Tropi-FALL: Square Tiki Pumpkins

It's almost September - and that means it's PUMPKIN SEASON!

Back in August of 2020, I was BORED and came up with this fun idea for making unique tiki-style fall decor. I figured if you can paint on a pumpkin, you can paint something else to LOOK like a pumpkin.

After all, who needs plain ol' pumpkins when you can have TIKI pumpkins?!
(or - and hear me out - Disney character pumpkins or Harry Potter character pumpkins, whatever your vibe is!)

I recently realized that I've never shared them on the blog and since they fit right into my current Tropi-FALL vibe, now is a perfect time to remedy that.

Read More for an easy tutorial plus detail shots....

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: NEW Sweet Sweater Tomatoes!

A departure from tropical decor this week...
Summertime isn't complete without ripe, juicy tomatoes - and I've come up with a fun new Sweet Sweater Original creation that captures their appeal!

Whether you love fresh-grown summer tomatoes in a Caprese salad, on a grilled burger, or just on a plate with a sprinkle of salt, they seem to be the design accent of the season... everyone from Target to World Market to Pottery Barn has tomato products right now.

My idea was inspired by a fuzzy red 'tomato' pillow (more like a giant pincushion) that I saw in the Bullseye's Playground bins at Target - made from red microfleece and felt, it was... cute.

Yet I knew I could make it BETTER. With a SWEATER! ;)
Yes, sweater decor in summertime. I am obsessed!

Continue reading for an easy 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: Mother's Day Party Decor - 4 Themes

Mother's Day is coming up this weekend... are you ready?!
If you're in need of some last-minute table decor ideas, I've got them for you...

Today's post features a lovely garden-inspired table + accessories in multiple shades of green with natural elements incorporated. (If you're new here, you know that Deb is in her 'green era' - but if you've been around since I started this blog in 2012, you might recall me sharing this info in a previous post. Proving that my preferred color palette has ALWAYS included greens!)

Continue reading for some easy last-minute ideas to make Mom's Day special, including links to more Mother's Day decorating inspiration...

SPRING: Revisiting the Garden Bar!

 

Since this is the time of year when most locales have favorable weather for gardening, I'm re-visiting an old project - the one where Deb turns a folding patio bar into a potting bench! It was a fun project to create for my Mom one Mothers' Day, and I thought it might inspire you to try something similar this spring.

This particular project came about because my Mom was struggling to pot up some plants for her backyard on her glass patio table. Not the optimum surface for messy work. Not five feet away from her, against the house, stood a folding metal outdoor bar - sitting there, unused, except for large parties once or twice a year. Me? I didn't see a bar... I saw a potting bench! 

I quickly dragged it over to the edge of the patio, against a shady vine wall,

set it up, gathered a few accessories and gardening staples, and the Garden Bar was born!

continue reading to see how it all came together...

SPRING: Pine Cone Carrots!

My sweet lifelong friend Kim came to So Cal on my birthday weekend, and even though it was to attend a concert, she made time to meet me for lunch. She gave me a gift that is just SO fun that I had to share it with you: I give you Pine Cone CARROTS! 

Kim and her guy J teamed up to gather pinecones on her Northern California property and transform them into carrots for her spring decor. Kim followed a tutorial but she can't recall where she found it - so I'm going to do my best to give you a quick rundown of the project.

Continue reading for a 'tutorial - lite'!

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: 3-D dollar store seed packet art

Back in January, I picked up some garden seed packets at Dollar Tree...

three packs of green zinnia seeds, and one pack of white morning glory seeds.
And though I bought them with the express intent of crafting with them, I had NO idea what I was going to use them for. (Typical, actually). 

A wreath? It's been done over and over. Mounted on sticks as garden signs? Nah.
Then I saw a green wood picture frame sitting nearby, and an idea was born!

Continue reading to see how I created a 3-D version of a seed packet as wall art...

SPRING: repurpose tea tins as planters

 

In springtime, I focus a lot on decorating for the season with moss, plants and flowers. That includes coming up with fresh new ways to display them - and that's where this idea came from...

If you can buy food that tastes wonderful and is packaged in beautiful tin boxes that can be re-used, why wouldn't you? I not only love the intense flavors of the teas that Harney & Sons of Great Britain makes, I adore their packaging... and have found several ways to re-use the lovely tins. (This post is not an ad, or sponsored) 

Continue reading to see how I 'planted' the tins in just minutes...

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!

SPRING: flower-filled purse door hanger

March is here and spring is coming!
I'm always so glad to see the earth awaken after her winter nap, and love to use flowers and other garden references in my spring decor...

This project builds on one I've created before (linked below this post) and is an easy way to add some springtime charm to your front door or indoor walls!

Continue reading for tutorial...

WINTER: create faux 'wrapped' bulbs

A classic trend in winter decor is a nature-focused Nordic vibe, using natural elements that celebrate winter while hinting at spring. I've always love white flowers in winter, as they reflect the idea of snow-blanketed gardens.

This year, I've created some faux versions of wrapped bulbs and nestled them in snowy white ceramic containers. This simple project has brought a winter-y feel into my studio, and will transition perfectly into spring in the coming month.

Continue reading for an easy two-part tutorial...

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: Scrap Paper Hearts Wreath

In a bit of a coincidence, I was notified on Wednesday that one of my past project posts for Valentine's Day decor would be featured on Thursday in the HomeTalk daily email and on social media... and that project just happens to be the original version of the one in this post, which I scheduled for Friday! I bumped it to publish a *bit* earlier, so I could link this new version to the original post that the HomeTalk link will lead to.

I offer a warm welcome to all of you who are visiting from HomeTalk!

As my beloved regular readers know, I love 'making something out of nothing'. In other words, turning the contents of my trash + recycle bins into seasonal home decor accents. Making my own decor this way costs me nothing, is a fun exercise in creativity, and gives me no guilt at all when I disassemble and re-use elements from one project to another!

Let me show you how I turned scraps into Valentine's Day home decor ...