seed packet-inspired decor

spring is here, and things are starting to bloom!

looking for a fresh addition to our spring decor after removing the Easter eggs,
i found inspiration in one of my own past projects...

about seven years ago, i shared a project here on the blog that i called 'Posie Pails'.

basically, i combined a colorful floral seed packet, some twine, and a recycled tin can

and the result was garden-theme decor accents on the cheap:

well, i just figured out how to make an even cheaper 'quarantine crafts' version of them:

because it isn't essential to leave the house for craft supplies,
 i found a way to use floral images clipped from magazines to create my OWN 'seed packets'!
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continue reading to see how i turned actual trash into a springtime treasure....

happy Easter

wishing a happy Easter and a blessed Resurrection Day to all of you, my friends... 

and if you don't mind, i'm going to 'wax poetic' for a moment 

to share something important with you...

i've realized that one of the reasons i am so drawn to using 

old, scarred, damaged, discarded elements 

to create beautiful decor for my homes and to share with you here on the blog 

is that i myself have felt much the same at times... old, scarred, damaged, discarded. 

i long to not let the experiences and misfortunes that have made me feel 'less than' 

stop me from seeing beauty in life... and beauty and usefulness in the detritus.

when i salvage a bit of wood or an old rusted dented piece of metal, 

or pick up an errant bit of fabric or paper, and turn them into lovely home decor, 

i am finding a way to redeem those forgotten and discarded items. 

it soothes my soul to not let them stay there on the ground in a broken, dirty state, 

but to lift them up and clean them off 

and give them the chance to reveal the beauty that remains - deep within. 

it's not perfection, but it is beauty nonetheless.

do you see where i'm going with this, my friends?

this is what i know that God has done with me, and with many others i know: 

He has not left us to rot away in our broken, damaged state. 

He has not discarded us, but has lifted us up, 

given us the opportunity to be cleaned up and made useful and shiny once again. 

to reveal the beauty that He created within us to be seen once more. 

i have certainly seen that principle at work in my own life... 

that beauty can come from ashes, growth from destruction, and life from death. 

most especially, i see the way that my faith has given me a new start many times over, 

and a glorious hope for the future.

because of that faith in Him and hope for my eternal future, 

this day means a great deal to me. 

and i hope to live every day with the promise of Easter, of resurrection, 

in my heart and on my mind, guiding me through life.

i hope that you, too, will find your hope in Him. 

by the way, there's a really great story behind this wood cross planter that i made into wall art... 

check it out here

pillows in bloom!

over the many years that i've been decorating 'on the cheap',

i've sewn, hot glued, and simply tied on a LOT of pillow covers.

 recently, some old photos reminded me that i have also embellished pillow covers.

it's a lovely way to bring flowers into your home even if spring hasn't arrived yet!

so i grabbed some of the old photos, and quickly pulled together an embellished pillow

so i can share this fun idea with you...

continue reading to see more of this plus two more bloomin' projects!

home-making

friends, i just want to offer an encouraging note to you today...

i know things are scary in this world right now. i feel it, too.

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in the midst of all of it, i am purposing to choose to keep my mind in a place of faith not fear, 

a place of peace not panic, a place of still finding things in everyday life to be grateful for. 

to find simple, comforting ways to be creative and content at home. 

to make home a place of respite, refuge, and happiness.

and isn't it good that we can make our homes a retreat from the worlds' chaos? 

in the midst of the current sense of uncertainty, i hope that you can all 
focus your mind and your thoughts on still seeing beauty in the world around you,
extend patience and kindness to others (but not your hands! LOL),
and fill up your homes with a daily celebration of life:
music, cleanliness, and a calmness of spirit built on gratitude for what we DO have.

.
we have a choice, and our choices affect others around us and in our homes...
we can still shine the light of hopefulness and BE the bright side of life right now.
we can still pull together here on social media and encourage & uplift one another.

.as a way of sharing good news and encouraging messages & images,
i invite you to share your social media links in a comment on this post:
facebook page, blog, instagram, pinterest, twitter. you can share someone else's, too!

.

this is a way we can 'visit' some new people, find uplifting content, and let it brighten our days! 😘

____________________________

oh, and that project pictured above?
i've had a few questions about it, so i'll share the details...

continue reading to see more!

greenhouse from salvaged windows

 going through an old journal, i stumbled across these photos... from 1995.

(that's so long ago that i used an old-school film-loaded camera and had them printed!)

they show a very sweet birthday surprise that my late husband created for me:
a small backyard greenhouse, made from vintage windows.

he covertly collected vintage windows and a door (free off of Craigslist!)

then built the frame and inserted the windows to make this charming little place for me...

it was one of the nicest birthday gifts he ever gave me.

(i just wish i had been a better photographer back then!)

continue reading for more photos, and details about how he built it...

salvaged galvanized bucket fountain

when we moved into our newly constructed house almost four years ago, 

the entire backyard was nuthin' but dirt.

together, Mom and i came up with ideas for our own personal oasis,

i created a plan and sketches, and after a harrowing journey with the WRONG contractor,

we got the RIGHT guy - and our vision finally began to unfold.

when it came to the center of the yard design, we knew we wanted a fountain -

but we couldn't find anything commercially that we liked.

so i started looking at what we had and what i could do with it...

and what we HAD were some galvanized buckets and watering cans!

continue reading to see how i created an easy fountain with them...

rustic junky new year wreath

i love creating a fresh look on our front porch for each season. 
okay, it's not a porch. more like a 'vestibule' - long, narrow, and dark. 
(totally impossible to photograph well, especially with dark terra cotta colored stucco walls. but i try!)

that's why it's important to me to come up with a display here that will welcome guests.
i always bring in light colors, textures, and seasonal elements.
i have a plan for this area and am searching for a large lighter element to add this spring...

for winter this year, i chose rusty metal as the starting point.
some whitewashed wood elements, rope & twine, and rustic wood crates
(ALL things that i have used here before!) combined in a 'winter' scene.

continue reading to see more of our front porch decor...

totally tiki-tastic holiday!

our Happy HULAdays theme begins at the front door, 

with a totally terrific tiki welcome...

i made these guys by simply painting faces on planks of pine wood from our garage.

if you look closely, you can see that i used the grain of the wood as part of each face design.

the 'Happy HULA days' sign is a piece of plywood washed with brown paint, then hand-lettered.

the HULA letters were painted onto a few of my giant letter tiles, and glued onto the plywood.

you might recognize a few of those tiki faces... 

on the left: Olaf from Frozen (complete with twig arms and hair), a stylized Small World clock face, and a completely doe-like face that just came outta' my paintbrush that way!

on the right: a sun-like face inspired by Small World, a tiki face discovered online, 

Santiki - also discovered online - and finally, Baymax from Big Hero 6. that's for my Dad <3

the 'enter with the spirit of Aloha' sign is one my Mom bought in Hawaii and has had for years

(it was in the tropical backyard weekend makeover i did for my Mom)

... and the fun is just beginning!

continue reading to see MORE of the tikis that i gathered and created for our decor this year!

nativitiki - times two!

my thinking is: if you're going to do a Christmas theme, do it all the way.
the TIKI tree in my last post was just the beginning of our 'happy HULA days' theme...

i also created TWO incredibly cute nativity scenes with a tiki vibe.

(oh, and that name? well, as i was painting them, 

i thought to myself 'a tiki nativity. wait! nativi-tiki!' ... and it stuck!) 

i laugh out loud every time i look at this nativiTIKI in our living room! it's so happy!

grab a handful of macadamia nuts and continue reading to see all the tropical details...

diy wire lampshade frame Christmas tree

i created this tree last year, from lampshades and wire lampshade frames & a wire waste basket.

that was after i had stepped away from blogging, so i never shared it here... 

with a 'tree' theme running through all of my December posts, 

i thought it was fitting to include it now!

'continue reading' for the details...

more sweet sweater trees!

today i was moving some things around my studio/office, and discovered some 'forgotten' trees!
i made them awhile back.... and loved them, 

but they don't go with the current brightly colorful scheme in this room.

so, i came up with a quick idea to CAMOUFLAGE them - with sweaters! 

continue reading to see the before & after...

faux wood 'junk' trees

 this is not a collection of trees made from wood. nope.
it's a collection of trees made from wood-printed PAPER! 

'continue reading' to see more details of this easy and kid-friendly craft
that can be made with new or reclaimed materials -
a simple, inexpensive way to get a 'junk project' look for your holiday & winter decor!

junkie punkies!

some junk from my garage - hanging planter baskets and an old industrial fan - 

became 'Junkie Punkies' pumpkins for our front yard wheelbarrow display,

 with a quick spray of paint and a bit of imagination...

<<< click 'continue reading' for more details!

NEW! Sweet Sweater Succulents!

well... i said i'd be back if the muse strikes again... and those gals are partyin' around here!!!

after my last (surprise!) post, i tucked those ping pong paddle cacti into a bucket in my office - 

because i am vowing NOT to decorate with pumpkins for fall until it FEELS like fall here.

(it's in the triple digits where i live. decidedly still summer weather.) 

and apparently, those lil' cacti have seeped into my brain - because I HAD ANOTHER IDEA. 

same story as before: 

flash of creative energy. trip to the thrift store. making a mess in my studio. and it worked!

the best thing about this one? it makes use of something i've done before:
i took my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkin tutorial... and made a CACTUS!

of course, i just HAD to share it with you!

<<< click 'continue reading' for my new 'Sweet Sweater Succulents' tutorial! 

well, hello, pumpkins!

(i know, it's been a year since i closed this blog! i wasn't going to post anymore!
but a recent project is SO easy and SO worth sharing with you that... well, here i am again!)

a while back, i had an idea for a new decor project.

it was inspired by some scrap wood cacti shared by 'A Crafty Mix'
on Funky Junk Interiors Junk Projects Party #474 ,

only my idea was to use *a particular wood item* as the basis of my repurposed cacti.
then i forgot all about it. (hey, it's summer....)

this past week, for some strange reason, that forgotten idea morphed into a new one.

and it was pumpkins, natch. i mean - this is me, the former pumpkin queen. 

what ELSE am i gonna' be thinking about as fall approaches, right?

i've designed my original sweet sweater pumpkins, glass lamp globe pumpkins,
tin can pumpkin pails and faux concrete painted pumpkins

...and shared them all with you here on the blog. 

so with my 'pumpkin brain' engaged, i made a stop at the local Savers thrift store,

and they had exactly what i needed. i saw it, i liked it, i wanted it, i got it. (yeah).

and then... i painted it!

<<< click 'continue reading' to see what i did - and what i used!

more glass globe pumpkins!

 years ago - seven, to be exact - i made this original creation shown above. 

i call them 'glass globe pumpkins' because they are made from vintage glass light globes.

(the kind that hang on the ceilings of hallways & kitchens in old houses) 

more recently, i found some unique vintage glass lamp globes* and turned them into pumpkins - 

with a twist. i did something on these that i didn't do on the originals... 

continue reading to see the new versions!

a fall wreath-hanging secret!

 September has arrived, along with a refreshing cool front ('only' 91 degrees here this weekend!)

suddenly i found myself in a fall mood, ready to change up the front porch decor...

in true 'homewardFOUND' fashion, i started rooting around the garage to see what was on hand.

and in the process, i found something we bought back in JANUARY - and promptly forgot about.

we had a purpose in mind back then, but when i pulled it out of a box on Friday, 

i immediately came up with a completely different way to use it. 

(which is really no surprise to any of you, i am sure!)

there's a hint in the photo above, and when you continue reading, you'll see it!

refresh those dried topiaries!

years ago, i unearthed these two identical topiaries at the bottom of a thrift store bin.

i actually pulled on the first one because i saw the brass urn shape - never expecting anything to be attached.

when i saw the TOPS of the topiaries, i was underwhelmed.
however, i eyed them with my 'well, MAYBE they could be SOMETHING' look, 

and paid the whopping 50 cents each to take them home. 

the photo above was taken in one of my booths at a vintage show, 

where those two cheap topiaries (after a blow-dry cleaning and a bit of 'fluffing') sold for $12. EACH.

one man's trash, right?!!! it's easy to turn junk into decor!

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i see dried up and worn out topiaries all the time, and chances are you might HAVE one - 

so i thought i'd share some easy tips with you for 'refreshing' them.

continue reading for details...

wood ladder easel

in a recent post, i shared this 'found and foraged flag' project.

what i didn't share was the way i've chosen to display that flag art in my office:

on a ladder. oh, but it's not just ANY old ladder! 

continue reading to see how i modified it in just two easy steps... 

a found & foraged flag

you know, i love decorating with red white and blue
just as much as the next patriotic American... but... 

what if i don't want to use red and blue in my home, 

and want to stick with white + warm neutrals?

well... i found a way to do exactly that, and still have a focus on the flag for the Fourth of July!

i was cleaning out the garage (which may just be a summer-long project, i tell you...)

and found a bunch of materials left over
from when i closed the homewardFOUND shop last March.

when i looked at the weathered white fence pickets,
and the blue-ish zinc metal scraps, i saw a flag.

 so i got busy assembling it on the workbench...
and that metal in the top photo isn't what you think it is!

...continue reading to see how i made my own faux zinc!