vintage bowl mushrooms!

this project may not 'bowl you over' (geeze, i'm old)

but i hope it will inspire you to use things differently in your home decor.

in this case, i've gathered up some kitchen items

to create spring decor elements that work in many other places.

continue reading for the easy tutorial...

paint a faux 'rusted' metal mailbox

after sharing an epic paint fail (and a fix!) in my last post,

i thought i should share another paint project - one that went WELL!

inspired by this photo of a rusty green vintage metal mailbox on Instagram

(courtesy of  @thecollecteddesign on Instagram),

i grabbed a small vintage metal mailbox that i had found at a yard sale

and transformed it into a more beautiful mailbox - using paint.

yeah, i'm THAT kind of crazy, attempting this after a big mess!

but thing is - it worked. and it didn't just WORK, it worked out AMAZINGLY!

so, i'll share the steps i used to 'age' an already vintage mailbox -

including one of my 'top secret' (until now) faux finish tricks.

continue reading for all the details...

welcome to an epic crafting fail. and a fix!

prepare yourselves, friends... 

this project was actually going to be included as a photo prop in my 'posie pots' post.

and then everything that COULD go wrong WENT wrong.

so it wasn't included, and it's taken some time and effort

to reverse the damage and proceed with the project as intended.

ah, the joys of creating LOL! this is what you DON'T see on social media!

i've decided to feature it in its very own post

because this stuff happens - and for those who don't create a lot all the time,

it's helpful to know that 'ruined' does not equal 'toss it in the bin'.

there's usually always a way to save a project gone wrong!

continue reading to see the before, the scary during, and the after...

easy 'dot' candy pumpkins

it seems this fall has affected me by making me crave candy and sweets!!

this happy project was born when i found THESE at the Dollar Tree:

'member those?!!!

'dot' candy on paper strips was one of my FAVE sweet treats as a kid

(confession: i would sometimes stop at the local Circle K market while walking to school

and spend my lunch money on candy instead. BAD little debby!!!)

when i saw these GIANT candy versions, i grabbed a package

and got right to work when i arrived home...

...continue reading to see how easy this pumpkin decor is for adults & kids alike!

have a ball with these pumpkins!

do you have a family full of sports fans?

oh, my friends, you're gonna' have a BALL with this idea! 😉

i was killing time before an appointment by walking thru a 'FIVE below' discount store,

and spied a bin filled with small basketballs in bright happy colors...

there was no yellow, but the minty green one caught my eye!

continue reading for tips on this SUPER fast & easy pumpkin decor project!

faux 'jadeite' pumpkin paint tutorial

i don't collect jadeite - real OR faux - but i love it!
the pretty seafoam - mint - jade greens of jadeite dishes and cookware
remind me of the color of our Shasta trailer (see my last post!)
and because of that, i've found these greens combine well with ANY color.

in late August i picked up a ceramic pumpkin mug at Dollar Tree,
and decided to try my hand at re-creating the luminous look of jadeite -
with paint.

and it worked! 
continue reading for my color-matching process and paint tutorial...

fall glamping with Miss Dot!

i'm at a vintage trailer rally at the beach this week,

so i thought i'd share photos of the 'glamping' decor that i created

for Miss Dot at a past rally (2021)...

you've seen a tropical decor theme (from 2022) in a recent post,

now here's a look at how switching out decor elements and a new color addition

creates a whole new vibe - this one's beachy!

(the rally is held in Newport Beach, CA and always has a 'surf' theme)

planning the decor theme for each glamping excursion

reminds me so much of how i played in my grandpa's Shasta trailer as a kid,

spending hours in their backyard decorating and dreaming...

continue reading to see how my yellow obsession extended to our Shasta trailer...

glass pumpkin gumball machine

my mom has owned this glass pumpkin since the 1980's... she bought me one then, too!

she says they were filled with Dunkin' or Winchell's Doughnut holes - 

but i don't recall getting any doughnut holes with mine! LOL

(Target has them for $10.00! not an ad)

i've always loved filling them with candy in the fall

(faves include Kraft caramels, Werther's caramels, and chocolate pumpkins!)

but things took a TURN this year...

i was shifting things around in my studio to photograph new creations

and when i emptied out the seashells from my gumball machine,

i sat the glass globe from it next to this glass pumpkin...

and my brain started asking questions like

 'wait... would the pumpkin fit on.... could it work.... ???'

so i played around and found out!

follow along as i show you how easy this one is...

repurposed crochet hat pumpkin

i'm a hat girl. always have been. i love wearing them
and have a pretty big collection of hats for every season.
i have thick straight hair and on the many days when it won't cooperate,
i just pop a ballcap or sunhat or cloche on my head and fuhgeddaboutit.

the only hats i don't like on my head are beanies. my forehead's too big.
but when i found THIS beanie, i fell in love with it and had to buy it...

because the moment i saw it, i KNEW it had to become a pumpkin!
here i am using things in ways they weren't intended to be used again LOL

continue reading for my tutorial (which is much like my sweet sweater pumpkin tute)...

NEW: beach towel pumpkins!

as August comes to a close in the weirdest way possible

(a hurricane in Southern California? AND an earthquake? okay....)

i am still stretching 'summer' to the very last moment

with this new original pumpkin design...

dare i say 'it's time for beach blanket bingo'??!!

i've noodled the idea of creating pumpkins using colorful beach towels for awhile... 

first i tried to make them the same way i do my famous sweater pumpkins

but towels just don't *squish* like sweaters do - even thin ones.

 i tried a kind of 'gathered' approach - nope. still too bulky.

then one day i was scrolling Instagram,

and right there in front of me was a fantastical, incredible, creative,

 ORIGINAL and colorful new form of art that just blew my mind -

AND solved my pumpkin problem!

continue reading to see what i saw, and how i translated that into pumpkins!

fall favorites: ALL of the pumpkins!

well, here we are in August already...
a month that i always think of as 'summer's golden hour'.
and fall is just around the corner. 
i LOVE summertime and am always sad to see the season go,
and usually i keep creating + sharing 'summer' content this month...

but i know everyone out there is ready for fall and all that comes with it.
and that means PUMPKINS!!!!

have you heard the voice clip on Instagram that goes 
"Do *I* like pumpkins??? Yeah. Yeah, I like pumpkins!!!!"
not only does it describe me, but the voice actually SOUNDS like me!
(it isn't me, but it's a bit eerie hearing it all over social media every fall!)
so yeah, i like pumpkins. i've collected them all of my life,
and i REALLY i like making pumpkins
out of just about any element + material i can find...

from painted tin cans to silvery trays, rusty metal junk, and copper kitchen scrubbies
to sweaters and yarn and lace and macrame' and even balloons,
from faux painted concrete, terra cotta, kintsugi, and Pyrex + china patterns,
to ping pong paddles, plant pots, wire waste baskets, picture frames, books, and paper,
i've made DOZENS of pumpkins over the past three decades...
and i'm sharing a link to ALLLLL of them!

click to see every pumpkin i've ever created!

i hope these projects inspire you to try a few new DIY pumpkin projects this fall!

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tropical tiki transformation

our backyard in Southern California underwent a transformation back in 2020....

when the pandemic shutdown happened and we had to cancel our trip to Kauai, Hawaii,

we decided to bring Hawaii to us!

i shared some of those backyard diy projects here on the blog back then

(the bamboo tiki bar, the tiki totem pole, and others - all linked below this post).

the project i'm sharing today wasn't a planned one - 

i saw something in a store and thought 'hmnn. that COULD look really good if i....'

and so i bought the item, brought it home, and worked some magic on it with paint.

it couldn't have been easier to transform a really cheap looking tiki mask

into something with much more of our own tropical style.

continue reading to see how it started... and how it's going now!

tropical front porch decor

i always tell people 'i see things differently'... 
that means i use elements & materials in ways they weren't intended to be used.
and i RE-use things i've created before in new ways.

this tropical look on our front porch is a perfect example!

in past posts, i've shared how i raided the garden shed for fall porch decor,
using items meant for the garden to decorate with. 
here i've used paper & bamboo party decorations...

continue reading to see what i used 'differently' to get this summer vibe...

display seashells in a gumball machine!

if you're a beach lover like me,
collecting & displaying seashells is a top summertime activity!

i've share many ideas before (linked below this post)
and now i have a different way to show off your shells
by using an unconventional container...

...continue reading for this easy paint & display project!

inflatable ring summer wreath

it's finally time for some summer fun,
and i have a fun way to set the mood right at your front door - 
display a welcoming wreath made from an inflatable pool ring!

i've added one of my own Original Sweet Sweater Sandbabies TM and a sign,
but this idea lends itself to so many interpretations
i know you can round up some beach toys, pool toys, flip flops, 
and other accessories to make a one-of-a-kind wreath for your home!

continue reading for my easy tutorial...

deb flips the bird... ?!

that post title doesn't mean what you might think!

some people 'flip' furniture. (actually, i've done that, too).

now i 'flip' home decor elements each season...

sometimes more than once IN a season!

and my favorite tool for changing how things look is paint.

i never let the color of an item found at a thrift store or yard sale

or even in my own storage bins limit me - 

because it's SO EASY to repaint things to make them fit my current decor style.

so when i discovered this little ceramic bird on a bottom shelf at Dollar Tree,
the very last one they had in the store,

i didn't hesitate a moment before dropping her into my shopping basket:

the pink color isn't BAD, it just doesn't fit my decor.

but with a few ideas and some paint, i gave her FOUR NEW LOOKS

and i created spring wreaths / wall decor for three of those!

continue reading to see how all four turned out...

garden light mushrooms

this month i have shared a bunch of ideas for creating and decorating with mushrooms.
this last one is kinda' sneaked into the blog lineup...
perfect for your yard OR indoors, these mushrooms lamps
are whimsical ways to repurpose household items
while you light up your summer evenings.

continue reading to see what inspired them and my easy tutorial...

she made mushrooms from WHAT??!!!

it's my birthday month - and when you combine that with my crazy theme of 

March Mushroom Madness  

you come up with this festive creation!
since my bday is this week, i decided this is the right time to share them!

have you figured out what i used to make them yet?

continue reading to see the details...

pom pom mushrooms

pom poms are having a MOMENT, my friends...

showing up in the fashion world, in huge art installations, and home decor.

while most of them are WILD expressions of texture and color,

i wanted to incorporate pom poms in a more limited palette

(yesssss, i DO mean yellow! - because why not?!)

and since my recent mushroom-creating kick has led to

March Mushroom Madness

i found a way to make pom pom 'shroomies!

...continue reading to see how EASY they are!

pyrex glass bowl mushrooms

more mushrooms have been 'springing' to life in my studio,
so let's continue with my

March Mushroom Madness!

last fall, my sweet friend Kim (she of the Farmhouse MAYkeover)
sent me a surprise package containing two darling vintage-inspired versions
of Pyrex' 'Butterfly Gold' pattern.

I LOVE THEM! i love them so much they became 'Pyrex Pumpkins' last fall.
and this spring, they've been transformed into Pyrex Mushrooms!

there's not a lot of technical 'tutorial' involved, but
continue reading to see some of my tips for making your own versions...