AND JUST A FEW MORE HOLIDAY VIGNETTES FOR GOOD MEASURE…

Two more weeks and counting!

 

LINKED TO:

A BIT O’ PICKIN’ & SOME DECORATING.

Well hello and I hope everyone had an excellent weekend! I spent my weekend picking up a few things for my new space over at Greenwood Antiques (more on this below…) and, of course, finally picking out and decorating the Christmas tree. I’m not quite finished with the latter – I’ll be adding a few handmade pieces throughout the week – but the lights, the bulbs, and ribbon are on and my home officially feels like Christmas. Hallelujah!

But, back to Greenwood! Greenwood Antiques has a bit of a Old Lucketts Store feel, but without the fan base….(yet!). It’s located on a beautiful country road with views of the mountains galore, and wineries and orchards located just around the corner (pictures coming soon). It’s quite heavenly, actually, so if you find yourself in the Charlottesville area, I highly suggest that you stop on by – 7572 Greenwood Station Rd., Greenwood, VA. I’m sharing a space with a friend that has her own fabulous pieces (I will have my portion of the space up and running in January) and we’d love to see you! Here are just a few things I managed to pick up over the weekend that you will soon find in my space…

An old industrial arrow, and some iron (and incredibly heavy!) horse heads.

Yet another industrial piece and a chippy green wire basket!

A concrete foo dog (don’t you just LOVE foo dogs??!) and industrial iron letters.

I also picked up a couple of furniture pieces that I’ll be refurbishing soon.

Now, onto Christmas! I wanted to keep things fairly simple this year, and went with a white, gold, and silver theme, with a few birds thrown in there for good measure:

(I’ll be adding a handful more bulbs and some handmade vintage sheet music ornaments…)

Unfortunately, the twinkle is lacking in this daytime photo, but you’ve got yourself the gist of it!

Tell me, have you managed to get your tree up and fully decorated yet?

DIY THURSDAY: ENTERTAINMENT UNIT REDO.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have gotten a peek of my entertainment unit redo last night. I think I let my excitement get ahead of me!

It’s quite amazing how easily a quick paint job can change the dynamic of an entire room. Initially, the entertainment unit was the monstrosity in the room – The Big Black Box was the focal point indeed:

I’ve been wanting to paint this sucker the moment we brought it into this house, and after finally convincing the husband that it was a go, I also had to convince him to unplug all the cables and go without TV for a couple of days, and it just so happened that it was during the SEC and NFL games. Oops…

But the weather was cooperating – almost 70 degrees! – and I could wait no longer. So we lugged it outside and I immediately went to work.

First, I removed the backing, shelving, and doors, and then sanded the entire piece down just to rough it up a bit in order to give the paint something to hold on to. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the majority of the piece, which typically requires little to no sanding, but I wanted avoid applying a half dozen layers!

I then applied a thick layer of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen to avoid any seepage of black when applying the Old White.

Once this base layer was dry, I gave it an allover light sand with 220-grit sandpaper to smooth it down, and then began applying the Old White.

I applied two layers of Old White on the exterior and just a quick layer of the white on the interior and again, used 220-grit to smooth things out. *Typically, you do not need to sand between layers. Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint is meant to give that hand-painted and matted affect for that distressed and aged look that everyone loves so much. I wanted to go for only a very light distress, however. Sanding with high grit paper allows for a smoother surface and offers a very light sheen rather than a matted finish.

Once the Old White was fully dry, I painted the interior in a custom blue using Louis Blue and Old White.

Unfortunately, at this point, I noticed the weather becoming a little less cooperative – a large and dark rain cloud was blowing in – so I quickly finished up with the blue, allowed the paint to fully dry, lightly distressed the edges using 150-grit paper, and then lugged the piece inside. (And in my hurry, I forgot to take the remaining pictures!)

In between bouts of rain, I painted the backing in my custom blue, the doors in yet another custom and slightly lighter blue, and the shelves in Old White. And finally, once everything was dry, I lugged the unit back outside to spray the top and interior in a crystal clear enamel to give it a tough, protective finish (I knew the top and interior would get a bit of a beating over the years, so I wanted to avoid the waxed finish).

Finally, I left the putting back together of the unit to the hubby while I basked in my accomplishment. Once things were in working order, I added some ribbon detail to the doors, and here it is today…

Better, don’t you think? It really blends into the room and brightens things up! I’ve added a few more touches of blue throughout the room to tie it all together and now feel much more at home. It’s amazing what a little paint can do!

Linked to:

AND THE HOLIDAY DÉCOR CONTINUES…

This weekend will be the main holiday decorating event, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share with you a few vignettes I’ve thrown together…

I love Christmas and readily partake of the Christmas spirit, but I also like to keep things sweet and simple. I’m lucky enough to have a fir tree and a holly tree in my backyard, so I take advantage of these during the holidays by keeping things fairly natural. A few garlands, wreaths, bulbs, holly and fir stems, ribbon, and a couple of handmade pieces thrown in for good measure, and I’m golden!

How about you? Do you like splurging on the holiday decoration, or do you like to keep things simple?

ps….can’t wait to share the entertainment unit redo with you tomorrow!

LINKED TO:

 

A VERY MERRY GIFT GUIDE: FOR HIM (& SOME HOLIDAY BLING!)

Well, it’s that time again! Panic is settling in and I am wracking my brain on what to get everyone for Christmas. Aside from my vow not to procrastinate on the gift buying…my husband and I will be travelling to NYC a little early this year to spend Christmas with his family, so really – I don’t even have the opportunity to procrastinate much more than I already have!

I have the hardest time shopping for the boys of the family. Not children, mind you, but grown men that can have a bit of a boy mentality (don’t they all??). But somehow, I need to find gifts for 6 grown men that already have everything they could possibly want.

In my desperate search, this is what I’ve come up with:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

Aside from shopping, I’m also working on my Christmas décor…slowly but surely! We’ll finally be getting the tree this weekend and I have every intention of making a big day of it. We’ll be chopping our own tree this year, and much celebration and eggnog will follow – I’m so looking forward too sharing pictures of the aftermath!

I also plan on creating a garland for our mantles this weekend, but I already started on the details…

I’ll have a little sparkle woven into my garland this year! All you need is adhesive spray, glitter of your choice, a few plastic fruit pieces, and voila!

You’ve got yourself some bling. Just be sure to place newspaper down before the glittering begins – it can get messy!

So tell me, how is your decorating coming along? Are you ahead of the game or are you only just beginning?

SHARING THE LOVE…HOLIDAY STYLE!

In the midst of holiday decorating, I thought I’d share with you a bit of inspiration…

This tree over at Thrifty and Chic is so simple and elegant. I love all white décor and am always envious of those that can pull it off. Unfortunately, with a little dog that just loves to get dirty, any white décor I have tends not to stay white for long!

Trish over at Uncommon Designs created this adorable mantle piece using stained pallet wood, paper mache letters from JoAnn’s, and umbrella lights from World Market. And the burlap banner and stockings – oh my! You can find the full post here.

With $15 and hundreds of old ornaments on hand, Virginia over at Live Love DIY put together this fantastically frugal tree. Head on over to her post for a full tutorial!

Speaking of ornaments, this fabric covered ball was created by Whitney at Shanty to Chic. All you need as an ugly Christmas tree ornament, fabric of your choosing, a glue gun, twine, and ribbon. Viola – a brand new ornament!

And lastly, this no sew ruffled tree skirt is right up my alley! Get the full tutorial over at The Happier Homemaker.

Happy decorating!

ps…to really get yourself in the holiday decorating spirit, you can watch this video of Bo inspecting the White House holiday décor! (found over at Jess in Belgium).

DIY THURSDAY: SEASONAL WREATH & A BOXWOOD FIND.

‘Tis the season. I am slowly packing up my Fall décor and transitioning over to Christmas – I’ve given myself until Dec. 1 to get in gear! And while I have yet to unpack the boxes brimming with Christmas spirit, I have found a moment to get my holiday craft on.

Before diving into my DIY, however, I must divulge to you a most amazing deal! I mentioned in a previous post that Trader Joes was selling boxwood wreaths, but at the time I wasn’t quite sure of cost or size. Well, I happened to swing by Trader Joes yesterday and to my disbelief, these adorable and perfectly sized wreaths were only $9.99! Needless to say, I left with an armful (and a dazzling smile). At such a fabulous price, I highly recommend grabbing a few for yourself before they are all out!

I then headed to Michael’s and left with an armful of supplies…

My first task was to hang up my newly purchased boxwood wreaths. Two of them were perfect as is for my dining room French doors – I simply wrapped a ribbon around each and pinned them to the door. For my third boxwood, I wanted to add a little zest, so I wove in a few berries, added a couple of doves, a few pinecones, and again, hung with ribbon:

Now full of holiday spirit, I moved on to my next project:

I picked up this guy while at Michael’s, as well as this:

So with the Krylon in hand, I lightly sprayed the wreath to give it that frosted look, allowed the paint to dry, and then sprayed the snow in areas where snow would typically gather…

I then wove in a few red berries and added a couple of cardinals for that pop of color (unfortunately, the Charlottesville Michael’s was out of a lot of supplies so I only managed to snag two of them, but as soon as a new shipment comes in, I’ll be adding more!).

Here is what it looks like in the meantime, simple and sweet:

Finally, since I didn’t quite complete the above wreath and my hands were itching for another project, I decided to fashion another, smaller, sheet music wreath for my living room mantle:

(yeah, that’s an a/c vent you see there, right in the center of my living room wall! Not sure why the renovator decided to place it there…but it is the bane of my existence. I try to hide it as much as possible!)

You can find the tutorial here.

After this little bit of crafting, I’m now feel like I’m on a roll. Next: the mantles. Time to break out my big box of Christmas!

A VERY MERRY GIFT GUIDE: THE HOSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST.

December is a month of celebration, for life and love, for the joys of the year behind us and hope for the year ahead. For many of us, December actually IS one big party, or rather, many, many little parties.

And if you’re anything like me, you’d be absolutely and terribly mortified showing up to any one of these parties without a gift in hand. Of course, per #5 in the Random Facts About Me, I’m the second worst procrastinator I know! So in typical fashion, I’d be running around like a crazy person 30 minutes before said party in a desperate attempt to find an acceptable hostess gift.

BUT, since I have vowed to keep my cool this December… procrastinate less, shop more (not for myself, unfortunately), and have that perfect gift at the ready, I’ve decided to throw together a very merry gift guide for myself and all you other crazies out there!

Without further ado:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

And for all you DIYers out there, here are a few more adorably frugal gift ideas:

Create a DIY chart with your own holiday message! You can find a tutorial here and an actual chart maker here.

Purchase a few wood heart cutouts – found at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or most local craft stores – paint on chalk board paint in a color of your choosing, drill a hole, and attach ribbon. Viola, you’ve got yourself a perfect hostess gift!

This one is for DIYers and non-DIYers alike! Grab yourself a boxwood wreath and a festive ribbon and you’re done. If you’re feeling a little more crafty, add some berries and clip on a small, white bird.

And if you’re the hostess this year, hopefully you’ll find yourself with some fabulous goodies

Cheers!

DIY THURSDAY: SHEET MUSIC WREATH & A GIVEAWAY!

Don’t you just love Thursdays? With the holiday season quickly approaching (I can’t believe it’s already the end of October!), I thought I’d share with you a quick and easy project that just may help with your holiday décor…

I’m sure many of you have seen Miss Mustard Seed’s sheet music wreath:

When I first set my eyes on this adorable wreath, I fell a little bit in love, so I set out to make my own.

First, I loaded up my makeshift work station (aka my living room floor) with all the items I needed:

1. A stack of vintage sheet  music (which I happen to have BOXES of…)
2. A glue gun and glue
3. Ribbon
4. Scissors
5. Pine cone (optional)

Really, that’s all it takes! Now, some of you may be wondering where in the world am I going to find vintage sheet music? To help you along with this little problem, I will be giving away TWO large stacks of vintage sheet music for TWO lucky readers! The how and the when is revealed at the end of this post, so read on my friends!

After I had all my supplies on hand, I began by folding and carefully ripping a few sheets into eighths (you’re welcome to use scissors, but I happen to like the distressed affect ripping gives). With a few more sheets I then did the same with fourths and then with halves.

Once I had enough pages torn, I folded each set of eighths, fourths, halves, as well as full pages into cones, using the glue gun as needed.

I continued to fold these miscellaneous sized pages into cones until I had enough to my liking, and then the fun really began!

*Please note: if you happen to be doing this project on a surface you do not want to get glue all over, make sure you lay down a mat, newspaper, scrap piece of paper, what have you, BEFORE you get glue gun happy in order to protect said surface!

Per Miss Mustard Seed’s wreath, she may have begun by gluing her largest set of cones together into a circular shape to create a solid foundation, and then proceeded to layer each varying size set of cones over that to get the final product you see above. I, on the other hand, wanted to go for a slightly more disheveled look, and so began with the smallest set of cones, using a cut out circle as my backbone…

This is the backside of the wreath in progress (and I was actually working on newspaper, but moved the wreath to the carpet for picture purposes only!)

I then began vaguely layering each varying size of cones into the gaps, using plenty of glue in the process, until the wreath was to my liking. Once all the cones were in place, I glued a small pine cone into the center just for that little extra oomph, and glued ribbon onto the backside to hang. And the final product….

Viola!

I just love how it turned out! Of course, this wreath could stand on its own anytime of year, but with a little added garland, it would make the perfect holiday décor. You could also consider making miniature versions of this wreath as Christmas tree decorations, or to use as a bow for those special presents.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Now on to the important part!

TWO lucky winners will receive a large stack of vintage sheet music for your crafting pleasure. All you have to do is follow me via Facebook, Twitter, or email (or all of the above), and leave a comment below each time you do so. I will select two winners at random.

This giveaway will close on 10/28/12 at 11:59 EST. Winners will be announced on Monday!

If the wreath wasn’t inspiration enough, here are just a few more things you can do with sheet music…

If you weren’t one of the lucky winners, you can purchase stacks of sheet music from my shop

LINKED TO: