Monthly Archives: February 2023

Springtime

Posted on by
Reply

I have had this vintage Spring tea towel for several years and keep forgetting to get it out every Spring. I happened to rediscover it this morning so it was meant to be.

It is made to hang as it has a pocket for a dowel rod to go through, so I added the dowel rod and used a jute rope with leaves to hang it. It is large – 16” wide and 33 1/2” long from the top of the hanger to the bottom.

The colors are very vivid and I love the Wordsworth poem! Welcome Spring! you can’t come soon enough!

So then I created an 8×10 canvas by taking a photo of the sign with the poem from the Spring wall hanging I have and cut out just that image in a free app I use called ProKnockout. I saved it with a transparent background.

I found and saved a free image of a field of daffodils on the pexels website.

I married them together as an image and printed it out on tissue paper with my ink jet printer. I use Pixie Spray ( I get on Amazon) as a temporary spray on a sheet of copy paper and applied white tissue paper and trimmed it to fit. The Pixie spray allows me to peel the tissue paper off when printed. I sprayed the tissue paper image (when dry) with hair spray to keep it from bleeding.

I then decoupaged the tissue paper image onto a blank canvas and sanded the extra paper off the edges. I sealed the whole thing when dry with Mod Podge matte sealer.

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Plant Stands from Lampshades? Yes, please!

Posted on by
Reply

We have a problem. I see an idea. I ask Danny if he can make it. He says he can. So….. here we are again with another project and putting off other things we need to do.

Would you believe these plant stands are all upcycled lampshades? Danny took off the fabric on each and spray painted the metal black.

We then bought 3 wood rounds. He sanded them and added a dowel on the bottom of each to fit down into the shades.

I used a driftwood weathering compound on each round that brings out the grain and weathers it a bit. I still need to seal them with a matte top coat.

They are lightweight but very sturdy. The cut crystal vase filled with glass beads and faux tulips is quite heavy.

These plant stands (minus the decor) will be going to The Gray Wall soon, so if you are local and wanting one or all for porch pickup, now’s your chance.

Available: Sizes and $ amounts on each pic.

Largest : $18

The other two: $14 each

I created a little bit of Spring with Redesign by Prima Transfers

Posted on by
Reply

I had this piece of barn wood. My husband cut it into two pieces for me.

I painted them with a heavy dry brush of white pretty much where I was going to apply the transfers.

Then I applied the transfers.

It was a very rough surface and slow going. It wasn’t easy to apply but in the end it all applied and adhered perfectly. I sealed everything with Wise Owl Salve.

In hindsight, it would have helped to seal the painted area first, but I just took my time and at times actually used my finger underneath the plastic sheet to get over a particularly rough spot and it worked out fine.

So beautiful!

4 Awesome Projects from Thrifting Finds This Week

Posted on by
Reply

#1 – I have a French Country look going on in this first thrifted find – a bird cage item which needed some repair and a metal basket. I painted a Dollar Tree peat pot and decoupaged with tissue paper.

The metal finial on the birdcage was just hot glued on and popped right off after I got it home. Not only was hot glue alone not good idea but there was hardly any surface area for gluing. I used E6000 and hot glue to attach a small wood round to the birdcage and I painted it white. Then I used E6000 and hot glue to attach the finial. I added jute around the wood round where I had glued it together. I also stuck my hot glue inside and upside down dropped some hot glue along the inside. It is on for good now.

The birch round came from a fallen branch and that cute bird I found in a thrift store. The faux flowers came with the birdcage.

I love putting this kind of thrifting together.

#2 – Next up is this awesome cutting board/serving board. I love cutting and charcuterie boards. When I found this wine bottle shaped bamboo cutting board, I knew immediately that I wanted to add a stencil to one side for decor purposes. The other side could still be used as a cutting board or both sides could be a specialty charcuterie tray that would make a beautiful cheese and fruit spread serving board.

I stenciled just a part of the board and then seasoned both sides with food safe Howard Cutting Board 0il.

Dimensions approx. 21″ x 7″ x 1/2”

#3 – I like thrifting, but I really like it when I find something just for me. I don’t have a lot of storage space in my pantry so things like cereal and crackers and chips, etc. always seem to end up on top of the refrigerator.

I found these awesome Harry and David copper colored metal baskets at Goodwill yesterday for $7.87 each. I knew they would go perfectly with the copper colored tin on the wall behind them. The one on the left holds snacks and the one on the right, cereal and crackers.

I saw them listed online anywhere from $14 – $46 each so these were a pretty good price. Yay!

#4 My final thrifted item project for the week came about because of the stalk of dried wheat I found at Goodwill. They had just put out several bunches of these. I only bought one bunch but now wish I had gotten more. I used several pieces in this beautiful tall vase a friend gave me. It will be going on the floor next to my fireplace. I do have enough left over for several future projects. so that’s good.

That’s all for now. I thrifted more things, but haven’t decided yet how I will use them. So keep checking back. I will be sharing when the inspiration comes.

Valentine Display

Posted on by
Reply

I took down my winter display this morning (I’m so over winter here in Missouri) and put up a Valentine one. I don’t decorate a lot for Valentine’s Day and since this is across from my recliner, I get to enjoy it quite a bit. 😁

I don’t remember where I got those faux tulips, but I love the color and the quality. I’ve had the cut glass vase forever. I made the wired rope heart earlier this week and love it so much I’m keeping it. Lol

The fireplace garland I made last year. I leave the greenery and the yarn hearts and pom pom garland up all year and just add to it each season.

I found the Valentine screensaver on YouTube. So many cool TV art screensavers on YouTube. Just do a search for TV art and you will find all kinds. Since my mantle is so close to my TV, I found the screensavers do a good job of decorating my mantle area.

Simple, but inviting. This screensaver plays relaxing music and several different images. So relaxing! But not for long. We are headed to a couple of our booths for some makeovers in a few minutes.