So for a week or so I’ve had this idea in my head that I wanted to make a combination chalkboard and coffee filter wreath. A chalkboard coffee filter wreath. Now, I have my share of chalkboards but I don’t use them very often.  So I thought it would be fun to combine a chalkboard with a wreath because I use wreaths all the time. What could be more fun than a wreath you can leave up all the time that you can still make seasonal by writing or drawing on it.

So to test out my idea I made a little Valentine Chalkboard Wreath.  It’s really easy and all you need to make it is:

1. Cardboard
2. Coffee filters - They come in natural (brown) and white. The fun thing about coffee filters is that you can dye them any color you want. Buy them at the dollar store and you’ll have tons for lots of projects.
3. Glue Gun
4. Chalkboard spray paint which will last you for several projects

…and of course some chalk

Chalkboard Wreath Tutorial

You can chalkboard paint anything! I’ve done a mirror (see here),  on glass, metal,  plates (see here) you name it & I’ve probably sprayed it with chalkboard paint.  So yes, I used a piece of cardboard for this project because that’s what I had on hand.

Step 1

Spray a piece of cardboard with some chalkboard paint. I did several coats.

Step 2

You are going to cut a shape out of your cardboard so choose something as your template. I chose a small circle, you may want a rectangle or oblong – whatever. Trace your object (I used my fav checkerboard plate)  and cut out your shape. Then  decide how much chalkboard you want versus how much wreath area. I used a bowl to make my inside circle.

The area in between the edge of the cardboard and the line of  your inside circle is where you are going to glue the coffee filters. That’s the wreath part.

Step 3

Now you’re going to make a rosette by scrunching the filter from the center and then you hot glue it all around your form.  Be careful not to burn your fingers. Those filters are thin! I used a popsicle stick and am happy to report that for once I did not burn myself!  Start on the inside with the scrunched up end pointing away from the center.

Step 4

Because my wreath only needed two rows of filter rosettes – I glued my second row in the opposite direction. With the scrunched end facing in.  My second row then  fell in between my first row. If  you’re doing a larger wreath, just keep adding rows.

Step 5

Glue a ribbon onto the back, use your chalk and write/draw  something and then hang.

                     Step back and admire your pretty decorative chalkboard coffee

                     filter wreath!

This was such a quick and easy project and used inexpensive materials.  I’m very happy with my little test wreath and will definitely make a larger one!

Linking to:

WhipperBerry Friday Flair

Simply Designing  Simple Party

Lovely Crafty Weekend Party

Homemakers Challenge

I haven’t shared any thrifty finds with you guys in a long time. Mainly because I didn’t go thrifting or shopping even (except for groceries and necessities) for most of last year. Since we had planned on moving,  I was more in the getting rid of mode but now that we know we’re staying put for the next few years….well…

                               Let The Thrifting Begin!

…within reason

So a few weeks ago I  went to TJMaxx to look for a desk and a chair – didn’t find anything – I was walking around just looking… when I spy this….

A garden gate! I guess it’s made out of aluminum or iron. Anyway, it’s heavy!

{do you see the daffodil in bloom!!}

I can’t tell you how many women stopped me on my way to the register to ask me about it and then share all their good ideas of what they would do with it!

I’m pretty sure I’m using it in my garden somewhere. I may use a piece here and there or I may use it together as it was intended. Or I may use some of it in the house. So many options!

Pretty cool right? On to two other fun items.

This I actually got for free from a neighbor at the end of her garage sale. She was putting things that didn’t sell by the curb for people to take. She had marked it $8 and I guess no one wanted it at that price? I’m going to use it as a garbage can for my office.

My last thrifty item is this vintage Federal Glass snack  set from Goodwill $1.25. I’d love to find at least three more.  I did check etsy and the going rate is $7-$10 a set! I’ll wait.

Well those are my recent thrifty finds.

Have you found any treasures lately?

Linking to:

Thrifty Things Friday

I already had a faux fireplace, but as part of my all over home makeover I wanted to make it more functional.  When we first made it I had purchased a mantel at the Lakewood Flea Market in Atlanta and we just added a back to it so it would be freestanding (so we wouldn’t have to attach just a mantel to the wall). But it wasn’t deep enough to put candles in and it was hard to decorate as it was basically  just a narrow ledge.

I love how it turned out! If you’re not interested in the process, just scroll down to the bottom of this post where the decorated mantel photos are

I’m not going to tell you where to nail everything and what kind of wood to get etc. This is more of a pictorial how to so you can get an idea of how to do it yourself.

So here’s what it looked like. As you can see it’s quite narrow.

The first thing we did was remove the backing we had attached years ago. I also had a mirror attached which I removed. But if you just have a mantel you of course wouldn’t need to do this step.

The second thing thing we did was to add to the top.  I could have chosen to build a new top so that it would be one piece but I liked the one I had.  So you have to find a piece of wood that’s the same thickness as the original mantel top.

Then we extended the sides.

This is the how the new piece was added. You could also use metal brackets to attach the two pieces to each other.

That’s all for the sides. Then we started working on the inside or what would be tthe firebox.

We boxed in the opening by adding sides a top and re-attaching the back ((which we cut down to just fit the inside opening).

The firebox from the front.  It took us about 2 hours to do all of this.

Here it is all painted! I threw this little display together just to see how much more space I have to work with.

I have to buy some more white candles. I didn’t have to fill the firebox area!

I’m not totally done with it.

I’m going to move it and I’m going to sit it on some tile so it’ll look more like a hearth. I’m also going to do something with the back so it won’t be just solid black. I’ll probably re-attach a mirror and tile around it or something like that.

My living room is such a mess!

I hope to be able to move furniture around this weekend! I’m so excited! I haven’t moved anything around in about 6 years.

But first I have to prime and paint that wall!

Linking to:

Life Made Lovely Monday

Creative Bloggers Party & Hop

Home Stories A2Z

Show Me What Ya Got

One Stop Shoppe Linky Party

I’m sure most of you already know this, but in case you don’t, the  GFC widget (the followers thingy)  is being discontinued as of March for all non-blogger blogs ( go here for the official Google announcement) .  Apparently they want to promote their  Google+  service (which is more like Facebook than a subscription service).

That means all the blogs on WordPress (like this one) & Typepad will no longer have the followers widget on their sidebars that allow you to  subscribe to a blog’s RSS feed.

Google is not being really clear about what is going to happen to subscribers but from what I’ve read, any blogs you’ve followed with GFC that are non-Blogger blogs will no no longer show up in your Blogger Dashboard. Supposedly they will show up in your Google Reader (but we’ll have to wait and see about that) . Maybe they’ll be more forth coming with information as we get closer to the discontinuation date.

It may be a good idea to  look through the non-Blogger blogs you follow through GFC, and see if you’d  still like to subscribe to them in another way. It’s a good time to do a little blog spring cleaning!

Here are some ways you can subscribe :

You can click on the “Subscribe by RSS” button on the upper right of my sidebar.

You will then get this page:

Then you can choose Google Reader or Google Homepage.

Of course you can also choose any of the other subscription services. You can also choose to have posts delivered via Email.

There’s also a Follow with Bloglovin’ button on the upper right in my sidebar.

I’m thinking of re-instating my Facebook page since I know a lot of people use that to be notified of new posts (but haven’t decided yet).

I’ve heard conflicting things about GFC and blogspot blogs. I was just told that it would end but not for a few more months and then other’s are saying it won’t end (although I have a feeling they’re going to phase it out eventually for everyone since they want everyone to sign up for Google+).

So you can either change your subscription now or wait to see what happens. I’m sure you’re going to read more and more about this in the coming months. BTW, I removed the GFC widget from my blog  a few months ago.

Also, Picnik is closing April 19th!  So many changes!

Linking to:

Anything Goes Linky Party

Even though I live on a suburban lot outside of Atlanta, I like to think of my little plot of land as my “farm”. Especially since moving is on hold for another year or two so this is all the “farm” I’m getting right now. What’s a farm without a barn? Especially a red barn.

I dream about ReD barns.  As you can see, I wasn’t able to finish painting my own  “barn”  red last fall  due to issues with my paint sprayer.

Barns send me over the moon! Here are a few that I just love. Click on the image to go to their source.

source: pinterest via Tiny White Daisies tumblr

Isn’t this beautiful against the white of the snow.

source: flickr

I’m sure this one has stood there for a long long time.

source: Tiny House Blog

Does a barn have to be big?

source: ZsaZsa Bellagio

I love  this weathered beauty.

source: Meadow Brook Farm Blog

Can you say barn envy! Actually her whole property is just gorgeous and I’m so jealous. That pond……

I’ll finish my “barn” as soon as it gets warm again.

Do you heart barns?

Linking to:

Farmgirl Friday

In an effort to be more organized, I decided to group all the gardening type magazines I’m keeping in one place with my gardening books.  I have issues  of Hobby Farm/Urban Farm, Mother Earth News, Countryside, Country Garden and other various gardening magazines that I keep for reference (I don’t keep every issue just ones that I know I’ll want to look at in the future).  I decided to prettyfy some inexpensive cardboard magazine holders from my favorite store….. IKEA, so they would look nice on my bookcase in the living room.

There’s no reason why practical can’t be pretty!

These are only $1.99 for a package of  5 but there are plenty of tutorials on the internet on how to make them out of cereal boxes and shipping cartons.

You know I like color, so I played with some scrapbook paper until I got a combination that made me happy. Although keeping them plain white is always nice too.

Once I had my paper patterns picked out, I traced the face of the magazine file onto the back of the scrapbook paper.  Be sure to center your design the way you want it to look on the magazine holder. I forgot and had to redo the first two.

mod podge

To attach the paper I used Mod Podge but I imagine a glue stick or spray adhesive would work fine (even double stick tape).

I chose not to cover the sides since,  except for one side, they wouldn’t be seen in the way I have it set up. I did cover the outside of the last one because it is visible (but I could arrange my books so it wasn’t). It’s up to you. I was feeling lazy and didn’t feel like tracing and cutting out sides

I’m not going to label them right now. I don’t think I need to since I know what’s in them. Of course if I had done a whole long  row of magazine holders I would label them. I’d be confused as to what was where. But these four I think I can manage without a label.

Voila!

Inexpensive, personalized magazine storage  (you can put other things in them besides magazines you know).  Also, if  you decide to change color schemes… well… easy peasy, they can be changed since all you need to do is change out the fronts.

Linking to:

Creative Juice Thursday

Home Decor & Organizing Party

Share the Love Wednesday

Homemakers Challenge

I’ve been looking everywhere for a new desk and some type of storage unit for my home office  and I think I’ve narrowed down my desk choice and I know what I want for storage. Yay!

We went to IKEA over the weekend and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a desk from there.  I’m partial to this one.

Red and Shiny!  Love it.  It comes in white too.

I also love these two desks but they’re too small.  I think I would have to do two side by side and I don’t want to spend that much money.

So what I’ve decided to do is to make my own desk because at IKEA you can  do that! You can choose from a number of tops – wood/stainless steel/ glass etc.

How cool is this one!

You can choose from a variety of leg styles and other things like filing cabinets/drawers.

You can make any combination you want!

Here’s a desk with a hutch that I thought was nice but not for me.

For storage I’m thinking something along the lines of a small dresser with a hutch or small dresser that I can stack a small bookcase on top. I can find those things at the thrift store.

I think I’m going to do a red and white checkerboard floor like this!

There’s just plywood under the old carpeting (which really needs to go)  so I can either paint it or use peel and stick tiles.

I have soooo many many ideas!

Hi everyone!

Just popping in for a quick post. I thought I’d share some recently acquired vintage wall art that I plan on using in my little home makeover. I haven’t quite decided where to hang them yet since I’m thinking of painting either just my foyer or the foyer/livingroom/hallway.  Don’t want to hang something only to have to take down soon.

My daughter gave me this pretty vintage floral print for Christmas. It had been in my etsy favorites for a while. There’s a stamp on the back that says 69 cents!

I’ll probably paint the frame. The glass is broken on the bottom right (don’t know if you can see it).  So I might just remove the glass altogether.

This one is called “The Farm Yard”

Looks very English cottagey don’t you think?

I think I’m going to do a gallery wall of  all different kinds of things in my foyer – so I think it’s going there. But don’t hold me to it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

source

Did you know that garlic is called the “stinking rose” but no one really knows  how it got that name! It’s really closer to a lily than a rose so it’s very puzzling. Who knows how these things start.  Anyhoo, in late October I planted  some garlic cloves which I purchased through  Burpee.

Garlic grows best in fertile well drained soil that’s got lots of compost mixed in. I think it’s perfect for a raised bed. Which is of course where I planted some of those cloves. There are hard-neck and soft-neck varieties.  Silver Rose  (the kind I planted) is a soft-neck and supposedly better for warm weather locales.

See mine are sprouting up quite nicely! I’m hoping to have enough that I don’t have buy any this year. It should be about ready to harvest in July/August.

source: Sunset.com

You can also grow garlic in containers for those of you that prefer container gardening or don’t have a lot of outdoor space. How to grow garlic in pots

Something to be aware of…If you buy garlic in the grocery store, be sure you’re buying garlic grown in America. Chinese garlic is not something you’d want to eat after you know how they grow it, spray it and transport it  Risks Associated with Chinese Garlic.

It would be so cool to grow enough garlic to make one of these one day!

source: google images

Garlic does best if planted in fall (it needs to go through a cold period to sprout) but  check with your local extension office to see if you can still plant or just give it a try. I often plant things when I’m technically “not supposed to” and they do just fine.

If not put it on your to do list for fall. Like most homegrown things, store bought garlic can’t compare!

Linking to:  Farmgirl Friday

I decided I wanted a new wreath for Valentine’s Day and really couldn’t see spending any money on one as I have a  small plastic bin of Valentine decorations already (it’s one day – how many decorations do you need !

So I decided to remake that wreath above which I made last year. I had a bunch of cupcake liners that I got from Michael’s and decided to incorporate them somehow.

The red and white polka dot Mary Engelbreit liners were 30 cents! The rest are from the dollar spot at Michael’s.

Go ( here ) for the tutorial on the burlap Valentine wreath which is the basis for this cupcake liner Valentine wreath.

It’s not complicated! Basically it’s just heart shape cut out of foam core  (or you could use a cereal box etc). I took the center coffee filter flower off for this year’s wreath.

I just pinched the liners on the bottom and put a dab of hot glue on the heart where you want to place your cupcake liner. Then press your liner down. I worked my way around the outside first. I thought it looked pretty cute like this and was tempted to leave it. But I wanted to see what it would look like filled in so I marched on!

If you do this, please be careful with the hot glue gun! The liners are thin and even though I had popsicle  stick that I was using to press the liners onto the heart, I forgot one time and used my finger. OUCH!!!!

2011 Valentine Wreath

I have one more new Valentine project that I’m going to hopefully work on this weekend.

I’m linking this project to these great parties please go check them out:

Blue Cricket Design Show and Tell, Ginger Snap Crafts Wow Me Wednesday,

Momnivore’s Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday, Ladybird Ln Weekend Showoff, Hookin Up with HoH