A Little Valentine's Day Decorating and a Tutorial

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by.

I did a little decorating for Valentine's Day tonight and I want to share it with you.

I don't want to go completely crazy, I just want a little touch of it.  I decided the buffet in our dining room would be the perfect place.

Here is a picture of our buffet table, that now sits in our dining room.  We just brought it upstairs so I hadn't decorated it yet.

For years it was in our garage, then it spent about a year in our basement. I am going to be refinishing it, but for now, here it is in its "old beat up glory". Isn't it just charming!

 

I started by putting a simple white table runner on the top.  I got this at Target after Christmas for 50% off. I also draped this gorgeous scarf, my friend Sandra gave me, over the ladder and around the lamp. Then I added some pearls I got at Michael's.

I took 2 candle holders and put these rose balls (I'm sure that isn't what they are called, but it sounds good in my world) on top.  I also got these for 50% off at the after Christmas sale at Target. I was going to make these, but when I saw how cheap they were, I knew I couldn't make them for less.

The 2 candle holders with the red votives on top, are actually champagne glasses.  I simply turned them upside down, put a little double sided tape on the bottom and waa laa, candle holders. 

I got the sweet little body form at Home Goods.  L.O.V.E. that store!  I love that they always have different items and at very reasonable prices.  If you haven't checked them out, you need to. I picked up the heart wreath at Walgreen's, of all places.  See the picture in the back, I made that tonight.  I will show you how at the end.

To finish it off, I added rose petals and some white votives. 

Here is how I made the picture on the wall.  Actually after I made it and hung it on the wall I didn't like it.  Too red!  So, I took it down and tweaked it.

Here is what I used.

A picture frame from Walmart, Sticky appliques from Home Goods and a piece of tissue paper I had in my wrapping paper supply.



I had to iron the tissue paper. It had pretty serious creases in it.  I just put the iron on low heat, laid it on the cardboard from the picture frame and ironed it.  It worked really well.

I cut the tissue paper to size, put it on the glass and put the back, back on.  I took the sticky words and added them right to the glass. Easy! 

As you can see from the first pictures I did not have the white mat on it or the little butterfly.  I like it so much better this way.  It gives it a little more character. 

One thing I've learned is, it never turns out the way I picture it in my head.  I create as I go.

So, do you decorate for Valentine's Day?  It really doesn't take much.  Just decorate a little space in a high traffic area and it will have a big impact.

I hope you have enjoyed this and it inspires you to add a little Valentine's Day to your world.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me!

Kelly

Organizing the Craft Room

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I have so many projects planned for 2012. 

Since we live in Minnesota, and can't do outdoor projects during the winter, I have started indoors. Before I dive in to my projects of painting and redecorating, I want to get my entire house reorganized. 

First up, the craft room!

Here are a few of my before pictures.  Prepare to be horrified!

Looks like something out of Hoarders, doesn't it?

During the holidays, this was truly my "drop zone". 

Check out that awful flooring. That is on my "To Do List" for this year. The pine on the walls is also on the "To Do List" but that might be a project for next year. I have a very long "To Do List"!

One more............

I had a free weekend where I could just dive right in.  And dive in, I did.

I started by putting 2 folding tables in to an L shape in one corner so that I would have a designated work area.  Eventually I will recover the tops and put on a skirt to cover up the storage underneath.

My husband and I found this cute little cabinet at an online auction a few weeks ago.  I decided it would make the perfect place to keep pens, markers, tools, and a few zip loc containers with odds and ends I wanted to keep together.

We also scored this little tool box, which works perfect for keeping paint supplies in.

I took this old bookshelf that I've had forever and put it on top of a cupboard my husband brought home from a job, that was going to be thrown out. 

Inside the cupboard I have all my cans of paint and spray paint. 

The little tower shelf to the left, I found at a garage sale last summer for $5.00.  I found a few basket at an after Christmas sale and they fit perfectly. 

The hutch makes a perfect place to keep all my candles and candle holders.  The top works well for extra items I will use around the house, but am not using at the moment. Between the hutch and the end of the table is where I am storing the picture frames I am collecting for future projects.

My shelves that I l.o.v.e., because I can store a ton of items on them. 

I love that I have this room organized, ready for the new year and all that it has to offer. 

I feel very blessed to have a room that is all mine that I can go to, to create. 

Have you started your organization plan for the year? 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

No Cost Jewelry Organizing

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

The Christmas decorations are down, the New Years Eve celebrations are over, so it's time to start the new year with some much needed organizing. 

First stop, jewelry drawer.

I don't know about you, but I have not kept up on keeping my jewelry organized.  I decided before Christmas that after all the festivities were over, I was going to re-organize my jewelry drawer. 

Here is my before picture!  Isn't that horrifying?  I'm embarrassed to show you, but for the sake of this post, I am opening up my mess just for you!

I started by emptying everything out of the drawer. 

Next I got all my little organizing things together.  The gold square thing in the middle is actually the inside of a candy box.  The plastic rectangles in the upper left corner are baby food containers. 

Aren't they awesome!  They are perfect for jewelry and FREE!

Simply place the boxes (tops and bottoms), baby food containers, box of chocolate divider and whatever else you come up with, inside your drawer. Start placing your jewelry inside.

I wanted to keep things really organized, so I ended up using 2 drawers for this. 

The nice thing about doing this is you also go through each and every item and get rid of things you haven't worn since 1980! 

I put together a baggie of some gold items I have and am going to take it in to get cash for it.  So, not only was this project free to do, I am going to make some money out of the deal!  It's a win win!

Well, I'm off to my next disaster area! 

Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means to world to me!

Kelly

Christmas Around the House

Hi there. I'm so glad you stopped by!

Today I want to share some Christmas decorating I did around the house.

First stop, the entryway. Notice my little helper, Isabelle, at the top of the stairs. She follows me everywhere.  I only wish she could talk so I could bounce ideas off her and get her opinion. I'm pretty sure she has an opinion!

From the top of the stairs looking in to the entryway. I took a plain pine looking garland and wrapped it around the railing, then added lights.

I love decorating the railing.  It's the first thing people see when they come in.  Just add things here and there, until you get the fullness that you like. I usually buy things in bunches and then just cut them apart and add them in.

Here's my little dresser I have at the top of the stairs. The lamp and basket filled with pinecones, were already there.  I added the snowman, bulbs and poinsettias.  Buying the poinsettias in a bunch is a really cheap way to get a lot of decorating material, for a little price.

At the other side of the stairway I have this floral arrangement.  Again, just added things to it to get the Christmas feel.  Easy peasy.

This is a little table I have in my entryway.  I L.O.V.E. lamps!  I have them everywhere.  There is nothing better than low lighting to make a house homey.

I added some beads to the shade, a few items to the table, and done!

Here's a little tray I have on our island.  Notice the lamp theme.

Corner area on the kitchen counter.  Yep, another lamp.  Maybe I have a problem......

Shelf above the kitchen sink.  No lamp?  How did that sneak past me?  Next year!

This is the top of my refrigerator.  I know I am probably really strange, but I have to decorate the top of my refrigerator.  It's like a shelf calling out my name to be decorated.

The desk in my kitchen.  Did you see the little star "lamp".  OK, seriously, I think I have a lamp addiction.

Our Christmas tree.

And lastly, our fireplace.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you liked my little tour.

Merry Christmas!

Kelly

Christmas Front Porch

Hi there!  I'm so glad you stopped by.

I'm finally done!  All my Christmas decorations are up.  Now, I can enjoy the rest of the Christmas season.  Today I want to share my front porch.

Let me start by saying, my front porch was the last thing I had to decorate.  Frankly I was tired and was running out of decorations to use.  So, I dug around and came up with this.

I started with these 2 little pine trees that I've had forever.  I wanted to do it a little different this year. So, I decided on silver, burlap and pinecones.

I started by stringing white lights around each of them.  I used a 50 count.

I wrapped some burlap ribbon around them for added depth. 

Next I added some silver bulbs that I got at Marshalls.  They were on a a swag.  There were about 50 bulbs on there and I got it for $15.00.  I cut all the bulbs off the swag, saving enough of the wire from each bulb, to wrap around the pine branch.

I added some silver bells I had by looping a piece of twine through each one and tying a little bow on the branch.  How easy is that!

Next, I added an old chair I have. I simply grabbed an old silver kettle I have and filled it with pinecones, adding a few of the silver bulbs.  I tied this fabulous burlap ribbon around the kettle, set a little bird I also found at Marshalls, next to the kettle and waa laa!

Around the front door I added 2 pine swags.  Again, adding some of the silver bulbs and burlap ribbon.

To my simple twig wreath I added some pine, a ribbon and a silver bulb.

To hide the black metal plate at the bottom of the trees, I took an old burlap bag we had, cut it in to 2 pieces, wrapped it around the bottom and tied it with some twine.

That's it.  Simple and very inexpensive.  I had everything on hand except the bulbs and the little bird on the chair.  I LOVE simple and inexpensive.

So, that's it.  My Christmas front porch.  I hope you like it and it inspires you to dig around your house and garage and find a new use for your old things.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

Christmas Mantel

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I don't know about you, but it takes me at least a week to get my Christmas decorating done.  Every year I try doing something different.  I've never been one to decorate the same way twice.  I like to see what I can come up with. A challenge perhaps?

Tonight, I finished my fireplace mantel and I wanted to share it with you. I hope it inspires you to try something a little different too.

It started with that little wooden box in the middle.  My husband made that out of barn wood he got in Montana.  I was going to fill it and put it on my counter in the kitchen. I started filling it with pine branches and the next thing I knew, it was too big to go where I was planning on putting it. That happens to me a lot!

Plan B!

So, I brought it to the living room and decided to decorate around it.  I think I may have the biggest fireplace mantel on the planet, so this has always been a challenge to decorate.

I went out to our garage and brought in these 3 windows.  I work for a remodelor and he took these out of a house last summer.  Yes, I'm a dumpster diver!  I knew I would use them somewhere. I just couldn't let them go to the dump.

I tucked a string of lights behind them.  I wanted the light to shine up behind the windows.

I took more of the pine branches and laid them in front of the windows and added pinecones, raffia, bulbs and some floral/jewel sticks I had.

I added a little twine to some votive candles. I wanted to have light in front of the windows too.

I took 2 of the pine branches and added a few berries and a burlap bow.  The branches are wired so I bent the wire over and it worked perfect for hanging it on the window.  I've had these branches for years and never thought of doing that. I was pretty excited about that little trick!

So, here it is. My Christmas mantel.  I have to tell you, I can't wait to sit by the fireplace and watch a movie this weekend. 

What do you think?

Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly