painting the daffies yellow!

spring 2020 sure is coming in like a... not lion. more like a T-Rex!

as we all adjust to this 'new normal' (and no, it's not normal),

we're all looking for activities that calm us, entertain the kids, make home a bit more... home-y.

.

using my recent 'paint your own paint chips' technique,

i've been happily painting away and then making new decor elements with the results...

this time 'round, i came up with flowers.

i'm not painting the roses red... i'm painting the daffodils yellow!

continue reading for my easy tutorial for this sweet spring project...

the daffodil queen

it's my birthday week ;) 

and if there's ever a day that a girl deserves to wear a crown,
it's on her birthday / week / month. no matter her age!

a tiny wire crown (that i made over a decade ago)
has been embellished with tiny faux daffodils... my favorite flower...
and though i am not nor have ever been a bona fide 'daffodil queen',

i think maybe for today, i shall proclaim myself one!

continue reading for the simple transformation...

daffodil sun catchers

daffodils are my very favorite flower...

i have loved them since i was a little Debby,
and saw the happy, silly, bobbing heads in Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' - 
'Daffy O'Dill' made me laugh!
later in life, William Wordsworth's poem about dancing daffodils enchanted me,
and when i first saw hundreds of acres of daffodil fields in Washington's Skagit Valley,
my eyes filled with tears at the beautiful sight.
i used to visit those fields every March when i lived nearby.
now i take any chance i can to find other ways to enjoy daffies in spring - 
even if i have to make it myself!

this simple craft project combines the sparkle of light via crystals with silk flowers,
and is a lovely way to add some spring fresh style to any room.

continue reading for my easy tutorial... 

May flowers: daffodil, daisy & dandelion

D is for daffodil, daisy, and dandelion!

(and a bunch more, like delphinium and dahlia and daphne)

continuing with the May Month of Flowers art challenge,

i've shared those three on Instagram on May 4 / day 4 / letter D -
and thought i'd share them here, as well!

several are older projects, and a few are brand new - created just for this challenge.

continue reading to see them all and learn how i made them...

be a good (repurposed) egg

last spring, i created several decor elements inspired by paint chips. 

okay, okay... i basically spent most of 2020 finding creative ways to use paint chips! LOL

this year, i've pulled those out of storage and found fresh new ways to use them...

because the yellow just serendipitously fits my current color obsession perfectly

AND

because it's not necessary to have/buy/make ALL NEW things EVERY year.

(i felt a great disturbance in the force as retailers across the globe shuddered at that...)

it's fun finding new ways to use what you have!

continue reading to see the new ideas that i came up with...

Last Minute Spring Tablescape

have you ever thought you really had a handle on things, 
were totally prepared and ready for something...

and then all of a sudden you realize there is something very VERY wrong?

 i once FORGOT all about the table decor for a family Easter dinner.

Easter Sunday arrived and the food was in full-swing prep mode. all was well in the kitchen.

and then, i walked into the dining room - and stopped dead in my tracks. 

THE TABLE WAS EMPTY!
i had no decor. no nuthin'. and the family was coming in an hour!

i have no defense. i was just busy, and forgot all about it.

 so after i started breathing again.....

i kicked into 'search and recover' mode.

whatever decor i was going to use had to be toddler-grandson proof. 

he was 16 months old and in that stage of climbing, 
pulling on tablecloths, and grabbing at everything. 

[it's ok, i didn't mind that he did - 

it's kind of a boy's job to investigate everything at that age!]

i just wanted to eliminate the chance of damage to him - or anything else.

 in the days leading up to that, i had been cleaning out my office

and came across a page that i had saved from a Martha Stewart Living Magazine  
ages before. like.... YEARS before.

i still don't know why it was sitting on the top of a wire filing basket that week, but it was.

and on Easter Sunday, an hour before guests arrived, Deb had a flash of inspiration:

 photograph from Martha Stewart Living Magazine 200?

that photo ^ from Martha's mag saved my hide.

this 'last minute idea' meant that i grabbed some packing tape and scissors, and 

i wrapped the tabletop with white wrapping paper!

 [nothing was hanging over the edges for lil' man to pull on]

if you  want to do this but don't have white wrapping paper,

TURN YOUR WRAPPING PAPER OVER!

almost all of them are white on the back side. 
[no one will know that rudolph or birthday balloons 
are on the side of the paper that faces the table]

i used green felt pens to draw charger and flatware outlines at each place setting, 

along with a drawn-on placecard.

[this is not detailed fine art here, like Martha's -

it's a fast solution half an hour before everyone arrived!]

i popped 3 dozen yellow daffodils (from my birthday the week before)

into 3 cylinder vases wrapped with antique velvet ribbon

and ran them down the center of the table, along with some tea lights in clear glass cups.
[WELL out of a little somebody's reach!]
 

 the china has a light sage green border that matched the linen napkins

and it was a perfect way to add color to the crisp white table setting. 

 the whole look is very simple, contemporary, and un-fussy

and i did it all in thirty minutes!

and incidentally, the photo of that 'last minute' table that you see at the top of this post
is one of my all-time favorite shots of my spring decor!
sometimes the easiest solutions really do make the most impact

for me the important part wasn't the decor, though...
the BEST part was this lil' guy peeking through the daffies at me:

shared online:

Saturday Night Special #178 | Funky Junk Interiors

from fresh to faded...

 Two weeks ago, I was working at my second job (visual stylist for a charity resale store),

and at lunchtime, I walked to the nearby grocery store for a sandwich.

 Just inside the door, I passed the floral case,

and next to it was a funnel of plastic-wrapped rose bunches, all looking a 'little' weary.

You've all seen those bouquets - 
the ones with a few drooping flower heads and some browning outer petals?

They were priced at a mere $1.99 each,
so I grabbed a bunch of white and a bunch of rusty orange roses,

and took them back to the store (along with my chicken salad on sourdough, and sweet tea).

After I ate lunch, I popped the roses into a vase of water and put them into this display:

I figured they could live there for the weekend, freshening up the display,

and then I'd toss them out the next week. Cheap props, just the way I like 'em!!!
Only, when I came back, they had begun to dry in perfect form....

so I didn't throw them out.

I wrapped each bunch up in our store's tan tissue paper, and took them home.
They just kept drying, all wrapped up, 

without losing petals or bending or looking forlorn.

That's when I decided to keep them indefinitely - and decorate with them!

 I tucked the tissue-wrapped bundles of roses into a burlap market bag on the dresser in my office.
The fading color of the white roses coordinates perfectly with my neutral decor,
(which is why the rusty orange ones don't show in this photo, they are tucked down into the paper)

and the soft lingering rose scent is a welcome addition to this area near my desk.

I may never throw these out.
I may let them continue to dry out, eventually de-heading them from the stems

and adding them to a bowl of potpourri or layer the inside of a nest with them.

I've added fresh flowers to my decor for years,
letting the blooms dry in place and enhance the decor for weeks afterward:

 Hydrangeas are one of the easiest flowers to let dry 'en scene', as are roses.
Gardenias and Narcissus / Daffodils also dry well.

In August of 2013, my best friend of 37 years passed away.
I created a bouquet for her memorial service from fiery orange roses and lilies,

inspired by her fiery red hair and spirit.

I saved a few of the roses that I didn't put in the arrangement,  and I still have them...
the perfectly dried petals nest in a special teacup here in my office.

Those rose petals mean the world to me, because they are a connection to her.

This isn't just true for REAL flowers, either...
Long ago, I found a bunch of vintage fabric roses at a thrift store - for a song.

I cleaned them, then wrapped them up in a bit of vintage sheet music.
I displayed them lying on the table (this one made from a vintage peach-painted door)

and the simplicity of the display was timeless.

Finding beautiful decorative elements isn't about what you spend...
I'm getting a lot of lasting enjoyment out of two simple and cheap bouquets.
It's about the value you coax out of the elements.

Next time you grab flowers at the market, 

think about how you can extend their contribution to your decor...
choose flowers that will dry well, and enjoy them from fresh to faded.

.
PS: That lampshade in the photo up above?
I'll share its secret in my next post !

a warm welcome

i've been busy creating a fresh look in our entryway -
it's a small area and so easy to change!

addressing the change of seasons was an easy task:
color offers warmth and a happy welcome this utilitarian area.
by incorporating a few soft touches, some interesting textures and elements,
and ways to tackle the detritus that often gathers here in this 'drop zone',
it's gone from a pass-thru area to one we notice and enjoy a bit more.

as usual, i didn't spend a cent to restyle this area - 
i shopped the house and pulled a new look together for nuthin'!

continue reading for some simple decorating tips...

$4 Spring Wreath Makeover!

Springtime! it's time to break out the greens and yellows...

last fall, i shared a few quick tips for a wreath makeover here

why not re-visit that idea for spring?!

you can find wreaths for next to nothing at thrift shops,

but you probably have one shoved on a shelf somewhere in your garage, right?

it's dusty and maybe some of the flowers are missing...

but for less than $5, you can give a wreath a fresh new look for spring!

this wreath actually had pink roses on it when i found it

[languishing on a hook in the garage, behind the washer...]

but the roses were faded and just didn't seem very 'fresh'. so i pulled them off.

some yellow fake mums from a nearby bunch were easily popped onto 

some of the stems that the roses had been on.

if the roses hadn't been faded, i'd have left them on

and then gone on to the next step:

two bunches of fake daffodils from the dollar store ($1 each) got the same treatment - 

pull off the flower heads and pop them onto the stems already attached to the wreath.

[of course you can just shove the daffodil stems into the wreath, too,

just like we did with the fall leaves in the tutorial here]

a small piece of wire holds a cute little pair of green polka-dot garden gloves ($1) 

and a packet of seeds (4 for $1) - you could do more than one packet,too!

the dollar store usually also has small metal watering cans,

small clay pots, and metal gardening tools

that could be wired onto the wreath, as well...

shared online:
 
Thank you to the DIY Village for including this post in THEIR post!

 

NEW! Sweet Sweater Potz!

spring has sprung! 

one of my favorite passages in the Bible speaks of spring the way i think of it:

"For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing birds has come,

and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance."

Song of Solomon 2:11-13

watching nature come back to life after a long cold winter revives me.

especially in a weird weather year like this one

(endless rain. snowing at DISNEYLAND! tornado near Los Angeles!),

i am always happy when spring finally arrives...

and if it doesn't arrive soon enough for me, i just create my own kind of spring vibe!

my newest Sweet Sweater Original TM creation is a nod to springtime

that i'll be enjoying for the next few months...

continue reading to see how simply you can create my Sweet Sweater Potz!

Garden Planter = Wire Dome

bring the beauty of nature indoors with

a dome made from a wire garden planter!

It's perfect for every season...

* over a nest with leaves tucked into it, resting on a wood round for autumn.
* over a branch of evergreen with some vintage ornaments or pine cones for winter.
* over a nest with wood or stone eggs and tiny daffodils for spring.
* over a white ironstone plate filled with shells from the seashore in summer.

 You aren't going to believe how easy this ONE STEP PROJECT is!

 Start with a simple wire garden planter from the home center:

Disconnect the hanging wires. Turn the planter upside down,

 ... and voila, you have a wire dome!

You can also cut a short length of the hanging wire

and then attach it as a loop at the top of the planter as a handle, as I've done here.

The planters will come as new, shiny metal from the home center -

but if you look for them at garage sales and thrift shops, 

you just might find some nicely rusted ones like these!

You can also make a wire dome from a tomato cage too!

Way back in 2008, I sold these in my booth at Faded Elegance Antiques in Everett, Washington -
and I kept having to make them because they sold so fast!

Fun Fact:

This photo is of my very first 'vintage' booth,

a little space that was a mere 2 feet deep and 8 feet wide in the back of the store.
It was the first stop of many wonderful years as a vendor in the vintage world.
This is where 'Retreat' started, 

and you can see how my former business reflected my love of nature 

and of using everyday items as decorative elements -

just as I do here at homewardFOUND decor.

shared online:

cupcakes & crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #420

Create a Vintage Spring Tablescape

 yes, that IS brown on my table - in springtime!!!
everywhere you look, pastels reign supreme for spring + Easter decor, 
but this year i just felt like breaking the mold.

i love neutrals, and it's SO easy to create a neutral setting then add in a pop of color.
i've decorated this way for years and years, and it's never boring or limiting.
using a basic three-color palette (varied hues of brown, yellow, and white)
i've taken my own spring farmhouse style in a new direction with this tablescape...

continue reading to see how!

greenhouse from salvaged windows

 going through an old journal, i stumbled across these photos... from 1995.

(that's so long ago that i used an old-school film-loaded camera and had them printed!)

they show a very sweet birthday surprise that my late husband created for me:
a small backyard greenhouse, made from vintage windows.

he covertly collected vintage windows and a door (free off of Craigslist!)

then built the frame and inserted the windows to make this charming little place for me...

it was one of the nicest birthday gifts he ever gave me.

(i just wish i had been a better photographer back then!)

continue reading for more photos, and details about how he built it...

giant paper flowers

sometimes it's just best to go BIG, you know?

i've been a retail visual merchandiser + display designer / stylist for over 45 years,

and have made a LOT of props in my lifetime...

and i learned that whether you're creating a window display

or an event display or a photo backdrop, large scale has the most impact.

making big things can get costly, tho - unless you use inexpensive materials

like paper, tissue, and repurposed/upcycled elements.

the flowers you see up above were created for use in an event entry display,

and are made from new cardstock paper -

but i've made similar ones from vintage book pages, too.

can't you just imagine flowers made out of repurposed MAPS?

old newspapers? magazine pages? gift wrapping paper?

yep, so can i!

i can also see them decorating a lovely Mother's Day brunch setting,
or as decor in a nursery or girls' room.

continue reading for a quick tutorial and loads of inspo...

Sweet Simple Nests

Years ago, I was bent on cleaning up some flower beds near my front entry.
I had endured the garish orange day lilies blooming there (planted by the owner of the house),
and now that they had finished, I was ready to eradicate them from my yard. 

I wielded cutters and rake, bringing them to their proverbial knees...

and quite by accident, I discovered a new material to create with:
DEAD foliage.

Deb has not gone 'round the bend here, I swear....

The dried, browned stringy leaves of the daylilies had landed in piles as I trimmed.

And those piles looked like something to me,

so I picked up a hunk of foliage and twisted it around in my palm, 

and Lo and Behold, a NEST emerged!

I created a whole bunch more, and decorated my home with them.
Then I made even  more, and sold them at vintage shows.
When those ran out, I found pots of dead daffodils at the nursery, 

and they GAVE THEM TO ME!

So I made more nests. With FREE STUFF. We ALL like that, right?!

So in case you'd like to try this, here's my SUPER SIMPLE method to

 turn dead leaves into nests in just three simple steps!

Prep:  Get a pair of scissors and some cotton string or hemp twine,

and cut it into a three-inch length for each nest you want to make.

Step 1:
If the foliage is still attached to the plant, in the ground or in a pot, make this easy on yourself...

grab the foliage just above the bulb area, and cut there.

Step 2:

Bunch the foliage into a long strip, and begin twirling it into a circle shape in your hand

by curling the cut ends around toward the strip. 

Twirl it once or twice or three times around, depending on the length of the foliage.

The uneven ends of the foliage should be on the outside of the nest,

giving a more natural appearance to it when done.

OPTIONAL STEP:
Add pieces of thread, ribbon, twine, etc. to the strip of foliage before creating the nest

to make it look more like a real one made by a bird.

 

Step 3:

Tie a piece of the string / twine around the foliage on the side where the cut ends of the foliage are -

just like threading a needle, feed one end of the string into the hole - and then tie a knot.
This will hold the nest together and keep it from unwinding.
Then cut the string ends off.

Add any charming little details you'd like to...

a tuft of moss, a fading gardenia bloom, rose petals, a precious found object.
I just sit mine in there because I like to change them,

but you can attach yours with glue if you'd like.

Then display your sweet nest as part of your Spring decor!
Here are two ways I displayed the nests I made:

An aqua glass candle holder lifts the nest up like sculpture,

while the galvanized lantern functions like a tiny house for a bird nest.

You can see more of my nest creations on HOMEWARDfound
 Here . Here . Here . Here

shared online:

Yesterday on Tuesday | Project Inspire{d}
(Malia Featured my sweet nests!)

May flowers: art challenge recap

over the past month, i've been participating in a creative art challenge...
the #flowermonth2022 challenge on Instagram
was sponsored by three artists,
with thousands of creative people around the globe participating.
each interpreted the prompts - an alphabetical listing of flowers - 
in their own style and method.
it has proved to be not just a fun exercise for me,
but also an educational experience,
as i've seen many variations on the themes in many different art mediums.

my own creations for this challenge
were all made from materials & elements that i have here at home - 

all reused, repurposed, recycled, and turned into flowers & foliage:

scrap paper, paint, paint pens, colored pencils, felt pens, fabric, gift wrap, 
wood blocks, vintage crepe paper, tissue paper, wire, sweaters, yarn, 
vintage jewelry, sewing pins, even plastic parts from dollar store flowers.

though my original plan was to make 12 different flowers, as shown here,
it quickly expanded to a plan for 14 blooms - 

and then i added one more at the last minute!

continue reading to see all 15 floral creations from my studio...

pop art paper posies!

a recent creative challenge i am part of called for participants to share
how we've invoked the spirit of spring in our art.

well, my 'art' is craft - using re-purposed, upcycled, re-imagined materials.

and my first response was to think of my paper paint chip daffodils,

so i submitted a photo of those.

then i thought of another idea, and wanted to play with it...
since i love making somethin' outta' nuthin', i chose to use plain cardstock paper!

the result of my afternoon 'playtime with paper, paste and scissors' is something
that reminds me for all the world of pop art, like Andy Warhol's famous pixilated works.
it also makes me think of the art of Sina Trixx, an inventive design firm
(view their astounding pop art architectural creations on Instagram)

can black + white evoke springtime? yes! 
continue reading to see how...

yarn + twine pineapples

as i was making my new Sweet Sweater Pineapples
(shared in my last post - link below)
i came up with a few more ideas for easy-peasy pineapple crafts...

like, SO easy. kids can do this easy. no adhesive easy.

continue reading for the two-step tutorial -
PLUS another way to make a 'sweater' pineapple!

scrap paper posies

some days, we just need a break. right? 
a chance to rest, an opportunity to cut loose, a moment to relax.
not every project has to be a ground-breaking new invention. or a massive undertaking.
sometimes - especially during a worldwide shutdown -
we just need some mindless activity to distract ourselves from anxious thoughts.

so while i've completed some big projects over the past few months,
and the muses have been kind enough to lead me in the direction of new creations,
i've also given myself the gift of time to PLAY. as in: projects just for FUN.
not necessarily to blog about, because they aren't always AMAZING,
but to sit back for a time and play around - and see where it goes.
i'll look at something in my studio and think 'what if i.....' 
and then i'm off, trying something new.

no matter what i am making, i always have fun playing with paper, scissors, and glue.

(sometimes my creative life feels like kindergarten....)

my challenge to myself these past four months has been to ONLY use what i have here at home.
(yes, the vintage roll of crepe paper from a recent post broke that rule...
but i hadn't gone out specifically shopping for craft supplies.)
i've got a lot of stuff around here, so there are ample 'art supplies' at hand.
and rarely do i use things the way they were intended to be used.
i just see things.... differently.

take gift wrap paper, for instance.... sure, i wrap gifts with it. 

but it's basically an art supply, right? paper of any kind is an art supply. 

oh, how i love art supplies. always have. even when they aren't from an 'art store'.
even when it's technically trash...

these scrap paper posies turn trash into treasure,
and are a quick project, perfect for de-stressing on a hot summer day!

continue reading to see where the inspiration for these colorful blooms came from...

Go to Where it's Spring!

it's been said that 

"If Spring won't come to you, 
then GO to where it's SPRING!"

since so many of us are SO READY for Spring,
 I thought this might just be the perfect time to share some inspiration...

last Spring, my sister and I took a short trip.
[i'll share where at the end of this post-
and it's not where you expect from these images!]
while there, we viewed enchanting outdoor scenes of a windmill, bike, and boat...

we also saw these very happy daffs and bees.

these oversized sculptures of daffodils were @15 feet tall!

it felt very 'Alice in Wonderland'-like to be standing beneath them.
those 'Bumble Bees' were made of chrysanthemums, making the bees look fuzzy!
[the bees were as big as three people]

 and then...

I was stunned to walk around a corner and see this floral masterpiece...

the 'painting' on the easel was approximately 10 feet wide and five feet tall!

[The easel itself was ten feet tall or more!]

This was created entirely from flowers, to replicate Claude Monet's

'Fisherman's House at Vargentville'

Above is an up-close detail shot of the floral painting...
I love the texture and the way that they have captured 

Monet's impressionist paint strokes using flower petals.  

Amazingly creative! 

Below is an image of the actual painting by Monet:

[ image found on www.canvaz.com ]

 these beautiful floral creations were not found outdoors.

nor were they at a flower & garden show.

nope.

they were inside the atrium at 

the Bellagio Hotel in LAS VEGAS!

you just never know where you are going to find inspiration, 
so keep your eyes open for beauty like this in unusual places...
large resorts & hotels, flower farms, and home & garden shows
are all possibilities!

Spring is out there. Go find it!