The Easiest Hallowe'en Craft Going!

Here are Maeve and I happily going about our household chores. ~

Okay, so it's not really me (unless you're talking to my ex husband LOL).  I may be a witch but I NEVER go happily about household chores!  It's a vintage print that caught my eye at The Graphics Fairy.

I started playing around with it on Picmonkey and added some witchy words in a spooky script. ~

I printed it out in an 8 X 10 size.  It still needed a little something and I sprayed it with glue and added glitter. Doesn't everything look better with glitter on it? ~

I popped it in a document frame.  I have a stack of these that held decorating awards in my office and no idea what to do with them all.

A couple of Egyptian cats that I picked up at an antique store for $6 and a crystal ball and I've a little Hallowe'en display for the bookcases. ~

Just above my sorceress is a glittery spider crawling down an antique, leather bound copy of Edgar Allen Poe's poetry. ~

Add some Martha Stewart crows and Poe, himself, would be trembling at this awesomely scary display! ~

This was ridiculously easy, but if you don't want to go to the bother of doing it yourself, click on the printable of the altered witch and print her out.  Done!

Now, how easy was that!

I admit I do sissy Hallowe'en decorating!

I'm sharing this with ~ Uncommonly Yours Link Party, Frugal Friday, Potpourri Friday, Saturday Nite Special, Feathered Nest Friday, Sunny Simple Sunday, DIY Project Parade, Open House Party

The Ultimate In Thrifty Decor!

I know I said my front porch was entirely done with thrifted items, but I think the side porch is the ultimate in thrift, gift, reworked and found!

You see, the porch itself is a found object.  I set out to repair a broken step on the porch.  When I removed it, the boards underneath were rotten, so I removed them as well.  By the time I finished removing all the rotted boards, I had - ummmm - NO PORCH LEFT!  This is not a good thing.

As it happens, my neighbour was replacing his porch with a deck and gifted me with it.  A couple of guys carried it over to my place and there it sat, on it's side, for a year. That's attractive and oh so useful! This summer, I hired a couple of teenage guys to lay patio stones I pulled up when the landscaping was done in the back and move the porch into place on top of them.  It's set on deck post blocks that my BIL gave me when he pulled his deck off.

A couple of coats of white paint, some stencilled house numbers and Kellswater painted on the top step and she doesn't look too bad! ~

Then, I was given a very ugly, old window box. ~

Haul out the paints to give it a weathered look and draw some lines on to simulate boards with a permanent marker and it's not half bad.  Even the cascade petunias were gifted as seedlings! ~

To switch it out for Thanksgiving was about a 10 minute effort.  The old, wooden ladder was salvaged from my Dad's garage and held planters of watercress all summer.  I love the layers of paint and plaster that show how well this ladder was used!  I strung some dollar store garland, faux grapes and grapevine on it to celebrate the season. ~

I've had this wreath for several years and added some blue, silk hydrangeas to it for summer. ~

The simple switch was made with four bunches of silk leaves, from the dollar store, that I already had on hand. ~

Here she is all done. ~

Total cost for porch and decorations = $0.  I did pay the guys $60 to install the porch and bought two quarts of white paint to spruce her up.

The porch looks over the hosta bed I planted from the ones my sister pulled out of her gardens. ~

You must admit this is the ultimate in thrift, gift, reworked and found and that I have stayed true to the commitment to it that I made last summer!  Feel free to clap and shout Bravo as I take my bow!

I'm sharing this with:  Tweak It Tuesday, Cottage Style Linky Party, Saturday Nite Special

A Thrifted Fall Porch

As I was working on a little project for the front porch farm theme, I realized that the whole thing was put together with faux fruit and garlands that were several years old, natural elements and thrift store finds.

I copied an old egg sign I saw at a farm market. ~

The canvas I used was found at the Salvation Army for $1.99. ~

It did not come with the helpful cat but it was quite sturdy and a nice size for what I wanted. ~

A few swipes of white paint covered the original lettering and left enough of the old background to look worn.  The lettering was done in craft paint and I dry brushed some white over it for a faded look. ~

Just in case you are wondering why I chose a quarter for the price of a doz. eggs, I did a little Google research to check out prices over the years.  In 1927 they cost 24 cents.  In 1940 they were 27 cents.  By 1960 they had reached 42 cents and, by 1980, soared to 69 cents. Even at today's average of $3.00, that tells me we aren't paying farmers enough for eggs!

My table and chairs are a roadside find and I used a couple of cans of spray paint to turn the peeling, white metal matte black.  The table top is damaged and I cover it with a hand, cross stitched tablecloth that I picked up for $1.  I don't want to put anything expensive on it because either my cat or strays always seem to be snoozing there! ~

It has a homey, country feel when I add an antique Majolica pitcher with some sunflowers. ~

The mirror was another Salvation Army find and cost me a whole $3.99!  It started out looking like this. ~

I aged it with paint that was either sample pots or boo boos and you can see how I did it here. ~

I was trimming rose bushes and draped a branch with rose hips across it for some colour.

With a little effort and almost no cost, this is a nice place to sit and have an afternoon cup of tea.

The spectacular view is free! ~

Doesn't everyone have an adorable, little white church next door?

Special thanks to Lavender Garden Cottage and Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olsen for featuring my front door swag!

You Get Out Of It What You Put Into It

I don't always agree with that statement.  So many times we put much more into something than we ever get back.  Who hasn't poured themselves into a personal relationship and found nothing coming in return?  Or, given generously of their time and talent to a job and been passed by at promotion time or terminated when the balance sheet wasn't in their favour.  Even churches will turn on a minister or parishioner that has given years of service.

But there is something about houses that seems to respond to our love and care.  Houses are like loyal pets. You care for the land and work on the home and it shows it's appreciation with shelter and beauty and joy.

I build a dock and the river rewards me with an endless view of peace and harmony. ~

Just beyond this log lives a beaver.  I like to swim alone at dusk and just float along on the peaceful current.  One night I realized something was in the water with me and tried not to freak out.  As he came closer, I realized it was the beaver.  He turned his head my way and glided past on his way to his fishing grounds.  It has become a nightly ritual for the two of us to nod in passing.  I sometimes feel he's as happy to see me as I am to see him.  The water is too cold for swimming now and I was never able, as hard as I tried, to get a picture to show you.  Maybe next summer I'll get a waterproof camera and you can meet my aquatic friend.

This home has plenty of land to house cats and dogs and even a couple of rescued chickens.  ~

If I will build the coop and nurse the chickens back to health, they'll reward me with these every day. ~

The gardens give an abundance of vegetables and fruit and enough beauty in flowers to soothe any soul. ~

I love to work on this place, inside and out, because it gives me so much in return!  As this pitcher says, "Earth laughs in flowers" and I'm happy when I gather that laughter and bring it inside to glory in.

This home needs some urgent care and I'm setting in to give it the attention it deserves.  I'll be donning paint clothes and picking up hammers. I'll certainly be hiring roofers!  Two hundred year old houses are guaranteed to spring endless surprises on you when you work on them.  I'll get tired and cranky.  But, I will never get discouraged because, when it comes to this home, I always,

   "Get out of it what I put into it"!

I'm sharing this with ~

Wordless Wednesday

A Touch Of Paris For Fall

One of the best things about having parents with an antique store was doing vignettes for them.  Dad would ask me to style a desk and I would make up a person that the desk belonged to.  Then, I'd dance around the store gathering items my character would have, placing them as if he/she had just stepped away from their desk for a moment.  I'd been making up stories in my head since I read my first book and it came so naturally to me to imagine the people who once touched and treasured these things.

As I started to decorate my dining room table, I thought of an elegant woman (of a certain age), living in Paris.  A party has ended and she's alone. ~

As the clock ticks away the last minutes of the night, she pours herself a brandy from the pristine William IV decanter. ~

She takes off the pearls, Art Nouveau ring and enamel butterfly hair clip and tosses them into the silver oyster shell dish.  Perhaps she glances at the sterling, pedestal trophy dish that a long ago lover  won at the S. California men's tennis tournament.  The rose from tonight's suitor is already beginning to fade. ~

She slips a cigarette from the enamelled case and glides her fingers across the silver inlay of the Brit Zone.  Another lover?  Her eyes turn to the photos on the wall, of her brief sojourn on the sun soaked streets of Greece. ~

She sips the brandy and sighs as she looks at the postcard her own mother framed when she was this age.  The inscription says, "I wonder where I'll be a year hence". ~

Now, what was it I wanted to show you?  Ah, yes.  I took a couple of very ugly orange pumpkins and painted them white last fall.  This year, I sprayed them with adhesive glue and covered them in glitter.  I glued some felt rickrack on them and added a crystal prism for dramatic detail. ~

I just thought the story was so much more interesting.  Every woman wants a little romance! ~

Have a day full of imagination!

I'm sharing this with:

Frugal Friday, Rustic Restorations Weekend, Feathered Nest Friday, Primp You Pumpkin, Inspiration Friday, Potpourri Friday, Thursdays Favorite Things Blog Hop, It's Fall Y'all, A Favorite Thing, Say G'Day Saturday, Alpabe-Thursday, DIY Project Parade, Sunday's Best Par.tay, Inspire Me Monday, Make It Pretty Monday, Wow Us Wednesdays, White Wednesday

The Start Of The Fall Decorating

This is my favourite time of year to decorate!  The autumn leaves, baskets of fruits and vegetables, rose hips and sunflowers are so vivid that they look wonderful in any arrangement you try.

I started with the front porch. ~

Since I have a seemingly endless supply of burlap that I bought at Christmas, I decided to make a swag to hang over the front door.

First, make sure you have a helpful kitty to get the ribbons right. ~

All pictures with Maeve are blurry now, as she has become camera shy.  Actually, since I became a blogger, she considers me paparazzi.  It's kind of like my family who preface everything they say with, "Don't put this in your blog!".

I've decided to work with what I have on hand.  A doubled layer of burlap is the base and I made bows from a clearance $1 roll of ribbon.  It's not  wire edged or as wide as I would like, but it will work.  A couple of feather wreaths I used at Christmas are wired onto the swag as centres for the bows.

Add some faux grapes and a bit of dollar store leaf garland. ~

Here's where you use the window dresser's special tool to gather the burlap up into bunches and secure the ribbon tails in a pretty drape.  Some people call it a stapler.  Seriously, that's how we get everything to stay right where we want it.  Staplers and floral wire are indispensable!  I'm photographing this in near gale force winds and nothing is moving.

The cornucopia I picked up last year at the Salvation Army is filled with fake pumpkins, sunflowers and grapes.  This thing is huge and almost the length of a bale of straw! ~

Luckily I have chickens and already had the straw!

I bought this pail years ago.  You could easily paint a dollar store bucket in this design. ~

I want to add some little pumpkins to the overhang on the door and trail some more leaf garland down from the top but that's as much as I could do in the cold, rain and wind for one day.

I think this is starting to pull together! ~

I'm sharing the bounty with ~
Creative Things Thursday, Cottage Style Linky Party, It's Fall Y'all Autumn Link Party, Sunny Simple Sunday, Sunday's Best Par.tay, Share Your Cup Thursday, Crafty Cornucopia

An Elmo Red Face

Tomorrow is Baby's second birthday.  Since the celebration theme is Elmo, I wanted to try my hand at working the little guy into Rice Krispie squares.  I took this notion while I was standing in the grocery store and realized I wasn't sure what colours his features were.  No problem!  There's a woman in the aisle that looks young enough to have small children. I told her I was wanting to make some Elmo balls and could she tell me what colours I should use.  She seemed rather surprised and I thought this was a good opportunity for her to connect with people instead of grabbing her groceries and getting out of there.  Young people are always in such a rush!

She pulled out her I Phone and showed me a picture.  I graciously thanked her for all her help and she passed on by.  Arm stretched to reach for the food colouring, I froze.  I told her I was making Elmo balls! Elmo BALLS!  No wonder the poor woman looked startled!

Now my face is as red as Elmo's! ~

Please let me never bump into that woman in the store again!  Please let me think before I blurt something out to a complete stranger, ever again!

Anyway, I did figure out how to make these things.  I added red food colour to the butter/marshmallow melt.  It took almost half the little food colour bottle to get the stuff to go from pink to red.

I feel very sorry for the parents who will have their kids bouncing off the walls from all that red dye! ~

It was surprisingly difficult to shape the BALLS.  The best way to do it is to dunk your hands in warm water and smooth the mixture into a BALL shape. ~

I used the can of icing that comes with decorating nozzles to make rosettes in white and added brown Skittles for the eyes.  Orange Skittles made the nose. ~

All you need to remember is to have warm water on your hands for shaping, use lots of red dye and call them Elmo HEADS, not BALLS!

I'm sharing with:  Make It Pretty Monday, Totally Transformed Tuesday, Sunny Simple Sunday, Open Call Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Transformation Thursday, Fantabulous Friday, Link It Up Thursday, A Crafty Soiree, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Saturday Nite Special