Tag Archives: diy

My Christmas Door Wreath

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The wreath:  A circle of flowers, boughs, or leaves worn on the head, placed on a memorial, or hung as a decoration.

The door wreath whether you celebrate Christmas or not, is a wonderful way to greet guests at this time of year. (especially if your door is ugly and needs replacing like mine – but that’s another blog!)

My childhood family’s first Christmas door wreath was a faux cedar one that my Mother was quite proud of.  Mom had paid a good penny for this wreath and subsequently that wreath adorned our door for many years.  It was very pretty at the onset but should have been laid to rest sooner than it was.  Note to self: cost cannot always be amortized!

As a kid I remember making my first Christmas wreath from IBM Punch Cards.

IBM Punch Card.

For those of you who may not know what an IBM Punch Card is (ie. too young) they are probably the earliest icon of the Technology Age.  Before computers of today these ~3” x 7” cards were coded or ‘punched’ with data and then fed into a computer to input information.  Seems primitive but we wouldn’t be where we are today if it were not for these cumbersome cards.

An IBM Punch Card Wreath

IBM Punch Card Wreath

When I moved into my first apartment I had a pine cone wreath that I purchased from a co-worker who was making and selling them.  But when the pine cones started falling off beyond repair this wreath became fire tinder.

Pine Cone Wreath

Over the years I have always purchased a natural pine or cedar bough wreath.  Beautiful.

But this year I decided to change it up.  Since my Christmas tree is not ‘strong’ enough to hold decorations I made a door wreath-ornament-holder.

So I started with this…

DIY door wreath

And DIY-ed this….

Door Wreath

 

One of a Kind Show

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I attended the One of a Kind Show on opening day – fabulous!

I hate to admit how long I was there for (6 hours!!) but there were so many great things to see, beautiful things to buy and over 800 talented artisans to meet.

The One of a Kind show first started in 1975 and is the largest consumer craft show in North America.  Everything sold at the show is made by hand in North America by Canadian and/or American artisans.

This year’s show had a real ‘bringing back the cottage’ vibe with a lot of natural, organic and re-purposed designs.

Here were some of my favourites.

Tremblay Mills www.peppermilltremblay.com  had beautiful salt and pepper mills.  Made with original materials (mill on right is made from the banksia nut) and vibrant colours these works of art give a whole new meaning to ‘Seasons’ Greetings!

Cedar Mountain Studios  www.cedarmountainstudios.com creates wall art from reclaimed cedar boards.  In their backyard studio a team of nine artists, 2 dogs and 1 cat design and build pieces that will make you stop, read, ponder and laugh.

The Identity Apparel Co. http://www.identitytees.ca had a colourful booth.  I love Hudson Bay point blankets and Identity has re-purposed them into pillows and totes.  Also knapsacks made from 1945 Swiss Army mess hall tents waxed canvas were very cool.

Industry keeps making the same thing over and over expecting a different result from us.

Imagine Woods www.imaginewood.com goal is to create new wooden tools that really work for you… like a curved spatula for round frying pans and one-handed salad tongs. The result is a line of Rock Maple kitchen utensils that are ambidextrous, beautiful, long lasting and most of all, useful. Brilliant!

Wineplanks www.wineplanks.com creates from recycled oak wine barrels unique serving trays, and candle holders.

And I love the undies at The Candi Factory www.candifactory.com.  Sweet!

Definitely a show worth checking out.

All images via Modmissy

My Martha (Stewart) Moment

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It has been a while since I have written about my cottage renovation.  My story continues….

There were a few reasons why we decided to gut the interior space of the cottage the main one being that the ceilings were too low.  When my 6’2” son passed under the ceiling fan he had a good chance of being scalped by the whirring blades.  But we also had this fabulous antique hutch that we wanted to use but because it was taller than the ceiling height it languished in the boat house for over 10 years.  (Holding boat parts!)  I had purchased this hutch many years ago at the Aberfoyle Antique Market and it has moved with us from house to house, room to room.  The change to a more contemporary décor in our home meant that this large antique piece of furniture was out.  But not forgotten.  The hutch now has a proper purpose as the main storage unit in the cottage kitchen.  After a good cleaning and re-painting the hutch now houses all the plates/dishes/ glasses etc. etc.  so that all the kitchen ‘crockery’ is now in one place.  Amazing!

Every time I open the hutch doors I feel like I am having a ‘Martha (Stewart) Moment’!

Cooking and entertaining has taken on a whole new style – organized and fun.  As Martha would say, “It’s a good thing”.

All images via Modmissy

Ladies Lounge – after

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A few weeks ago I wrote about my friend SW (SuperWoman) who was in the process of transforming her old wooden garage into a ‘ladies lounge’.

One year ago SW had decided that her garage could be better used as a backyard retreat rather than a storage space for ‘extra items’.

With a lot of love and elbow grease SW has achieved what she set out to do – she has turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse!

This was the ‘before’ photo with holes in the walls, old linoleum on the floor and lots of clutter:

This is what SW’s efforts produced – the ‘after’ photo:

Bikes, tools, ladders and garden paraphernalia used to clutter the space.

Now everything is tucked away out of sight behind softly draping white curtains.

What was involved in the transformation?  The walls and ceiling were stripped back to the studs and sprayed a calming white.  An old brick fireplace chimney was removed.  The old linoleum was ripped up to reveal wood plank floors and then painted moss green.  Holes in the walls, floor and ceiling were repaired.  An old work bench was given a coat of white paint so that now it can be used as a bar and/or buffet table.  Furniture and accessories were brought in.  The orange futon provides the hit of colour in the room and a great place to take an afternoon nap.  The round teak table with inlaid mosaic top (a real score!) is a fabulous nod to mid-century modern not to mention a great surface for a game of Scrabble.  Any furniture that could was given a coat of white paint.  In the lofted ceiling a light that twinkles like the evening stars was wired in.

The lofted ceiling.

A pretty vignette.  And by the way, SW made most of the baskets in the space – yes she does basket weaving too!

So in her relentless pursuit of happiness, SuperWoman has moved mountains (and junk) to create a ‘getaway’ worthy of a super hero!!  Bravo SW.

All images via Modmissy

 

 

 

Our Cottage Renovation

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This past winter we headed up to our cottage or our ‘cabin in the woods’ (fondly coined by my Father-in-Law) to begin a cottage ‘make-over’.

Structurally everything was sound; this renovation was more about aesthetics.  When the cottage was re-built in the early 1970’s the ceiling was only 7 ½ feet high (will never understand why!!) which not until recently posed any problem.  But now our very tall son whenever he passed under the ceiling fan had a good chance of being scalped!  So get rid of the fan or raise the ceiling?  We opted to raise the ceiling.  And this was also the perfect time to redecorate!

This project that has spread out over many weekends started one snowy day in early January.  During winter we are not able to drive up to the cottage so we walk in from the road.  There is no plumbing, the stove is not hooked up and the power often goes out in the middle of the night.  Brrrrr!  All provisions must be carried in and heated over the wood stove.

My husband and son emptied out the space and piled all the furniture into the bedrooms/bathroom/porch.

We also decided that since we were changing the ceiling we would get rid of the 1970’s wall paneling that in an attempt to disguise had painted red a few years ago.  Not sorry to see any of it go including all the red upholstery.  I realize now I tire of red real quick.  Accents yes, walls and upholstery no!!  Lesson learned.

Notice in the bedroom photo the taxidermy deer head!  This was given to us from friends (who no longer wanted it themselves – it scared the grandkids) and right now we are in debate as to whether it will hang in the new space!!!!  Stay tuned.

All images via Modmissy

 

My Front Porch – Summertime

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I love going to fabric stores.  It is like an overload on the senses – looking, touching and imagining.  As I walk amongst the bolts of fabric, admiring the many beautiful fabrics, running my hands along them to feel them, my mind starts racing trying to envision where I could use them all.  So many gorgeous fabrics – not enough projects!

On a recent fabric store adventure I came across this fabulous orange/white fabric that I fell in love with – I bought 2 yards.

I decided to use the fabric for seat cushions on the chairs in my enclosed front porch.  My sewing skills gained from grade 7/8 Home Ec. are fairly rudimentary but I can sew cushion covers.

My front porch spring/summer cushions were looking faded and boring so the new orange/white gives the needed punch.  The patterned pillows which coordinated perfectly came from HomeSense thanks to a good friend who found them for me!  The twig furniture (hubby and I made many years ago), lots of potted flowers, good lighting to read with and candles in the evening makes this porch my summer oasis.

All Images via Modmissy