repurposing

Outdoor Christmas Wreaths

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I thought I’d take a few moments on this snowy Monday to share my most recent Christmas decor project. I live in an old farmhouse and I have always loved the pictures of houses where there is a wreath in every window. However, I do not like the idea of spending money on all those wreaths; so I came up with a plan. I went to my local Walmart and picked up five of their cheapest evergreen garlands. The were $2.38 apiece. I then went to Menard’s and found a big roll of sparkly red ribbon for $4.99. ( I just love things that sparkle!)

I did this project in my kitchen…that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had; my kitchen was COATED in sparkly goodness. I’m pretty sure my family is still eating red glitter.

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The tools I used for this project were wire cutters and a ruler. I cut all of the garlands in half and cut pieces of ribbon to hang my wreaths. I cut the ribbon at about 33 inches to get them to hang where I liked them in my windows.  I twisted each of the lengths of garland into a circle, flattened the back and fluffed up the front. I didn’t quite loop it around twice; I left the top quarter a single layer so I could make the wreaths a little larger. Once I had the ribbon tied on, it wasn’t noticeable. I used some of the garland greenery like twist ties to hold the loops firmly together. Once the wreaths were made, I tied a piece of the ribbon in a loop around each one.

To hang them I simply opened the top sash of my windows and shut the ribbon in them, leaving the knot on the inside. At this point I thought I was done, I was so very wrong. That night it was a bit breezy and those adorable little wreaths made an absolutely awful noise rubbing against the window glass. At 1:30 am the bedroom windows were aggressively stripped of their noise makers! In the morning, I got out my husband’s fishing line (shh….) and cut pieces to loop around the bottom of the wreaths. I secured the lines by tying them around a piece of dowel and shutting the fishing line in the window with the dowel on the inside. It works well, but it isn’t very pretty, so I just decorated the window sills!

I very happy with how these wreaths are working out. I only put them in the windows on the two story section of our house but I think next year I’ll make a few more (okay, like 10 more) for the rest of the windows.

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How they look wearing today’s snow.

I’d love to see what other people are doing to bring a festive feel to their homes. So show me what you are up to! Happy Holiday Decorating!

 

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My Workshop

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I’ve been spending some time out in the barn this fall getting my workshop set up. (So has my loving husband. I’m so glad he puts up with my shenanigans!)  I’ve had a shop out there for a while but it wasn’t set up to my liking; I was just using it as is and there were things being stored in the space that really didn’t belong there and they took up a lot of my space. Junk was cleared, workbenches were relocated and supplies were reorganized. I super happy with the end result and I can’t wait to spend some serious time out there making things!

 

Now that it’s getting colder, I wanted to have a way to heat the shop, but it’s a pretty big room in a drafty old barn so I needed to get a little creative. The shop has a ceiling mounted heater and I have hung some moving blankets across the center of the room to temporarily create a smaller space to heat during the winter months. I picked up the blankets at Harbor Freight and I hung them from nails using medium sized binder clips. It’s working out pretty well and I’m glad that I can now use the space year round.

Speaking of using my shop…I better get out there and make something to blog about!

Christmas Tree Farm Sign

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I am very fond of the current farmhouse decor trend, especially all the Christmas stuff. (I mean I do live in a farmhouse, so…) I have seen vintage inspired tree farm signs EVERYWHERE and I decided I wanted to make one of my own so I could personalize it. And, as we all know, I am a cheapskate so I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this project.

I scored a big time find at Goodwill recently and I decided it would be perfect for my sign. It’s a fairly large oval embroidery hoop that I picked up for $3.99. I also found a large round one and I bought that one too. I had a canvas drop cloth that I purchased last year but never used, so I cut pieces out of that to stretch in the hoops.

 

Once I had the fabric nice and tight, I broke out my handy dandy overhead projector. (another awesome Goodwill find) and lightly traced on my designs with a pencil. after that I set up shop at the dining room table with my craft paints and brushes.

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It was a bit of a time consuming project, and it’s not my prettiest work, but overall I am pleased with the rustic charm of the end result.

 

On to the next project!

Green Thumb

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I’ve been working on a couple of thrift store finds that I’m quite excited about. I’m turning two candle holders into plant holders…plant art…plant sculpture? I’m not sure what to call them, but I’m pretty happy with the end result.

The first one is a wall mounted piece that cost me about three dollars.  It has the little spikey things in the bottom of each circle that is supposed to hold a candle. I thought about trying to cut them out, but since I used pots with drain holes in the bottom, they don’t pose a problem and I left them as is. I painted the candle holder with some copper spray paint I had left over from my daughter’s wedding. (She did copper before it was “in” and I had to spray paint some of the decor; she’s always been on the cutting edge of cool) The pots are just inexpensive terra cotta pots that I picked up for eighty cents apiece at the home improvement store.  I painted them with the white latex paint that I always have around the house. When the pots are in place, they tip forward just a bit; not enough to fall out, but I secured them to the frame with some copper wire just to be sure.

I still need to hang it on the wall, but I think it will look fantastic!

The second one is a table top candle holder. It was also about 3 dollars and it did not have spikey bits. (Yay!) I sprayed it with off-white paint that I had from another project. I should mention that I sealed both candle holders with a matte clear coat. These pots are also from the home improvement store.  The bottoms of them are painted with some gray “oops” paint that I bought at Menard’s for fifty cents. ( I always head back to the paint department when I’m there, I’ve found some really great colors) The rim of the pots were painted with some craft paint that I also had left over from the wedding. I thought about adding some highlights on the stand, but I really like the simplicity of it so I’m going to leave it as is.

 

Now that these items are done, I’ll be working on a small shelving unit and a couple of projects with burlap coffee bean bags. I’m also in the process of reorganizing my shop, so I’m keeping busy but look for another post soon!

In The Works

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It has been a while since I posted anything on this site but that will be changing in the near future. I have been working on some home redecorating projects and some smaller projects that I need to write about soon.

In next week, I should have my entryway project finished and I’ll be able to post all the before, during and after pictures. I’ll talk about how my tendency to save things that I can reuse or up-cycle meant that the whole project came in under $100 dollars!

I’ve also been scouring Goodwill and other exciting places (yes, Goodwill is exciting). I’ve found a few gems that I’m working on redoing now; I’ll write about those too! I’m also working on some  next steps and hoping that I can find a way to turn this into my full time gig.

Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of the before images:

 

Stayed tuned…

Feeling inspired 

/ mishal72 / Leave a comment

Life has been busy. I started a new job and am studying for certification exams; it hasn’t left much time for creating or writing. But today I got inspired. My daughter got married in May and like most newlyweds, she doesn’t have many Christmas decorations and she loves Christmas…so I made her some.


The letters on the Noel picture are cork and they are from the banner that was hanging at her high school graduation open house. The candle holder is from her wedding. 


It was fun getting my hands “dirty” . I hope the inspiration keeps coming!