SPRING terra cotta pot garden 'totems'

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This isn't a secret: Deb becomes obsessed with POTS in springtime! I've waxed poetic about my collections here, they are the very first thing I look for at thrift stores and yard sales, and you'll find projects using terra cotta pots for every season of the year here on the blog.

I recently saw an idea on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try... using plain old terra cotta plant pots to create 'garden totems'. It's a simple project that works as art AND a way to store unused pots in style:

This style is made with all the same size pots. Mine use varied sizes because that's what I have on hand - and that's my favorite way to decorate.

Follow along as I show you just how easy this one is...

SPRING: A Portable Potting Table

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You just never know what you can do with a piece of junk!

I found a vintage wood ironing board really cheap about a year ago at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in my area. I happily forked over FIVE DOLLARS for it and hauled it home, knowing that I would come up with a plan for it eventually. 

Even before I had a plan for how I would USE it, I knew how I wanted to spiff it up: Paint, of course... so I painted it. Last year. Since then, it's been folded up and leaning against the wall in my studio, only pressed into service - pun intended! - when I set it up to help store the elements of last year's holiday projects while I was photographing them. 

I recently began working on our backyard, doing all of the spring cleaning and prep for new plants - and that's when I decided that it would work splendidly as a portable potting table! And it couldn't have been easier...

AUTUMN: Make 'Bumpy' Pumpkins With Loopy Yarn!

I've been so dang busy lately, I haven't been able to to create ANYTHING...
but when I found a hank of loopy green yarn in my stash, I had an idea,
and in a matter of minutes two elements became pumpkins -
so here ya' go, friends!

Continue reading for an easy-peasy tutorial that will help you
make a fun version of 'warty pumpkins' using loopy yarn...

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Sequin Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the third of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

This sparkling glittering specimen was inspired by one of Taylor's outfits,
and I've combined several elements to transform a styro pumpkin
into one worthy of the spotlight!

Read More for my easy tutorial...

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Graffiti Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the second of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

Using my favorite decorating tool - paint - 
I glammed up an item I already had in my stash,
which made it a pretty cheap makeover!
The only thing I bought for this was a small bottle of gold glitter glue.

Read More for my easy tutorial...

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Pumpkins!

"...so, I wanted to show you something..."
 THIS is my brand new theme for this Autumn's seasonal decor:

With Taylor's new album releasing in just over a month,
I was inspired by her FUN theme + her wardrobe on the Eras Tour
to create some sparkly orange 'costumes' for my pumpkin 'showgirls'...

I've got FOUR fabulous pumpkin tutorials to share with you -
two are painted ceramic pumpkins and two are fabric pumpkins.
(and yes, of course one of them is a Sweet Sweater Pumpkin!)

Here's a quick Sneak Peek:

They're all glittery and sparkly and shimmery 
(one of them even has friendship bracelets!)
and the perfect addition to your autumn decor.
I'll be sharing four posts with four detailed tutorials,
one each Wednesday in September.

What a fun way to lead up to Taylor's album release on October 3rd!
(AND to celebrate her recent engagement to Travis Kelce!)

...even if you're not a fan of Ms. Swift, OR orange,
you can use my creations as a starting point to make your own
uniquely sparkly pumpkins. Maybe in BLACK! Or Green ;) 
(I'm stepping out of my 'Green Era' this month... but not forever!)

Find ALL FOUR tutorials here:

Sweet Sparkle Sweater Pumpkin TM

Grafiti Pumpkin

Sequin Pumpkin 

Confetti Pumpkin 

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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

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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 over the past few years is the use of woven materials on large light fixtures. Rattan, raffia, palm fronds, and wicker are all showing up in oversized 'basket'-type hanging lights and lampshades that appeal to lovers of boho, coastal, and tropical decor:

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... and Welcome to Hometalk members! Thank you for visiting via the link shared in the July 31, 2026 Hometalk email. Make sure you click home to see my newest post - it's related to this content!

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...