Textured Wooden Pumpkin

October 27, 2015October 24, 2016 spcountrygal Craft, Decorating, DIY, Home Accessories, Super Saturday Accessories, Armchair Decorator, Autumn Decor, Craft, Decorating, DIY, Home Accessories, Painting, Super Saturday

Fall is in the air…isn’t that exciting? Around here, that means that we are no longer having triple digit temperatures. Woo hoo! With daytime highs of less than 85 degrees and night time lows in the 50’s, I’m in the mood for everything Autumn. The other day I got the hankering to just make something new to add to my Fall decorating. I gave myself a challenge. Do you ever do that? My challenge was that I would use materials that I already own and create something I’ve never seen before. Here is what I decided to work with:

Some stained old textured wallpaper and 3 scrap pieces of 2×4 left over from a garage shelving project. Are you inspired? I was. Wanna see what I made?

Turned out okay, don’t you think? I happen to love it! Would you like to see how I made it? Alright. Here we go:

First step, I cut out the textured wallpaper. I wanted a continuous pattern so I traced around the 2×4’s, stacked vertically, on the back side of the wallpaper. After cutting out the wallpaper, I glued a strip down on each of the 2×4’s using regular white glue. Easy. To make sure that it didn’t bubble, I stacked them up and weighed them down with books. As the glue dried I made up a pattern. Kind of. I’m not an artist so I went to the computer and found a basic pumpkin template. I printed it out then cut the image in 4 pieces so I could stretch it out to make a larger size. After taping it down to a large sheet of (pieced together) paper, I drew in my own lines. Next step, I cut out the paper template and then transferred the pumpkin shape to my textured wallpaper 2×4’s, again making sure that the pattern was continuous.

After cutting the individual pieces out, I sanded random dents in the edges to make them more rounded and textured. See?

I wanted the pumpkins to look nice and finished and not thrown together so I made sure to “caulk” the edges with spackling.

See how much better the spackled part looks?

I chose to paint my pumpkin a nice white, but orange, black, aqua or teal would be equally nice. I had originally painted mine black with the intention of sanding the edges to allow the black to show through, but ended up liking the white, un-distressed look.

My stalk is a cut piece of a branch from a tree in my yard. If wishes were fishes, I would have made it longer, but by the time that I decided that, the darn thing was too attached to remove.

Once the paint dried, I assembled the pieces:

Chopstick as spacers

Possible overkill with screws

A few twist of baling wire forms the tendrils. I also added some silk leaves and some natural raffia…

Baling wire twisted around a thin marker

Twisted wire

And, there you have it… a finished pumpkin.

I’m kind of liking my new pumpkin. What do you think?

********* Linking up to these awesome parties!*********

———This post was FEATURED!!!———–

Live Randomly Simple

http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/2015/11/tweak-it-tuesday-166.html

Funky Junk Interiors: DIY Salvage Junk Projects

Intelligent Domestications 101 + Pumpkin Decorating Ideas:

Easy DIY: Distressed Metal Art

July 9, 2015September 16, 2016 spcountrygal Accessories, Craft, Decorating, DIY, Gray and White, Home Accessories, Painting, Quick Project, Spray Paint Accessories, Armchair Decorator, Craft, Decorating, DIY, Gray and White, Home Accessories, Quick and Easy, Quick Project, Spray Paint

Check out this awesome piece of metal art that I bought 4 years ago at Ross.

I thought that the design was okay-ish and the size, awesome (3 feet by 3 feet), but above all, I loved the price:

7 bucks? That, I can do! I’m thinking that it was discounted because it was kind of scraped up in a few places…

…which is ok since I didn’t like the finish on it anyway. So after moving it from place to place in my garage for the past 4 years, it got some attention today, and I LOVE it!

Wanna see how I did this uber-easy project? Of course you do! First I grabbed a can of black spray paint and mainly focused on painting the edges and raised portions:

Sorry, the dappled sunlight makes it kind of hard to see, but if you look at the upper left corner of the above pic, you can kind of see the black edges which will be visible once the piece is distressed. Next, came two coats of a semi-gloss white paint:

Of course I could have called it “Done” at this point if I was going for a clean modern look, but I wanted to take it a step further and distress it up a little to highlight some of the details. Of course that is why I painted it black in the first place.

***Very Important*** If you plan to do a similar project, spray the top coats with only a short time between coats and distress while the paint is still a bit tacky. They make spray paint so well these days that it dries to form a really tough surface, which is really what we want, right? SO, if you are distressing spray paint, you have just a short window of time to accomplish that task. Even though the distressing process took me about 10 minutes, I could tell a big difference between how easy it was when I started, compared to when I was finished. Work fast, ok? If, heaven forbid, you miss that window of time, you can try using some fingernail polish remover and a Q-tip like I did with my metal star project. Just make sure that you change Q-tips often to avoid a smudgey look. Got it? Good!

Now, do you want to see my high-tech distressing tool? Of course you do:

Let me be honest: I started out by using my thumbnail and realized that I would likely wear it away to nothing so I figured that a plastic spoon would do the trick and it did. Sometimes I scraped away with the spoon part…

…and sometimes I used the handle to cover more area at a time…

Here is the finished project…

…which I LOVE!!! With the new finish, it is no longer “okay-ish”, it is fabulous. I thought that I knew exactly where I was going to place this baby, up high in my dining room, but now I want it more front and center. Hmmm. The easy part was re-creating this piece. The hard part is deciding where to put it:

Family Room: Computer Area

Dining Room: Up High

Dining Room: Above Buffet

Family Room: Above French Doors

What do you think? Where should it go?

Yep, I can honestly say that I love this piece. Love! So, do you have something hidden away in YOUR garage that could use a couple of coats of paint and a spoon?

********* Linking up to these awesome parties!*********

Orchids: Silk versus Real

May 4, 2015January 12, 2016 spcountrygal Accessories, Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories Accessories, Decorating, Flowers, Home Accessories

How do you feel about silk plants? Are you a purist who will only allow fresh flowers in your home? Do you frequent the silk flower section at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Dollar Tree? Or, are you perhaps somewhere in between? I place myself in the latter category and in just a minute, I will show you why. Before I do, I wanted to show you an article that I found from Architectural Magazine. Let me quote just a little,

“Mention fake plants to most people and the response will be outrage—artificial flora is a soulless simulacrum, they moan, a horticultural travesty, and just plain tacky. John Updike, the novelist, called them an “obscene mockery”. Yet no less a design authority than Mario Buatta swears by potted silk orchids, saying they look like the real thing and are godsend for clients who travel so frequently they can’t keep real ones alive.”

I couldn’t agree more. Case in point? This little natural beauty:

Stunning, isn’t it? Ahem. Actually it looked great for about 2 months I would say. I made sure that I didn’t water it too much. I made sure that no water ever touched the leaves. I made sure that it wasn’t in direct sunlight, yadda, yadda, yadda. I was quite proud of my little orchid and of my apparent green thumb. But, like all good things, the blooms came to an end. I was left with just that one little bloom. After some research I learned that if I continued to care for the “plant” with just the right amount of watering, right placement, etc. it could bloom again! In about a year. Hmmmph. The phrase, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” comes to mind. Into the trash it went.

And check out the orchid that I have had for almost 10 years:

It is still as beautiful as the day that I bought it. The only upkeep is a light leaf-dusting every couple of months. The only thing that I have changed is the pot color. Teal spray paint with a bit of Minwax Ebony stain to age it.

Here is my mom’s fake orchid:

It’s a beauty, isn’t it? It has been looking this fabulous for 3 or 4 years now. When my sister gave her the orchid, she started messing with the branches to reshape them, and Mom finally said, “I’m afraid that you are going to break it.” My sister then answered, “Mom, you do know that this is fake, right?” She didn’t.

Which makes my point perfectly. Is it really such a travesty to have fake plants, in this case orchids, if they can forever be in bloom, looking vivid and fabulous? My answer? An emphatic “No!” Of course I do still love real flowers, as well. I’m pretty well-rounded that way.

So, what do you think? Are silk plants/flowers allowed in YOUR home?

********* Linking up to these awesome parties!*********

2 Minute DIY: From Tank Top to Framed Art

April 6, 2015October 7, 2016 spcountrygal Craft, Decorating, DIY, Home Accessories, Quick Project, Recycling Craft, Home Accessories, Quick and Easy, Re-use, Recycling, Thrift Store

Got an extra 2 minutes? It’s time for some lightning speed DIY!

We have all heard it said that sometimes you’ve got to think outside the box. True in so many ways, including home décor. Case in point, this black tank top with a cool metallic gold American Flag detail:

I added the frame in this pic as a clue to my “out of the box” idea. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Of course you are, you smartie!

This tank was a child’s size that I got at my local thrift store in one of those “as much as you can shove in a bag for $5” sales. I love those. I can shove a LOT in a bag. I have seen similar tank tops in my days of perusing thrift stores and garage sales. My guess is that if you frequent these cheapo shopping venues, you are sure to run across frame-worthy art, as well.

You will notice that my frame in the above pic is black. I just applied a couple of coats of off-white paint and scraped off bits when it was still a bit damp to reveal the black beneath. FYI: I am not going to count that in my 2 minute (see my title) time frame. My blog, my rules! My thought is that you may already have a frame that you love that you don’t need to paint. 2 minutes: Ready? Begin!

Take apart the frame and use the glass (carefully) as your pattern to center your tshirt art. Trace around it with a pencil, pen, whatever (a white colored pencil works great on black), then cut it out. At this point you can just discard the glass, or keep it. Your choice. I tossed mine. Now, just adhere the fabric to the cardboard back of the frame, making sure that it looks centered in the frame. I used spray adhesive, but you can tape the edges down or in all honesty, you can just center it on the cardboard backing,

…then stick it in the frame. Voila!

Makes me feel patriotic, just looking at it! So, what are YOU going to frame as art?

**********Linking up to these awesome parties!**********

Tips&Tricks-LP-FEATURED

Thanks, to Brenna from Life After Laundry for picking this project as her favorite for Tips & Tricks week 10! Another big “Thanks!” goes to Nemcsok Farms and Witty Hoots for picking this project/post as a Frugal Family Linky favorite!

Dreams of White and Gray

March 23, 2015 spcountrygal Decorating, Gray and White, Painting, Pinterest Decorating, Gray and White, Painting, Pinterest

Do you love Pinterest as much as I do? It is mind-boggling how much incredible information there is out there. Like I said in my first blog post ever: “I used to love decorating magazines. I subscribed to them. My mother-in-law gave me hers after she finished reading them. I would look for them at thrift stores and garage sales. To be honest, I didn’t necessarily read those magazines. I would (very quickly) scan through them, tear out pages that I liked and then file them away in my very organized files. Come to think of it, it was kind of a precursor to my Pinterest addiction. Pinterest is so much easier. And less messy. And cheaper. And less time consuming. OK, maybe not less time consuming, but so much more fun.” Yep. I love Pinterest.

About a month or so before I found Pinterest, in the Spring of 2011, we purchased and moved into our current home. My husband loved this house because everything inside and out, landscaping, etc. was done. Translation for him, “Everything is just perfect. We don’t need to do anything except upkeep!”. Honestly, I was a tiny bit bummed because there really was nothing that needed to be fixed, updated, redone. Well, that was my thought UNTIL Pinterest. Once I started using Pinterest I realized something… I absolutely LOVE gray and white interiors. Love. Them.

Soon thereafter I created what has become my most popular board: Shades of White and Gray. As a side note; not long after I started this board I heard about the naughty book “Fifty Shades…” (which I would never read or promote) and was a little sickened that someone might think that I was trying to copy the naughty book title. That was not the case AT ALL. An-y-way, I really love everything white and gray. What about my house? I don’t have a single white or gray room. See?

The previous owners did a fantastic job of adding beautiful wood trim everywhere, but painted everything beige. Beigggge. I once read a decorator’s opinion on beige…basically you should never paint a room the color of bad foundation. Amen. I am at the point where I realize that there is much to be done to this house. I see a lot of gray and white in my crystal ball. Until then I will dream.

Modern White and Light Gray Master Bedroom modern-bedroom

Photo by Lume Photography. See more modern bedroom designs

Photo by Sheri Olson Architecture PLLC. See more traditional living room designs

Here are some homes that have made the beige to gray/white switcheroo:

http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/beige-to-greige-before-and-after/

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2013/04/room-evolution-from-beige-to-grey.html

http://thefrugalhomemaker.com/2014/07/29/entryway-before-and-after-beige-to-greige-with-behr-paint/

Seriously, take the time to check these out! Here is one more for you to click on. This blog article from “Our Small-Town Idaho Life” shows the amazing gray colors that this couple chose for their new home. I want to copy(!):

http://andrewrachelashmore.blogspot.com/2012/01/paint-color-decisions.html

Well, now that I have a whole house of rooms that need to be painted, I have much, much, much to do. Maybe not until summer, but I have plans. You can be sure that there will plenty of Before (beige) and After (gray/white) blog posts and photos to come! Thanks, Pinterest!