Beach House Welcome

I've slowly been transitioning my house from hum drum to coastal beach house flare. Little disclaimer " I am nowhere near the beach and live in the hot dry Sacramento Valley" , but hey a girl can dream. Paint lately has been my means of fun and expression now that crazy mercury retrograde has left the building.

So lets start off with this paint that has been sitting around in storage for about 2 years. It was originally purchased for our beachy bathroom makeover but was a little to dark for my taste. I finally popped the top and added it to a piece of plywood I rescued from the fire pit.

I used stencils from Walmart craft section to do the lettering & hot glued the shells on. Twine was added for hanging.

Welcome to Casa Sol Y Luna . I found this lovely rocking chair at the Goodwill for $8.00 (score). Stay tuned for more paint and home improvement projects.

Homespun Gift Giving

Now that almost everyone received their gifts from me, I can reveal them to you all. When I get around to it I will post tutorials. We are all a little under the weather right now at the house.

These candy sleighs were a hit. I made these for our stockings, in place of just throwing in chocolates. All you need is candy and that handy dandy glue gun.

 

My nieces and nephews got a homemade ornament on their gift to adorn their tree. I purchased a roll of 12 ball ornaments at the dollar store. Mini jingle bells were added and the hot glue gun was used to make the initials. Epsom salt added quickly gives a pretty sparkle.

Who doesn't love a bucket of snow! Our part of California is sunny and green so faux snow for a White Christmas is a must. Add shaving cream to baking soda and voila you have cold powder snow.

I made these sensory play kits for all my nieces and nephews. Check out my 

 Moon Sand  post on how to make sand.

The aroma while making these was delectable. I included instructions on a Christmas card on how to use this Gingerbread scrub so everybody knows it's not to eat. Mommy Musings blog has the recipe and printables.

These lavender heat pillows were all hand sewn with love. Me and my sewing machine have a love /hate relationship. The dried lavender flowers were cultivated from my own plants. Fill with rice and any aromatic flower of your choice, and pop into the microwave for up to two minutes. Your sore muscles will thank you.

The adults received my "Comfort & Joy Baskets".  The time and effort that went into making  these gifts was a true labor of love that I look forward to doing again when the holidays roll around . 

Happy New Year's Eve Eve!

Simple Days

These past days we have been holed in with rain. It's too wet and damp to do anything outside but take the kids to and from school. The husband and I have been doing house chores together and hoping for brighter days literally and figuratively. It has been a month since he was laid off and it's hard to get a landscape job in this season and weather. Fingers crossed our situation will soon have a positive turn around. 

So this brings us yet again to a very humble Christmas, but this is not my first ride on this rodeo. I kept the decor at a minimum this year. The tree is trimmed and the stockings are hung. Now I must get crafty to make the kids eyes sparkle on Christmas Day.

Last year we didn't gift to anyone but our kids. I really do love to give a gift at Christmas to our family members so I'm going to be like a frantic little elf crafting at my kitchen table. 10 days left till Christmas! Let's see what homemade goods I can create before Christmas day arrives.

 In between the hustle & bustle I will post my projects, and try to keep up with the blogosphere. The kids will be on winter break after this week. "Good grief Charlie Brown, I'm so not ready for all of this"! I hope this holiday season is treating you well and blissful moments are to come. Now I'm off to grab the glue gun.

Haunted Humpday ~ Thrift Store Goodies

The wind is blowing in all sorts of spicy, witchy, wanderlust's of fall. Yes I am aware that it is still August and there is summer fun still to be had. That deep feeling of transition is going on within me and I can't help but plunge into what is to come when the season changes. The lovely Marfi of Incipient Wings has started off Haunted Humpdays early this year and I'm excited to get the Halloween ball rolling, are you? 

I had the urge to roam a thrift store last week for sweaters and I came across these goodies. Not bad for $5.00. The first jack o lantern is ceramic and I plan on putting in an aromatic candle to fill the house with spice and highlight Jack's luminescent grin. The wreath will adorn my door, and the basket will  hold treats. I usually start to decorate the beginning of October but will  start mid-September this year. I'm  hoping to be more crafty this season so I'll have fun projects to share in the future. If you would like to share your post leave a comment with your link and don't forget to head on over to Marfi's Blog and check out the collective musings of other Haunted Humpday participants.

{ 64 Days till Halloween }

Recycled Banner

 Last month  my youngest daughter turned 9 and had a camp out sleepover with a slight "One Direction" theme to it. Party supply stores are brimming with decor for any theme and occasion but they come at a hefty price at check out.  I started my wheels turning and went about the house collecting my recycled supplies. Here's what I made with what I found already on hand.

I had a few granola bar and caprisun boxes crushed and ready for the recycling bin so I decided the reverse non printed side would be good for my project.

I used a ruler to measure out triangles for the banner. This method made  two different sized triangles, the longer ones were used as labels wrapped around mason jars filled with make your own trail mix ingredients. (sorry I don't have a photo of that one)

After all the triangles are cut , I added letter stickers from the dollar store to spell out "Camp 1D". I used two different lengths of twine to hot glue the triangles onto. The middle triangle on the bottom has a picture of "One Direction"  I tore out from one of my daughters  magazines and glued on.

Here's the finished product.

Thrift Store Fall Fashion

Oh yes I must admit I love "Goodwill Hunting", I am a self proclaimed Thrift Store Diva and have been since birth. Okay maybe that last part since birth can be credited to my Mom. Funny how people have shows now for doing the same thing I've done for years. So I got an itch one morning, actually it was a reaction to me opening drawers and looking in the closet and shouting " I have nothing to wear"! I have clothes of course but nothing I'm excited about. And Fall starts this weekend right? Off to the thrift store we go. I was originally going to treasure hunt at a Goodwill Industries but remembered that Halloween is in full effect and they seem to make anything a costume item and mark up the prices. I tried out a newly opened Pacific Thrift Shop. A small store that was quite and not crowded so I could take my time looking through the racks. Here is my new fall wardrobe additions.

Grand Total $28.00 !!!

*I'm hoping to score Gypsy skirts and boots on my next shopping trip.