Summer Home Tour 2018

Thanks for coming to tour my home with my Summer decorations

(finally) displayed. I've made and painted many of the items so I

will include highlighted text that takes you to the tutorials so you

can make similar items for your home if you would like.

We're friends so come on in the back entrance.

As you enter the carport area there is a baker's rack with

my blue bottle collection topped with shells.

Just a dot of hot glue holds the shell on the bottle's opening

then it is easy to pop off at the end of Summer. 

The back door area has more shells.

New galvanized olive buckets have been painted to look

old (tutorial here). I'm pretending that the buckets are holding

burlap bags full of shells from the ocean. 

In reality, most of the bucket is full of crumpled newspaper and

plastic bags. The burlap is hiding the stuffing so you can't see

it through the holes. Then only the very top layer is shells. 

The basket hanging on the back door has shells in it too.

To fool the eye, a piece of foam core was cut to fit the basket

then wrapped in burlap to hide it through the basket's weave.

Then shells were hot glued on to the top edge of the foam core.

If you would like to see more details on how these back entrance

shell decorating projects (and more from inside the house) were done, please click over to "Secrets of Decorating With Shells" post.

Come on in to the kitchen dining area.

I just love me some shells. Most of them have come from

the bags you can buy at the craft stores (and use a coupon to

get them for even less).

Now we will move from the kitchen dining area to the more 

formal dining area. If we had come in the house through the

front door, this room also acts like a foyer too.

(I moved one of the chairs so you could see the table better)

A large urn holds shells and has shells hot glued on it.

I got tired of all the dark wood furniture in this room and got

up enough nerve to paint this dresser/display piece with

two shades of chalk paint (for tutorial click here).

It is an older piece with wavy glass so I'm going to open the

doors so you can see part of my coral and sea fan collection better. 

(Excuse the mess in the bottom)

The wave coral reproduction came from Target. 

The faux corals were made from items in the floral section

of craft stores (coral tutorial here). The faux sea fans were

made from cedar clippings (sea fan tutorial here). 

Also in the dining room/foyer is a buffet.

For summer it has a shell motif also.

My "beach boy" stands on a skirted pedestal between the dining

room and the living room. I found this funky "ribbon" at 

Hobby Lobby. It reminded me of a fishing net.

The last room on the tour is the living room. 

The coffee table holds a bowl of pretty Summer items.

I like to change out these pillow coverings seasonally.

For Summer I fell in love with this octopus print fabric.

(turkish corner pillow tutorial here).

I also like to change out the picture over the mantel seasonally.

It is not expensive to have different artwork during the year

because I just get art prints and use a technique to make them

look similar to a painting (from print to painting tutorial here).

The wood pilings on the end of the mantel are actually pool

noodles wrapped in wood-look contact paper. A diluted coat of

paint gives them that whitewashed look.

(faux wood piling tutorial here)

Bookcases on either side of the mantel hold more Summer items.

The seahorse, faux turtle shell and octopus on this bookcase

were not colors that I liked. I painted them with a DIY chalk

paint. (small batch custom color chalk paint tutorial here)

(Sea fan tutorial here)  (Faux coral tutorial here)

I used the more colorful items in the double bookcase.

The buoys on the top shelf had a color change to make them

look older (tutorial here). I've tried several times to make glass

fishing floats. To me they never look as good as the ones you 

can purchase in stores but I use them anyway.

Buoys, mirror, shell vase all painted with DIY chalk paint.

This mirrored console holds our radio and CD player.

Over the console are two frames with chicken wire that

are easy to change seasonally. (framed chicken wire tutorial).

These are two Summer sayings that I like:

I tried to make these saying boards look similar to the pilings

on the mantel so I covered foam board with the wood-look

contact paper to write on. I might have used too much water to

dilute the paint (to give it a whitewashed look) but then I 

liked the way it beaded up on the contact paper so I left it. 

Thanks again for visiting!!!

Here's a good "pinnable" image if you want to come again.

Favorite Posts of 2014

Earlier this week I did a post on the "Most Viewed Posts of 2014"

on this blog which translates, I suppose in a way, to the favorite

posts with other folks in the world. 

This post is about my personal favorite projects of 2014 that 

didn't get so many "views" but I like them anyway.

In a way I feel guilty picking a few favorites since I enjoyed ALL

of the posts that I did the past year...kinda like choosing favorite 

 children. Most of these are ones that I enjoyed the longest

myself in my life and I get a smile from still. 

Click on the highlighted text to go to the actual blog post. 

In true "kopy kat" fashion, this past Spring I saw a wreath on a
 chandelier in a gift shop and spent more time than I normally
 would in the store trying to inconspicuously figure out
 how they made it so I could copy one in my own home. 

How To Make A Chandelier Wreath is a tutorial about 

that project that used Spring flowers.  I took the wreath off

 of the chandy for the Summer months but then put the

 wreath back on the chandy and substituted Fall faux

leaves and berries for Autumn decorating. 

In May I organized a fund-raiser for the March of Dimes at the

hospital where I work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Several of us nurses made wreaths for a raffle. One of the most

popular wreaths that I made was a garden hose wreath. 

Although I have seen them all over blogland and on Pinterest,

I was surprised how many folks had never seen one before.

After the raffle, I got lots of requests to make more of the 

garden hose wreaths for those that did not win it but wanted one.

They are so easy and, depending on what you add it them, can

be very inexpensive. Here is my tutorial to add to the mix of

those already out there...Tips On Making A Garden Hose Wreath. 

This turned out to be a fairly long post because I tried to give advice/tips/tricks that I learned

by making quite a few.  Also the variety is endless of what you can add to get the look you want. 

Best tip: buy early in the spring for best selection of inexpensive light duty hoses for a wreath. 

Another project that is not original with me for sure is how

 to make your own chalkboards.  Over time I had gathered a 

tray and a couple of yard sale frames to transform into little

DIY chalkboards. I have enjoyed having them so much to

write cute phrases on and then change them easily.

Cheap DIY Chalkboards and Chalk Paint

Also included in this post is how to make your own chalk paint for DIY projects like furniture, etc. 

Although I have had very good luck with making my own 

chalk paint at home, I like to try pre-made chalk paints too.

Martha Stewart now has a line of chalk paint too that is

available in craft stores (that is regularly on sale or you can use

discount coupons to purchase...yeah!)

A kind neighbor gave us a pair of pre-loved rocking chairs when

I had to move my elderly parents to my town to take care of them.

I liked the black color that they were but after a few months of 

them being on a covered but outside porch, they needed a new

coat of paint.  I decided to try the MS chalk paint on them.

The brighter rocking chairs make me smile every time I pull 

up to my parent's nearby apartment. 

Trying Martha Stewart's Chalk-y Paint

My final favorite post pick is one that I think will grow in 

popularity 'cause it is just so darn cute. It also is one that I 

had to be snoopy at a store when I saw one there to try to 

figure out how it was made so I could "kopy" it. 

I tried to make a deco mesh topper for my mailbox last Christmas.

It took pictures like a good blogger but it turned out like a mess

of mesh...didn't post THAT one.

  When I recently saw a topper made with the 10" mesh

 instead of the 21" mesh, I loved it.

It's easy! Maybe you'll want to copy it too.  You could make

them for different seasons or occasions even. 

Easy Curly Deco Mesh Mailbox Topper

I have seen folks that walk in front of my house stop and "pet" this topper...

kind of like you want to "pet" someone with a crew-cut on the head. 

I had more ideas than I had time to do or write a blog post 

about in 2014...hopefully I will be more organized in 2015

and can get more accomplished! Many thanks to those of

you who read my blog, comment, or "pin" my projects on

Pinterest...it adds so much joy to my life. 

Here is a quote for today that I got from Maureen who 

writes the wonderful "It's All Connected" blog. I wrote it

on my favorite DIY chalkboard:

Happy New Year!!!

I'm sharing this post over at these blog parties
From Gardners 2 Bergers' The Handmade Hangout
The Charm of Home's Home Sweet Home
The Answer Is Chocolate's BFF Open House Party
The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Tips For Making A Garden Hose Wreath

Usually you would think a garden hose wreath would be

displayed mainly in the Spring but where I live in Alabama,

I have to get out the hose every day in August to keep the

flowers I planted back in the Spring from wilting in the heat.

In honor of all the time I have to spend watering with the hose

these days, I wanted a garden hose wreath for my front door. 

Back in the Spring, in addition to putting out plants, I had a

wreath raffle to try to raise money for March of Dimes. One

of the wreaths that I made was a garden hose wreath. 

Garden hose wreaths had been all over the internet so I was

very surprised by folks' reaction to this wreath at the raffle.

Many said that they loved the wreath and they had never

seen one before.  After making the garden hose wreath

 for the raffle, I had several requests to make more so I 

am going to share some tips that I  discovered

from putting them together. 

If you are going to make more of a fun garden hose wreath

with gardening items on it, shop for supplies at dollar stores

or other places that have inexpensive tools, gloves and seeds. 

You don't need quality items to just look cute. You can  just

use hot glue to attach the items to your coiled up hose but since

I was making most of these wreaths for other people, I wanted

to make sure that the items did not fall off later.  Attaching tools,

gloves, etc. with fishing line first (almost invisible) and then 

putting a little heavy duty glue underneath them made them

very secure. The seeds packs only needed the glue.

 In the above photo the jute string is holding the garden fork in proper position while the glue dries.

It was taken off when the glue was dry. 
 The fishing line is trimmed and stays on to help hold the tools. 

Little faux butterflies can cover up prices on the seed packs.

Garden gloves can be gathered up almost like a bow before

being attached to the hose.

Hoses can be expensive but again, don't worry about a quality

hose for these wreaths.  Dollar General had a 50-foot hose

for $10...it made three wreaths by cutting it up. 

  Personally, I think one of the cutest parts of the hose wreath

is the brass endings/attachment pieces.  If you start with the 

big hose and cut it up, you don't have enough brass pieces to

emphasize to others "This is a garden hose, folks!"  Did you

know that those brass pieces are over $5 each to buy 

individually?  These sprayer nozzles were only $2 each and

they give another element to the wreath of hose-i-ness. 

 The nozzles were attached with heavy duty glue like contact cement or Gorilla Glue. 

The one time I did try hot glue, the nozzle fell off in a day. 

Here's the backside of a similar wreath made for a couple

 that like to garden together.  I can't find a picture of the 

finished front...I guess I forgot to take one.  Since the elements
are the same as the above wreath, maybe you can use your
imagination to "see" what it looked like. 

The difference in the above wreath is that I added a piece of

cut dry floral foam as a base for the seed packs since they 

were going to be more suspended than in the previous wreath.
I thought they might get droopy from moisture over time if used on an exterior door.

Floral wire was used to secure the foam between loops of 

the hose.  The wire was also used to make a loop for hanging.

You can choose to have a lot of exposed hose on the wreath
 and only add a few items to it. An old hose can be used for
 a wreath. If you don't like the color you can spray paint
it like Debbie Doos did for her garden hose wreath. 

 Here's one from our yard that was going to be thrown
 away. After cleaning it up enough to be presentable, about 
 25 feet was cut off  to be used for the wreath.  

The more heavy duty the hose, the harder it is to get it to stay in
 a wreath shape.  To even get this one started, the cut end of the
hose had to be wired down to keep it from popping out of place. 

A pair of garden gloves, a garden fork and some fake
flowers were added to the side of the wound up hose. 

I tried to get away with only having this wreath secured on
one side but it needed a little bit of wire on the other side
also to help hold it into shape. To cover the extra wire,
 just a flower and a little greenery were put on the 
wreath and attached with hot glue.

I left the ends of the wire long so I could curl them
 around a pencil to make them look like vines. 

Three of the fingers of the top glove were hot glued 
onto the hose so they would not droop over time. 

Two of the fingers of the bottom glove
were glued around the handle of the fork.
 This not only made the fork more secure but it 
looked  like the glove was holding onto the handle. 

A  wreath with a non-decorated top can just have some
 of the hose loops hung on a wreath holder.  

The possibilities are endless of how you could use your

creativity to add elements to the wreath. You can use floral

wire, covered wire (that looks kind of like stems),

 fishing line or twine to tie items onto the coiled hose. 

These are also good items to use to keep the hose in a 

wreath shape.  Here's an example of how to make the

 wreath base from the hose on the first wreath I made:

Use enough wire, twine or fishing line to keep the wreath

in the shape that you want to make secure and stable for 
adding gardening objects, etc. 

If you are not going to have the foam piece added at the 

top (as a place to add elements), you can put the top 

securing tie slightly off center.  This allows most wreath

hangers to catch one loop of the hose and you don't have

to add an additional wire for hanging. I worried that the

person that won the wreath might not have a wreath

hanger so I did make a wire hanger on the back.

 The sign was one that I bought at Jo Ann's.

The wreath for the raffle was made more with flowers and

greenery than with gardening elements.  Because I wanted it

to be as attractive as possible from all angles, I did not use 

the foam as a base for the flowers but I wired floral items

together almost like a floral headpiece at a wedding.

It was pretty but time-consuming! Keep in mind how long
 you are willing to devote to making the wreath.  
A fancy wreath may take more time than a fun wreath to create.  

Faux butterflies were also wired in. 

I found a 15' hose inexpensively at Wal-Mart in the 

spring but they had sold out when I went back to get

more for additional wreaths.  That's why this wreath

does have the two brass end pieces. 

I really liked the faux ferns that I found at Michaels...quite realistic.

When a friend asked for a garden hose wreath but with 

hydrangeas on top instead of poppies, I was not  going to

wire the flowers together again.  I went for a quicker method. 

I cut a chunk of styrofoam and wired it at what would

be the top of the wreath. 

On one wreath I did glue the foam piece also but it melted some of it.
It did not affect the foam ability to do its job.

To make some greenery pieces reach the bottom of the
 wreath I did wire a few fronds midway down onto the hose loops.

Then some greenery was just glued on the end and

stuck into the foam.  I think that will make it secure.

My friend likes mostly pinks and purples in her Spring and
Summer garden but she had also amended the soil around
her hydrangeas this year and had some blue ones appear too.
These faux hydrangeas are inexpensive bunches that came
 from Michaels.  I cut them apart to have more control over
the length and placement in the foam. 

I also added a dab of glue on the end of the cut stem of 
the flowers so they would not fall out over time. 

She also wanted an extra dose of butterflies on her wreath.

Since this wreath is a little more "fancy" than "fun" I 
did not add the nozzle on it but I let the end of the hose
with the brass fitting hang down to make it easy to see.

So, it is finally late August when I get around to making 
myself a hose wreath.  I decided to use flowers that could
be a transition into Fall (even though it doesn't feel like it).

Here is what the mechanics of my wreath start out as:


Styrofoam wired into place for flowers and greenery.
The same covered wire is used to make a loop for hanging.

This greenery was a little longer so it reached far enough
down the hose wreath form by just being stuck in the foam.

Since this is just for me I didn't glue the greenery or flowers
since if something falls out, I can just stick it back in. Also
I could change the elements out later for different seasons. 

When I was going to try the half-made wreath on the hanger
that had been left on the door from a previous wreath, look
who was there:

He stayed there all night.  I think he decided it was a good 
place to catch bugs that were attracted to the inside house
lamps shining through the glass on the front door. 

He was gone the next morning so I could finally hang my
late Summer garden hose wreath.  

My wreath is a mix of "fun" and "fancy" so I did add a
left-over nozzle on it.  This wreath is also using up the end
of a cut 50' hose.  I think it probably had about 30' of hose
used on it.  You can look at the original raffle wreath that
used a 15' hose to see the difference in the amount of loops
that each size gives you in determining how much footage
of hose you need to make your own garden hose wreath. 

Have fun and make it your own by the elements you
choose to add!