Tuesday Tip

Gather your fabric scraps and remnants! Let's make stockings, ornaments and sachets.

Sometime in the 1990's, Martha Stewart got me obsessed with turkey red damask fabric after seeing photos from her house. I went to several flea markets, tag and estate sales hoping to get my hands on a tablecloth or two. I was pretty sure after a long search Martha had already bought up all the good ones!

From my tear sheets...details unknown.

But I finally scored a small one that had holes and was badly stained. I made a little pattern of a stocking that I traced out of my daughter's coloring book! Then I convinced a friend with sewing skills to make these mini stockings.  We were able to do 9 in all. Three for her, three went to another friend and three I kept. I must confess, I wish I had kept them all to hang on a small tree or somehow re-work for place cards!



Fireplace mantle in the A&A master bedroom

The sheer and satin ribbon was added to give them a little something to make them look polished. It's never been changed and has held up well after being packed away each year. These sachets were filled with lavender from Crabtree & Evelyn and still smell great! They could just have easily been turned into ornaments with a ribbon loop. So,  if you happen to have a few yards of favorite fabric or an old tablecloth you love...create something special!

Tuesday Tip

Glitter your nuts! I first tried this craft more than a decade ago.  I am quite certain Martha Stewart put it into my head. What I can't tell you if it was from her show or her magazine. It was one of her few crafty creations that I thought I could actually do. Not the usual laborious kind of craft where you need 10 people to actually pull it off type that she is known for. But a super simple one that brings back memories of grade school projects using glitter and glue.




Glittered nuts!

  Even though I'm a grown-up, I love glitter, fairy dust, shimmer whatever you call it. There are many types of glitter. For this project, over the years I've experimented with different types. Don't use course glitter or German glitter. The first doesn't look good and the second is too expensive and will tarnish. To get the best results use very fine glitter. Martha has her own line (at Michael's) now, which saves time hunting around for the right type and color.  This year I am doing glittered nuts for hostess gifts. And, hopefully a few batches for my house. My goal is to do enough to fill a hurricane...we'll see if I get it done!




Copper & greens look wonderful in a simple glass dish.

  What you need: craft glue, glitter in 2-3 colors, wax paper and plastic containers. Disposable gloves if you don't like getting glue all over your hands.



I bought glitter on clearance and used all but 2 colors.



Martha makes a glitter glue that I decided to give a try. I'm pretty sure it's nearly identical to regular craft glue, but I liked the fact it came with it's own brush attached to the lid. My daughter helped me and just used a small artist brush I already had to dip in the glue. This is a great project to involve kids. It's a bit messy and holding the nuts to apply the glue can be tricky. You will also need several small Glad containers to put each color of glitter in. Lids if kids are involved. Let each person work with one color on a wax paper placemat.




Container to drop glue coated nut into glitter

 

Step 1: Select your nuts. Use a variety of sizes and make sure there are no open seams or pieces missing. Especially check almonds. They have a more delicate shell that tends to chip. Any rejected are perfect for eating!

Step 2: Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of each glitter color into a container. Replenish as needed, but don't start out with too much because it will get caked up with glue bits.

Step 3: Brush the nut with craft glue. Don't glob it on (I know easier said than done if kids are involved) but do coat the nut completely.

Step 4: Put one nut in the container at a time, pick up the container and swirl it around until the nut is coated in the glitter. (I've tried using larger containers and multiple nuts, but they either stick together or the layer of glitter is too shallow to coat the nut.) If kids are involved, put the lids on and tell them to gently shake it. Once the nut is coated, push it out onto the wax paper with a toothpick. I don't recommend the kids do this part because they will either dump the glitter from the bowl or use their fingers to get the nut out which will remove the glitter.




Dry on wax paper


Step 5: Let dry several hours or overnight. Put in bowls or hurricanes to decorate or cello bags to give. To store, just dump them into a plastic bag and pack them away with your holiday decorations.






These are about 10 years old!

They are missing some glitter, but still look good!

New version and colors.

 I am still experimenting with color combinations and whether I prefer the glittered nuts combined with the natural nuts. What do you all think?

Alternate tip: Spray your nuts silver and gold. I've done this too. I don't think it's any faster because you have to turn ALL the nuts over to get all sides, but still very pretty.

Tuesday Tip

Hide the ugly panel.  The circuit panel, breaker box, utility panel, or whatever you happen to call it, is quite ugly and everybody has one!

Just after we got married, we moved into our new Tudor style townhouse. It had a finished basement at ground level that walked out to our little yard and was full of natural light. We spent a lot of time in it, especially watching TV.  The stupid circuit breaker panel was located in the middle of the main wall!  Brilliant, Mr. Builder. At first I covered it with a piece of artwork and later this:




circa 1988

 
The TV sat on a shelf that pulled out and swiveled, so we could still reach the panel when necessary. We just sold this pine piece. The person who bought said it looked exactly like the one in the family room from the movie "Date Night".  Putting it on my list to rent!

Here is what you need to make a cover for your own panel:

Plus, a long/piano hinge which I already had in the basement storage room!  Perhaps, if I completed this 2 years ago, wasn't trying to do the storage room too, I  may have taken the time to spell out "circuit breaker panel" or even added some creative embellishment. But, after weeks of work, I was dabbing letters at lightening speed...just wanted to finish!

Before:

Open:

After:

I thought it was best to spread out parts of the garage makeover.  Otherwise tomorrow's post showing the "afters" would be far too long. I want it to be inspiring, not feel like work just reading it!

Tuesday Tip

Easy outdoor updates.  We have been blissfully enjoying several  days of glorious weather!!!  Around the A&A House, that can only mean one thing....move outside!  Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Card playing, lounging, listening to music, reading, napping.....blogging.....it all occurs outside!

We have a large deck that is perfect for our family, but can also accommodate a crowd.  Each year I try to do something different with my flower boxes, pots or pillows.  This year I really wanted to try and capture a bistro feeling combined with the cozy atmosphere of some of my favorite restaurants. The ones where dining is on a stone patio or old porch surrounded by lush plants, beautiful flowers and the shady canapy of trees!

So that meant some help from your favorite and my favorite little black can.  Hello spray gloss paint!

All of the items that got an update I've had for years.  The 2 tables are about a decade old...leftover from my shabby chic days.  The clay pots, are just as old.  Their orange color doesn't look good on our honey colored deck.  I used to have them down below in the yard, but they are bloody heavy and haven't made it out of the garage in a long while.  However, I've held onto all these items because they are versatile and sturdy.  Always two good questions when asking yourself  "should it stay or should it go?" 

Three makeovers for less than $10 of spray paint:

The pots....

The small table on casters....

The tall table that is the perfect serving height....

What went in the pots you ask?  Pink hibiscus topiaries!

Want to see how the rest of the deck is furnished?  You will....but for now here's a little peek of where we've been enjoying breakfast. Just the two of us, while our teenagers slept in unaware we were having something better than cereal!

Although it seems we must say farewell for awhile to the cool morning and evening breezes from the past several days. We are bracing  for a hideous heat wave to roll in this week. UGH!  Somehow, I don't think croissants and berries will taste as good indoors...