Happy New Year!

January 1, 2018January 1, 2018Leave a comment

Happy 2018! Can you believe it! Are you excited for the new year? Do you have big plans? The new year always gets me in the organize and throw out mood. I have been going through my Christmas stuff and throwing lots away and donating the rest. Since this was the first year I got to decorate this house, I wasn’t sure what I was going to use or what would work. Well, now I have a better idea and I am really trying to purge.

Did you go after Christmas shopping? I picked up a few items, like wrapping paper, ribbon and tags. I have a tote like this one and keep all my Christmas wrapping supplies in one place. I even keep tape, scissors and a pen in there. Whenever I buy wrapping supplies this is where I store it. It’s so nice to be able to pull out the box and have everything in one place.

I have also been going through my closet. I pull out the pieces I am not sure about and then try them on or plan to wear them one day. If I just don’t like it or it doesn’t fit, away it goes! It sure feels good to have more room in my closet. The hardest part for me is the shoes. Oh, I love my shoes! I redid how I stored my scarves and gloves in my hall closet a few years ago and I still use this method. Here’s the post.

Do you love printables? Do you need a new calendar for 2018? The Cottage Market has so many cute ones! There are ones for Harry Potter, princesses, unicorns, floral and anything else in-between! I just printed off one for myself!

Did you party for New Years Eve? Better Homes and Gardens has all sorts of ideas for all kinds of parties! We just stayed home and had our traditional pizza dinner. 🙂

Do you make resolutions in the new year or set goals? Do you have ideas of projects you want to do around the house or the yard? My list is too long to post here, but I want to work on my laundry room and I would like my side yard to look like this. I can dream can’t I?

Thank you so much for following along with me each week! I really appreciate all my readers and love to read you comments! I hope you have a blessed 2018!

Festive Paper Christmas Tree Garland

December 11, 2017December 10, 20174 Comments

Good morning!

I have another craft for you today. I made this one a while back and I am just getting it posted. I see all kinds of garlands out there today, but this is definitely one of a kind!

Here’s what you need:

scrapbook paper
buttons
string, twine or ribbon

I started out by picking out some scrapbook paper that I liked and ones that coordinated together. I have quite a bit on hand, but there are so many pretty ones to choose from at the craft stores. You can make a garland in any color combination you like.

I drew some trees freehand, but didn’t really like how wonky they turned out, so I ended up tracing some others from a pattern I found online. I made 2 trees from 7 different papers, for a total of 14 trees.

These look a little more normal! 🙂

After cutting them all out, I used a hole punch near the top. Then I went through my buttons and picked the ones that I thought looked best with each color tree. The buttons with the shanks on the back worked best.

I placed the shank of the button through the hole and then threaded the gold wire through the button. I twisted the wire so the button wouldn’t slip out. I left a couple of inches between each tree until I had the garland as long as I wanted.

I did end up using the wonky trees too. I had enough star buttons to use one on each tree and hung it on the headboard in the guest room.

I used the other trees on the foot-board in the master bedroom. I like how it adds just a little touch of Christmas to the room.

I used it this year in my guest room too! Here’s the post if you want to take a look!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wooden Buoy Ornament

December 4, 2017December 3, 2017Leave a comment

Good morning! We are in December! Can you believe it? This time of year goes by so fast! Do you have parties to go to, or family get-togethers? Or maybe your hosting this year. There is so much to do! I love to create some new ornaments this time of year too. I came up with a simple beach/ocean ornament for my tree. I made bigger ones of these earlier this year, and I thought little ones would be so cute!

I had my husband cut out some little pieces from some scrap wood we had. The tallest one is 4 1/2 inches tall and the smallest is 1 3/4 inches tall. The tops were cut in on each side and then a small hole drilled in it. I used some Waverly chalk paint to paint 2 of them ‘Mineral’ and 2 of them ‘White.’

I taped off different areas of the buoy to add the colored stripes. I used orange, turquoise and black. After the paint was dry, I added a piece of twine through the top.

Here are the finished pieces! I hung them on a little faux tree I have on my front porch.

I found the wooden bobbers this past summer at an estate sale and freshened them up with some turquoise paint.

I love the mixture of the ornaments, the rope garland and the starfish on top.

I have been busy decorating the other room in my house and hope to have tours up real soon! Have a great week!

Here are some other posts you might enjoy:

Beachy Christmas in the Dining Room

November 29, 2017November 28, 20171 Comment

Good morning! I don’t usually show up on a Wednesday, but I wanted to finish the tour of my living room/dining room! You can see my entryway and living room here. I just love having these rooms to decorate! It was so much fun to put it all together.

*This post has affiliate links. To find more of Oriental Trading decor, click the link.* http://www.orientaltrading.com/holidays/christmas/christmas-decorations-a1-553184.fltr

I received several of my items from Oriental Trading. It felt like an early Christmas when I opened up the box! I knew everything would look great in my turquoise and white dining room!

I found these very cool ombre’ turquoise and white trees at Hobby Lobby and I knew they would be perfect for my table! I almost waited too long, but snagged the last two!

I used my white dishes and layered them on top of these silver placemats from Oriental Trading. They added the perfect touch! I just checked the website and I don’t see the silver ones, but they do have gold. I also added little silver and white candy boxes to each place-setting to give as little gifts to my guests.

I added dark goblets, white fabric napkins, and a silver bowl filled with tiny ornaments.

Down the middle of the table, I placed some silver faux leaves, candles, pointsettias, wooden beads and silver deer.

I almost forgot about the pretty feathers! I added these to each place-setting and also some to my tree. There are lots of different colors and they add the perfect touch.

I added a few Christmas touches to my white hutch too. I found the boxwood tree at a thrift store and added some tiny turquoise berries to the little pitcher. Here is one more of my cute little hedgehogs!

I have been collecting these Shiny Brite ornaments for a few years now. Anytime I see them at thrift store, I pick them up. I was able to fill this driftwood bowl with them.

My turquoise and gold bar cart holds a couple of lanterns and my last little hedgehog! I stored some of my extra candy boxes on the bottom shelf.

My shelves stayed pretty much the same, just added in some Christmas touches. By keeping the background neutral I can add any other colors and it still looks great! I also added some white Christmas lights to add a little more sparkle!

I found these turquoise glittery snowflakes at Oriental Trading too. They come apart so they are really easy to store.

I have a box of Shiny Brite ornaments that once belonged to my dad’s mom. I love having these little special heirlooms to add to my rooms. This Merry Christmas ball is just one of them, so I figured it needed a place of honor.

I really enjoyed giving you a little tour and so glad you came by! I will be back with more next week!

Beachy Christmas in the Living Room

November 27, 2017November 26, 20172 Comments

Good morning! Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We had a relaxing day with my parents and niece and her family. Haley was home from school too. We took time to decorate our family Christmas tree too. It was a great way to spend some time together!

We can really start Christmas now, even though I have had my tree up for a couple of weeks already! I really love how my entryway, living room and dining room turned out! I love having a room that I can decorate and it pretty much stays that way. Today I am going to show you the entryway and living room. If I showed you the dining room too, it would definitely be picture overload!

*This post has affiliate links. To find more of Oriental Trading decor, click the link.* http://www.orientaltrading.com/holidays/christmas/christmas-decorations-a1-553184.fltr

I decorated my entryway with mostly neutrals. I received the ‘Have Yourself a Merry Christmas’ from Oriental Trading and it’s the perfect touch for this space. It even has little gold sparkles on it! I hung a couple of my sweater stockings, that I made a couple of years ago, underneath to hold little special trinkets in.

I used lots of gold and silver with one little touch of turquoise. I picked up the my different decor pieces from various pieces. I love the gold on the arrow and feather garland, along with the golden deer and the gold and silver Christmas Tree. Lauren bought me the tree last year right after we moved because we weren’t sure we would have time to put up our own tree. It seems I have been collecting bottle-brush trees these past 2 years, so I added a few of those to the table too.

I have been picking up these cute little birds from Target the past couple of years and he is perfect under the little dome of glass.

I had to add in my one little bit of turquoise!

On to the living room! I am so excited to finally get to decorate a room in coastal style! I even bought a new flocked tree to hang my beach ornaments on!

My mom found this sled at a Salvation Army years ago. I gave it a white paint job. I’ts the perfect place to keep a few special presents in.

I finally get to use all the beach and coastal ornaments I have been collecting for years. I added some starfish ornaments I found at Hobby Lobby, a lot of Shiny Brite ornaments I have picked up at thrift stores, and a few special pieces I have made or received.

See the fur blanket in the corner? It originally came from Target for $34.99, but I snagged it up at Goodwill for $13.99! I definitely wasn’t passing that up! You can find it on sale here.

I added a few things to a tray on the coffee table too. A golden deer, a small tree and a present make a nice little arrangement.

On my mantle, I kept my chalkboard and added words from a Christmas hymn. I added a couple of burlap trees, a lantern filled with turquoise and silver balls, more bottle brush trees and a cute little hedgehog. Isn’t he adorable! He came in a pack of 3, so there are a few more scattered around.

I made the tassel garland with some really fat white yarn. It adds so much coziness to the room.

Here are a few of the special ornaments from the Ornament Exchange I take part in each year. You can see each one by clicking on them here; starfish, sea urchin, and friends..

This deer pillow cover is just the cutest thing! Look at that sweet little face!

My sisters and I each had a mirror ornament when we were kids. Each of them was a different shape. Mine is the diamond you see here at the top of the tree.