Top Projects 2011

Today I’m featuring some of my favorite projects from 2011. I have plenty of decorating plans for 2012, but then I always have decorating  plans for something! We’ll just have to wait and see what this new year brings. I’m hoping it brings board and batten and a new color in the kitchen. 

In early July, I painted my front door an unexpected color. I was so tired of the burgundy and the punch of color on the door was the answer.  

An unexpected color on the front door.

The light fixtures got a make over too. Here’s the door decorated for Christmas

 

Later in July, I made over this old table with a pop of color too.

Table Make Over X 2

In August I posted Curbside Treasure Revisited. This old vanity table was out for the trash and I snagged it.

It got cleaned up and decoupaged with old sheet music.

Now, it’s part of this vignette in our basement family room.

 

 

I couldn’t do a review without including A Pile of Twigs becomes a Wreath.

 

or, 5 Minutes to Craft a Pumpkin with Burlap and Plastic bags.

 

These 2 easy projects were popular on Pinterest and took so little time to create.

The first project in the new year will be painting a guest bedroom. It’s a small room, so it will go fast and then I’ll have some fun decorating.

I’m linking up to Rhoda’s Top projects 2011.

Hope you had a blessed Christmas!

Debbie (((xx)))

Mary did you know?

Merry Christmas my friends! Blessings to you and your family in the new year. I’m sharing this beautiful Christmas song, it’s one of my favorites.

                      Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered,
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know,
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby,
you've kissed the face of God.

 
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know,
that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding,

is the great I AM

             Christ is the ultimate gift.

                 Rejoice in His birth!

 

 

Debbie (((xx)))

The making of The Princess and the Pea, doll, bed and pea, Part 2

This princess and the pea creation is a gift for my granddaughter. I hope she likes it as much as I do! You can see how I created the bed in Part 1.
My first attempt at making the princess doll was not so great. One arm was so much longer than the other and I just didn’t like the way it was turning out, so I started all over again. The second attempt was better, but only slightly.

This time I made the arms, legs and head separately. Ignore the head in these pictures because I ended up cutting it off.

After I had it sewn together, I cut off her head and attached a bigger head with a few hand stitches. That’s how I do most projects…..making it up as I go along.
I drew on her face with fine tipped markers. For her hair I basically followed a tutorial like THIS. I twisted some pipe cleaners into her head and body so her head wouldn’t fall over due to the weight of her hair.

Here’s how she turned out. I’m glad I was going for cuteness and not perfection!

I used an elastic hair band as the base for her tutu, then tied on strips of tulle and ribbon.

Here she’s wearing her cape, princess hat and even furry boots. The base for her hat is made from pipe cleaners and her boots are pieces of furry trim glued together.

Her bed was sprayed purple and I added some black accents and a princess plaque.

She only has 7 mattresses. In the story she has 20 mattresses and 20 feather beds!

My friend used her fancy Baby Lock sewing machine to embroider the blanket for me. Would I ever love to have a machine like that! It’s awesome!

The pea is oversized to prevent little ones from putting it in their mouths! A round wooden ball encased in fiber filling with a piece of green felt hand sewn around it, is how I made the pea.




Do you think she looks like a blonde Shannen Doherty!


I wrapped it like this, so the box can be lifted off on Christmas morning.

This series was supposed to be in 3 parts, but I wanted to get it posted before Christmas so I squeezed it into 2 parts. She knows the story of the Princess and the Pea so it’s going to be awesome watching her open this. I’ll try to get some good pictures to share.

Merry Christmas!

Debbie (((xx)))

White Trash, A sweet treat for gift giving.

A sweet and salty concoction, this treat is commonly known as white trash. Personally, I don’t like that name much, but I do like to snacking on this delicious mix.

Here’s the basic recipe;
In a large bowl mix together,
3 ½ cups honey nut cheerios
3 cups rice chex
3 cups wheat chex
1 lb. m & m’s, Christmas colors
2 ½ cups salted nuts
2 ½ cups mini pretzels
Then stir in in melted white chocolate. I used 4- 12oz. bags of white morsels.

You can alter this recipe to use ingredients you like, any kind of cheerios or chex and whatever type of nuts you prefer. After it’s mixed together, lay it out on cookie sheets to dry.

I found some clear bags and white boxes to package up the mix for gift giving.

I wanted to line the box with parchment but used wax paper because I was out of parchment paper.

I folded it up neatly, added a Christmas sticker and tied it up in a pretty ribbon.

The bags look so festive tied up with ribbon and are all ready to give to neighbors and friends.

This recipe gave me 6, 8 ounce bags and 1, 24 ounce box of candy.
Do you make sweet treats to give as gifts? I know I sure like anything home made!
Merry Christmas!


Linking up to  Tutes and Tips at Home Stories A 2 Z.

Debbie (((xx)))

How to create a trio of wreaths on your front door.

This beautiful trio of wreaths from Martha Stewart inspired me to try and recreate the look on my front door. Because we have a metal door, it wasn’t all that easy to put together and took several attempts to get it right.

source
If you are considering this look and have a metal door like me, here’s how I did it.

Start with the long ribbon, about 7’.  Easy right? But how do you get it to lay flat and stay that way? After trial and error, I ended up using little dabs of white glue. There’s probably a much better glue for this purpose, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. The ribbons that are wrapped around the top of the wreaths are added later.
I have a permanent wreath hanger ( a screw) on the door, but it was too low to hang the top wreath, so I attached a wire to the top of the wreath and secured it over the top of the door with heavy packing tape.

A wire holds the bottom of the top wreath to the top of the middle wreath and the bottom of the middle wreath to the top of the bottom wreath.   Another wire is attached to the bottom of the bottom wreath and is taped under the door.

Silver florist’s wire is almost invisible with silver ribbon.

Next take a length of ribbon and wrap it around the top of the middle and bottom wreaths. I just used a safety pin to hold it on.

Some fresh greens were tucked in to plump up the fake wreaths and there it is!  Merry Christmas!

Linked up to these parties,
Making the World Cuter Monday,  Skip to my Lou,  Life made Lovely
Between Naps on the Porch    
Ivy and Elephants

Debbie (((xx)))

Red and green Christmas poke cake

Have you ever made a poke cake? Basically, you poke holes in a cake and pour jello over it. And it’s a cake mix, easy peasy, got to love that! This is a Christmas version in red and green.

Here’s the recipe from the jello web site. Their recipe uses Cool Whip for icing, but I like to frost this cake with 7 minute icing. It’s a cooked meringue-like icing that is so delicious!

Seven minute icing

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cold water
2 egg whites at room temperature
2 teaspoons light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine in a double boiler, sugar, water, egg whites, and corn syrup. Beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Place over boiling water. Do not let the top pan touch the boiling water. Cook and  beat, for  7 minutes, on high. Frosting should start forming peaks. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Beat 2 more minutes.

Look at those luscious peaks! So good!

 

It’s so festive looking, tastes great and would be a great addition to a dessert table.

Are you baking any goodies this year? Cookies?

Only 10 days til Christmas, Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

Debbie (((xx)))

Front porch Christmas decorating 2011

 

Welcome to our home!

This year the porch is decorated with a trio of wreaths on the door and greenery filled urns flanking each side.

Using sparkly silver ribbon on the wreaths and touches of spray snow on the greenery in the urns makes it feel like a winter wonderland.

The greenery in the urns was clipped from shrubs and trees in our yard, and a few sprigs of greenery are tucked into each faux wreath.

 

For height in the urns, I added a few longer twigs and sprayed on a little fake snow.

I added a few pinecones, snowflakes and silver ornaments.

 

Creating the trio of wreaths was a bit trickier than I imagined and I’ll explain in another post.

I get asked a lot about the iron piece on the stone wall; it’s actually supposed to be a door mat, but because it’s iron, it’s hard to stand on. So, it hangs on the wall instead.

I’ve been doing some baking and will post a few recipes soon.

Hope you’re enjoying this holiday season!

My Christmas 11 posts are here.

Linked up at a la Mode, Holiday Home Highlights

Debbie (((xx)))