Welcome to August’s DIY Challenge! This month our challenge was to make something out of dowel rods. That’s right, you read that right. Dowel rods! After much thought I knew that I wanted to add to my gallery wall letters. There are a few spaces that still need a little letter here and there. Thanks to Terrie from Decorate and More with Tip for being our fearless leader! I just love her monthly challenges. Also, if you are coming here from Michelle, Blessings by Me, I am so glad that you are here. Now, let’s get down to business!   Our media room is really a bonus room above our garage. When we moved in last year, a lot of the old house’s decor landed here. So there is a lot of color. I decided to just go with it. This throw is one of my all time favorites and it matches all of the color in the room I used it as my inspiration for my letter. I found this letter at Hobby Lobby, as well as the small dowel rods. The plan was to cover the entire letter with different colors of dowels.

Step 1:

I measured and marked each dowel that I was placing on the letter.

Step 2:

Once I had each dowel marked, I cut them using my mini miter saw. I just love this thing for cutting small pieces of wood! It may just be my favorite tool!

Step 3:

After cutting the dowels, I gave them a light sanding on the ends to knock off any rough edges.

Step 4:

After each of my dowels were cut it was time to paint them. For this next step, I highly recommend wearing gloves! I was going for a distressed, worn look to match the other letters on my gallery wall. With that in mind, I watered down the paint slightly. After giving each dowel a coat of paint, I then wiped them off with a paper towel.

Step 5:

Paint the letter black. My dowels are going to cover most of the letter, however there were a few spots here and there that would show. The black just gave it a more cohesive look and did not compete with the other colors.

Step 6:

Glue the dowels to the letter. I worked in 1 to 2 inch sections. Put on a little glue, place the dowel rod. I continued doing this until all of my dowels were in place. Make sure that you have  plenty of glue to ensure that the dowels adhere well. So how did my dowel rod letter turn out? I love it! It fits right in with the rest of my gallery wall letters. And matches my inspiration pillow and throw perfectly! Plus who doesn’t love an easy, budget friendly project that adds so much to a space? Now it’s time to visit Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip ( you are not going to believe what she made!)  and all of my other DIY Challenge friends.

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My BFF Roxanne was kind enough to gift me her blue flower pots when she moved. When we went to pick them up she asked if I wanted to do a children’s lounge chair makeover? Actually, it was more like “here’s a child’s lounger, I know you can do something with it!” So we loaded it up and took it home.

My first thought was to just clean the cushions and umbrella top and paint them.

However, before I could paint, the cushions needed a good scrubbing.

As I scrubbed, I discovered a zipper.

Cool!

I could take the covers off of the cushions and wash them in the washing machine!

Umm, nope.

Not happening.

What I found inside the cushion cover convinced me that plan B was  a better option.

I took the foam out of the cushion cover and the umbrella top off of the umbrella.

My plan was to take them apart and sew new ones, using the old ones as a pattern.

Until I priced outdoor fabric.

It would cost me more than my BFF had originally paid for the lounger.

So not happening.

Plan C.

I power washed the lounger and umbrella.

Already they were looking much better!

I ordered enough outdoor material and a few embellishments to make a new umbrella top.

Using the old umbrella top as a pattern, I cut out pieces to make a new umbrella.

It was a challenge, but I’m happy to say that it came out better than I expected.

With the sewing done, I painted the umbrella skeleton a bright white.

Giving the lounger 2 good coats of white paint made it look like new!

This is coat one.

Once the painting was done it was time to put it all together.

And this is what it looks like painted with a new umbrella.

I had just enough material left over to make a swanky little pillow.

When Miss A came for a visit a few weeks ago, she took one look at it and said “look, it’s just my size!”

She’s right, it is.

I have to admit that this children’s lounger makeover took a lot more time and planning than I ever thought it would.

But if the rest of our littles enjoy it as much as Miss A did, then it was so worth it!

Until next time…

If I’m being honest, this whole self isolation business – while not the best of situations – has made me come to appreciate several new items. Some because they haven’t had my normal item at the store and I’ve had to go with substitutions , some because #imbored and a few because I’ve done a little retail therapy! So today, I’d like to share with you a few new things I like!

My first is a substitution.

Lavender Magic Erasers.

They are suppose to be for cleaning the bath, but I’ve used them just about everywhere because they smell so good!

Not only do they smell good, but they are still great at getting the job done!

The next few items came about because The Hubs and I rescued an old sewing machine cabinet from the trash.

Sewing organization items!

Why have I not known about these sooner?

I must have  been living under a rock!

I’ve seen this wall mounted  thread holder.

I’ve resisted buying one because they always look messy.

Threads hanging… etc.

Then I found these!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!

These embroidery bobbins, bobbin holder clips and thread spool huggers are the bomb!

I HATE that my bobbin thread comes loose and gets everywhere even though I’m super careful about storing it.

Same with thread.

These thread spool huggers keep thread neat and in place.

Then these bobby pin looking things allow you to store your bobbin on top of it’s matching thread.

Whoever invented this was a genius! 

These planters from Costco.

We are in the process of redoing our entire back yard.

New pool, decking, pergola…

Since I won’t have many beds in the sea of hardscape, I realized that I would need to add in some large planters for color.

When I saw these at Costco, for only $40.00, the heavenly choir started to sing!

They are 21 1/2″ tall x 15 1/2″ wide at the top.

LOVE them.

This next item came about due to sheer boredom.

And it cost absolutely nothing.

Free Watercolor lessons from Craftberrybush.

If you’ve ever seen her paint, you would know why I’m so excited!

She not only gives free lessons that you can watch on her Instagram and Youtube channels, but she shares what paint and tools to buy.

Both the beginner level and the splurge.

I’ve painted as long as I can remember, however I’ve never painted with watercolors.

This is my first painting and while I’ve got a long way to go, I think I’m hooked.

The next one came about because I’m tired of my bath rugs slipping all over the bathroom floor whenever anyone walks on them.

Drives me crazy!

I’m trying out Anti-curling rug grippers.

I’ve only had them on for a little while, but so far so good.

The great things about these – when I’m ready to wash the rug, I peel them off of the rug.

Ready to put them back on?

I lightly wet them and they are reusable!

I’ll let you know how it goes.

The next is my new guilty pleasure and may – or may not- be the cause of Corvid weight gain.

DON’T Judge!

Dr. Pepper & Cream Soda may be an acquired taste, but it takes me back to summers when we would get cream soda at my great uncles corner gas station as a treat!

I can still remember opening up the “coke” box lid and reaching down into ice cold water with ice to pull out my favorite flavor of coke in a small glass bottle.

(Here in the south we use coke as a generic term for a soda.)

Even though I don’t drink Dr. Pepper that often anymore, I’m still a Dr. Pepper nut.

10, 2 and 4!

Worth the try.

That’s all of the new things that I like, however if Corvid keeps rearing it’s ugly head, I’m sure that I will have a few more to share soon.

So what are the new things that you’ve tried in the past few months?

I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!

Until next time… 

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The Hubs and I were leaving our self isolation for a quick adventure a few weeks ago and it was trash day. As we pulled out of the drive, The Hubs spotted this old sewing machine cabinet. He stopped and asked if I wanted it?

Yes, you know you have a trash diving issue when everyone you know helps you dig in the trash for gems!

So we loaded this cabinet, complete with a sewing machine, spiders, a pair of grandma glasses and a stapler, and took it home for a sewing machine cabinet makeover!

At first I wasn’t sure what to do with it. And then the more I thought about it, the more excited I was to have found it. I could put it in my studio and actually leave my sewing machine out, ready for use. No more storing it in my studio closet and wagging it out every time I wanted to use it.

What a pain!

First thing I did was clean it out and relocate ( kill) the spiders and ditch the sewing machine. I asked my friend Charlene who is an antique aficionado if the sewing machine had any value.

“Yep”, she said, “as a boat anchor.”

So, we waived goodbye to the sewing machine and gave it a good cleaning with warm water. After a light sanding,  The Hubs helped me take it apart to so that I could paint it.

Don’t judge!

Normally I would cringe at painting an antique, but this one had seen better days and quite honestly, while sturdy, it wasn’t built with that great of wood to start with.

Since I was putting it in my studio, which is navy, hot pink and white, it just made sense to paint it the color of the rest of the furniture. I used General Finishes Klein Blue. It took two coats and once it was finished, I put a water based polyacrylic top coat on it.

When I went to remove that hardware, I realized that they had glued the handles on. In fact, I’m not entirely certain what the handles are made of. So I painted them blue to match the drawer.

The handles on my desk are a bright shiny gold. So I painted the detail and the handles on the sewing machine cabinet a bright gold too. I used Martha Stewart metallic gold, which is truly my favorite!

Once I was finished painting the front of the drawers, I lined each of them with a fun drawer liner. A fun drawer liner is a favorite of mine, they make me smile every time I open a drawer!

I was so excited to get it into my studio! I set it up, filled the drawers and stepped back to get a great photo and then I saw the cords.

Which are a BIG pet peeve of mine.

So, I did what any cord hating girl would do, I got out my Cordmate. If you haven’t seen this, it is a hard plastic tube with a slot in the side to stuff your cord into with a sticky back.

Genius!

Cordmate is so easy to use.

It comes in 4 ft lengths, just cut the cordmate the size you want, adhere it to the back of furniture or wall and stuff your cord into the side slot.

No more sloppy cord hanging down.

I am so happy that The Hubs talked me into bringing this cabinet home! Now I’m motivated to organize the rest of my sewing accessories. Who knew that they had so many sewing organization tools?

Until next time!

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Welcome to Christmas in July Part 2! Last week I shared how to make a fun Christmas decoration with you and today I’m sharing another one. Why?Mainly because I couldn’t decide which one to share last week! So, I made two.

Do you know who Brooke from Re-fabbed is? If not, you need to head on over there. She’s adorable! A few weeks ago I caught her live video with Stacey from Wilshire collections.

They made the cutest Christmas present craft.

I could not resist making one of my own!

As I watched the live, I knew while I didn’t have the supplies to make one like they did, I did have a few other things on hand that I felt would make a cute one.

I started with an 8″ x 13″ piece of unfinished lumber.

Step 1:

Paint the wooden plaque black.

Step 2:

I took a 12″ x 12″ piece of scrapbook paper and cut it to fit the painted board.

Making sure that the paper would wrap around both ends of the board.

Everyone knows that a perfectly wrapped present is covered on all sides!

Step 3:

Next, I gave the board a generous coat of Mod Podge, placing the scrapbook paper on top of the glue, gently rubbing it to adhere and get rid of all of the air bubbles.

Once that was done, I added an even coat of Mod Podge to the paper covered board.

Step 4:

Now that we have the base of the present finished it’s time to add the lid to the top of the present.

After trying out several papers, I chose a red with white polk-a-dot paper.

I cut a 2″ x 10″ strip and Mod Podged it to a paint stir stick.

( not sure if “podged” is a word, but I’m running with it!)

Step 5:

Once the glue was dry, I hot glued the stir stick to the top of the black and white board.

Now, it is time to embellish the my Christmas present!

Step 6:

Brooke and Stacey added tiny wreaths, jingle bells, ribbon and a tag to their gifts.

I didn’t have a tiny wreath but I did have this large roll of small garland.

Which made a perfect small wreath!

I simply wrapped the garland around a can of spray paint a couple of times to form the wreath.

Then, for a little glam, I added a strand of tiny red berries my wreath.

Next, I tied two of jingle bells to each end of a piece of twine.

Once I had both the wreath and the bells put together, I glued them to the top of the present.

Step 7:

Every present needs a pretty bow!

Using scrap pieces of ribbon, I added this bow, gluing it right on top of the twine holding the wreath and jingle bells.

Now it was actually starting to look like a present!

The last thing I always put on my gifts is a tag.

I had a few small wooden tags lying around.

After painting one white, I addressed it with a black sharpie pen.

My Christmas present is complete!

I love this project simply because it is so versatile and can be adapted to any decor or theme.

That’s my kind of Christmas decoration!

Now that Christmas in July Part 2 is in the books, I think I’m ready to get back to a few summer projects.

Although I have to say that a little bit of Christmas in July sure is fun!

Until next time….

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Merry Christmas in July!

Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m even thinking about Christmas as it’s hotter than the devil’s back porch here in North Texas! Seriously, while I’m not excited about the heat and humidity, I am excited to be a part of the Christmas in July blog hop!

Thank you Terrie from Decorate and More with Tip for bringing us all together for a little Christmas fun!

If you are visiting from Carol’s Blue Sky at Home, welcome! Yay, you’re here!!!

Did you know that it is only 151 days til Christmas?

Probably didn’t need to hear that.

However, with a lot of us still staying home due to THE COVID, this is the perfect time to break out all of the Christmas projects.

You know, the ones we promise ourselves that we will get done, but never do?

My poject starts with these Mosaic Wooden Plaques from Michaels.

Today I’m sharing how to make a Christmas tree plaque.

Supplies:

Mod Podge

sponge brush

Ribbon

Scrapbook paper

Hot Glue and Glue Gun

Step 1:

First, paint your plaque the color of your choice.

I painted mine black.

Step 2:

Now it’s time to cut out your Christmas trees.

I used my Silhouette cutting machine to do mine.

Don’t have a cutting machine?

No worries, there are a ton of templates online.

Step 3:

Next, make a background for your design using scrapbook paper.

Step 4:

Paint the back of your wooden plaque with Mod Podge.

( I swear I’ve Mod Podged more things since the pandemic started than I have my entire life!)

Step 5:

Lay your background paper on top of the glue,

Tip: I like to use a clean brush to smooth out all of the wrinkles and air bubbles.

Once your paper is smooth, paint a coat of Mod Podge on top.

Step 6:

Place your Christmas trees on your paper where you want them, making sure to smooth out any air bubbles.

Once you have the trees where you want them, give them a coat of Mod Podge.

Step 7:

While my design was drying, I made a bow to go on top of my plaque.

However, you won’t need a lot of ribbon for this.

In fact, I used a lot of scrap ribbon that I had in my craft closet.

Once your plaque is dry, hot glue the ribbon to the top of the plaque.

Your Christmas plaque is complete and more importantly it’s ready to decorate with.

As far as projects go this one is pretty simple and a lot of fun!

So much fun that I made several for gifts!

Now, it’s time to hop over to visit Chloe at Celebrate and Decorate. I can’t wait to see what she has featured.

After that, be sure and check out all of the other wonderful ideas.

 
Decorate and More with Tip | Sew Sassy by Paula | DIY Vibes | Pretty DIY Home

Bluesky at Home | Patina and Paint | Celebrate and Decorate | B4 and Afters
 
A Vintage Flare Farmhouse | LeCultivateur | Country Road 407 | The House House\

Jessica B Simmons | Living Little John

My sister is a minister in a small rural community in Oklahoma. Last week I recieved a call from her asking if I would do her a favor. She needed a few signs that would give a few people a gentle reminder, It doesn’t flush itself!

After I stopped laughing, I asked her why she needed those signs?

There are a few groups of people using the outreach building during the week.

Without fail, almost every week, the cleaning committee would come in on Saturday to clean before church on Sunday and they would find that the toilets hadn’t been flushed.

In days.

You get what I’m saying.

Ain’t nobody want to deal with that!

The outreach center’s decor theme is Cowboy Chic.

Keeping that in mind, I wanted to keep the sign’s design rustic with a little bit of glam.

Also, I was on a tight budget!

A quick trip to Hobby Lobby yielded a large 12 x 12 wooden frame for $9.99.

Using my 40% off coupon brought the frame’s total to just under $6.00.

So much cheaper than a pre-finished frame!

I also found ribbon and some wrapping paper to match.

The first thing I did on this project was to paint my frame black.

Once the paint was dry, I took the wrapping paper and cut out a square the exact size of my black frame.

I painted the frame with a generous coat of Mod Podge and then applied the wrapping paper.

Tip: When using Mod Podge make sure you have a nice even coat applied to your surface.

Once you have your paper laid on top of the glue, take a clean brush and gently remove any air pockets or wrinkles.

Once that is done, apply another even coat of Mod Podge to seal the paper.

While the Mod Podge was drying, using my Silhouette cutting machine, I cut out the vinyl lettering for my sign.

After cutting my black card stock to fit inside the frame, I applied the vinyl lettering to the card stock.

And just like that, my sister’s gentle reminder, “It doesn’t flush itself” was finished.

My sister is picking up the signs this weekend.

I sincerely hope that the signs work, as the cleaning committee is all in an uproar about the lack of hygiene!

Every time I see these signs I can’t help but laugh.

Of course, I’m not the one that has to clean the toilets either or I just might be tempted to give a not so gentle reminder, IT DOESN’T FLUSH ITSELF!

Until next time….

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After weeks and weeks of searching for the perfect material to recover my breakfast room chairs, I’m happy to say that I finally found one!

Just a quick recap in case you missed it.

A few months ago I started giving my dining room a quick makeover.

I refinished my breakfast room table.

Made new curtains and added a coffee bar.

As you can see from the picture, the material looks as if it has several shades of blues, greens and yellows.

However, when it came in it was actually several shades of teal, not blue.

Now, I had to figure out how to match up all of the blue in the room to the curtain material.

This material, Emperial Trellis, is from Ballards.

It is shown several times paired with my curtain fabric, however I worried that the green was brighter and a little too much on the mint side.

Also, it is an embroidered fabric and a little too pricey for me!

This is the Osaka Bamboo Trellis fabric from Spoonflower.

Not only is it similar to the Ballard’s fabric, it is a perfect match to my curtain fabric.

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Step 1:

Remove the chair pad from the chair.

In all honesty, since there was no piping to deal with, I was hoping that I could simply cover the cushions with the new fabric.

However, as you can see, the old striped fabric could clearly be seen through the new fabric.

Step 2:

The old fabric had to come off.

Did I mention that I hate the tedious process of removing the staples?

When I remove staples from furniture there are always a few bloody knuckles before the project is over!

So much fun.

Once the staples and fabric were removed, I positioned the new fabric making sure that the pattern was centered.

Then using a staple gun, I attached the new fabric.

Seriously, if I could ignore the staple removal process, this is one of the easiest reupholstery projects to date.

( The fabric looks very lime here, but is really a grass green!)

It took me a long time to commit to this fabric, but I am so glad that I finally did.

Why did it take me so long?

Can you say white and green?

Don’t get me wrong, I love both colors.

But white on a dining chair?

It honestly made me a nervous wreck just thinking about it.

However, after much thought, I decided to go for it!

Did I mention that I bought lots and lots of Scotch Guard?

Seriously, I really do love the new fabric on my breakfast room chairs.

So much so that I wish I had done it a few months ago!

Now, if only I could make up my mind on the wall paint color…

Until next time.

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Once thing that I’ve truly missed since the Corona Virus showed up is Pokeno night. So much so, that I figured out how to host a virtual Pokeno party!

Before I share how we did it virtually, let me give you some background on how we normally do it.

There are 12 members in our group, each member is in charge of hosting one time each year.

The hostess is responsible for providing her home for the game and dinner.

Each member brings a $25.00 gift that is wrapped in a black trash bag.

After dinner, we play 12 rounds of Pokeno.

Whoever wins a round chooses a bag, opens it and if they love it, pray that no-one wants to steal it in round 2!

Then we play 12 more rounds, with the winners stealing gifts from other members.

Now here’s how to do it virtually.

Step 1.

You will need to use an on-line platform that allows you to have several members on-line at once.

We used Zoom.

One of our members signed up and is in charge of “hosting” a Zoom meeting once the Pokeno hostess has chosen a date.

In our case, each member downloaded the Zoom AP to the digital device of their choice.

Our Zoom hostess sends out the meeting number and password to each member a few days before the Pokeno party.

Step 2.

The Pokenno hostess sends out an invitation to the members of the group.

The invitation includes the date of the party, supplies for each member to gather and a downloadable playing card.

Each member will need a card, (more on that in a minute) a deck of playing cards, card markers ( poker chips, pennies, beans etc) and a $25.00 gift card.

We decided that it would be simpler to buy a gift card and at the end of the night mail it to whomever ends up winning it, than trying to get $25.00 gifts delivered.

Step 3.

Now it’s simply a matter of everyone gathering supplies, buying a gift card and signing in to play!

How To Host A Virtual Pokeno Party:

I mentioned above that the hostess will need to send out digital Pokeno cards to each member.

I simply scanned the cards from my game into my computer and randomly chose a card that was then sent to each member to print off for play.

However, I realize that you may not have cards or a scanner so you can download cards here.

Each hostess will need a few things that will help her keep track of who wins what prize, who stole what prize and at the end of the night who ended up winning the prize.

Confused yet?

The first thing you will need is a sign up sheet.

As each member logs on for the game, assign them a number and write their name next to that number.

Make sure that each player knows what number that they were assigned.

Then start playing the game.

When the first member wins, she picks a number between 1 and 12.

Let’s say she chooses 4, then 4 is removed from the numbers and the next winner chooses between 1 and 12 with the 4 taken out of the mix.

You continue to do this until all numbers are chosen.

As each number is chosen you will write down who won round 1, what number they chose and what gift card is attached to that number.

EXAMPLE:

Tammy wins and chooses gift number 5.

You write down Tammy’s name next to the round number, gift number 5 which is a gift card to Home Goods.

In essence this sheet keeps track of who won that game and what gift she has won.

Time for Round 2, which is the round where you steal!

At this point, you play the game the exact same way with one exception.

Instead of a winner choosing a number they are choosing a specific gift card.

Nobody expects everyone to remember what gift cards are out there, so the hostess is responsible for giving her a list of available cards.

More than one Home Goods card?

Remember that the cards were assigned numbers?

The hostess will ask the winner to choose between #11 Home Goods and #8 Home Goods.

This is an easy way for the winner will choose who to steal the gift cards from.

At the end of the final 12 rounds, whatever gifts you have won you get to keep.

The final step in hosting is for you to give everyone the name of the person who won the card that they bought.

The members are then responsible for mailing – or dropping off – the cards they purchased to the person who won the card.

Sound hard and confusing?

Trust me, it really is pretty simple once you get used to they system.

The key is writing everything down and having FUN!

Our group loves it!

While it’s not quite as good as being with each other in person, I hope that by sharing how to host a virtual Pokeno party, it will make being able to get together a little easier!

Enjoy…

It’s 10 on the 10th! Every month on the 10th, a group of lifestyle bloggers get together and share ideas for under $10.00. This month’s theme is Summer Party! While there haven’t been a ton of parties going on here at the Castle, there have been a few small gatherings. And one thing that always makes me crazy is that the solo cups get knocked over and you can never find where someone left the Shapie marker. So I’m taking matters into my own hands and making a Solo cup holder!

Normally I would have The Hubs make a box for me, however I found this box at Hobby Lobby.

With my 40% off coupon it cost $4.79!

Before painting the box, I filled the staple holes with wood filler.

I added feet to the bottom of the box by gluing on 4 wooden beads.

Don’t you just love E6000 glue?

It works on almost everything!

Next, I attached a metal clip to the outside of the box to hold my Sharpie.

No more excuses as to where the elusive marker went!

Once the glue and the wood filler was dry, I gave it a light sanding.

Then it was time to paint.

At this point I could have called it good and been done.

However, I saw that there was room in the back of the box for straws.

I cut a dowel rod the width of the box interior.

Once the dowel rod was in place, I painted it white to match the box.

This solo cup holder is finished and ready to party!

I’m thrilled that the glasses have a home and hopefully we won’t be on a constant hunt for a marker!

Please join me in visiting the rest of this months bloggers!

Decorate And More With Tip

Pandora’s Box

French Ethereal

The Apple Street Cottage

I don’t know about where you are, but here in Texas it’s hot! I’m talking hotter than the devil’s basement hot. I’ve been inside a lot more trying out a few new artistic projects. Today, I’m sharing hand painted oyster shells.

Before I could start my project, I had to first find some clean, sanitized oyster shells.

Who knew that you could find them on Amazon?

I found some great tutorials on how to use a napkin to decoupage oyster shells.

However, I found that it was hard to find patterned tissue, or napkins, with a small enough pattern to fit the shells.

You can even purchase downloadable chinoiserie patterns here.

Simply, purchase, download and print them off.

Which was fantastic.

However, my printer did not print them in the vibrant blue tones that I wanted.

So, I decided to hand paint them instead of decoupaging them.

After removing any dust from the shells, I painted the insides of each shell white.

Painting the inside of the shell white covers up any dark spots or irregularities.

This may require a couple of coats.

Once the white paint was dried, I painted all sorts of fun designs!

Since I was putting these in my living room, I decided to paint a few chinoiserie designs.

I also decided to paint a few free form designs.

Really, design wise, you are only limited by your imagination.

Since my living room colors are blues and whites I used those colors to paint my shells.

When the designs were dry, I gave them a couple of coats of glossy Mod Podge to protect them.

The finishing touch was painting the edges of my shells with a metallic gold paint to give the them a finished, upscale look.

These shells vary in size from 3 to 4 inches each.

Which would also make them perfect to place them in a bathroom or on a dresser to hold jewelry.

I’ve also seen them used as three dimensional art.

Simply glue your shell to the inside of a deep frame.

Ta-daaaa! Instant art.

I chose to put my hand painted oyster shells in a pretty bowl in my living room on a shelf.

I love all of the color and texture that they add visually.

Even though I hand painted most of mine, I still plan on keeping my eye out for some pretty napkins and tissue paper to decoupage a few more shells.

Maybe even making a few of these for fun gifties!

Until next time…

You may think that it’s too late to put together a fun 4th of July table. However, think again. This last minute 4th of July tablescape is full of fun, color and whimsy. Best of all, it was all put together with things I already had on hand!

We will be celebrating outside on the 4th of July.

After may years with out one, we finally have an outside dining table!

I bought this metal lantern at Target a few years ago.

It is the perfect base for a centerpiece.

I filled it with napkins, pinwheels and sparkly fluff for a last minute centerpiece!

Everything in the placesetting was something I’ve used before.

From the straw placemat to the melamine plates.

Can I just say that plastic plates and glasses have come a long way in recent years?

The pinwheel napkin rings are a DIY from a few years ago.

You can see just how easy it is to make them here.

On the day of this photoshoot the wind was a whopping 25 miles an hour.

Which is why I chose to put the silverware, Twizzlers, straws and treats into the mason jar glasses.

At our house, we like to bite off the ends of the Twizzler and use it as a straw.

However, for those of you who eat your Twizzler before you can use it, I added a cute blue and white paper straw just for you!

For a little fun, a glow in the dark bracelet was added.

It wouldn’t be the 4th of July without a little bling!

Next, a box of Cracker Jack popcorn was added to each placesetting for an after dinner snack.

Next to the table is an old tool chest that am using for a serving area.

However, it makes a great bar cart too.

A fun chalkboard with a happy 4th message was added for a little colorful decor.

My last minute 4th of July tablescape came together in no time!

It is cute, colorful and just waiting for our guests.

Honestly, it just may be one of my all time favorite tablescapes.

Let the celebration begin.

Until next time…

Let’s be honest. While I love the 4th of July, I’m not one to do a lot of decorating for the holiday. I’m not really sure why. I justify my non-decorating with the thought that it’s a lot of decorating for one day. But Christmas is only 1 day! And let’s get real here, I spend WAY more than a few days decorating for Christmas. This year we are have a few guests over for the 4th, so I was determined to get into the decorating spirit. At least a little. Today I’m sharing how to put together a 15 minute 4th of July Mantle.

I started with a freshly dusted, mirror cleaned mantle.

After pulling out my meager 4th of July decor, I found this fabric banner that I had made a few years ago using fabric scraps, ribbon and jute.

On top of the banner, I hung a string of red pom poms that I picked up at an after Christmas sale.

Tip: I use small clear Command strip hooks to hang my banners.

On a quick trip to Michael’s a few days ago, I found this red, white and blue decor kit.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I picked it – and a couple of others – up just in case.

FYI – Michael’s is having a huge sale right now on their Spring, Summer and Red, White and Blue items.

This kit is normally $9.99, but with a 60% discount the kit came in right at $4.00!

The kit came with 5 hanging fans.

Putting the fans together was super easy and took a whopping 3 minutes.

The fans came with double sided padded sticky tape to attach the paper medallions to the middle of the fans.

I cut the tape in half to adhere the medallions, leaving me with 5 more pieces of tape which I used to stick the fans to the mirror above my fireplace.

Once the top half of the mantle was complete, it was time to bring a little color down to the lanterns on the hearth.

I added simple red and white pom ribbon to each lantern for a tiny splash of color!

And my 15 minute 4th of July Mantle is complete.

I couldn’t be happier with it.

I love that it’s super cute and bonus – it was super fast and easy.

My kind of 4th of July decorating.

Until next time….

Welcome to the Pink Flamingo room! One of our guest rooms earned this name from some super cute sheets that I received one year for a birthday present. Slowly, but surely I kept adding  cute little flamingos to this room here and there. When we moved from Saddlewood last October I basically just used most  of the same items in the guest room in our Cumberland house. Now that we’ve been here for 8 months it has become clear that a few things need to change. So today, I’m sharing why the Pink Flamingo gets a facelift – Part 1.

There is nothing wrong with this room per say.

It’s just not working.

Our grown sons come home and if they are here at the same time they fight over  who gets the other guest room.

The full size bed really isn’t all that great for big boys!

And for as long as I’ve had it set up this way, I’ve felt like something is missing.

I knew that I wanted a guest room that was predominately neutral, with a lot of color.

Sound contradictory?

Take a look at this bedroom from Nell Hill.

It’s got a ton of neutral in the background and a ton of color up front.

It’s traditional, yet quirky.

There are some masculine overtures, yet it also has hints of feminine design tucked here and there.

I fell in love with it!

This would be my inspiration room.

I  currently have a white quilt on the bed and I love using it, however remember that I said my sons fought over any room but this one?

I saw this navy quilt that sports white stitching and  pom trim and knew immediately that it was perfect.

Masculine color with girly poms!

This quilt comes from Ballards – which I love almost everything of theirs – however, it was a bit out of my price range at $279.00!

So, I started looking for something else.

And stumbled across this Navy quilt from Steinmart.

It has the same white stitching!

Yay!

And it has pom trim too.

Double Yay!

The poms may be a bit smaller than the Ballards quilt, but the quilt and 2 shams are only $79.00!

Um, yes please!

Next, I knew that I probably needed to get a more masculine bed.

I wanted a beautiful black iron bed like these from The Vintage White Farm House.

Every iron bed that I found that was the size, weight and design was clearly out of my price range.

Back to the drawing board!

Stuck on the iron bed idea, I hit up the used furniture sites.

And found this one.

While it isn’t the plain, masculine iron bed that I was looking for, the scrolls of this one tugged on my heart.

I feel like the iron is masculine, while the curves are girly.

And it was a fraction of the cost of a new one.

SOLD!

That’s as far as I’ve gotten on the absolutes in the room.

These are the fabrics I already have in the room.

 Hot Pink, navy’s, greens, and a tiny touch of orange.

I’m hoping to keep all of these in the room, but who knows where this room will end up down the road?

I do know that I’m keeping the pink polk a dot chair as it’s one of my favorites!

I’m also thinking of adding a little color to the nightstand and dresser.

I love this navy and white buffalo plaid chest!

It’s masculine, with a touch of bling.

Right up my alley!

I also need to paint the walls and add curtains.

Right now I’m thinking that they will be neutrals since I’m adding a lot of pops of color through out the room.

What do you think?

Neutrals, color, or pattern?

I’d love to hear you thoughts on what this room needs.

I hope that you will come back for part 2.

By then I will have nailed all of the other details down and have started working on the room!

Until next time….

It’s 10 on the 10th and our theme this month is Red,White and Blue! Of course, with a patriotic theme, a ton of things came to mind.

I think of long hot summer days and nights, fireflies – or lightning bugs as we like to call them, fireworks, iced cold Dr. Pepper, parades, flip flops,  swimming, ice cream, cicada’s singing, picnics,  sweet iced tea, BBQ, a good margarita and S’mores.

It’s one great big Texas party!

I recently had surgery so I’ve put most of my projects on hold. I’ve been taking it easy,  watching our backyard pool area having the final touches put on it and taking quite a few naps.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d have much to share with you this month, however I remembered that I had ordered 2 things recently that might just be worth a share. Even if they technically aren’t red, white or blue , they sure remind me of it!

I ordered these marshmallow roasting sticks last week in preparation for the little’s upcoming visit. We put in a fire pit near the pool and I just knew they’d be perfect for making S’mores in the evening. We’ve had these roasting sticks before- many years ago- and they are a favorite in my family.

The first ones that I ever bought were found in the dollar isle at Target. Today, you can find them just about everywhere for a wide range of prices.These came in right at a little over $1.00 a piece. I purchased 8, however I’ve seen sets as large as 20 and as small as 4.

I love that you can find each skewer with a different color of collar. This is great in assigning each child, or adult, to his or her own skewer. No fighting over who’s is who’s! Also, they are telescopic. To store them they slide down to a nice compact 12″, but they extend out to about 32 inches to ensure a safe distance from the fire. And they clean up like a dream!

I like to make a S’more “buffet” ahead of time. It’s pretty and cuts down on the mess. I start with milk shake glasses or french fry holders. Fold up pretty pieces of wax paper and line the glasses or holders. Then, simply stuff each container with your S’more ingredients. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and a good chocolate bar.

I ordered these french fry holders a few weeks ago and I’m really impressed with them. At $6.95 a piece they are perfect for a s’more buffet. Of course, they are perfect for french fries, shrimp, hush puppies or my all time favorite, Mexican Street Corn. An added bonus is that they don’t break and they are an easy  clean up. Just throw away the wax paper!

You can find those here.

We even have a few adults that like to crush up the graham crackers, put some dark chocolate or butterscotch pieces in, followed by a hot marshmallow.

Mix it up with a spoon and it’s the perfect summer dessert!

Now, I hope that you will join me in visiting my fellow bloggers to see what wonderful Red, White and Blue things they’ve come up with!

Carol at Blue Sky At Home

Jemma at At Home With Jemma

Barbara at French Ethereal

Jodi at The House House

Terrie at Decorate and More With Tip

Ann at Apple Street Cottage

Patti at Pandora’s Box

Katie at Let’s Add Sprinkles

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It’s time for the June DIY Challenge and boy was this month different from months past! Our challenge this month was a surprise. Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip, asked each of us to send a surprise box filled with whatever we wanted to one of our fellow DIY participants.  I anxiously awaited my happy mail to arrive. The excitement was high, as it was like waiting to open a gift at Christmas! So you can imagine my excitement  when I got a package from Liberty from B4 and Afters, I couldn’t wait to open it. This is what I found in my surprise box! All I can say is – Bring on the Bling!

If you are coming here from Decorate and More With Tip I am so glad that you are here!

Now, let’s get this party started!

Let me backtrack for a minute. Have you ever started a project, thinking that you would make one thing and ended up making another? Well that’s what happened when I started this project. My first thought was that I was going to make the cutest little tray. So, I got two boards and glued them together. Then glued two left over blind slats across both boards.

To make sure that the strips were secured, I screwed them place.

Since I planned on painting the entire piece white, I glued on the pearl beads with hot glue.

Once I saw those beads, I knew that my project would never be a cute tray. Those beads reminded my of my great nieces, Miss A, aka Beep. This is her Easter picture. Her Granny curled her hair, dressed her up and because she had been so good Granny said she could choose her jewelry for her Easter pictures. I’m pretty sure Granny never thought she’d choose those beads!

Our girl loves her Bling!

Now I was coming at this project totally backwards! I painted the top portion of the board turquoise, being very careful to paint around the beads. Then I added the word “bling” to the board using letters I printed off from my computer. To transfer the letters, simply flip the letters over and using a pencil, color over the letters outline.

Then, flip them over, place them on the board and trace.

I painted the letters white, then drilled holes for my hooks that would hold all of Beep’s “joory”.

The hooks were made out of the drawer knobs from my surprise package. I spray painted them white as they were an oil rubbed bronze color to start with.

Beeps room is turquoise, white and lavender. To bring in the purple tones, I took the yarn from my surprise package and twisted it to create a trim. I glued it to the edge of the board. I did this twice around the board to make a bigger impact.

Once that was done, I painted the back a pretty lavender color. Yep, coming at it totally backwards – again!

Next, I added a cute white bow with all of the colors.

And a tiny bit of bling.

Bring on the Bling!

This sweet little sign is ready for all of Miss A’s joory!

This months surprise box challenge was so much fun. Now, I can’t wait to see who sent what to who! I’m headed over to Liberty’s site, B4 and Afters, and I hope  that you are too!

DECORATEANDMOREWITHTIP | PATINAANDPAINT | B4ANDAFTERS | SWEETSOUTHERNGRACE

CELEBRATEANDDECORATE | JESSICABSIMMONS | THE HOUSE HOUSE

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I recently did something that I swore I would never do again! I hung wallpaper in my entry. I know, crazy right? After years of moving into homes and spending days removing wallpaper I thought that I would never put wallpaper in my home. Nope, no way. But I have a good reason for changing my mind, and putting wallpaper in the entry, which I will share with you here!

This post contains affiliate links, however the opinions stated are my own!

When we moved into our home last October this is what our entry looked like. Pretty plain and boring. It drove me crazy!

I couldn’t wait to paint one wall to bring in some color. Once it was done, it was so much better, however I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. New mirror? Maybe a fun chinoiserie stencil?

So when Erin from Photowall reached out wondering if I would like to give one of their murals a try I was a bit skeptical. Because, you know, I did say never, ever will I do wallpaper.

But then I went to Photowall’s site and fell in love with several of their designs. However, I was a little worried about a few things. Things like, how much to buy. Since the company uses meters instead of inches, would I be able to translate that? I need not have worried, turns out the hardest part was choosing a design! Whether it was choosing a design or calculating how much product I needed the whole process was super easy.

I was hooked!

You simply enter your dimensions in inches into their calculator and they tell you how much wallpaper you will need for your wall.

But the best part for me? You can crop anywhere on the design you choose, so that you get the exact design what you want! And the rectangle that you use to crop the design with is the same dimensions of your room.

How genius is that?

They even have photos of your design on a wall with furniture in front of it to give you an idea about the scale of your design. Ordering couldn’t have been easier!

Once I placed my order I received it in less than 4 days. Yes, you read that right.

4 Days!!!

Which is amazing considering that this design was printed custom for my wall. I couldn’t wait to open it up and get a look at it. To say that I fell in love with it the minute I unrolled it was an understatement. The colors were exactly what I wanted, and the quality of the paper is unbelievable! Also included in the box were detailed instructions and wallpaper paste.

I couldn’t wait to get started!

To hang your wallpaper here’s what you will need:

Bucket
Roller and Tray
Brush
Spirit Level
Ruler
Sponge
Pencil
Knife
Seam Roller
Wallpaper Brush
Trim Guide

Another thing that I loved? Most traditional wallpaper comes on a roll and you have to figure out the repeat, or how to match it up when hanging it. Which makes for a lot of wasted paper. Since this is technically a mural, each sheet comes numbered, which takes the guess work out of it.

As you can see, I  had six sheets total. Just cut off the top, line it up and hang! Also, there is no “booking”. With regular wallpaper you basically brush  the paste onto the paper, fold it up and let it sit before hanging.

Which was always a huge mess!

With Photowall’s murals, you paint the paste directly onto the wall.

Before starting I measured where my first panel would be positioned and using a level drew a vertical straight line to help make sure that I was getting the first panel perfectly straight.

Once that was done, I applied the wallpaper paste, one panel width at a time, and hung the wallpaper panel. Hanging the panel is so easy. Simply hang the panel, smooth from ceiling to floor, then trim off excess paper. Repeat until all of your panels are hung. 

This is my entry wall immediately after I hung my mural, so it’s still wet. It was so hard to wait and let it dry before putting everything back together. A 24 hour drying time is recommended.

While waiting, I painted the baseboards and doors a pure white just to give the entire room a fresh new look. 

I can’t tell you how much I love this room. It just screams “Welcome, come on in!” doesn’t it? Now, every time I walk into the entry, I get a warm happy feeling. No more feeling as if something isn’t quite right. And shouldn’t that be how we all should feel when we come home?

Photowall was so generous that they are offering all of my readers a 25% discount from now through July 4, 2020!

Just use the code: patinaandpaint25 when you order!

Oh, and just in case you don’t have a space for wallpaper, they also create prints and posters. They can even take one of your images and create a custom design just for you! All you need to do is just head on over to Photowall and get started!

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This is the way the dining room looked when I last shared it.

I’m happy to say that my check off list is growing shorter!

All of the furniture is painted.

If you missed it, you can see it here and here.

I have made a few tiny changes here and there.

Like changing out the artwork frames from black to gold.

Now, all that’s left are a few of the biggest changes.

Adding new curtains and rug in the breakfast room will make or break this room!

This was the original plan.

One, Emmie Blue fabric for the curtains.

I chose this fabric because not only did I love it, but it had all of the steel blues, navy and light blues that I wanted for the breakfast room’s color scheme.

Two, this rug had all of the colors in the fabric and the furniture.

Three and four were my choices of fabric for the chairs.

I went back and forth over which one I wanted.

Three had all of the blue tones, but four was the co-ordinating fabric shown with my curtain fabric.

After going back and forth for DAYS I decided to hold off ordering the chair seat fabric until I saw the curtains with the rug.

And I am so glad that I did!

Because when the curtain fabric arrived it wasn’t steel blue tones at all!

It had the navy, but the colors that looked like steel blue on-line, in person were really very teal.

While the fabric is absolutely beautiful in person and the quality was great, the color was off just enough that I was just sick about it.

To make matters worse, no returns.

I threw a big pity party for myself for a few days and decided that since this fabric wasn’t cheap and I couldn’t return it, I was just going to have to make it work.

The rug came in a few days later and it was exactly what I had hoped for!

I love the high/low pile and the variation throughout the rug.

Perfect!

The original curtain rods were black in the breakfast room.

I never really liked them, they felt too skinny and small for the room, but they were the only ones I could find to fit that spot at the time.

Fortunately, I had some of my favorite curtain rods left over from the living room.

I LOVE the finials.

They are big and chunky and look like big glass squares.

The only issue with them was that the metal parts  were black too.

Spray paint to the rescue!

( On a side note, I LOVE my spray paint tent. BEST THING EVER!)

Once I had them painted and put up I wondered why I hadn’t thought to do it sooner.

This is the final result so far.

And to be totally honest, it’s not perfect but it’s not bad either.

If I hadn’t been expecting all steel blues, I would be in love with the fabric!

So the hunt for chair fabric continues!

The current chair fabric looks great with the rug.

If a few of them didn’t have a some stains, I might not recover them.

As it stands, they will be this way until I find a fabric to tie in the steel blues, navy and the teal.

The struggle is real my friends…

It’s not as easy as it sounds.

I guess decorating is a lot like life.

Some days it’s smooth and easy – other days you hit a few pot holes in the road!

The breakfast room saga continues here at The Castle!

Until next time…..

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You, my friends, should be so proud of me! Before painting the buffet I actually thought to take a before picture!

Back about 100 years or so ago when I was a faux finish painter, I found this dresser on the side of the road. It was my first piece to ever make over. The Hubs added four legs from a an old bench that my BFF and I dug out of a trash pile to the bottom and TA DAAAA!

The buffet was born.

Oh, the decor styles this buffet has seen. It was painted white with lots of antiquing and gold accents through my Old World phase. Then, it was painted solid white during my less is more after the opulence of the Old World phase. When it became part of my office decor it was painted the black that you see in this picture.

Today, with the changing out of all things white and neutral in my dining room, I knew that once again my buffet needed a little face lift. There were just too many pieces of different colored furniture for me!

I painted the buffet the same blue as the chairs and table. If you missed how I did that, then you can see the how to here.

No recap of the painting because ain’t nobody wanna see that two times in a row!

This isn’t one of those “Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe it’s the same piece of furniture!” before and afters. It’s a really subtle one. In fact, I asked The Hubs how he liked it and he hesitated in his answer. Finally he said, “Well, it’s not that big of a difference.”

And he’s right.

My main goal was to make it seamlessly become more compatible with the rest of the room.

So, I guess, mission accomplished!

In this picture, if you look closely,  you can see just how many times it’s been painted. If it were a better piece of furniture I would have stripped it down before painting.

Honestly, I’m kind of afraid to go too far down as it might remove more than I bargained for. I also decided to keep the hardware.

I’m eventually going to replace it, but I’m waiting until I find something I love!

I swore I wasn’t going to add any gold to the buffet this time. Well, I was wrong. I only added the tiniest bit of Rub’nBuff. Due to adding some gold pieces in the rest of the room, it just seemed appropriate. Besides, if I hate it, I can always paint over it!

Sorry the pictures are a little dark. Of course the day I had scheduled to take pictures it’s been raining all day! I’m officially calling this side of the room done.

For now.

I still have a few things that I want to do in the future. Like get rid of that intercom system. But, that’s another day!

Finished or not, I’m enjoying the change from black to blue. It ties in with the rest of the room and looks like it’s always been that way. After years of painting just about everything I’m still amazed at the power of a little paint. Now to finished up the rest of the dining room.

I can’t wait to share what’s coming up next with you!

Until next time…

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If you were looking really close when I shared my Memorial Day Table, you might have noticed that I have a new dining room table – again!

This is table number 3 since we moved in last October.

No, I do not have a table addiction!

When we moved in I knew I needed a different one, I just hadn’t found one that I loved so I used our old formal dining room table.

And then, in January, I found this one.

And I loved it.

Still do.

However, every time one of the men in my family sat in these dainty chairs and leaned back, they chair made a horrible noise like it was going to fall apart any minute.

Which made me realize that even though I loved it, they just wouldn’t work for us.

My BFF Roxanne was having an estate sale and had this wonderful Pottery Barn farmhouse table and chairs.

And even though they didn’t have the curvy french lines of my last one, they super sturdy and cute..

The only negative about them was that I didn’t care for the  color of the pine table.

However, I loved the style and color of the chairs.

So I set out to transform the table to match the chairs!

I sanded the table with an orbital sander and belt sander for a good 5 hours.

Thankfully, The Hubs helped!

Once it was down to the raw wood it was time for the magic to happen.

I started this table transformation with the top first.

I used Minwax pre-stain to make sure that the wood took the stain evenly.

Once that was dry, I stained the top with three coats of Walnut.

I wanted a medium dark finish, so this was perfect.

The next day, after the stain had thoroughly dried, I gave it three coats of Varathane polyurethane in a satin water base formula.

This was my first time to use this product and I am in LOVE with it.

It went on super smooth, no brush marks and dried quickly.

When the top was finished, I started on the table apron and legs.

Step 1, rub it down with liquid sandpaper!

I hate sanding chair and table legs, mainly because it’s HARD!

Since I didn’t need to repair anything, this was the perfect solution.

After a lot of sleuthing and stalking the Pottery Barn Pinterest boards I finally found the color of paint used on the chairs.

Since I wasn’t entirely sure that it was right, I purchased a sample quart of the color in Satin.

It went on so smoothly and was the perfect color, so I just used the sample quart to paint my table apron and legs!

Two coats, a little distressing, followed by an antiquing coat of the Walnut stain and my bottom half o the table was ready for a couple of coats of the Varathane!

And while the lighting isn’t the best in this picture, trust me when I say that it matches perfectly!

We love it!

The best part?

No more screaming chairs.

The Worst part?

Now the neutral rug and curtains don’t really go with the table and chairs.

Yep, if you’ve followed me for long you know that I subscribe to the “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” form of decorating whether I intend to or not!

So here’s the color pallet that I’m thinking of using.

Number 1 is Emmie Blue and would make the prettiest curtains.

Number 2, of course would be the rug.

Now , the next two are a toss up for the chairs to be recovered in.

Do I stick with the blue tones of number 3, or do I boldly go where I’ve never gone before with the crips white and green of number 4?

Decisions, decisions….

What do you think?

If you are like certain members of my family and are thinking “she’s got an new table and chairs – again? The girl has lost her mind!”

I promise, this is the last time!!!!!

I think.

Until next time..

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Hey friends! I can’t believe that May is almost over, although I seem to be saying that almost every month lately. Time seems to fly the older I get. Today I’m going to share my Memorial Day Table with you. However, before I get to that, I want to do a little housekeeping first.

Memorial Day has always been a favorite holiday for me.

As a child it signaled the end of the school year.

As an adult, it means many things to me.

The weather is getting warmer, the day’s are getting longer and summer is just beginning.

More importantly, it’s a time to think about and honor those heroes that have fought for our freedom.

Also, to remember those who have died to preserve it.

My grandfather was one of those who fought for our country and I couldn’t be prouder.

So Thank you to all of the men and women who have served!

Normally, Memorial Day would find us in our backyard.

The Hubs would be grilling while the rest of us would be visiting or playing games.

However, this is how our backyard looks right now.

A big empty, almost finished pool, a whole lot of concrete and a ton of work to be done.

Hopefully it will be finished in time to celebrate, but just in case it isn’t I’ve come up with a simple, fun and colorful Memorial Day Table for indoors.

Of course, the color scheme is red, white and blue.

When setting a table, I generally work from the center out.

I laid out a white table runner, followed by a red, white and blue berry candle ring placed in the center of the table.

I put one of my favorite white lanterns on top of the berries.

On each side of my lantern, I placed mason jars filled with red geraniums to complete my centerpiece.

Now for my place settings.

I went for a fun, eclectic style for my table.

Full of color and  a lot of mix and match patterns.

The key to making so many patterns work without it seeming like the busiest Jackson Pollock painting on steroids,  is to make sure the all of the patterns are different in size.

In my place setting the buffalo plaid is the largest, then the bandana salad plate, the charger is next and the smallest is the red and white polk-a-dot plate.

Had I put this many same sized patterns together it would have had you seeing crossed eyed into next week.

Also, be sure to add some solids into the mix, as they allow a place for the eyes to stay “grounded”. 

 A plain navy placemat starts off my place setting, followed by a navy and white bamboo charger.

The blue buffalo check napkin is nestled under the red and white polka-dot plate.

 A blue bandana salad plate finishes off the place setting.

The navy placemat was actually a natural color when I bought it years ago.

I simply spray painted it!

The red silverware is a new addition this year.

I love how it adds the perfect pop of color to an almost all blue setting.

If you look closely you can see the prettiest blue glassware.

Also a new purchase this year.

These pretty little glasses make my heart sing every time I look at them.

Not only are they pretty, but they are the perfect size for a glass of tea!

For a little added sparkle, I hung a red, white and blue star garland on my white hutch.

I love that this table is simple, yet filled with fun and color.

It screams summer for me.

But the best part?

With the exception of the centerpiece and the glasses it’s all plastic!

So, if we do get the patio ready in time for the holiday, it’s a simple task to move this table setting outside to our new patio dining table.

It really is the perfect Memorial Day table!

I’ve tried to link the items from my table, in some cases these items were out of stock so I chose some that are similar for you!

Navy straw Placemats / Blue Glassware /  Red and White Polk-a-dot Plate / Navy Bandana Plate /

Star Garland / White Lantern

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I’ve been sprucing up the front porch over the last month or so. Lots of projects to keep me busy for sure. I added some pretty black and white striped cushions to my bench and chairs. Almost immediately I knew that I wanted some hot pink throw pillows added to them for some color. Except I couldn’t find hot pink pillows that were the color, fabric, or price range I wanted. It quickly became apparent that I was going to be making them. So today I’m sharing how to make outdoor throw pillows on a budget!

Here’s what you will need:
Napkins  18 x18″ , 2 per pillow
Pillow form 16 x 16″
Sewing Machine
Thread
Pins
Scissors
Scotchgard

First of all, this project is so easy it’s almost ridiculous, and using the same steps below, you could make these a no sew project. Just use a heat n bond type tape or fabric glue! I found my napkins here.

They had a 12 pack of 18 x 18, 100% cotton napkins  for $17.81 Which would make each napkin $`1.48. You will need two napkins so we multiply the $1.48 x 2 = $2.96

Step 1:

Wash and iron your napkin. Once that is done, lay napkins right side out, one on top of the other. Pin all the way around leaving a 6 – 8 inch opening.

Step 2:

Sew along the previously sewn hem line all the way around the napkins, leaving a 6 to 8 inch opening for the pillow to be inserted through. If you miss sewing along the hem line perfectly, no worries. You won’t see it when it’s done.

Step 3:

Remove the pins. Stuff your pillow form into the opening. I found my pillow forms here, each cost me $4.74. The pillow forms cost Make sure the pillows forms corners fill the corners of the pillow cover and that the pillow form is evenly distributed.

Step 4:

Once you have your pillow form inserted into the pillow cover, at the 6 -8 inch opening put the outer edges of the pillow cover together and pin. Make sure that your pillow is not in the opening! Sew the opening shut.

Step 5:

Once I had made all of my pillows, it was time to Scotchgard them. Following the directions on the can, I gave each pillow a solid coat of Scotchgard on both sides.

Let completely dry.

I placed mine outside on a table to dry.  As my  young niece would say “ooohhhh, stinky!”

LOL

It will definitely fill your house with that chemical smell!

Step 6:

Put them outside! Total time to make? I have to say that the sewing part of my pillows took me around 1 hour. Not bad at all. Waiting for the Scotchgard to dry took the longest in this process. Probably a half of a day.

Cost? The napkins per pillow were $2.96. The pillow forms per pillow were $4.74. The Scotchgard I had on hand, however you can buy this at any grocery or big box store for around $6.00 per can. My can was almost new when I started and I would say I used about 1/2 of a can for all of my pillows. So estimated cost: $3.00. So .75 per pillow. Total cost per pillow: $8.18!

I can honestly say that’s how to make an outdoor throw pillow on a budget!

Until next time….

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Welcome to our Knock-Off Challenge. If you are coming from CD’s Country living, I am so glad that you are here! Every Month our fearless leader Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip gives us a  decorating challenge.

This month Terrie also asked if we would like to participate in a Knock Off challenge.

YES!

You know, when you see something you love, but it’s out of your budget or you think to yourself, “I could make that!” We’ve all been there. Well, that’s what happened to me.

Today I’m sharing how to make a HOME sign.

I saw this “HOME” sign at my local grocery store’s gift isle right before easter. And immediately fell in love with it. It’s part of The Round Top Collection, which is one of my favorite.

In the space where the O should be there is a small hook where you place a piece of art called a charm.

So cute!

However, the board itself was over $55.00. Not terribly priced, but I paint wooden signs a lot and knew I cold make this one for a few dollars, if not for  free.

Charms can be square pieces of art or wooden cut outs like the bunny you see here. They make just about every theme you can imagine. Bats, Christmas trees, candy corn, American flags, hearts, flowers, four leaf clovers….

If you can think of it, they probably have it. My favorite place to buy the charms is online from Miss Cayce’s Wonderland in Lubbock, TX.

You can also buy them here.

We had an old oak stair tread left over from our stair makeover at our last house.

The Hubs removed the bullnose portion and I had the exact size of board for my home sign.

Since my home sign was going to be on my covered front porch, I decided to paint my board with the same paint that I used on my front door.

I love Modern Masters front door paint because it doesn’t fade, dries quickly and goes on smoothly!

After my paint dried it was time to add the lettering.

I searched my fonts on my computer until I found a similar block lettering like the original.

Once I found it, I printed off the letters from my computer.

I used white transfer paper to put the lettering onto my board.

Simply lay out your letters that you printed off, then slid the transfer paper underneath.

I like to tape the top layer down so that there is no movement when tracing the letters.

Trace your letters with a stylus and this is the end result.

Once you have transferred your letters to the board it’s simply a matter of painting them!

Once your painted letters have completely dried, it’s time to distress your board.

I sanded over the entire board, letters included.

How distressed you make your board is up to you!

I like to use 220 grit sandpaper for this step.

After I distressed my sign, I gave it a good coat of poly to protect it.

I looked high and low for a simple black hook to hold my charms just like the original sign, but no luck.

So I decided to go in a different direction.

I had a bunch of old key hole covers in my stash and thought that they would be a pretty background to a simple cup hook.

Both of those together created a pretty hook for the charms.

I painted both of these gold.

Here’s my finished HOME sign.

I couldn’t be happier.

And guess what?

Since I already had everything that I used it cost me nothing.

My kind of project!

These signs were so easy to make and I loved them so much that I made a few for birthday gifts.

I made the signs and ordered the charms from Miss Cayce’s.

Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!