When The Frost is on the Punkin'

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

James Whitcomb Riley

The Sweetwater gardens are covered in frost every morning.....

We planted spring bulbs this weekend.....

Mr. S cleaned the leaves out of the gutters....

much to Marvin's amusement!!!

Mom will be off to Florida on Saturday....

Mr. S...to the woods for deer season!!

 Mr. S and I were sitting by the fire on Saturday night when I noticed that there were still lots of mums blooming in the garden.....


Time to cut the last flowers of the season...

this is always a bittersweet moment for me because I love fresh flowers in the house!!!

Now...I will have to "gasp" buy them!!!

I decided to take some time and do a really nice job arranging these last flowers!!!!

The copper bowl from "Bonne Volonté" was perfect in size and color....I put a plastic bowl inside so the copper wouldn't get "yucky" from the water...

 I went walking through the yard to gather all kinds of great looking fall foliage and the last of the mums....

I am likin' the way this looks....especially nice sitting on the new $2 runner I got at "Bonne Volonté"!

Wishing you warm sunny autumn days.....

 

Transforming a Goodwill Wreath!

I haven't done a post about shopping at Bonne Volanté (AKA Goodwill) for a while...I guess it is time!

I made a quick trip to my favorite GW last week (hey...I only stayed for 45 minutes....so that counts as quick....for me)






I needed a couple of frames....one for the thrifty Halloween Graveyard art project....

Score!!!  $2   

I also bought this "semi-tacky" wreath for $3.99!

You are probably thinking...."Why would anyone buy that!!!???"

I had a plan....just you wait!

First I want to tell you about one of my favorite go to tools....

It looks like this.....

I have had mine for years and always just called it that red handled cutter!

When I started to write this post, I figured I better know what the real name of the tool was!

Who better to ask than Mr. S....and of course he knew!

Electrician's call this a "DIKE" or short for "diagonal wire cutter"....who knew?

Mine is a Klein D228-8....so there!
It is about 20 bucks at Amazon....is it worth it?
You bet!

This cutter makes short work of cutting the plastic covered wires on artificial flowers and leaves!  Before I started using this.....or when I am too lazy to walk downstairs and get it out of the drawer....I used to try cutting stems with kitchen shears....yikes...what a lot of hard work...this little cutter is a simple snip and you are done!!!

On to the transformation of the "tacky wreath"...

I wanted to use this basket because the copper color would look nice with the metallic pumpkins.... but I needed to make a liner to hide the dry floral foam base....

Good old burlap to the rescue!  It has a nice autumnal feel and with a little unraveling on the edges....it was the perfect solution!

I took the wreath apart and cut the stems with my cutter....and here is the result!

Not bad for $4!

AND

I used up some burlap and a basket from the "stash"!!!

Wishing you good luck on YOUR thrifting adventures!

Link Parties

Bowdabra Blog W-T-Fab   

My Life's A Treasure     A Pinch of Joy   

Craft Envy  Too Much Time on My Hands   The Gingerbread Blog  Serenity Saturday  

The Sasse Life   

Twigg Studios  Ninth Street Notions    

Thrifty Halloween Wall Art

I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow.”
― Edgar Allan Poe







 We went to a wedding on Friday night!  Beautiful Bride....Great Party...Good FUN!

The wedding was far enough away to mean we needed to spend the night!

Our drive home early on Saturday morning was very foggy.


When I spied this cemetery in the fog.....I made Mr. S. stop so I could get some photos!

I just knew they would look amazing as  Halloween Themed Wall Art!

So with a little photo editing.....

An order from Walgreens for a 11 x14 poster.... $10

 a trip to GoodWill for a $2 frame....

5 minutes with the Mat Cutter....

Tah Dah!

A Perfect Spooky Print for the Laundry Room Wall!

Have A Great Day!

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The Dedicated House  Ninth Street Notions Making the World Cuter     
Coastal Charm  Project Queen   
The DYI Dreamer   Create With Joy  
Wonderfully Messy Mom  Katherine's Corner   Purple Pumpkin Blog Made in a Day 
 Craftionary 

Rah Rah Rah for Maroon and Gold!

 Fall is time for the Maroon and Gold !

The inexpensive Mums from Home Depot!

 The bronze colored Spider Mums that seem to bloom forever....

and last a long time in arrangements in the house!

 And a few plants with tinges of bronze and maroon

But that is not the only reason I love Maroon and Gold!

 I am an unabashed University of Minnesota Sports Fan!!!

Maroon and Gold....

Goldie Gopher....

and Rah Rah Rah for Ski-U-Mah!

I have the prerequisite Gopher Sweatshirts....3 of them in fact!
My casual parka is dark maroon....so I look right in style when we go to games!

BUT...
wait 'til you see what the Sweetwater son-in-law found for me on his vintage thrifting trips!

He is my hero!!!...He thrifts better than anyone I know
Better yet....he shares!!!

This vintage all wool sweater looks like it dates from the 1950's!
It is in perfect shape....it is probably meant to be worn by a man with the bottom bloused...
I plan to wear it with leggings....pulled down long!

I found this 100% Silk U of M scarf at Goodwill for $1.99...
Since it came from the University of Minnesota Foundation...it probably cost a fortune!
It looks great with my camel blazer!
and now maybe tucked into my new sweater!!!

The Sweetwater Son-In-Law also scored this vintage wool blanket with the requisite M!
We have it in Mr. S's den along with this great pillow that was a gift last Christmas!

It will be great to curl up with when I watch all those games on TV...
And....for the few times we go to the games....it is big enough for 2 people to stay warm!

I guess I am all ready to cheer on the team...win or lose!

Go Gophers!!!

Once a cheerleader always a cheerleader!!

Link Parties
Nifty Thrifty Sunday WTFab  

A Yoga Room For ME!

 

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. 

 I love YOGA...and have been practicing for over 10 years.  

I wouldn't say that I am an expert....

I wouldn't say that I practice nearly enough....

Sometimes I go to classes....but the best routine for me is to practice at home!

In the summer....I can use my garden for meditation and exercise....

The "Down Weed" keeps me flexible....and the flowers keep me calm!

These last weeks at school....

I have been moving a lot of books and couldn't figure out why my shoulders were aching!!!

I realized I needed to get back to doing "real" Yoga practice!

This summer I challenged myself to create a practice space in a spare room.....

for under $100!

I finished it a while ago and it has been sitting there unused for a couple of months...

Maybe if I show you the room....it will motivate me to start using it!!!! 

The room already had a coat of sage green paint that is calming....

 When we rearranged the family room, I moved this low table to the spare room....

This table is very special to me as I rescued it from school....would you believe they were going to chop it up....and even better...It was a table in my very first Kindergarten!  We brought it home and refinished it!  A treasure, with history!!!

The 2 floor cushions came from "Bonne Volante".....

They were the perfect color and price-$5 a piece!

The white linen curtain panels were also a Bonne Volante find.....$9.99!

The BIG ticket item was $50 from HomeGoods.....but worth it!  ( it was my birthday gift from the Sweetwater Daughter....but I will count the cost in the total budget)

 These 2 Asian themed art pieces are also from GW...

 I think one was $6.99 and the other $4.99

 I wish I knew what the characters meant....

 I hope what ever they mean doesn't give me bad "CHI" !!!

 This planter is a favorite find from GoodWill.....$4.99....

It adds a bit of the "earth element"

 I put the "Fake Battery Candles" on the table for the "Fire Element"....

The "Water Element" is provided by the tabletop fountain!

 For less than $100....using stuff I already....I have a calm, uncluttered space to help me unclutter my mind!

Now I just have to actually DO that!

Well....you can see that someone is using the Yoga Room!
I think this pose is called "UP CAT"!

Remember....Keep Calm and Just Breathe!!!

Have a Great Week!

Link Parties

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Blackberry Vine  Katherine's Corner  The Artsy Girl     

Keep Calm Halloween Plaques

I have been seeing so many cute ideas using the

KEEP CALM theme.....

I decided to make a simple little project to add to the Sweetwater Halloween Decor!

I started by browsing for some clever ideas......and I found lots of freebies to print!

Thanks to these clever folks for sharing their talents!

You can click the links to get the free printable!!!

http://simplycreativeinsanity.blogspot.com/2011/09/keep-calm-and.html

http://parkhurst1.blogspot.com/2010/10/craftily-ever-after-free-printable.html

http://thecraftedsparrow.blogspot.com/2011/09/20-of-my-favorite-halloween-printables.html

I picked three of my favorites.....to use for a fun and simple project!

A few months ago, I bought a six foot section of plain 4 inch trim stock from Home Depot.

I cut it into 6 inch sections....

sanded the rough edges....

and painted them white....

and they made a really fun Mother's Day gift for Mom last year!!!

I still had six of them left....perfect for my little Halloween Plaques once they had a coat of black paint!!!!

Here is the finished project!!!

These three are staying at Sweetwater....

I made another set which made the perfect little birthday gift for a friend!

Promise not to tell her that I didn't spend any money on her gift!!!

But.....knowing this friend.....she would really appreciate THAT!!!

Have a great day!

Link Parties
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Katherines Corner  Happy Hour Projects Craftionary  
What About   Sunday Funday Blog Hop 
Funky Junk Interiors   

BRRRRR!!! Now it is REALLY Autumn!

Fall is certainly in the air.....
At Sweetwater we try to put off starting the furnace as long as possible.....so we use the gas fireplace every evening....

See.....Marvin isn't always mischievous!!!!

Once I actually give in to the fact that summer is over....I can embrace the beauty of Fall!

I love the warmer colors and the cozy textures.....and have been gradually adding fall touches all around the house.

I will wait at least a week to get the Halloween Stuff out....Halloween Decor seems to be a bit Pavlovian for me.....I start craving candy bars.....so the longer I wait.....the better it is for my diet!!!!

I finished the mantel....

Fun to look back at the photo from last year....I think I did better this time around!

I got the pumpkin print pillow out....


If you want to know how I printed the pumpkin on fabric and made the pillow....here is the link to that post....


Pumpkin Print Pillow Tutorial....

And the Faux fur throw I made last year has been keeping me warm on these chilly evenings.....

Here is the link to that tutorial

Almost NO SEW Cozy Throws....





And you can see that Marvin has discovered them too!!!!

A few mums and artificial gourds in the kitchen window are nicer to look at than the flowers on the deck that are past their prime!

Finally....this display of white and orange mini pumpkins seems to be safe from "Bad Kitty"...at least for the time being!

If it warms up later today, I plan to get out and deal with the almost dead flowers....and the front porch....and pick the hydrangeas....and cut the last of the good flowers before it freezes....

OR....

maybe I will just turn the fire on....
and cozy in with the kitty for a nice afternoon of reading!!!