Adding Fall Color!

Adding Fall Color!

adding fall color

After finishing up the Fall touches on the front porch, I decided my urns and “orbs” needed a little something, something….

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Y’all know how I love my Orbs!!!  Last year, they were a different color….

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I decided to change them from black to cream and I have really enjoyed the change but when I set the white pumpkins in the cream orbs, they kinda disappeared.  So, I had to come up with a new idea!

I needed a little color!!!

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I purchased 2 large candle ring wreaths and 4 small candle ring wreaths that were 40% off at Hobby Lobby.

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I cut them in half……

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I simply placed the two halves of the larger wreaths into the orbs

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…..and placed my faux greenery orbs back in!

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I did the same thing with the small halves by placing them in the smaller urns and placing those greenery orbs on top!

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It was just the right amount of color and I love the green and orange together.  I think it’s a great way to transition from summer to fall since our temperatures are still topping 90 degrees!

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Sometimes I tend to over think decorating.  This was so simple and inexpensive.  I spent a total of $20 and I think it created a major impact!

The “Summer to Fall” Porch is just about complete!  Now, if only our temperatures could fall too!

Until next time……….

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Easy Stencil Pillow!!

Easy Stencil Pillow!!

 

 

This is a sponsored post by BluePrint Social, Plaid and FolkArt Stencils and Paints.  Although I was compensated, all opinions are 100% mine.  

Stencil pillow

Y’all know how I love to decorate my front porch for the seasons, so when a box of FolkArt Stencils and Paints arrived at my door, I was so excited to create a new look for Fall!!!

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The selection of colors I received are so vibrant and perfect for fall and since you can buy all of them, and more, at Michaels, it’s so easy to create something beautiful yourself!

I decided to create a couple of pillows for my rockers.  I used two muslim pillow covers I already had and began creating!

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First, I applied the FolkArt Stencil Adhesive to the stencil.  I love this adhesive!!!!  It’s so easy and simple to use and cleans up with soap and water!  Just follow the directions on the package and it’s a breeze!  Once I applied it, the stencil was repositionable and I didn’t have apply to any more for the whole pillow!

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Now the fun began!

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Next, I began painting! I decided to use all the colors except blue…..(I’ll save that for another time)!  In addition, I created another color by mixing Engine Red and Fresh Foliage Green to create a brown!

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The paints mix so well and don’t dry too quickly so I had plenty of time to create!!

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So super simple. After painting a different color in each circle, I then easily repositioned my stencil to the next section of my pillow cover and repeated step two.  The quality of the FolkArt Painting Stencil is amazing!  They’re durable laser cut designs that adhere securely with the stencil adhesive and wash up beautifully.

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Wallah!!

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The colors are so vibrant and beautiful.  The paint is not stiff and the pillow still feels soft!

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Since these paints are “multi-surface,” I decided to give another surface a try!

I had some grapevine “mini” balls that I painted to coordinate with the “dots” of the stencil!

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Again, very easy to work with!  The paint just glides on with no dripping or splattering!

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Putting it all together was so much fun!

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The pillows are perfect for the transition from summer to fall!

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After removing the stems from the grapevine orbs, they look great in a glass cylinder vase.

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I even had some paint leftover to stencil a ribbon which I tied around the lamp!

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The porch is ready for fall!!

I would highly recommend trying the FolkArt Multi Surface Paints, Stencils and Adhesive!!

For more information on these products, check out their media links:

The Plaid Palette Blog

Plaid Newsletter

Pinterest

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Google+

Until next time……..

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Thrift Shopping!!!

Thrift Shopping!!!

I know I’ve been a little “absent” from the blogging world lately…..

have you noticed?

I HOPE SO!!!!!

:)

Actually, I miss it terribly and have no plans to fall to the wayside anytime soon but I’ve taken on a new adventure!!!

VOLUNTEERING!!

I’m volunteering at the local military thrift shop and……

I LOVE IT!!!!

The only hard part is finding time to fit it all in……..and not spending too much money!!!

I think I’m their best customer!!!!

:)

That’s okay…..it’s for a wonderful cause!!!

So, I’m trying to organize my time better and will get my act together soon….

I hope!!!

:)

Meanwhile…….

I thought I’d show you a few “treasures” I’ve found at the thrift shop.

I picked up this guy for $15!!  He holds our towels when we’re in the hot tub!

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This flower-pot was $10! It’s huge and very heavy!!

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Here is a bamboo bird house.  I added three faux candles with timers.  It’s very pretty at night!!

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This little brass hanger was .50!!

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This is a beautiful ornate candle holder and bird in brass.  I think they set me back $5!!

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I love the detail!!!

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Here is a crystal ashtray but I think I’ll set candy in it!

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Finally, for today, I picked up a couple of lamps!  You can never have too many lamps, I say!!

This one is crystal with a brass bottom.  The sticker on the glass said “Poland”.  I believe I paid $15!

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This cute little telephone lamp is whimsical and fun!

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I honestly don’t know if I can shop regular retail anymore!!!!!  I love a bargain and repurposing things!

How about you?  Do you love thrifting?

I have more treasures to share but that’s for another day!!

Until next time……

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I’m being featured at From My Front Porch to Yours!!

I’m being featured at From My Front Porch to Yours!!

I’m so excited!!!

Today, Pamela of From My Front Porch to Yours is featuring my little ole’ blog in her series “How I Found My Style Sundays”!!!

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I’d love it if you’d hop over to her blog and check it out!!!

Thanks, Pamela!!!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!!!

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This post brought to you by the letter “R”!

This post brought to you by the letter “R”!

This is going to be a very, very short post!

Why?

Because I forgot to take pictures of the “during” process!  I get so frustrated with myself when I do that!!! I just get rolling on something and the next thing I know, I’m done…….without pictures!!

Oh, well.  I think you’ll get the gist of my project anyway!!

:)

I love the trend of initials in design and I’ve been keeping my eye out for one that met my “criteria”!

I hadn’t had much luck til I was in a craft store recently and wandered down the “clearance-80% off” aisle!

There she was…………

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She was the perfect size, font shape and thickness I wanted.  But not the right color!  So I got out my Annie Sloan paint in country grey and gave her two coats and one coat of dark wax!

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She looks almost like leather now but she was a little flat and needed some bling! (of course)!!!

I started applying upholstery tacks around the edge and ran out so I hung it on the wall so I could live with it a couple of days.

I really liked the finishing touch of the tacks but they were still too “dull”  so I purchased some shiny brass ones!!!

TA DA!!

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I love how it “pops” now!  Just enough bling!!!

Morale of this story…..never judge a book by its cover and most important…..

remember to take pictures when you’re doing a project!!

Until next time……..

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Summer in the backyard!!

Summer in the backyard!!

It’s HOT here people.

Like really, really, really, REALLY HOT!!!

But, that is summer in South Texas, right!!??!!!

Thank goodness we have had a little more rain than usual this summer and the backyard is loving it!  I thought I’d give you a little look at what we’ve been doing every weekend in the HOT sun!

Did I mention it is really HOT here!!!

:)

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I’m going to keep comments very brief and let the pictures tell the story!!

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My “pot tower”! Notice the upside down wine bottle?  Great way to water (it works like those water globes we’ve all seen)!

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The “fountain turned planter” is flourishing well this year!

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I was a bit worried about the floral mixture I placed in this new planter I picked up at a thrift shop, but they’re also doing great!

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Our patio hasn’t changed much….just added some palms.

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When the evenings cool slightly (and I mean slightly) we play a game or two of our DIY adult size Jenga game!

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Remember our  DIY Pallet Swing?

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Hubby added an attached stool this weekend!!! So much easier to get up on it and rest our feet!  More on that to come!!

A couple of my favorite “newbies”!  My patio rose is doing well and still surviving the HOT Texas sun!

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I have no idea the name of this plant but I love it!  The color is so dramatic and beautiful amongst all the green!

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This is a fun little project I threw together!  We took off our back screen doors because our doggies loved tearing up the screens!  So, I just placed one on the patio wall and added a wall planter hanging from a hook and chain!  Something a “little kooky“, but fun!
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So that’s the backyard for now!

I hope you’re all finding ways to keep cool!!!

Us?…….

We tend to sit in here……

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Most would call this a “HOT” tub, but the temperature’s been turned off since April!  It’s our mini “COOL POOL“!!!

Did I mention it’s HOT here!!!!

Until next time……

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Aging Hydrangeas

Aging Hydrangeas

Hydrangea’s are a beautiful flower……….

……..I wish I could grow big, full beautiful bushes but, here in South Texas, this is as good as it gets!!

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If I get one bloom, I’ll feel like the hydrangea Gods have blessed me! So instead, I have to settle for faux.

:)

  I had a project in mind with an old doctor’s bag I picked up at an estate sale…….

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It’s old, dusty, dirty and definitely worn…………………

it’s perfect!!!

Now, back to my project!!  I visioned cream-colored dried hydrangea flowers spilling out the bag, but as I mentioned, no can do!

So, I bought faux……

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But they were too white.

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My solution??????

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Coffee!!!!

I poured some into a large soup bowl…..

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…….and dipped my hydrangea into the coffee coating the petals really well.

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Here, you can see one stem half dipped!!!

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I would just let the individual stems set in the coffee for a few minutes!!

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And let them dry out on a paper towel!

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You can tell the difference between the dipped and not dipped!!

I let them dry and then re-dipped them again.  I did this about 3 times per stem.

What I love the most is how the coffee settled in the tips of the pedals making them a little darker and giving them that “aged” look I was wanting!!

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I put some crumpled up grocery bags in the bottom of the bag and placed the flowers on top so they wouldn’t fall down into the bag.

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I added a silver candlestick, a piece of french linen and an old book I picked up at the same estate sale!

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I created this little vignette!  You know how I love vignettes!

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Can I just say that I’m so excited for fall?!!!  I think this will make a great fall/Halloween vignette!  That little black book I picked up at the estate sale, that’s in the bag, is of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems including “The Raven”!

Fabulous!!!!

:)

So, if you don’t live where you can easily access dried hydrangea, give this technique a try!

Until next time…….

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Garden Stool Makeover!!!

Garden Stool Makeover!!!

 

On day, I was doing my thang and shopping a local thrift store when I ran across this……….

 

 

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You know how your heart starts to race when you discover something good that you’ve been looking to find forever at a price that wouldn’t break the bank?

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This was one of those moments!!!!!  When I looked at the price, I just about fainted and couldn’t pick it up fast enough for fear some other garden stool lover would come over and scoop it up!!!

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$10 !!!!!!!

I know!

Pick your jaw up off the floor!

:)

All it needed was a good cleaning and a new color!!

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I decided on Glossy White by Rustoleum!!!  White will go anywhere, right?

 Not sure if I’ll keep it inside or out but right now, it’s sitting in my living room enjoying its new outfit!

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Isn’t it amazing what one can of spray paint can do??!!

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I’m absolutely “over the moon” with it!

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I think I’ll try it outside this weekend.  After all, it is a garden stool!!!

:)

Until next time…….

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Katherines Corner @ Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Tips & Ideas–Thinking Outside the Box

Tips & Ideas–Thinking Outside the Box

As y’all know, I’m a huge lover of silver and silver-plate and love to use it when I entertain, so, I pick it up whenever I find it at a good price.

Since I’m starting to accumulate quite a collection, I decided to look for other ways to use some of my pieces.

“Thinking outside of the box” type of thing!

:)

I picked up this beautiful sugar and creamer set with its own tray at an estate sale.

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It was quite tarnished and the sugar bowl was missing its lid.

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But they all polished up very nicely and the details are beautiful!!!

Now, what to do with it?????Continue reading

Blogland Tour Continues!!

Hi Y’all!!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July filled with tons of food, good people and fireworks!!

:)

Today, I am so thrilled to be participating in a blog tour!  I was invited by Maria Elena at Our Home Away From Home.

I have been following Maria Elena’s blog for some time now.  Her home is beautiful and her style is right up my alley.  She has tremendous talent (as does her husband) and they are continually enhancing and beautifying their home!  She also hosts a weekly link party called Tuesday’s At Our Home.  It is a wonderful party which is always full of fabulous inspiration and blogs to follow!  The other thing I love about Maria Elena is she’s just down the road from me in San Antonio so that makes us “kindred spirits”!!

Be sure to check out her blog and link up to her party.  You’ll be so glad you did!!

Now on to the tour!!

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There are four questions I’ve been asked to answer.

1.  What are you working on right now?

Nothing Major!! LOL!!  My husband and I usually take on an outdoor project every summer (in the dead of Texas heat…..I know, we’re crazy!) and this spring he asked me what I thought we should work on this year.

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My answer?  Nothing!  Let’s just take this time and enjoy the fruits of our labor from previous summers.  So, we’re just tweaking here and there and enjoying our little slice of heaven.

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Indoors, I have a lot of projects in my head to complete (don’t we all?).  I’m entering a new phase of decorating where I want everything to be lighter in my home including my walls which right now tend to be dark.

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 So, when the weather gets too warm to be outside anymore, I plan to paint, paint, paint!  The foyer will get a new look as well as the dining room and maybe even the game room!

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  We shall see if all my “visions” come to life as quickly as I want!!  This 50ish body just doesn’t move as quickly as it use to! LOL!!

2.  How does my work differ from others in this genre?

This is a tough one!!  I think we’re all similar in that we love our homes and want to share what we create in hopes that others will receive some inspiration from it.  Where we differ is our take on what we love or makes us “tick”.  I believe that’s why we all love each other so much because even though one vision may not fit our entire style, there’s always some inspiration to love and learn from someone else.

3.  Why do I write/create what I do?

Because I love it and it gives me a sense of satisfaction.  I love the world of blogging!!  I have met such wonderful women who possess the same desires as I do.  It’s given me a connection to people who I would never have met before.  You have instant friends without ever even meeting them in person and if you do get the opportunity to meet them personally, it’s like finding your long-lost best friend!! Writing about what I do is not easy for me but I find the more I work at it, the easier it becomes!

4.  How does your writing/creating process work?

This one made me laugh out loud!  I know I’m supposed to be organized and have my thoughts and plans in order and scheduled and figured out but, I DON’T!  I wing it, basically.  I’ll have different projects in mind and work to fulfill them, then, share them with all of you.  This is one area I am really striving to improve on as I know it will make the process run much more smoothly.  Quite honestly, I did not realize how much work went into blogging until I “jumped” in!  But, it has challenged me at a time in my life when I needed it and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Well, that’s totally enough about me!

I want to introduce you to a couple of  wonderful blogging friends of mine that I know you will love as much as I do!

1.  Jann at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Jann is one of the sweetest ladies I know and was one of the first bloggers to make me feel welcome into blogland!  She is a mother of 5 and grandmother of 6. Spending time in the garden, decorating her home, and hunting for vintage treasures are some of her favorite things to do. Of course she loves being with her family and traveling with her dear hubby. She hosts a link party on her blog ‘Share Your Cup Thursday. It’s all about sharing the things that make you happy. Happy things help to ‘fill our cups’. You will find such wonderful blog links and inspiration there.  I highly encourage you to check it out!!

2.  Lynn at Fern Avenue

Lynn is another darling blogger!  We sparked a friendship on-line over basketball!! I know, of all things!!  She was born & raised in Texas and moved up North to New York in 2002 (you can take the girl out of Texas, but you can never take Texas out of the girl)!!  She’s married to the love of her life with 2 little girls (4 & 6). She enjoys refinishing furniture & breathing new life into something old. She even has her own little shop call On Fern Avenue in the Newburgh Vintage Emporium.  Should you ever find yourself in her neck of the woods, definitely check her out!  Her talent is amazing!!!

Well, that concludes my little tour today!

I’d like to thank Maria Elena of Our Home Away From Home again for inviting me!!

I sincerely hope you check these ladies out! I promise, you will not be disappointed!!

Until next time……

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