DIY stuff

So I was looking at cool things to do with my copper pot scuttle with handles and I thought it would look neat with nice long sticks and lights! So I looked these sort of home decorations up on the internet and had some mild shocks.

Long tall branches that were prelit were expensive. Not terribly expensive, but I thought they looked neat. So I went on a hike with my terrible machete blade and went to collect some willow branches.

I brought a bunch home and then waited for a nice day and spray painted all but one with white paint.

I ordered some 'fairy' lights that you can actually twist onto the branches.

And I started to put them on the willow branches.

Not very impressive at first.

But with some help it really started to look pretty neat. I added it to the corner with an old box of  'fall' decorations. Of course there is Charlie's crate which isn't part of the decorations, but hey, it is his house too!

And there is my little 'welcome' table that I constantly am changing nearly every single day. I like doing that. Moving things around all of the time. Even my little chickens and geese move into other positions all of the time.

Soon enough, I'll change things over to a different Holiday theme and that will involve parts of the living room as well. I'm not even sure what I am going to do there. But I have some grape vines and odd shaped chunks of wood along with some old dynamite crates and other neat things.

Think of me as a kid with a lego set, except I have little crates, boxes, sticks, vines, and doo dads to play with.
Looks like I'll have some fun experimenting again this year.

Not sure if I am doing the Christmas Chair this year or not. Depends on space. I am leaning in going in a whole new direction.

DIY fall wall hanging

I saw something on YouTube that was suggested by another person and I browsed some DIY decoration ideas.

I found one that was perfect for a rainy day and since I had all of the materials, I thought I'd try it myself.

Note...I am NOT a painter. I am not really an expert at all, so here was my 'go' at the project.
It would have looked better if I'd had a stick or stencil to make the 'pot' for the flowers.

So

I made a brown backround. And blue looking sky.

 Then my not so great attempt at making a pot for my fall flowers.

So I added some color just because...

So now that I am feeling like an awkward kid again, I decided to go to the next step. Really, I was going to toss this out but decided to follow it through.

Cut an opening in the canvas. This is a framed canvas so it worked for this project.

Stick flowers into the cut and arrange.

Hang on the wall and move the flowers around.

I forgot to show the step where you hot glue the stems on the back of the canvas...

When it is surrounded by other photos and a wreath, it actually looks pretty decent on the wall and really adds some 'fall' color.

I was going to toss it, but it grew a bit on me. And I'm thinking of how to decoupage some fall leaves on a canvas and do the same sort of thing with a Christmas and Thanksgiving theme. Sort of adds dimension to a wall hanging.

Um...what I saw and what I wanted to do are far different...here is a shot of one done expertly.

And...I can't find the link to the DIY video I watched but you can figure this out yourself.

I like mine mainly because I did it. Now to have some fun with some more ideas when November comes around and it is just plain icky and dull outside.

I may even try something different tomorrow as it is supposed to rain buckets and we have up to 3" of rain forecast.
Sigh.
We do not need it.
If it spits outside, it will flash flood.

Best Morning ... Ever!

I received a text that asked if I could watch Logan for a couple of hours while mom took a nap. 

Let me explain something. Mom works from her home office teaching English to Chinese students via the internet. She works up lesson plans and works with so many students

She had an overnight presentation [I'm sure that I am not getting the details right] and was wondering if I could spend a bit of time with Logan while she took a power nap to compensate.

I jumped at the chance and texted back "YES!"

Logan is 5 and full of surprises. I had some pumpkin projects to do and said that we could paint pumpkins and decorate them.

I went downstairs and retrieved the wooden blocks I'd saved from the house remodel. I'd sanded and painted them just for the purpose of having little people come to the house and building with them. I've got very fond memories of my children playing with blocks from my mother's house that she and dad built....and memories of playing with a box of odd wooden pieces that my Grandparents put together from the building of their house.

I dug out some acrylic paints and a few tiny pumpkins.

As a second thought, I gathered all of my acquired toys in a basket and brought them downstairs too. Many of the toys were those that Logan had given me over the past two years to 'play' with and take home when I'd watched him at his house.

I was ready when I got the text: "We are on our way."

Pumpkin painting is serious stuff when your pumpkin needs to be black.

While the black pumpkin dried enough to tip over and get painted on the bottom, Logan decided to use some red paint and then red glitter glue to decorate the second pumpkin.

While the projects did some more drying we decided to explore the blocks and toys.

And I learned how to build a proper castle.

And we filled it with Dinosaurs, donkeys, skunks, My Little Ponies and trolls. However the Soldiers were the favorites.

Charlie inspects the toy basket and then sits on the couch to watch...

And a huge battle ensued.

Toys got waylaid all over the living room floor. The castle seemed to get blown up from the sound effects...

And we went back to the kitchen to check on the pumpkins while the toys recovered...

This is a proper 'scarey' pumpkin with red diamond eyes, nose and mouth.

After Logan returned home and I came back from walking with him, my husband quipped:

It is a good thing you have someone your OWN age to play with.

I grinned. I had such a good morning with Logan! Rich enjoyed watching and talking with Logan.

See?

Best

morning

Ever!

I hope we get to play again. 

Sticks, boxes, paints

What should you do when the weather is wet and cold outside? Well, I suppose some folks would just sit in front of the TV aka the Boob Tube [as my dad called it], I call it the brain drain...
Or sit in front of a play station and stare at a game that unfolds in front of you. [Sorry if I offend anyone who is a gamer. I consider playing video games equivalent to staring mindlessly at a TV. But that is how I was brought up.]

Between writing Morris's last big adventure [He has had a few good days and a few bad days] and chores, cooking..etc..., I've decided to try out some things I've always wanted to do.

Last year while looking for some winter decorations, I ended up at the local floral shop. There was a beautiful display of Stick Decoration. I stood there admiring the sticks in a vase that were colored. There were vases with sticks that had glitter on them and lit up. A little old lady walked up next to me and we both stared at the display.
I said, "It is pretty isn't it?"
She ruminated on that and replied, "If you want to pay that much for sticks I suppose!" She smiled at me and shook her head, "Only a city person would pay that much for sticks."

So last year I gathered some sticks. I put some in vases and used glitter glue as 'fake ice and snow'.  I looked around at images that I searched for under "winter decoration sticks". I found painted branches and sculptures of branches for quite a bit of money.

I have searched our old shed for other odd things and found old boxes. Most are in poor shape, but I've used some as end tables for the couch and the work quite nicely. 

This weekend was wet and cold. Rainy and cold...cold... icky damp cold.
So I decided to entertain myself with a challenge. 
What could I do with sticks? Left over chunks of wood?

I gathered materials and had no idea of what I may do. But things started to come together. I dried a bouquet of Milkweed Pods. During a break in the rain I used some spray paint to coat them. I used silver metallic paint to color a small and interesting branch I found on the side of the road while walking with Morris Friday. I think it was Bittersweet. 

*Note regarding the Milkweed Pods. My grandmother Pearl always decorated her house in the winter with painted Milkweed Pods and 'nobbin knockers', among other dried weeds. 

I've always admired those cute little signs that had "Noel" or some of those neat antiqued looking signs that people put up in their homes. But I never wanted to pay the price for them. 
Bingo! Since I stink at lettering, I'd use the sticks!

And what about those sticks?
Well, I'll get a photo of how that turned out after I put it together.

And that box?

It was a mess when I started, but it will be very useful in my Winter Theme. Let's call it a work in progress.

Here is my Fall/Thanksgiving table.
There is the old kitchen drawer on the bottom. That was the only drawer we had in the kitchen before the remodel. The other little box with three sections? I have no idea what it used to be. I found it in the garage filled with old nails.
The branch with the leaves is unpainted. I stuck it in a small crock filled with marbles and rocks.

Today looks like a fine day to be outside. No rain! The temps aren't supposed to get out of the 30's so it looks like the cold is settling in. 
After two days of being cooped up inside, I feel a hike coming on.

Of course there are chores to do, meals to make, a house to clean... and all of those dull and dreary things.

I need to get Morris out for a few more shots and then I can start his book.
I'm afraid though if I go on a hike I'll be searching for sticks...OH MY!

Fall Decorations on the cheep cheep.. cheap

Have glue gun ... will craft!

Well. I went to find some discounted fall decorations at the craft store and was sorely disappointed. The day before Halloween and all fall craft things were stuck in a small section with few choices. Okay not a disaster right?
However, the store was now 90% Christmas craft stuff. Most of it was rather high priced too.

I'm glad that I've spent time collecting pine cones and acorns. Free and natural things that can be turned into 'crafty' stuff that won't make me feel bad if I have to toss it in a year or so.

I did manage to find some really cheap leaf bundles at the Dollar Store so I brought them home with an idea brewing in my head.
I had wanted a Fall Garland and a Fall/Thanksgiving wreath.

I couldn't afford the ones that were on display at the store.
Walmart stick bare stick wreath. $2.99
Dollar Store bundle of fake leaves. $1
Gold Ribbon ~ well this was something I'd bought years ago.

With my old glue gun and some acorns I made a small garland to see if it would look decent.

The acorns give it just enough weight to make it hang straight.

The wreath?
Well.

The white and orange acorn came from the yard. There is a painted hickory nut glued to the wreath along with an orange and yellow sparkly pine cone that also came from the yard.

I was pleased as punch. I used a pair of clippers to take apart the Dollar Store bunches and arranged them to my liking.

Hot glue and more ribbon. Viola! My second garland!

I used a hickory nut to add weight to the ribbon on the end.

I moved on to some dried 'weeds' I'd collected with Grace last weekend. She took some weeds home for her mom and I got the left overs.
I know where I can find some milkweed pods and I will collect those in the next few days.

...
I headed out to the woods and fields after writing most of this and came back with a few more ideas...

I'm going to get to work on them as I have some stuff running through my head.
I will leave you with this photo of a dog food can that the kids decorated for me.