Summer To Fall Back Porch

August 13, 2018August 12, 201816 Comments

Good morning! I posted this a couple of years ago, but we are at that time of year again! This was at our old house, but there are still some great ideas here. Enjoy!

Well, I guess it is time to face the fact that Fall is just around the corner :(. I really do love summer! But I like to decorate for Fall too! I decided to do a little decorating on my back porch, not too much fall, but just enough for a transition.

I used more yellows, golds, and oranges to go along with my turquoise and blues.

These chairs came from a friend of mine and I just spray painted them blue. I used a variety of pillows in the yellow and orange colors.

Over near the door I placed two tall windows and a piece of picket fence behind a basket with chrysanthemums and sunflowers.

I also pinned sunflowers onto a string of twine across the window frame that hangs behind the chairs.

We received this half-barrel from a friend a few years ago. I kept thinking i would plant something in it, but with the drought this year, I finally decided to do something different. I had the round piece of wood sitting out in our shop, so I painted it black. My husband added some little boards inside the barrel so the round piece would have something to sit on and would stay balanced if we placed stuff on top. I added a handle on each side. I found an old hula-hoop and cut it open and then cut it to fit around the circle. Then I added rope all the way around until it fit nice and snug inside the barrel rim. I love the rustic look of it!

I found the little succulents at the .99 Cent Store. Lauren thought her Starbucks cup added so much more to the ambiance! 🙂

I added just a few pumpkins to bring in a touch of fall.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour! I am slowly getting the rest of the house ready for Fall too. How about you? Are you ready for Fall?

A Special Space in My Backyard

May 28, 2018May 27, 2018Leave a comment

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day! Today is the official kick-off to summer! I still have 4 days of school left, but we are definitely all in summer mode. To get prepared for some wonderful summer memories, I fixed up a small backyard space perfect for relaxing and enjoying the nights. I am so excited to share it with you!

Side note: My pictures were also featured by Serena Appiah from Thrift Diving. Here is the link if you want to see some other great yard makeovers. https://www.facebook.com/ThriftDiving/videos/1562465847212403/UzpfSTQxODQyODM4MTYzMDE0MzoxMTQ3OTQ5MzY1MzQ0NzA0/

I have this area in my yard that isn’t really usable for entertaining. It’s around the corner from the patio and is pretty narrow. So this is the perfect fit! First of all I had my husband build me this small structure out of 1 x 2’s. Funny thing- we used the basic idea from the cat hutches he built for the animal shelter! Hey, if it works! We did add a pitched roof on this one though. Here are a few of the pieces I hoped to use inside.

We ‘rescued’ the chair from a backyard at an abandoned house, Steve picked up the small heater at a friends house, the large stump came from a neighbor and the other pieces I already had laying around.

The picket fence actually came from my grandma’s property many years ago. Obviously, it needs some fixing up and refreshing.

For the roof, I used a large curtain I had from a sale many year ago. I believe it was a hospital curtain. The eyelets were only on one side, so I cut another strip of eyelets from another curtain and sewed it to the other side. I used some pieces of rope to attach it to the frame.

Progress! Here is some of the pickets reattached. Now it just needs a fresh coat of paint. I also cleaned out some of the weeds and added the walkway. I would like to add some pretty plants in front of the fence.

I gathered up a bunch of stuff I already had and picked up a few more things at thrift stores. I was originally going for more of a boho look, with lots of colors, but I ended up with turquoise. Big surprise, right?

The vintage brown bike in the first photos got a fresh coat of paint. Doesn’t it look pretty! I love spray paint! I added a faux succulent wreath to the handlebars.

I love the lacy curtain and the green velvet pillow.

I had these solar mason jars at the old house and reused them here. I actually had kind of forgotten I had them. I was cleaning out some cupboards and rediscovered them. They work perfect on the metal planter as a chandelier.

I added the chippy window to the back of the gazebo with piece of fabric over the top.

Ezzy loves the soft pillows!

My neighbor had this stump sitting next to the house and I finally asked him if he wanted to get rid of it. Yep! Sometimes you just have to ask! I found this cool yellow lantern at a thrift store. I love how big it is!

I added a few more green and turquoise items to the small table.

I had to add a pink flamingo!

I would eventually like to add some gravel to the floor, but I had this small scrap of carpet and decided to use it for now.

At dusk, I turn on some of the lights and it looks so pretty.

I can’t wait to be able to enjoy this special space!

That was a lot of photos! Thank you if you made it through them all! Do you have any special spaces in your yard? I would love to hear about them. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Graduation Ideas

May 25, 2018May 24, 2018Leave a comment

Congratulations! Graduation season is upon us and many people are moving onto to bigger and better things. If that means going to high school, college, or your dream job, it’s a huge accomplishment to graduate. And if you need some last minute graduation party ideas, I am here to save the day!

Here are some awesome ideas for decorating for a graduation party. Enjoy!

Large Photo Numbers from Play Party Plan

DIY Graduation Wreath from DIY Beautify

Tissue Paper Numbers from Sugar Bee Crafts

Cute Letter Pressed Card from Eighteen 25

Graduation Cap Topppers by Lil Luna

Black White and Gold Party from Pizzazzerie

DIY Tassels from Style Inked

Memory Jenga from Must Have Mom

Peacock Themed Graduation Party from Home on the Corner

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!

October 20, 2017October 16, 20174 Comments

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful week and are starting to prep for all of the kids that will be coming to your door in 11 days. Are you ready, because I’m not…

Yeah…I happened to eat all of the candy I have purchased for Halloween. Not my proudest moment…

Either way, I wanted to show off some of my favorite pumpkins to decorate for Halloween. Now, if you are like me and absolutely hate gutting pumpkins (Terrible. Horrible. No Good. Very Bad.), sometimes it can be hard to find a good pumpkin decorating idea. So don’t worry, I have done the homework for you.

Here are 10 of my favorite decorated pumpkins for Halloween! I will post where you can find them. Enjoy!

Cinderella Inspired Pumpkin from A Pumpkin and a Princess

Studded Pumpkins from The Crafted Sparrow

Sequins Polka Dot Pumpkins from Sugar Cloth

Blue Porcelain Pumpkin from Craftberry Bush

Pumpkin Cage by Craft Passion Craft Passion

Gold Bling Pumpkin from The Swell Designer

Coastal Pumpkins from Crafty Morning

Unicorn Pumpkin from The Party Parade

Confetti Pumpkin from Madigan Made

Peacock Pumpkin from Home on the Corner

My Vintage Chair Makeover

June 23, 2017June 22, 201714 Comments

This is a re-post from last year. Hope you enjoy!

I’m back today with another makeover! I have so many projects and I am trying to get them done before summer will be over and I will be back in school!! It’s much harder during the school year.

This chair belonged to my Grandpa, my dad’s dad. He was born in 1898 . He sailed here from Holland and met his wife on the ship. They were married after they arrived in the United States. We have even found their names on the registry at Ellis Island. So much history! My dad received this chair after my grandpa passed away many years ago and it was in my parents room for a long time. My mom was ready for something different and asked if I wanted it. Of course! It has sat in Lauren’s room for a couple of years and I finally decided it was time to renew it.

First I had to take off all the old material and batting. Do you see all the little nailhead tacks? Yep, I had to remove all of those, plus staples.

I used a small screwdriver and pliers to help me pull them all out.

This isn’t very pretty :(. I will have to figure out something to cover it up.

Here is what was underneath everything. I pulled out all these nails too. The ‘stuffing’ is just a pillow inserted into the middle.

Here it is, all naked. I tightened up the straps with a few more staples underneath and gave the wood a good cleaning. Then I used some antiquing wax on the brown wood to freshen it up a bit.

I used the material from the old cover as a pattern to cut out a new one. I had some painters cloth and decided to use that for my cover. I laid the old one on top of the cloth and cut around it. I had to do some trimming afterwards.

It didn’t quite come out straight! After trimming, I sewed the two sides together, leaving the back open to insert new padding. Notice, I purposely left the hem on the back so I wouldn’t have to sew it! 🙂 #justLOVEsewing!! #NOT!

The padding that was in it was in pretty good shape, so I used it again.

I found this pretty twisted trim at Hobby Lobby and thought it would look relly good with the chair, plus it would cover up all the ugly holes. I used the tacks again, but no as many this time.

I did freshen up the paint a bit too, but just with the same color. It’s done and ready to live out more days in our home. It’s perfect with the beach theme right now!