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....

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: 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: 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: decorate with tote bags?!

 

When we moved into our house in 2016, I created this feature in our entry hall, using a vintage porch post that had been cut in half lengthwise (Thanks to Don & Peggy at Down Home Antiques!). I collected a selection of various new and old hooks and added them to the wood post.

The pegrack project was published in Country Sampler Farmhouse Style Magazine in fall, 2024. That article shows it staged for the fall issue - I pretty much changed up what's hanging on this peg rack every season. Anything goes, trust me - including tote bags!

Continue reading to see how easily I styled it for summer...

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: Cinco De Mayo Party Decor - 4 Fun Color Palettes!

With Cinco De Mayo just days away, I thought I'd share some older content that might just inspire a different way to approach this spring holiday... an option for those who aren't into a riot of color. (That's later in the post!)

The contemporary, nature-based approach here brings to mind Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Terrain style. It would be easy to pull together with boho, rustic, industrial, farmhouse, and modern interior decor elements, and will work indoors and outdoors to make Your Cinco De Mayo celebrations really easy - just add tequila!

continue reading for all the details...

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: 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: 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 ...

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!

2024 WRAPPED!

as the holiday season comes to a close

and we are poised on the brink of a new year,

i'm taking stock of 2024 with a quick look back

at stats for the blog and my social media accounts.

as part of that, i want to share my favorite projects from the past year...

let's call it 'homeward found WRAPPED' (like Spotify ;) 

continue reading to see my favorites from 2024...

our 'CHOSEN' Christmas tree

Christmas Day is over...

and i hope you're kicking back in your pj's,
enjoying this delightful limbo between Christmas and New Year's Day.

(after all, who really knows what day it is?)

 as i indulge in as much laziness as i can muster,

i thought i'd share this year's Christmas tree decor - 

some elements i've had for years, others i made just for this theme.

it's.... different. not what most people would do.

(anyone out there surprised by this?!!)

the theme and elements fit into our tropically decorated home

and also speaks to our 'reason for the season'...

continue reading for more details...