DIY Rustic Fall Centerpiece

As promised, today I’m sharing how I created the DIY chalk paint fall tray centerpiece on our dining room table. I picked up this wooden tray on a local buy/sell page for $15 from the Rusty B (love her stuff!). It had a metal handle that had come a bit loose so I popped that off and gave it a quick coat of cream chalk spray paint left over from painting the pumpkins I used around the house this year. I’m really loving this stuff and it comes in lots of colors! Anywho, I forgot to take a picture before taking the handle off but here’s the before – like literally seconds before the spray paint started flying thanks to my hubby who snapped the picture with my phone as I shook the can in between sprays! (In fact, you can see a little peek of the pumpkins I’d started painting in the top corner.)
FallTrayBefore

After two coats it was looking pretty good.  Much brighter and prettier than before.  The chalk paint gave it just a bit of texture, but it looked a little flat.   So I decided to distress it a bit to get some of the black to show through.

FallTray2

A quick hand sanding later it had dimension again with a worn, lived with look. Then I reattached the metal handle and it was ready for some fall filler.

FallTrayAfter

I filled the bottom with white beans, then topped it with a variety of pumpkins and gourds in similar colors. A few pieces of leftover berry spray from the entryway and a couple filler pieces I found on a recent trip to Michaels and it was done.
FallTable

And that’s the story of my DIY fall centerpiece. I’ll be back tomorrow with the quick makeover I did on a little faux pumpkin!

Shared on Knick of Time’s Vintage Inspiration Party #209!

My Fall Decor

FallMantelAt last, I’ve finished decorating for fall and got some nice daylight shots to share.  I started with the mantel, which I kept very natural and neutral with a little pop of orange from the DIY pumpkins I made last year.

FallMedia1

Next to the fireplace I continued the neutral theme on the media cabinet. I found the free feather print online and added a green urn filled with tiny yarn pumpkins I DIY’d years ago by wrapping orange yarn around and around to form a ball, then adding a small stick as a stem. On the other side I kept the wooden tool box filled with hydrangeas from my summer décor and added a doily wrapped pumpkin – another DIY from years past using a doily to cover a basic green plastic pumpkin and covering the gathered ends with twine I wrapped to form a stem.

FallMedia2

My yellow and orange zig zag pillow covers made the throw pillows I was using for the summer more appropriate for fall and I added a couple of clearance pillows I found at Michaels to tie in the neutral colors I’d used elsewhere. I also picked up a white striped pillow in the same pattern as the black ones and have it on the chair next to the couch, although I somehow forgot to take a picture of it.

FallCouch

On the side table I placed a ceramic lantern and pumpkin in a metal tray and finished it off with a cute little wooden crow I’ve had for years. The lantern and tray were both recent Michaels finds. And the arrangement leaves just the right amount of room for the TV remote to be stored in the tray where it can be found.

FallSideTray

The metal table between the chair and couch holds my favorite thrifted find, a little owl lantern with some orange mums in an old crock and a pretty glittery green pumpkin I found at Walmart for under $1.

FallSideTray2

I put my little scarecrow on top of the curio cabinet, where his little button legs are safe from puppy teeth.  I like to display him with them dangling like I did last year, but now that the dogs are home alone for a longer portion of the day I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

FallScarcrow

I kept things simple in the entry way, using more of my DIY wooden pumpkins and an old wood tray I got at the estate sale this summer.

FallEntry

I filled the tray with a variety of green and neutral colored pumpkins and gourds, including several I painted white with chalk spray paint after seeing one of my favorite bloggers create some for her home the same way, although I painted the stems of mine green and brown for a little contrast. I added a berry spray I got at Michaels around the base for a little extra color.

FallEntry4

I also DIY’d this gold pumpkin, which picks up some of the golds in the pumpkins in the wooden tray. It was a super simple project using craft paint I had on hand, but I’ll share a recap of it in the next few days.

FallEntry2

On the other side of the entry table, I used a textured wooden pumpkin I found at Target. I’ve seen them all over blog land and there were only a few left at my store, so if you want one you better hurry.

FallEntry3

Over in the dining room the buffet became home to a mix of old and new pieces with a variety of textures.

FallBuffet

In the center is a new copper lantern I found on sale at Michaels. I paired it with a birch log stand and a piece of the berry spray I used in the entry way.

FallBuffetLantern

I found this little fox at Fred Meyer and knew he had to come home with me. I loved his graceful curved tail and adorable face. And since it was a BOGO half off sale he made a cute green ceramic pumpkin only a $1. The pumpkin ended up in the wooden tray in the entry way.

FallBuffetFox

Another new find this year was this rustic crow. He’s super sturdy with his strong metal feet and his distressed colors blend perfectly with the rest of my décor this year.

FallBuffetCrow

And here’s the whole scene with the candles on and flickering. I’ve set them all on a timer so they automatically come on about the time we get home each evening and I’m enjoying the pretty warm glow they create.

FallBuffetLighted

In front of the buffet I put together this little basket of harvest goodness. This was another revamped DIY piece created from a wooden tray I found on the local buy/sell page. I’ll share that project tomorrow.

FallTable2

FallTableSo that’s my fall décor.  October is shaping up to be a very busy month, including a work trip to Southeast Alaska, so I might just skip decorating for Halloween this year and leave these pieces up through Thanksgiving, but we’ll see.

Rustic Humble Sign

4

I spotted this large sign at an estate sale we attended this summer and immediately wanted it.  Unfortunately, the auction was done “by the pallet” and it was the only thing on the pallet I wanted so when the price went up I bowed out.  When I spotted the winning bidder sorting through the rest of the pile I figured it was worth a shot to ask if they wanted the sign and if they would be willing to sell me just that item.  He replied with “$20 and it’s yours.”  Needless to say I quickly dished out a $20 and practically skipped away with my sign.

Once I sat down with it I realized it wasn’t a true antique.  Instead it was a paper print on a metal base and because the auctioneers had taped across it to secure it on the top of the pallet the original buyer had realized that the tape was ripping the paper decal as you tried to take it off.  I was pretty bummed but decided to give it a shot.  I slowly worked the tape off so it wouldn’t damage any more of the decal and was able to get the entire strip off without further damage.

Once I got it home I Modge Podged the ripped section, which left a thin white line on either side of the tear.  To disguise that I took some wood stain and applied it lightly to the area wiping it off quickly.  A few coats made it blend right in.    You can still spot it if you look for it, but otherwise you’d never notice.  I decided to hang it in what will become our Foster Child room above the closet.  Being up high helps hide the blemish and I thought it was a great sentiment for a child’s room.

5

I’ve got some other exciting revamp/DIY plans for getting this room set up. We need the room to be gender neutral, so I’m going with an industrial/vintage style that can be personalized a bit for whoever comes to stay with us. I’ll be sharing those details over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Shared on Knick of Time’s Vintage Inspiration Party #209!

Ballard Knock-Off Laundry Room Decor

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2015/10/link-party-palooza-and-two-project-bag-giveaways.htmlI’ve slowly been re-decorating the laundry room to have more of a rustic/industrial/farm house feel to coordinate with the decor around rest of the house.  I loved these over-sized vintage looking safety pins from Ballard Designs, but I wasn’t liking the price and was pretty sure shipping to Alaska would only make me like it less.  So when I saw some similar pieces on the local buy sell page for $10 each I decided to DIY myself a set.  Here’s what they looked like seconds before their makeover began.

PinsBeforeAnd here’s what they look like now!  I put them on the wall where I’d recently had the metal organizer we got on our recent trip down south.  We hadn’t been using it at all so it didn’t make sense to keep it there.  I’ve stashed it away for now since I really liked it and might find another spot for it later on.

2I like how the black plays off the other elements in the room, but am considering adding a bit of rusty color or grey with some distressing to create more depth, but haven’t decided yet.  When we get the countertop installed on the cabinet the black in the stone should play off the color well, so I’ll probably hold off until then to make a final decision.  What do you think?  Leave them as is, or add a bit of texture with a second color?

Shared on Tatertots & Jello’s Link Party Palooza.

Goodwill Patio Umbrella Rehab

Umbrella4

Way back when we made our road trip on the Alcan, we hauled back an outdoor umbrella we found at a Portland Goodwill for $12.99.  One of the arms was broken, but the hubs assured me he could fix it, so I couldn’t pass it up at that price.  It hid out in the shed for a while, but now that the deck furniture is in place we were ready for a little shade.

Umbrella3

The hubs used a left over piece of molding we had laying around to make it operational again.  I plan to eventually paint it to match the rest of the framework, but it’s not super noticeable so it’s not a high priority.

Umbrella2

I picked up a weighted base at Pier 1 with reward points so it was free as well.  It took a few tries to find the right size pipe to join the umbrella and base, but the winner ended up being just $12 and the one that didn’t work out will be used for another project, so it’s not a loss.  I plan to paint the pipe to match the base, but again, not a huge priority since it’s the end of the season.

Umbrella

So the grand total for the umbrella and base was just $24.99.  That’s pretty minimal compared to $70+ for umbrellas in the retail catalogs plus another $70-150 for a weighted base.  Now we’re living the “fancy” life for a bargain price! 🙂

Thrifitng Karma

Thrift

As I was driving past the thrift shop around the corner from my office the other day, something said I should stop in and just take a look.  I’m a firm believer in trusting my gut so I pulled for a quick peek.  I’m glad I did because it yielded a pretty bevy of treasures!  I got all of this for just $46.  Apparently my gut can sense awesome thrifty deals from a mile away. 🙂

I plan to use some of the pieces as is, like the plant in the small crock and the cloche, but I’ve already got a few ideas for DIY makeovers on other pieces such as that blue bunny sign.  I may also update a piece or two for resale at the holiday bazaar I’ve booked just after Thanksgiving, but if they find a ‘spot to belong’ in my home before then I won’t be upset about it.

Have you found any great bargains while thrifting recently?  I’d love to hear about them, so share them in a comment below!

A Simple Change

4

Ever since we finished our farmhouse desk and industrial shelves in the office I noticed that my craft cart wasn’t quite coordinating with the new look so I decided to switch out the knobs for something more vintage or industrial.  I searched online for a while and found some really cool options like these railroad spike heads and these numbered numbered pulls, but the $8-9 a knob price tags were a bit more than I wanted to spend on this project.  So I did what any bargainista would do – I used spray paint!

1

A few quick coats of my trusty ORB spray paint and I had some industrialesque knobs for FREE!  It made quite a difference when I reinstalled them.

2

They add a bit of dimension to the piece now, where before it felt kind of flat.  It makes me fall in love with this great piece of furniture all over again.

CraftDeskB&A

I’m considering tweaking a few other things in this corner to work a bit better and add a bit more industrial style but I’m enjoying how well it coordinates with the rest of the room now – and didn’t cost a dime!

Finished

Linked to The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse, The Everyday Home, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and White Lace Cottage.

The Gravel Patio

GravelClose

Once the fire pit went in the next step was installing a gravel patio around it.  The hubs added small side-walls on our big flatbed trailer to pick up a load of pea gravel, which only cost around $80 since we didn’t need delivery.  It took him most of the day to dump and spread it, but it was totally worth the effort.

GravelCombined with the new garden, our Adirondack chairs and one of my pretty little garden stools it’s starting to look like the backyard I’ve been envisioning all along!

Our DIY Fire Pit

FirePitFinished2

One of the projects I really wanted to tackle this summer was a fire pit. Luckily, the hubs was totally on board.  We started with the freebie washing machine tub I scored last year, which we set on two cinder blocks to keep the heat off the ground.

FirePit

We stacked landscape stones around the tub, off setting the seams.  But after the second row we ran into a little problem, the ridge at the back of each stone required the next row to be a smidg bigger.  After a quick Pinterest search we learned that others using the same stones removed the ridge when building their fire pit, so we chose to do the same.
FirePit2Layers

The hubs attacked them with his fancy power tools, but it wasn’t working as well as we hoped.  I suggested going old-school and use a hammer.FirePitGrind

This time old-school worked better, so we stuck with it row by tedious and muscle building row.  Eventually we upgraded to a larger hammer which was a bit more efficient, although still time consuming.FirePitHammerFirePitHalf

Apparently all the noise we were making didn’t bother the dogs who napped on the deck nearby.  It truly is a rough life they live…
FirePitNapA puppy nap and several more rows of stones and we were almost done.  That’s when we ran out of stones.  Go figure.

FirePit90The hubs picked up some more stones the next day so we could finish off the top row, where we left the little ridge in case it’s helpful for a future table top I want to build to cover the pit when it’s not in use.

FirePitFinishedTopIt’s taller than most fire pits but it feels more impressive and should be safer for when we have little ones around.  The top row sits just above the top edge of the metal tub so the fire stays contained and the smoke rises a bit, keeping it out of our eyes when sitting around it.  We’re pretty pleased with how it turned out.

FirePitFinishedWe only got to test it out once before Alaska’s burn ban took effect.  Hopefully, the conditions will improve soon and we can enjoy it again before the summer is over because next time I’m planning to create some backyard s’mores!

FirepitFire

Quick DIY Wall Art

SignFinishHang

Today I want to share a quick DIY sign I recently created.  I’ve had this Uppercase Living vinyl for some time now, as in more than 3 years because it was purchased for the house we planned to rent in FL when we thought we were being transferred there.  Anyway, I loved the phrase so I kept it with the intention of using it at some point.  Unfortunately, I’d ordered it in “oat” which was just a shade lighter than our current wall color so I knew it wouldn’t show well if I applied it directly to the wall.  I’d considered using a scrap board as a background like I did for the Laundry Room sign, but just hadn’t gotten around to it.  Then I spotted this pallet board at Michaels and inspiration struck, especially since I had a coupon for 40% off!

SignStartThe construction was pretty basic, several boards secured on the back with cross pieces and a twine hanger at the top.  There were several color options – unfinished, white washed and this stained color, which I was immediately drawn to and knew would contrast nicely with the color of the vinyl.  With my coupon it cost me around $10.

SignStartBack

I was pretty sure it was just the right size for the vinyl, so when I got it home I tested it out and it fit perfectly!

SignTestI followed the instructions that came with the vinyl and applied it to the board.  I could have called it done then, but I wanted to give it a bit more character so I decided to rough it up a bit with the sander.

SignApplied

Although I did a very light pass on the entire piece there were a few spots that got a little too roughed up due to how they sat on the joints of the wood.

SignGoof

I was slightly distraught about it, but decided to try to find a solution rather than give up on the project.

SignGoofClose

I started small with the leaf that that was damaged to build my confidence.  I used an exacto blade to trim small pieces of damaged vinyl away, reshaping the leaf as needed to work around the missing pieces.  I think it worked pretty well.

SignGoofLeaf

SignGoofLeafFix

I did the same on the lettering with decent results.  It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the rough edges I started with.

SignGoofFix

I took a step back to get some perspective and realized that neither spot was very noticeable from a distance.  Luckily, our guests don’t typically inspect my décor up close, so it passes muster.  I love that the sanding gives it a rustic feel, which also plays into being a little imperfect.

SignFinish

And here it is in our bedroom above the TV.  At that height no one will notice my little ‘patched’ areas and it also disguises my other little goof on this project.  I’m not saying what that goof was because I want to see if anyone else notices it or if I’m just being too much of a perfectionist!  If you think you know what it is, leave a comment below! 🙂

SignFinishHang2

TDC Before and After