Fall Florals

I taught myself to arrange flowers back in my 20's. I couldn't afford premade things and just has a willingness to make my own. I'm not quite sure why I lived with this... like this... for so long, two years, but I suddenly had to change it. No doubt you can see why... Here it is...a wall hanging I purchased from a home party business. I love the concept, but the greenery really didn't do anything for me.I took pictures of my creative process, maybe it will be helpful to someone in blog land. Here's how I store my silk flowers. The large plastic containers allow room for the stems and they don't crush the flowers.Once I decide what I am going to do, I cut apart all the flowers from a bush and separate them according to type and color.

Now the creative process begins. I start with a middle flower and work from that, adding until there is a pleasing flow form top to outer edge.

At this point I forgot to add moss and added it...

And finally wall decor I can be proud to display. I plan to do arrangements for each season.Also, I added a few Fall picks in between the pots, to add a little Fall detail. Thank you for stoping by.
Trudi M.

On Line Class by Big Picture Show

Here's the advertisement for the work shop.

"The power of YOU. The question is not whether we will have challenges in life, it's what we choose to do with it that matters. Learn strategies for maintaining a positive perspective as well as how to choose joy in spite of it all as we embark on a journey of empowerment, faith in yourself, and loads of fabulous projects. "

It is a eight week course and it's just in time for what I need. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm having trouble with my creative spirit right now. I need a kick start for sure. This sounds like what the creative muses ordered.

Here's the link: http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/choosingjoy.php

This is a well established on line learning site. I've done other things with them. It would be great fun to do it with several of you... We could share and chat. If you decide to sign up let me know. I plan to after I get to the bank and get some money in my debit account. It sounds inspirational and creative. That's what I want to just-start my for Christmas.

I hope some of you want to do this with me. Post here if you plan to do the workshop, please.

Have a restful and playful Labor Day weekend. The weather here is suppose to be fabulous here. All my best.

Paint Chips, Don't Repeat My Mistakes

Hi all, gosh I am struggling the balancing act of blogging, homemaking and working again. Yikes, I want more time in the day. Or better yet, better time management. All in good time, I hope.

I've done a lot of painting over the years. I've selected paint colors I love and some not so much...

This post relates back to my red door. We gutted and moved into our home in less than a month and a half. I don't recommend this! At that time, I made some very quick paint sellections at the store. Some turned out and some did not. Those are the ones I am now correcting. Here's my tip; take the time to go to the store of your choice and pick out paint chips. Choose as many as you like in the hue your are considering. Hang them in the area, you plan to paint. Some will be obvious "dont's" and others will be possibilities. Look at them in different lights, and eliminate as you go for several days. Chances are you will end up with a color you like. Any time I have taken the time to do this, I've been very happy with the color. When I've made a split decision, I am not always so pleased. Please keep in mind, paint colors all have a base color to them, red, blue, green, yellow, gray ect. Those base colors make a big difference in different lights. That's where the mistake of a poor color choose will usually come from.

Lowes, Valspar paint happens to be my favorite. It has great coverage and a low odor.

Gosh It's Been A Long Time!

I am so out of the blogging scene it makes me sad. I had so many issues with my computer and then started back to school. Yikes, I'm out of it. I wrote this post last night so I could join the fun again. I miss you guys! School has been really busy. I have 12 students. That doesn't seem like much but their needs are times three at least. Love them, but boy am I worn out. I could be a stay at home "pup mom" on some days. (I don't have children)

Seriously, I think I would miss teaching very much but it is so nice to have the time during the summer. I keep a much cleaner home, more rest, more fun, more creativity, more everything...

Sigh, enough of that. What to share??? Well, here's my front door. I painted it in the last month. It was red, but it had more of a blue base to it before I repainted it. I'm pleased with the results. I must say, red is not an easy color to paint for good coverage. Yikes, I was even painting on top of a red.

I made the wall pocket. It was originally a shabby white, and I sprayed it black. Then, I added the greenery. Over all I'm please with the total effect. Let me know what you think, please... I begging for comments. LOL. Have a good weekend. Thanks Kelli for hosting Show and Tell.

My Massive Re-Organization, the Final Finish

I've written about cleaning and painting the laundry room for some time. It's also a large storage area for us. We moved into our small ranch three years ago with two house holds of item and many treasures that I inherited from my grandparents. I had a very trying ten years. To say the least, my 30s were not the easiest. Some great things happend, my husband, reunited with my mother, my dogs, and my current teaching position. But along with that there was a lot of sarrow and pain. Consequently, I had a very difficult time making a home. On the surface it was decorated well enough, but behind the scenes, my emotions and my home were in diarray. I've know for three years, that things needed to change, but it took a lot of energy to do it. This summer was the time for me. I had read a really good book about clutter and the stress it can cause... I was living proof. I hated doing laudry, but never had a pretty place to do it, that's now much improved. I love creating and crafts, but my craft room looked like a rumage sale. I would make small gains and then quit. I can now say with great pride that things are in much more control. Things have a place and a place for the things. It's such a good feeling. Pictures to come...We had the carpets shampooed Sat. in the family room, so I have some finishing touches to complete. I hightly recommend this book: It was a great source of insight and help to me.

Clear the Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston

Karen Kingston also has a web site that appears to be really helpful. Please check it out and tell me what you think. http://spaceclearing.com/html/books/books/clear-your-clutter-with-feng-shui.html
Please note: I do not follow Feng Shui, and this book was still very meaningful! It's an easy quick read.

Thoughtful Thurday

Well, this is a very simple fix for a wall that has studs but no wall board. (No... I don't mean pictures of cute guys, wood, people.) LOL.

Our laundry room butts up to a bathroom addition. The wall for the bathroom has all the plumbing fixtures on it, so to cover the studs with drywall would not be possible without adding additional wood. I was tired of looking at the ugly wall in my laundry room. I'm laundry impaired as it is... hate it! So, I'm trying to "fix up" the laundry room. Here's a picture of the ugly wall:

I know the Angel doesn't help much...

My solution, I went to Walmart and found some inexpensive fabric. A dollar a yard. Can't beat that! I cut the fabric to length and stapled it to the studs. Here's the final result. Not bad for $2.00.Let me know if you try this. I'm really pleased with the clean appearance. Very easy DIY. *smile*
Blogging question... Are any of you having trouble with the image button. I click on it and often it will not take me to the screen to add an image. Any tips?

Decorate Your Own Plate

First, I in no way wanted to offend anyone with my last post about comments. Nor do I want to make anyone feel guilty. As I said, I have had great comments and appreciate them very much.

I participate in the pink and brown swap, by Sweet Goodness in the spring. I decoupaged a plate and thought I'd share how I did it. Here's the plate:

Supply List:

Clear plate

tissue paper

decorative print, stickers, words etc.

Mod Podge, by Plaid

Spry fixative or Polyurethane

Directions: You will be working on the back side of the plate. Cut tissue paper in approximately 1 inch squares. Use your imagination, you may use one color as I did, or use more than one color. Apply the decorative elements first, angel and words in my case, face down. Apply the Mod Podge to the plate and then the elements. (I use a foam brush.) After you have your design elements adhered to the plate with no ripples or wrinkles, you may apply the tissue paper squares. I did the brush in the Mod Podge and pick up the tissue squares with the wet brush. Randomly place the squares on the plate to cover all the surfaces. It's ok the allow the square to stick out over the edge of the plate. You can use a utility knife to trim the excess. If the plate still has rough edges from the paper, sand it with fine grit paper. Apply fixative if you wish. The front can be washed, but I would not soak the plate. I make them for decorations.

Have fun and let me know if you make one. I'd love to see pictures. Here's a close-up picture:

Trudi

Thoughtful Thursday

We have been working really hard on our backyard. We'd love to live on a lake, but that's just a dream at this moment. We count our blessings, because we have a beautiful boat on a lake about 40 minutes from our home. We've tried to create a haven in our yard. Before hubby and I were married, tomorrow is our 5th year anniversary, he really wasn't into flowers and landscaping...Now watch out, he caught the bug, big time! I wanted Adirondack chairs. We bought plain ones and I stained them white with MINWAX and then painted the flat surfaces with latex paint. I didn't paint the seats a color because of the wear and tear. Dear hubby is going to reinforce the legs and back a little. They weren't the most expensive. Design on a Dime around here folks. Please share your lawn furniture with me or look through catalogs and use a picture as in inspiration for your own furniture. These were my insiration from Country Door. Love that company.

I used a two inch foam brush for the stain and latex paint. A brush did not work well with the stain and I didn't want drag marksof the sides with the paint colors. Here's a tip: when painting a color up to an edge, paint out and over the edge. Don't drag the brush over the edge onto the surface or you will create a drip as if you were wiping your brush on a can or edge. Does that make sense?

Please tell me what your think and I hope you had a blessed 4ht of July.

Oh, I need all of this!

I joined Creative Home Arts and they featured a product called Word Stamp Kit. Well, I want it for collage work... And then I went to the site and want tons of things. Yikes. Look at the cute kits for your garden:

Or here's the kit I want for stamping for collage:
Check out the site, it's loads of fun and I'm sure you'll find something creative for your home. Here's the link:

Magnetic Poetry

Thoughtful Thursday

Here's my plan: I'm going to offer a new idea every Thursday, similar to "Inspiration Friday" pictures you see on other blogs. Here's my twist... I hope to give an idea that I have done or will try in the future along with photos or scans of other ideas. I participate in Show and Tell Friday at There's No Place Like Home, so I thought I'd give this a go for Thursdays. Hint, Hint, Christmas is almost five months away. Will there be Christmas posts? Stay tuned. LOLThe shower curtain in the picture was too short. So the owner added ribbon ties to lengthen the curtain to fit the shower area. I loved the look of the ribbon, but did not need to add length. I tied ribbon on the shower curtain hooks and think it added a nice detail. I also used the same ribbon on my hand towels for a decorative touch. (No... don't use the hand towels, they are for looks.)

You could also use ribbons tacked to curtain panels to hang them on a rod. What other ideas can you come up with?
If you do something with ribbons, please let me know in this post.

*sigh* My Bookshelves

I couldn't wait until I got done with school. None of this takes a lot of time, but I just wasn't motivated to do it. I've looked at other blogs and they have their books color coordinated. I loved it! And had to do it myself. (Was kind of kicking myself that I hadn't thought of it, oh well.)

Well I did it and I feel so tranquil when I sit down and look at them. (I "painted" a pretty picture.) I already had the fabric in the back, would like to lighten it up, but for now it works.

The baskets have hand-stung beads on them and hold my passion, magazines. I can't walk past a magazine display without stopping or I search them out, whichever comes first. LOL.

Mother Inlaw's Tables, Very Cool

My mother in law moved from one apartment to another several years ago. She gave my husband two end table and a coffee table. They are in great shape and an art deco style. I've found similar ones on Ebay, but never all three. But then again, I don't visit Ebay often. I tried painting them and failed miserably. I need a new direction for them. I'm willing to strip them, but would like them painted. Just not really sure. They are in a room that's tan, brown, and blue. It has a nautical theme. Suggestions please, all are welcome.

A Cottage Give Away

Please enter my drawing for a Cottage Give Away. Click here to see the prizes and enter a post. The drawing in May 23rd. Also click on the A Cottage Give Away on the side bar to see other participants. There are some really great prizes and oh so fun to see new Blogs. Yes I want to see your prizes and enter the drawing.

A Great Catalog Mail Order Company

I love ordering things from Country Door. I've gotten quilts, vases, pictures etc. I've been really pleased with the quality of merchandise, the look and the price. The catalog also gives me really good ideas for decorating. Please check them out. I think you'll like them. I found some Adirondack chairs in the current catalog and I'm going to paint our's similarly. (White, blue, yellow and red.)

Aren't they great. I'll share mine when they are done. Another weekend project.




Added these items to our bedroom and we just love them. Great colors and quality. ( I don't work for the company. LOL.) This is not our room. I'm still working on it...

Check them out I'm sure you will like the site. It's really informative. They have many styles and docorating tips for your home. Trudi

Our Weather Men, Yikes!

Well, it was suppose to be 70 and overcast yesterday and it was cool and drizzly. We still bought tons of flowers. Then we had high hopes for today, garden and boating. Today was suppose to be ..... 78 and sunny. Yes, it was sunny, but windy, cool and just not very pleasant to be out and about. And I do mean windy. In the last two days, we've purchased 4 flats of flowers, impatients, salvia in red and purple and a mix of other annuals. Also 4 tomato plants, and pepper plants. A rose bush, and 16 perennial plants. (Zone 5 hardy.) Last but not least, my husband wanted a grape vine. How cute is that? We have the beds prepped and ready to go. Most of the perennials are in. Yeah, despite the weater. Ugh, I can't find our pic.

Metal Louver Closet Doors, Improved!

We have the very tall metal louver doors in our bedroom. I decided to try and paint them. First, I cleaned them very well. Then, I used 1,2,3 Zinsser Primer on them. I didn't worry about brush marks because I thought that would add character to the doors and it did. Then I painted them a crisp white. (Lowes Best). I also added wallpaper to the plain panels. I think they turned out really nice. We didn't have to buy new doors, nor did we have to add drywall. These doors are 8ft tall and they are not readily available at mass retailers. Before:

After pictures, now they have some character and texture. I'm quite pleased with them, they are no longer shinny.

Our Solution to Tree Stumps

Our backyard has many old pine trees. They were very ugly and dirty looking. We cut two of them down last summer and plan to cut one more down this summer. It is so expensive to have the stumps ground out so here's our solution. We added carvings to them. The stump with the bear sitting on it also holds a hammock and the other one fits in perfect with the garden with the mushroom. What do you all think?

Our Jimmy Buffet Backyard

My husband and I got married five years ago this July. Our wedding was not either of our first, so we wanted to have fun. We had a Cheeseburger In Paradise themed wedding.


We have been working on a small ranch for three years. We love to be outside in the summer and boat on a lake in Michigan. We've tried to turn our yard into our own little world. This year we are adding garden beds and decorating the deck. Roger had the idea of putting a match stick blind on the garage vertically for a chair rail. It turned out great and we trimmed in with bamboo that we split. We got the bamboo from Hobby Lobby and the blind from Menards. All our decorations have been picked up at various craft fairs in the area over the last few years. We are really pleased with how it is turning out. We want to add flowers, and accent lighting. Oh, he also added speakers for music. Such a man thing.

It's Friday, So Sad...

Well it's Friday and I don't have our bedroom painted. I painted the louver doors first, and that took me three hours and then I was burned out. Taped and primed the areas I needed to, but haven't taken the plunge to paint. I'm painting the room a light chambray blue and I so hope I like it. I've looked at pictures and think I will, but you never know. I'm sad because my Spring Break is almost over and it's been crummy weather. We may break our area's record for the most snow in April!! Can you believe it? On the bright side I met a friend for coffee today and did some thrift shopping last Monday. Those are both pluses. Roger is taking today off and we may go shopping or see a movie. We've been together six years and have never been to the movies. Should be fun. I'll get some pictures posted of the bedroom as I get it done. I do have before pictures, kind of embarrassed to show them, because I did that too. (yuck) That's another story, for another post. Tootles.