Lucky Star

I'm a fan of stars. I admit to gravitating towards them. A few weeks ago while at IKEA I found some paper stars with a battery operated light dangling in the middle for a song. I am kicking myself for not buying more. Shucky darn.

Here is what I created:

 A closer look. This side is covered in vintage sheet music. I embellished it with tinsel garland, old lace and cream buttons.

 This side has light blue scrap booking paper with brown stars. I added blue and brown polka dot ribbon accents, tinsel and buttons as well.

I am going to list this on Etsy since as of right now I have no idea where to place this in our house so I guess I shall set it free.

I thought I would share this creation as well. I started it before Christmas, but never finished it. It is made with coffee filters. It is now hanging on our fireplace wall. I admit I am not sure how I feel about it. What else should I do with it? It is fluffy and full, but just a little lonely. Mmmmm. Ideas?

Hearty Fun, Finds and Give Away

I had some luck at estate sales this weekend. I am toying around with the idea of renting a spot in an antique store. We shall see. Here is a peek at my goods:

We aren't sure what Matrons and Patrons is all about, but I loved this picture. I bought it at an old house about a mile from mine. It has to be one of the orginal homes in our area. Unfortunately I am sure it will be torn down and replaced with apartments since it sits on a very large lot on a busy street. If I am arressted for sneaking in and stealing moldings, columns, etc. will you bail me out?

The suitcase (opps forgot to take off the tag) will be transformed in an upcoming episode of Dickey's Decor. The lamp also will be transformed. I saw it on Friday night at Salvation Army and took a gamble it would still be there today when they had a 50% off sale. It was! The watering can will be sold and the iron brackets? I have some ideas. I picked up a few other things, but didn't want to haul them out to the garage for pictures. Overall I am a happy girl!

We had four basketball games for my son and as a result were busy. I managed to finish this though:

I picked up the frame at Salvation Army for .99 and covered the cardboard backing with scrapbooking paper. Next, I hot glued velvety hearts on. Badabing badabang.

Since I am trying to drum up some readers I thought I would conduct my first give away this week. I will send a lovely burlap LOVE banner to one lucky winner. Simply become a follower and a random winner shall be chosen this Saturday.

This is an awful picture, but these babies are long...

Renovation Rumblings and Puttin' My Feet Up

Last January I painted and "redid" my laundry room hall. In February I added some tile accents, crown molding, wainscoting and repainted my daughter's bathroom. This February I am planning on doing a mini-renovation of my entryway.

As it looks now (I didn't even pick up for the before pictures)...

When we moved in this was one of the only rooms that did not boast really "awesome" wallpaper. To be honest I can't even remember what color it was when we moved in, but it was the first "room" I painted. You can see the one side has clear sidelights. The other side is waiting to be finished (it might get done for my reveal!). I love the warmth of the current color, but after six years I am over it. We have darker wood doors and trim and I think a lighter color will brighten this darkish area up. Here is a view from the other direction:

The only thing that will be staying is the Jew Pew (This is an old pew from a Brooklyn Synagogue. Don't be thinking I am anti-Semitic, my name is Leah after all). I LOVE it. I am currently looking for some baskets to put under it. This is where we put backpacks after school etc. It looks like they didn't make it there in time for the picture though. We will also be keeping Harvey, the dog. The one door leads downstairs and the other is a closet designed to store hanging linens (if I don't iron do you think I would hang linens?). It currently has some makeshift shelves, but I am planning on adding better shelving to store my larger kitchen appliances and big pantry items.

Here is my list of things to do in this area:
Paint (thinking of a light grey or light sea blue)
Add board and batten OR wainscoting to one wall
Add crown molding
Finish sidelights
Purge both closets
Add a shelf in the coat closet (near the floor to add more storage)
Add shelves to the pantry closet
Polish all woodwork
Find baskets for under bench
Paint half table for wall opposite the bench
Hang mirror above bench
Decorate (Rug, framed chalkboard, new lamp)

One thing I forgot to share is the great light fixture...

Gearing up for this month's project! Until then I will be putting my feet up on this:

I found this at the Goodwill bins. It had a nasty pleather cushion. I ripped it off, painted it with Ralph Lauren metallic paint (leftover from my living room wall) and recovered the cushion with blue hounds tooth fabric. Looks lovely in our family room. Unfortunately Mr.Dickey uses it all the time.

Grey With a Pop of Red

January in Oregon is grey. January in Oregon is rainy. This year, however has been an exception. In fact, this past fall and early winter have been dry. ( I can't count last week when we had so much rain it flooded in places.) Typically I won't be able to do anything in the yard until late March. (Play music here) This past Friday and Saturday were beautiful; cool, dry and sunny. I seized the opportunity to do some yard clean up and after the yard debris bin was full decided to start on a project that has been on my mind for awhile.
I love the deep overhangs on our house. They allow us plenty of space to keep dry and DECORATE for holidays. One thing that has always annoyed me though  is a flowerbed that sits right next to the house. No water will ever reach it and the dirt in it is lifeless. When we first moved in there was bark dust and cat poop. As soon as spring hit I removed it and replaced it with river rock (How ya like me now cats?). This was fine for awhile, but after a year I realized the wind blew all manner or leaves and debris into it. It was impossible to keep clean. Over the past two years it has been on my list of things to address. I had a collection of recycled bricks and decided to use them.

Here is a look at what this area looked like before....

Now...

Closer...

My dad  brought me an ugly green plastic Adirondack chair last spring. I spray painted it red to match our front door and decor.

The red rocking chair

And finally the red wooden tool caddy I picked up for $3. I painted it red of course. I figure I can use it for Christmas, Valentines and Fourth of July decorations this way...plus it matches the house the rest of year too.

It started POURING again today. I think I might sit and relax in my rocking chair.