Bringing Winter Inside

Yes! It finally snowed here in Maryland. Well, it snowed a little earlier in the season, but didn’t stick long enough. We have a two-hour delay, which makes for a nice relaxed morning. So, I thought I’d share a few simple ways to keep winter here a little longer. Place greens in a colorful bottle. See how beautiful the sunlight shines through the bottles…

Some other winter vignettes – drape some winterberry garland here and there:

Winter candles are so pretty, too:

Finally, making paper snowflakes and hanging them on your window is so pretty and so simple. I hang them by using a glue stick! (Just spray Windex to get it off later.) Yes, I have to make new snowflakes every year, but it’s become a little tradition for my son and me.

The best instructions that I’ve found to make paper snowflakes comes from – I hate to say it – but Martha Stewart. Check them out at http://food.yahoo.com/articles/martha-stewart/channel181245/paper-snowflakes.

Linking to:

Want to See Something Ugly?

Sure you do. That’s why you clicked on this post.

It’s our boy’s bathroom, which started off nice enough, however check out this algebraic equation: 15years +  3boys + well water = OMG!

Let me explain so you don’t think we are people who don’t clean. The ugliness actually began with the dreaded well water stains and maybe the lack of proper cleaning (I make the boys clean their own bathroom). 

I did venture into this dreaded dungeon of disgust every month to properly clean it. And who would guess? I was the one who made it worse when I decided to use the extra strength industrial cleaner on the bathtub! It permanently stained the tub the worst dingy shade of rust/brown. Anyway, it went from disgusting to appalling and now it’s just … well … horrifying. I can’t even believe I’m letting the world see this!

My son, who is home from college and desperately needs money (know any college student who doesn't?) is helping with demolition. (He is posing for the picture that's why he's not wearing safety goggles and gloves -- seriously.)

We are now getting a nice rust-brown shade of tile so we won’t have to worry about the water staining it (at least on the walls). The tub? Well, let’s just say I am now going to be supervising clean up of the new white tub every week. Stay tuned for the reveal … in parts. I will be asking your opinion on the now white cabinets … I plan on painting them…
Later gator.

Look What I Found! And bought.

Yes. Another typewriter. I just couldn’t resist it…even though I have one exactly like it in my office. I love estate sales. I knew it was a good price at $30, but I told the woman running the estate sale that I would be back the next day when everything goes half price. She said, “take it now, and you can have it for $20.” 

I took it, brought it home and my husband just shook his head.

I also found this adorable, handcrafted (glass? It’s really heavy) snowman (a mere 50 cents) to add to my collection:

And this lovely old electric conductor – blue, my favorite.

These awesome vintage license plates – anyone have any cool ideas for those?

And how about this metal pitcher? Love it!

And look… a stash of wooden spools, old wood dominoes, old rulers, and misc. game pieces.

There’s actually more stuff, but I was running out of light to take photos. Did I mention that I love estate sales?
I'm linking to:

The Key to Sanity

You can’t find your keys at the last minute ---has this ever happened to you? 

Ha! Just kidding. I know it’s happened to you and some of you, more than once a day!

Key hooks by the door, like the one on the right (no, I didn’t make it) are a great idea, but what if you don’t have the wall space (or simply don’t want to hang keys)?

Hmmm. My mom gave me a huge bag of old keys over the holidays. She said she knew I could make something from them. Since they weren’t really cool, old skeleton keys, I wasn’t sure just what I could make.

Above is what I came up with:

I painted this box a lovely Robin’s Egg Blue, but plan on creating others in a variety of shades. I used a little lock trinket I found on a vintage bracelet for the knob. Then, maybe I’ll put them in my etsy shop, and maybe I’ll help save some lost keys (and people’s sanity).

New Year, New Look, New Sleep Patterns?

I know that many of you who read my blog are creative types like me, so you'll probably understand this. I woke up at 3:30 AM this morning and spent the next half hour lying in bed, my mind bursting with creative ideas. I decided to write them down and try to go back to sleep. Didn't happen.

So, what did I do? Well, since I didn't feel like dragging out my paints and supplies, I just moseyed on down to this computer and started playing with my blog design (yes, that was on my mind, too). This is what I came up with in the wee hours of the morning. I completed my header on Picnik ... a tip from Danielle at DanielleisNesting. The layout is the basic simple template from blogger. I like it right now. Simple, yet sophisticated and the best part about it is that I can do a seasonal header if I just want to change it up a bit.

Anyway, I do have some cool projects that I'm thinking of creating, but first I have to head on over to Home Depot to see if they have what I want. Oh yea, and then there are my writing deadlines...I've got to finish a few articles before I do anything else (including rambling on this blog).

By the way, my (personal) new look is courtesy of Ki at Junk Camp. I won this great hoody last month on her blog giveaway! So comfy, so cool! It says, "Peace, Love, Junk" in case you can't read it. I actually selected a brown hoody, too. She has a shop at her Junk Revolution site where anyone can purchase them or something else. If you haven't heard of her or visited her blogs, you are missing out big time!

Later the same day...still haven't managed to get to home depot...work got in the way...funny how that happens. Anyway, I'm starting to get tired, but I'm determined to go to bed at my regular time, so maybe I'll actually sleep all night!!

Bargain Alert!

Okay. I was at Bath and Body Works this morning and found these beautiful felt and organza flowers (with glitter!) for a mere 50 and 75 cents each. I know you can make them, but really, these are so inexpensive, why bother? I bought all the ones at the mall and plan to see if other stores have them. I really want all white ones so I can make a wreath or Christmas tree from them for next year. If I can't find any more, I plan to use them as embellishments on my rag wreaths or use them as gift toppers...so many ideas!

What would you use them for?

Drum Roll Please....

Woo hoo! We have a winner! I am pleased to say that  Random.org selected Tammy at Junkwild  as the winner of my 100 Follower giveaway and after reading her last post, I think she could use a little cheering up ...
Tammy, please contact me at rzemanski@verizon.net with your mailing address and I'll send you this snowflake trinket box with a surprise inside just for you!

Thanks to all my followers --especially you gals (and guys) who have been following my blog for the past year! I hope this new year brings joy and happiness to every one of you!