Welcome to Christmas Town!

Many years ago, when Rite Aide was Thriftys, I would go in the day after Christmas and check out all of the great clearance deals on Christmas decorations.  Thats when I bought my first house....a painted ceramic Clock Shop.  It was on 70% off and I think I paid $5 for it.  I took it home and wrapped it up with the rest of my Christmas decorations, and when I opened it the next year, the day after Thanksgiving, it was like getting a gift.

That year I went back again to Thriftys and picked up another house, this time a Bakery, plus some tiny people, because you can't have a town without people.

So, the town has grown over the years.  I remember when they got electricity.  That was exciting.  Of course, not everyone has that modern convenience, only the ones who can afford it. 

More people have moved to Christmas Town in the last twenty or so years.  They now have a General Store, a School House, an Old Rock Church, and a Cafe, in addition to a Farm House, which is out in the country of course, and a Mansion in town, which is where the mayor of Christmas Town lives.

Since the town has grown so much, it had to spread out.  Here are some pictures, in three different areas.

In addition to Christmas town, I decorate with some vases and glasses that I've picked up over the years.
I put crepe paper, rolled up, inside the glasses, and it looks like a red rose.

I love the Christmas Season!

October!

Don't you just love October? Such a fun month.
I've been even more busy than usual. Here are some of the things I've been doing.
My daughter and her husband went on a 4-day anniversary trip to Disneyland...LUCKY...
and I played stay-at-home mom to her 3 boys, which was lots of fun...most of the time :)
On one of the days, after dropping off the oldest to Kindergarden, we went to the beach.

We had a great time, running from the waves.
Everything went well with the boys during their stay, but it was exhausting!
This is the littlest, not going to sleep, but searching for toys instead.

The day after completing my Nana duty, my friend Tina and I went to the Brad Paisley concert!
It was AWESOME!

Tina and I go to concerts about once a month, mostly new Country artists.
She wins the tickets on the radio. 
Last week we saw a singer/song writer who has
a really great voice and good songs.

Every year our church has a Halloween carnival.  This year both my husband and
I are in leadership roles, so we did a booth.
He came up with a bean bag toss idea.  Hubby made the board and I painted it.

Then he asked me to sew bean bags....NOT my forte, to say the least.
I cut them out, then thankfully my friend Tina sewed them up for me.

Our Bean Bag Toss was a hit! The carnival was fun and I snagged some homemade cupcakes to take home.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Countertop creativity

In 1997, when we purchased our new home, color trends leaned more toward the cooler spectrum.
Grays and blues were popular at the time, and for several years later.
So, when I was choosing the color of my kitchen countertop, I went with a speckled blue laminate, which looked lovely next to the ultra white walls... and coordinated well with the indigo (blue) carpet.. . . .
 yeah, I know...what was I thinking?

Fast forward to 2006 and the trend had swung back to warmer, more natural colors.
We purchased light brown carpet and painted our walls a light tan, except in the kitchen, where I opted for a creamy white.
We bought all new furniture and hung sage green curtains and valances. Beautiful!
That's when I ran out of money.
So, what to do with that blue countertop?
What an eyesore.
Since my kitchen is right next to the front sliding glass door, there was no way around it.  Something had to be done about the blue countertop that was staring me in the face every day.

I started researching faux finishes on the internet.
I gathered all of the info I could, then I was ready to begin.

About that time my husband was working out of town, so I knew I could get away with disrupting our kitchen for a couple of weeks.

Here is a picture of my countertop today.

 Here is how I transformed it from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
You can do it too!
1.  Use semi-rough sandpaper to rough up the
clean counter.  Wipe with tact cloth to remove all
sandpaper dust.
2.  Tape the edge of walls and around sink
with blue painters tape.
3.  Use mini sponge roller and apply one
coat of a good primer that will stick to a
slick surface. Let dry.
4.  Paint a neutral base color. Let dry.
5.  Mix a darker color with faux glaze,
four parts glaze to one part paint.
6.  Use a damp sea sponge to dab glaze
randomly onto countertop.  Let dry.
7.  Mix a coordinating color with faux glaze,
four parts glaze to one part paint.
8.  Again, use damp sea sponge to dab
glaze onto countertop, barely overlapping
the original glaze.
9.  Add one more glaze as desired.
10.Take off and apply the tape between
each color.
11. Leave alone to dry and cure at least
a week, preferably two.
12. Wait for the compliments, cause
people will think you got a new countertop!

Here are some close up pics.


















The colors I used are
as follows: Ivory base, reddish medium brown glaze,
light brown glaze, and black without glaze.

 My kitchen was basically not useable for 3 weeks,
but it was totally worth it.
I spent about $40 in paint supplies at The Home Depot.

It's curtains for you!

I work at The Home Depot, where I sell
lots and lots of blinds and shades. 
I am considered an expert, since
I've been doing it for the past twenty years.
But,
that doesn't mean that I think that
every window should be covered
this way.
In fact, personally, I hate vertical blinds.
I cringe, for instance, when someone
chooses to buy verticals for their sliding
glass door, after they've purchased
beautiful wood blinds for their
windows.

If you have verticals on your slider.... and
you hate them, here is a solution you might
like.

(Sorry about the pic...That's the
"summer" sun beating down on my porch...in OCTOBER, uhg!)

This is what I did for my 6-foot
sliding glass door in my dining room.
I used 3 panels that I bought from Target for
about $20 each.  Then I purchased a decorative
rod and rings from The Home Depot for about
$15.
Instead of using the pocket at the top of
the panel, I hung the bar a little higher
and clipped the rings to the top,
so it can slide.

See how I overlapped the panels
by placing the rings across each other?

My guest room has two side by side
tall windows. They used to have faux
wood blinds.
But, since they got ruined (by some little boys
who shall remain nameless), I came up with
this look.

Since these don't slide, I bought some beautiful tie backs.

And during the day I pull them back to let in light.

Did you notice the valance?

It's the only thing I've ever sewn

and yes, I'm pretty darn proud :)

 

 

Fall is here...gosh darn it!

Here in sunny San Diego we've been
waiting a long time for fall to come around.
Actually, with 95 degree weather outside,
it really hasn't come yet, but gosh darn it,
it's September 26th and it's about time
we start decorating our home for the
coming season!
So, I searched the closet and found
what I call my "bag o fall". 

The bag is full of
left over silk flowers from
my daughter's wedding.
One October, several years ago,
my daughter and her fiance gave me
exactly 10 days to plan her wedding.
Yeah, I know, sheesh....
so, to make it easier, I used what
was "in season" in the stores.
I bought the flowers at Michaels.
I am happy to say that she had a lovely fall wedding,
and I got through it with my sanity intact.
Anyway, here are some before and after pics
from my living room.

Boy, don't
these valances
look plain without
the flowers?

And this is my favorite... my piano.

I switched out the champagne
glasses for some crystal
champagne glasses I've had
for many years.

We used them in the wedding and they still have the gold ribbon on them :)

So now, even though it is fricken HOT outside,
I can enjoy the beauty of fall in my home, and
dream of crisp cool weather.

monkeys and elephants

Would you love to have beautiful
artwork on your walls,
but just can't afford it?
Yeah, me too.
What to do?
 Well, when you don't have money, you
have to be more creative.

The Home Depot, like alot of
stores, is a great place to keep
your eye out for clearance items.

"Clearance" doesn't mean cheap.
It just means that they are not going
to be ordering anymore,
and they mark the item down,
sometimes WAY down,
and if you're lucky enough to be
in the store that day, you can snag
some great items for pennies on
the dollar!

I happen to work at The Home Depot,
so naturally I keep my eyes open for
great deals.

I picked up this set of mirror and two
frames when they went on clearance
for $6.50.

 
But I still needed something to put in
them.

So I cut out a piece of wall border
from an old wallpaper sample book, then
taped it in there, just right,
and TA DA...artwork!
The colors coordinate perfectly with
my decor, and the subject matter
does too.

Here's my elephant picture.

(You'll see several elephants if you
look around my home)

And here's my monkey. . . and giraffe.

Even the frames seem to go with the
"old world" tropical style.

Yay!

I don't sew

My mother was a seamstress, and now my daughter is too.
But somehow the domestic gene passed me by.
I don't sew. I've tried.
I couldn't follow a pattern.
The machine made me mad.
So I gave up.
But, the good news is that many
crafty things can be done without
so much as winding a bobbin!

Every once in a while, I will actually do some
sort of craft project, and they usually turn
out pretty good.
Here are some pictures of the old ugly
bulletin board that became a focal point
in our studio.

It was pretty easy.
My daughter had some scrap material laying around.
There was not enough to cover the whole thing,
so I took two coordinating fabrics, and had
MY DAUGHTER sew them together.
If she was not around, I probably would
have just pinned them onto the board
after ironing.
Since the edges were kind of..
well...
edgy...
I trimmed the whole thing
with ribbon.

Nothing on this is permanent.
It is held on by push pins!
If I were really ambitious, I would
paint the frame....
but..ummm..
I'm not.

I had this bulletin board for YEARS,
hanging around, waiting to be used.
Now it commands attention as
soon as you walk in the room.

 By the way...see the really cool antique sewing machine?
My daughter picked it up at a yard sale,
while visiting Navoo, Missouri.
I think she paid about $20.
It came with  a sewing table,
but they had to leave it there
because they didn't have room
in their car! :(

But, now it has become
a decorative
feature in our studio.
How cool is that?

tips and tricks

I come across alot of people who
don't know where to start when
decorating their home.

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret.....

Let a professional designer do it for you!

No, I'm not talking about hiring a designer,
although I'm not trying to talk you out of it
either.  After all, I've made my living helping
people make their homes more beautiful.

But, you can use the advice of a
professional, without even knowing one.

The place to start is the rug
or comforter.
This was designed by a professional,
and it has a color scheme built in.
This is your starting point!

Look at the background color,
which is usually
some shade of white, off-white,
beige, or tan.
Use this color to paint your walls.

By the way, most of the time
any shade of beige or tan is better
on your walls than plain white.

Finding the right color for your
walls can be the trickiest
part because you need to use
the proper shade.

White or off-white can be
warm or cool.
It can have a pinky tone, or be
yellowy. It can lean toward
grey or more towards brown.
If you go yellowy when
you should have gone pinky,
that can be a problem.

If you're having trouble, try
getting some advice from the
associates at  the paint counter
at Home Depot.  They can be
a valuable resource.

Once you have the perfect
neutral color on your walls,
you can contrast it with a
bright creamy white on your
blinds and base molding.
If you have crown molding,
painting it white next to the
color on the walls will make
it stand out.
(I refuse to say "pop :)

Next, what is the dominant
color in the rug or comforter?
Use this color for large areas
in the room, such as curtain
panels and valances.

There will be at least one more
color that is used very little.
Pick one.
This is your accent color.
Use this color for small touches, such as
candles and pillows.

Whatever you do, don't paint your
walls first, then try to decorate
within them.

This is the hardest way to do it
and it is probably why so many
people get stuck.
Even a designer would have
a hard time doing it this way,
because it is backward!

The reason being is that there
are only a certain number of
rugs or comforters out there,
but there are thousands of
paint colors.

Above all, don't be afraid
of color.
I don't know about you,
but I get a little depressed
after I take down my Christmas
decorations.
I think this is because the season
brings so much color into our
lives, and we miss it when it's
gone.

(Did I just bring up Christmas?
Just me longing for cooler
weather I guess....:)

"this kitchen needs an island"

Since the day we moved into our new home
almost 15 years ago, my husband has been
suggesting that our kitchen needs an island.
I don't know why he even cares.... it's not
like he ever steps foot in it!

But, I had to agree with him.  Our U-shaped
kitchen is on the large size, at least for our
home.
When the center of the room is not being
taken up by a baby's high chair or playpen,

it's just a wasted space.
But it is not big enough for a permanent
full-size island. 
So we've been on the look out all these
years for just the right size
something-or-other to put in this vast
expanse of nothingness.

One day, not too long ago, hubby's
buddy was about to trash a
"stainless" commercial table that
had been in his garage forever.
Hubby brought it home and
expected me to be excited about it.
I hated it!
No way was I gonna
let that thing inside my home.

It sat outside for about 3 months,
being used as a catch all by the
back door, until I finally relented
and let him clean it up and bring it
into the kitchen.

I went to Home Depot and bought
some spray paint, to spruce up the
legs and bottom.
This is a specialized "hammered" finish.

 It was looking good!  And the size of it
is perfect for our kitchen....but something
was missing.
I grabbed the wooden stool we had
been using as an end table in the
livingroom.  We decided to use it next
to the island.
But, we'd have to paint it to match.

 This is as far as hubby got with it.
I waited 4 weeks, then finished painting
it myself.






Here is the finished product.  The wooden
stool now looks like it is made out of
metal.

The ugly commercial table has been
transformed into a sit-down space
in my once bare kitchen, and adds a
modern element that was missing.

I use it all the time, sitting down
to read a magazine while I'm
cooking, or eating breakfast.

 
This whole project cost us $12,
for the spray paint.

white paint makes everything look good

Just because something is old and ugly,
doesn't mean it can't look good again.
You've seen makeovers on people. 
The same thing can be done for really
old, seemingly used up furniture.

About four years ago, my husband was
helping his mom move out of her
apartment, and in with her daughter.
She needed to get rid of an old dresser
that she'd had for as long as he could
remember. He called me to see if I
wanted him to bring it home.
Duh. . . . . of course!

I wish I had some pictures to show you
just how ugly this monster was when I
first laid eyes on it.

I was dark wood, with no finish left on
it at all. It had old fashioned pulls which
were a cross between brass and brown. 
The top had taken it's fair share of abuse.

We put it in the spare room that I was
fixing to make into a playroom for our
growing number of grandchildren.

My plan was to paint each drawer a
different bright primary color. . . .
but that never happened.
I even brought it outside once, for
about 2 weeks, but hubby never got
around to sanding it down for me.
So I brought it back into the playroom
and forgot about it.

Until. . . . my daughter and I decided
to convert one of my spare rooms into
our studio for our on-line businesses.

We designed our studio using,
among other things, pieces we found
at IKEA. 

I finally got hubby to sand down the
monster, then paint it white with two
coats of Behr Premium semi-gloss.

We looked all over for pulls that
would fit the holes left by the
old ugly ones.
They were nowhere to be found.
So, instead, I purchased enough to
screw into every hole, so there
are two pulls on some areas that
only had one before.
But this just adds to the makeover!
The dresser now has a modern
flair that it lacked before.

Once it was ready, hubby installed the
cubby on top, and we were in business.
It now resembles a wall unit or hutch,
and it's a beautiful addition to the room.

Now this is my favorite part of our studio!