decorating
Using Contact Paper to Make a Deer Silhouette
I’ve fallen for the animal silhouette fad – especially around the holidays. I can’t help it! I have not fallen for the vinyl cutting machines, like the Cricut, which would make creating a silhouette so much easier. I just haven’t been able to stomach the price tag on those puppies. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one, but then I’d be afraid to waste the vinyl, so then it wouldn’t get used like it should. It’s a vicious cycle, people! It’s often these moments of cheapness frugality that lead me to get a little desperate creative. So, I came home from preschool drop-off last week, did my happy dance…
Storing Logs in an Old Boiler
My dad’s house still has a wood stove. Not a fireplace, a wood stove. Anybody else? They also have a secondary heat source, so the fire doesn’t get lit as much as it did when I was growing up. The other day, my stepmom showed me her super cool new – not new – firewood holder. I’ll freely admit I immediately felt a pang of jealousy. How cool is this old container? My dad says it is a boiler. I need to do a little research to see what its actual, intended purpose was for. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t to hold firewood. My dad said you would heat or…
Way Back Wednesday – Oregon House
Since we will be traveling to Oregon soon for a visit – our first since moving to Georgia – I thought I’d show you some more photos of our last home in Oregon. We will be visiting friends who live on the same road we used to, so we will definitely be driving by the old homestead. I’m wondering if the kids will “get it” that the house isn’t ours anymore. I know my daughter will, but my 4-year old, who knows. He’s already decided we’ve been in our Georgia house for too long and it’s time to move! (These photos are courtesy of Charles Price Photography, our realtor’s photographer.) Moving…
Distressed Scrap Wood Arrow: ScrapMaster Project #3
Many months ago after we finished building the guest bed and my daughter’s bed, my husband cut up all of the leftover wood scraps into 1 inch x 1 inch x random length segments. I’m not sure what possessed him to dot hat, but it’s been fun to dream up uses for all of that wood. Now, if only I had the time to execute on those ideas. Right? One of the things we made was a wood crate to dress up my plastic milk crates. The other item we made was an arrow-shaped growth chart. The third item is kind of a twofer. I actually started it before the…
Easter Egg Acorns
I so wish I was the original one to come up with a way to repurpose plastic Easter eggs into acorns. Alas, I am but one of the many, many imitators. I made these last year and I still love them this year. I’m predictable that way. Do you remember when nylons came in large plastic eggs? You kids out there remember what nylons are, right? I hear Princess Kate is bringing them back in style. Anyway, when I was little I would put those in my shirt and then laugh hilariously at the lop-sided boobs. Clearly, I was not proper princess material. Moving on… All you have to do…
Fall Vignette
Do you go crazy with holiday or seasonal decorations? Me? Not so much. I love looking at everyone else’s decorations though and I admire the beautiful spaces they create. Let’s face it…my kitchen table most often resembles a lego factory. Or a toy construction site. Or a Littlest Pet Shop playground. Or a Rescue Bot battleground. You get the point. It requires actual effort to use the table for something crazy like eating. I decided to take a moment the other day to take a couple of quick snaps of our kitchen eating area while the kids were at school. You’ll see the paper pumpkins that I talked about last…
Lettered Wall – Work in Progress
Do you collect things? The only thing I “collect” are playing cards from places we’ve traveled. I throw them in a big basket in our living room and they are a great conversation starter. They are also a practical reminder of places we’ve been and experienced. The irony is that I really don’t care to play cards…I just like to collect them. But let’s not delve into my issues! Lately, I realized that I have the beginnings of a collection of the letters “A” and “J” for the first initial of my name and my husband’s name. Here’s how I grouped them in our last home. I kind of miss…
Going Green-ery
I have a small confession to make. At present, I have ZERO live plants in my house. I have planted many plants outside in pots on our deck and front porch, but nothing inside. Not even a succulent garden. I’m sure I’ll jump on that trend way after it has passed. I know how much “life” plants add to a space. Case in point – the deck. I just haven’t felt compelled to grow anything inside for awhile. *cough* Uh, I mean, ever. I don’t need the guilt that comes when I forget to water it. 🙂 Another confession. Living in a rental is a good way of challenging me…
A Crate For My Crate – Because Why Not? ScrapMaster Project #2
I hate to burst your bubble, but the “pretty” part of A Pretty Happy Home always has room for improvement. Scandalous, I know! Case in point. Please get your Pinterest pinning fingers ready. This oh so lovely baby wipes box has been doing a stand-up job of corralling my paper plates and plastic serving ware (doesn’t that make my sporks sound so sophisticated?) since 2010. It replaced a box I’d been using for this purpose since 2007. Classy, I know. Go ahead, I’ll wait while you finish pinning. 😉 So when I spied two milk crates left in our garage when we moved in, I knew they could serve a useful…
Wistful Wednesday – Oregon Kitchen
Did I tell you we sold our house in Oregon? We did! Hurray! 99% of the time I am so glad to be done with it. The process of selling your home can be draining – especially if it takes a while, like ours did. The other 1% of the time I am a little wistful for the ol’ homestead. I never felt like it was our “forever home,” but we did put a lot of sweat equity into it and with that comes some emotional investment. So, let’s take a trip down memory lane! Here’s the kitchen! It was actually quite large for a 1936 home. When we redid the…
