Multi-Season Branch Centerpiece

 

 Living in a small house means I don't have a lot of room to store decorations so often, I'll create decorations that can serve multiple seasons and holidays. Just before Christmas I created this branch centerpiece.  Instead of hearts though, it had red ornaments.

Now that I'm getting ready for Valentine's Day, I simply swapped out the ornaments for paper hearts I made (tutorial for the hearts farther down in this post).

To make this, all you need is a piece of scrap wood, a branch, some white spray paint and battery-operated rice or seed lights.  Look for a branch where most of the twigs are coming out of one side.  This way, you can staple (or as I did, nail) it to the wood.  I chose to paint and sand my wood as well.  The rice lights are perfect because the wire is so thin and flexible so you can wind it closely to the branches.  I added some bling-y rhinestone ribbon to cover the battery case and make it look pretty.

Trying to save money, I decided to make my own hearts rather than buy them but you could buy little hearts to hang on this as well.

1.  Cut card stock into small squares, fold in half and cut a single heart the size of the ornament you want.  I just did it free-hand but you could print a pattern if you want.  Use your first heart as your pattern for the others so they are all the same size and shape.  

2.  Cut eight hearts.

3.  Put glue on top of first heart.

4.  Add a second heart on top of that.  

5.  Continue adding hearts until they are all attached.

6.  Apply glue to the center seam of the hearts and attach the string for hanging.

7.  Apply glue to the top heart half.  

8.  Fold it around to meet the opposite heart half and press together, forming the ornament.

I added a single pearl to the bottom of each using hot glue and then they were ready to hang on my branch centerpiece, replacing the Christmas ornaments.

I see a lot of different possibilities with this centerpiece.

Other options may be shamrocks, Easter eggs, pumpkins or fall leaves . . . 

On any given week (depending on how busy I am!) I love to participate in Link Parties.  These gals put a lot of time and effort into hosting these parties so I always want to show my appreciation by directing my readers to these blogs. 

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Let’s Talk Vintage

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Outlet Mount Candle Holders - Fall Centerpiece

I needed a new fall centerpiece for my table but didn't want to spend much money so I 'shopped' around through my stash of 'junk' and came up with this.  The porcelain sockets make great candle holders!  The candles were too small for the opening so I wrapped them in aluminum foil so they wouldn't wobble.

 To cover the foil, I made a little 'necklace' from an old pearl necklace in my stash and slipped that down over the candles.  I added a few old keys to the light pulls for some added interest,

The centerpiece itself was a wooden box someone gave me (don't you love it when people give you their 'cast offs'?!) and since it had leaves on it I thought it would be perfect for a fall piece.  I gave it a coat of chalk paint then lightly sanded to bring out the details in the wood.

The bird house is one I've had for years and it's been in a lot of different places in my home but at the time was in my box of 'stuff' so I gave it a wash of chalk paint and added it to the back section of the box.  Some sticks, silk hydrangeas (also gifted to me) and a 1.00 felt pumpkin from the Target Dollar Spot (a dangerous place!) completed the look.

I'm trying to embrace fall . . . it's hard for a summer-, warm weather-lover like me though!  Do you let your friends know to call you before they throw out their unwanted things?  If not, you should! It's amazing what you can gather for your makeovers, often at no cost to you!  What's the greatest 'freebie' you've ever gotten?

Multi-Purpose Decorating: Take 3

Living in a small house with little storage space I've learned to decorate my home with items that can easily be converted for several holidays.  This centerpiece on my dining room table is one of them.  Starting out as a $5.00 thrift find (1/2 price day!), this Crate & Barrel candle holder has had three "lives" . . . so far.  Originally it looked like this:

 Then dressed for Autumn/Thanksgiving:

 Next for Christmas:

 And now for Valentine's Day:

 I replaced the tapered candle holders with these dollar store ones because I like the rounded shape better.  The heart garlands are necklaces from the Target Dollar Spot (3/1.00) that I cut apart.  

 The hearts are from the dollar store. I removed the sticks and hot glued them together in a "mound" adding some red beads and stones.  So, when it comes time to store these, I'll just remove the hearts and garland and leave the candle holder to be decorated for the next season.  

 

Anniversary Tea and GW Finds

Yesterday was our 27^th wedding anniversary.  Being low on funds and low on time (my husband had to be at a wedding rehearsal as he’s performing their wedding today!) I decided to have a romantic tea for him when he came home.  Earlier in the day I stopped by my local Goodwill store and found some real treasures to add to my ‘tea service’ collection!

 

These candelabra knocked me out at $4.99 each! I found the first one and put it in my basket and then over on a shelf with luggage and other ‘stuff’ was ANOTHER one! I was giddy!  And let me tell you – these girls are HEAVY! “How heavy” you ask?  They’re so heavy that ONE of them on my passenger seat was activating the seat belt light!   I don’t know what they’re made of but they are staying as is – to me, they’re perfection!

These six plates were .99 each and will be a great addition to my Victorian Teas!  

For our Anniversary Tea I made Blueberry Lemon Sugar Scones, Devonshire Cream, Lemon Curd and used some Strawberry Rhubarb Jam made by a good friend of mine.  We then enjoyed Fruited Almond Chicken Salad and Tuna Salad Sandwiches.  Finally I made some sugar cookies and dipped strawberries in chocolate.  I cheated and bought the adorable little éclairs at Aldi!  We enjoyed all of this with Provence Rooibos tea and Billy Holiday playing in the background.

 

For my centerpiece I was able to use the little ‘floor protectors’ I found a few weeks ago at an antique store to hold tea lights and a stack of books I had just removed the covers from and spray painted.  The old eyeglasses I’ve had for so long, I don’t remember where I got those!

 

It was a lovely, relaxing way to celebrate our day!'

I'm submitting this and my wedding post over at Angelic Accents where Stephanie is hosting her 2nd Annual Wedding Blog Party!  Check it out -- so fun to see all things 'wedding related' including great posts from ladies about THEIR weddings!

Dollar Store St. Patrick's Decor

Since Easter comes later this year, I have put out my St. Patrick's Day decorations after taking down my Valentine's Day decorations.  Most of this came from the Dollar Tree (not all this year but from years past as well).  This is my dining table centerpiece that I made to be a multi-season/holiday decoration.  Click HERE for instructions and to see how it's been decorated.  I've also decorated it for Spring but I don't think I did a post on that.

Today at the Dollar Tree they had these bags of foam shamrocks in different sizes and gold coins - so cute! 

I threaded a tapestry needle with this gold and white string and just slid it through then tied these onto the branches.

While I don't have a lot of St. Pat's decorations, I have enough that gives the rooms a fun pop of green, gold and silver.  This is a reclaimed wood molding piece turned upside down and mounted on the wall.  I have a small collection of vintage salt and pepper shakers on here.

I always have fun with this ledge in my living room.  

All except the fabric and the shamrock picture are from the Dollar Tree.  The picture is a faux four leaf clover that I made and framed in an old picture frame.  Instructions for that are HERE.

Here is Eileen, my vintage typewriter dressed for the holiday.  She's another fun piece (Read about how I 'scored' her HERE.) that I like to decorate for the holidays.

I do a lot of 'multi-season' decorating like this big frame in my bathroom.  I change out the pictures for each season and holiday and they all are kept right in the frame so no need to go looking for them!  I just found this quote/verse and loved it so added a vintage image and that was it!

Looking, waiting, wishing, hoping for Spring to come soon but in the meantime, I'll settle for a little "green" inside.

A Vintage Kitchen Christmas

DAY TEN was probably MY most challenging post because I am not a "table-scaper" like so many others!  My house is small so no big, formal dining room, etc. to feature but I DO love my retro kitchen so that was my focus! Enjoy gathering more inspiration from others who ARE veteran 'scapers'!

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Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications I Alli~An Alli Event I Michelle~Our Crafty Mom I Marie~DIY Adulation  Erlene~My Pinterventures I Beverly~Across The Blvd. I Debra~Shoppe No. 5 I Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled

Megan~C'mon Get Crafty I Michelle~Michelle James Designs I Amanda~Domestically CreativeDeborah~Salvage Sister & Mister I Jeanie~Create & Babble I Sherry~Olives & Okra

Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts I Emily~Domestic Deadline I Bonbon~Farmhouse 40 I 

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna I Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts I Kelly~North Country Nest I Marie~The Inspiration VaultGail~Purple Hues and Me I Lynne~My Family Thyme I Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads I Trisha~Blowing Away Out West

I Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess  I Terri~Christmas Tree Lane 

Sam~Raggedy Bits  I Cyn~Creative CynchronicityValeria~Val Event Gal I Yami~The Latina Next Door I Tania~Little Vintage Cottage

 Lauren~Wonderfully Made I Vanessa~DIY 180 I Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought I Kim~Everyday Parties Dru~Polka Dot Poplars

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I did not want to spend money to do this so I 'shopped' my house.  The vintage tablecloth was a favorite find a few years ago and I added a few strips of cloth, trimmed with pinking shears in a 'cross' pattern over the table (think "package").

These vintage dishes were my SUPER find two years ago at an antique store where everything Christmas-related was 50% off!  I got ten place settings, serving bowls, serving platters, creamer and sugar for . . . 25.00!  They are called Termocrisa Milk Glass made in Mexico.  Recently I saw a set of eight (no serving pieces) going for over 250.00.  Yep, I think I stole these!

The napkin 'rings' are just the same fabric from the table pieces, hot glued together and then I added a Christmas pick.

The centerpiece is an old wooden 'sled' decoration that was headed to the thrift store so it was rescued and enlisted for this table.  

The jars on the sled are recycled.  I brushed on Mod Podge and rolled in Epsom Salts.  A ribbon and some more Christmas pics turn these into lovely, little candle holders.

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Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ideas this holiday season!

An InLinkz Link-up

C&B Thrift Make Over 2 and a Winner

 

This Crate & Barrel piece has had three lives SO far . . . 

  Life One: $5.00 (at 50% off day) at the thrift store . . .

 Life Two:  For my fall table centerpiece . . .

Life Three: Dressed for Christmas!

 This is what I'm starting to steer toward, items that can be re-used from season to season and holiday to holiday.  Another trick:  Replacing just the images in picture frames with holiday-themed artwork.  No need then to pack, unpack, store, etc. as many things from season to season!

And now announcing the winner of my Shabby Apple Give Away: Congratulations to Ann from Moonbeams & Fireflies -- her name was chosen using Randomiser .  Stop by her blog to congratulate her and browse (she was the inspiration for my Christmas Drawer(s)!)

Thanks to all who participated -- I hope to be doing another give away soon!