The 3 R’s Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love

Mar 23, 2013

Tres Belle Maison Decor!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I love to discover amazing local shops and then share that information with all of you. Yesterday I ventured to Malden, Ma (just a short “T” ride from Boston) to visit Maison Décor. I had read about this charming shop, owned by Amy Chalmers, from Steven Fuller’s blog, An Urban Cottage, so I decided to take a ride over to check it out. The lovely, welcoming exterior was a colorful contrast to the otherwise dreary gray palette we are calling spring this year in Boston.

Inside, the shop has several vignettes showcasing Amy’s work as an artisan-her style defines the essence of French Country.

Filled with painted and refinished desks & dressers decorated with vintage accessories,

and an occasional vache (I mean, what’s French Country Style without a cow or two?)

plus secretaries and armoires that have been painstakingly transformed into showpieces, the shop is eye candy for anyone searching for that softly muted, elegant French Country Style.

Using Annie Sloan chalk paints and waxes, Amy re-imagines and re-cycles old, dark pieces into fresh, fanciful furniture. She shared with me the techniques used to transform this lace cut side table- multiple layers of paints, glazes and waxes will be used to achieve the desired (gorgeous!) effect. Painstakingly time-consuming, but well worth the time spent when you see the finished products.

Also now offered in her shop, a new line of finishing products called Artisan Enhancements, a line of “innovative, decorative mediums” that can add another dimension to your painted furniture.

This massive armoire, formerly boasting a peach poly finish is being reworked into a “vintage” piece worthy of any chateau, using both Annie Sloan paints and the finishes from Artisan Enhancements!

You can read all about the transformation process on her blog Maison Décor- Using Transfer Gel, where she shares “how-to” tips. For those of you just a bit wary of attempting chalk painting and gel transferring techniques on your own, Amy offers Sunday Workshops right in the midst of her showroom where inspiration surrounds you. And for those of you searching for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint supplies, you have come to the right place!

An authorized distributor, she stocks cupboards filled with paint pots, brushes and books that line the walls along with stacks and racks of lovely fabrics and sheer drapery panels that are available as well.

While she does sell the furniture and accessories online through her Maison Décor Shop, the paints and waxes are only sold in her shops, both at the 50 Summer Street location in Malden and at the shop on Harrison Ave in Boston’s South End. Which would be a great reason to stop in for a visit…just tell her that Susan from Country Design Home sent you!

Have a sweet Saturday everyone, and remember to shop local! This little gem of a cupcake was from the Busy Bee Bakery in Melrose, my next stop after Maison Décor…tres yummy!!! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Annie Sloan, French Country, Maison Decor, Maison Decor Blog, painted furniture

Mar 21, 2013

“Font”astic Furniture Fonts!

By countrydesignhome · 4 Comments

Recently, thanks to Coach’s fantastic rummaging abilities, I find myself in possession of several new wooden pieces that need some TLC magic. One of the design styles I continually admire on Pinterest are painted pieces decorated with French Typography. Like this one featured on The Graphics Fairy:

or this rustic little nautical dresser from Joss & Main

There are so many brilliant DIYer’s out there who take old, junky furniture and accessories and transform them into beautiful decorative accent pieces for their homes or, in many instances, for sale. This sideboard, originally a dark and dingy brown, was painted and stenciled and turned into this beauty by the husband and wife team at Three Mango Seeds.

And check out the finish on this vintage table transformed by Red Hen Home! Love the dark stained wood with the black stencil-very ooh, la, la!

So, how do they do this, you ask? Where do all the letters and graphics come from? And how do I use them on furniture? One website that I subscribe to, The Graphics Fairy, sends a daily email with new and interesting free graphics and fonts- that’s right, free! Great for fresh ideas, inspiration or perfectly easy how-to instructions.

Included on her pages is how to download and print the graphics– obviously the size of the piece will determine the size of the graphic, and if it is a large dresser or console, you need an enlarged graphic, right? Blockposters.com to the rescue!

You download your picture onto their website, add the dimensions you would like and it creates adjacent blocks of graphic to the size specs you enter. Then you can print them right on your home computer and transfer them onto your piece. Click here for The Graphics Fairy Transfer Tutorial on all the ways transfer. So now, you have the graphic you like, where do you find all those fancy fonts? Again, The Graphics Fairy has many to choose from, but you can also check out azfonts or fonts for peas (super cute stuff for painting, scrapbooking, etc.).

So, if you have an old piece of furniture, or spot one at a yard sale that you just gotta have because the size works but just not the style, think about painting and adding some graphics for a whole new look. Recycling, refurbishing, reloving is what country design style is all about! Have a

Thursday, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: AZ Fonts, Country Pretty, Fonts, Fonts for Peas, French Typography Graphics, Joss & Main, painted furniture, Pinterest, The Graphics Fairy, transferring graphics to furniture

Mar 19, 2013

This Old Whale Table

By countrydesignhome · 1 Comment

Last summer Coach and I completed a major outdoor renovation, transforming our deck into a screened-in porch. (Of course, today, on the eve of the official first day of spring here in Boston, the porch still isn’t useable due to yet another ridiculous snow storm!) OK, so once the porch construction was completed, we decided on red, white and blue nautical decor, using primarily vintage castoffs and refurbished finds.

Of the DIY projects that I posted here, the one with the most interest (and great comments!) was The Whale’s Tale.

The old whale-shaped table was scooped up at a yard sale for $5,

then cleaned,

sanded and painted,

glazed and finished the table to give him a new, patriotic glow.

Recently, I submitted the project to This Old House, and it was selected for the This Old House Don’t Buy It, DIY It! Contest. For those of you not familiar with This Old House (hard to imagine…), it was one of the original home improvement TV Shows, beginning in 1979 and starring Bob Vila. Originally airing 13 episodes filmed in the Boston area, the show has grown into a national cultural icon. Presently aired on PBS, and hosted by Kevin O’Connor, This Old House continues to provide valuable information and resources for owners of older homes through the show, their website and magazine.

I am not sure if, at some point, I may need your votes to help me win $100 and a spot in the upcoming July Reader’s Issue of This Old House, but I will keep you posted! In the meantime, if you have a DIY project to share with This Old House, click here and fill in the online forms. (of course, just make sure it’s not as nice as my patriotic pal : ) Have a whale of a Tuesday everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Bob Vila, nautical theme porch, PBS, restored whale coffee table, The Whale's Tale, This Old House, This Old House DIY Contest, This Old House Magazine, This Old House Restoration

Mar 18, 2013

Simply ReMARKable Finds

By countrydesignhome · 9 Comments

Two weekends ago I visited the WinSmith Mill Market and, as I usually do when I find something awesome, I blogged about it. Because I really didn’t fully understand the size of the place and the amount of vendors doing business there, I spent many hours shopping and researching, and did my best to make sure I covered all the bases when giving out the information. In a couple of instances, I got it wrong, so I would like to correct that now, once and for all. Upon entering the parking lot at 61 Endicott Street, I saw the first building, where I encountered the shops called ReMARKables and Gallery 2.

Perhaps it was due to the mild head injury I experienced with the snow/sun roof incident prior to my arrival, or the sparkly stars hanging above the entrance, but I got the signs confused and used photos from one space that were actually of the other!

I received a lovely email from the store manager Arlene, who had seen the blog and noticed the photo mixup. (I mean, who could confuse where this sofa came from?!)

She, in fact, informed me that she had spoken to the owner Mark (more about him in a moment) about making the signs clearer, as many customers are just as confused. So, I returned to the scene this past weekend, met Arlene and got a little background information about the two shops: ReMARKables (the large warehouse filled with stuff owned by- you guessed it- MARK Waters)

and Gallery 2 (which is a little vintage shop in the same warehouse building, curated by Deb, the owner). ReMARKables Cleanouts is a family-owned cleanout service with over ten years of experience.

What started as Mark hauling stuff out of houses and into his garage has morphed into the enormous warehouse space you see in these photos.

You name it, they have it- lots of it- and its anything and everything, both vintage- like this amazing Maytag Washer,

and modern- loving this dining set: )

can be had for a great price (Edith actually bought the shelf itself-minus the china!)

ReMarkables also holds a monthly auction, and some of the goods are set aside for that purpose- you cannot purchase them until the auction. The next one is scheduled for Friday, March 22 at the Norwood Commerce Center, where the Mill is located. For more information about the auction, you can contact them at 781-352-3162. Gallery 2 is a small shop that is filled with vintage pieces, like these glamorous furs,

these adorable children’s books

and these vintage office supplies (loving the table fan!)

Deb , the owner, says that she started out with hats and bags, and has grown her shop into a warm and welcoming space that offers jewelry, vintage gowns and some pretty, pretty vintage decor.

Below is a legend that is on the WinSmith Mill Market Facebook Page. Once again, this market is housed in the Norwood Commerce Center @ 61 Endicott, and is open on weekends only.

Although it is difficult to see, you can identify that there are 4 separate, but adjacent builings that house all of the shops listed. Some shops, like Vintage Peacock and Vintage Thymes, which are downstairs in building 23/24, are actually more of a co-op, where many vendors share the space to sell their wares. Other shops, like The Old Bean Antiques, are separately owned and operated.

I can also tell you that many of these shops do not have websites, but some do have Facebook pages where you can find general information. According to the WinSmith Market Facebook Information, the hours of operation are: Friday and Saturday 9am-6pm and Sundays from 12-5pm. (this is directly from the information page) For additional information you can contact them at Sre@61endicott.com One exception: The Vintage Thymes Monthly Market is just that- a MONTHLY Market, and is generally open on the second weekend of every month (Friday through Sunday).

For more info about their upcoming schedule, you can click here. So, I hope this clears up any confusion about the hours of operation and the shops. For any additional information, my best advice is to contact the WinSmith Mill Market email listed above or better yet, take a ride down (or up) there to see what all the fuss is about- you will NOT be disappointed! These past two weekends I visited more shops that are not listed on the legend above, but are included in the one below I found while shopping on Saturday.

So I am assuming that means that new shops are opening quickly as the word spreads, which is a good thing for you! Hope you are having a remarkable day! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: antiques, Gallery 2, Norwood Commerce Center, ReMARKables, shopping for antiques, shopping for vintage, The Old Bean Antiques, Vintage, Vintage Peacock, Vintage Thymes Monthly Market, WinSmith Mill Marketplace

Mar 15, 2013

Going Green

By countrydesignhome · Leave a Comment

Since it is almost St. Patrick’s Day, and I just recently did a post on green (it is, after all, Pantone’s Color of the Year!), I thought I would share some eco-friendly products from companies that are committed to “going green”. All of these companies earn our High Five for Friday!!

We hear that phrase in marketing and advertising all the time- but what, exactly does it mean? This quote, from the website Save The World states it perfectly: “Living a green lifestyle – or going green – can begin in small, easy to manage ways. Recycling is a huge, obvious part of helping to save the world through green living. Reducing one’s reliance on oil-based energy sources is another popular method employed in trying to save the world. Purchasing only all organic, chemical free products is another way that many people begin going green, and is considered a very effective method at trying to save the world and all of its resources. Green living is infiltrating all parts of daily life, and the planet is sure to be better for it.” So, I searched around for some readily available products that do just that- use only plant-based, chemical free and recycled products.

Method Cleaners (available at Target)- Developed by two young roommates- Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, “their powers combined, they set out to save the world and create an entire line of home care products that were more powerful than a bottle of sodium hypochlorite. Gentler than a thousand puppy licks. Able to detox tall homes in a single afternoon”.

Mrs. Myers Clean Day “Inspired by Mrs. Thelma A. Meyer, an Iowa homemaker and mother of nine. It all started when one of her daughters was walking down a cleaning aisle, eyeing all the products with their harsh, stinky chemicals. Right then and there, she had an idea: “Let’s make cleaners that smell nice, like my mom’s garden, but still work like the dickens on daily dirt and grime.”

Karen Quinn Organics “…we pride ourselves on our commitment to fair trade and the earth. We use only certified organic cotton, grown using sustainable farming practices that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. Our garments are made of ultra soft, all-natural, organically produced cotton certified by Control Union Certifications (formerly SKAL), a USDA Accredited Certifying Agent. Our garments are also made using Fair Trade practices under Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS). Every little garment supports our vision and hope of a cleaner, kinder earth.”

Bambeco- Hot Style for a Cool Planet “Bambeco was founded in 2009 by Susan Aplin and Carolyn Wapnick; it was inspired by a trip to Alaska where they saw extreme glacial recession and other impacts of climate change up close. That’s when Aplin set off on a personal quest to understand her impact on the planet, which led to several carbon reduction changes in her life. After making household, energy usage, and commuting changes, Aplin wanted to extend her environmental values to eco-conscious home décor & furnishing purchases and discovered that fashionable, environmentally responsible home products were not available in the marketplace.”

Of course, you can shop organic at any of your local farm stands or grocers. Just make sure you bring along your eco-friendly bags! This company showcases a wide variety of attractive shopping bags for stylin’ while you’re shopping!

EcoBags.com Cleaning Up the Planet, One Bag At A Time “EcoBags opened 1989 with a simple goal; to produce quality bags at great prices so that “Reusable becomes a way of life.” We started with the ECOBAGS^® Brand Classic String Bag, a simple lightweight, expandable cotton net bag used in Europe for generations, long before paper and plastic bags.” LOVE this French Woven Basket

And, of course, for the designers with a conscience, Benjamin Moore makes a NO-VOC paint called Natura– even the label is beautiful!!

“Natura Waterborne Interior Paint continues Benjamin Moore’s commitment to providing the most environmentally friendly paint. Natura Paint emits lower total VOCs than other national zero-VOC products on the market, all without compromise to performance or color selection. Natura is truly “Green Without Compromise®.” Again, a marketing term we hear quite often, but what are VOC’s? Volatile Organic Compounds that are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and
long-term adverse health effects-yikes!

If you have a favorite, eco-friendly company, drop me an email and I will be happy to share with everyone! The more we know, the more we can help our planet! Have a green Friday everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Bambeco, Benjamin Moore, EcoBags, going green, Karen Quinn Organics, low VOC paint, Method Cleaners, Mrs. Myers Clean Day, Natura Paint, save the planet, Target

Mar 12, 2013

Vintage Thymes- Hours Update!

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

Vintage Thymes- Hours Update.

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Diggin Daisys, Vintage Thymes Monthly Market, WinSmith Mill Marketplace

Mar 12, 2013

Vintage Thymes- Hours Update

By countrydesignhome · 10 Comments

Update: Since many of you were confused about the operations hours at the WinSmith Mill Market (me too!), I contacted the owner of Diggin’ Daisys for clarification. Her response: “With the exception of Vintage Thymes which is a Monthly Market, all of the other shops are opened EVERY weekend. Most are opened Friday-Sunday, others just Saturday and Sunday. Let me know if you or anyone else has any questions. Thanks, Deb” So there you have it! If you venture down on Friday, you may find a few of the shops closed, but Saturday and Sunday are a sure bet! Happy shopping! Susan

Since it was such a beautiful day yesterday, I decided to take a ride down to the south shore to visit a shop that I had been following for awhile on Facebook. When internet browsing recently, I had discovered Vintage Thymes– a Monthly Vintage and Antiques Market

that has its home in an old, refurbished tannery at 61 Endicott Street in Norwood, Mass. What I did not realize, until I actually arrived there, was that Vintage Thymes is a huge co-operative market that shares space inside the WinSmith Mill Market-which has many, many more shops housed in this old mill building!

Pulling into the parking lot, I immediately spotted a sign for Gallery 2, so I stopped there first. You know it’s gonna be fun when this is the entryway that greets you!

Floor after floor of any kind of vintage you can want or imagine! As far as the eye could see, there were sections for lighting, dining, sofas (could have picked up this orange chenille beauty with silver threads for $50!)

clothing, tools and essentially anything else under the sun.

Exiting that first building, I made my way over to the WinSmith Mill Market, vintage nirvana. First stop was The Old Bean Antiques, chock full of amazing one-of-a-kind pieces,

including this horse-drawn carriage! As I was standing there chatting with the owner, I was contemplating how I was going to get that home, and how nice it would look in front of the barn…do you think Coach would notice?

From there, I walked through the double doors into Vintage Thymes, which is a giant showroom with little booths set up side by side.

Kind of like Brimfield but without the tents and hot sunshine and muddy shoes. I met one of the owners, Nancy Murphy, who gave me a tour and chatted about the concept. Being open one weekend per month gives the dealers time to refresh and redesign their spaces. Vintage Thymes changes up the theme as well-this month is Vintage Kitchen-so each visit will be like your first, with all new offerings and merchandise. You’d better get there early, though-apparently the local designers and dealers hit the ground running on the Friday mornings for first pickins’! Each vignette had its own unique character, but all with a common theme: reclaimed, recycled, refurbished vintage furniture and accessories.

Most had a small sign or business cards available to ID their spaces, but they all blend seamlessly together into a beautiful showroom with one centralized cashier area.

A couple of my favorites (although by no means a complete listing- there are so many great booths!!) Modern Vintage Design Studio– the gorgeous pastel hand-painted distressed signs caught my eye.

Sadie Wyatt is an adorable space filled with a soft, natural look of old time charm.

Exited through another doorway into a long hallway where I discovered room after room filled with more beautiful finds! Some of these shops, unlike Vintage Thymes, are individually owned, with proprieters having previously been part of the co-operative, then being so successful they branched out on their own. The Queen of Olde’s welcoming space was so sweet and country pretty, all decked out in pinks and blues.

Down the hall was the Vintage Peacock-loving that painted mustard dresser!

From there, I met Deb, the owner of Diggin’ Daisies, another shop I had discovered online. As I was browsing, I overheard her chatting with some fellow shop owners about “the girl from Wakefield who is coming all the way down here!”- they were amazed that people were travelling from the North Shore and Cape Cod to check out this newly opened marketplace (since November 2012). I can assure you, if you are a lover of vintage and antique collectibles, it is well worth the trip.

She was so gracious (as was everyone I encountered!!) and she took me on a tour, explaining all of the booths and introducing me to many of the vendors. It was difficult to keep it all straight! Upstairs I discovered the Salvage Angel,

Furnichicks, and Renewed, Reloved, who was celebrating her grand opening, offering beautifully painted furniture. Best of luck, Krista!!

And finally, POSH Vintage Upscale Boutique, comfortably decorated rooms with everything from vintage clothing to refurbished furniture.

Obsessed with this aqua painted cupboard…if only I had another wall in my house.

So that’s my virtual tour of WinSmith Mill Market. It took me a few hours to make my way around to all of the shops, but everyone was incredibly friendly and eager to share their story and offering refreshments too. There are so many more that I just didn’t have room to mention in this blog post. From the looks of the throngs of people streaming into the buildings and heading out with their treasures, it is a huge success! Today is the last day for this month’s Vintage Thymes Market, so head on over to see for yourself, and tell Nancy that Sue from Country Design Home sent you : ) Just remember to Spring Forward, everyone!! Susan

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Outdoor Adventures, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Gallery 2, Modern Vintage Design Studio, Monthly Antiques Marketplace, POSH Upscale Vintage Boutique, Recycled furniture, refurbished, Renewed Reloved, The Old Bean Antiques, Vintage Peacock, Vintage Thymes Market, WinSmith Mill Marketplace

Feb 28, 2013

A Big Thank You!

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

So, I didn’t realize until Word Press (my host server) sent me a little congrats card that this week marked my one year anniversary of this blog-unbelievable!! What started as a simple marketing assignment has blossomed into a full-fledged, time-consuming, educational, inspirational, often-times ridiculous look into the daily lives of myself and Coach and my family and friends. At 150 posts and counting, some of my personal favorites have included guests spots for New England Home Magazine featuring the works of Interior Designer Rachel Hazelton

and photographer Paul Granese,

my work on the Glidden Project,

my posts from some of the amazing weddings we attended this past year

The Whale’s Tale, a refurbishing D.I.M. story

the special tribute birthday cake I created for my sister in Faded Photographs

and of course, my most recent post about our mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

Over the years, I have always looked for new challenges and adventures-whether its traveling, cooking or creating art or design- and my motto is “I can do that”. Or, at the very least, I can try that (see Kayaking…The Launch)

This blog has given me a voice, otherwise unheard, to share my successes and my abysmal failures (of which there are soooo many). Looking back over this past year, it is clear by your responses that you have enjoyed many of my posts about interior design, whether country pretty- yay Buffalo Plaid!

or chic and glamorous.

Also big on the hit lists were my ventures to the SOWA Vintage Market

and the Vintage Bazaar @ Pettengill Farm (can’t wait for that one again!)

and the Brimfield Antiques Show.

And, then, of course, there is that whole “are you freaking kidding me, I dropped the whole can of paint?!?!” posts,

where I have been sharing our crazy lives, living in, decorating and preserving our 1850’s farmhouse and barn- featured in Rejected and Dejected

and so many other posts. Those of you who know us personally have been hearing and witnessing those stories first hand for many years. For those of you in “blog land”, it has been great fun sharing those follies and receiving responses letting me know that you have been there too! For the coming year, I am hoping to expand my horizons and find new places, new spaces and new ideas to share both here and on my Pinterest pages. Endless adventures await, and I never go anywhere now without my camera and iPhone in my pocket. I love comments- so please feel free to weigh in on any subject and “like” a post (the button is at the bottom of the page) so I know you are reading! And if there is something you would like me to feature, check out or write about, drop me an email @ countrydesignhome@gmail.com. Thanks for following my blog everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Brimfield Antiques Show, Glidden paint, Kayaking, New England Home Magazine, Paul Granese Photography, Rachel Hazelton, SOWA Market, Thank You Chalkboard, Vintage Bazaar

Feb 7, 2013

The Studio As Art

By countrydesignhome · Leave a Comment

I am very excited to share with you some recent photographs that were shot at Boston Studio Photography West in Clinton. These are the sets that we have been working on for the past few weeks. Although not entirely finished, a couple of the studio rooms are camera-ready, as you can see in the photographs below. With the models in place, the studio design concepts tell the story.

Kirsten Photo Courtesy of Paul Granese Photography

Since these are sets and not functioning rooms, the photographers can easily edit and photoshop the images to their liking. These first images were taken in the victorian parlor by Paul Granese Photography.

Piano Man Photo Courtesy of Paul Granese Photography

This image was snapped in the Powder Room, with the model seated in the gold and black chair I featured last week in one of my DIY blogs.

Kirsten Photo Courtesy of Paul Granese Photography

I also created the gorgeous dressing table. It was an old, broken card table that had most definitely seen better days. With some paint, fringe, a glue gun and some amazing pin-tuck fabric,

I was able to transform it into a vintage glam dressing table for just a few dollars. More images to come as we continue with the studio transformations. In the meantime, batten down the hatches everyone in the Northeast! It’s about to get stormy out there! Susan

Filed Under: Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love · Tagged: Boston Studio Photography, Boston Studio Photography West, creating a victorian setting, Paul Granese Photo, photgraphy studio, Victorian Parlor

Dec 14, 2012

High Five for Easy Holiday Decorating!

By countrydesignhome · 1 Comment

Loving Christmas carols this time of year. One of my favs is “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas“…but I’m not really. Although I love a bit of white on the ground, the rest of it (shoveling, boots, cleaning off the car, dodging giant icicles hanging from the roof, etc) is not my cup of tea.

But, we live in New England, so we take what we get! So far, no snow to be seen-yay! So I wanted to make some decorations with a little fake snow to give the illusion of winter, without the hassle. So, this week’s High Five For Friday goes to Santa Snow in a can!! Makes everything merry and bright and cheerful and white : ) My latest D.I.M. project: needing a new holiday front door wreath, I found an old autumn wreath in the barn.

It was a little beat up, and quite a few of the berries had little bites taken out of them. Hmmm…

I think one of our barn critters thought they were having themselves a feast! So I pulled out all of the autumn leaves, and sprayed an undercoat of white enamel paint. I always keep a few of these around- at 99 cents a can, you can’t go wrong!

Then I hit it with my new favorite decorating tool- fake Santa Snow in a can!! This week’s High Five For Friday! LOVE. And some sprinkle glitter- it’s bling in a bottle. LOVE. So then the berries looked like this (well, it looks prettier in person- this kind of looks like a magnified science experiment…) Added a cheery bow (thanks to my new bowmaking skills I learned on Pinterest : ) And we have a pretty new Christmas wreath!!

Total investment: $2.99 for the Santa Snow, $4.99 for the glitter (but I had a 40% coupon, so do the math on that) $.99 for the paint. But I only used a fraction of those supplies, so I have plenty left over to decorate more stuff! Ribbon: $1.50 for a 5 yard roll. The wreath was a free reclaimed castoff! Total investment: $3.00 tops! (Disclaimer: just be warned that it is very possible that you are having soooo much fun spraying snow and tying bows that you forget to go to work on time. Just saying…)

My other High Five goes to this amazing Krinner Christmas Tree Standsation.

Nicknamed the “marriage-saver” for a reason, this is the absolutely world’s best fresh tree stand!

For many years, Coach and I have done the annual tree dance of anger using one of those old screw-in type stands. There was always lots of hammering and sawing and rope-tieing and occasional yelling and frustrated sighs…

It would typically take a couple of hours for us to get the tree up in the stand, straightened and tightened, and then tethered to the wall. This year, putting the tree up took…1 minute!!! Straight and secure, no worries about toppling over. Simply amazing. To watch a YouTube how-to video, click here (Note- this is NOT me and Coach!!!) We purchased ours last year at Orvis.com, but this year every major retailer has them, including Amazon.com. Best investment you will ever make, guaranteed!!! Now we just need to decorate it…anyone have an easy way to string lights?!10 Days til Christmas- make every minute count. Susan