Simple Christmas Project Ideas - Saturday Sightings...

Its Christmas House Tour season...  I did a local tour today and am

sharing a few project and decor ideas that I found especially appealing.

This scene on the side of a barn greeted us at one property.  The old

 settee bench is an unexpected addition to this grouping. Was it

 staged just for the tour day?  Perhaps (as I can't imagine wanting to

 leave it outside in the weather)... but what a neat presentation.... 

Also outdoors - Planters filled w/ miniature tree/shrubs, white twigs

 and puffs of cotton that resemble snow balls... very clever!

Indoors - this banner of various wool fabrics & mostly just simple

 squares - surrounded a young boy's bedroom.  

And note the added pom poms.  Love this!

There are a host of things one can fill a crock or container with.

  Here there are faux berries, twigs, holly,  light branches... 

and burlap candy canes!  Don't forget a bow...

A little hard to see... but what struck me here was a piece of

 furniture simply laden with pillar candles on candle holders.  

Can't get much more simple than that - and it looked good!

Do you have a cake plate and cover?  

Creature a miniatures scene....

This homeowner put up a ladder over her sink - added fresh greens

 and ornaments and called it 'done'.  I asked how she'll decorate 

the ladder after Christmas - she didn't know yet! 

A little more advanced - but oh so neat - was this sunroom with a

 blue painted ceiling.  There were large branches hung from fishing

 line & adorned with LED lights in each corner of the room.  

Also loved the window shelves displayed with beautiful books.

  And of course the stained glass windows!!!  But the 

lighted branches are very doable if you have higher ceilings.

And finally - just one of the many beautiful country homes.

Hope something sparked an idea for you... I know I'm inspired!

   Thinking I just may spend my evening working on a fun banner.

What caught your eye?  ~Joyce  

Cookware in Christmas Vignettes...

Sharing some of the Christmas vignettes I put together at the 

thrift shop this week.   Christmas is my favorite time to do vignettes.  

With greens or a few ornaments - you can bring almost anything

into the Christmas spirit. 

In this 1st grouping - a red pan and some aluminum 

camping gear set the tone...

I filled the flat pan with greens - a red candle - and a few tucked in ornaments.

Behind this scene I worked another vignette using some aluminum

 cake pans.  I used candles again - but this time as a grouping of 

3 in varying heights... all on a red plaid linen...

...with a paper bag and jars to the side.

I think these brass urns are awesome.  At $2 each - not sure why

 they're still available.  Don't be afraid to turn things upside down

 to see how else you can use them...

Pewter is awesome for Christmas too.  I've had this tray and candle

 holders in a display for several weeks now.  It amuses me that

 someone is constantly sitting the one candle holder upright to

 match the other one.   

Pieces purposely laid on their side annoy some of us to no end. :)

And another display in gold with pops of red.  

The tall vase with poinsettias in the back is in another vignette - 

but of course - since they are seen from both sides,  they 

have to work together at least somewhat.

I'm sorry I was absent a few weeks.  We had a whirlwind wedding - 

just 2 months to prepare - that consumed my days.  

God showed up amazingly in the planning - was so neat.

I'll be posting more later on doing a pretty yet very budget

friendly wedding in a short amount of time.  

Are you doing Christmas decor at home yet?  

Nada here... just in the shop!  ~Joyce 

From My Week - Saturday Sightings...

I had the pleasure of spending time in a very scenic mountain

 region this week.  The morning was foggy...

But when the sun came out - what a view! 

This young lady happened to walk into my photo shoot - love it!

There was even a small covered bridge... 

Tis the season for visiting pumpkin farms...

And last - I was near a friend's house one morning so drove past 

& snapped a picture of her recently built backyard barn.  

Is it not just perfect?

Enjoy your surroundings today friends - whatever they may be!

  ~Joyce

A Canal Park - Saturday Sightings...

Took a little walk in a park... with a historical canal in its midst.

Enjoy...

Can you see the other end of the tunnel?

Saved my favorite for last...

I see the approach of autumn in these photos.  

What a blessing to have the gift of life to witness it!  ~Joyce

How To Clean Out A Shed the Easy Way - Friday Finds...

My Friday Finds are - well - come and see...

Loved this door...

...it went to this sweet shed...

...where everything inside was free!  Yippee!

Till I went inside.  Photo actually doesn't look bad.  But there were areas 

that looked like mice nests... and it didn't smell good... and I just couldn't go in.  

But hey - what a novel way to clean out your shed!

Here's what I did find...  

There's a wedding in my very near future - so as I'm seeing stuff I'm getting it.

I just may have a need for some sheer panels... so was happy 

to find fabric and some long curtains already made.  

That 'to do' tablet is still in its original package - 

great for my gift drawer...

These plastic figures are actually vintage cake decorations - a great find... 

And loved the patina of these old shoe shine brushes.  

Look at those bristles!

Twas a good little morning.  Just enough finds to make me smile! 

And remember that shed clean-out trick. 

Tomorrow is Saturday - a great day to try it out.  Ha!  ~Joyce

Budget & Quick Elegant Wedding Planning - Thrifty Thursday...

Been a whirlwind week and a half.  Our daughter just got engaged and 

wants an outdoor wedding yet by the end of October!  Alrighty then!  

Thankfully she wants very small - so we're getting on it the best we can.

Right out of the chute - we've picked a date, have been looking at venues, 

a reasonably priced & made-to-order gown has been ordered 

from Amazon (yeah - I didn't know they had them either!) 

and we have the colors she wants to work with.

My part?  Largely giving ideas, trying to keep us on track, 

paying some bills and working on decor.

As I'm out and about at yard sales - I've begun to collect pretties.

  And - I already own quite a bit that may work...

I found this sign and gave it a repaint from it's original hunter green.  

Look at it now!  Surely I can use it somewhere. 

And my favorite so far... look at these limelight hydrangeas!  

I remembered a friend telling me she has about 15 bushes.  I 'asked'... 

she said 'yes' and we hustled down there and scooped up some blooms.  

These will dry and be perfect for... can't tell!  

Translation - I really don't know yet.

So tag along for the journey.   Don't know what we're doing

but we'll see what God provides along the way.  ~Joyce

Frugal Displays for Thrifty Thursday...

I was busy creating displays again this week.  Let's look closer...

This first one is so simple.  The foundation is white candles and

 small wooden boxes and square baskets.  Small baskets and boxes

 abound at thrift shops - for pennies!  Add another white figurine and 

some greenery and 'boom' - you've got a display that can span the seasons.

This wool sweater caught my eye and again - these abound at thrift shops - 

for cheap!  The first scarf I paired with it sold immediately - so this one 

is '2nd choice' - but cozy.   This display is all about nubby texture!  

These big gold plates are easy to find.  And they work great for Fall.  

The pretty scarf acts as a linen with a starting point on a mug tree.  

Vignettes need varying degrees of height.  Just look at what you already have - in the proper heights - and add other things 

in the colors you need to make it work.  

Have fun!  ~Joyce

Going Batty & Lesson Learned - Friday Finds...

It was a fun morning out at yard sales.  This guy though was half

 cute to me - and half scary!   ...picked him up anyway.  

His body is all furry and fuzzy and I'm hoping somebody 

out there will want him - as I don't plan to keep him!

Seems I've been finding dolls lately.  This Alice in Wonderland 

set is a Mattel Kibbles item - complete with story book.  

I'm thinking it was a pretty good find.

An overview of everything I picked up...  Looks like Christmas!

  Feather tree ornaments, village houses, a rubber squeak Santa

 and a few things for me.... like that $2 brand new candle...

And these blank kraft paper cards with the most awesome envelopes.  

I'll have fun including these in gift baskets and such.

But my best 'find' from today was really a lesson of sorts.  

I was struck by how friendly all the yard sale holders are to people

 when they're there to shop.  Then I encountered a lady whose yard sales 

I have been to several times.  But today she was just a shopper...

 and interestingly - not quite so friendly.    It occurred to me that 

we should treat everybody with the same courtesy and respect that

 we do when we're trying to sell them something.  And as a Christ-

follower - I am selling something (or rather someOne) - whether

I'm conscience of it or not.  Was a sobering moment for me.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. 

And give a 'seller's smile' to all you meet!  ~Joyce

When I Use Disposable Items - Thrifty Thursday...

Is there a time and place to use disposable items?  Isn't that costly?  

For me - there are times that it's just not worth the time & effort to clean 

something, etc.   Let me share a few things that I go 'disposable' on...

1.  Shower Curtain Liners.  These can get gross.. and I don't want to

 daily be bothered to wipe them down.  Did you know that Dollar Tree 

sells them for - yep $1?  And if you're opposed to Dollar Tree - 

I've seen them other places for around $2.  I replace mine every 6-8 months.

I'm very willing to toss and replace for $1 a couple of times a year.

2.  Paper Towels.  Again - some jobs are just messy.  Too messy to

 use a rag and then wash it.  So yep - I use paper towels at times.

But of course - I also keep a supply of rags on hand and 

try to be eco-friendly when possible.

3.  Disposable Gloves.  I love these for messy jobs like cleaning silver, 

some gardening, when using certain cleaning chemicals, etc. 

 They're worth it to me to have on hand.

We could also talk about plastic wrap, paper plates, etc. and

 perhaps we will in another post sometime.  But for now - know

 that being 'thrifty' isn't just about dollars and cents.  Our time is a

 precious commodity and its hard to put a price tag on it.   

Take the time to be with your family,  your friends and of course - 

daily be spending time with the Lord.

We never get back the moments we just lived - Joyce

Vignettes With a Touch of Fall...

Did my weekly trek to the thrift shop where I worked on dress rack

 displays again.   These are a few from today's styling...

This first one was by far my favorite - but looks pretty 'orange' 

in the photo.  In real life - twas looking good.  See that burlap bag?

  It is a handmade craft show item w/ the original price tag in place -

 over $18.  Thrift store price?  $2!  Was super cute and not sure why 

I didn't bring it home.  And the plaid throw was only $3 or so.  

Loved it too... but I'm on a mission to declutter...

This is the back side of above scene... just using whatever 

I could find that fit the color scheme.

This one photographed the best I think... but is not selling.  

This is the dress rack display that often doesn't sell well.  

It is a tad too high to reach easily!  (At least for shorter people).

  But look at that texture - those are pillow sham covers.  Love 'em!

Just a bunch of this and that - leftovers from previous displays, etc.

  The gift wrapped package?  It's really a magazine!

I found these old aluminum pots that weren't being highlighted well.  

Now that they're in a display (1 on the back too which you can't see) - 

can't wait to see if they move right out.

I feel like I spend so much of my days 'rushing' right now.  Haven't

 figured out quite how to lessen that.  (And I need to - it's not healthy).

But I love doing these displays and try to to let them evolve at leisure.  

Toward the end I often have to rush again (due to the schedule of my day)... 

but they fill my love-tank for some reason.  And that's a good thing!

Thanks for joining me and hope you are enjoying -
 and not rushing thru - each day that God has granted!  ~Joyce