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.

Preserving Cattails for Indoor Decor!

This post involves blood and gore!

What? 

This is supposed to be about preserving cattails. 

How could that involve blood and gore?

It all started when I asked Mr. S to come along to the countryside to collect some cattails.  

We do this every couple of years.  

 

It is a simple matter of climbing down the embankment and cutting the cattails before they get to "ripe" and start to puff.

 

Well.....

it would be simple enough.....

Simple Boxed Corner Pillow Instructions

Fabric junkies know what a dangerous place a wholesale fabric store can be.


The Sweetwater Daughter and I took a trip to the fabric store with no real "need" in mind.


Of course....
what should my eye spy....?


This remnant was only $5.00 a yard and has all the right colors for our family room.





I knew it would be the perfect way to make the two Malabar chairs coordinate with the room.

Simple Boxed Corner Pillow Instructions

Fabric junkies know what a dangerous place a wholesale fabric store can be.


The Sweetwater Daughter and I took a trip to the fabric store with no real "need" in mind.


Of course....
what should my eye spy....?


This remnant was only $5.00 a yard and has all the right colors for our family room.





I knew it would be the perfect way to make the two Malabar chairs coordinate with the room.

Dropped Ceiling Panel Update

The latest project here at Sweetwater is a cosmetic update of the lower level bathroom.

This turned out to be one of those projects that reminds me of the book If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. 
If you aren't familiar with the storyline....it goes something like this...
"If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.
When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw. When he's finished, he'll ask you for a napkin.
Then he'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache. When he looks in the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he'll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors...."  and so on and so on.

The Sweetwater version goes something like this!

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!

Fancy Schmancy Refrigerator Art Display!

Back to School time means that your favorite kids will be bringing backpacks filled with their artistic endeavors!
Slapping that artwork up on the refrigerator is the typical way to display these treasures.
Why not elevate your typical refrigerator display so that it has  "Gallery" style?
Adding a mat to a any photo or art piece makes it seem special!




Now...if you follow my blog...you know that I do a lot of custom matting with my trusty Logan Mat Cutter!

The $200 spent on this tool was one great investment....but that is a story for another day!

So....for this project....I used it to cut an 11 x 14 mat with an opening of a little bigger than 8 x 10.
The ability to cut a custom opening for any piece of artwork is what makes having your own cutter so nice!


You can still do this without a mat cutter!
(or you could come over to Sweetwater and I will let you use mine!)

Dawn and Vinegar Magical Cleaner

Do those Dawn dish soap commercials tug at your heart the way they do mine?






The commercials  prove what a great grease cutter and cleaner this amazing soap is!

Everyone also touts the effectiveness of vinegar as a cleaning agent.

It only makes sense that if you put the two together they would work even better.

So after reading about this a couple of months ago....I decided to try it.

I imagine that many of you are sitting there saying "what took her so long to discover this?"
Who knows....but I do know that this stuff is truly magical....

The recipe is simple: 

Vacation Memories Art Project

We just got back from a trip to Voyageur's National Park.
What fun....and yes...I actually caught a fish or two!
In fact...I was voted "most improved" fisherman in our group.
That wasn't hard considering that on the first day I couldn't even make my reel work!














I never did get over the gag reflex about the whole sticking the worm on the hook deal!

Of course we took bunches and bunches of photos.
It is so easy to take too many pictures....and then it is so hard to figure out what to do with them.

This article from the Washington Post has some great suggestions for organizing and "doing something" with those photos.  These tips are definitely on my to do list!

I am not much for scrapbooking....so I also enjoyed this article about NON-scrapbooking ways to remember your vacation.

This quick craft is a way to turn a scenic photo into canvas art at home.

What you need:
a scenic vacation photo
photo editing software or APP
canvas "paper" for your printer purchased or DIY (directions here)
frame (no glass)
fabric covered mat (tutorial follows)

One of our favorite places in Manzanillo, Mexico is Playa la Audencia.
The Waterlogue App for iPad is free.
This app makes it easy to create a watercolor effect with any photo.

This photo turned watercolor is a wonderful memory of our favorite spot.

Somehow...the original went "missing" in all of the zillions of Mexican vacation photos.....

This is one from the same day to give you an idea of the scene.

If you look closely in the watercolor version, you will see Mr. S in his classic "kicked back" position!  

Don't you think it adds an even more personal touch to the image?

Then it is a simple matter of printing the water color image on canvas.
Here are the directions for DIY printing on fabric.

I removed the glass from a frame I had.
I decided that a fabric covered mat would look nicer than plain mat board.

The finished project is a nice addition to the beach themed table in the entry way.

Adding the "caption" makes this a wonderful vacation memory.

I am in the process of doing one from our fishing trip.

I have the frame with the mat done  

Here is the tutorial for covering a mat with fabric.

Start with a plain mat cut to size.

 Use an adhesive spray to attach the fabric.












 Press the fabric smoothly on the mat.










 Cut an x from corner to corner.

Fold the sections back and press well.

I use mounting tissue to attach them to the back.
You can just use tape.

The burlap looks nice...but those frayed corners will need a little attention with some glue.










Insert the mat into the frame and you have a nice fabric mat that looks good without glass.








Now it is just a matter of figuring out which scenic photo to use for my water color technique.

HMMMM....

Now wasn't that a sneaky way to make you look at our vacation pictures?

Have a Wonderful Day!

Almost NO SEW Outdoor Box Cushion and Tablecloth

A trip to the fabric store is always one of the best ways for me to get inspired.

I found this fabric in the $5 a yard bin.

It has a monkey motif!

I love monkeys!

Since 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, it was the perfect fabric to inspire one of my "almost NO SEW" projects.

In fact, why stop at one project?

If one is good....two is better!




These two projects are the perfect color boost for the deck.
The furniture on the deck is pretty neutral....black and taupe.
The greenery is sometimes a little overwhelming.
The flowers this year are nice, but they need a punch of color.

Almost No Sew Weighted Tablecloth

 

The table has a glass top that always gets water spotted.

I cut the fabric one inch bigger than the glass.

Then I did a simple hem.

If you want to make this "totally" NO SEW, you could use fusible iron on webbing to secure the hem.

But here is the tricky little thing that makes the table cloth stay in place.

Every 6 inches there is a little washer sewn into the hem.

This keeps the cloth weighted enough to stay flat even on the windiest afternoon!

The total time for this....about 45 minutes!

 Almost NO SEW Box Cushion

Would you believe that this cushion was done in less than an hour?
(I had a piece of foam that needed an update, but you can have one cut at the fabric store to just the size you need)
Well, if you can wrap a gift box, you can cover a foam cushion!
I used the sewing machine to make a tube that was the exact width of the foam.
If you don't want to sew....you could even use your glue gun to close the long edge.




Then...
Just tuck the fabric in like you were wrapping a present....

I used a needle to hand sew these edges....but the glue gun or fusible web would work too.






Not bad for a couple of hours and less than $15 dollars.

If you want more complete directions and want some more inspiration, here are a couple of links to my tutorials for the no sew cushion technique.

NO SEW BOX CUSHIONS

NO SEW BOX CUSHIONS WITH A TRICK













If you are like I am....you don't want to spend buckets of money on custom cushions....
Outdoor cushions have a limited life span....and being able to change them in an inexpensive way just seems smart!

BESIDES....

Have a Wonderful Day!

Linking to:
Sunny Simple Life
Eclectic Red Barn   
Stone Cottage Adventures
Funky Polka Dot Giraffe