In My Free Time...

In the lull after Thanksgiving and the onslaught of Christmas activities I was able to belt out a few projects. I have a busy week ahead of me including a framing class I signed up for back in August. Not the framing you might imagine (as in picture frames), but construction framing. I determined I need a little knowledge in this area with all the projects I try to start (think chicken coop, shed, greenhouses) and never finish. I am excited, but at this time of year it seems hard to carve out time.
In my last post I talked about big plans for my bottle brush trees. Here is the finished product:

This is a vintage bread pan I found in excellent condition. The former owner must have done as much baking as my sister (which is none). I added mica flakes to the bottom and back as well as two of my bottle brush trees and a paper mache house I painted. I adorned it with glitter and a millinery wreath. I love it! I apologize for these pictures, but I had just brought my camera in from the car and it was COLD.

Here is another creation. I have a few of these candle holders sitting around. I again added mica flakes to the bottom and velvet ric rac across the front. Next, I glued the same ric rac around two candle holders and added a vintage button for embellishment. The center candle holder has a burlap surround with a chenille flower and button. Finally, I added a glitter and chipboard Joy to finish it off. Of course the bottle brush trees add a great touch.

I made this WISH banner last year, but just dug it out. I had to share. You can't really see well in the picture, but the background is old sheet music. The foam board stars are surrounded by tinsel garland and finally topped off with buttons and glitter letters. It looks perfect with my silver and white themed  mantel.

Ughh. If it wasn't nearly ten I would take new pictures.  This is a Merry Christmas banner made from burlap. In the center is a Santa silhouette. I found the image online (I can't remember for the life of me where....Google Images?). I cut it out and glued it on a white and red polka dot background. The frame is round and was a great find at a garage sale for $1. It was a really nice frame, but dated. The red spray paint makes it pop.

This is a cute little lady I found on Graphics Fairy. I added her to my Don Juan sheet music and she becomes instant art in a red Dollar Tree frame.

This fall I went to an estate sale late on a Sunday afternoon. They had boxes of free stuff including about fifteen wooden plaques with awful seventies "art". I am sure some people would have loved it. Maybe I should have put it in a box and in another few years made a buck off of it. I decided to repurpose them instead. I spray painted several and added paper and embellishments. This deer came from The Dollar Tree.Together they would make a great pair.

My bar, I mean crafting, counter is covered with about five projects I need to finish. I have a feeling they will need to wait until Saturday or Sunday before they get done. If I am being realistic it might be when school gets out next Tuesday. Time will tell.

Bottle Brush Heaven

I have a thing for bottle brush trees, but I don't have a thing for their prices. I recently found some at a discount retailer for $5.99 and I nearly bought them because I thought it was a good deal. Almost. Yesterday while perusing Pintrest I found a post on how to make your own. Now I have a ton of things pinned that I want to eventually get to, but most of them are in a cyber holding cell. This time I was so pumped I got in the car and headed to Joanne's to get some trees. You know the kind I am talking about the cheap ones you put in your winter villages.
I bought a of about twenty trees for $7.99 (of course I used my 40% off coupon). When I bought them they looked like this:

Next I added bleach (I don't measure usually) to water:

 Then I waited:

The first group I did sat for about an hour and there is still a hint of green on them as you can see in the picture above. I accidentally left the next batch in all night.

You can tell the ones that sat all night! I am so excited to get home and embellish these babies. Glitter? Mica flakes? More fake snow? Wait till you see what I have in store for these...

FYI here is the link I found this idea on. I have to give credit to where it is due!
http://yankeebelle.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/red-christmas/

She went a step further and dyed hers red. Wait a second...pink, blue, purple.

Silver Lining

Recently we had a few stormy days that caused a huge 9 inch diameter branch to fall from one of our large Douglas Fir trees. Fortunately, the branch did not hit our house, but it did take out one of my beloved Japanese maple branches as well as a limb from my Pee Gee tree. The limb remains in my front yard because my husband lent our chainsaw out thus until it is returned we have no way to cut it into smaller pieces.

I have a love hate relationship with these trees. They provide great shade, but they are a mess. In the spring "pollen pellets" fall from them for a few weeks and in the fall and winter the needles are everywhere.
Yesterday we had BEAUTIFUL weather. It was crisp and clear with no wind. I spent time planting 126 tulip and narcissus bulbs and began cleaning up the yard for winter (better late than never). As is usually the case I began to tinker with other things and one thing led to another and soon I was finishing the outdoor decorating for the holidays. I decided to add some greenery to my big pots by the front door and just as I was about to hop into the car I realized i had plenty of greenery lying in my own yard. I cut some limbs off and stuffed them into my planters  and next added some of the beautiful red and chartreuse green twigs from my maple. I sprinkled in a few other decorations and suddenly I was done. Well sort of. I need to find some contrasting greens, and maybe some reds, and maybe some of this and that. I guess I need to get into the car and go for a drive after all.

I guess this problem actually became beneficial. Anyone want some greenery? I know where you can find some.

Sit down and enjoy the view (of the big limb lying in my yard)

Merry Merry!

How Bazaar

My second foray into the world of selling my wares went okay. The venue wasn't too busy and therefore I didn't sell a ton. I made a bit, but hope for more success at my next sale in a few weeks. I learned a few lessons from this one. First, I had too much stuff for my table. I found out later, that I could have utilized the space as long as it didn't exceed the length of the table. I will remember that for next time! Here are a few of the things I sold...

Here is a picture of my booth. Did I have enough?

I sold several of my chalk wine glasses. Drinks anyone?

This was one of my favorite pieces. An old wicker suitcase becomes a dog bed. You can even close it and carry it with you to your next destination.

This banner didn't sell. I might dig it up and add it to my holiday decorations.

I did sell this to a co-worker. My first experiment with vinyl letters. Guess who is getting a Silhouette Cameo tomorrow?

Deck the Halls

I love decorating the house for various holidays. Maybe it is because I like change and enjoy tinkering. I am embarrassed to admit how many tubs, bins, containers (choose your lingo) I have for various holidays. Can you guess which has the most? Christmas is number one, followed by Halloween/Fall/Thanksgiving. I am ashamed (not really) to admit I even have a tub for St.Patrick's Day.
I am not totally done decorating yet, but I am getting there. Here is a sneak peek...

 I moved one of my corner cabinets into the kitchen for the holidays. I wanted to put the tree in the corner it belongs in. I painted these a year or so ago. I LOVE the pair of them, but especially like the way it looks with my holiday decorations. I still have a few things to add, but for the most part it holds my vintagey (spell that one) decorations.

 I am beginning to have a thing for Putz houses. I heart them

Here is a closer look. Can you tell I like Bethany Lowe? I just wish she wasn't so expensive.

My aunt gave me this nativity scene when I first moved out. I love the white...so peaceful.

It is hard to get a good picture of the mantel. I went with a silver and white theme this year. Not entirely done, but it is getting there. Yes that is a television inside the fireplace. We never used it and since this is our "formal" room I didn't want it on top of the mantel. It works for us.

I opened the doors to my other corner cabinet. Opps. I forgot to paint the inside of the doors.

Here is a view of behind the couch. A little more traditional back here. Don't you HATE the swags? For some reason my husband loves them. It has been six years and I still can't convince him to take them down.

My daughter's bathroom has a beach theme. This wreath hangs year round, but fits in great right now.

I added this jute twine and button tree to the bathroom for a little extra spirit.

Even the laundry room got some sprucing up. Ignore the hole in the wall. I have some patching to do.

I love these pictures I made last year. I simply added mica flakes to a painting and I have instant winter art.

That's about it for now. More soon!

Crafting the Night Away

I am busy getting ready for the bazaar this weekend. It will be interesting to see what happens. You never know with these things. I am hoping for the best. If it goes well then I have a few other shows I may do. Here is a preview:

I LOVE these. It is one of those situations where I kind of hope it doesn't sell so I can keep it. I picked up these plaques at an estate sale and simply spray painted them red. Next I added some bling and bingo instant art!

 Sweater trees are really cute and a snap to make. I used a recycled sweater and vintage buttons.

 I am really into old book pages right now. This wreath is very cute!

 Insert a candle and  you have instant ambiance.

 A fun clock featuring a vintage girl. What's the time? It's time to chill.

 I think this would look great in any kitchen. Hey if you run out of silverware you can always pry this off.

I didn't snap a picture of these with them standing up. A little more work to do on them, but it was my first foray into vinyl letters. LOVED them. I created these for a co-worker.

Join me a the bazaar from 8-4 at Margaret Scott Elementary, 14700 NE Sacramento St.

Ahhhh....

I love this time of year. As I type this I am looking out the window at clear skies and beautiful fall foliage. This weekend was the kind I live for. I was able to get a lot done, relax, and hang out with my family. Can't get any better than that.
I am gearing up for a holiday bazaar on the 19th at Margaret Scott Elementary. This will be my second adventure in selling my wares. The first one, this summer, wasn't too successful due to torrential downpours in July. I learned a few lessons and am hoping for more success this time around. I may do two other bazaars if this one goes well. I have a huge list of things I am creating for the sale. Some fun stuff. I just ordered  business cards for the sale. I am hoping to drum up some business so we can pay for a trip to Hawaii the kids are dreaming about. Drexler said, "Mom, no one cares about this kind of stuff. It is just nerdy." We went into Camas Antiques (http://camasantiques.blogspot.com/) yesterday and he said, "This is the kind of stuff you like." I proceeded to tell him some people do like my kind of junk and maybe when he sees the results of my "work" he will get it.

I am also excited about a big piece of furniture I am going to start working on...

I got this off of Craiglist this weekend. I had to drive to HILLSBORO to pick it up,totally worth it.  This baby is a great size; not too big, not too small. I am trying to decide on a color to paint it. What do you think? Should I go with a light grey? A pale blue? A creamy white? My hope is to get it done ASAP and try to consign it at Camas Antiques or Monticello. Stay tuned for the finished product. Enjoy the week!

I'm Back

My former blog, Dickey's Deals disappeared. Literally it went up in Internet smoke to the great beyond. One day I went to post and alas it was gone. After several weeks of trying to recover it I had to let it go. Soooo I am back. I have changed the name of my blog to Dickey's Decor because I have determined I do write about deals, but I also am doing a lot of home decorating/decor kind of stuff. I searched for a new name and wracked by brain for the past two weeks and my love of alliteration wins again. A special shout out to some of the suggestions my friends and family came up with (my baby brother Joe had some good ones).
It will take awhile for me to get my blog up to snuff, but for now it is good to be back.