In His Grip

Simple Spring Mantel

Simple Spring mantel, seriously, I am going simple?  Normally, when it comes to decorating “simple” is not in my vocabulary.  My mantel has looked like this.

And this . . .

And this . . .

And many more looks.  My mantel decorations change often during the year according to the season.  The mantel is one place when you decorate it for a season and the whole room seems to carry the festive feel.  Going simple is a change for me, but I like it.

Now that I spend one day a week at Picture Perfect Interiors, I find myself loving the pretty things that surround me when I am there.

Shirley, the floral designer at Picture Perfect Interiors, helped me put together this arrangement.  I told her I wanted it to look like I just grabbed sticks from the bushes outside and stuck them in the vase, you know, simple.  I remembered a little nest that I had purchased earlier at the store and just stuck it in.  I love how fresh and Springy this looks.

Once I had the arrangement by the fireplace, I knew that I need something on top of the mantel, still simple.  I picked out this weathered finial and moss ball from Picture Perfect Interiors knowing I had a couple of items to add to it making it just right, yet simple.

On the other side of the mantel, I added this green urn I purchased at a garage sale for .25 cents years ago and added a boxwood ball on top and greens around the bottom.  Still simple, I think?

So you have it a very simple Spring mantel.

Next, I will show you my “simple” Spring dinning room table and buffet arrangement.  Check back soon.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time,The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House, The Lettered Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, Seven Alive, 52 Mantels, Bloom, Adorned From Above, Hi Sugarplum, Savvy Southern Style, Yesterday on Tuesday, Clean and Sensible, Mom, On Timeout

New Window Treatments–What a Commitment

Because I make window treatments daily at Stitches By Sturman, my windows in my home often get over looked or go for far too long without an update.  I recently made new draperies for my dinning room, but am not really sure that I “love” them.  When you work with fabric and design everyday, it is hard to decide on just that right fabric/design.  I tend to change my mind a lot and see a new, better fabric regularly.  When I commit and purchase the fabric, by the time I get the draperies finished, I may have come upon something that I like better.  It is a dilemma that happens to me each time I make a change in my home.  However, that being said and because I do not have an unlimited budget or time on my hands to recreate something different, these have to do.  It’s not that don’t like them, I just want to “love” them and I just not there.  The room is not totally complete yet, so maybe once I have the room just like I want it, I will grow to “love” the draperies.

Here is the finished look.  The embroidered fabric was given to me by one of my designers.  There was less than 1 1/2 yards, so I needed to use it wisely and bring it into the design.   So if you fall in love a fabric that just is not in the budget you are able to use it as an accent and bring more attention to it. 

The rod was one that I already had and I painted with Anne Slone’s Chalk Paint, Pure White.  The wood rings were some that were extra from old jobs and just painted them too as they were all different finishes.

Once I have the furniture and and wall décor complete I will do a repost and maybe by then I will “love” these draperies.  Until then, I some more work to do to make my dining room one that I will enjoy having family and friends share a meal.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time,The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House, The Lettered Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, Seven Alive, 52 Mantels, Bloom, Adorned From Above, Hi Sugarplum, Savvy Southern Style, Yesterday on Tuesday, Clean and Sensible, Mom, On Timeout

Fancy Jar Candles

There’s something about candles that seem to promise a good time.  Candles just might be the cheapest, easiest, and most impressive accessories out there.  The flicker from a taper turns a simple meal in to a special occasion and the glow of votives bring a soft warmth to your space.  This is why I love burning candles and always have.  I especially like to burn candles this time of year, the flame of a candle just seems to make me warm.  I don’t know why, its not like the fire is enough to create heat, but seeing that little flame helps me have the impression of warmth.  There have been many a candle mishap in my past with wax running all over, red wax dripping onto the carpet, wax on a vintage tablecloth, and sadly enough the list goes on.  I am here to tell you the trouble with candles has never included a fire up to this point.  Because of these past mishaps and a friend who is a fire chief, I tend to go towards the safer jar candles these days.  Like I have said before, I am teachable.  Jar candles don’t seem to cause the wax running all over and dripping onto things that are non replaceable problem.  But who likes just a plain jar candle?  Certainly not this over the top creative/decorating kind of gal. 

I purchased these jar candles 3 for $10 last week at Michaels but knew that I had to fancy them up just a bit.

I took some burlap ribbon that I had purchased at Picture Perfect Interiors  as well as a complimentary snowflake ribbon I found and wrapped the jar, gathering it in the middle with wire.

 

I then hot glued a couple of springs of greenery and berries that I had wired together covering the wire with an old button.  And ta da, I have a fancy jar candle. 

Placing all three candles in a wooden tray that I had and sprinkling in some glittery white and silver balls created a nice little display on my coffee table.  I can light these candle each evening and not worry about the wax flowing where it is not supposed to go and still enjoy the warmth that candles bring. 

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time,The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House, The Lettered Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, Seven Alive, 52 Mantels, Bloom, Adorned From Above, Hi Sugarplum, Savvy Southern Style, Yesterday on Tuesday, Clean and Sensible, Mom, On Timeout

 

 

Upcycled Sweater Pillows

Yay, I know I have not been around my blog lately.  Life has just been happening and my blog has taken a backseat.  But that does not mean I have not been creating.  The holiday season always seems to inspire me more than any other time of year.  I just don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to do all that I would like. So, I have learned to prioritize (okay, so it has taken me over 40 years to learn, but I am teachable) those things that I most want done.  These upcycled sweater pillows were on the of top the list.  I have made pillows from upcycled sweaters before.  You can see them here.  The cool thing about using sweaters that have been worn is that they have all of those little slubby balls and imperfections about them, making them perfect for a more vintage look.

I began my search for the deer pattern on Pinterest of course.  I searched deer pillows and found this pattern at Sew Homegrown in Japan. 

I downloaded and cut out her pattern in paper.  Before cutting out the pattern on the sweater, I applied a fusible web to the back side of the sweater to help with stability as well as adhering it to the main pillow piece making it easier to top stitch around the design. 

Here is one more tip I will give you free of charge.  When I am doing an applique, especially when working with a knit fabric, I place a piece of tissue paper under the fabric and stitch right through it.  This helps the feed dogs move more smoothly across the fabric and gives additional stability keeping the fabric from stretching out of proportion. Once you are finished stitching, you can pull the tissue paper off. 

Once I completed the deer pillow I knew that I needed a complementary pillow to accompany my new deer pillow.  Yes, of course a snowflake would be perfect.  I found the snowflake design here.

The white sweater for the deer was a much looser knit so it is a bit fuzzy, but I kind of like the look.

The sweater used for the snowflake was a tight cotton knit and ended up with a much cleaner cut.

The puff ball trim I found at Michaels.  It was a chain of the balls with edge, so I had to hand sew the trim.  I am not one to do a lot of hand sewing but the pillow really did call for this ball trim and I super happy to have taken the extra time.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time,The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House, The Lettered Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, Seven Alive, 52 Mantels, Bloom, Adorned From Above, Hi Sugarplum, Savvy Southern Style, Yesterday on Tuesday, Clean and Sensible, Mom, On Timeout, One Project Closer's The Better Half

 

Fall in the Dinning Room

The change in season always makes me want to make changes in my home.  Sometimes I want to make BIG changes and other times just small changes that include seasonal decorations.  I have become partial to “the rustic with some shinny thrown in” look.  Burlap has become a favorite of mine.  Now don’t worry, I have not thrown out my glittery ways, I have combined the two.  If you look around mercury glass is everywhere.  You can now find very reasonably priced mercury glass replicas in just about any shape and size.  If you know me at all, I am happy with a good fake any day. I have been collecting this silvery goodness here and there over the years and now have my share of mercury glass.  I really wanted some large silvery/mercury glass acorns, but all I could find were way out of what I consider a “reasonable” price.  So why not make my own?

I purchased this assortment of acorns from Picture Perfect Interiors and then took a can of silver metallic spray paint and went to town.  Although, they look great just silver I was not satisfied.  I decided to add a bit more sparkle.

The best glitter out there is Martha Stewart brand.  It comes in a large color selection and is very fine.  My favorite color is white gold and I used it here on the tops of my acorns.  These fake mercury glass acorns will do just fine.

There is just something about the shinny silver and neutral colors that I just love.  I stayed away for the traditional oranges and golds that I normally use in my dining room in the Fall and chose to go with a very subtle color scheme (shocker for me, I know).

The grass bushes I purchased at Michael's some time ago on a whim not really sure how I would use them.  I wasn’t sure if this neutral Fall display was going to look as good in real life as it did in my mind.  But this has to be one of my favorite buffet displays ever.

My Burch bark pumpkins that I made a couples of years ago, go great with the silvery fake mercury glass acorns along with my fall harvest table runner as well.

Burlap, mercury glass, silvery acorns and no color have turn out to be just what I had in my mind for Fall in my dining room.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time, The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House

Autumn is Here

Autumn is finally here in the Midwest.  After our record breaking heat this Summer, the cool crisp mornings are a nice break.  I was looking forward to decorating for Autumn and decided to go with a natural look for my Fall porch.  I have used burlap and natural colors for my pumpkins with the only really pop of color in the Amber Mums.  I made the burlap pillows last year and wanted to add a table cloth this year.   

 

 

 

 

 

Using a 30” square of burlap, I frayed the edges and then stitched along the fray to keep it from fraying any more.  I then used my Cricut machine and cut a swirl and taped it onto the corner of my square of burlap.  Using a paint brush, I dabbed the opening with off white acrylic paint. 

This simple design turned out so good and took no time at all. 

Although, I have not completed my Fall porch this is a great start. 

I am participating in the following link ups: 

 Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring

 

Roll Top Desk Makeover

Last week Anna, our daughter who just graduated from college, and I did a desk makeover.  She just moved in with Lindsey our other daughter and realized that she had no furniture and if Lindsey were to move out all Anna would have left in the house would be her bed and her dresser.  So she decided there was some furniture accumulation needed on her part.  Last winter she was given a roll top desk and figured this would be a good piece to start with on her quest for enough cute furniture to fill her part of their home. 

 

This is what the desk started out looking like.   I know there are some of you out there that would not ever paint over oak.  If this desk was all solid oak I may have agreed with you, but there are parts of this desk that are paper veneer, so painting it really is no big deal. So relax, you know who you are.

We used our homemade chalk paint again on this project.  Anna started out with light aqua for the first coat.

Once the light aqua coat was dry, she proceeded to the darker aqua.  When you are painting with this kind of homemade chalk paint, it dries very quickly so there is not a long wait between coats.  And if you are going to distress the piece in the end, you really do not need to be super careful either.  Once the last coat was dry, we started distressing with an electric sander and sanding blocks.  When you distress you need to keep in mind natural wear places on the furniture, i.e. around the knobs, edges, corners, etc.

The inside even turned out great.  Knowing how home offices can be, this will probably be the position of the roll top most of the time, so good thing it looks good too. 

We were a bit worried about painting over the roll top, but we did not put a thick coat on it and did some extra sanding in the groves and it works perfect.  Once you have wiped all of the surfaces down after sanding is complete, we used a Minwax furniture wax as the finish.  This takes a bit of elbow grease but is worth it in the end. 

So goes the first piece of Anna’s furniture collection other than bedroom stuff.  You can count on the fact that we are always on the look out for a good garage sale buy to redo.  I will post future projects here. 

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate

 

Independence Day Porch

Being patriotic has come to have so much more meaning to me over the last year.  Since I have known someone who has actually given the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom it has given me more respect for the country I call home and the men and women who choose to serve in our military.  So as Independence Day approached, I wanted to show a little patriotism on our front porch.  The flag shutter project I found in the Lowes Creative Idea magazine.  I love this free publication, you can subscribe by going here.  They have so many creative ideas for your home and garden and as soon as I saw this project, I knew that it was one that I was going to do.  I found a shutter at a junk store for $2 and it went from there. 

It seems I now have burlap pillows for every season for my porch.  Burlap is the perfect fabric to use for a pillow that will be in the weather.  I have to tie mine down here in Kansas or they would blow away.  They are so fun and easy to make.  Here is how I made this flag pillow.

Using masking tape I masked off the shape and the square for the blue.  My star cookie cutter came in handy as my star shape and I masked it as well.

Once the blue square was painted, I waited for it to dry and then masked for the red stripes.  I use acrylic craft paint to do this and a stiff brush and dab the paint on more than brush it.  The burlap soaks the paint up quickly so dry time is a snap.

Once the paint is completely dry you can pull the tape off and use this just as it is.  Once I had sewn the pieces together and stuffed the pillow I decided it need just a bit more detail. 

Getting out my red and white baker’s twine I stitched and little detail around the start and blue square as well as the entire pillow. 

Using some flags that my kids had decorated their bikes with years ago for a neighborhood 4th of July parade, I strung them on the baker’s twine and they made a fabulous flag garland.  Now we can celebrate Independence Day with a patriotic flare on the front porch.

I am participating in the following links ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, A Glimpse Inside, The Concrete Cottage, No Minimalist Here, Thrifty Decorationg, Jennifer Rizzo

 

Table Redo With Homemade Chalk Paint

Our family has had these two table in our great room for years. I found them at Hobby Lobby in the 80% aisle and don’t think I spent more than $30 a piece for them.  They are sturdy solid wood tables but the finish had started to come off the the top surface.  I had been talking about refinishing them for a while but wasn’t sure what to do.  My sister, who is a furniture refinisher and repurposing goddess, suggested I just sand off the top finish and use just a paste wax as the finish and use a homemade chalk paint for the legs.  Never having used either of these techniques before I was up for something new.  So the work began.

Using an electric sander, it took no time to get the finish off of the top surface.  These were cheapy tables after all.  Once the top was sanded.  We mixed up the homemade chalk paint.  This was a mixture of just regular flat paint, any acrylic paint will do. We used some old white craft paint I had laying around and mixed in the color green that I wanted along with some scoops of plaster of Paris.  Mix thoroughly until the consistency is like runny pudding. There is no prep work to do just paint right over the old finish. You should work fast as the paint dries pretty quickly. We painted on two coats letting them dry in between.  Then using a sanding block distressed the legs.

When the distressing was like I wanted it, we used Minwax paste wax to finished the whole thing giving it a richer look as well as giving the top protection against moisture.

I love the way these turned out and I have my creative mind working overtime as to how I will use this homemade chalk paint on other things that need some sprucing up.

I am participating in the following link ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, House of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize

Christmas in February

Our family finally was able to celebrated Christmas with Ryan and Paula last week.  It just seems hard to find a time when we all can be together.  Of course my fantasy as a mother is to have all my kids live close to me the rest of my life so we will always be able to spend every holiday and family event together and live happily ever after.  {Pop} goes the fantasy bubble and real life is where I am forced to live.  Darn!  Although, I cannot complain, Ryan and Paula only live in Lincoln, NE, just 3 1/2 hours north of us, its not like they are in another country.  But that distance, at times, feels too far.  The time we do have as a family is very precious to us and I will take all that we do get. 

 

 

To say that the wait for our Christmas presents was worth it would be an understatement.  Ryan and Paula out did themselves with their creative, craftiness.  Look at these great tables/foot stools/benches/what ever you want to make them, repurposed vintage suitcases they made for Lindsey and Anna.  Seriously, they are awesome and in super shaped on the inside too.

They made this fabulous “S” to hang on our front door.  They could not find an initial that they liked that was big enough so Ryan cut one out of styrofoam and then Paula decorated it.  Oh my heck, just look at those handmade flowers.  Does this gal fit perfectly into our family or what?  Not only that but she whipped up some homemade shower scrub as well.  She is a gal after my heart, I just have to say.  Making things pretty and smell good too, who can go wrong. 

We also received this set of tile coasters that they made using their wedding pictures.  I was trying to figure out how I would display a bunch of their pictures without making it look like some kind of Ryan & Paula gallery.  The girls already accuse me of having Ryan as the favorite, so a bunch of pictures on the wall, shelves, etc. would only perpetuate such a myth.  But coasters, now that is something that is very useful and if they display eight different wedding shots so be it. 

Look how perfect this looks on my pink front door.  I thought that I would be changing the color of the door soon, but who am I kidding?  This “S” just made the decision, the door is pink for now at least through Summer. 

Jumbo Scrabble Tiles

I know that I am a bit late this week in posting the fun, creative, crafty things I have been doing around here lately.  But I have had a new opportunity that has come my way (I will post about that at a later date) and I just have not had a moment to sit down and write a post.  Scrabble is a game that I remember my Grandma Nelson playing all the time with us as kids.  Even though I played this game often, it did not help me in the spelling department.  I am not sure if Grandma let me get away with misspelled words or I am just a very slow learner.  Even so, there is just something nostalgic about the game Scrabble for me.  I have purchased individual Scrabble tiles in the past for projects and you know me if little Scrabble letters make me happy, giant ones should make me jump up and down with joy, right?  I have to admit that is pretty much true.  I literally did this project in one hour.  I cut 1 x 6's into 6 inch squares, cut the letters out of adhesive vinyal with my Cricut machine, stuck them onto the wood squares, quick spray with clear coat, and wallah!  Giant Scrabble tiles.

Because I wanted my tiles up for more than just Valentines day.  I made three additional tiles so that I could spell out our name.  Four of the tiles have the letters LOVE on one side and our name on the other.  It does not take a lot to make me happy.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, The Tablescaper, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter,Itsy Bitsy Paper, So Much Ado, One Tough Mother, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Handy Man, Crafting Woman, Women Who Do It All, Seven Thirty-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home. Lil' Luna, Momma Hen Scoop, Sugar and Dots, {Primp}, Sommewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home,Truly Lovely, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Someday Crafts, Passionately Artistic, Goodbye city, Hello suburbs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Make it Great Monday,Vintage Gwen, Sew Country Chick, 5 Minutes Just for Me, Sew Country Chick

Burlap Valentine Bunting

Once I made my newest valentine sign last week, I realized that my valentine garland was no longer the look that I wanted to go with this year.  Seeing all of the burlap decorations out on blogs, Pinterest and the internet.  I figured that I would make a burlap bunting that would be just the look that I wanted.  The rough look of burlap with a splash of color is everywhere.  A designer that I work for, Brenda of Picture Perfect, told me that the burlap/linen look with a splash of color was everywhere at the Atlanta market that she went to two weeks ago.  I have been watching that look for a while now and even made some things last fall with burlap.  Burlap is a great way to give your home an updated look with very little money.  I purchased a yard of burlap for $3.99.

I cut the flap shapes out of the burlap and then doubled them up and stitching them together using red thread not only for a contrast but to add a boarder as well.  Doubling up the burlap helps give the flags a bit more somethin', somethin', and burlap tends to be loosely woven and a bit see through so this helps with that.

Using my handy Cricut machine I cut a heart and used it as a stencil.  Then stenciled a heart on each flag.  I used a light pink, bright pink, red and white color paints to do this.  Here is a free hint, make sure you put plastic or scrap paper under your flags as you stencil them.  They will soak through to the back.  I just know these kinds of things, no need to ask me how.   

Using hot glue, I folded the flags over some red and white bakers twine and secured the end over the back.  

The burlap bunting addes to my valentine look for next to nothing in cost.

I am participating in the following link ups: Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, The Tablescaper, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter,Itsy Bitsy Paper, So Much Ado, One Tough Mother, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Handy Man, Crafting Woman, Women Who Do It All, Seven Thrity-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home. Lil' Luna, Momma Hen Scoop, Sugar and Dots, {Primp}, Sommewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home,Truly Lovely, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Someday Crafts, Passionately Artistic, Goodbye city, Hello suburbs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Make it Great Monday,Vintage Gwen, Sew Country Chick, 5 Minutes Just for Me, Sew Country Chick

 

 

Valentine Sign

Earlier this week I was browsing around Pinterest and found this wonderful Valentine sign.  I absolutely love the saying on it and decided that I was going to make it.  Because I have been called a "creative hoarder", I had all of the supplies right in my studio already.  No need to go to the store and besides it has been freezing cold this week and who wants to get out in the cold if you don't have to.  

Here is the sign that I orignally look at.  Landee See, Landee Do, is a great place for inspriration.  I have just recently found her blog and I really like her style.  As you can see I changed my sign up a bit by doing the pink thing instead.  You know I always say, "When in doubt pink is always the right choice." I am sure it is not shocker that I went with pink.  

One thing that I do like about Valentines is that you are able to put pink and red together without it being wierd.  Needless to say, I take very opportunity to do just that.  Pink and red for everyone.  

I was so excited to use my bakers twine that I recently purchased off of Pick Your Plum.  Pick Your Plum is a daily email that sells one craft type item each day for super cheap.  I am talking anywhere from $2 to $6.95.  I am pretty sure I have never seen anything for more than that.  Let me just warn you, if you are a "crafty" this email is dangerous.  It is hard to pass up these deals.  Seriously I could spend money everyday with Pick You Plum.

I used a 1 x 8 for my board, but I do think a 1 x 10 would be better as you can make the lettering bigger.  Using my handy Cricut machine I cut the letters out of a piece of adhesive vinyal.  Super easy project and the results are awesome.  

I am participation in these link ups: Today's Creative Blog, One Tough Mother

Dishwasher, Renewed Confidence

Several years ago there was a dishwasher recall and ours was part of it.  Up to that point, I had put up with a dishwasher that sounded like an airplane taking off in my kitchen as well as a pitiful job in cleaning our dishes.  So I was all over the fact that the manufacturer was going to give  $700 toward our replacement.  My research found a ultra quite dishwasher with a stainless steel inside that was close to the top of the line, not quite but I was not willing to pay "that" much over the $700 I was given.  Fast forward a couple of years and Jeff is complaining about our "crappy" expensive dishwasher and we need to look into a new one. The stainless steel is no longer shiny but chalky white and the dishes are covered with that chalky white grossness as well.  Jeff did his job of cleaning out the hoses, I was using that blue liquid rinse stuff that is supposed to make your dishes sparkly clean, as well a scrubbing the inside of the machine only to have it be chalky white in just a few washes.  We were ready to give up when I saw this Dishwasher Magic at Lowes one day.  The label says, "This dishwasher cleaner and disinfectant removes mineral stains, lime scale, iron/rust, calcium build-up, and food particles which can clog the water jets in your dishwasher and reduce its performance."  All in one use.  With the condition of our dishwasher, I figured if one bottle was good two had to be better.  So I purchased two bottles. 

 

 

 

Right next to the Dishwasher Magic, was Finish, a tablet type dishwasher soap, that states right on the box if you are not completely satisfied after using one box you are guaranteed your money back. This product was probably threes more money that the store brand dishwasher soap I normally buy, but heck, if they will give me my money back why not try it.  I am totally sold on both of these products.  Dishwasher Magic cleaned my horrible dishwasher in one use with some chalky left, so the I used the second bottle and it came out sparkly clean. Just like new, I kid you not.

I have purchased my second box of Finish tablets and they are the absolute best. I do believe they are my new best friend.  All of my dishes, glasses, and silverware have not looked this good since I took them out of the box.  Really, I am amazed every time I open my dishwasher to really clean dishes.  I am sold.  I will used Dishwasher Magic once a month as the label suggests and Finish is my new soap, even if it is more expensive.  Once again, I am able to not only enjoy the fact that I cannot even hear my dishwasher running, but my dishes are clean too.  Who knew?  And I give you theses little tips free of charge, because that is just the kind of gal that I am.  

Tile Coaster Set -- How To

Because you have not heard from me in a while, you would think that I have not been up to much.  Well, actually the exact opposite is true.  I did take time off for Christmas and New Years to hang out with family and friends to just enjoy the season.  A gal is entitled to that every once in a while, right? However, my creative mind has been on overdrive having time to browse Pinterest, and plan some very fabulous, creative, wonderfulness for my home in the coming year.  It is this time each year that I get the urge to do something to my home. This year it started with the dinning room and then will move to the living room, and of course right on up to the now three guest rooms.  Oh, how sad to say I have three kid rooms that are now called "guest rooms", really this cannot be true.  

Today I am showing you this easy, fun, and inexpensive gift idea I made for my friends this year at Christmas.  I started out at Lowes and purchased 3x3 tiles.

I really liked these that had a bit of texture and some imperfections around the edges.  They happened to be some of the more expensive tiles, all of 33 cents each.  But you can get them for as little as 8 cents a tile.  

Picking out the scrap booking paper was fun.  I wanted the four different patterns to coordinate but have some contrast in color as well.  I cut the paper into squares that were about a 1/2 smaller than the tile so the coaster would appear to have a boarder all the way around.

Because the tiles had a rounded corner, I used a corner rounder paper punch and rounded all of the corners of each square of paper.  This also helps prevent any corners that might want to pop up when Mod Podging later.  

Laying all of the tiles on a piece of plastic, I Mod Podged each tile with probably 4 or 5 coats allowing to dry in between.  Once you have decided you have enough Mod Podge on your coasters let them dry over night and then take a piece of super fine steel wool and a bit of water and sand each one until smooth.  This takes all of the brush marks or bubbles out of the final coat.  Once that was dry, I sprayed them with a clear coat sealer to make them water resistant.  For the final step, I glue a piece of cork to the bottom of each one.  Sorry no picture of that, but really there is a piece of thin cork on the underside.

I made 12 sets of these and gave them to my friends, designers I work for, and one set went to a gal that invited me and my girls for a tour of her home which was a Christmas wonderland.

I tied each stack with a bit of twine and there you have it a handmade gift that everyone can use.  

I am participating in the following link ups:  Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, The Tablescaper, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter,Itsy Bitsy Paper, So Much Ado, One Tough Mother, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Handy Man, Crafting Woman, Women Who Do It All, Seven Thrity-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home. Lil' Luna, Momma Hen Scoop, Sugar and Dots, {Primp}, Sommewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home,Truly Lovely, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Someday Crafts, Passionately Artistic, Goodbye city, Hello suburbs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Make it Great Monday,Vintage Gwen, Sew Country Chick, 5 Minutes Just for Me

Fireplace Cabinets Before & After

There has been a dream of mine to update and warm up our family room for quite a while now.  I did not want to change out everything as I really like what I have in there, I just wanted to warm the place up a bit.  This past weekend with my Mom's help, oh yeah, she pretty much painted the whole thing, I finally made my change.  Here is the before and after pictures of the transformation.  I am amazed how big a difference a little bit of paint can make.  And literally, I used, or I should say, Mom used only a quart of paint.

This is how the fireplace looked when we moved in.  Now, don't judge me because of all of the clutter, afterall, we had "just" moved in.  With the help of my Dad, my husband and he were able to build the cabinets and shelves just as I had seen them in a model home just a couple of miles away.  I have been very happy with the way the fireplace looked as well as the extra storage, but it was ready for a bit of an update.

Enter, 72 year old Mom who has always been a ball of energy and willing to do just about anything to be helpful around me and my sisters' homes.  Say, "painting project" and she's on it.

Everyone tells me I am like my mother, boy, I hope so.  Look at that flexibility and balance.  That's what I am going for when I am her age.

Sometimes I wish that we did not have to decorate around a TV.  Oh who am I kidding, all the time I wish I did not have to decorate around a TV, but at least they are getting smaller from front to back and can now fit on a shelf.  

I keep walking into my family room and just looking at the fireplace and love, love, loving it.  Thanks, Mom, for your willingness to be my personal assistant and get these projects done for me.  

Now that I have got this project done, I am ready to take fall down and move on into Christmas, yeah!

Autumn Wreath

A couple of weeks ago  I went with my daughter Lindsey to a craft night that she and her friends do about once a month.  This time they were making wreaths.  You can read more about how they plan this event over at Just Paint it Pink Lindsey's new and fabulous blog.  I have really come to like this whole burlap look that is out everywhere and again with my fall decorations taking on a more natural look this year I thought that a burlap wreath would be in order.  And yes, if you don't visit my blog often, that is a hot pink front door and you can read more about how that came to be here.

I started with a straw wreath and wrapped it with 1 1/2" strips of burlap overlapping as I went.  You will need to put hot glue every so often to keep the wrap in place.  

I purchased an "S" initial and wrapped it with jute, also hot gluing as I went in keep the jute in place.  

Because I wanted the "S" to be a contrast color and could not find a color that I liked in jute, of course, I decided to paint it.  The color I used was soft black.  This is a super color because it is almost black, but is also almost brown.  Love it!

Using some scraps of silk that I had in my studio I made some twisted flowers and then attached some of the thousands of buttons that are hanging around here too.

Shopping around this fall I found this six inch wide burlap ribbon and purchased a couple of rolls.  I have no idea what I will be doing with it but figured that it would make a perfect bow to top off my burlap wreath.

I am participating in the following link ups:

Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, The Tablescaper, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter,Itsy Bitsy Paper, So Much Ado, One Tough Mother, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Handy Man, Crafting Woman, Women Who Do It All, Seven Thrity-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home. Lil' Luna, Momma Hen Scoop, Sugar and Dots, {Primp}, Sommewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home,Truly Lovely, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Someday Crafts, Passionately Artistic, Goodbye city, Hello suburbs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman

 

Mossy Twig Jar Candle

Spending time in the north woods always inspires me to do some thing creative with the things that I find outdoors.  In the woods near my Mom's home there is an abundance of mossy twigs.  I have always loved the way that the moss grows and makes the branches of the trees look like they have a fine lace hanging from them.  Again, with the fall decor in my home this season taking on a more natural look I thought I could use these twigs to make a jar candle that I will use on the table in the dinning room.  

I collected a bunch of branches covered in the lacy moss making sure I had a variety of size twigs to be able to cover the jar.

Using a jar from a jar candle, I began hot gluing the twigs to the jar being sure to cover the area completely.  When the twigs did not fit close enough to cover the glass, I just took some of the really fine ones and glue them in to fit.  

This is a perfect addition to my natural dinning room table decor.  Adding a candle to it so that the light shines through the small spaces looks so good.  I wish I would have made several sizes, but this is the only one that I made.  Shoot, I guess that I will have to go back to the north woods to make a whole display of these.

I am participating in the following link ups: Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, Keeping It Simple, Today's Creative Blog, Somewhat Simple

Autumn Nut Brittle

I found this great Autumn Brittle recipe on line and could not wait to try it out.  Beings as my Mom is a big peanut brittle fan I thought she would enjoy trying a new recipe with me when we were up at her house.  With all of the nuts in this recipe it is not cheap to make, but, oh, is it worth it.  I learned a couple of things while making this that I thought I would pass on to you.  When cooking the sugar mixture, the temperature goes from soft crack to hard crack fast so you need to be on your toes or it will burn.  I burnt the first batch and was not about to mess up all of my precious nuts for something that tastes burnt.  So I started all over again.

I love the look of all these nuts together. I think that they look so autumny.  I spread them out in a 9 x 13 inch pan, but when I do it again I think I will use a jelly roll pan that is bigger.  That way the pieces don't end up as thick and would be easier to bite into without some kind of dental work later.  

Before the brittle was totally hard, I scored the entire thing with a sharp knife so that it would break easier once it was cool.

I will be making this again real soon.  Not only is it wonderfully good, but it is so pretty.

Bowl of Twine

This is my most current creation.  A bowl of twine.  I made this similar to how I made the globes of string for Ryan and Paula's rehearsal dinner decorations.  As I began to dream about a natural kind of Autumn decorating, I wanted to have some containers that looked natural and did not cost any money.  This limited my choices to making something with things that I already had on hand or were super cheap.  This led my mind to this idea of bowls of twine.  I already had the fabric stiffener from the rehearsal dinner globes, so the only thing I had to purchase was the twine.  I knew we had some somewhere but could not put my hands on it, so shopping in the good old Wal-mart one day, I purchased a couple of balls for $2.19 each.  Cheap right?

I chose a large mixing bowl from my cupboard and covered it with plastic wrap. For the globes, I used different sizes of balloons.

Using the twine, I cover the whole bowl with the stuff.  Making sure to not to leave any large spaces and changing directions often.

This is the messy part.  You will need to cover the surface that you are working on, and this opened up plastic grocery sack is not enough, believe me.  I covered the twine with the fabric stiffner that I had watered down a little bit.  This helped the stiffener soak into the twine.  I really think that you could use school glue for this and it would be cheaper, but I used what I had on hand.  This will need to dry completely which will take at least 24 hours.

Once the bowl is completely dry, I used some kitchen shears to cut the top off.  This is hard work as the twine is pretty tough.  You don't have to be that careful as you will trim it again once you get the mixing bowl out of the way.

This what it looked like once I trimed it nicely.  You could leave it just like this but I wanted my bowl of twine to have little more finished look.  So I glued several rows of twin around the top to give it a more finish look as well as a little for stability.

This is just how I had it pictured in my mind.  I love it when things turned out how I plan.  There are a couple more ideas cooking up in my head, so I am thinking I will make a several more "bowl of twine" designs.

I am participating in the followng link ups:  Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff, Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog, Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy