Coldfront on the Way

Art From Resale Finds

lute for  twenty five cents and four 78 records for fifty cents each.

What to do with these items? I looked at them for a while then decided they need to go together.

I decided to use the music book to cover a board that the albums will be screwed to with a large screw in the center of each record. I am saving the dust covers and I am doing no damage to the records. I am not sure if the records are worth anything, but I will bet they are worth more than fifty cents!

I Mod Podged the sheet music to a scrap board and allowed it to dry. I am absolutely the worst at getting all the wrinkles out, but I keep trying.

Then I spaced the albums out on the board and hubby screwed them down.  They are going up in the game room where we have some album covers framed. This will be a perfect addition to the room.

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I love the results. Not too bad for $1.75 art! Pictures of the upstairs game coming room soon.

Whimsical Topiaries

My mantle is really wide. Six feet wide, in fact. In addition to the string art, the ribbon wreath and the various things collected around the house, I knew I would need something else. I convinced Hubby to stop in Cleveland on our way to the lake house for more supplies. I grabbed two foam spheres, a dowel rod, and two clay pots. The specifics weren't nailed down but this would be a start.

I painted the pots bright red, the dowel white and glued it all together. I tried to glue tissue paper in with no luck. I ended up going with silk flowers from the dollar store. I love how they add a little Dr, Seuss type whimsy to the mantle.

String Art for Valentine's Day

After attending the craft night I came home and looked at my empty mantle with shame. After I took down Christmas, I just never got around to decorating the mantle in our city house. I decided then and there that my weekend trip to the country would involve making stuff for the mantle. I knew I needed something tall. For a few weeks I had been thinking about a string art project and I decided that this would be the project to do the string art. Did you do this back in the 70's like I did? Am I telling my age? I digress.
Anyway, on the way home from work Friday, I ran by a local hardware store and Hancock Fabrics. I picked up red string and white paneling nails and ocean blue paint. Total cost: @ $ 8.50. I knew I had plenty of wood at Star Hill for the project.
There were enough nails and string left to make at least three more. I may get busy,
Hubby cut the wood for me to length, then I got busy painting. As soon as it dried, I got out the sanding block and roughed it up.



There are three boards here, but you will see two of them in this project. Sorry this shot is blurry.



The Painted Boards Roughed Up
Nails, hammer, pliers in case of mistake...good to go.
I took chalk and quickly drew a heart on two pieces of wood then got busy nailing the nails into the board. It really went fast. I used some of the reclaimed cedar which is very soft. The nails went in quickly.



I tied off the string then just went crazy wrapping it around nails randomly. I love the way that these turned out. I gave one to my neighbor and the other is on my mantle.

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The Giant Silver Mirror

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that I found a huge vintage gold mirror at a garage sale for $10.00. I was amazed that we found this in August and it has been sitting in the Garagemahal since then.  I really didn't have a home for the beauty but I knew it was too nice to leave behind.  The Southern Belle said she wanted the mirror and I was thrilled. She wants to replace the less than amazing mirror in her bedroom. Her furniture is solid wood, nice furniture her Me Mei bought for her bedroom 23 years ago. She painted the maple, much loved, furniture white recently. (We really are related!) The mirror to the set is nothing spectacular and really small.
All the metal in her home is silver including her dresser pulls, so the gold would not work.

The mirror became silver.

Two coats of Rustoleum shiny silver spray paint and a tube of Rub n Buff later, it looks amazing. I  really like the way the mirror turned out. The Rub n Buff on the outer edges really adds depth to the frame.   It is going to look great in her chocolate brown, tan, and white bedroom.  The big mirror will add some contrast to the rustic fabric of the headboard.

I think it may have to wait until it gets driven out in June because her SUV may not hold it, but we will see.  Hubby measured the mirror and it is 58 1/2 inches by 39 1/2 inches.

We will make sure to take pictures when it is hung in The Southern Belle's home.

 How it looked when we brought it to the Garagemahal.

The mirror came a long way.

Decorating for Christmas

This year the Carolina kids are coming to Texas for Christmas.  That definitely puts me in a Christmas spirit.
I have been house bound and slow moving with an eye infection but I have managed to get the inside mostly decorated. This year I decided that I would use turquoise, teal, aqua colors and silver.  The colors make the house seem more calm.  I really need that right now.
Even though the kids are coming for Christmas, we are not spending the holiday at home, so I wanted everything I got out to be easy to put away.
I made a lot of the decorations this fall which was fun. I reused ginger jar vases from the lovebirds' wedding,  I used pages from a garage sale find- an old torn up hymnal for several items.

It was my goal to reuse as much as possible from around the house. Tarnished silver candlesticks from the yellow and grey bedroom, burlap from the wedding, bulletin board from the garage, chalkboards will be used in The Charlotte Wedding.

Enjoy.
The Den

 The tree from upstairs.

 I am 5'9".  Here is the tree with me taking the picture looking up at it from a standing position.

Every year since 1983 my husband has purchased a Precious Moments ornament for me.  He even found a 1982 our first Christmas together ornament so that I have one from every year we have been married.  I love getting them out and putting them on the tree.

 I bought $20.00 worth of silver and teal ornaments this year.  I have spread them through all the rooms.

 The mantle is mostly completed.  The S is cardboard, with sheets of music glued on with watered down glue.  The canvas is a salvaged bulletin board wrapped with fabric. 

The ginger jar vase is covered with dictionary pages adhered with watered down glue.

 

 Not through with the mantle because I want to add garland to the letters.  When I attached them to the twine the first time I got them backwards.

Each letter is stenciled on a page from the hymnal that has a joyful song.

The Farmhouse Table

 I already had everything on the table except the clear glass plates.  They were $1.00 each at Target.

 I have collected crystal globes for years.  They are so pretty on the rustic table.

I found these chargers in my buffet.  I don't even remember having them, but they were perfect.

The Dining Room

 I loved using the chalkboards that will be used at the June wedding.

Wreaths

 I repurposed this wreath.  It used to have mauve poinsettias.  Remember mauve?

I even added a wreath to the mudroom bench.  I found this one at a resale shop for at dollar then ripped all the ugly off.  The silver ribbon looks great on it.