Dressing Up Your Candles

Here is an idea on how to dress up some plain candles

for the winter season.

I'm using white candles, decorative tissue paper (I found this newspaper print at Target), and Mod Podge.

I folded the tissue across at the width I wanted and licked it :) - so I could just gently rip each strip. I like the look of a ripped edge rather than a straight cut for tissue.

Mod Podge the candle then place the tissue over it.

 Once they were dry  I placed the candles in terracotta pots.

Filled the pot with tiny pine cones from Joann's around the candle.

This photo is blurry but those are little charms from the jewelry section at the craft store and jewelry twine.

 The pots are also from Joann's.

These are cute for any ledge around the house.

How pretty for a center piece in a dining room.

Candles with a little natural element.

(I would have collected the pine cones in my yard but for $5 - worth it)

Simply Pretty

to see a later post of how these burned over time go here

Sharing at these parties:
The Brambleberry Cottage
I Gotta Create
Common Ground
At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk Interiors

Christmas Porch 2012

 Merry Christmas Porch 2012

View our Rustic Christmas Porch from 2011

View my holiday favorites Here.
Sharing with these parties:

Old Door Foyer Display

I repainted this old door in Providence Olive by Benjamin Moore.

To make the door still look it's old age I applied ebony stain in the creases.

Even if the stain drips (as shown) baby oil will help blend that in.

The oil helps move the stain around while you rub it in with an old t-shirt.

I used black electrical tape to apply photos behind the glass.

Filled some terracotta pots with a candle, moss and tiny pine cones. See post here.

Placed them on two ebony stained 2x4's attached right on to the door with decorative iron brackets.

In the center of the glass panes I hung a mason jar from

framing wire on an old hook.

Inside the jar is flour and a tea light candle.

 This is the first wall you would see if you walked through my front door.

The door is attached to the wall with a corner bracket at the top.

I need some garland up there to hide that.

I like the dim light of candles in the foyer on long dark winter days.

The casually displayed photos are some of my favorites.

(except my hair is too short in the above photo)

Our kids are growing up way too fast.

They are twins and will turn 10 this week.

Happy Birthday Ben and Luke!

Linking with:
Alderberry Hill - Make the Scene Monday
Knick of Time Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Kammy's Korner - Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Cozy Little House - Tweak it Tuesday
Primitive and Porper - POWW #116
Funky Junk Interiors - SNS #164

Simply Handcrafted Tree Star ~ Christmas Tree 2012

The tree is up and the lights work...

Our 2012 Christmas Tree.

As some of you know - we recently moved into this house...

it's not a permanent residence for us and our Christmas decor is packed all tight and nice.

I dreaded unpacking all of our traditional Christmas decorations and repacking them up again.

So I made and purchased our tree accessories for this year. 

I am featuring the rustic tree topper in this post.

It is big, made of natural wood and makes our tree unique.

It was simple to make - I will show you how I quickly put it together:

The star is made with 2x4's cut into (6) 11&1/2 inch pieces.

This will make two stars...

~One can be a gift and one can be for you!~ :)

Cut the 11 1/2 inch 2/4's into quarters. I used my miter saw and table saw

(cut length wise and width wise).

I made a five point star with two 11-1/2 inch x 1-1/4 inch (approx.)

wood pieces per point (10 qty - you will have some left over).

Nail them together at each meeting point just once so it will move into a good star shape for you.

I used my nail gun and an air compressor for this task.

Once I moved the star into the shape I liked best-

I nailed each point two more times each so it would not be flexible anymore.

Then I used a hand sander to get rid of the wood "boogies".

I painted one white with a sponge brush in an uneven sort of way.

Once the white paint was dry I used some ebony stain on the edges.

Let the stain sit on the edges for a few minutes to soak into the raw wood.

Then brush more stain over the white painted areas and use baby oil and an old t-shirt to spread the stain around so it is "blended" and "glazed" looking.

This is a great technique for "aging" wood projects.

I placed the wooden star ornament on top of the tree and used green craft wire to secure it there.

The 2012 tree also features my handmade Shabby Twinkle Garland.

Vine garland and silver ornaments. I especially like the JOY ornaments.

I miss all of our homemade ornaments from our kids from previous years.

You can see our 2011 Tree of Memories Here.

I draped burlap around the bottom for an inexpensive, natural skirt.

The colors are neutral and the star is rustic. 

It fits this highly visible corner nicely for us to enjoy all season long.

You can see more Christmas crafts Here.

Linking with these parties:
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
SNS #163 at Funky Junk Interiors
Craft-O-Maniac Monday
Keeping It Simple - Motivate Me Monday #150