How to Make An Outdoor Light Swag

The front of the house here at Sweetwater has five light fixtures.

Two on the sides of the door and three across the front of the garage.

So nice to have all of that light.

Not so nice if I want to decorate those lights for the holidays.

Buying swags for FIVE lights is really not an option for someone as CHEAP thrifty as I am!

So over the years, I have learned to make my own using stuff that is almost free.

Read on to learn the trick behind this pretty swag.

 

Did you notice how this swag has a lot of dimension from front to back? 

I used to just gather up some greens....wire them together in the middle and tie it with a bow.

They looked okay but were sort of flat!

AND THEN....

I discovered a trick for making these fuller versions.

 

Chicken Wire! 

An eight inch strip of chicken wire can be cut using a sturdy snipper.  I am so lucky that Mr. S gifts me with these romantic type presents!  I guess he knows what I will actually use!

Form the eight inch strip into a cylinder by folding it over and pinching the sides in.  It is helpful to use work gloves when you do this...chicken wire is really hard on your hands.

Now you have a form/base for your scraps of greenery.  I love the fact that you can use some pretty shabby greens in the back of your swag.   Just keep snipping greens and pushing them into the wire.  After you have the top and bottom of the swag the shape you like, start adding greens that stick out and make the swag look full from the front to the back.  You don't need to put a lot of greens in the center because your bow will go there.

 When you are pleased with the greenery, you add a bow.

Bows seem to be intimidating to people.  Making a fancy bow is really pretty easy.  Check out this link to see a step by step of the process.

 I used some of that fun netting as the background for the bow on these swags.  That stuff is easy to find...I have seen it at the dollar store, Lowes and Micheals.  I like how it makes the plaid ribbon stand out.

These swags on the wire cages are especially nice because of how they can be attached to the lights.  Simply run a length of ribbon through the back of the cage.  This ribbon can be tied around the light.  No worries about wires that can scratch your fixture.

 I am always pleased that the swags look like something that I went out and purchased!

They frame the entry and add a lot of holiday oomph for little or no money!

Happy Decorating....

Before I go.....The Sweetwater entry is decked out for the holidays too!  I had an old grapevine wreath that was the perfect size.  A few scrap greens and some leftover ornaments from the Festival of trees event.....I am liking this a lot!

Have A Great Day!

Using Twinkle Lights for Fall Decor

Yesterday, the thermometer in the car said 100 degrees.....but the calendar says it is Autumn!  

Go figure!

I have been gradually switching the decor around Sweetwater to reflect the season....NOT...the temperature!

The family room was first....and honestly it took about 30 minutes to go from Summer to Fall!

The chair covers on the rattan chairs are now back to a muted color scheme. (I do love slipcovers for a quick change!)

• 
  
• These two purple pillows make sense when you look at the chair fabric.
• A wine crate filled with interesting orbs and cotton bolls is fall like without going all "pumpkin" flavored! I often find these decorative balls at Good Will for a fraction of the cost they are at a decor store.  The same goes for the wine crate...keep an eye out for interesting containers.
  
  
• The mantel got the "pumpkin" treatment complete with mood lighting!  I used my copper collection and a great pumpkin swag that has been around forever. 
  
  

I am totally obsessed with twinkle lights!
I love the battery powered strings that are on tiny copper wire.  The wire bends around to twist through the stuff and almost disappears.
A search on Amazon finds a really wide variety of these fun strings for a very low cost.  I have also seen them at Tuesday Morning and Dollar General.  You really want to have these in your decorating stash!!!

 I used a string to light up the Spooky Fairy Garden last season.....I will definitely do that again when October rolls around.

Look at some of the fun ways that other people have used twinkle lights:

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HMMMM....I could probably weave a string into my wine crate!

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Hope this inspires you to do a bit of fall decorating and add some twinkle lighting to your projects...

 I love the quote from the movie "You've Got Mail" when Kathleen announces that all will be fine, but "in the meantime, I'm putting up more twinkle lights."

Have A Wonderful Day!

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A Cover Up at Sweetwater!

Don't worry.....I am not going to go all political on you!

The cover up at Sweetwater is NOT scandalous!

It is simply the way that I "used what I had" to cover up some old plastic planters!

Mr. S is always trying to get me to throw away all the old pots around here.

They are stacked up behind the garage in an unsightly pile.

I just can't bring myself to buy new ones.....because they still are "good enough" to use.

A couple of the old pots got used to plant some dark red geraniums and some zebra grass.  

(you know me....why spend money on an accent plant when you have way too many "accents" growing in the garden)

Well....you can see that the old plastic terra cotta colored planter was maybe....NOT good enough!

It was pretty faded and a little dirty....

I thought about using spray paint.....but it still would have that plastic look.

Then I remembered my fabric stash!

I have a lot of burlap.....remember when burlap was all the rage?

That burlap turned out to be just the cover up that was needed to pretty up the faded old pot.

How I did it:

I cut a large square of fabric.

I trim the corners to create a circle.

I gathered up the edges and tied it with a burlap ribbon.

I tucked the edges of the burlap up inside the planter and secured them with some picks.

Pretty darn simple.

I know that the burlap is porous enough to let the water drain....

If you do this with fabric that is not loosely woven, be sure to cut some drainage holes.

HMMMM....this might be a good trick to use to cover up a basic store pot when you give a plant as a gift.

HMMMM....what else could I use for my cover ups....off to the internets and look at the ideas I found!

I guess Mr. S had better resign himself to the unsightly pile of pots behind the garage!

I have projects in mind.....so watch out!

Have a Great Day!

 

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Summer Decorating on a Budget-Part 2

Part 2 of Summer Decorating on a Budget can really be summed up by the following:

I admit freely to being a "fabric"holic!

 

The summer look for the lower level family room has been the same for a long time.

The navy "monster" couch and navy carpet seemed to lend themselves to a red, white and blue theme.

I was quite simply "over it".

The natural place to go to solve the problem was the fabric store.

I wasn't sure what I was looking for......

I needed to "immerse" myself in all the pretties....

These are the fabrics that called to me and made sense with the blue carpet and white walls.

Best of all....I happened to be there on a day when all decorator fabric was $3.99 a yard.

Be still my heart!

Too funny....when I look at these 3 fabrics lined up in the photos....I have to say I was a bit of a risk taker.

You might be saying in true Minnesota nice language....."well those are different"!

But look how the redo turned out using these unlikely pairings.

I have always loved chinoiserie fabric.

Vocabulary lesson: 

chinoiserie  chi·noi·se·rie

SHēnˌwäzəˈrē,ˌSHēnˈwäz(ə)rē/

noun

noun:  the imitation or evocation of Chinese motifs and techniques in Western art, furniture, and architecture, especially in the 18th century. 

Using just a bit for the seat cushions on the game table was a great way to have some that doesn't over power the room.
Would you believe that I just used the glue gun to attach the fabric on these?
Why?  Because I want to be able to take the summery look away and use the red pattern underneath in the winter.  If I used the staple gun....removal would have been a huge pain!













The cushions on the cedar chest "window seat" got my famous almost no-sew box cushion treatment!
Here is a link to the original post....http://sweetwaterstyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/almost-no-sew-box-cushions.html
I got a big laugh when I looked at the statistics for this post and saw that it has gotten almost 10,000 since it was published 5 years ago.  I guess that means that this is something worth doing? :)

Big fabric envelopes made from the floral fabric were an easy way to switch out the couch cushions.

The ikat fabric is a fun look for the ottoman.  

Yes....you can easily cover an ottoman with just a couple of seams on the sewing machine. Here is the post that shows you the steps.                   EASY ALMOST NO SEW OTTOMAN                                                            I left the red and blue underneath so the new fabric can easily lift off.

I still need to do a bit of "red removal" and shop the house for things that will fit the new colors.

but even though the temps are back in the 50's around here....I know that it soon will warm up and now.....

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Summer Decorating on a Budget! Part One!

Source

Time for summer decorating....bright, fresh, and airy are words that come to mind.


Lightening up the look of the family room was the first step in the summer transformation here at Sweetwater.

When we got the new oatmeal colored couch, I no longer need to slipcover the cushions with summer weight fabric.

(Read about how I used to do this with the dark colored couch using stretch twill for cushion covers that are almost no sew)







The color scheme in the family room was pretty autumnal with all the browns and copper.

Pretty.... but definitely NOT bright, fresh and airy!

No Cost Early Planters

Ahhh....Spring in Minnesota!
One day it is sunny and 75 degrees.
The next day it is cloudy with snow!
The garden store is calling....come buy plants.
BUT...it is at least three weeks before those tender little plants can be planted outdoors.

The pots in the front of the house were looking sooooo bare and empty.
What to do?

Here is a simple and FREE way to fill a planter before they can be planted with flowering annuals.

The Problem With New Furniture!

It seems like ages ago that Mr. S,  the Sweetwater Grandboy and I went shopping and bought a new sofa.
It WAS ages ago....November in fact!

Don't you just hate it when they tell you that your new furniture will be here in 6 weeks and it takes more like 15!!!!
The store finally called last week to schedule the delivery!
I was so happy.
I had a meeting and was gone when the sofa was delivered.
When Mr. S asked where I wanted them to put it....I said it should go right where the old one was.
Sounds like a plan....

Holiday Decor Transition

Whew!  

This holiday season seems to have flown past....

and yet it also seems like the Christmas decor has been around forever!

Was it because Thanksgiving was early this year?

Was it because we decorated the Festival Tree a whole week before Thanksgiving?

This year, I noticed that my Christmas Decor Style had changed.

I wouldn't call it minimalist....but I definitely limited the things that I used this year.

It also felt like I was sort of "organic" in the way I approached the actual decorating process.

Instead of going all out and doing every bit of decorating in one day, I spread it out over a couple of weeks.

I added a touch of Christmas to different areas each day.

AND

I only put out the things we actually LOVE!

Would you believe that there were actually boxes of decor that never made it out of the closet!

Now it is time to UNDECORATE! 

Keep Artificial Pumpkins in Place Outdoors

Isn't this quote from Anne of Green Gables apropos for the second day of October?

Once October arrives, it is definitely pumpkin time.

If you want to have your pumpkins on display for the whole month, you probably need to opt for the fakes! 

Then in a couple of weeks you can buy the real thing for your Jack-O-Lantern.

  

Artificial pumpkins have come a long way.

AND

There are hundreds of ideas for making those fakes look more real.

Mostly I just do a dry brush of gray or white craft paint to soften the harsh and shiny orange.

It can be a challenge to get a natural looking arrangement when you use artificial pumpkins.

AND

Fake pumpkins are real "light weights"!  

When the wind blows....your arrangement will crumple at best and be all over the neighborhood at worst.

Use What You Have Fall Arrangement

Oh so many years ago...20 in fact....one of my favorite TV shows was The Christopher Lowell Show.

 Do any of the rest of you remember this show?

It had to be one of the first home improvement, DIY, lifestyle shows.

I loved his quirky point of view and sense of style.
HMMM....sound like anyone you know?

I would have to say that many of the things that Christopher featured on his show are things that I still do.


One of those things I remember was the suggestion to copy the look of  hotel lobby floral arrangements.  These displays tend to be done on a grand scale.

This is a photo of the lobby of the hotel we stayed at in Manila...
I couldn't find the photo of the hotel lobby in Bangkok with the boat made entirely out of orchids!
That probably isn't something I could pull off....but it was gorgeous and certainly GRAND!

This week we had our family room, hallway, entryway and kitchen painted.


That meant taking every speck of "decor" down in those areas.









This photo is from the post I did about the RULES for a mantel.
I did this in April....so you know it was time for a change.

Once I took the tall dried materials out of the vases, it was time to  go into a "Use What I Have" mode.