Fall Craft For the Porch...

 I attended a Ladies' Craft Session at a recent church event.   

These Fall Tags were on the agenda....

The boards were precut for us into tag shapes.  I added a wash of white.

Then we simply stenciled and painted the words and leaves...

 I must confess - filling in those letters with a paint brush 
gave me the heeby jeebies. 

I much prefer to use a Sharpie!  

But somehow I managed not to make too much of a mess.

Little tip for colored areas - such as these leaves:

Outline the stencil first with a marker - fill in with paint - 

then retrace the edges with the marker to sharpen things up.

I'm liking them on the porch of our summer cottage. 

 I also added a few 3/$1 gourds to my side table. 

 It's fun to give some seasonal cheer to passersby.  

And a little goes a long way.

Happy Fall Friends!  ~Joyce

Old Newspaper Project...

I've been in need of a tray for the bathroom at 

our cottage.  Funny how when I wasn't looking 

for one I'd see them all the time at thrift shops.  

But alas,  my patience paid off and I found an unfinished wooden tray for around $1. 

This is the coloring of the bath. (Want to repaint 

that tub all white, but for now...)   I do want to 

keep the blue striped ticking curtains that hides

 wall storage...

...so I didn't want to make the tray creamy white.  Instead I opted for this gray blue that I had in 

my paint stash...

We found some old newspapers in the cottage 

when we bought it.   I cut out any health 

and beauty advertisements that I could find and decoupaged them to the inside bottom.  

This turned out a bit like a child's

 cut and paste project - but it will do. 

It'll be fun to read the classified ads in the background.

After a couple of coats of poly - I think it will 

serve us nicely in a humid space.

Linking to Knick Of Time Tuesday.

Porch Bouquet...

The hydrangeas at our summer cottage are blooming beautifully this year.  (This is not related to anything we've done - they were planted by the previous owners and God does the rest.)  I cut a few for the front porch - but didn't have an appropriate vase.  An old metal pot will do...

I've been told to let these stand in their water till it evaporates -

and they will 'dry' retaining more of their color.  We will see!

Greenhouse Shopping...

We are blessed with a lovely new greenhouse in our area.  This is their first year; the prices are right and the atmosphere is perfect!

I purchased some shade loving annuals (coleus and impatiens)...

to plant in our shady area containers at our summer cottage...

 and at our home...

In lieu of wonderful urns - I'm using these upside down containers for now.

Can't wait till these plants grow and become a bevy of beauty!

The back of our summer cottage a previous year.

 

A Touch Of Italy...

Is this not dreamy?

Found this board picture at Salvation Army for $15.  Original Michael's price on the back was $50 (which I think is way too much).  It is the perfect addition to our upstairs sitting room 

at our summer cottage...

Check out more Thrifty Finds at Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
and Ideas at Wow Us Wednesday.

Follow the Path...

I love to go treasure hunting with my camera.  We celebrated this Easter at our little summer cottage that the Lord blessed us with a few years ago.  It's situated on an old camp meeeting grounds among many other cottages.  As is customary for us - we went walking among the many trails and paths.  We're talking lots of old stones and moss.  Thought I'd share some of where we trod...

This would be me in a less than flattering shot...

And this would be my Love...

And a parting shot of the back of one of the cottages...

Joining up with Treasure Hunt Thursday.

Burlap and Wire...

Funky Junk is doing a theme of burlap projects - so I thought this was a good time to post about mine.  I actually did this 2 summers ago - but I wasn't blogging then.  Simply, I had an old frame and wanted to do something with it.  Painted the old yucky gold frame off white.   Added a bit of burlap covered with some chicken wire - and it's an instant memo board. 

I'll never cease to be amazed at the wonders of paint.

 

Works great with little clothespins...

 

Check out more thrifty finds and projects at 

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.