When I saw this wreath I knew I had to use it in my dining room Halloween decor this year! It was pretty simple to make and looks awesome. I used hot glue and burned pretty much every finger and had glue strings all over the kitchen but it was worth it. If I were to do this again I would use glue dots though. You can find the tutorial for this at Katydid and Kid.
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.This is another awesome idea from Sandra @ Sawdust and Paperscraps. She is just so creative!
Ed and I picked up 4 lamps at Goodwill and used parts of 2 of them for the candelabra we made and the rest we used to make these 3 skull candlesticks. I have to say that I am so glad I started blogging and discovered all the talented, awesome people I have found over the last 9 months! I am really enjoying making my own home decor and knock offs and there are even projects that Ed and I can do together which is bonus!!!
Here are our candlesticks.
I know I keep showing pics of things we have made for Halloween sitting on the floor but I have no started to decorate for Halloween yet. I will do that next weekend but first I have to put away most of the Fall decor and do some cleaning where it has been. I will post pics of the decor once I am done. :)
If you have not been to visit Sawdust and Paperscraps it’s something you really should do. She has the most awesome projects and is so VERY talented!
Happy Hump Day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.
This is the cutest cookie/cake stand I have seen! I found the idea at She Wears Flowers via Be Different Act Normal. It was simple and looks so cute sitting on my counter! I found my plate and bowl at Target. I looked at Dollar Tree and it wasn’t what I wanted plus they were not plastic. I love that this is plastic and if one of my kids knocks it off the counter it won’t shatter into a million pieces on my tile floor (maybe just a few pieces-I can’t stand tile).
Here it is holding my husbands favorite pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Here’s the recipe I use. I found it last year but can’t remember where.
These hearty moist cookies are chewy in texture and golden in color. They are easily made with a convenience cookie mix, substituting the butter with pumpkin and a touch of oil. The pumpkin helps to reduce the fat and cholesterol in this recipe. It also works to maintain the moistness, while creating an attractive and deliciously sweet treat.
Ingredients
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375ยบ F.
COMBINE cookie mix, pumpkin, oil and egg in large bowl. Stir in dried cranberries, if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in covered container.
Makes 3 dozen cookies
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.I have lots of places I like to put wreaths (doors, mirrors, mantle, etc.) so I constantly keep an eye out for wreaths I like and I can make myself. This one I found at Crafts & Sutch. I have yet to find a piece of wood for the center and I may just keep it this way anyway. And instead of black glitter I used red on the spiders because that is what I had. :) I love it and it will go well with the decor I am planning for Halloween. Warning: if you plan to make this wreath and you are not very familiar with spanish moss it is very MESSY!!! LOL I made a HUGE mess making this wreath but it was well worth it. :)
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.Today we went to the company picnic for Edward’s work at Paige’s Crossing. It’s one of those fun and games parks if you don’t know. The weather was nice but a little windy. We had a great time. Jessica had a competition today so she wasn’t able to come with us. Here are some pics from our day.
Ed and I decided to go ahead and go to Sherwin Williams and pick up paint and primer today because we heard about the 40% off sale. I am excited to say that this week I will be priming and painting the powder room cabinets, trim and door. :) I am a bit nervous about this but I am following the tutorial from Sandra at Sawdust and Paperscraps so I am confident it will work out just fine. I have read her tutorial a couple of times now and I will have it handy if I need to check something. Wish me luck and patience (we all know that I am just not patient which is exactly why I am doing the powder room now!). I am hoping to remember to take pics along the way but I usually don’t think about it until after the fact. My goal is to have it done, even the distressing, in a week. Poor boys will have to walk all the way upstairs to use the potty for a whole week! I am going to hear a lot of complaining about THAT! :) Oh and we also looked at vanity tops. Of course we have to special order it (what do we NOT have to special order for this house???) and it is going to cost a bit more than I wanted to pay but it will be worth it. We chose a nice granite. Not sure when we will order yet cause we are in the process of buying a new vehicle but I am not in a big hurry anyway. :)
I do have some Halloween projects to share with you this week so check back soon!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!
Chris
Good morning y’all! This Halloween wreath was found at to Bea and is REALLY cute. All I needed was:
I am really into crows this year and I am loving this!
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.
Happy first day of Fall! Yes, Fall is finally here and I am already working on Halloween Decor! :)
I saw a wreath similar to this on a blog not too long ago but I can’t remember where. If you know please pass on the info so I can give credit! Thanks!!!
For this wreath I used a grapevine wreath and spider web, skulls, a bird plus part of a skeleton garland from Dollar Tree. It’s pretty basic but I love it. This one I will put on the front door.
More wreaths to come!
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.
This was a fun project! I found the tutorial at Sew Woodsy. It’s funny cause the day I found this tutorial I had actually been to Dollar Tree and picked up the exact platter but couldn’t think of anything to use it for so I put it back. Of course once I saw this tutorial I went back and got one!
I followed the instructions from the tutorial but I also used my hot glue gun to glue the head to the platter because you KNOW my 4 year old twins are going to mess with this one!
I think it looks awesome!!!
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.
I saw this idea at Blue Cricket Design, it’s a post from last September so many of you have probably seen it or something similar. It was super easy and the effect is pretty cool!
I used 2 candle sticks I had bought at Goodwill a while back and 2 red candles from Dollar Tree plus black paint we had on hand.
I painted everything black, let it dry over night then lit the candles and let them “bleed” for a bit then blew them out. Easy and fast (except drying time).
Have a great day!
Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.While I was painting Sunday I also painted the light fixture for our powder room. The fixture itself isn’t all that bad but it was silver and gold and just not my thing. I hit it with a coat of ORB and it is transformed!!!!
Before: 
After:
Ah. Much better.
One more thing we got done over the weekend was getting that ugly chandelier down from the breakfast area. It was just gawdy and ugly. We (Ed) replaced it with a really nice fan. I know not everyone likes ceiling fans but I consider them a must. I can’t tolerate stagnate air having the fan on keeps the air moving. Just me.
Before:
(Ick)
After:
(Better)
I hope everyone is having a great Monday!
P.S. Our candelabra was featured by Sandra at Sawdust and Paperscraps!!! How awesome is that??? Check it out here!
Ed and I finally got the garage cleaned up this weekend (mostly Ed) but we also worked on a couple of projects for Halloween! This is the candelabra project from Sandra at sawdustandpaperscraps. She has an excellent tutorial on how to do this. Here are some pics of our project along the way. I didn’t get pics of the lamps before Ed took them apart. We walked in the door from Goodwill and he was taking them apart within 3 minutes. I didn’t even think about pics until he had them in pieces. lol For this candelabra we used the chandelier from the breakfast area that we took down, 2 lamps from Goodwill, some chain we picked up at Lowe’s because I couldn’t find beads that were cost effective, PVC pipe, a threaded rod, nuts, primer and paint.
Ed and I both had a lot of fun doing this project and we are thrilled with the results. :)
I am sure you could see the other things I was painting in the garage. Yes, I do more than 1 project at a time. I will post more projects as I get them finished.
I know the first day of Fall isn’t officially for another 4 days but I am already ready to start putting up our Halloween decor! I put that out on October 1 and I can’t wait!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Chris
Check out this and other holiday projects here.Linking to:
It’s so much easier to be productive when you are home and not running around town like a mad person! Today I was so productive! I got the bathroom wall painted where the old mirror was and even got the new one hung up!
before
after
Eventually I would like to get a nice granite countertop with integrated sink and to paint the cabinet (which you can’t see) and the light fixture plus replace the towel holder. This powder room is going to be a work in progress for a while.
I also decided to save the loveseat in the basement that I really like. I bought the sofa sleeper and the loveseat from Rooms to Go when we lived in Texas and really liked them. The boys have just about destroyed the sofa but have done little damage to the loveseat. I thought the loveseat would look so much better in the front living room/my office than the 2 wing back chairs I had sitting there. The kids constantly moved the chairs to recline them and never put them back which drove me nuts. I put those in the basement, the boys have jumped in them so much the springs poke ya so I am not worried about what else they will do to them. I think this 
looks much better than this 
when you walk in the front door. I am going to have Ed build me a smaller desk so I can rid of the computer armoire I currently use and it will open up the room a lot. It’s not a real big room so large furniture like that doesn’t work too well. My entire house will probably be a constant work in progress. :)
Hopefully I can continue to be this productive over the next 4 days!
Right now I am taking a much needed break from cleaning and rearranging my house. I have decided to move the loveseat from the basement to the front living room (my office) and put the chairs that are in here in the basement. The boys have already pretty much destroyed the sofa down there and the chairs that are up here but the loveseat is still in good condition although in need of some cleaning. I like the loveseat better than the chairs anyway. :) I think it will be a huge improvement in here and much more comfortable. I was trying to keep the sofa/loveseat set together but now I just want to save it!
I have found that this week I have been very busy with cleaning, laundry and the boys. Monday, Wednesday and Friday Edward goes to school in the morning and Tuesday and Thursday Ethan goes in the afternoon. They are now taking a tumbling class on Tuesday morning and Edward still has swim lessons on Saturday morning. They took a tumbling class last Fall but only made it 3 times then we decided to enroll them in preschool and the time conflicted. They really enjoy the class though so I thought it would be good to try again. Here are some pics, although blurry, I had to take them through a window while they were moving. :) 
This morning I found another awesome project I want to attempt. This one is skull candlesticks from Sandra at sawdustandpaperscraps. She is so VERY creative! I mean how cute are these???
Those are made from lamps! She is so awesome! Unfortunately I have no spare lamps but I am heading to Goodwill this weekend to find some! That’s 2 projects I need lamps for now! Ed and I have been so busy that we have not even had time to get the garage cleaned up but once we do we will be able to work on the last couple of projects we have planned before winter. The plan is to clean the garage this weekend so maybe we will have something next week!
I did finally get the powder room painted today. I am hoping to get the mirror hung tomorrow. I still have to find a round towel holder because I got rid of the one that was in there but I am not really in a hurry right now. I also plan to paint the cabinet in there but I don’t have the color paint I want. I warned Ed that as soon as I pick it up to be prepared cause I am gonna tackle that thing. Too bad a new countertop with sink is not in the budget right now. Oh well, good things come to those who wait! :)
I hope everyone is having a great week so far! Happy Hump Day!
