Get Your Holiday Tool Kit Ready

Don't you admire/hate those people who have all of their holiday shopping done before Halloween is past?
I know I should be doing this....
BUT
Somehow...I really don't get in the spirit of shopping until at least Thanksgiving.

I do start to put together an essential Holiday Tool Kit to have ready for the hectic holiday decorating, wrapping and shopping!
I thought I would share my "gotta have" list with you.  I would love to hear what your essentials are.

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Paddle Wire

You won't believe how many times you will use this.

It costs about $3.

I keep a paddle in the craft room and the junk drawer.

It is great for hanging decorations....without damaging surfaces.

It is the way to secure the center of a fancy bow!

Paddle wire is available at craft stores and on Amazon.

Wired Ribbon

Costco has 50 Yard spools of wired ribbon for $6.99.  I don't think there is a better deal out there.

This ribbon works for everything.

I always buy a pure red and a burlap look.  

You won't believe the ways this will work in your holiday wrapping and decorating. 

Here is a link to a tutorial all about tying fancy bows.

http://sweetwaterstyle.blogspot.com/2012/11/put-bow-on-it-fancy-bow-tutorial.html

Pine Cones 

 

Pine cones are accents that work in November as well as December...and even up until Valentine's Day.

If you have pine trees or access to them.....start collecting all sizes of pine cones.  We have trees with those tiny "mini" cones.  I gather tons of these to use as filler. 

Start watching at the grocery or craft store.  You can find deals on those wonderful cinnamon scented cones.  Instant Holiday atmostphere is just $5 away!

If you feel like splurging....invest in some giant Sugar Pine Cones.  I have been able to order them in bulk for around $3 a cone....but even at twice that....they have a dramatic impact. I think this arrangement could work from November to January.

 Cellophane Wrap

I love to use this simple clear cello wrap to dress up a hostess gift.  If you buy food grade...it can make that home baked treat look pretty upscale.  If you have some on hand you can add some instant glamour without much expense or fuss.

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All Kinds of Tape/Adhesives

This is the time to buy those 3 packs of clear tape both single and double stick.  The ones at the dollar store work great for most things.

Zots...are great for sticking paper to paper.  You can also use them to put paper on glass....easy to remove.

Command Strips...great to have on hand to temporarily put up holdiday themed art.

Spray Mount Adhesive....make sure to have a full can.

Modge Podge...even a small bottle from the dollar store may come in handy.

 Picture Frames

Start gathering small sized frames from the thrift store.  You can frame cute family photos with a holiday theme or a beautiful holiday card from the past!  Print out a favorite quote captured from the internet and present it in a frame.  (wrap it in cellophane for a classy touch)

Those are just a few of the things that are in my arsenal. 

I know I won't have the ambition to get the big shopping items purchased before mid-December....but I can be ready to do some small things.

The whole idea is to have things on hand so that you don't have to take time out to go to the store when inspiration hits you.

What are the things you deem essential for your holiday preparations?  I would love to hear from you!

Have a Great Day!

Quick Flower Arranging Tip

Hurrah! The Zinnia's are in full bloom!

These garden flowers make wonderful flower arrangements.

I have been using a "ball" of chicken wire to support the stems in my Zinnia arrangements this summer.
A big roll of this stuff is great to have on hand in your supply closet.
I still love fresh floral foam to support stems, but the chicken wire is reusable, making it a thrifty choice!

Painting the INSIDE of the Kitchen Cupboards!

Cleaning and organizing the kitchen cupboards is a great project at this time of year.  I started to do just that at the beginning of the month.

In the process....I looked...really looked at interiors of the cupboards!
YIKES!

The melamine laminate has the scratches and scuffs that come from normal use over time. The original white has become dull and yellowed.

I decided that they need a fresh coat of paint.

Be A Goof Off!

It is Summer Time....the season we give ourselves permission to Goof Off a bit....
I don't think of goofing off as a negative.....but when I read the definition for the noun......it wasn't such a positive image!!

HMMMMMM......but relax!  This post isn't about that kind of GOOF OFF.....

It is about THIS!

$4 worth of MAGIC....

In a little yellow can!

Add a little steel wool and this stuff will remove any number little messes!

 

This Thursday we will turn Sweetwater into a Floral Arranging Studio for a day!

A friend is coming to make ALL the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres for her wedding!

Won't that be fun? 

If you want to read about another time we did this CLICK HERE

I am organizing supplies and getting ready for Thursday.

When I got out my clippers.....oh my....they were not ready for company!!

Signs of Spring-Pussy WIllow and Forsythia!

Wow!  

A week with NO below zero temperatures!  

A week with NO new snow!

When the temps hit 40° all the kids on the playground shed their coats!

It must be SPRING!

I took a couple of minutes to brighten up the mantle this week!

My inspiration was this gorgeous painting I found on a wonderful blog!

Eat Drink Paint by Kim Rempel is pure visual candy!

Source

Since I can't spend the money on the painting (it is sold anyway!)

I decided to create an arrangement that mimics the art piece!

 

I had a spray of artificial Forsythia and some Pussy Willow branches saved from last spring!

I use to try unsuccessfully to create arrangements by bending the branches of artificial flowers while they were still clumped together on that big plastic stem!

I finally learned to treat the artificial spray like "REAL" flowers and cut them to size!  

That red handled tool in the picture is a real godsend.....it clips through the plastic and wire "like butter"!

I didn't have any of the dry floral foam you are supposed to use for artificial arrangements....but since my motto is "use what ya got"... a block of fresh floral foam (used dry) worked just fine for this project!

Cutting the branches apart allows for an freer and more natural arrangement of the Forsythia!

Then it was just a matter of adding the Pussy Willow!

By the way....did you know that the fuzzy gray thing on the branches are actually called "CATKINS"?

The floral foam was showing.....so a little Spanish Moss was added to hide it!

Now the mantle looks a bit more seasonable!

Now if only the snow outside would melt.....the real signs of Spring could start to show up!

Have A Great Day!

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Cleaning Calphalon Pans!

I guess that I have to admit that I am a bit of of cookware snob!  

If it isn't Calphalon or Cast Iron.....you probably won't find it at Sweetwater!

The set of Anodized aluminum pans (Calphalon) were an extravagant purchase we made 25 years ago!

Wow....I thought $200 for 5 pans was a LOT OF money....and at that time....for us....it was!

But 25 years later....we are still  using those same pans and they look like new!

Well......they look like new NOW......after I spent some time cleaning them!

I don't know about you....but we sometimes do a less than stellar job of scrubbing the pots and pans after a meal....and the result looks like this!

Yeah....I know.....having dirty pans is definitely a FIRST WORLD PROBLEM!!!

But this was starting to bug me!

I DO know that the reason our pans have lasted 25 years....is because we have taken care of the anodized coating.... 
NO.....it isn't because we NEVER scrub them....but maybe just maybe...because we don't scrub them very often!!!

Anyway...this is what I use....it like the pans it is made for.... is expensive....$14 for this little container!
But with a little elbow grease it works amazingly well!  Because it is made for the Calphalon surface, I know that I am not damaging it!  I guess this is one of those times when spending money on the right "tool" is really thrifty.....

It isn't perfect....but pretty darn good! 
So it isn't even 9 o'clock and I have solved this FIRST WORLD Problem....But I created another one!

All that pot scrubbing just wrecked my manicure!!! 

Oh well....

Have A Great Day!

Fabric Covered Brick Doorstop Tutorial

It is necessary that we have an "Open Door Policy" here at Sweetwater!

The reason?

Marvin and Max have "issues" with any door that is closed!!!

That means almost every door in our house needs a doorstop!

There are lots of options for door stops out there!

I have always loved the Ballard Design rope knot, but never could figure out how to do a knock-off!

The favorite way to prop open the doors around here are fabric covered bricks!

They work well...

The heavy brick keeps the door open and the fabric cover keeps from won't scratching the floor.

And Lord knows there is lots of fabric to be found at Sweetwater!

This example has seen better days!

It really needed tan update!

I finally got around to it yesterday.

I thought you might like a little tutorial of the process.

I took the old fabric and fiberfill off the old one....so I could start with a "blank slate" or brick in this case.

Wrap a piece of batting around the brick the long way. Hot glue the edge to keep it tight.

Wrap another piece of batting around the other side so that the entire brick has a cushion.

I decided to use burlap for this one....and the "technique" is to just wrap it like a gift!

Use the iron to make good creases so the folds lie nice and flat.

Again....everything is attached with hot glue!

I was just going to tie a ribbon around this and call it a day.....

Then I remembered that I had some leftover pieces of the "french print" burlap from a project I did this Spring.

I cut a piece of this that was twice as wide as the brick and long enough to go around the long way.

The edges were turn in and press to make a a neatly finished strip.

The strip is glued around the brick...

Now....it was ready for the black grosgrain ribbon bow!

10 Minutes and Done!

Now....whether the door needs to be wide open.....

Or just propped open....

Marvin and Maxine can get to their litter box downstairs....

And it looks pretty too!

BTW....I found this wooden door stop in my image search....

I bet Mr. S and I could figure out how to make one of these...

We do have a router....but it will have to wait until the garage temp is ABOVE 0 degrees!

Have A Great Day....

Stay Warm....

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Porch Light Decor on the Cheap!

Finding an inexpensive but elegant way to decorate the five light fixtures on the front of the house is always a challenge!


Last year I saw a great tutorial over at one of my favorite blogs: In My Own Style.  Diane uses the nifty trick to create full looking swags for the lights and hanging them with coat hangers.  Check out her tutorial here.


The only problem was.....she uses a whole brick of floral foam....and the $3 + times 5 still seemed like a bit spendy for me....


I got the idea to use chicken wire for the form instead of the floral foam....


And....for some reason the shape of our fixtures won't allow for the hanger to work....


 I enlisted the help....and errand running skills of Mr. S to get this project done!

Off he went to the hardware store to get me my supplies...and to the basement to get me the "proper" cutting tool....what a guy!



This roll of chicken wire was less than $6 for a 25 foot roll that is 2 feet wide....
The tool is a WISS All Purpose Metal Snip Pliers (who knew we had one....but.....it WAS the perfect tool)
I also needed some heavy duty leather gloves to protect my hands!

I cut a piece of chicken wire about 18 inches wide and bent the edges on each side in.  Then I rolled it into a column....this gave lots of places to tuck in the greenery!

About that greenery!

Look at the big pile of greens that came from the woods during deer hunting!

And....the free stuff scored from the leftover bins at Home Depot...

REALLY they just let you take home whole carts for FREE! 

So....I had lots of pretty greens to make my swags!

 I scrunched up the chicken wire (the gloves came in handy)

....and stuck the branches in every which way!

I left some chicken wire exposed at the top.....so that after I put the bow on, I could add some greens around it to finish off the look!

I used some really bright red ribbon and made really big full bows...

I used more ribbon on the back to use as ties to go around the sconces....

Looking pretty festive don't you think!!!

And....considering that I have lots of chicken wire left over....

And....most of the roll of red ribbon.....

Each swag probably only cost a dollar!!!

Now....what can I do with that leftover chicken wire?  Any ideas?

Have a Great Day!

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