Holiday Decor for Dopes

Posted on December 24, 2011 by admin

This holiday season I have spent countless hours blog hopping and taking notes from the Decor inclined. I have been determined to have a tree that didn’t look like a reject from the Home Shopping Network (heavy with ornaments that others thought I should like) and have a house that oozes Christmas charm.

I basically want Home and Gardens- Vintage style on a dime budget. And between you and me it is possible. I am not saying that my house oozing Christmas charm and I don’t think Pottery Barn will be calling any time soon but I think I am slowly getting there.

Today I will be showing you my Kitchen cabinet decor and telling you my non-advanced Decor tips:

Look all year round.

I am huge into antiques. I try to find the best buy whenever I have money in the budget. A year ago I found a woman that was remodeling her home and was selling all her antiques. I bought them without knowing where exactly to put them but I knew they would look great ALL year round.
Christmas Antiques

Antiques and Christmas decoration

Never exclude the Dollar Store.

I found some great tin signs with a series of Holiday messages printed on them; Merry Christmas, Let is Snow, the highly contraversal Happy Holidays etc, and bought every one of them for a whopping 6 dollars. Again, no exact place to put them but I knew they were a great deal.

Christmas decoration from the Dollar Tree

Christmas sign from Dollar Tree

Keep items that are still in good condition.

I decided to start fresh with our ornaments this year and was about to toss all our previous colors. We ranged from red, shiny red, blue, white, and silver. Instead I kept them in hopes that I would find a different purpose. I did. The balls are now in the kitchen.

Christmas ornament balls in the kitchen

So, there you have it. I am not expert but I am slowly (hopefully) learning how to decorate… I still have a lot to learn but I want to encourage those of you that have no idea what you are doing, Don’t worry, most of us don’t. We all check out other websites and then fake it.

Giveaway! Christmas present for you guys!!

Posted on December 13, 2010 by admin

I am holding a giveaway!! And it is sponsored by…ME! Here is the deal, I am giving away one hat on my Becoming Homegrown Store. ANY ONE! What you need to do is leave me a comment telling me which one you want and what size you need it. The lucky winner will get the hat of their choice. Now, I am going to announce the winner on Christmas Eve! A little late but it can be a present after the holiday.

Do you want to play? Here are the rules. Starting today -

1. Leave a comment and tell me if you are a follower AND which hat you would like (don’t forget sizing)
2. If you are not a follower become one
3. Check out the Facebook page – (you don’t have to follow it but it highly encouraged)
4. Blog about the giveaway and leave a link here

Each step is considered an entry and the winner will be chosen on Random.org……Is that enough crazy info?! Good luck!
Remember the winner will be announced on Christmas Eve!

Check out the Inner Hookeron Facebook for more fun crochet tips!!

Making Pine cones sparkle

Posted on December 6, 2010 by admin

This evening the boys and I dressed up our pine cones. I think they look pretty good and I believe they will act as wonderful accents to a centerpiece or around the house.

Here is what you will need:

Mod Podge

Some type of paint brush

Glitter of your choosing. I chose something that look different from the traditional glitter

Pine cones

(Please excuse the date in the corner. My kids got a hold of the camera again and turned it on)

The supplies.

As you can see I dumped the glitter on some newspaper so the cone could be rolled

I painted the ends of the Pine cones with mod podge and then rolled them in the glitter

The mod podge is drying but you get the idea.

Here is one batch of finished cones. I really liked the white tips so on five cones I mixed in a little white paint with the mod podge and then rolled it in the glitter.

This is a horrible picture but I couldn’t get the lighting right to show off all the sparkle. (p.s. see the boxes in the background?!)

There ya go. A quick way to make your Pine cones sparkle. That is if you have any or if you even want to..

Can I pack any more into the schedule?!

Posted on December 5, 2010 by admin

Are you like me? Do you procrastinate? Do you pack as much stuff you can into a small amount of time and then collapse in a heap of exhaustion? If you said yes to these questions, then GREAT, you are in good company. If not, then you can laugh at me. Keep track of the insanity!

As you all know, we are moving. We are moving NEXT Wednesday. Soon after I posted about our home, I went on an extreme search for a rental. It is Christmas, I want to decorate and I want to do that in a home that is not filled with boxes. Well, I found a home and within three days we signed the lease and scheduled a move in day. Yup, I am that good….Actually, God is that good. He gave us an AWESOME place. Seriously, it’s amazing. I will post pictures as soon as we are in.

I am co-hospitality for our Mops group and because my partner in crime did an fantastic job on a busy meeting earlier in the year I took over decoration for the Christmas meeting. I had to come up with a couple of ideas of decor…Check out the inspiration…

Cranberry centerpieces are beautiful, simple and perfect.

Now – Please note that this needs to be prepared by Tuesday of this upcoming week. I am leaning towards a combo of all three….However the first photo will take more time that I have available.

Finally, I have a waiting list for hats! I still am working on hats from a hugely successful boutique in November. I believe I have about 10 more to finish! My goal is to have them done in the next week and a half!

The question I have for you is, Do you work well under pressure? Because for some reason, I do.