A New Look For Sweetwater Style!

Sweetwater Style is getting a new look!

The purpose of "Sweetwater Style" has always been about showing ways to combine style and elegance in economical ways.

That won't change.

BUT....the focus will change.

See if you can figure out the new theme for Sweetwater Style!

Throw Pillows from a Throw Blanket!

One of the easiest and thriftiest ways to update the look of a room is with decorative pillows.
Every one has them. In fact, I dare you to take a count of the throw pillows in your house!!!
I don't just have pillows on the furniture....I have pillows in the closets waiting to take their turn in whatever decor scheme suits my fancy.

 A trip down the pillow aisle of almost any home decor store is pure temptation for me.

A pillow is affordable.....
A pillow is not a forever commitment like a piece of furniture.....

How to Make a SCARY Fairy Garden!

We have been traveling for a week or so.....
It seemed too soon to decorate for Halloween before we left, but now it is only 2 weeks away.
I don't do a lot of crazy Halloween decor any more.  We never were the people who filled the yard with gravestones and ghosts.
I do like to do a few things that pay homage to the season.


This is one of my favorites!
I love fairy gardens.....and this one can be enjoyed in the warm comfort of indoors!

AND....almost every component is a thrift store find.

You can create your own "Scary Fairy Garden" or "Ghostly Gnome Home".
These are the components:

• A large box or basket- this is a wine box/tray that I found at Goodwill.  The aisle with baskets and wood always have great things for good prices.
• Ceramic houses that are usually in the Christmas decor section at the thrift store.  I painted them with craft paint to look spooky.
• Small pumpkins are always available at the dollar store.
• Little ceramic ghosts can be sourced at the thrift store.  You probably have some in your holiday stash.
• The stone "courtyard" is a piece of tile on mesh that we found at the tile store. A little moss tucked in is a nice addition.
• The "tree" is some curly willow that is tied together.  A branch from the yard would work well.
• I added some battery powered twinkle lights wound around the branches.

Easy....
Simple....
Inexpensive....
Just my Sweetwater Style!

Happy Haunting!

Slowly Embracing Fall

The temps are going to hit 90 degrees today.....thoughts of sweaters, boots, and pumpkin flavored food makes NO SENSE!

Why is it that people seem to get euphoric over the fact that Autumn is upon us?

 




I imagine that if you have been trying to manage the schedules of a bunch of kids on summer break, the idea that the school system will take over is NOT a bad thing!  That is a good reason to say Hurrah Fall.





I imagine if you live in a place where the temperatures and humidity are oppressive for many days in the summer, the arrival of cooler days is NOT a bad thing.

But....for me....no kids to wrangle any longer....and living in a state where Autumn can mean SNOW....I am not so quick to jump on the pumpkin wagon!

Source

I LOVE summer!!!  Let me repeat...I LOVE SUMMER!
Alas...there is not much I can do to stop the calendar pages from turning.

This year I decided to make the transition SLOWLY!

I am slowly packing away the summer decor around here and putting out some touches of the Autumn season.

I stitched up some new covers for the chairs in the family room.  They are quite a bit more fall like than the turquoise and blue ones that were there before.

Away went the starfish and beach scenes by the fireplace.

I used a photo editing app to turn this fall photo into a watercolor look.

 The coffee table arrangemen is just some spheres with interesting textures and cotton bolls.  Nothing a Grand can't touch and explore!

The baker's rack has autumn tones with the copper items. 

The bowls are filled with some artificial produce.....yup...I am turning into that dotty old woman with WAXED FRUIT! 




But hey....the Sweetwater Grandgirl loves to put the food in her grocery cart and push it around.

















 The wreath on the front steps lost the patriotic red, white, and blue.  Sunflowers and dried grasses have a nice transitional look.  I even broke down and added a couple of scarecrows and pumpkins.

These little nods to the season are just enough to head toward Autumn.

It is supposed to stay really warm around here for a few more days...
And just so you know.....I am still wearing my WHITE JEANS....2 weeks after Labor Day...So There!

Summer "Ain't" over until I decide it is over!

Have A Wonderful Day!

A Garden for the Windowsill

I bet like me, you spend a lot of time at your kitchen sink.

If you are lucky, you have a window over that sink to look out of.

AND

If you are really lucky, that window has a sill.

I guess that I am really lucky!!!!

A kitchen windowsill just cries out for plants and/or flowers.

It is sort of an indoor "windowbox".

These three copper planters on a tray are a long ago thrift store find.  I love how it fits perfectly on the window sill.  

I know you are supposed to actually put dirt in the planters and grow something.

I decided to avoid the dirt and have a way to create ever changing displays of pretty blooms.

So.....

It is simple to just use a plastic tumbler filled with water as an insert.Then....any greenery or flower snippets can be tucked in to create the illusion of a planter.

Regular readers know how I preach about dead-heading flowers in the garden to keep your plants thriving.  I like to "proactively" deadhead. The little flower garden here is filled with some almost spent Dahlias and some geranium heads.  The greenery is Pachysandra.  That seems to last forever and sometimes even sends out roots.

 Keep your eye out for this type of 3 pot planter tray.  I see them often at the thrift store.

If you can't wait......

 You can get them at Amazon....

What a chuckle to see that my thrift store find is worth thirty dollars!

Now....here is some "kitchen window humor" to brighten your day!

Honey in the Window Painting by Ginger Jamerson

 Have A Wonderful Day!

We've Moved.....The Fairy House That Is!

The Fairy House or Gnome Home here at Sweetwater has good bones!






READ HERE about how to turn an old stump into a pretty fabulous Fairy Garden structure










That was a couple of years ago....


Just like any home, the Gnome home needs regular maintenance.

Well, this year instead of the usual spruce up of the property....I decided that it was time for the Gnomes to make a MOVE!

You know the saying....in real estate it is all about    LOCATION!

 LOCATION!

 LOCATION!

Instead of the busy intersection of driveway and front walk....the Gnomes deserve the woodlands and a pond view.

Luckily....the perfect "lot" was available!

Packing up to move is never any fun....but in this case it involved not just the furniture....but all of the landscaping materials....

AND

The WHOLE house too!

 It is a good thing the move didn't involve too much distance....

The Sweetwater Grandboy was there to help with sprucing up the place with a newly painted roof.


The landlord wasn't so sure about the bright blue for the roof....but hey it suits a Gnome....


The process would have gone quicker....
BUT....





















The city utility workers showed up to flush out the water mains....and that diversion was way too interesting to miss!

So....after a short break...

The renovation continued!









As moves go, this one was pretty painless...I guess that is the magic of Fairies and Gnomes!

 I hope the Gnomes like the upgraded pond view!

Remember.....There's No Place Like Gnome!!!

Have a Great Day!

Round Up of Inexpensive Wall Art

 Finding great looking things to hang on the walls without spending a fortune can be a challenge.

But NOT having great looking things to hang on the walls would be just SAD!






When we travel, I love to shop in all the fancy art galleries we see.
I should clarify the word "SHOP" and change it to "LOOK".
Oh, how I would love to rationalize spending thousands of dollars on unique pieces of art!
Alas, I just can't do it!
My thrifty alter ego reminds me that there are other ways to have pretty things on the wall.

I decided to do a post about the many ways and many places you to find great "art" for you walls.
Since I have been doing this for more years than I want to tell you....I will take you on a "art walk" around Sweetwater as well as share some great ideas from some other thrifty folks.

First though.....about frames and framing.
One of the best sources for frames is the thrift store. 
Look past the questionable "ART" in the frame and imagine it with your own.
A little spray paint or touch up with a sharpie can make a battered frame look new.
If you don't have access to a mat cutter, look for standard sized frames.

One great source for art is those vacation photos you take.
This is an enlargement of the view from our hotel on our trip to Hong Kong.  I used a photo effect program for my iPad called Waterlogue to create the watercolor effect. 

Look for coffee table sized art books at the thrift store.  You won't feel bad tearing out a page that has a fabulous image.  Adding an oversized mat allows the image to look larger than it actually is.

Note cards or greeting cards with a theme can make a nice tryptic. I have to confess that since I wanted the images from the purchased cards to be bigger, I scanned and printed them larger.  It probably doesn't exactly follow copyright law...but I did buy them and didn't make them that much bigger.

Wrapping paper come in many beautiful patterns.  A lot of boutiques sell single poster sized sheets of paper.  This chocolate themed paper will be perfect as subtle valentine decor...althought the "real" thing might be tastier.

Framing a tea towel is a similar way to have a large image on the wall.  Keep an eye open for these when you are boutique shopping. Here are two different towels switched out for the season with new mats in the same frame.

Those of you who are frequent readers know my obsession with fabric.  Using a fabulous print as a wrap around a frame is a simple way to create large interesting pieces of art.

I did a little looking for some other sources for interesting and inexpensive art.

Check out  https://www.posterhaste.com  
There are really wonderful options for personalized art here.

Mr. S got this print as a gift from the Sweetwater Daughter.

She ordered it from this site.
https://grafomap.com 

You just type in the place and a cool looking graphic is generated.


I think I might do one for our current location in blue.

Here are a couple of other people's blog posts about "cheap" art!

www.apartmenttherapy.com/cheap-art-frame-ideas

https://www.pinterest.com/favillephoto/unique-things-to-frame 

So....anyway....that is my roundup of ways to have "luxury" art on a budget.
What are your suggestions?
I would love to hear from you!

A Week of DIY Hostess Gift Tutorials

Things are pretty much in full holiday mode around here....although since we are having a late Thanksgiving "gather and gobble" on Sunday....Mr. S has requested that I restrain myself a bit and leave a few remnants of fall decor....so the house feels a little like Thanksgiving.

Some of you may have noticed that I have been struggling to get posts written on a regular basis...
I have decided to change that!
I have a Goal: I plan to post EVERY DAY this week with quick tutorials for easy to replicate hostess gifts.  I hope this goal will motivate me to post more often....and inspire you to get your craft on!
So here goes!

DAY ONE

Coverless Book Bundles Holiday Style

Source

Coverless book bundles were all the rage a few years ago.

They are the epitome of "shabby chic".

Shabby Chic is not for everyone....but...if you change it up to have a HOLIDAY theme....then these work for almost any decor style.

Do you know how hard it is for a retired "librarian" to rip the cover off of a book?

Well...I had to get over that for this project.

Since I promised you a tutorial....a tutorial you shall have...(even though I believe MY clever readers are all be smart enough to figure this out on their own!!!)

•  Find some old books....the thrift store is a great source if you don't have any lying around.  The older and dingier the better!  Look for groups of books that are similar in size. 
•  Remove the soft casing of the book and make sure to remove any printed pages that precede the blank page. Most books have one blank page before the work of the book begins, so you want to leave that page as the top “page” of the book. When you remove the cover, don’t worry about peeling off the binding, the more weathered your binding looks, all the better for the look of your bundle. 
• Play around with stacking your books.  It will all depend on the books you have.
• Add your holiday sentiment.  I used the PRINT ON FABRIC technique to print the words on strips of canvas.  You can just use a fabric marker or sharpie to write your words.  Any kind of glue works to add the strips of canvas to the spines of the books. 
• Wrap the books with a fun holiday ribbon just like you would wrap a  present. You can tie a bow or not tie a bow. It’s up to you.
  

You have just created a holiday themed vintage book bundle!
This is a perfect hostess gift. It takes little time and only costs a couple of dollars (or free if you use your own old books).
You will probably want to make a few so that you have one for your own!

Have  A Wonderful, Crafty Day!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Tutorial!