Picturing A New Fall Wreath

After being inspired by different images on the internet I decided my front door would benefit from a new wreath on the front door. 

My goal was to do it as inexpensively as possible, using what I had and what I could find at the Dollar Tree Store. 

I have said this before but I will say it again in case you're new here... Shop Your Stuff. "What does that mean", you ask?  Look around your home. What are you not using? What can be refreshed or used in a different way? I do not throw stuff away often. I will cycle items in and out of use in my home. Sometimes things will sit in a closet or on a shelf for a couple years and then be used somewhere else in a different way. Sometimes, I get tired of looking at something but simply moving it to different room or into a different arrangement makes me love it all over again. 

So, I did look around and found an old picture frame. I had painted it with white chalk paint a few years ago for a gallery wall that has since been dismantled and it sat in my stash. 

It was a little too white for my liking now so I took some sandpaper to it and sanded back to the wood on the high points. 

I spent less than $10 at the dollar store for leaf sprigs, pumpkins, flowers and wire-edged ribbon. (I did not end up using the fall sign here.)

I layed out my leaves and flowers for an idea of where I was headed and then I just jumped in. I began by cutting the excess stem and hot-gluing the leaf sprigs in place. 

Using my wire cutters I clipped the flowers from their bunches.

I made a bow using Nick's method here. He does such a great job that I'll just leave it to him! 

I wired and glued the bow into place and then added the flowers and pumpkin picks around the bow. This really is where you need to just feel your way. I don't want to put too many of these in place before my bow because I don't want the bow to cover them all up. 

And here it is. 

My front porch is the first greeting my guests receive when they come to my home and now it is ready for Autumn! 

Linking Up To These Blogs

Katherine's Corner

Spring Basket

It's been a while since I have posted. For me, and maybe for you, the political and civil unrest in our country has just had my mind preoccupied. I have found that my peace is easily affected by what I allow to come in. More time in prayer and in the Word always serves me well. Too much time on social media or watching the television and I get discouraged. So the obvious answer is to spend more time with Jesus and less time with all the other stuff, right? A simple "I'll just check Fakebook" turns into a wasted hour and more stories and images and "I-can't-believe-that"s than I ever wanted in my day. I know I am not alone and just wanted to let you know that if that is how things have been for you, you are not alone.

I need to refocus! Spring is here and I decided I could use a change. For now I will concentrate on my arrangement for the front door. I thought I would show you what I had up the past two Spring seasons but apparently I only shared it on IG. 

Armed with a coupon and a small budget I went off to my local Michael's store. Their spring florals were 50% off. I found some ribbon in the discount section that went well with the sprays I picked out. Because everything was on sale I didn't even need to use the coupon and I spent about $20!           

I have a Longaberger basket that I have used for arrangements in years past and I always have some sort of floral foam hiding in my stash. Any basket would do. I just used what I have.

I put the floral foam into the basket. 

My basket is about 10" tall so I want my arrangement to extend about the 10" above the rim of the basket. (A good rule of thumb is to make your arrangements 1 1/2- 2 times the size of your container height.)

I left the main flowers, peonies, in the cluster they were purchased in and just moved the wired stems around. I shoved that whole stem right into the foam! The first time I inserted I realized my arrangement would be too tall so I moved them to the back side of the foam block and adjusted the blooms.

I used wire cutters to separate the cosmos and purple flowers from their bunches to allow for individual placement.

You can dip these in hot glue as you are placing them in. I tend to use and reuse and didn't want to make them so permanent so just stabbing them into the floral foam was enough for me. 

To keep the whole thing from blowing out of the basket on a windy day I crisscross floral wire through the flowers, securing the ends to the top of the basket rim. 

Lastly, I fashioned a bow. I started with one small center loop and two larger loops on either side, adding long tails. I tied the whole thing together with floral wire. For $3 worth of ribbon I am happy with the outcome. I attached it to the basket with the floral wire. 

For now it is hanging indoors but will be moved to the front door once St. Patrick's Day has passed and my wooden shamrock makes it's way back into storage for the year. 

Are you working on any springtime projects? I would love to see them. You can share them with me on either Instagram or Facebook.

Thanks for visiting! 

Linking up to these parties

Shabby Art Boutique, Blue Sky At Home, Our Hopeful Home, Grammy's Grid, Katherine's Corner, Common Ground

Scared of Water

If you've followed along on my social media accounts you may have noticed some artwork posted. I  have dabbled in art work my whole life. As a kid I loved to draw and color. At one point my mother checked into getting lessons for me but we were a military family of five and there was little money; nothing left over for such frivolities. My art teachers in public school supplied me with the only formal education I would receive. I was blessed to be exposed to a lot of different mediums and some I gravitated toward more than others.

I took home economics (do public schools still have that) in junior high school. That introduced me to the world of sewing. I learned the basics; how to thread a machine, how to follow a pattern, and how to hem and hand stitch. It has served me well over the years. I used to sew outfits for each of my girls. Later I made things for my home like pillows, table runners, and curtains. I've made tote bags, aprons, and gifts for family and friends.

I also took photography in junior high school which taught me how to develop my own film. Nobody does that anymore as the digital camera has revolutionized the industry. I also learned some things about composition and exposure. I have forgotten everything I learned about f-stops and and exposure but at one time I possessed the knowledge.

And that was where the formal education train ended other than one small stint with ceramics in my early twenties. Nothing survived from those days and I think I should probably be grateful! Anyway, all that to say that recently I took my first adult painting class! It is in a medium that has intimidated me for a long time, so much so that I just wouldn't even try it. I was afraid of water. I managed to do some things to show the kids when we were homeschooling but nothing that I would ever show to anyone. You can't control water; it goes where it wants to like an excited puppy! When painting with other mediums you can paint over a mistake but not so with water colors. You have to think backwards-highlights and breaks in surfaces.... Ugh! Also, colors get "muddy" quickly.

So yeah, this was not for me... at least I didn't think so.

Last autumn we found a church. You may have read about our experience with our church in a previous post. It has been a looooong (2+ year) search but I think we have found a place we can serve and rest. And, I have met a new friend...

                                                         that teaches art classes!!!

and she had just begun a class on watercolors. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give it a go. I am so glad I did!

This was my first attempt!

My second lesson.

The third lesson. Christmas tree ornaments made in class.

So this was after just four classes. No, not great or even good quality and I can definitely see my mistakes and areas I need to learn to do better at but my appetite has been whetted/wetted. (Ha!) I am hooked. Here are some more recent attempts:

1st attempt at a seahorse:

 A second attempt at the seahorse during Covid quarantine:

Because of the state of our world presently we are all finding ourselves spending much more time at home. I confess that I have a tendency to look at it like I'm stuck but am trying to shift my way of thinking to one of gratitude. I get to be home right now where I am warm, have food and comfort and so do many of you. Try something unfamiliar. Try something you've been intimidated by. You don't need to run to a craft store or order from Amazon. Look around your home. Write a poem. Grab your phone or camera and walk out to your yard. Document Spring in your area.

While my new teacher friend is not presently conducting classes I have found instructional videos on line and tutorials on Pinterest so I am going to continue with the watercolors and I am going to try a few other things, too. Turn off the television and find a way to use your creative mind to make something beautiful.

Who knows what is waiting out there (and inside here, too) that we didn't know we could do!

Blessings, 

Jolena  

Linking to these parties:

Grammy's Grid, Katherine's Corner, Shabby Art Boutique, The Pin Junkie, Finding Silver Pennies, Jenerally Informed, Pieced Pastimes, The Cottage Market, Our Home Away From Home, Bluesky At Home

*Because of a Blogspot problem I had to update this post with the photos again. Sorry if it is not exactly as the first post.

Wood Sign Tutorial

Sometimes updating your decor can be a simple as going your the scrap wood pile. I wanted a sign to hang over a collection of pumpkins. I scoured the internet and fellow bloggers to find something I could settle on then decided to see what I could do on my own for no money, or at least only a little money.

I found a piece of scrap pine from my faux fireplace in the garage.

** I didn't do this next step first! I realized it only toward the end of the project. Don't wait, do it first.  I had not made sure that my wood was squared to begin with. Often when you buy a length of wood from the store you need to fresh cut the end to be sure that it is square before measuring out your piece. Turns out all was good-whew- but do this first!!

Using a piece of chalk and a ruler I measured out equal distances from the edges and then hand traced a semi-circle because I wanted my letters to make that shape on the bottom of the words but straight on the top.

I want my sign to read PUMPKIN PATCH. Counting letters and spaces, divide by 2 and that will give you your letter that should be in the center of your sign. I my case it was the letter N. I start with writing that letter first, in a VERY light pencil. I use pencil because I want to do this with a marker and it won't trace well over the chalk.  Continue writing letters out from the center. (You could use a stencil if you don't feel confident free-handing this step.)

Once the letters were spaced I decided I wanted to paint the wood! Yes, this is going to cover up my letters... I compromised and mixed paint and water, 50/50 and brushed it onto the wood. I could still see my pencil markings. Allow to dry.

I took a Sharpie Fine Point marker and my ruler and traced my pencil markings making sure to keep everything straight, use the top of your ruler or a t-square to keep your letters perfectly perpendicular to the top and bottom.

Next I used the Sharpie King Size to emphasize the down strokes. Following some of my limited calligraphy knowledge, I kept the pen angled at about 45 degrees to give me a chiseled edge on the top and bottom.

I did draw an arrow on the bottom, making sure to measure first to insure a level and well spaced placement. At this point I decided I wanted to frame my piece.

As a note of encouragement (and full disclosure), I did not master this the first time through but learned from my mistake and turned the wood over and worked on the other side. Worse case scenario, sand down your mistake and start again.

I picked up some thin trim wood, pine stop molding, for about $1 per foot. I needed about 8 feet for my piece. I'm not going to try to miter this stuff so I will cut the side pieces the exact size of the sign and the top and bottom long enough to cover the sign with the side pieces attached.

                                                           
                                                              Source

I used some stain I had on hand from other projects. The color I used was a weathered gray.

Once the pieces were dry I drilled very small holes (big enough for finish nails) in all the trim pieces, 4 in the top and bottom and 2 on either side. Using wood glue and finish nails I attached the trim pieces. I attached a hanger in the back and placed it in my pumpkin display.

Because I had much of the materials on hand this project cost me about $8. Not bad!

Linking Up!
Ducks N'A Row, Our Home Away From Home, DIY By Design, A Stroll Thru Life, My Repurposed Life, April J Harris, The How To Home, Fluster Buster, My Wee Abode, Across The Blvd, Home Stories A To Z, Grace For A Gypsy Katherine's Corner, Create With Joy, Imparting Grace, Life Beyond The Kitchen, French Ethereal , Oakhill Homestead, Our Hopeful Home, My Girlish Whims, Zucchini Sisters, Knick Of Time, Raggedy Bits, Life With Lorelai, Shabby Art Boutique, The Pin Junkie, The Cottage Market, Pieced Pastimes, Love My Little Cottage, Create With Joy, Lou Lou Girls, The Answer Is Choco, A Glimpse Inside Blog, Mad In Crafts, Finding Silver Pennies, Blue Sky At Home, The Dedicated House, Grammy's Grid, Follow The Yellow Brick Home, 2 Dishing Divas

Faux Fireplace Tutorial

As Summer says goodbye and Autumn makes its appearance, my thoughts turn away from warm beach days to all things home. The weather has been instrumental in helping me with the hard-for-me transition. Summers are so very short in New England.

This year I have an added incentive to get ready for the fall... I have a fireplace! Well, sort of. Originally, when the house was built it had a fireplace in the middle of what is now our living room.

By the time we became owners of the 200-ish year old home the fireplace was gone and a chimney was built on the outside wall, to service the oil furnace. Old houses have smaller rooms so finding a place for a real fireplace without major reconstruction is near impossible and definitely out of the budget.

Meanwhile, my inbox seemingly was being inudated with posts from bloggers I follow showing off their mantels for each season; tutorials on how to style them, ways to change them up and add to them... on and on and on. Delete, delete, delete... it was very sad. Doesn't it always seem like the thing that you can't have is the very thing EVERYONE else has?  I know, I was coveting my neighbor's fireplace... I know! But the struggle was still real, after all where do I hang my Christmas stockings each year?  I always dread that dilemma. I know, first world problem, But I had a remedy.

So, I decided this summer that I was gonna get me a fireplace. I started squirreling aways ideas. Remember this from the Pro.found Vintage Market post?

I scoured the internet, pinned all the faux fireplaces and mantels I liked. With a yardstick and a piece of chalk in hand I drew on the wall a rudimentary version of my fireplace. Mister is a visual guy so he needs to really see it; he needs something tangible in order to get on board. That's just the way we work. Once I had him committed to the idea I grabbed my graphing paper and drew it up. I want to make as little cuts as possible so we are going to work with standard widths to minimize the work.

                                       (My preliminary supply list was tweaked a bit)

We found a set of corbels at a local antique store and I thought we would use them to support the mantel. When we tested it on the wall we realized that the whole thing would stick out too far on the wall, using up valuable space in our 10x11 foot dining room. The whole thing needs to be low profile. The corbels would have stuck out 8 into the room and then a mantel on top of that... too much.

So, a trip to our local home improvement store and the purchase of some lumber was the next step. I thought I was going to build this myself but Mister gets nervous when I try to use power tools. (He also has a hard time not being the one to use tools. Lucky me!) I want all the screws hidden. Even though everything was going to be painted white I still don't want to see or have to try to fill, sand and hide screws and nail heads. That meant we had to buy a Kreg pocket hole jig. We will use it for other projects but it did bump up the price of my project.

Materials:

2 6ft-1x8
1 4ft-1x10
2 6ft-1x6 (nicer, select wood-no knots)
2 6ft-1x3
7 6ft-1x2
1 6ft-1x6
Pocket screws
1 1/4" screws

pocket hole jig
fresh saw blade - these I did not include in the price of my project because they will be used elsewhere and you may already have them.


Step 1:
Fireplace surround base. Working from the backside of wood (that will sit against the wall-watch knots and imperfections on the face) we pocket screwed and glued the two 1x8x6 (cut to 52" in length) to either end of the 1x10x4 (cut down to 33" in length) forming a "U" shape. This will give our finished product a width of 48" on the wall. Remember wood widths are not true; 8" is really 7 1/2", 6" is really 5 1/2", etc.

Step 2:
Lay the 1x6x6 on top of the face of the 1x8s, down either side of the surround. Mark your length to exact of the 1x8's and cut, (approximately 52") We spaced these right in the middle, with even spacing on each edge.  Glue in place, screw to secure from the backside. **Make sure your screws are only long enough to grab both layers of wood but not pierce through the top layer. We pre-drilled and countersunk 1 1/2" screws.

Step 3:
Build out the profile. We want this to stand out a bit from the wall but not too much. We used 1x2s for this set on edge. We cut each one to length; the outside and inside and top and bottom of the top plate. Pre-drill your holes to prevent splintering or cracking these small pieces. Glue edges and screw into place.

Step 4:
The middle top plate will have a small inset so we framed that portion out using the 1x3. These had to be cut to fit perfectly between the 1x6's. And that is it to the "surround" portion of the fireplace.

Step 5:
The mantel. We went back and forth on this as we don't want it to stick out too much. We went with a 6" depth (smaller than the corbels we purchased). We cut it to overhang the base by about 3 inches on either side. We finished the edge with 1x2s, mitering the corners and securing with wood glue and pocket screws. This gives the mantle a thicker look. We attached it to the base with more pocket screws so no evidence from the top!

Step 6:
Corbels. I still want to use these but how? They are about 3 inches thick!  I wanted a curve-y something happening in the center to soften the very masculine table we purchased this year. Mister came up with the idea to use the corbels in the inset part. Perfect! He cut away some of the material so that the would set snuggly around the stepped in opening. They were glued and screwed in from the back side.

Step 7:
Sand, paint and install. There are a few ways you can install. We opted for a wall cleat.

My fireplace will "hang" on the wall with the aid of a wall cleat. For this we used a spare piece of 2x4 cut in 1/2 on the diagonal. One part was secured to the back of the fireplace surround and the other piece to the wall. We were able to determine where that should be when we dry-fitted the surround on the wall. We removed the baseboard for this. We will replace it on either side when installed.

Sorry in advance for this next picture. I painted the wall with chalkboard paint where the "fire box" will be. My fireplace will not have a back on it because I don't want to spend money on plywood. I always have chalkboard paint on hand! I saw this idea on a blog called Sophia's Decor.

While the chalkboard paint was drying the fireplace surround got a good sanding and 2 coats of paint to match the trim in my dining room. 

When everything was dry we hung it on the wall and Mister replaced the baseboard. 

Now it is ready for me to decorate for the Autumn season! I'm so excited and it is helping me to ease into the idea that Summer 2019 has come to a close. 

So, what do you think? This project took an afternoon to build, another day to sand and paint the piece, the wall and fix the baseboard. (I could have been done in one day but we quit when we got the construction part done.) 

                                                  The price for my new fireplace:$120

                                      Somewhere to hang Christmas stockings: Priceless

Time to decorate! 

Linking up to these parties!

Our Home Away From Home, DIY By Design, Ducks N A Row, A Stroll Thru Life, My Repurposed Life, April J Harris, Home Stories A to Z, The How To Home, Fluster Buster, My Wee Abode, Grace For A Gypsy, Across The Blvd, Life With Lorelai, Shabby Art Boutique, Common Ground, The Pin Junkie, A Delightsome Life, Chic On A Shoestring  The Cottage Market, Pieced Pastimes, Love  My Little Cottage, Finding Silver Pennies, Create With Joy Lou Lou Girls, The Dedicated House, Grammy Grid, Zucchini Sisters, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Marilyns Treats, Jenerally Informed, Angela Giles