Ready for Tropi-FALL?!

August? Already?!

Not ready for summer to end? Neither am I!
But I can get on board with a different kind of 'summer into fall' decor...

So in this post, I'm going to re-share a roundup of my past creations that bridge the seasons of summer and fall with a beachy, coastal, tropical, tiki style vibe. I call it 'Tropi-FALL'! (And if you ARE ready for fall, you can jump right in!)

Putting them all in one post gives me a break from having to promote new blog posts each week this month, giving me space to enjoy time with friends at some fun events... because although the hot weather will last into October here, summer isn't sticking around forever. I want to enjoy it! (And yes, I'm testing out this 'one project/one post per month' method to see if it helps me with some things I have been struggling with.) 

Continue reading for a look back at four of my faves...

SUMMER: Tiki Punch!

This one is coming out of the archives, because it's just SO fun and easy for summer party decor! 

Like my last post, this is a paint project - because nothing can change the look of something faster then paint! It's also a pretty inexpensive way to add a fun touch to your decorating.

These Tikis were in Mom & Dad's backyard for over 20 years, and I featured their first 'makeover' as part of my 'Thrifty Weekend Makeover' series here on the blog back in 2016.

Well, we saved those tikis when we moved to the new house, but we didn't think we'd use them... except for a party, maybe. Our decor was decidedly 'wine country farmhouse' in style, and tikis just didn't fit.

When I saw some photos from Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern Week, an idea came to mind for an area of our backyard that needed a punch.

Continue reading for an easy 'how-to'!

SUMMER: repainted thrifted signs

Turning one thing into something ELSE is my 'schtick'. 
Giving something a fresh look so it fits my decor colors and theme is part of that.

My favorite thing to give a 'makeover' to is signs - wood, metal, ceramic, paper, plastic - because I can indulge my love of painting and in just minutes have a whole new item to add to our home.

All of the signs in the photo up above have been given a makeover - simple applications of acrylic paint that completely changed the look of what I found!

I promise that it isn't hard to do - continue reading and I'll show you the before, during, and after of every one of those signs. It's LONG, but you'll learn a lot!

SUMMER: Vintage Sheet Music Wall Art

...........

Creating 'art' isn't as complicated as it often seems... 
Sometimes, it's just finding an item that appeals to you, and hanging it on the wall!

Case in point: Vintage sheet music. In my case, vintage Hawai'ian sheet music.

While at our library bookstore one day, I decided to thumb through the STACKS of vintage sheet music they had ('Vintage' because NOW people use music on iPads!). Lo and behold, I flipped a few books of Mozart and Liszt and found a beautiful green cover with darling Annette Funicello's photo and the song title 'Pineapple Princess' on it!


If you know anything about the 'Mickey Mouse-keteers' or any of the Frankie & Annette teen movies from the 50's, you know who Annette IS. I think she's adorable, and I also think that the Hawai'ian music + Disney history combo is absolutely perfect for our home!

And though I didn't actually know WHAT I would do with this, I handed over the FIFTY CENTS owed and brought her home with me. Just one day later, I decided what to use the sheet music for, and within ten minutes I had new wall art!

Continue reading for a truly simple tutorial...

SUMMER: grass skirt lampshade cover

A big trend in interior design right now is the use of woven materials on light fixtures... rattan, palm fronds, wicker are all showing up in oversized 'basket'-type hanging lights and lampshades:

I love that look, but not the price tags attached. When I read that the Crate and Barrel Kids 'Greta' floor lamp with raffia shade shown above was $249, I created a similar look for an existing lamp in my living room - using materials I already had on hand, of course! 

Continue reading for an easy DIY tutorial that will work on any lampshade...

SUMMER: thrifted game as tiki wall art

Summer is finally here, and it's time to get into an island groove!
But Deb, you don't LIVE on an island!, you might say. True.
But we LIVE like we do!

Back in 2020, our home decor theme shifted. Massively. 
We had created a sort of farmhouse/wine country hybrid with small seasonal accents, made by me. But when the Pandemic lockdown was put into place and we had to cancel our summer trip to Hawaii, we pivoted. "If we can't go to Hawaii, let's bring Hawaii to us!" was our mantra... and the shift to tropical decor with a tiki subtheme hasn't stopped! We enjoy it 365 days a year. (Yes, I still add in a few seasonal items - but now, they're ALL tropical!)

Thing is, I know this kind of themed home decor doesn't appeal to the majority of people. It is a bit like living in a Disneyland attraction (that's by design - my grandfather helped build Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room!) and that's not for everyone, so I chose to continue creating & sharing 'regular' seasonal decor projects that would appeal to most of my blog readers.

But life is crazy right now in these United States, and I need FUN! I need HAPPY!
I thought that perhaps you, dear readers, might need more of that as well.

So this summer, I'm sharing a slew of tropical / tiki / Hawaiian style projects that I've already completed here at home. This is your 'peek behind the curtain'!

...continue reading to see how a thrifted 'cornhole' bean bag game became wall art!

SPRING: repurpose a lampshade frame as a cloche

My sweet aunt Diane gifted me a terra cotta bunny figure in March for my birthday, along with a lovely lunch at one of our local wineries. After the celebrating was over, I came home and created a sweet little springtime vignette starring that bunny... and I thought I'd share this idea with you, since it is SO simple to replicate!

Continue reading to see how it all came together, plus some additional ideas...

SPRING: 'bunny ears' floral bouquet

 

With April's arrival, Easter draws closer... and while I like to focus on 'seasonal' decor rather than specific holidays, sometimes ideas pop up and I just have to run with them!

Back in 2023, I created a small floral project for Easter using tiny white ball flowers and some daffodil leaves. This year, I was looking at the green hydrangeas that I used in the 'floral bouquet in a purse' project shared a few weeks back, and decided to replicate that older project - in larger scale. 

Continue reading to see how easy it is to create this fun bouquet...

SPRING: re-purpose light cages as flower frogs

Daffodils are my FAVORITE flower. Have been since I was a Little Debby and loved watching 'Daffy O'Dill' dance in Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland'.

Every spring, I grab bunches of them and fill up the house with sunny flowers... and while I miss being able to drive to the Skagit Valley in Washington state and get my fill of multiple varieties grown and sold in roadside 'honor stands', now I just drive to Trader Joe's Market and grab some bunches! (TJ's imports daffodils from both Skagit Valley, Washington and Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada).

The one thing I don't like about them is how the stems can end up bending and cutting off the water supply to the blooms. But now I've come up with a fun way to turn something else into a solution! 

Continue reading to see this EASY repurposed flower frog idea!

WINTER: PomPom Vases

Here at the edge of the 'winter-spring' seasonal transition, I try to keep the coziness of winter's soft textures going by mixing them with elements that  start to reflect springtime.

When I picked up a remnant of some minty-green pompom trim at a fabric store's going out of biz sale, I immediately knew that I was going to do this with it...

Paired up with some smaller white pompom trim that I had from Dollar Tree, plus a thrifted curtain panel with minty green pompoms running down two sides, that new trim pulled it all together. It took just minutes for these three vases to get a new look!

Continue reading for my easy tutorial...

WINTER: yarn ball SnowBuddies!

I just have to ask: Do You Wanna' Build a Snowman?!

Since we have a bit of winter weather left (thank you Punxatawney Phil), I thought I'd share this fun new idea with you...

I dropped some yarn balls the other day, as I was taking them out of a box, and one bounced onto the top of a nearby mug (empty!). Imagine my surprise as I realized that it looked for all the world like one of my Sweet Sweater Snowmen. Only EASIER to make! 

Continue reading for my easy tutorial for making Yarn Ball SnowBuddies...

WINTER: office organization on the cheap

  

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors blog hosts a weekly linkup, encouraging her followers/readers to share their recent projects. This past Friday, she suggested that we also share our favorite tips for getting organized at the start of a new year... which sent me to my hwf blog archives to find a post I knew would be what she was hoping for.

It took me awhile to find it in my archives, but I did, and linked it up to her party. The response to it in just two days is astounding! Now I feel motivated by Donna to share this helpful info that you can use by re-posting my original post from 2013 again - so I'm sharing it today as a 'Bonus Post' in addition to my regular content.

This info is the 'BTS' - Behind the Scenes -  of how I created my absolute dream office / design studio... spending very little money, using reclaimed + thrifted items + what I already had. I've actually done this in every creative space I have designed for myself, since the very first one in 2004. (I shared that studio in another post, which is linked at the end of this post)

In January of 2011, I moved into my dream house on an island in the PNW, and enjoyed the opportunity to design a whole new studio/office for myself.  I undertook this project exactly as I would one for a client: start with what you have and look at it in a fresh way.

continue reading to see how I get organized - on the cheap!

WINTER: diy gumball machine lamp!

Sometimes, you have to do a project or make a thing just for fun.

Like when you've been deep cleaning your studio/office and feel buried in the mess. (Especially when you are 'stress cleaning', am I right??) Or when an item crosses your view and a thought comes to mind "What IF...." This happens to me a lot, actually. My ADHD + rampant imagination combine and my mind is overtaken by those ideas. I can't even sleep until I try them out!

This week I unearthed a gumball machine from behind a chair in a corner. I thought it was in bins in our Shasta trailer - but no, it was tucked away just waiting to surprise me! And when I picked it up and sat it on the credenza, it ended up next to some glass lamp globes that were headed to one of the cabinet spaces of the credenza. 

My brain started adding things together, and this project happened. 

I just never know what's going to happen from day to day around here, I swear... 

Continue reading to see how easy it is to turn a gumball machine into a lamp!

holiday 2024: mini Christmas tree farm!

a contributing factor to this year's theme,

O CHRISTMAS TREE 

was finding three gorgeous flocked trees at Target.

then i found two white ceramic trees for a buck each at a thrift shop.

all i had to do was add in a few trees i already had -

and give a few of them a makeover -

as well as make a few new trees,

and my mantel turned into a mini Christmas tree farm! 

continue reading for a few really fast tree tutorials...

holiday 2024: funky fabric Christmas tree!

while most of my holiday decorating this year
involves re-using a lot of elements i already have
along with a few new things i am making,
there ARE new store-bought things in the mix...

and one of them inspired a whimsical tree:

i picked up a few small flocked trees at Target for $3 each.
as they sat in my studio waiting for me to use them, 
i looked at that bright chartreuse green tree - and had a brainstorm.

i have a fuzzy chartreuse green microfiber blanket.
i have a few wire tomato cages. i put those two together.
and the result is a very... SEUSSICAL... tree.
which perfectly fits my 2024 theme,
O Christmas Tree 

continue reading and see what craziness i pulled off!

holiday 2024: diy upcycled painted ornaments

wreath number two for this year is a fun one...
i rounded up some old ornaments that i don't ever use, 
and gave them a whole new look with paint.

the pattern that i painted on these ornaments
was inspired by the posterboard i've been using as a 'drop cloth':
it's just splotches and swaths of paint left from many painting sessions -
which looks a lot like a current 'graffiti' paint trend
that is an easy pattern to replicate.

since my theme this holiday season is
O Christmas Tree
using ornaments in varied ways works perfectly!

follow along and let me show you how easy this is...

modern wood bowl mushrooms

yep, i'm stubbornly holding on to the fall season over here!
our triple-digit summer temps didn't drop until Halloween week,
so i am in no rush to hurry autumn along.
(i can actually sit outside now!)

after sourcing a few wood bowls at a local thrift shop,
i wanted to make fall decor from them, and

these incredibly easy mushrooms only took ten minutes to create.
and i love the woodsy vibe they have!

continue reading for a truly simple tutorial...

NEW! Faux Pumpkin Cake

yes, Deb loves sweets - edible or not!

and since Halloween is all about the treats,

i just make my own calorie-free versions -

like faux caramel apple pumpkins and this faux pumpkin cake.

in trying to finish up my yearly 'pumpkin palooza' projects,

i had an idea for a pumpkin slathered with frosting to look like a cake,

but wasn't sure if i could make it look the way i wanted it to...

after searching online for images of 'pumpkin shaped cakes'

(click here to see what came up). 

i was scrolling Instagram and saw THIS:

but WAIT - that's not a cake. it's EMBROIDERED fabric!

artist Heather Rios is INSANELY talented at making fake look real.

she shares her astounding works of art on Insta at @heather_rios_arte

Heather's idea of showing the inside of the 'cake' 

impacted and changed my original plan -

and made me reach for a particular material in my stash

to approximate the texture she gets in her artwork.

continue reading to see how it all came together!

NEW! Sweet Sweater Apples!

one thing always leads to another 'round here....

after i turned some old green sweet sweater succulents

into green sweet sweater pumpkins (see my last post)

i had some different sweater succulents left over.

i've not only turned them into something different,

but have come up with yet another sweater creation"
Sweet Sweater Apples!

continue reading for details and a quick tutorial...

Make My Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins + Succulents!

every autumn, i get a huge uptick in blog traffic
searching for my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkin tutorial.

they're a fun bit of seasonal decor that i am proud of creating back in 2007,
they've been published in major shelter magazines a few times,
and i love that people want to make their own versions of my babies!

every year i make new versions of them, and create a new post

just to make it easier for the tutorial to be found.

and yes, this year, i have green pumpkins!

but i didn't make them this year... i RE-made them.

because they weren't originally pumpkins...

back in 2019, i created my Original Sweet Sweater Succulents,

using my 2007 Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkin method...

this year, i've made two simple changes to them
to turn them into pumpkins!

continue reading to see how easy this was...
and for links to both tutorials.