Fall Wreath DIY

Before today, I did not have a suitable fall wreath. I had an ugly little straw wreath with a dilapidated scarecrow on it. I can't even put a photo of it up. It's THAT embarrassing. But now, I have a FABULOUS fall wreath. Just take a look.....

I know, it's awesome! Here is what I did:

First, I got a wreath form and some yarn that I wanted to be my dominant color (green) from Hobby Lobby. They didn't have any styrofoam wreath forms that were big enough, so I got a straw one and just kept the plastic on it. 

Then, I started wrapping the yarn around the wreath. 

As you might have guessed, this took quite a while, but I was really hoping it would be worth it in the end. (It was!) After I wrapped all my yarn around, I ended up with this:

 

As you can see, I didn't really have enough yarn to make it as thick as I wanted around the wreath. And, since I'm always wanting a better deal, I had bought some clearance yarn and it was the last one like it, so there was no running back to the store for more yarn. Whoops! But, I worked with it and made it look pretty good. Next, I made some pom-poms. If you don't have a pom-pom maker, get one now. You  can get two on Ebay for about $7 or at Michael's for about the same price. Pom-poms are so simple to do and add some character to just about anything. Pom-pom makers look like this. Mine are Clover brand.

 

All you do is open those two arms up and wrap yarn around it. You close the arms, then cut the yarn and tie it in the middle with thread. After making the pom-poms, I hot glued leaves on my wreath and then placed the pom-poms on top of the leaves. If you do have some gaps in your thread around the wreath, you can cover it with the leaves, like I did! I had purchased the "L" at Hobby Lobby (only $1!!!!) and spray painted it a cream color. I hot-glued the base to the wreath and drilled a small hole at the top of the "L" to put twine through and tied it to the wreath to keep it standing up. I hid the twine under one of the leaves. I think it adds some great fall-ness to my door!

Yippeeee!!! It's Halloween Time!!!

Well, it's almost Halloween time! Halloween is the absolute, most terrific, couldn't live without it, wait anxiously for it every year, holiday! I guess I love it so much because I was am one of those weird kids  people who love ghosts and witches and mysteries and horror films. Oooooo, I'm wanting to sing the Tilly the Witch song just thinkin about. Remember from elementary school: 

I am a witch and my name is Tilly.

And I'm going to scare you silly.

Halloween night when the moon is bright.......

You get the picture. In full anticipation for Halloween and of course, Fall, I started my seasonal decorating this weekend. I thought I would share a few pictures with you to get your butt in gear and start decorating! 

 

I'm not really a fan of the spiderweb white stuff, it's just really messy and gets stuck on everything, so I usually opt for these old and creepy looking drapey things. I have no idea what there actual name is, but, I found them at the Dollar Tree. Bet ya can't guess how much I paid for them?! They stretch really nicely and since there are already holes in it, it doesn't really matter if you make new ones to wrap it over things. More creepy looking drapey things:

 

The spiders on them have a nice effect as well.

 

I love glittery things for Halloween. In fact, this week, I'm going to make some glitter pumpkins! Don't worry, I will post. They are so cool. Anyway, back to the skeletons above. The smaller ones were also finds at the Dollar Tree. The larger one, which I call "Disco Ball Skull" was on clearance at Big Lots after Halloween. I always check out the sales on seasonal decor after the holiday is over and stock up for next year!

 

A great trick to decorating is to stagger items at different heights. This is so easily done with candle holders. Its even better when the holders are a bit tarnished, adds more to the effect!

 

Don't forget to decorate outside! These witches feet are actually chair leg covers, but I wanted to stick them in the flowerpot, so I put them around two pressure treated balusters. I stuffed some newspaper around the inside because she needed some meat on her bones. 

 

Of course, my black cat and broom are always waiting just outside my door. Why ride, when I can fly?

Guest Blogger at Addicted to Decorating

Hello all! I am a guest blogger over at Addicted to Decorating! The post is all about my fabulous bathroom re-model. Go check it out! Now!

When you can't find the right paint color.....mix your own.

So, I was at The Insyde Outsyde Shop last Friday (imagine, that!) and stumbled upon this fantastic old chest. 

 

Fantastic, right!? My heart skipped a beat when I spyed the rusty hardware and weathered boards. The odd shape made it oh, so, intriguing.  

 

Amazingly enough, I bought this with the perfect place in mind for it. Usually, I just buy what I love if its the right price and think about where it will go later. This time, I loved it, it was a terrific price ($30!!!) and I knew it was exactly what needed to go behind my couch. I already have a sofa / console table in my entryway which is directly across from the back of the couch so I wanted something to contrast with the table and to contrast with the dark dreary brown of the sofa. I had found the perfect match. I knew I wanted to lighten it up a bit, but still keep all of those wonderful details in the wood. So first, I pulled out a light gray-blue color that my master bedroom is painted. Grey Mist. This swatch makes it look more grey, but it has a light blue tint.

 

Well, it was way too white on the chest. So, I pulled out a darker blue sample and added some of it to the grey mist and came up with this color. 

 

And it looked like this on the chest....

 

Still too light...I really wanted some darker hues of blue in there. So...I went back to the box of 500 50 samples in my garage and pulled out a Benjamin Moore Pottery Barn color called Chesapeake something. I'm pretty sure it's this color here....

 

I tried adding some of it to the paint, but it was still too light. So, because I didn't want layers and layers of paint on the chest covering up its character. I poured the paint lightly over the chest and blended it in. Wherever it was too light, I added dark and blended and vice versa. Genius! Why hadn't I thought of this before!!!! It turned out Aaaaaaamazing! And it was fun just throwing paint on the chest!

 

The details still show up so great...

 

Added a little bling.....

 

TA-DA! It fits perfectly behind my couch. Not only that, but it adds some amazing storage and extra seating (it's super sturdy). Did you notice that white blanket is really the shower curtain I picked up at Goodwill a few weekends ago? I haven't even cut off the fabric where the hook rings are yet! I'm going to, so that we have another functional blanket, but no time right now! And, who says you have to have candles in your candle holders?! I love the look of these without the candles. I'm not much of a taper candle kind of girl anyway! My husband calls it my shrine to Marie Laveau!! Haha! I guess because of the candle holders.... So....what project are you working on now?

How was I the last to know about this???!!!

Evidently, I was the last to know about the wonderful world of Pinterest. Luckily, Lindsay Grant told me about it and whoooo, am I pinning like crazy!! If you haven't signed up, go here and request an invite. Then you can search for Rainonatinroof and follow me. Basically, you create these virtual pin boards and "pin" photos of things you like to them! Go. Now. You will love it!

My LOVE of all things Galvanized......

I'm sure you remember me going on and on about how I LOVE all things made of galvanized metal. I am such a sucker for it! Every weekend, my husband's fear is that I will come home with more galvanized metal. I can't help it, I just love that rustic look of it. And there are SO MANY things you can use it for! One of my favorite things to do with my galvanized metal containers is make them planters. Like this:

 

This beauty sits on my front porch atop my yard sale table that was $0.50. I scrounged this out from under, yes, under my Pap's (my amazing Grandfather) barn. It is all banged and beat up, but that just gives it more character.

 

This one also sits on my porch but, between my adirondack chairs. It's another relic that I found in my Pap's tool shed. He used to keep nails and screws in it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the flowers now. 

Old washtubs make fabulous planters. This one is looking pitiful right now. Since we moved at the beginning of the summer and had the major renovation going on, our poor flowers got the short end of the stick and the water.....Next spring, it will return to its glorious state.

 More pitiful looking flowers. This was a bicycle basket that I scored at a yard sale for $1.00. I did have it bolted to the railing on my porch steps, but the painting took over and it hasn't been returned to its home yet.

This is one of my favorite planters / decor items yet. I took this old water trough and made it a planter! Well, it doesn't have plants in it yet, but it will. The others died out. These are great for putting in larger plants and bulbs! I don't put dirt in the whole thing because it would be WAY too heavy for when I change my mind and want to re-locate it. Instead, I fill it up plastic jugs and bottles about halfway and then add dirt. I have no clue why the spray can lid is in there. Perhaps the husband is trying to make it a garbage can?

Besides all of these wonderful treasures, there is still a pile of galvanized metal containers in my basement just waiting to become planters next spring! And, the wonderful older lady next door offered me her old metal garbage can that she doesn't use anymore. I may have to sneak that one in........

I figured it out!!!

For the past 2 days, I have been ready to throw this freakin computer out the window. I could not get my favicon (that cute little symbol beside my blog url, go look at it, see, cute, right?) and my button that links to my blog (to the right of the page, look at it, cute, too, huh?) to show up. Well, today, I whupped this blog's ass. Yes, I meant to say whupped. It has a much better effect. So, if you are a fellow blogger, please grab my button and add it to your blog! I will be happy to do the same for you! Just send me a message or comment below!

Electric Blue Porch Update! It's Electric!!! Boogie Woogie Woogie!!!

If you haven't read about my electric blue porch, go here first. Well, the balusters are still electric blue, but the other trim and floor are looking quite fabulous! I was hoping to get another coat on the balusters today, but decided if I could completely knock-out the other railings, trim and floor, it would be much more productive. So, I did. Here is the before:

 

Blah, blah, blah, right? Here is the semi-after:

D

Don't those two-toned steps look great?! I love it, minus the electric blue! It's getting there!

Here is a better shot of the porch itself:

Super excited to get the rest done! Hopefully, I can get it knocked out this week!

Why is that girl painting her porch electric blue???!!!!

There has been an insane amount of traffic on my street today due to an estate sale. Of course, I already hit it up yesterday and bought this great light fixture for my craft room. However, every car that passes slows down at the corner and cocks their head as far as possible to check out this electric blue color that the crazy girl in the overalls, who is jamming to a random selection of songs (Conway, Eric Church, Rolling Stones, Nelly) is painting her porch. It currently looks like this:

 

Electric Blue. I would give myself a neck ache too. Now, you are thinking. Has she gone mad?! Where did her awesome style go?! Well, I'm already crazy and my style just keeps getting better. Hahaha. No, the color for the balusters is called Galaxy Black.

 

This is the color, but it is actually more black than this. The problem is that before it gets black, its electric blue. Its going to take a few coats. Now this whole project would have went much faster and been much simpler if I would have just chosen one color to paint all of the railing and baulsters. But, as you know, I am design and style minded. So there are three colors: one for the floor, one for balusters and one for the other railings. I am also going to paint the shutters (hopefully, I will have new ones soon, Galaxy Black.

The floor color is called Spud. Yes, I like the name too.

 

Nice, huh? The rest of the railings will be Aged Parchment. The name just sounds like it fits perfectly with my style.

 

A nice, classic beige to tie it all together. Here is a before of the porch.

 

It desperately needs some love. Now, enough breaks, I have painting to do and football to watch. I've got to get busy.

And I really love these things too...

I am currently in the middle of re-painting my entire porch and finishing up some fab pillows (I never can start and finish one thing before moving on to another, I have to be a multi-tasker), so no new projects to post right now. But.....I thought I would share with you some more of my favorite things in my home!

 

This is my amazing chandelier in my bathroom. Yes, I said chandelier in my bathroom. My bathroom is all mine. The hubby has his own so he has no reign over the design of mine. Having separate bathrooms is the most brilliant idea. Ever. Unfortunatley, I was not the brilliant one to introduce the concept. It's from the bible of Aunt Patti. In her words: "It's the key to a happy marriage." Can I get an AMEN?! The chandelier, as my husband says, lends a very regal touch to the bathroom.

 

Those amazing apothecary jars were only $5 for a set of three at Ross! Where is the third one? Inevitably, something had to get broken in the move. At least it was a cheap apothecary jar and not Great Grandmother's china. And that silver tray that sits atop my marble vanity.....wait for it.....$0.50 at a yard sale!!!! Oh yea. It needs some polishing in this photo, but it cleans up very nicely.

 

I love old ladders. Only the wooden ones that have paint splattered all over them. I scored this beauty for a mere $20 at The Insyde Outsyde Shop. And, by the way, the last time I was there she had about three more with some great character!

 

These gorgeous little vases were a wedding gift from my husband's aunt. I love these soooo much! They are the perfect size for cut flowers from my garden. Even my husband looks forward to seeing flowers in these little babies.

 

This chair I got for $39 at an antique store. It has such great character. Its just right for putting in an empty corner. And doesn't the Domino pillow just make it 100 times better?

 

I've talked about my obsession love of galvanized metal before and even this basket, but it is one of my favorite things. It lends a great cottage feel in the living room. 

 

Enamelware is such a great decor piece. Not too "antiquey" or "new." Just right. I scored this at a Goodwill (Imagine that!) for $1.50! Holla!!! And aren't those tissue paper flowers just darling....

 

I am such a sucker for pitchers. Glass ones, stone ones, metal ones. I love them. All of them. These sit atop my open shelving in my kitchen. 

 

This bad boy used to sit atop my Hey Bud's (Great Grandfather, I have weird names for family members) barn. And, yes, those are bullet holes in it. Such awesome character and history. I smile every time I look at it. Its home is on my Hey Bud's and Great Grannie's china cabinet turned liquor cabinet (sorry, Grannie). 

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I'll be watching football, painting and painting. Anyone wanna join?!