Couple's Shower

We used lanterns, Ball jars with hydrangeas, tree trunk "plates", and votive holders to decorate for this couple's shower.

Simple, but elegant.

Gourmet cupcakes for dessert.

In yummy flavors like Almond Joy and S'mores.

                        

                                      We displayed them in an antique armoire,

The bride's brother handcrafted the drinks bar.

I happen to love it.

Repurposed Organizer

 I was in a craft store awhile back and saw some organizer with feet thingys and thought they were super cute. And then I saw the price tag. 

Seventy-five dollars!!!

It didn't take long to figure out that it was basically a utensil organizer on steroids. For $75. Not gonna happen. 

So I kept my eyes open for one that I could repurpose myself. Because I need more DIY action around here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found one at my sister's garage sale. I painted it light Aqua with leftover paint and added knobs for feet that I already had from my daughter's old curtains and some dresser hardware I found in Canton. Total for this refinish? $1.25!!!!

Not including all of my Valentine's goodies, of course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linked up at www.mabeyshemadeit.com and www.carissamiss.com

 

Repurposed Hooks

I've had this kitchen utensil hanger for years. Like 14 years.

I've carried it from house to house every time I moved.

I use the spoons and fork. I've even used the whisk to make the expensive gluten free waffles that require whipped egg whites that my daughter wanted even though she can eat wheat because does not have celiac disease. I truly feel for people and the lengths they have to go to avoid gluten.

But, I have never used the hooks. I did not want to drill holes into any backsplash, so this never got hung. Until now. 

This is the mess we dealt with trying to find a belt. And in the morning rush, most of them got left on the floor.

I spray painted the hooks purple because I had purple paint. I know I could've dressed it up more with a cute plaque behind it or something, but it is in a smallish closet so I didn't want it to stick out too much from the wall.

 Now, with more hooks, it is much easier to find a belt in the morning. No more mess on the floor. Well, no more belts on the floor. We'll tackle shoes another day.

Headbands live on the flower hooks now. 

I knew I kept this hook thingy all these years for a reason!

Canton Loot

I recently went with friends to the flea market in Canton, TX and came back with some pretty good loot.

The best score? An old sled. Because if you are from Louisiana, you just don't find sleds. It doesn't snow much here. But a lady from Connecticut had these and I'm excited to use this for my front door Christmas decor. 

My friend found this candle sconce and asked the booth owner how much it was and I thought he said $110 so obviously I said no thanks. Turns out, it was ten dollars. It's going in my craft room.

Love this guy. It's a snowflake made from a tin ceiling tile. Paid way too much for this one, though. I know because at a different store it was $10 cheaper. Doh! That is not a mistake I make very often.

Actually, this frame came from Goodwill, but I snuck it in here. This recently received a makeover, so stay tuned for that. *You can see that here.

This little brassy shelf is bent and rusty, but it was only $3 and a girl can never have enough shelves. Am I right? You know I am. I will probably spray paint it. Not sure what color.

I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with these metal basket tray thingys, but it's going to be awesome.

Brass is all the rage right now, so I couldn't leave this basket in the booth. Click here to see what I did with it.

Alas, this one really didn't come home with me. Pooh. And it wasn't even at Canton. It's in a local antique shop. And to be honest, I'm not positive it is even old. I'm suspicious. It may just look old. BUT, I love it!!! I love all the cubbies. I love the numbers. I love the chippy paint. And I really want to take this piece of furniture home. But it is pretty yellowy which is not the right color for my other stuff. But I am willing to change everything else.

Annnd these are the friends I rode with. Annnd we ran out of gas on the way. Yes we did. Coasted downhill, then walked uphill to the gas station, bought a gas can and left it there so we didn't all get high from the gas smell.

Note to self: Don't listen to the girl in the back who wants to wait for the good gas station with the Sonic inside so she can get fruit water. Just stop when the Empty light comes on. Definitely when the alarm goes off. 

I can't wait to go back to Canton! With gas.

Halloween Home Tour

My ten year old daughter says yesterday, "It hurt so bad! It's like a ghost came up and tased me!" 

Hmmmm. I can totally relate. 

No, I can't. 

She was referring to...a paper cut.

Not even sure how she knows what a taser is. Probably listening in the car to the Walton and Johnson Taser Report with her Dad, which is probably not appropriate for kids.

But it is pretty funny.

Now on to the Home Tour. Where you won't find any ghosts. Or tasers. 

As much as I hate the TV above the fireplace, it just had to be placed there. I decided to opt for more seating, so the only blank wall has a chair and cobbler's bench. You can see the post for how to make the BOO banner here.

I got the old books from the FREE bins outside the new store in town called 2nd and Main and just tore off the covers. They are vampire books, which is cool for Halloween, but no one will ever notice. Mwah mwah. On the candlestick, I layered more copper scrubber from Dollar Tree over the black netting that was formerly packaging for mini skulls and added a silvery pumpkin on top.

                  

Here is a secret I learned from my days as a Display Designer for Stage Department Store. (Yea, I got to dress the mannequins, too. Pretty fun job. Except the part where you have to carry a REALLY tall ladder around the store without taking out any customers.) 

Your items should form a triangle. 

                                       

If your display seems a little blah, it may be that all of your objects are too similar in height and you can't place them in a triangle formation. It they are all tall, or all small, it just isn't as pleasing to the eye.

My daughter loves this witchy Halloween vignette on the cobbler's bench my husband's grandfather made. She read the potion book and added her own touches like the poison apple that she took a bite of , mummy dust in the vintage vials from my father-in-law's days as a Chemistry teacher, and old hag's cackle (aka red kool-aid.)  Of course, every good witch needs apothecary jars and drawers full of creepy things like skulls, scorpions, and centipedes (also from Dollar Tree). EEK!

I found an old book with an orange cover and black spine at Goodwill to make the witch's potion book. Tim Holtz distress ink was used to make it look old after spray gluing the printed spell pages over the book pages. This idea came from g*rated with a printable.

It's not Halloween without pumpkins and big ole spiders. Especially glittery and gold leaf pumpkins.

These metal spiders look like the ones in the Pottery Barn catalog, except I only had to pay $4 for these because I found them at Ross. Preeeetttty excited about that.

Here is where the chalkboard lives from an earlier post and even earlier post. And you can see the tutorial for the skull centerpiece here.

This display is a little bit of lagniappe (a little something extra.) I had a small brass tray that I found at Goodwill for $3, another pewter goblet from Goodwill stuffed with old dictionary crinkle paper topped with a Dollar Tree pumpkin, a raven also from Dollar Tree, and miniature flags that I made years ago.

Don't tase me, Bro!!

Linked up at snapcreativity.com and 3boysandadog.com and knickoftime.com and www.wecallitjunkin.com.

Halloween Chalkboard

You may remember the history behind this repurposed chalkboard from here and here . I am so glad I left the frame gold. I love it in my dining room. My walls are not khaki, btw. It's amazing how paint colors change in different light and on the computer screen.

I'm so so ready for Halloween! I cannot wait to trick-or-treat in my new neighborhood. And my daughter has the cutest costume this year. 

So I can't help but want to copy all of the cute chalkboard art that comes out at this time of year.  You can purchase the original on etsy.com. It is much, much smaller than this one, so it would be super cute on a fireplace mantel or wherever you have your Halloween vignette set up. A dining room buffet, maybe?

The flies came from Dollar Tree! I love them! They are so cute and glittery.

Now to finish my outdoor display and mantel...