It was one of those completely impulsive moments.

I went out to get the mail, and I tried to ignore him in the corner, but how could you?

Yuck. Dead as a door nail. Can we say brown thumb with this one? He needed to go. Then I turn to open my door.Yuck again. The front door color was brown. I’m tired of brown.

It’s spring! I want happy, fun color! It was time for a change.

I had won a can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the turquoise color Florence at a conference and thought, why not try it out on the door? It was done in about 30 minutes. Just paint it on with a good quality 2.5″ angled brush, allow to dry and then with a straight razor blade, scrape off any paint you might have gotten on the glass. ASCP dries very fast and I was able to rub a light coat of the soft wax over it afterwards.

Change is good I believe. Choosing a front door color can be difficult, especially if your brick is a salmon color. Our door has been black, red, coral, and espresso.

But today it’s color me turquoise!

Bright and cheery, springy and fresh is what it says now.

The garden is alive with the bright fuschia Knock Out roses, pops of yellow day lilies, and vibrant purple Homestead Verbena (3 types of plants that are very easy to grow… unlike my dead planters… )

The Glass Float Wreath says this house is ready for warm weather!

My kids hate it. Ha! But that’s ok. I’ll change my mind again and the front door color will most likely get a seasonal makeover in the fall.

Let me know, do you change your door color often also?

Kim

I’ve been working this week one putting together an easier way for you to find past decorating posts I’ve written.

If you are a visual person like myself then you will want to check out my new DESIGN FILES tab at the top of the blog.

The Design Files are loaded with decorating ideas, interior design trends, and gorgeous home tours. It is set up in easy to view photo thumbnails. Just like in the DIY Project Gallery, Decor Crafts, and my other tabs, just simply click on the picture or caption to be taken to the post.
Enjoy browsing!

KIM

I’ve grown roses for years….

tea roses, climbing roses, gradiflora, etc… etc… but I must confess something,

when it comes to roses,

I’ve killed more roses than I’d like to admit.

GASP!!! Hey, no one is perfect!

Yes, my thumbs aren’t always green…. their usually covered in blackspot…

dang blackspot… you are the thorn in my side…errr…rose!

Because I live in the south where the sun is hot, hot, hot, and humidity is thick as a men’s steam room…. (yuck, sorry for that visual),

I want roses, what girl doesn’t love roses?

…but roses that aren’t high maintenance!

No DIVA ROSES ALLOWED in my yard!

I want roses that any brown thumb gardener can grow.

I want EASY ROSES!

And I’m happy to tell you that I have found them! They are Knock Out Roses. They are almost indestructible. Woo-hoo!

Look at this gorgeous hedge of roses dividing my yard from my neighbors. I planted them 3 years ago. Our soil sucks. I’m talking clay soil. So much clay you could sculpt a clay pot with them! All I did was dig a hole 2x the size of the pot they came in, set the plant in the hole, backfilled with good quality top soil and then added 1/2 cup of rose food to the surrounding soil. That is it!

Knock Out Roses will quickly grow to 4ft x 4ft. They resist blackspot (yay), do not need dead-heading (unless you desire it), and the best part….

THEY BLOOM FROM SPRING UNTIL THE FIRST FROST!

What else do you have in your garden that can say that?

The picture below is year 2 of Knockout Roses planted on either side of my entrance. (Basically they double in size each year).

 This variety is the original Knockout Rose in red.

The fun option is to have DOUBLE KnockOut Roses. This variety produced very full flowers and mimics the look of an open tea rose, which is very appealing.

Features:

drought tolerant

disease/pest/blackspot resistant

double blooms

darkgreen/purple foliage

blooms spring-1st frost

zones 5-11

This lovely variety below is  The Pink Double Knockout Rose.

Features:

low maintenance

tons of flowers/ repeat bloomer

drought tolerant

disease/pest/ black spot resistant

3-4′ tall/wide

double blooms- spring -1st frost

Zones 5-11

I would love to add this beauty to my garden. This is the Rainbow Knockout Rose.

It boasts coral pink blooms with bright yellow centers and is more compact than the other varieties. It rarely ever has any issues with blackspot which is a must-have if you live in humid regions.

Features:

Very Blackspot resistant

drought tolerant

tons of flowers

3-4 feet

foliage- deep burgundy aging to deep green.

Zones 5-11

Add a touch of sunshine to your garden with the Sunny Knockout Rose.

This rose is the newest in the Knockout collection. It is the one variety that has a strong fragrance. It is more upright and compact than the other varieties. The blooms start off as bright yellow then quickly fade to a pale, creamy yellow. During cooler times of the year, the blossoms will be more vibrant in color. If you’ve ever tried to grow yellow roses in the south, then you KNOW how difficult they can be! This plant provides worry free blooms all season!

Features:

3-5 feet tall (largest of the group)

low maintenance

drought/ blackspot/disease/pest resistant

Repeat bloomer

tons of flowers

slight-strong fragrance

zone 5-11

last 4 pics via Conrad-Pyle

If you consider yourself a brown thumb gardener then PLEASE buy these Knockout Roses.

Now look, EVERY plant needs water. These are not cacti! You do need to water them once a week if you are in hot climates like mine (I’m in zone 8). And these roses do need at LEAST 6 hours of sunshine each day. I have Knockouts on the very hot and sunny south side of my home and on the shadier north side of my home. They both are doing well, but the sunnier south side have grown fuller and bloom better. They all have thorns but you will have a house FILLED with rose bloom cuttings all spring, summer, and fall!

I only fertilize each rose bush one time a year in spring with 1/2 cup of granulated rose food. That’s it.

These babies are love ‘em & leave ‘em!

If you are even capable of killing Knockouts then you deserve some type of brown thumb award, because I’m telling you,

YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH KNOCKOUT ROSES!

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them asap.

Happy Gardening!

For more gardening tips & tricks, check out my GARDENING tab up at the top of the blog.

Kim

Life came to a pause this last week.

I received the phone call that I was reluctantly expecting from my mother.

It was time to head up to Michigan where I lived until the age of 14.

The blog, decorating, and projects had to be put on hold. The gazillion emails had to be ignored. It was time to unplug.

There were last minute flight arrangements to be made,  the fridge needed to be stocked, appointments had to be rescheduled, and the hubs needed mama’s master instruction book since he was about to be a solo-dad of 4 for several days.

My grandfather had died and I wanted to attend his funeral.

He lived for a very blessed 98 years. 98 years! Isn’t that amazing?

We always hoped my family would be blessed with the good genes my grandfather possessed. He loved coffee and danishes, and never touched a green veggie, and was rarely ever sick. Amazing indeed.

My father died just a few years ago and being at the funeral seeing all of his 5 siblings grieve, this time for their father, brought the flood of emotions of my own loss back again. The cold and rainy weather certainly didn’t help my feelings either.

The visit to Michigan allowed me wonderful time to visit with life long friends who I love as much as family. They distracted my mother and I’s sadness with touring beautiful areas I haven’t seen in over a decade, lazy outings filled with laughter and sipping salted caramel cafe mochas in bohemouth sized cups, and fun afternoons of boutique shopping.

Great friends are golden!

Speaking of golden…. this big guy is Gandalf, a golden doodle with the happiest, most loving disposition I’ve ever seen in a dog. He would joyfully greet me each morning and bring a much needed smile to my face. He is a ray of sunshine! I considered dog-napping him.

At the end of the raining few days, the skies cleared momentarily to reveal a glorious sunset over the lake. It was like a little gift from God, reminding me that even though we experience sadness and death, He has the answer for eternal life with Him through Jesus. My father and his father and mother are now reunited. Who wouldn’t rejoice in that?!

Time to celebrate life, for tomorrow is a new day.

Kim

Good morning! I’m out of town at the moment and I’ll blog about that tomorrow, but I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I’ve had some amazing giveaways this month and I hope you’ve had a chance to enter them. Today we have a winner for the

$100 HomeGoods Gift Card giveaway! 

(sorry, no chicken dinner but I think the $100 gift card makes up for it!)

The winner is:

# 399 Laura K.

An email has been sent to the winner.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Kim

This has been a busy week of gardening and cleaning out the flower beds. Spring cleaning is in full gear at our home! There is so much to do yet. I recently replaced the deck stair treads which were in sad shape and added copper solar deck lights, but the entire deck could use a good power washing too before we entertain guests.  Our family loves eating and relaxing outside on the deck in the evenings. We all enjoy twinkling candle light at night and an easy way to achieve a pretty ambiance is with Simple Mason Jar Lanterns. Up-cycle those jars!

I’ve been using Mason Jar Lanterns for at least a decade because they were so easy to make and affordable. All you need are mason jars (any size), votive candles, sisal twine, and water. Tie the sisal in a knot around the jar, leaving long tails. Use those sisal tails to tie the jar to lattice, fence posts, fence pickets, hooks, or nails. Pour a tiny bit of water into the jars and then carefully lower in a votive. The water prevents any wax from sticking to the jar. I’ve tried using sand also in the jars, but prefer the water. If my boys see sand then it’s sure to get dumped all over the deck also.  The water makes for very easy cleanup too.

 I hung several small jelly jars on our privacy lattice screen. This season, the Carolina Jessamine Vine covered the screen with abundant blooms. Beautiful!
Building the privacy screen was very easy. Click on How to Build a Privacy Screen for instructions.

I made sure to tie my mason jar lanterns not too close to any vines. Though I’m really not worried about the fire risk, because we don’t leave them unatt

The mason jar lanterns are so lovely when lit at night and even attractive during the day.

I’m not the only one getting ready for spring and summer! The kids found these sweet little robin’s eggs nestled deep within the vines.

And with in a few days we had baby robins! Now if only we can keep the neighbor’s cat from discovering them.

I wanted to show you one more clever idea that my friend Virginia from Sweet Pea made for her deck. She enjoys entertaining outside also. How cool is this? It’s a DIY Pallet Wine Rack!  This is next on my list of projects to try. She give a detailed tutorial.  Very creative don’t you think?

Do you use outdoor lighting on your deck or patio? What type of lighting is your favorite?

Kim

Frosty, sandblasted Sea Glass accessories are hot this season in decor.  I have been a long time fan of sea glass ever since I made the Sea Glass Mosaic Tray and discovered the multitude of Sea Glass Projects that can be made.

Pottery Barn has sea glass vases this year, for a hefty price $63.50. Of course we all know they aren’t authentic sea glass, but have the beautiful appearance of sea glass. I wanted them badly. And what’s a DIY girl going to do when she wants the look but can’t afford it? She’s going to figure out how to recreate the look herself!

Pottery Barn

I did! You are not going to believe how easy this is!

DIY SEA GLASS VASES

You will need the following:

• glass vases, bottles, jars, votives ( whatever you like)
• rubbing alcohol
• flat , soft paint brush
• Martha Stewart Crafts Glass Paint in Frost- color Sea Lavender. (found at most craft supply stores) Make sure you buy the GLASS PAINT, which is usually kept in a separate area of the store with other glass paints.

Directions:

1.  Clean the glass with soap and water. Dry it. Then clean it again with rubbing alcohol. This removes an residual oil or residue.
2. Put a dollop of paint on your brush an start painting your vase in ONE direction. I started my strokes going VERTICALLY from top to bottom. Add more paint to your brush as needed. Continue until covered. TIP: to hold your bottle or vases, place your hand or fingers inside the bottle neck.
3. Allow to dry 15 minutes then REPAINT but this time paint in the opposite direction- Horizontally. I found that a second coat covered the glass better and eliminated most brushstrokes. The paint is dishwasher safe if air cured for 21 days or you can follow the baking directions the manufacturer recommends.

That’s all there is to it.  I was shocked at how easy and fast it was to achieve a sea glass look just like Pottery Barns! And all it cost me was a bottle of the Martha Stewart Glass paint!

I like to save all my glass spice jars and glass jars that scented candles come in. I’ve found them very useful for bud vases and crafts.

You can easily embellish the vases with sisal twine and shells if desired.

Wouldn’t a few of these make a nice Mother’s Day Gift?

Be sure to pin your favorite photo above for future reference and follow me on Pinterest if you like.

You might also enjoy:

DIY Sea Glass Tray 

Sea Glass Projects

Kim

We have a winner for the Pinstagram Giveaway!

I hope you were able to join me yesterday for the live Instagram Shopping with Kim day at Homegoods! You can follow me on Instagram  (@sandandsisal) or by clicking HERE.

I checked out our local HomeGoods for items that represent their Stylescope: “Set Sail Style“, which I’m honored to be chosen as a Set Sail Style blogger.

Just look at all the fun coastal inspired decor accessories I found!

If you are unsure of what your decorating style is then you will love discovering it on HomeGoods Stylescope!

Browse then click on 5 pictures that appeal to you, click enter and voila! You’re personal decorating style is revealed!

My Stylescope style is “Set Sail with a touch of Farm House Glam”.

HomeGoods wants to give a lucky Sand & Sisal reader a $100 HomeGoods gift card! 

Enter for a chance to win in the Rafflecopter form below.

Best of luck and happy shopping!

(PS- this gift card can be used at HomeGoods, TJMaxx and Marshalls!!!!!!!)

Kim

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Who’s up for a little shopping? How about at HomeGoods?

As a HomeGoods Stylescope Blogger, I’ll be shopping for items that are part of the “Set Sail Style”. You can follow along with me starting at 10 am EST on Instagram #ShopWithKim  #Stylescope.

Help me choose some items and give me your feedback!

THEN ON FRIDAY I’ll be giving away HomeGoods gift cards to a lucky reader so you can go and do some shopping too!

Let’s have some fun together!

KIM

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