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...

copper 'junk' trees

paper trees aren't enough for the 'tree' Christmas decor theme i dreamed up, oh noooo...
i had to go rummaging through the kitchen cabinets (and, i admit, a few thrift stores)
to find MORE STUFF to make trees out of!
and THIS is where my crazy imagination took me:

stacking copper kitchen molds (usually used for gelatin, ice cream, cakes, even meatloaf)
into tree shapes.
although there was one that didn't need to be stacked... it already looks like a tree.
so i topped it with a snowflake cookie cutter.

i call 'em 'copper junk trees', even though this isn't really JUNKY junk.  

from the bottom of this stack, we have:
a copper cookie tin (from Costco, two years ago)
a large copper fluted ring mold
the LID from the copper cookie tin, flipped upside down
two medium-sized copper fluted molds
a copper funnel

i admit to gluing the funnel on with a dot of hot glue
because it just would NOT stay on there!!

on glass cake stands on the kitchen island,
they add the perfect bit of whimsy to the room.
(that wood fencing is just there for the photos)

OH! here's a thought... if your style is totally kitsch,
you could make these with shaped Tupperware pieces, too!
or use tiny little tart pans & containers to create small versions of these,
and hang the lil' trees ON your real Christmas trees.

yup. deb's really gone over the edge with this one, friends...
but hey, it's fun. and i think decorating should be fun.

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #505 

featured!

oh my goodness, thank you Miss Donna - TWO features!

diy salvaged junk projects #506

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!

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!

.

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...

turning the tables...

seems like every day, i see a photo on social media of tables made from wood cable spools.
it's kind of the 'orange crate' diy decor trend of the 70's reborn!

i've STILL not seen anyone do with them what *i* do with them:
pair the wood spool top with metal bases from other tables. 
because, you know, i always have to do things differently than other people!
we have quite a few variations on this theme at home - 
... continue reading to see what i've created!

create a garden scarecrow using what?!

we finally had nice sunny weather this past weekend,
and i enjoyed working out in the backyard garden on a project that i've had in mind for months.
i am excited to finally share this easy tutorial with you! 

continue reading to see what i was working on... and how you can make one of your own!

summer kickoff: red, white & blue

 over the years i've shared so many 'fast, cheap & easy'TM tips for decorating...

and my faves are always the party themes!

the 'official' start of summer is on the horizon! 

don't you agree that summer parties should be EASY to pull together? 

uncomplicated? fun? whimsical? and inexpensive? i thought you would! 

so let's use stuff we already have - nothing precious or expensive, just simple.

continue reading for one of my easiest centerpieces EVER - plus a few helpful tips...

May Day 'Posie Pails'

here's a simple tutorial for a May Day flower holder - from a tin can!
it's time to go back to the days when we left flowers on our neighbors' doorknobs
on May Day, don't you think?

this project, my friends, is a real 'blast from the past'...
not only did i paint hundreds and hundreds of my tin can pails for years,
but i also created this idea using seed packets as artwork for a simple DIY version...
and shared it here on homewardFOUND waaaaaaay back in 2013! yes, FIVE years ago!

...continue reading for my easy tutorial to make what i am now calling 'Posie Pails'!

a Tale of Two Tables...

 what do you do with a broken table?  i hang the tabletops on walls!

i came across a pair of oval end tables at a garage sale - and both had broken legs.

thing was, i loved the scalloped shape of them and the ogee edges, so i bought them -

and then took 'em home and removed all of the legs and the aprons.

now simply a flat surface, they were perfect for transforming into wall art...

one of them, shown above, got a few coats of eggshell white paint, a quick sanding, 

and a large picture hanger attached to the back to hang vertically - 

ready for whatever came next.

continue reading to find out what came next!

Rustic Signpost from Scrap Wood

one of the projects i undertook this weekend was a refresh of something i created a year ago...

and those two lower boards shown above are the reason why.

this was inspired by fun directional signs in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure,

and i used scraps of wood left over from my Dad's workshop to create it. 

(there's a photo of the entire structure later in the post)

i needed a few more pieces of wood to add two new locations,

and i discovered a SUPER cheap supply secret at my local diy store!

continue reading to find out where you can find cheap wood for rustic signs...

Mirror, Mirror... Not at All!

a number of years ago, i found this mirror frame in a thrift store...

it had been separated from the dresser it belonged to, and the mirror glass was missing,

so it was basically just an empty frame. a beautiful empty frame!
i couldn't pass up the $2 price tag, so i took it home...

and with a few easy steps and one super-cheap secret, it became what you see here:
a lovely framed bulletin board!

i made and sold that bulletin board as shown above, without a dresser.

to give you an idea of what it would look like if you did this to a mirror frame WITH a dresser:

DISCLAIMER: these are not my dressers. these are not my photos, either - they were on a defunct sales site.
i've edited them to add a burlap-covered bulletin board to the mirror frames to illustrate my idea.

ok, wanna' know my secret?

i use large acoustic ceiling tiles and cardboard boxes!

* they are inexpensive, and they work behind any fabric OR can be painted.

* they are lightweight and easy to work with - just cut with an electric knife!
* they come in large rectangular sizes, so they'll fit just about any frame -
a dresser mirror, like this, or a door with a window opening, or a window frame.

click to see how i made a huge bulletin board out of a vintage door with a window

and get some tips for making your own version of this project!

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #422

yesterday on tuesday |  project inspire{d} #268

Tripping Was NOT in My Plan...

you know those bloggers that create a plan for their blog posts?

like, a three month list of what gets published when - and including what content ?

that must be nice.

i plan my seasonal content ahead, i do - but more often than not 

i find myself putting an unscheduled project together on the fly at the last minute, for one reason or another, 

and it turns out SO GOOD that i just have to share it. today's post is a great example.

oh, yeah, that 'last minute' part? you could add 'by accident' to that, too.

because i nearly had an accident in my studio - and that's how this particular project came about...

continue reading to find out how my klutziness worked in my favor!

Flower Frogs, My Way

this apparatus is known as a 'flower frog'... and apparently, they are trending this spring!

continue reading to see what inspired me, and the ideas i came up with
for making flower frogs out of JUNK!

Repurpose Test Tubes as Flower Vases

the strangest things show up at thrift shops, and it really pays to keep an open mind....
because you just might find something that gets your creative chemistry going!

continue reading to see what i did with the glass test tubes i found!

Salvaged Tabletop Herb Garden

you've all heard that phrase 'best laid plans', riiiiight? sigh.

last Thursday morning, as i was loading up my truck to restock the homewardFOUND shop, 
i cut a very deep gash in my finger...
and it was immediately apparent that no bandaid would suffice.
it required a visit to the ER and five stitches, then being immobilized for several days.
as a result, i've been working on things behind the scenes here on the blog
(with one hand. do you know how hard it is to type with one hand?!!!)

much as i don't like accidents, there was that time a happy accident 
became a spur-of-the-moment project: a tabletop herb garden...

continue reading to find out how this happened!

Winter Into Spring Decor

 wondering how to decorate for the change from winter into spring?

try combining the hues and textures of winter with a touch of spring flowers, 

like the clear & white glass, burlap, and cherry blossom combination above.

this is a really simple way to take an everyday item and make it work as decor...

yes, those round things in the photo up above ARE what you think they are:

glass light globes

from old porch lights and overhead hall lights!

continue reading to see what i've done with them for spring!

Valentine's Day Projects + Tutorials

looking for some 'fast, cheap, & easy' TM ideas + inspiration

for making Valentine's Day gifts + decor using what you already have?

you'll find tutorials and photos for my TOP TEN best-selling and most popular original projects

- plus two inspiring valentine party themes - in the homewardFOUND blog archives. 

i've pulled the links all together here to make it easy for you ;)

TUTORIALS:
giant L O V E letter tiles  

embellished vintage bottles . wrapped glass vases

paper swedish hearts . paper flower heart

sweet pincushions . fabric sweet hearts  

  sweet gift tags  . heart gift tags  . charm bracelet

PARTY INSPIRATION:
sweet treat party decor . sweethearts soiree

have fun makin'! 

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #414