Saturday, November 21, 2015

DIY Porch Cushions for the Holidays, UH OH!


So much for Fall and Thanksgiving, apparently---ALL YOU~~~
* Christmas* people have WON! *O* !

Last night, with the snowy forecast in the news, I began covering my porch furniture in all those vintage plaid table cloths I bought here. This is the first year we are leaving the furniture on the porch. So I purchased OLD acrylic plaid table cloths in various tartans to REDO the settee, two chairs and the swing to protect the cushions a bit from the elements.

I got the swing and settee done about 8:00 pm on Friday. I simply cut the cloths in half and utilized the finished edges. Then used huge pins to secure the fabric underneath. Matching the plaids was entertaining the first hour,  and for the 4 cushions on the settee and the double cushions on the swing, I used a package of 40. I will need to get the dogsled going tomorrow to get some more.

I came inside because I was cold after doing the swing cushions, they were larger than my available space in the livingroom. So no picture, and hour later we looked outside, 9pm CST. NEW fallen SNOW! I forgot to take a pic of the swing, because the snow was so gorgeous. We were like little kids running from window to window to look at the snow. Big, HUGE, fluffy flakes, just like on a Christmas card.



Nothing sets off snow like orange lights, snort.


So here is the swing, all covered in the OLD tartan, LOL. See it's there...just under the sliding 6" we had at 8am. So we bundled up and shoveled, correction pushed the snow---too wet to snowblow or lift, for old people.


Thanksgiving decorations...Pfffft. Here is our blow-up turkey...he's still blown up just buried and bent over.


And our pretty maple tree...and our orange lights, nothing looks wierder than candycorn lights on snow.

 

I filled the birdfeeders during the storm lull ---at 10am. We haven't fed them since mid-summer because of all the available natural feed, I'm sure they will be pigging out today!


My pond kids...Ice fishing apparently in the frozen pond. That's a GREEN blooming Hibiscus plant and a blooming royal blue Iris you can barely see behind. WIERD YEAR!  5pm update they are totally buried now. nothing sticking out but the poles.


This is 1:00 pm and the storm is still going strong.... and in the background...

Those are CHRISTMAS TREES for sure, now to go dig out the pumpkin lights along the walk...Happy Thanksgiving!

5 pm Saturday update....16" and counting. Hopefully it will stop soon. We are in the NW suburbs of Chicagoland.


 Thanks always for stopping by,  I'll be happy to answer any questions or comments.

I'll be linking with these great parties:


All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own or I am in possesion of the originals, 
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 
Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle


Sandi



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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Happy? Thanksgiving Preparations?

IN ALL HONESTY, I feel the need to record this....I may or may not have a follow up post (chewing fingernails here).

Thanksgiving is a week away and the house is a disaster, all the Fall decor (pumpkins) outside had to be brought in last night because of various stages of deterioration and horrid weather on the way to Chicagoland. Temperatures have plummeted and snow is on the way for Saturday.

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I plotched the huge ones here and there and there and there. Not only did the pumpkins come in, but the parsley, gourds, squash and other herbs. My Geraniums are in the kitchen sink for now...until I can find someplace to put them.


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 Here's a cast of miscellaneous pumpkins squash from our garden, I dropped on the IKEA bookcase. The orange pot is my Rosemary and it is huge.

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The last thing I did last night was roast the BIG  pumpkin from the walkway planter...the GREEN brussel sprouts are the only stem that made it through the wierd summer we had this year...they will be a meal anyway.


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As long as the oven was going forever---I toasted my sourdough and oatmeal sunflower nut bread for stuffing. I multi-task, hence the chaos in my kitchen all the time.

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I also chopped the tops off the Dracena plants, I abhor killing anything GREEN. I will try and root them, but there just wasn't room anywhere in the house for another HUGE plant. They are enhanced with  More pumpkins squash, etc.
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 Here's the great OLD cookie jar I snagged at Goodwill for $4.00. I have no idea what it is, (unmarked but Ohio Valley clay) but I have been searching for something to use for a cookie jar for the Grand. Notice the clever use of wood putty for a pedestal REDO-lol, under another squash, and the large green pumpkin. Another clever enhancement is the wood plane--(from NEW DIY barbie house?) tool, lurking there.


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Fall Tablescape #3...Can you believe this...more gourds squash...offset by power tools, glue and paint.
Such creativity...LOL--Hubby is almost done with his mess on the Barbie House...just 3 feet off camera in my kitchen!
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Left over Halloween pumpkin from Grandbaby---she did great on the face---she's only three. Empty calendar underneath, because I never write anything down in my organized life, snort.


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Here's the Parsley, lurking under the front window in the living room, an attractive wad of paper  towel catching the overflow from the rainsoaked planter.

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So many people commented on my post of our gorgeous color last week. WELL, I took those pictures because we were forecasted 4 days of wind/rain which turned out to be 7 days of wind and lots of rain. It's still blowing out there...I gave up uprighting the chairs three days ago. Trees are empty and that gorgeous Maple lasted all of two days.

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Marigolds are finally decimated. I will leave the flowers for the birds to chew on over the winter. If marigold seeds are good for Purdue chickens, they will feed our feathered friends. Totally a GREEN thing to do.

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The porch vignette is now devoid of color and dreary---I will have to perk it up, somehow.

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The artificial arrangement still looks great by the door, but even weighted down,  it has blown over at least twice a day.  (Note to self, to use bricks next time in the bottom, instead of rocks.) In front with the leaves is another OLD lantern that has a REDO flame in it.

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This little corner I had freshened up last week,  the OLD lanterns have flicker lights in them and I redid the chalkboard after Halloween.

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Inside, here is one corner of the living room that looks finished, gorgeous dried oak leaves in an OLD vintage Royal Copenhagen Vase with a nymph on it. Small collection of porcelain animals reminiscent of pets long gone, all very OLD.


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The chalkboard says it best, "Gather Family Friends and Give Thanks." It doesn't say anything about polished silver, tablescapes, and neat houses. I still have a week?


Happy Thanksgiving Preparations readers, how ready are you?

Thanks as always for stopping by, I'm loving your comments, questions, and suggestions.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own or I am in possesion of the originals, 
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 
Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sharing at these fine parties...lol, maybe?
Love Your Creativity

Sandi

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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Vintage and Holiday Finds


Quick post here. Just because I'm not doing Christmas yet, doesn't mean I'm not thinking of it. Last week, I did some sleuthing in a few shops and at Goodwill. Now, I am a Goodwill addict and have upped my visits to twice a week at least.

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I found these OLD two goodies.

Does anyone rember Jeanette MacDonald--she was the singing diva from the 1920's-1940's. I swear this image is of her on the towel rack, or it could be Marion Davies--the famous actress/paramour of William Randolph Hearst-Pic of Miss Davies.

The towel rack  looks handmade, but has some pretty snazzy hooks on the back. Anyway it is charming and I will either give as gift or sell. The silver tray is a nice size and weight and I will use for a candle tray, or holiday display.

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These are my NEW Fall 70% off finds from JoAnn's a week or so ago. I love the corn and sunflowersb on the papergoods but, we have snow forecasted for the weekend so I dont' know if I will use them this year or not, might be using pumpkins and pinecones, if they don't freeze outside.

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Yes, Christmas, I know I said I wouldn't post any Christmas, but....

The NEW candles are the timer ones..that come on every night at the same time and then turn off, they are battery operated and safe...I love them. I know mine are buried in my Christmas totes, and I want some on now.

The acrylic tablecloths were bought for their material and fade-resistance and will be a REDO for a big project. Three tablecloths (huge ones) for total of $9.98 at two different thrift stores. The triple-weave napkins were a vintage shop find...all cotton and never been used, 4/$6.00, perfect for the kitchen for the holidays.

Something else NEW were three ornaments from Walmart, 2 foxes and a squirrel, probably be used for packages or displays.

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This handsome OLD (1980-90s) handmade wood truck's maker name, I actually recognized burned in the bottom. They were some fine toymakers and made doll furniture for 18"dolls for years and showed on the art/craft fair circuit here in Chicagoland when I was doing shows with pottery. My father also made wooden toys, but my boy's trucks were passed on long ago, so now I have one again. Will REDO this for holiday displays.



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New purchase...simple wonderful wood star @6" across...and an OLD silver bell, displayed on one of those vintage tablecloths.

See, I am thinking about Christmas ~~but, still have to worry about Thanksgiving first.

Thanks always for stopping and I will be happy to answer questions or comments.


ll the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own or I am in possesion of the originals, 
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 
Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle 
Sharing at these fine parties this week,



Sandi



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DIY BarbieDollhouse:Wk#5 Final Lighting

This is the second half of last week's post. Last week just got away from me. So....you will see some inconsistencies in continuity here.

Point is, this post is about lighting our NEW DIY Barbie dollhouse. After searching online, I saw Christmas lights dangling from inside cardboard houses (shudder)---battery candle lights dimly lighting cubbyholes of rooms, and rooms conventially lit with dollhouse lighting totally in the wrong scale of 1:12 instead of double that, or 1:6 for Barbie. What should we use?

Christmas lights and sockets, with little wires sticking out,  was out of the question for a three-year old.

Convential dollhouse lighting would run over $100.00 with this size dollhouse and would involve metallic tape, wall sockets, tiny wiring and still having to secure/hide it. Light fixtures were all over the place in price and would be scaled too small. So we started another search.

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Looking online, I found rope lighting and LED under cabinet lighting. Our china cabinet lights (round) LED's would be too bright. They were designed to light up an entire cabinets. So I looked for something softer and scaled smaller.

IKEA had some LED strip lights (set 4) that could be hooked together or installed individually. They gave softer light then other things we saw. Price was good---19.99 for a set of 4--we bought two sets and used 6 light panels-one for each room, so actual cost was 29.99.

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Hubby began by drilling holes in the back large enough to run the wires through. Because we wanted everything enclosed, we made plans to encase the wires in the 'magic' plastic molding and then cover with ceiling trim afterward. The LED's strips came with ample cord, more than enough cord for the 4'x4' size of this dollhouse.

From the back Hubby ran the cords along the divider walls, along the center beam, across the front to the fixture strips.

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Here you can see the slack wires hanging in each room and the actual lights showing at the front of the rooms. By lighting from the front, the lights cast light all over the rooms. We planned on scalloped molding trim to cover the lights, making the light shine into the house.


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On the upper right room, you can see the pieces of 'magic' plastic channel molding I used in the last post,  Wk#5 Landings and Stairs getting ready to secure the wires. Hubby glued the plastic channel directly to the walls and beam with Gorilla Super Gel Glue.
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 Here is a fuzzy closeup of the plastic channel molding. Very inexpensive, cuts with an exacto knife or a scissors. Also flexible so easy to work with.

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Here is a light strip attatched to the ceiling. These lights are attatched to screwed in clips. Nothing is exposed. and the channel covers the wires in the front and along the dividing room walls.


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Sorry for the tilt--getting these pics was tricky. Here you can see the pink wall with the molding installed over the plastic channel all the way to the back.

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In the back the light wires were pushed into these little junction boxes which will be covered by a fake box/chimney, which we will show when completed with the rest of the exterior completion.


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 This picture is taken of the kitchen area with some furniture just set in place...that rug has to go. No flash, RL lights, so the light looks perfect. Kitchen plans are still not final, but the table will become a drop leaf---and painted either green or white? What do you think? The pink is going on the appliances, they will be white with stainless steel..look--and we have to build the stove and counters.

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This room was also lit with only the dollhouse lights. The master bedroom furniture temporarily laid out so we can see what we need to do. All the ceiling moldings are installed and the lighting is complete. The matress is on the floor, bed still needs to be delivered, but of course Ken is napping, again!

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The bathroom roughly laid out. One piece of floor molding still needed to be installed, but all the touch-up was done. The strips of white are more bits of trimmed plastic channel from the landings, simply glued on the walls. Looks like a tile edge.


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Here's the garage area with its gray painted floor and the garbage can---which was a pencil container in school promo from Walmart, for 1.99...and the perfect size, lid opens and has little wheels, tooo adorable...and GREEN.

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 Completed stairway from the man cave to the second floor.  Temporary furniture arrangement in the background.
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Close up of the moldings/trim all painted and Ken's closet/cabinet installed under the wierd windows. My daughter-in-law commented it was a custom fit, lol. The shower on the back left still needs to be painted and installed...you always have to wait for plumbers!

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Hubby did take this picture with a flash...but you have seen how great the LED lights work. We have opted not to have any lit fixtures or lamps. There may be a couple of battery lights...but the rooms are nice and bright with the LED strips.  However, this post is not a recommendation of- or for- any products or use of products as safe for children. Please follow all manufacturer's suggestions and installation recommendations.

Now to get to working on all these furnishings--and make them not so retro, crazy colors. Everything begged, borrowed and thrifted needs to morph into some assemblence of a tastefully decorated home. More to follow on Barbie's thrifty and thrifted furnishings. I did buy the to toilets and Refrigerator new, and the green table and dining chairs. My daughter-in-law is constructing the hanging chandeliers and lamps...which will be for show and she will work on many of the miniature food, magazines, books, etc, things for th house.


Thanks for stopping by, and I will be happy to answer any questions or comments.



All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own or I am in possesion of the originals, 
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 
Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle 
Sharing at these fine parties this week, 
 Sandi
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Friday, November 13, 2015

Being Thankful for Sunshine and Turkeys!

I'm Thankful today and everyday...but today the sun is shining!

It's still trying to be Fall here in Chicagoland. Hard to think we will be sharing turkey and pumpkin pie in less than two weeks. We should be thankful for anything other than snow. Last year we had 10 inches on the ground this weekend. Many people did not get Christmas decorations and lights out last year because of the miserable November weather.

This year, most of the trees have emptied in Chicagoland with our continuous fierce winds and dry conditions. Our one maple has hung on and just this week began its Fall show, while the sister tree, branches to left in forefront is already empty.


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You can see the bushes are barely hanging onto any leaves at all. The forsythia and bridalwreath have still not turned and while everything else is empty. This entire year has been wierd, weather wise.


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I took these before 8am on Wednesday. The NEW chairs were my funky choice this year in bright lime green and the sun has already mellowed them. Love the matching one for the Grand.

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Hubby added a NEW resident turkey this year...and me a strange shadow....lol.

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Here I have clipped "mysterious" out of the picture. Turkey has a big pot of lemon grass and a real large pumpkin anchoring him down. The winds have been crazy this week. Power was out again last night.

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This is the front yard, despite three serious frosts, and my marigolds are blooming like crazy still. The NEW flower bed with perrenials around the tree is doing great. I planted 7 hostas and 4 coral bells and transplanted REDO a sedum and a large hosta. We will see how it looks in spring. Hubby totally did a REDO in composite (GREEN) of the front deck railings and stairway this year, I haven't taken complete pics yet, because he is still tweaking it. We are thankful it is almost done in time for Christmas.

For the inside, I'm thankful for these OLD antique images, which have been on my computer for a few years, I know they were free, but I have no idea where I got them from at this point, so simply enjoy! They are OLD postcards, at least 100 years old. It always amazes me how they can be so brilliant, still.

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I love this one...our house has been a gathering place for many the last few years. This year we will be only seven, which will be strange, no baking four to six pies this year, lol.

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This little pilgrim has such a sweet face. And the Turkey seems interested in the invitation to his demise, lol.



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I have done a REDO some of these images for cut-outs for the table. But, my last tote of Fall has been completely awol this year, I will probably find it for Easter.

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NOW that is PIE, as my family would say....Love the towel she has underneath implying it is hot, hot, hot!

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Another OLD image of a Pilgrim lady off to church. The small birds and pumpkins in the background. The cottages actually look pretty authentic to the sketches I have seen of OLD Plymouth. 

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This card is actually postmarked, LONDON, Ontario...1910...which is great. Love the golden wishbone. Now to the inside of the house.

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I have had to do a bit of decor tweaking after Halloween. Our house is small by today's standards, 1400 square feet. So, when the plants come in from the outside, it becomes smaller! Here is the REDO Christmas Topiary on the front table from an earlier post. Hopefully it will fill in for the holidays or I will be improvising. Hydrangeas in a silver tray, a velvet pumpkin and a mottled dried gourd from the garden share the tabletop.


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Two little owls, have already found some comfortable holes to reside in.


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Another new resident (My hubby has squirrel wars over the birdfeeders) so we have a taunting resident squirrel, who has moved in. He feasts from an OLD orange margarita glass filled with acorns the Grandbaby collected last year. Here, another plant has stolen the display area.

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He is quite smug and happy here, and can talk to his cousins through the front window.



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Last year the day before Thanksgiving, Hubby came home with these NEW pilgrims at 70% off and a huge resin turkey. The colors are perfect even though they don't fit under the china cabinet.


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The colors are beautiful, and of course they quite happy with my other decor. Huge dried squash from our GREEN garden, Indian corn in a pitcher and leaves. Sorry for the glare on the pumpkin plate, but this corner of the livingroom is simply too dark to attempt natural light pictures.




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I've kept the small arrangement and OLD silver tray. I may swap out the runner though.

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I still have my Fall Printout for the mirror up---a few GREEN baby butternuts from our fence have landed here. I will have to work on finding the apporpriate 'Be Thankful' to put on the mirror.

But, I  am very Thankful for our Sunshine and Turkeys and very THANKFUL for my readers. My blog is now registering followers after almost 5 months. So I'm up to seven, lol.  If you haven't followed, please click the blogger registery...so I have some idea. I know there are more of you...for sure...as my mailbox is full all the time. 

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own,
 or I am in possesion of the originals, or are captioned as source unknown. 
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 
Please do not use my own photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle


And THANKS always for stopping by, I will be partying at these fine blogs:




Sandi

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