SPRING DECOR 2015

Hi everyone!  It's great to back after a few months break away from blogging.  As I told you in a previous post, I started a new job and it has taken up quite a bit of my time.  Now that I'm finished with orientation, I'm hoping to have more time for posts.

I love spring and the Easter Holiday.  Today I thought I would show you how I decorated our dining room for spring.

I'll begin by showing you what I placed on the top of our Hoosier cabinet.  I used things that I've had in the house from the past few years.  By using these items over you save a lot of money, and arranging it different from year to year gives the items a new look.

DECORATING FOR THE 4TH OF JULY

 I enjoy doing a little decorating for the holidays.  Today I thought I'd show you a few things that I've put out for the 4th.

I did a few very simple things this year.  On the coffee table I placed a wire basket with a few decorative balls.  I had the decorative balls for Christmas, but they work great for holidays like Memorial Day and the 4th of July.  Adding the two small flags, add the patriotic theme to the arrangement.  These items were bought a few years ago at garage sales and a thrift store.

Here's what I placed on the self of the Hoosier cabinet in our dining room.

The bathroom shelf also got a few patriotic things added as well.

We'll be enjoying a picnic dinner today and I'll be using the picnic basket I put together a few years ago.  If you missed the post on how I created this basket, along with a  silverware holder. Just click on the tutorials, you'll find it listed under DIY Picnic Basket.

Happy 4th of July

BRIGHTEN UP YOUR HOME FOR SPRING

Everyone is anxious for spring this year, myself included.  We actually had a few wonderful warm days last week, but a cold front moved in on Sunday and now we are back down in the 20's and 30 degree temperatures ....burr!  Despite the cold weather I've decided to brighten up the house a bit for spring.

I've started in the living room by taking out the flannel, wool and fur items and brought in some spring accents.  A wonderful way to add a touch of spring and freshness to a room can be done by adding soft fabrics and lighter delicate colors.  All of this can be done without spending a lot of money.  You can even rearrange the furniture for a new fresh look.

The first thing I did in the living room was to replace the snowflake/winter pillows with cozy soft spring pillows.

The nest pillow I made a few years ago was placed in the basket of blankets.

FAUX FUR CHRISTMAS DECOR

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, since we have no place to go, let it snow, let it snow , let it snow!

(written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne 1945)

We woke up this morning to four degree temperature and a wind chill of - 27 degrees Fahrenheit.  Now that's cold !!!! for this girl having moved from the Pacific Northwest where temperatures are very mild in the winter.  With that being said, I find it very fitting to continue showing you my winter themed Christmas decorations.  In my last post, I showed you the Fur Tree Skirt I made.  The tree skirt was cut in a circle leaving quit a bit of fabric around the edges.  Faux Fur is perfect for holiday decor; and  I thought there is no since in wasting this lovely fabric.  It's warm and fuzzy resembling snow and adding a festive design perfect for the season.  I decided to make a few additional projects from the fabric.

Here's what I created:

A Faux Fur Pillow

and

FALL DECORATING FOR THE HOME

Even though the temperature out side does not show it (90 degrees), summer is quickly drawing to an end and fall is fast approaching.  We just returned from a two week trip to see our family and friends in Washington state. It's hard to believe we're almost to the middle of September already - seems like summer just flew by !

I love fall and all the vibrant colors that come with the change of season.  Autumn is a great time to bring the red, yellows, brown and orange colors into your home along with elements from nature like pumpkins, gourds, leaves, branches and pine cones.  I did just that yesterday.  Here is a little sneak peak of what I did.

Starting in the dining room.  

I used one of the burlap table runners I made for rehearsal dinner.  I then made a floral arrangement using flowers also left over from the rehearsal dinner.  To give it a touch of fall, I simply wrapped it with some orange fabric.

LOOKING BACK AT 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, it's a great time to reflect back on what's happened and been done at the Parsonage over the past year.

Here's a little peak at some of these projects.

A few rooms received a makeover.

My Office

CHRISTMAS DECOR IN THE LIVING ROOM

If you're like me, once December hits I love to start decorating for Christmas.  I've been adding decor to each of the rooms in our home.  I thought I'd start sharing room by room  ~ Christmas Home Tour.

Today I'll start in the living room since this is where you come into the Parsonage (Our Home).
As you come in the front door you look directly at the wall with the sofa and coffee table.

My decorating is always done on a limited budget so many of the items are from garage sales, thrift stores or hand made myself.  This year I found some sparkly candles and snowflake candle holders along with a snowflake box at the thrift store.  I placed the candles on the table runner I made last year.  On the top of the table runner I added  ribbon and jingle bells.

The only things that aren't second hand items on the table, are the wreath that I bought new last year and the ribbon bought after Christmas last year ~ 75% off.

On the sofa I placed a piece of  faux fur and a pillow.

 

On the top of the corner cabinet I placed various metallic pieces, along with a few items that add texture and a bit of nature.

  The coat shelf also had a few items added.

I've already showed you my tree vignette that sits on top of my grandmothers cedar chest.

and my candle sticks that I made over sit on a side cabinet.

 Last but not least, the top of the cedar cabinet.

Come back and I'll show you more of my home.

Linking this post ~
Southern Hospitality Holiday Home Linky Party

CHRISTMAS TREE VIGNETTE

Hello everyone!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I sure did.  Over the weekend, I was able to add a few  more Christmas decorations, and our home is starting to look pretty.

I've chosen a winter wonder land theme for decorating this year.  Over the past two years, I've been collecting little Christmas trees.  This year I've added a few more home-made trees to my collection.  I thought clustering the trees together in a vignette would be a great way to display the trees.  If we had a fireplace mantle, I would place them on top of the mantle, but since we don't so placing them on top of the cedar chest was the best alternative.

I've been waiting for a sunny day to take photos but I've given up, so please forgive the dark photos.

FALL DECOR

This past weekend I finally got to do some fall decorating around the house.  I've been wanting to put out my fall decorations, but with all the office stuff sitting in the living room it was delayed.

I love using my mercury glass pieces.  I purchased a few new thing to add to my collection including this mercury glass pumpkin from Tj Maxx ($5.99)   In this vignette, I brought together silver and gold to accentuate the fall colors in the candles and leaves.

The fabric and silver pine cone candle holder were recent thrift store finds.

( candle holder - .49 cents)

(fabric $1.49 for 5 yards)

In the photo below, you can see this vignette placed on the top of my cedar chest.

FALL DECORATING - ROOM BY ROOM

It's hard to believe that we're seeing the end of summer and fall fast approaching.   We didn't feel official summer until after the 4th of July.  The joke around here was that we had June-uary, because of all the cold wet weather.  We are now enjoying beautiful weather, but fall is definitely in the air with the crisp cool nights and a nip in the air most mornings.

That being said, I think it's time to start some fall house cleaning and bringing out my fall decorations.  I'm planning on doing this room by room; and while doing this I'll share the fall decor I've added to each room.

Today I'll begin with the dinning room.  Of course, the decorating is done on a limited budget, but that doesn't mean you can't add a few new things.   For the table decor, I began by placing a garage sale table runner down that I've had for a few years already. I then added a candle stick that my husband made years ago.  I then placed a 49 cent thrift store candle on it and flanked it with two vertical wheat bundles.  The wheat bundles were found at my local thrift store last week for 99 cents each.  I love to know how much I've saved by purchasing second hand items, so I did an on line search for these and I found some similar ones for $ 59.98 each.  That makes for a $119.96 savings and one thrifty find!

View of the dinning area taken from the kitchen.

You may also enjoy seeing my fall decor from previous years.

You'll want to come back and read my next post as I'll be sharing a tutorial -

DIY budget friendly wall art.

Have a great day!

SUMMER TRENDS

Hi everyone, I'm happy to be back after a very restful week of vacation.   Vacation and summer go together like hand and glove.  I recently read that a few of the trends for 2012 summer are - bright colors and beachcomber decor.  Today I thought I'd share a few of these trends that I observed while on vacation last week.

Brightly colored adirondack chairs.

Along with brightly colored umbrellas,

and boards.

The beach decor has been described as 

elegant, coastal, vintage, vibrant, and nautical.

Here's a window display that would be described as nautical/coastal.

You can purchase coastal themed items like this apron or even lighting,

or a beach sign.

Even this wedding cake that we saw in the bakery had the nautical / beach theme.

Have you seen any of these trends this summer?

VINTAGE LADDER USED FOR HOME DECOR

Hi everyone!  Wow what a busy summer it's been at the Parsonage.   It may not slow down for a few more weeks.   We returned recently from a vacation to Iowa and Minnesota.  We had such a great time visiting family and friends.  It was while visiting my sister in Iowa I saw another great use for a vintage ladder.  I love using interesting and vintage items to decorate my own home.  I thought it would be fun to share a few unique ways to use ladders while decorating your home. 

A night stand in our master bedroom.

Used as decor over a kitchen island in my sisters kitchen.

Here are a few I found while on Pinterest.

A pot wrack (A Beach Cottage)

Source: abeachcottage.com via Joy on Pinterest

A display area in the living room.
(Crafts by Amanda)

Source: craftsbyamanda.com via Joy on Pinterest

Spring flower display on the porch.
(Spruce Your Nest)

Source: spruceyournest.blogspot.com via Joy on Pinterest

A Bookshelf
(The Old Painted Cottage)

Source: theoldpaintedcottage.blogspot.com via Joy on Pinterest

A Ladder Christmas Tree
(Eclectically Vintage)

Source: eclecticallyvintage.com via Joy on Pinterest

Check out my Pinterest page for more creative decorating ideas.