Category: DIY


Oct
2017

My Tin Can Pumpkin

categories: Autumn, DIY, Flea Market Finds/Thrifting

Recently I posted about my trip to the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio.

The one item I really wanted to buy was an old galvanized oil can with a pumpkin face.  Loved it, but it was priced at $68.95!  I could not justify spending that amount.  I tried to, but no!

Could not get it off my mind, so when I saw this old rusted can at the flea market for $9.50, I started thinking.

The old can was a beautiful rusty orange, perfect for a pumpkin face. I put it in my cart, it was mine!

I did not want to paint a face on my can, and I had no way to cut out a face, so I simply used a magnetic sheet I found at Michael’s, cut out the face with scissors, and placed on my can.

It was perfect!

God must have blessed my flea market trip for me to be able to find the perfect can for this project, and the fact that it was a rusty orange color was a bonus blessing.

Not sure of just where my tin can pumpkin will eventually end up, maybe near the front door with the mums and real pumpkins.

But our back porch area might be the best place.

I can enjoy “him” from my kitchen window throughout the day, and when I sit having my coffee.

Hope you all had a beautiful fall weekend.

Our weather in Ohio has been wonderful, cool mornings, and warm afternoons.

Blessings to all today, blessings great and even small ones like finding just the right tin can!


Sep
2017

Fixer Upper Footstool

categories: DIY, Flea Market Finds/Thrifting

I am not a person to sit all day, I feel guilty, as if I am wasting the time in my life.

Of course, I do sit and read with my morning coffee, but most of the rest of my day I am working on projects or doing the things needed to care for a home and family.

When my brother-in-law retired he said to me, “I work half of the day, and I rest half of the day”.  I like that, and always remember his words.

I found this footstool at the thrift store, it fits into my plan to try to take my thrift store finds to the next level.

A larger piece for me, but so easy to fix up with really nice results.

It actually appeared to be an old piece by the older type brackets and the very hard wood.

Cleaned the piece inside and out, sanded just a bit, touched up with a light coat of stain.

My original plan was to paint the stool, but after cleaning the wood, I could not justify covering it up, it was quite beautiful.

The fun part of the project for me was finding a colorful print fabric to cover the top.

Surprisingly, the top was easy to cover, a first for me.  I love first time things at my age!

Worried a bit about the corners when covering, but it looks nice.

I am so pleased with my efforts.

Cleaned, sanded, stained, covered. Boom, finished!

Love it, love looking at my accomplishment when I rest my feet.

As I have mentioned before, finding inexpensive treasures to fix up, those things someone no longer wanted, makes me happy!

We all have things we do in our spare time to relax, this is mine.

Hope you all have happy things that fill your days, things that give your life peace, and relaxation.

Till next time!

 

 

 

 

 


Sep
2017

Checked Off My Bucket List

categories: Autumn, DIY, Home Projects

Knowing today is officially the first day of fall, yesterday I worked on a twig wreath for my front door.

Gathered some vines, formed a wreath secured with wire, finished up by adding some bittersweet purchased this past weekend at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio.

Love my wreath, twiggy, simple, no nonsense, perfect for welcoming this time of the year.  Just the look I wanted.

A few months ago, I contacted my niece who lives close to Columbus, asking her if she would be able to go to the Country Living Fair, a bucket list item of mine.

What joy for me when she agreed to make time in her busy life!

We decided to make a weekend of it!  Along with my sister, we traveled 2 hours to her home, a farmhouse in the country.  Just such a beautiful setting.

Some of her neighbors.

Early morning coffee on the porch.

A gift, homemade sweet pickles.

Amanda, next to my son, has given my life overwhelming love and joy!

We went to the fair on Saturday, it was filled with all the things you see in the Country Living magazine.

Spectacular weather all weekend.

The rest of our time was spent relaxing, visiting with Amanda’s family and friends, laughing, and of course, eating!

Thank you Amanda for checking off this bucket list item of mine, and especially for spending time with me!

The only bad part of our trip, leaving Amanda, so sad for us to say goodbye!

Simple living, simple sharing, doing simple things, with love.

Have a beautiful, simple, first day of fall.


Sep
2017

Old Rescued School Desk

categories: DIY, Home Projects

This old school desk has been tucked away in my garage for such a long time.  It was used as a display piece when I owned a little country shop years ago.

Not wanting it to deteriorate further, I pulled it out from its dark, lonely spot.

I knew my little desk was in poor condition, needing some serious love.

The desk is old, and if it were not in such bad shape, it probably would be worth something.  I searched online and could only find one photo of a school desk like mine. It is unique, it folds up like a TV tray.

Love the ink splatters on the top, and also the desk “graffiti”, a part of school history.

Repaired the desk as best I could, a bit of wood glue, and unfortunately, a nail or two!

Cleaned the old wood with a mild detergent and used steel wool on some difficult spots.  Finished up with furniture polish.  Looks beautiful!

I was not quite sure where my rescued desk was going to be placed in my home, but decided somewhere close to my favorite chair in our family room, would be perfect.  I want to use it!

With my son’s help, we adjusted the legs so the desk could be used when I was sitting.

Most of my day time I spend cleaning, caring for my home, or working on projects.  So as best I can, I try to spend evenings with my husband, usually watching political news shows, his obsession! The important thing is that we are together.  Difficulty walking has greatly limited his activities.

Having this desk allows me to write, draw, practice my lettering, while being with him before our day has ended.

It is satisfying to rescue, restore, and love an old piece, giving it purpose again.

Funny, all the words I used in this post, old, rescued, restored, and loved, could be used to describe me, and the life I am living right now!

Thank you Lord.

Blessings and love to all!

 

 

 

 

 

 


Sep
2017

A Tray for “Puss Face”

categories: DIY, Flea Market Finds/Thrifting, Home Projects

“Puss Face” is the name of our little cat.

A silly name my husband calls our kitty which is beginning to stick.  So cute!

We adopted her after our last two cats were killed by coyotes.  It is still so painful for us to believe such a horrible thing happened.  Needless to say, kitty never goes outside.

Puss Face is always so thirsty.  I keep a large bowl of water in the kitchen, but for some reason, someone is always running into her bowl and spilling her water, and of course, we all step in it!

I found an ugly tin tray at the thrift store for next to nothing, decided it would be perfect for kitty’s water bowl.

Just spray painted it flat black, no big fuss, and bought a large new enamel water bowl.

So now, kitty has her own chic, black and white water station!  Silly?  I know, but fun just the same.  Gotta have fun in life!

I also made Puss Face a cute tin for her “treats”.  Just a bit of paint and some stick-on letters added to a small tin can, that was it!

Puss Face is happy, me too!  No more water on the floor, just in the tray.

Special love to all you pet owners. They give us such unconditional love.

See ya all next time.

Blessings


Sep
2017

Surprise Apple Treats

categories: Autumn, DIY

It’s apple time, so today I thought I would share a fun and super easy fall treat idea.

Those folks who know me, know how much I like to use cellophane bags when wrapping.  Tying ribbon around the top adds a pop of color to whatever gift is wrapped up in the bag.  I love the look.

Pick out some beautiful apples, they are so plentiful right now, and add individual snack containers of caramel and peanut butter to each bag.

That’s it!

Not much needed to put these together.

The only difficult thing about this, might be deciding what color ribbon to use.  I love black and bright green together.  You could use fall colors!

Over the years when I worked, I loved to put a little surprise on the desk of each of my co-workers before they arrived.

When you are dragging yourself in to start the day, what fun to find a cute, colorful, surprise treat.

If you have ever worked in an office setting, you know that there are times during the day, that a treat is needed for a little pick-me-up!

These treats are, healthy, happy, and “sweet”!

Surprise those in your life, they will love it!

Just a simple way of saying so much, “thank you”, “I appreciate you”, “I love you”!

Hope you all have special “treats” lined up for your weekend.

See ya!


Aug
2017

Fall Placemats to Fall Pillows

categories: Autumn, DIY, Home Projects

I love the fall time of the year, a bit sad to see summer ending.

How quickly the days and months pass.

The older I get, I so wish for longer days, more days.

Fall decorations are out in all the stores.  I found these lovely watercolor fall placemats at TJ Maxx, $10 for a set of four.

The pattern is similar to a pillow at Pottery Barn, shown below, that I love.

Unfortunately, the price of $39.50, is not in my low income budget.

So I made my own pillows from the placemats.

They turned out beautiful, love the soft fall colors in my living room area.

It was a very simple project.

Open the bottom seam of the placemat, large enough to insert a pillow form.  A lumbar form was the perfect size.

The last step, close the seam.  I used my sewing machine, but could be hand stitched together.

I am not a very good “sewing” person, but although my sewing machine hates me, I was able to complete a straight line.

That’s it!

Love my pillows!

Fall is coming, the leaves on my sugar maple are already showing some signs of turning.

Lots to enjoy coming up, cool beautiful sunny days, apples, pumpkins, harvest fairs, just so much!

Enjoy all the simple, precious things of the season!

Blessings, until the next time!


Aug
2017

Learning Something New Everyday

categories: Crafts, DIY, Home Projects

When I stopped working I made a list of a few things I hoped I could do everyday.

  • Have some fun.
  • Be thankful and grateful for all that I have.
  • Be creative.
  • Learn something new everyday.
  • Love and help those around me.
  • Get up early, to enjoy the gift of a day.
  • Smile, and put a smile on someone’s face.

So today I am sharing a “something new” for me, painting using gesso.

Gesso is a chalky finish that is used by artists to prepare canvas for painting.

I found a beautiful blog on Pinterest by Rosemary Villabarnes, (Villabarnes.com). Rosemary shared her technique of “slathering” flower pots with gesso.  I am so very pleased with my first time results.

My pots are so lovely with that vintage look I love.

I “slathered” a few pots of different sizes and shapes, and I also tried my hand at applying to a picture frame from the thrift store.

You will need to buy a jar of gesso, sold in the art supply section at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, don’t forget to use your weekly 40% off coupon, and also some cheap plastic beads.  I had a bunch from a 50 cent thrift store find, but you can find them at the dollar store.

The pots were easy to complete, give the pots a coat of gesso, allow to dry, hot glue beads to rim, allow to dry completely, and then paint with as many coats of gesso as needed to cover beads, until you have the look you want.

Not a quick project, I completed mine in two days.

I love white dishes, the beaded look on dishes is currently so popular.

My pots have found a place in my dining room hutch for now, but I have many ideas for using and displaying them in my home.

Do you learn something new everyday?

A recipe, the meaning of a word, some new tech thing, or a new creative project like me!

Pinterest is a great place for new ideas.

This blog was a huge learning “something new” for me!  I struggle with it everyday, but I won’t give up!

Living is doing, learning, loving!

Hope my little blog puts a smile on your face!

Love you all.

Here’s Rosemary’s link for the flower pots.

http://www.villabarnes.com/2012/08/fab-flower-pot.html.

 


Aug
2017

Fun Legal Notepads

categories: Crafts, DIY

The stores are full of back to school supplies, wishing I had a bunch of kids to take shopping for crayons, notebooks, and backpacks.

As adults, we can’t let go of those memories of getting back to school supplies, can we?

Today I am sharing a DIY craft project of changing those blah, boring, legal notepads, to fun, colorful, notepads!

A rainbow of color!

When I worked, I hated going to the office supply cabinet, finding that my only choice for a notepad, was those generic legal notepads, especially those yucky yellow ones!

Where is it written that a business setting has to be boring?

Just by using scrapbook paper, scissors or paper cutter, and a good glue stick, I have created some colorful, whimsy, legal notepads.

The color and design selections are endless.

A black and white set, with different fun paper on each one.

A bright blue set for my sister’s bright blue office.

I used some leftover wrapping paper to make gold ones for my desk.

As I started making these, I became addicted, that happens to me when I find a simple, fast project, with such fun results.

Makes a great gift, tie with ribbon or twine, add a cute tag, maybe some pencils too!

The how to is simple.

  • Cut paper strips, 2-1/2″ high, and the width of the notepad, usually 8-1/2″ wide for the large, or about 5″ wide for the smaller size notepads.
  • Apply glue to the top border of the notepad and some on the paper strip as well, don’t skimp on the glue.
  • Place paper strip on notepad border, press and smooth with your fingers several times, making sure the paper is adhering properly.
  • Repeat on the back of the notepad, up and over the top to cover the notepad border, with a bit extra below the border.
  • Don’t forget to apply glue to the very top part of the notepad too!

That’s it!

Thanks for reading my post today.

Hope your day is fun, colorful, and cheery!

Try to avoid the blah and boring!

Thank God for this day, a gift, tied with love and blessings.

Enjoy!

 

 

 


Aug
2017

DIY Cake Plates

categories: Crafts, DIY, Home Projects

Making cake plates is one of the easier, if not the easiest DIY craft projects.

Today I want to share the plates I have made, along with the “how to”.

There are only three things needed to complete.

  • plate
  • base piece (candlestick or small dessert dish)
  • E6000 glue

Finding your glass pieces is the fun part of this project.

Visit thrift stores, antiques shops, or maybe you have a sentimental piece you could use.

There are so many shapes and sizes to choose from, show your creativity!

When putting your cake plate together, be sure your base and plate pieces are not crooked or wobbly.

Lay your plate face down and find the center, apply glue around the top of the base piece, place on the back of the plate, and press firmly.  You do have several seconds, if needed, to adjust, before the glue starts to set.  I always let my plate set overnight.  That’s it!

These plates are not just for cakes, how about cookies, muffins on a breakfast table, a beautiful cheese assortment, small sandwiches.  So many uses!

My sister, who has never really been interested in craft projects, was with me on my last thrift store hunt. She now wants to have a craft day together before Christmas, to make plates for gifts.

We have already started to stash some finds for our first, and hopefully, not our last, craft day together.

Christmas is only four months away!

A lovely pedestal full of cookies would truly be a thoughtful gift for friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors.

Oh! The yummy chocolate cake in the photo was for my husband’s birthday, he was 74 yesterday!

Love to him!

Always!

Eat cake and make cake stands, both are addictive!

Blessings on this Sunday.