Pine Cones and Planning

Like my new header? I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet, but that's precisely why I have already changed my header. I will be extremely busy for the next week and I'll be celebrating with my family. I have a LONG list of things to do.

My big bag of pine cones is all painted and ready to find a home on a tree we havn't purchased yet ...

I have cleaning to do (who wants to come home to a dirty house?), bills to pay, clutter to organize, a ton of work to do, pies to bake and a million other little things before Thursday.

I'm just now getting ready to start decorating my sea-inspired tree and to search for my shell wreath. I put the wreath away thinking I wouldn't use it again until next summer and now I have no idea where I put it!

I also just listed a snowflake necklace in my shop to match my header! I'd love to make one for myself if I ever find the time.

Christmas Decorating

I came across this beautiful tree on the Wisteria website ...



I figured I'd try it on the little tree I posted yesterday since I already have the shell mirror and blue and green ornaments. Hopefully, I'll have the time over Thanksgiving to pick up more starfish in Delaware where there is a huge tourist-trap type store that sells all kinds of shells and ocean-inspired decor.

I'd really like to do a snowy woodland tree for the larger tree. The current issue of Country Living has one such tree on the cover. I came across another tree earlier in the week, but I can't remember where!




I love all the pincones. They're inexpensive ($2.50 for a bag, or free if you have the time to collect them) and I don't have to worry about them shattering so they're safe for my little ones. I have my pinecones ready to spray paint and I'll be doing silver leaves and white birds vs. the colored ones in the picture above.

More pretty pinecones ...

(All images above Country Living)

(Parents)

Have a fantastic weekend!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

My pumpkin display ...

... has given way to this ...

I bought this little tree for next to nothing after Christmas last year. I was fed up with my kids pulling ornaments and needles off of our large tree and vowed to have only this tree this year. I didn't put the base on and I put it in this pot that I was using outside for Halloween. We aren't celebrating Thanksgiving at home, so I have no problem getting an early start on Christmas since we will most definitely be awaiting Santa's arrival at home.

So, a year later, I still want the big tree. We will probably get one. And, after chasing down little people with ornaments in hand for a few weeks, I will probably regret it but I suppose these things are all a part of having kids ... and celebrating holidays and family.

Tassel Party

There's a tassel party happening at Its So Very Cheri!

I haven't made any in a while, but I love having tassels in my house. My favorite is probably this bird in my bedroom.


This little one spent spring in my living room ...


This cozy pair was on the front page of Etsy not long ago and while their larger mom flew the coop, these two are still available.


Clearly, I have a "thing" for birds. My mind is wandering to winter and now that I've come upon this party, I think a winter tassel might be in order.

Thank you for hosting Cheri!

Half-Bathroom Improvements!

Welcome to my new bathroom! Its so much brighter and more spacious than before.

Here's how it looked before ...

It wasn't horrible, but the counter took up so much space, we had no storage whatsoever and the ugly exposed pipes beneath the counter really bothered me.

The mirror was originally an old mirror that came with a dresser I bought at a garage sale years ago ($10 for both pieces!). Over the summer, I added all the shells to it. The mirror was my inspiration for this bathroom.

This sink was originally supposed to go in our main bath on the second floor. When we put it in, we realized it was WAY too big for that room. We realized that it would be perfect for this bathroom so we just stored it. I absolutely love it.

The little waste basket came from a thrift store and was a funky gold color. I painted it white, but didn't like it so I went with blue. I like the color, but there is a carved detail on it that is hard to see so I'm thinking of dry-brushing over it with white to pull out the detail and tone down the color a little.

My dad did a fantastic job painting that corner cabinet that I got for only $75. The glass knobs were flea market purchases. I'm so happy to have a place for extra toilet paper!

Oh, the frame above the toilet is probably going to go. I wanted to hang it vertically and put a sea fan in it, but it may not be possible to hang it vertically. I'm going to have to see if I can come up with something.

I'm planning to change the light fixture. I have a few vintage style fixtures in a chrome finish in mind.

Another room completed! The laundry room will be next. Oh, how I'm dreading that.

EDIT: The mirror was EASY to do! I did the entire mirror while my girls were napping one day so about 2 hours. I was working fast but it really isn't that hard if you do it over a few days. All the shells came from the $1 store. I used a hot glue gun starting with the larger shells. Once those were done, I filled in with the small shells. The starfish was the last thing I added.

I've linked this project to Metamorphosis Monday on Between Naps on the Porch and DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Mercury Glass Lamps

The other day, I was browsing at HomeGoods and I saw some mercury glass lamps. I found the one below online for 198 pounds. I'm not sure what that is in dollars, but its out of my budget nonetheless.

So, I thought of the lamps in my basement that I'd been intending to paint or replace. They were once brass and I painted them to this rusty finish and replaced the old shades.


So, I thought of the faux mercury glass pumkins from the DIY Showoff and got busy. Here is the result ...


I didn't get the shiny glass finish because the previous paint was textured, but they still turned out better than before. To be perfectly honest, this was a little tricky for me. Getting the mottled effect involved layering the paint, sometimes not shaking the can so that the paint wasn't mixed and it was splotchy. I loved the brown shade in the first picture, but since these are for our basement family room, I went with white instead.

My corner cabinet arrives tomorrow. Finished bathroom pictures will follow soon thereafter!

Something I Don't Need ...

On Friday, I took a trip to Michaels for a few things and while browsing the Christmas items, I came across this giant pinecone. Did I need it? No. I was fascinated by the size of it though and it was on sale so it came home with me. Mr. T found it pretty impressive as well. We're wondering if the pinecone looks like that, how big is the tree it came from?

The nice harcover book its sitting on was posted about over on Life in the Fun Lane. I paid a whopping $5 for it - less than some magazines cost. I love buying used (but practically new) books on Amazon.