2012 and New Beginnings!

We are on the verge of another exciting year!
And with that brings new opportunities and changes. 

Isn't that wonderful!

This is my last post on Curly Willow DIY.
I'm not sad, but excited to start a new adventure of my own. Barb will continue to post here about her home decorating, crafts and travel. She is the reason I started this blog. She has amazing taste and creates beauty all around her and I wanted her to share. And, I know that is what you've enjoyed about this blog. Now that she is up and running and has GREAT followers, she is good to go and be independent.
(I will be still helping her behind the scenes.)

I did start my own blog, www.vickidesigner.com.

I will sharing about art, fonts, crafts and things that inspire me. This will not be a home and garden blog. I will still be offering freebies and great paper printables to keep you inspired and organized. So, if you enjoyed what I've shared in the past, I'd love for you to join me at www.vickidesigner.com.

Here's a screen shot on what you will find.

So, I hope you stop by my blog and check it out.
You can subscribe via e-mail or RSS (in your favorite reader.)

I wish you abundant blessings and prosperity in 2012!

God Bless!

Vicki

Baby's First Christmas

Four more days. Are you ready?

I just want to share, really quickly, a little Christmas keepsake
I made for our new niece, six month old Laurel.

 

So sweet for baby's first Christmas.

I'm wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Barb

Putz('n) on the Glitz

I couple of weeks ago I was perusing Pinterest and came across this image.

                                                Source: allyscrapsblog.blogspot.com via Jean on Pinterest

Be still by heart! Are you kidding me? It's everything I love!
A glittery antique looking gem of a Putz inspired house with over-the-top whimsical humor.
I HAD to make one of these!

I popped over to the website Ally Scrap, the blog to check out the "how to" instructions.
Ok, it looked easy enough, so I went for it. After all, it's just paper, paste, glitter and some
sparkly embellishments, right?

I pulled out my craft drawer, took a mental inventory of what I had on hand, and then rushed to the craft store to buy wooden bird houses (yes, I cheated and used paper to cover small bird houses), some little plastic deer, and a variety pack of bottle brush trees.

First off, I soaked the bottle brush trees in a bowl of bleach to strip the dark green color.
The result of the bleaching gave me a variety of different colors for my forest of trees.
Then, I spent the next couple of hours cutting, glueing, trimming, and glittering.

This is a lot bigger than I first intended to make it, but I will store the bottle brush trees in the base
(a shoe box).

I made a second little house that I will display in the living room.

So, although these aren't exactly Putz houses, I think they're fun and
funny little additions to my holiday home.

Crafty?? I'd love to see what you've made for this season.
I'll be linking up to these terrific parties this week.

Holiday Home Link Parties @ Centsational Girl

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Hope to see you around.

Cheers!

Barb

2011 Tree

Hey! How are you all doing? I've been making the rounds and visiting some really fantastic holiday parties this week. I've shared my dining room tablescape and my decked out mantel, so today I'll show you my tree.

Last year I used pipe cleaners to make spirals and stuck them on the ends of the branches. I like them because I think it gives the tree a whimsical look.

I made glitter letters a couple of years ago and used them as place setting tags. I stuck them on the tree last year because I needed a little "filler" and I'm using them again this year. Turquoise, green, white and silver ornaments keep the theme light and beachy for this coastal home. White lights and a couple strands of silver garland give the tree sparkle.

There's a pickle hidden in there too. Can you find it?

Cheers!

Barb

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I'll be joining these parties:

Honey We're Home - Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere

2805 - Christmas Blogger Block Party

Bottle Brush Trees and Mercury Glass, Please!

Oh, yes please! I love glittery antiqued bottle brush trees at Christmas time and I especially love them paired with mercury glass candle sticks. I'm not usually a flashy or sparkly kind of gal but this year I felt the need to glitz and glam things up for a change. My mantel this year is really over the top for me. But, I must say, I'm really digging the way it looks.

The rusty ceiling tile and flanking sconces are always there. Generally, I have the short skinny candle sticks on the mantel, too. The center piece changes often, at the very least, seasonally.

My mother made that turquoise tureen in 1969.

She used that groovy mottled finish on several different pieces. I used to think it was hideous, like a psychedelic nightmare, but now I love it. Actually, that tureen was the inspiration for decorating my living and dining rooms. I also painted the two canvases in my entry way that color.

I filled the tureen with bulbs I swiped from the Christmas tree.

Cheers!

Barb

I'm getting my linky parties on at:

From MY Front Porch to Yours

Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Christmas Blogger Block Party

A Thoughtful Place Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere

Southern Hospitality Holiday at Home
Home Stories A to Z - Christmas Mantel Link Party

Blanket Covered Holiday Table

Vicki and I just celebrated a milestone, our one year blog anniversary!    That's great and everything but it also means we missed all the holiday linky parties from last year.  We had no idea that they existed.   Last year at this time I would scroll through blog after blog with wonder and just drool over all the holiday loveliness. 

This year I'm ready to party and mingle with you festive party-goers. It's going to be a busy next couple of weeks.   I'll be making the rounds, sharing my dining room table, my decked out mantel, my tree,  and a glittery craft.  I have my glass of champagne, er, cup of Joe, so let's go!

I  never use a tablecloth on my dining table but this year Vicki talked a lot about using a tartan plaid blanket as a tablecloth for her holiday table.  I thought that was a neat and unusual idea and since I happen to have an Irish wool throw I thought I'd give it a try too.  My blanket is not what I think of as a traditional plaid.  It's soft turquoise and cream with a very pale green.

The blanket usually is draped over the chair in the living room.

Last year I glittered some shells to make place setting name tags and I'm using them again this year.

This is a coastal home so I always like to add shells, starfish and sand dollars to the holiday mix.
Then, a few candles and it's set, as simple as that.

I'm sure you've used a blanket or throw on a picnic but have you ever used one on your holiday dining table?  I don't have a menu planned yet but I don't think I'll be serving any red wine,
that wouldn't be pretty draped over my living room chair ;-).

Cheers!

Barb

I'll be partying with

The Lettered Cottage for Holiday at Home Party

No Minimalist Here for Christmas Blogger Block Party

December Is Here!

So, here we are into December. Already! What the heck happened to November? Never mind, no time to think about it. There's way too much to do now to prepare for Christmas. Have you started shopping, decorating, baking, pulling out your hair? Ha!

I'm back in Chicagoland after spending a week in Florida. While I was there I did all my Christmas decorating. The dining room and fireplace mantel are decked, the tree is trimmed and I even did a glittery, gluey Christmas craft. There are a bunch of holiday linky parties these next few weeks and I'll be participating in some of them so I'll wait until then to show you my fully glitzed and glammed (well, sort of) house.

The big news, though, is we hung three pendant lights over the breakfast bar! Yay!! We ordered them online from Home Depot and they were delivered the day we arrived in Florida.

I've looked for two years for something that I thought had a vintage beach industrial vibe. Do these fit the bill? They have a powdery antique pewter finish and although the underside looks white when lit, it's the pewter finish too.

The cords are a little wonky and crooked now but that will work itself out and they will hang straight soon enough. I really like them but I need to get used to seeing them hanging there. Sometimes I see them out of the corner of my eye and think they look like hovering alien aircraft. But really, I DO like them!

What about you? Will I see you at the linky parties? I've seen tons of great holiday decorating and some very clever and festive projects already but I can't wait to see more and I'd especially love to see what you've done!

See ya around!

Barb

Oh, and my brother will be installing a new tile backsplash in my
kitchen while he's visiting for Christmas. Yahooeee! I'm so excited.

(F)ALL AROUND THE HOUSE

Hey everyone!  Did you have a good weekend?  I just got back from a long weekend in Florida.  The weather was gorgeous, not at all fall like, but when I stepped out of the airport today, brrr, definitely a lot cooler than when I left on  Thursday.  I think fall is here to stay in Chi-town.

I won't be back to the Florida house until a couple of days before Thanksgiving.  I felt I needed to continue with some fall decorating there so that I won't be overwhelmed with decorating, grocery shopping and cooking when I get back.  A couple of weeks ago I shared my fall mantel  (here) so today I'll show what I did  to the rest of the house.

Before the inside though, the potting table outside gets a little something.

The geckos will love nesting in the faux leaves.  The pumpkin man will be replaced with another pumpkin for Thanksgiving.  He is the only Halloween  decoration I have for this this house. Poor lonely guy.

For the inside entry I bought a coastal inspired dry floral fall arrangement.  See starfish and shells?

In the living room I always cut palm leaves for the vase, and I added a felt pumpkin for the season.

The behemoth leaves come from the  landscaping. They are too big for any vase I have so I simply  scissor cut them into a fan shape.  Once they're trimmed back, three fit beautifully in the vase I always use.

The family rooms gets candles and little munchkin pumpkins.

With all of this decorating done, I'll have plenty of time for baking pies (frozen), breads (heat and serve), and cookies (slice and bake).

P.S. I'm not  much of a baker or cook.

In the meantime, we're planning a small Halloween party at the Illinois rental.  Anyone else having a party?  What are you planning?  I'm scouring pinterest for ideas but so far I have nothing.  Nothing.  Not that I don't like anything, I'm just too indecisive.  And it's still a couple of weeks out, right?  No worries.  Until next week.  Ack!!

Anyway, hope to see you around some linky parties this week.  I'd love to see what you've got!

Barb

Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals 
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Show and Share Day @ Just a Girl
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal