Busy, Busy, Busy

Tis the season, right?  There is so much to do and so little time to do it. I am so excited, things are different for me this year.  I got a head start on Christmas this year.  My tree was up a week before Thanksgiving, and I have half of my shopping done.  The decorations will be finished tomorrow and it's not even December yet.   Doesn't sound too extraordinary does it?  But for me, it is a huge accomplishment.  I am usually still decorating and shopping on Christmas Eve, and I am usually wrapping present as we are walking out the door to deliver them. 

This year I am going to enjoy Christmas to the fullest.  I'm going to just sit back and enjoy the warm glow of the candle lights and the twinkle of the Christmas lights. 

Enjoy a sneak peek of what's on my tree this year.



Tree reveal coming soon!

I'm linking to the following:

BLESSINGS

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a Thanksgiving filled with Love, Family, and Friends.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

I Changed my mind

Several weeks ago I found a piece of furniture at Goodwill and knew it would make a great nightstand in my master bedroom.

before



My bedroom needs alot of help and this was going to be the start of something beautiful.  So, off to the garage I went with paint in one hand and a brush in the other.  I gave it a good sanding and priming then I put my brush in motion and applied two coats of paint.  It looked great, BUT, it wasn't enough.  I can't just put paint on something and leave it alone, NEVER!  Maybe someday if I find the right piece, just maybe I will be able to paint it and leave it, but not today.  I always have to play with the paint, mix it, thin it, add some more of this color, some more of that color.  I thought I wanted to dry bush thinned white paint to highlight the design on the drawers, but that wasn't enough it needed something else.  I added black and slopped it on.  Yes, I said slopped it on, my favorite way to paint.  I used a rag to wipe some off and move it around a little until I got it just right.  I love the outcome.

After

But there's a problem, I still need a nightstand, because this piece looks great in the dining room and that's where I'm going to leave it.

All Dressed up for Christmas!

My tree is up, and a few decorations are scattered about.  We left for Arkansas on Saturday and will spend Thanksgiving with family.  When we arrive home next Saturday, we will be welcomed by the sites of Christmas.  Let the Holidays begin!

I will be linking to the following parties this week:

Showing a little Thanksgiving and my Dining Room

I usually decorate for Fall as early as I can and then add Halloween to it.  Once Halloween is over, I switch it out for Thanksgiving, so most of my fall things have been out for a while and I am ready to put it all away.  But before I do, I want to share it with you...

White pumpkin by candle light

I love the trend of different colored pumpkins.

Pine cones and Berries, I could leave this out for Christmas as well.

Pumpkin candles sitting on a shelf in the Living Room

Faux leaves in a glass bowl on the kitchen island

WHAT'S  THIS?  As I was taking pictures, I saw this little critter out the kitchen window.

Faux and real pumpkins in the Kitchen



Small ceramic pumpkin on China Cabinet

Dining Room centerpiece



I don't have a ton of Fall/Thanksgiving decor, but I try to add a little each year. 

As I said before, we recently moved and are currently renting a wonderful house.  Decorating is a work in progress which will be put on hold until after the Holidays because now it's all about Christmas.  But I would like to show you a few rooms before the get all decked out with lights and glitter and all things sparkly.

Today let's look at the Dining room...

We bought the dining table and china cabinet from Ashley Furniture HomeStore several years ago.  The table has seen better days and I plan to paint it after Christmas, it may be my first chalk paint project.

Can you see what is peaking out in the corner?

So far these are the only curtains in the house.  I hung them a couple of days ago and aren't sure if I like them.  I planned to make curtains for the window next to it using a drop cloth.  I am going to get coordinating fabric and make a ruffle or sew a wide band at the bottom, but not sure yet, I'm still debating.

I bought these two wall hanging at Hobby Lobby.

This sums up how I feel this Thanksgiving.  I am very blessed with a wonderful family and a fabulous home.

Lorna

I am linking to the following:



My story

I'm a southern girl who has been swept away to the north.  My husband accepted a job in Ohio and we packed everything up and headed north.  We have been here about 3 months and so far so good.



I once lived in the land of HOT summers and where saying YA'LL was socially acceptable.  Now I have to have to make sure we have enough warm clothes to get us through the winter ahead. 

It has already snowed here!!

And when I talk, I have to explain why I sound like I'm not from here.


We have a grown son who choose to stay in Arkansas, but I'm constantly hopful he will decide to come join us.  We have a daughter in high school and a son in middle school and their transistion seems to have gone ok.

I love to shop for anything that can be used to make our house a home.  We live in a rental and couldn't be happier, it feels like it was built for us.  Blog land has been such an inspiration to me, hence the name Inspiration Overload.  Somtimes I have so many ideas I can't keep up with them all.  I would love to have you follow me on my journey to discovering the joys of northern living as well as how I make this a home we can be proud of.

Guess what I did today...

Put up the tree!!  We will be heading to Arkansas for Thanksgiving next Saturday, so my idea is to have the tree finished before we leave so that when we get home the following Satuday we can come home to a decorated tree.

We bought a new tree this year and this is the first time I have had a 9 footer so I am excited!!  Stay tuned for updates on the decorating.

Lorna

Coffee Table Before & After



This is about an outdated coffee table in need of a makeover, not about my garge floor that also needs some help.  Maybe we can tackle that another time.

I bought this table at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago and don't  intend to keep it, I would like to sell it, but we will see.  I started by lightly sanding with my trusty hand held sander, then putting on a light coat of primer.

  Nothing special, just rolled it on, then a couple coats of Better Homes and Gardens Creamed Coffee.  After it was all dry, I then made a my own glaze by taking some white paint, adding a touch of gray and some water to thin it down.  I dry brushed the glaze onto the table and in some areas used a cloth to wipe some off or spread it around a little.  I wanted to highlight the edges, and the legs, but I also used a back and forth motion on the top to add some depth.

The lighter color glaze is only slightly noticable, it mostly adds depth to the piece.



I am linking up to these fabulous parties:

Not only am I suffering from inspiration overload, but now I am trying to sort out how to be a blogger.  I have been reading blogs for about two years now and I can honestly say, you guys make it seem easy.  I'm not finding it to be so easy.  I think if I understood the technical stuff better I could sort through some of this better.  I have a lot to learn, and look forward to improving my blogging skills as I go, and that is hard for me.  I like to know what I'm doing and know that I can do it well before jumping into something. 

I want to show another project that I did that now sits next to the two candle holders from my last post.  I bought a decorative plate and the stand, several months ago, at a yard sale for $2.00.  I did not like the fruit that was painted on it but I knew I could change it.  Sorry, I did not take a picture of the fruit, but just image grapes and an apple.

Here I have painted it a neutral beige color that I already had on hand.  I then went to Graphics Fairy and looked at all the wonderful things she has to offer.  I have always been drawn to Fleur de lis and found just want I was looking for.  I printed to out and kind of tore the edges off because I wanted a ruff edge.

                                                           I used coffee to age the paper

                                     Once the paper dried, I used Mod Podge to attach it to the plate.

Using the coffee aged the paper nicely, but it didn't give me the look I wanted.  So, I got out my paint and mixed it with a little water to make a kind of glaze and just smeared it on. 

I am a messy Do It Yourselfer, I use my fingers, paper towels, paint brushes, whatever gets the job done for me.  Here is the finished project. 

I am linking to Savvy Southern Style's WOW Us Wednesday.