutral rug...  AND super soft on the tootsie... 

 I know, I need to slip cover those wing back chairs...  That will be happening hopefully this summer...  I have been pricing the fabric for it..  But we have to put a new roof on our house this weekend so slip covers will have to wait for awhile...

Here is a close up of the area rug...

I love it...  It is so pretty..  It did take some talking to the hubs to convince him of this purchase as did the sofa...  He thought we were fine with what we had...  Which was only 2 wing back chairs and a computer chair in this room..  Not going to work for us when we have family coming this fall to visit...  He was upset with me for a little bit..  But he came around and likes it now...  As always,  I am right and he is slow to realizing this...  Wish he would just grasp this concept now so we could move on to bigger and brighter things..  :O)

Well, thanks for stopping by...  And please have a safe and fun week...

Living Room update...

                                       I have been working hard the last couple days and this is the result of my hard labor...  Sorry the pics are not great...  My camera broke and I needed a replacement quickly.  I will have to wait on getting the camera I really want a bit longer..  :O(

 This is what my living room looked like awhile back.  It was kind of a Tuscan feel.  And I loved it.  The color on the walls was from Walmart called Riverroad by Kilz.  It matched some of the thread that was in the pillows on my couch and loveseat.  But here is the Living room now.  Same corner/ front door pic.

 I am planning on painting the door.  The front/out side  of the door is black and so will the inside of the door be black too.  Very soon.  Ignore the wing back chair..  Still need to get that slipcover done.

 Now everything is not in its rightful place...  I was just so tired  of everything in the middle of the room.  So I moved it all around for now..  You can see in this pic the way we framed the window.  It helped so much with the board and batten.

 Again, ignore the other wing back chair... And all my paint supplies on the table..

 And yes, that is my china cabinet still floating in the middle of the room. I want to paint it and move it to a different spot so there it sits...  For now...

 I am planning something new for this wall that used to house the china cabinet.

Here is how we had the board and batten meet the floor.  Again, so sorry for the horrible pics...  Yuck!!
But I do like the way the b&b meets the new hard wood floor.  It looks so pretty in real life...  I better get that new camera soon so I will enjoy my pictures better..  Or figure out what is going on with this little camera first..  I like the first choice better..  :O)  Now to see if the hubs will agree..  Probably not..  :O)

It is now time to go couch shopping...  I know what I want but it is always a struggle to get the hubs on board.  But, when I get my way he always likes it in the end..  :O)  Yeah me!!

Hope you all have a great week...  Hope you weather is nicer than ours..  Saturday was 74 degrees and then we woke up to 6 inches of snow on Sunday...  It has been cold ever since...  Not liking it at all...  :O(

It's "PRIME" time...

When I last left you, this is what my living room looked like.  Well, not any more...

So I got ALL the nail holes filled with wood putty...  Then the room sat for a couple days as my oldest left his Geometry report and Science Fair project for the last minute..  So needless to say that is what I have been helping with.  They are all turned in so back to business...  Yesterday, I sanded all the nail holes smooth then wiped the boards down then cleaned my floors of all dust...  THEN I painted the upper part of the walls in Glidden Autumn Haze (thanks Shelley from House of Smiths).  It is very neutral..  I am in L.O.V.E with it..

 Today, I primed the Board and Batten......

 Looking good....

Oops...  Need to get to the side of those boards asap...  I can not wait until it is done...  This is really changing the look of our house...  You see, EVERYONE in my neighborhood has the same house..  The only difference between mine and everyone else is mine is a couple hundred square feet larger..  But that is it...  So I am doing my best to make mine way different.  And I think it is working...  :O)

As always, have a great week...  :O)

While the Hubby is away....

The wife will play... With power tools... :O) I told you yesterday that I had a project I was super excited about and we started it last night... Here is the pile of MDF I had cut at Home Depot over the weekend... Can you guess what my project is? Well, I am jumping on the band wagon or rather the Board and Batten wagon... :O)

Last night I had the hubs help put up the baseboards.. I needed the extra hands for that part.. Boy, I wish I was Elasta Girl... That is who I sooo long to be... Would it not just be wonderful? Okay, back to the board and batten..

I had the guys at HD cut the MDF to 6 inches high for the baseboards. I am loving it...

So the hubs went to work this morning and here I was with the power tools.... H.E.A.V.E.N!!! Thought I would get going on the next step.. I had the guys at HD (again) cut the slats 2 inches wide and the top piece 3 inches wide. So on I went putting the slats on the walls...

Looking good so far...

L.O.V.E it!!

So sweet!!

Ignore the mess in the middle of the room... But does that not look good so far?

I just need to put up the 3 inch top piece then comes the daunting task of caulk and painting... I will show you how it turns out later this week, I hope!!!

As always have a great one....