CopyKat: Knick of Time's Spring Wreath

I'm a little embarrassed to tell you I still have my Christmas lights up on the mantle, but honestly I have been known to rock my Christmas lights all the way to St Patrick's Day in March!

I did get the Christmas tree down the first week of January so that does put me ahead of my usual timeframe! 

Knick of Time

I just couldn't get inspired to change the lights out for something else until I saw THIS post at Knick of Time featuring the frame and wreath above. Love it!

I'll be back soon with my own version of her wreath decor. In the meantime, let me know if you have a good idea for a spring wreath for your mantle or home...I'd love to come check them out.

Thanks for dropping by!

Blame Debbie Dabble's Cute Filing Cabinet

Downsizing my late mother-in-law's things has been a long, drawn-out process due to the chaos in our life right now.  

My father-in-law is learning to adapt to being "Me" instead of "We" after a long happy 71-year-marriage. 

At 95, he's springing back...although that spring is a little too sprung more days than not!

Recently I brought home two drawers from their little filing cabinet intending to shred my mother-in-law's paperwork and then donate the 2-drawer file cabinet.

Debbie Dabble's Colorful Patio Furniture

Blame Debbie Dabble that the empty filing cabinet is still hanging around our house! 

I came across Debbie's post HERE and fell for the colorful cabinet she has on her patio...How cute is that little guy?...Well, cute enough for me to think I might copy her idea someday using my mother-in-law's file cabinet.

Debbie Dabble's Colorful Porch

I hope you'll hop over to Debbie's PLACE if you need to add a little shot of color in your life too...It's like she stole a rainbow and put it on her porch.

Thanks for dropping by!

All I See Is Blue...

Have you ever noticed that when you focus on something, all of the sudden you will see it everywhere? 

I've been loving the color blue for the last month since I bought an old, blue-gray tool box at a flea market sale.

I added some blue faux hydrangeas and then dug out some old blue floral pillow shams, from my bedding stash, to spread the blue to the love seat.

At PotteryBarn the other day, I zoned right in on these blue plaid pillow covers...

And, in their kitchenwares, the little blue swirl colanders almost jumped right into my arms! Love at first sight and all...

PotteryBarn

I feel kinda like the kid in the movie, The Sixth Sense...

"I SEE...BLUE...STUFF"

I never use to notice blue at all! Now blue is all around me, and I can't resist it!

I have to guard against getting obsessed with it again though. I did get carried away, back in the late 80's, with country blue. 

I ended up almost painting the whole inside of the house with it. And that's all I'm going to say about that...

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Joining the Party Here:
Amaze Me Monday

What I'm Working On Wed: Flocks And Spots

"We of the Household" had a discussion the other day on where collecting ends and hoarding begins. Have you an answer for that?

We could not come to an agreement in general, but both thought (possibly) my chicken flock had reached past the collecting phase...possibly. 

It seems many of my chickens often have a sort of disgruntled look on their face like the one above. 

The one below is the largest one of the hoard flock. It always stands guard way up on the kitchen's glass cabinet...

This is my favorite chicken. I bought her at a shopping area called The Strand on a trip to Galveston, probably around spring of 2002, just as a storm was flooding the area and all the shops were closing up fast. She has a somewhat sassy attitude.

Here she is at Christmas time in the front room. She loves to sit on the coffee table and look at the Christmas lights.

The two in the photo below sit way up on top of the highest cabinets in the kitchen keeping watch on the cooking, which doesn't actually happen very often around here...

Here's a close up of the one on the left in the basket...

A couple more chickens are keeping the kitchen pig company on the movable cabinet, in the middle of the kitchen, while I'm thinking about where to put them. 

We're in flux right now due to switching out some of the furniture, moving some around, and adding in some new.

Now this particular chicken has probably been with me the longest and has been carried around with me for 15 years, from the Northwest to the South and all points in between. 

I don't know why I carried it that long because I really do not love this chicken.

With the "downsizing game" I play now, based on Marie Kondo's book, if I hold it and it does not bring me joy...it's suppose to go out the door! 

So I held the spotted chicken, and I thought... 

"Maybe I just really don't like those spots!"

And right there and then I did what any good hoarder collector would do...I got out the paint and got rid of the offending spots.

I painted a first coat of a color called Kembel in Amy Howard's One-Step Paint. 

This paint was the closest to brown that I had in my chalk paint stash, and my goal now is to complete projects with what I have on hand.

Please Note: I'm no expert, but I do use all types of chalk paint, including homemade. I have found different brands work better with different projects. 

First of all, I'd say use up whatever you have on hand! Second, I've found One-Step paint works well on both metal and pottery if I have it on hand. 

But then, most other chalk paints work well on those items too.

Just so we're clear, my opinion is based on my experience with the paint. I do not receive any compensation for my opinions, and I pay for all the paint I use.

Covering up the spots is as far as I've gotten with the chicken this week. I'm planning to add some dark wax to make it look aged, but I'm looking for inspiration on how to finish it up. 

If you have any ideas for the chicken's makeover, please let me know in a comment. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining The Party Here:
Cooking And Crafting With JJ
Vintage Charm Party At My Thrift Store Addiction
Home And Garden Thursday

Finding Inspriation

Sitting in my chair, this was my view of our mantel.

You're probably thinking, "Hey, I can't see the mantel!"

Well, it was a wreck so I don't want you to see our mantel. I want you to see the lovely mantel over at Common Ground...

COMMON GROUND

I was really stuck with what to do with our mantel. Seeing hers gave me all the inspiration I needed! 

Here's another photo of hers, in case you're in need of inspiration too...

COMMON GROUND

I have a large brown mirror. I have an old toolbox. I have a boxwood wreath. I'm on it! 

Check back soon for my copycat version. And please be sure to stop in at Common Ground's blog for a closer look at her mantel and a spring tour of her lovely home HERE.

Thanks for dropping by!

While I Linger's Semi-DIY Banner

You know I buy my banners instead of making them, right?  Lazy!

Well, I recently happened upon a banner on a blog that made me think "Hey, I can do that!"

Here's the link to the blog While I Linger and what she calls her semi-DIY banner. 

So many good ideas on this blog! She will show you how to make that cute picture on the wall too. I hope you'll take the time to check out all her great ideas on her blog HERE.

Thanks for dropping by!

Junk For Sale

Put this down in the I Am Astonished category!!! ...yes I needed three exclamation points for this one. 

Quandie, over at the 'Q Is For Quandie' blog, is a merchandising genius who even manages to sell her old used-up paintbrushes by making them into 'altered art'.

Altered Paint Brushes At Q Is For Quandie

Now, I might've shook my head a little at this, but I have to admit I would probably buy a few if I happened upon them at a Flea Market. 

I think I might have a treasure trove here with my mother-in-law's old brushes! I saved them when she downsized a while back.

Head over to Quandie's blog and get some inspiration before you throw anything out.

Q Is For Quandie

Thanks for dropping by!

Kopycat: Fall Candle

I like the simple stuff even though I seem to complicate everything I touch. Hmmm...Does that even make sense?

This is my version of a recent Fall decorated candle holder I saw in a magazine. Yeah, I dropped some Fall colored leaves down the sides of the candle...I told you it was simple!

The faux leaves are from Hobby Lobby, that mecca of crappy decorating products that we all can't seem to pass up.

The candle is faux too. No lives were endangered for this touch of Fall moment! This remote-controlled, battery operated faux candle is from Costco (pack of 5 various sizes for about $20 and 10 batteries even included) and, though not as real looking as some, still better than lighting candles.

This picture was my inspiration for the 5 minute Fall decor. There are so many great ideas in this seasonal magazine from Country Sampler, it was well worth the cover price.

The cover says 217 Quick & Clever Ideas for Fall, and I did find a lot of the ideas charming. 

Thanks for dropping by!

(as always, just my opinion...not compensated for any product endorsements)

Romantic Homes Magazine Projects

Romantic Homes Magazine is sometimes hit or miss. The latest edition, the August 2016 issue, is one of those hits! So many great ideas in here.

Two distressed projects in the magazine immediately caught my eye because of how heavily distressed they are. I already have old projects that are similar, I guess I just need to distress the heck out of mine. 

The chalkboard I showed two weeks ago, for Five on Friday, just needs some heavy distressing and it could easily hold the hanging jar with flowers as the magazine's chalkboard above does.

And when I saw this picture of a heavily distressed wood plaque with a large hook, I thought of a similar one I made last year.

Back then I used an old outdated picture and a deer hook to make a this project for my laundry room to hold my hangers. Sorry for the shadows.  It hangs in the laundry room with very little natural light so the overhead light had to be on.

Here's the original wooden picture that I used to make the hanger. Obviously not my style in its original state. I bought it a few years ago at a garage sale for $1.00 just for this type of project.

As usual, I didn't receive any money for my opinion. In fact, I let my subscription to Romantic Homes expire two months ago so I had to pay full price for this issue. But I was happy to buy it as I truly loved almost every page.

Thanks for dropping by!