The Best of 2014

When 2014 first arrived, I thought this was going to be a lean year in terms of projects. My home was close to what I wanted it to look like
                                                 ...but oh I was wrong.
It's been a great year of improvements and completely new creations!

Christmas Tree Banner & Stocking

While decorating my main Christmas Tree this year, I chose to go red and natural...



Natural by adding Quail



A twig Star



And I made this cloth banner...

Vignettes of Christmas 2014

Vignettes of Christmas in my home...
                              no words needed! 
                                                    Just Enjoy...

The Cutest Wool Trees

One of the favorite things
that I do every year
to get myself in the
Spirit of Christmas
is go to an Open House at a local natural crafts store called
Ohio Street Originals.

This post is not about this store (but you can see an old post I did on that store HERE)

What this post is about are the fun and adorable little wool trees that I discovered there and how to make them!

Ticking In Time for Christmas

As my mind was

dreaming up

a new way to display

my Christmas decor

(It's boring if it's put up the same way every year, don't you think?)











I decided that I needed

a new runner

for my buffet...

Creative Nativity Display

It all started this summer when my son gave me a single, huge elk antler. I knew that I wanted to use it for my Christmas display with greenery but the rest came as I was working on getting the loads of Christmas decor out to decorate...

Upscaling Ceiling Fan Blades!

My son Charlie has figured out that I can do a lot of things and that I love doing for him.

Word Art Tutorial on Vintage Breadboard

Just in time for

Thanksgiving...

And,

Making "useful and decor",,, merge!

DIY Square Wreath

I have thought for some time how much I like the look of Square Wreaths. They are different and this is one of those projects that I dragged my feet on.

DIY 3-Tier Stand

Who knew

that this pile of 

JUNK 

could turn out

to be a

fun and useful

3-tier stand!

Feed Sack Clothes Pin Holder

I have been hanging on to the feed sack for a while. I thought it looked interesting and my son's last name is Kelly. In the back of my mind, I was going to make it into a pillow for my DIL (Daughter-In-Law) but she hates throw pillows! Is that even possible?

MacKenzie Childs Inspired Christmas Deer

Is it a gift or a curse? And it happens a lot...

Vintage Shabby Chic LivingRoom!

 I thought you might like to go on a tour of my friend Gail's living room! She freshly painted the walls which as you know means, An excuse for a whole new furniture and art placement.

Beautiful Book Page WALLS!

I was so OVER my stripe wallpaper...



I had been wanting to put book pages on my walls FOREVER...



After much thought...



I came up with the perfect idea!

Empire Dresser Reveal

This is probably the 
most intense
and hardest
DIY project 
that I have 
worked on...


in a long time!

Here's the story...

Crazy AWESOME Decor Ideas!

For years, Hubby and I have been counting collection and making the deposit for our church.

Tutorial on Making Wool Pumpkins

I haven't done a tutorial in a very long time and just made these cute little pumpkins out of an old wool sweater and thought that you would maybe want to how I made them!

The Re-Roofing of my Cupola

Remember seeing this beauty?

Well, two things happened.

Jazzed-Up Acorns!

Talk about 

Cute

 And 

Fun!

Ruined Art?...Make New!

What do you get

 when you mix a little boy

 with dimensional art? 

Fall Decor Tour

Come In and enjoy the Fall Decor Tour!

Update on my MacKenzie Childs style guest bedroom!

If you are wondering what I mean with this title, then you missed this post HERE!

 

Boo!

Hubby and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary on July 30 by going to an upscale steak house here in Quincy, IL.

Upon walking out, Hubby noticed a kitten under the vehicle in front of ours. Hubby is a true cat whisperer! He got out and tried to coax her out but she wouldn't budge.

Vintage Pedestals

I gotta say

        I


       LOVE


          THESE 


            PEDESTALS!

Barn Wood Wall Art & Basement

I loved this piece as soon as I saw it finished.

the back story

I work a few hours a week
 doing accounting for a custom home builder.

Furniture Problems and Solutions!

The furniture problems...

Glimpse of my patio and yard

It has been brought to my attention that you have not seen much of my yard and gardens this summer.

 
 So with that in mind, you can get a glimpse of the yard while I am showing you our new patio furniture.

From Fountain to Pond

Remember this homemade bubbler fountain,

 right off our back patio?...

I made it by sinking a huge plastic tote in the ground, covering it with three barbecue grill grates and topping it off with rock and a rock-looking fiberglass form. 

My Homemade Orb Chandelier!

I am in love with these orb chandeliers.  I bet you are too.

Ice Cream Chairs Transformation!

Don't you just love the look of

Feed Sacks?

Who knew that they

Would become so popular.

They bring back the simpler times...

That warms the heart.

Map Nite Stand

What do you do when...


You buy the ugliest table

At a garage sale


And get it home and


R-E-G-R-E-T        I-T-!

YOU MAKE THE BEST OF IT...

Legs to Lamps

 When I first saw these, I knew what they would become!

Lovely Oval Mirror

I live in a small city of 45,000! A great place to live and bring up kids so I am not complaining.  I have lived in very large cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and loved it. But I have everything I need here and am very happy to be in a smaller town. The one sad thing, as a DIY person and a lover of repurposing furniture, is that Craigslist is not popular or used much in my area. However, selling on Facebook is getting BIG here.

Can you say - Salvage Yard?

I really Did It! I got to go to a real salvage place! You know, the kind you see on TV. The kind with all the cool stuff that you want to take home and transform for your home.

I chose RED!

As I was walking the aisles at JoAnn Fabric's I was amazed at all the selection of outdoor fabrics...


In all colors...

In all designs...

A Whole aisle dedicated just to this kind of fabric!


That got me to thinking...

It's time for a change!

Part II - Missouri Botanical Garden!

I hope that you didn't miss my Part I of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, but it you did, you can see them HERE.

Part I - Missouri Botanical Garden!

On the 4th of July we decided to drive the two and a half hours south to St. Louis and go to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We had been there before but it was at least 11 years prior. Our area had a cool front that came though so the day was beautiful.

Founded in 1859 by Henry Shaw, the botanical garden is the oldest in continuous operation in the US!

She had me at HELLO!

This

 sweet

 dresser

 had

 me 

at

 Hello!

I did not need a dresser, nor did I need another project, but just look at it! How could I pass this up?

Inspired Sign!

I have this blog to, not only show you transformations,


But to INSPIRE you!


Because YOU can do it too!


Recently, I was inspired by Claire at The Rustic Pig with her ironing board Welcome sign.

All I really needed was an old ironing board. So I patiently waited for one to come across my path.

GOD always provides!

For the love of pavers!

When something gets in

 my Hubby's head,

It's got to be done!

Whatever IT is!!

He has an attraction to old street pavers...

Fourth Of July Decor

Ready for the Fourth of July!

Another Painted Fabric Chair!

 I am so excited

 to share with you

 another one of my

 half painted fabric

 and half upholstered chair!

The Story of Huge Birdhouses!

My yard and gardens are always changing, even if I don't want them to because of Mother Nature.


This year we changed up some of the hardscaping...

As in BIRDHOUSES!

Let's go back a bit...

Believe in Tomorrow

I do 'Believe in Tomorrow'!

Though this ChalkArt was not my original ideal...

Gray French Dresser

I finally found a
  QUALITY  (complete with dovetail drawers) 


little 

French styled dresser!

I Tried & FAILED...Sort Of!

Remember when I showed you how to use a Sharpie to decorate ceramic, then bake to set it? You can see the details of that post HERE. I made this winter banner out of a plate with this method...

 And a couple of more plates that I display in my home...

Map + Deer = Wall Art

My brain is in creative mode most all the time. And I wanted to make something unusual for my grown son, who lives in Kansas and is a hunter.

Gifts from the Heart!

I am back from a little vacation to see my son and his family...

A good friend of mine had a birthday and I wanted to do something special for her. We like most of the same things...antiques, flea markets, specialty stores, trash to treasures, thrift stores, garage sales, etc.

Why You NEED A Rug Pad!

There are 


5 main reasons



Why you NEED a


pad under your rug...