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Showing posts with label Countdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Countdown. Show all posts

2.05.2016

Lampshades to LOVE

 I just can't leave well enough alone...
 I usually buy my home decor items - like lamps - at thrift stores and garage & vintage sales,
and they usually come with lampshades.
Thing is, I never like them! 
I love the lamp base, which is why I buy it,
but then I always have to add something or deconstruct something to do with the shade
to make it something I can live with... or sell.

Like MOST of my projects,
it's not really complicated...
The lamp on the left has a perfectly acceptable shade, right?
I thought so too, but when I sat it in the vignette in my vintage decor booth*,
all of the lovely detail of the three 'candles' beneath that shade became invisible.

I knew I had to do something, so I looked around me to see what I had to work with...
and my eyes stopped on those rusty, crusty wire garden baskets 
hanging from a chandelier over the table.
There was one more of them sitting under the table, and I grabbed it,
flipped it over, and sat it on top of the lampshade (shown on the right).

The wire brought out the metal tones of the three 'candles' under the shade,
and the whole thing looked a lot more 'vintage' - easy-peasy.
This lampshade started out as a simple wire frame from a thrift shop.
I tore strips of red ticking cotton fabric and found some vintage red velvet ribbon,
and simply tied loops of each around the frame.
I think it took me a whopping 15 minutes from start to finish.

I like my projects to be 'Fast, Cheap, & Easy'TM!

MORE inspiration:
view more of my lampshade transformations
a super-quick lampshade treatment
one of the most drastic lamp transformations ever

I've used chandelier crystals, metal shoe trees, wire waste baskets,
aprons, vintage piano player music rolls, belts, stencils, sheet music,
vintage linens, wallpaper, vintage ceramic tea cups, and more
to 'foof' up lampshades over the years...

a few that I gathered up in 2013 to share here on HWF:
 I hope you find inspiration for your own unique lampshades here!
Have fun creating!
...we'll leave the light on for ya'... ;)

shared online:
one project closer | creativity unleashed
shabbyfufu | share it one more time
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1.09.2016

Valentine's Day Sweet Tooth!

Valentines Day window display

Deb's got a sweet tooth in more ways than one, let me tell ya...
today I was searching for something on my retail visual design blog
and found a 'blast from the past' old post sharing my Valentine's Day decor.
... and since we're already gearing up for Happy Hearts Day decor,

I thought you might just want to see it!

That was my little craftsman Cottage's kitchen window shown above, 
loaded with candy dishes heaping full of yummy tidbits 
(that I'll never really eat, truth be told....my weakness is chocolate
and a few trompe loeil treats.
One of them was inspired by THIS photo
from a past issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion Magazine ...
stacked ribbon cake decor
I gathered up some round cardboard containers, metal tins, fabric, ribbons, and froufrou,
and got to work making my own versions of this 'stacked wedding cake' idea.
(I know, I know, this is not WORK. Let's call it a 'Creative Exercise' then, OK?)

I came up with two of them:

original valentines day decorvalentines day decorating
It's simply a cake pedestal with boxes, tins, and even a ceramic coffee cup
stacked up in layers and embellished with ribbons, flowers, 
and even my own REAL wedding cake topper!

 I shared a similar 'stacked wedding cake'-style idea here on HWf a few years ago:
repurposing white dishes

Here are just a few more ideas for making your Valentine's Day sweet as can be....
heart-shaped candy boxes valentines day decorvalentines day decor
More clear vases, domes, and candy dishes were loaded with 
pink and red candies from the Dollar Tree, an old heart pin made from buttons,
a 'cupcake' pincushion in a mug, and red marble hearts in a heart-shaped box...
it all added whimsy and charm to that little window in front of the sink
but took no time at all to create!

The truth was that although my Cottage kitchen was a retro dream,

the view out that window was utterly hideous
it looked directly at the garage of the house next door. UGH.
(you can see it right there in the background of the top photo!)
So I always created cute little vignettes in the window to look at instead!

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Want even more Valentine's Day inspiration?
 

See my '30 Days to Valentine's Day Countdown' posts from 2013!
View my Pinterest board: February Hearts


pssssssst..... I'm on Instagram, too!

2.15.2013

Heartfelt Thanks


thank you all for playing along for the past month,
visiting the HOMEWARDfound blog, facebook page, pinterest boards, and HOMEtalk posts!
the countdown is over...
but you can still catch up on all 31 posts - just click here!


[ and stay tuned.... SPRING IS COMING! ]

2.12.2013

tout de suite


Welcome to Day 29!

imagine if the shelves shown in yesterday's post were in a kitchen, instead of in my office.
 you could create a quick little display tout de suite*
just by raiding the kitchen cabinets & drawers:


 cake pans, cupcake wrappers & box, cookie cutters, and a few edible goodies
become decor items! easy. or, rather...

[*tout de suite ]
which is one of the most common expressions in the French language,
and is just one of several ways to say "right away, immediately."

now what if you grabbed a little bit more from the kitchen,
and pulled together a candy bar beneath those shelves?

it might look a lil' something like this:


the best part? 
the candy AND darling 'cookies on a stick' ALL came from the dollar store
and the glass vases & candleholders came from thrift shops!

This is a simple, easy idea for a family-time Valentine's Day dessert
that your kids are sure to love

* leftover Christmas candycanes fit the color scheme and fill up a huge vase
* smaller lidded jars hold cheap but cute dollar store candies,
and a tiny butter dome holds some jellied fruits wrapped in red & white wrappers
 * decorated cookies-on-a-stick stand in a cup lined with doilies
* dotted wrapping paper forms the base of the decor


* an overturned custard dish acts as a pedestal for a cupcake
[and a flattened cupcake paper forms a colorful 'saucer' beneath it]
* small red glass heart plates stand inside raised candleholders, secured with hard wrapped candies

several other ideas from HOMEWARDfound are shown above:

wrapped glass vases [view post here]

bakers' twine tags [view tutorial here]

shared online:
2016: one project closer | creativity unleashed link party
 

2.11.2013

All Together Now...



Welcome to Day 28!

this Valentine Vignette  
sits above my desk, and is the first thing i see when i walk into the office.
it's a small space that benefits from very little 'tweaking'
by adding new elements each season / month, along with just a touch of color.

you probably have a windowsill, or an entry table
that is the first thing you see when you walk into your home or kitchen...
it's a perfect place to create a seasonal vignette!


elements like the white ironstone pitchers & mini bowls and the white silk tulips 
are used almost all year long.
the simple addition of some aluminum heart-shaped cake pans
[picked up for 25 CENTS each at a thrift shop],
the L-O-V-E letter tiles, 
and the red & white striped hearts and cupcake papers
makes this arrangement say 'Valentine's Day'.

the photo above brings together two previous ideas from HOMEWARDfound:
 gift tags and hearts, cut from an old box [ see tutorial here ]
and

giant letter tiles [ see tutorial here ]

2.10.2013

Stop the Presses!

Pin It


Welcome to Day 27!

i had a completely different post ready for today...
then i went to Barnes & Noble yesterday, and spied something SO FABULOUS
that it is just too good NOT to share!


i don't know why they do it, 
but Barnes & Noble offers reprints of the original 
1800's - 1900's Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogs!
yes, the same ones that used to be dropped with a THUMP onto your porch each summer,
just in time to pick out 'back to school' clothes and dream over toys for Christmas. 

i spied that volume on the sales shelf and grabbed my phone to take a shot to share
[while an older gentleman on the same aisle looked at me suspiciously...]

inside the book are hundreds of pages with thousands of vintage images 
and words in antique typography
that would be PERFECT for paper crafts! 
do you create collages? mixed media art? 
are you like me and wrap everything that's boring in paper of the vintage variety?
this is just a fabulous solution that saves you the time and trouble
of rooting through boxes in barns, antique stores and thrift shops 
to find old magazines for your projects.

those paper crafts shown in yesterday's PARTY post
you could totally make that stuff with these catalog pages - instead of sheet music.
for any holiday or season!






2.09.2013

a Sweet Treat Party!


Welcome to Day 26!
the photos in this post are from a retail display that i created
one Valentine's Day in a vintage boutique... 

i was inspired by my own 8th birthday party
[one of my favorites, and i remember it in great detail!]
from the pink streamers overhead to the kitchen setting,
and the strawberry 'ice cream' to the pink 'cake',
[some of my original 'FooFooFauxFood'TM designs]
so i had a lot of fun putting this together!

first, here's a look at the whole 'party':
 
second, some of the details:

 * a pink child's skirt is the lampshade cover, with a sweet ribbon bow to hold it in place.
     *  'ice cream' in bowls is made from chenille bedspreads and topped with fuzzy white yarn
 * 'ice cream cones' are Christmas ornaments in vintage paper cones with crepe paper ruffles

* party hat is a dollar store purchase, dolled up with vintage papers & ribbons
 * 'bon bons' are tiny Christmas ornaments in cupcake liners
 * stacked glass plate, casserole lid, and footed bowls create a pedestal to hold the bon bons

 * round notepads with pink design look like cookies on a cookie sheet in the open vintage oven
 * the 'cake' is a round tin, covered in chenille from a bedspread and a lace doily
 * sweet favor flags (and banner on back wall) are made from sheet music and stickers

 * this photo [up in my February banner image and used a few times in other posts]
was taken in this display setup, too...
the chair hung on the wall, to the right and above the white vintage stove.

shared online:

project inspire{d} | cupcakes and crinoline

Happy Weekend!
now go create somethin' !