Christmas Decor

Happy Wednesday Everyone!  I've been busy putting out Christmas decorations, sometimes making them as I go...I'm finally finished!  Yay!  Now on to other crafts...it has to do with a pallet...

Linking here:
Funky Junk Interiors
Twelve Crafts of Christmas

CHIPPY, RUSTY FAB FIND

I'm not very lucky at finding awesome things on the curb...the things I HAVE found are a changing table, and a dresser, so I was really excited to spot a metal birdbath! It is rusty, chippy, and awesome. This is what I did with it:

Linking here:
Too Much Time On My Hands
Young and Crafty
Be Different...Act Normal
Funky Junk Interiors
Blissful and Domestic
Fabulously Flawed
French Country Cottage
Common Ground
The Charm of Home
2805
Stuff and Nonsense
At The Picket Fence
A Little Tipsy: DIY Under $5
Twelve Crafts of Christmas
My 1929 Charmer
Making The World Cuter
DIY Home Sweet Home Project
I Heart Naptime

I WAS FEATURED

Lesley from Fabulously Flawed featured my Quick and Cheap Stars today!  I'm super psyched!  I love Lesley's blog, she has fab giveaways and host Lesley's Super Sweet Thursday Par-tay!  Go check her out!

VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

Yay!  I was given the Versatile Blogger Award by Lisa of Creative Raisins!  Please go check out her blog {It's fab!}

There are 3 rules about when you accept this award:
(1) Thank the person who gave you this award and make sure to link back to their blog

(2) Share 7 things about yourself

(3) Pass this award onto 7 recently discovered blogs

Seven Things About Myself
1) I'm in crazy Christmas mode right now!

2) I'm addicted to all Real Housewives of....

3) I'm obsessed with my new Silhouette Cameo!

4) I'm so excited to see my husband, my two oldest daughters and granddaughter next month that I can't stand it...hurry up December!

5) I'm finally gaining some confidence in my projects {At 39, I'm still a work in progress!}

6) I am an Army wife and damn proud of it!

7) I'm a huge fan of Spongebob Squarepants {Sponge-gloooooosssssssss}

I'm passing this award on to:

Away We Go
Behind the Studio
Breezy Pink Daisies
G*Rated

Science, Softball and Something Sweet
Sweetwater Baby
Repurposed By Emily

 

Trees, Gnomes, Signs and GLITTER!

I got my Silhouette Cameo on Saturday! I think I'm figuring it out, by trial and error...it would be so much easier if I read directions or watch instructional videos, but that's not my thing...I was too excited, so I jumped right in! I've made several things, forgot to take pics {boo me}, but I made a special subway sign for my Sarah B. announcing her NEW BABY BOY!!! He's adorable and huge {9lbs 8oz!}! Gulp! This is the other stuff I've been working on today and over the weekend:

A Christmas Song Subway Sign....added a swirly tree and glitter {love Krylon's Glitter Blast!}

Made twenty little gnomes for a party kit, along with some mushrooms and gnome homes.  I had quite the assembly going for those cute little gnomes!

So stinkin' cute, right??

And I used a styrofoam cone and candlestick from Dollar Tree, a roll of ribbon from Wal-Mart and made a pretty little tree for just $3!  Can't beat that!  Now, back to work on my Christmas decor....can you guess what my items are sitting on??

Linking up here:
Twelve Crafts of Christmas
Stuff and Nonsense
At The Picket Fence
Fabulously Flawed
A Little Tipsy
Sweet Little Gals

Quick Craft and CHEAP too!

So, I noticed Dollar Tree had some large paper stars...normally, I buy mine from IKEA or Pier 1, but I thought, "Only a buck?  Let me try to paint them!"  I really, really love them!  I have three more to make so I can hang them in a group of five.  And to be totally honest...surprisingly, the paper is VERY thick!  Took the paint like a champ!  Sturdier than my fave star from Ikea....OK, so you may like the designs on the ones that come from the other stores, but seriously, just add glitter!  I'm late to the game, but I am discovering that glitter makes EVERYTHING better!

Linking here:
A Little Tipsy

sweet Little Gals
Twelve Crafts of Christmas
Rae Gun Ramblings
Making The World Cuter
Young and Crafty
Tatertots & Jello
Remodelaholic
The Charm of Home
Common Ground
2805
Stuff and Nonsense
Fabulously Flawed
At The Picket Fence

A Faux Fireplace? Yes, Please!

*Update*  I have entered my faux fireplace in the One Month To Win It craft competition!  Please visit the site here: One Month To Win It

One of my husband's favorite things {besides me, of course} is a good fire.  He also loves old mantles.  Unfortunately, in our current home, we have no fireplace or mantle.  Yea, it's pretty pathetic at Christmas time...the stockings get hung on the...wall.  Ewww.  The fire pit in the lanai provides the fires that we love to sit around and talk, so I decided to provide the fireplace and mantle.

I was inspired by Heart Break Kids' faux fireplace.  Actually, as soon as I saw it, I pinned it on Pinterest and my comment was, "I WILL do this before Thanksgiving."  And I did!  I went straight to the "As Is" section of Ikea and found four perfect cabinet doors.

Two of the narrower cabinet doors were $6.99 and the other two were $8.99.  They are pretty heavy and when I got them home, I realized a little too short.  My brain had to go into "bright idea mode." 

I found this piece of board in my garage.  This board came with these transom windows.

I used another piece of wood that was in my Ikea stash to measure the sizes for the three boards I needed.  {And no, I didn't use a measuring tape.  I used my eyeball and a pencil :)}  I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it.  I believe it was a shelf and it was black.  You will see it in the following pictures.  I spray painted it Valspar's Bright White.  BTW, it took me awhile to hand cut those boards, but I just kept repeating to myself, "Building muscle, building muscle..."  It didn't really help....still sucked.

Attached the cabinets and the three board together will L Brackets.  They were about $5 for eight.  At this point, I set it up with the Ikea shelf and you know what?  I didn't love it.  I didn't even really like it.  It needed more character and I wanted shiny white with a rustic element.  In come the pallets:

This is the same pallet that I took two boards from to make this sign.  I ripped off all the boards.  Arent' they awesome?  I love me some old, weathered boards...especially ones with rusty nails!

The total for the project was approximately $35.  I only had to pay for the cabinet doors and L Brackets, everything else I had on hand.

My fireplace is not all attached together.  I think leaving it in separate pieces will make it easier to move around the house and when we move this summer.

NOW I love it.  I'm still thinking of nailing the pallet boards together with additional boards to make it a chunkier mantle, but this will do for now.  I also need to buy some backing for it so you can't see the wall.  After Thanksgiving, it is getting moved to the entry and "the stockings will be hung by the chimney with care..."

Feels so gooooooood to be BACK!

Libby


Linking here:
My1929 Charmer
You Are Talking Too Much
DIY Home Sweet Home
So Very Creative
I Heart Naptime
Hazel and Honeysuckle
Funky Junk Interiors
Be Different...Act Normal
Remodelaholic
Making The World Cuter
Polly Want A Crafter?
Everything Under the Moon
The Shabby Creek Cottage
At The Picket Fence
Stuff and Nonsense
2805
Common Ground
The Charm of Home
tatertots & Jello
Young and Crafty
Making The World Cuter

Fabulously Flawed

A NEW COMPUTER! WOOP WOOP

Finally!  I'm back online with a new computer!  I've been going through blog withdrawl like you wouldn't believe!  I'll have a new post for you tomorrow.....that's if I still have anyone checking my little, neglected for two weeks blog!
Libby