holidays
Grain Sifter Easter Bunny Wreath
Whimsical is not an adjective I would use to describe myself or my decorating style. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot with this Grain Sifter Easter Bunny Wreath. I figured isolating at home during a pandemic would be a good time to give whimsical a whirl. I’ve got to say, I can see the allure. This isolation creation is brought to you by items I already had on hand: a metal grain sifter, embroidery thread, hot glue, pale pink ribbon and plastic Easter eggs. I had the grain sifter because I dug it out of a dumpster when we lived in Ireland. By the way, a dumpster is called a…
Merry Christmas 2019
I found a Christmas poem that seems to ring pretty true. The Four Stages of Life 1. You believe in Santa Claus. 2. You don’t believe in Santa Claus. 3. You are Santa Claus. 4. You look like Santa Claus. -Anonymous I may well be on my way to looking like Santa Claus after just ATTEMPTING to park at the mall this weekend. Spoiler alert: I didn’t park. I left and went home and was never happier. Whatever stage of life you are in right now, I hope you revel in it this holiday season. From our family to yours, we wish you a happy Christmas. Thank you for continuing…
Piano Hammer Christmas Ornaments
Piano Hammer Christmas Ornaments. Trust me. This is a thing now. Okay, okay. It is probably only a thing on my Christmas tree! Every trend starts somewhere, right? To recap, we took apart an old upright piano because we could not find anyone to take it off our hands. It took more time and effort than we want to admit. On the plus side, we have been repurposing the piano parts. For instance, I turned the piano harp into wall art. I donated the piano keys to our local middle school for an art project. We turned the back of the piano into a garage workbench. The piano hammers, in…
Piano Pedal Tree Topper
When I set out to decorate a music-themed Christmas tree this year, I didn’t plan on creating a piano pedal tree topper. It just sort of happened on a whim. Was it a good whim? It’s hard to tell, but you know me, I’m running with it! If you’re new here, we took apart an old upright piano that was left in our Colonial Farmhouse when we purchased it. We’ve been repurposing the piano parts for other projects (like this piano harp art). That’s how today’s piano pedal tree topper came to be. Piano pedals are made of metal and these have a lovely patina from decades of use. They…
A Touch of Christmas on Our Barn
I added a touch of Christmas on our barn in the form of a simple wreath and it makes me ridiculously happy. All the barn needed after that was a little dusting of snow to make it look like a scene straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. And then Mother Nature cooperated with my snow wish. That never happens! Although, I forgot to mention the words “a little dusting” when I made that wish. Five inches of snow later…oops! Let’s get back to the touch of Christmas on our barn. I made the wreath that I hung on the barn. Could you tell? If you say no, I’m going…
Antique Car Horn Wreath
When you woke up this morning did you think you’d be reading a blog post about an antique car horn wreath? If you did, I’m slipping a little. I’ll have to try harder to keep you on your toes. Like almost all of my DIY projects, this antique car horn wreath is super simple to make. But where did this idea even come from? Well, it all started with a little thing called curiosity and you know that either gets me in trouble or I end up making something out of junk. One of the keywords I use to search Facebook Marketplace is brass. I’m on the hunt for a…
Happy Thanksgiving
It is Thanksgiving week in the U.S.A. and I want to thank everyone for reading this blog, engaging with my posts, and for sharing it with your friends. To quote the Beatles, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” That’s all of you! The few minutes or seconds you spend here might not seem like a big deal to you, but to me it is huge! I’m taking off this week to spend with friends and family. I’ll be back next week with something exciting to write about, I’m sure! In the meantime, feel free to connect with me via Facebook or Instagram. I’m sure I’ll be…
Festive 4th of July Ideas
I’m either really late sharing my festive 4th of July ideas or really early for next year. Since I’m writing this ‘choose your own adventure’ blog post, I’m going to select the option that says I’m really, really early. Alternatively, I could choose the option that says my purpose today is to get you in the mood for the 4th of July, which is TOMORROW. Ack! No matter the reason, know this…these are all foods or crafts that I’ve personally made and enjoyed the heck out of and I hope you will too. FRESH TRIPLE BERRY PIE You have not lived until you’ve eaten a pie in which the berries…
Memorial Day 2019
Happy Memorial Day to my friends in the United States. As with many things in the United States, even the origin of Memorial Day is a debated topic. This is because decorating the graves of soldiers has happened for a long, long time and nailing down a precise start date is tricky. However, many think the Memorial Day we celebrate, or Decoration Day as it was first called, was originally started to honor those soldiers who died during America’s Civil War. Memorial Day wasn’t declared a federal holiday until over 100 years later in 1971, but it continues to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. military. If…
Easter Egg Hunt for Adults
Easter egg hunts aren’t just for little kids. No, really! Hear me out and I think you’ll agree that an Easter Egg Hunt for adults is a fabulous idea. My mom and dad used to organize an Easter Egg Hunt for us “older” kids who ranged in age from late teens to late-20s. How do you get teens and 20-somethings (or even the “29 forever” folks) to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt? Oh, you up the ante. That’s how. My mom put money in the eggs. Cold. hard. cash. I don’t remember how many eggs she hid, but there was at least one egg that had a $20 bill.…
