My Holiday Tree!

Last Christmas, I had to buy a new Christmas tree, as the old one had seen better days and was sent off to the thrift store. The old tree was 6 1/2' tall, so I went to my trusty Wally-world (Walmart) to see if I could get one at a low price!! When I looked at the 6 1/2' trees, they looked so short and skimpy......maybe mine was taller?? So, I bought the 7 1/2' tree in that little skinny box they come in.

When I got the tree home, and opened it....I pulled out all of the branches and began sorting them by color. Each branch had to be unfolded and formed to look right before it could be put into it's proper slot. Four days later....I was able to start adding lights and decorations!!! This thing reached my ceiling!!! It was huge!!!

Christmas came and went, and New Year's Day was upon us. Normally, I take down my tree that day, and store it away in the box until next Christmas. This year, I had a problem. There was NO WAY that huge tree was going back into that box that was about 4' long and 12" square!!! Okay, I can put it into totes....several totes....but where am I going to store them?? Every extra bit of space I have is taken up with my ebay & Addoway business!!! And on top of that, our son is living with us temporarily, so the downstairs bedroom & closet are out of the question!!!

So.....to solve my problem, I now have a "Holiday" tree...(I know, I hate CHRISTMAS TREES being called "Holiday trees".....but my tree is no longer JUST a Christmas tree!!! I added red cardinals, birdhouses, white "snowball" balls, icicles, snowflakes....and it became a "Winter Tree"!!

Yesterday, I removed some ornaments and added red heart lights and stuffed animals holding hearts, red & pink heart ornaments....and now....ta-da!!!! I have a Valentine's Day tree!!!! :-) All of the things on the tree came from a local thrift store, and cost me about $10 total!!!

I have already begun the hunt for St Patrick's Day goodies to put on my Holiday Tree for March!!! I have a bag started with shamrock lights & strings of green beads......now......where can I find some Leprechauns????

The Shabby Boutique at OneTrueMedia.com

Romantic decor for your home!! Stop by and browse over 450 items now!!
http://www.addoway.com/Sandy_Tomsu_Faust/storefront

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SILENT NIGHT/STILLE NACHT

A Thrift Store Christmas

While my three children were growing up, and for several years after, I always had a traditional red & green decorated Christmas tree.  We went through the stages of making all of the decorations ourselves and then the "Antique Santa" theme. 

Once I changed the decor of my home, and with all the children gone from home, I decided to do something a little different.  I wanted a Christmas tree that fit perfectly into my Shabby Chic/Romantic Country home!! This meant that I had to start from scratch with all of the tree decorations, plus all of the other decorations I put throughout the house.  This could be quite expensive, and by now, you should know that I do not like to spend alot of money on anything!! lol!!

I headed off to scour all of the thrift stores in my town, looking for decorations in pink, rose, sage green, silver, white & crystal.  It was amazing how many I found!!! I found the ornaments in the colors I wanted, still in the boxes each with a price of $1.99 or less!!!  I found bags of crystal icicles and crystal & pearl garland beads to put around the tree.  I found a silver Angel for the top of the tree for $1.99 in perfect condition!  It took about a month prior to Christmas to find everything I wanted for my tree, and I never spent of $3.00 for any one thing!!  Here is my beautiful thrift store Christmas tree!







I have always collected the Antique looking Santa's, and found several in the rose, pink, & white colors to fit with my new theme. The most I paid for any of the santa's was $5.99, and that one is 2 feet tall!  I also found beaded mirrors, a silver sparkly reindeer, centerpieces and pink poinsettias to decorate for the holidays!
Here are a few photos of the things that I have found, just by spending a little time looking through the thrift stores.







Remember, there is no need to spend tons of money if you want to change up your theme for Christmas, or even if you want a second or different Christmas tree in every room!  There is something there for everyone's taste. 
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and very Happy Holidays!!
Sandy

A Fun, Quick & Easy Project

I have this adorable black & white cat named Abby.  Abby is slightly overweight....like she weighs 22 lbs!!!  Abby is  now 9 years old, and is having some problems getting up onto the higher places that she loves to snooze on, especially my bed!!



I decided I needed something for her to get onto that was just slightly lower than the bed, so I started my search at the local thrift stores for a bench that I could put at the foot of my bed.  I have to admit, I needed something to sit on when putting on my shoes!!!  Seems Abby & I are both getting old!!! lol!

I found this wonderful little bench, already painted white, with a little bit of paint chipped off here & there, which was perfect for my decor!  It was covered in this ugly dark purple fabric, but it was only $6.95!






All it needed was to be recovered!! Now, I don't buy too many things new, so I started to think of what I could use to cover the seat on the bench, when I realized I had purchased 4 chenille pillow shams a couple of months ago, and one of them would be perfect for this project!  I paid $2 for all 4 of the pillow shams. 

First, I took the screws out of the bottom of the bench to loosen the seat.



I removed all of the old staples with pliers, and removed the fabric that the seat was covered with, and was left with the cushion and the board.



I then turned the pillow sham inside out, and ripped the seams so that I had the front piece of the sham to cover the seat with.  Putting the sham over the cushion & board, I centered the design on the sham, and holding it tight, turned it over.  Using a good stapler, I started stapling the pillow sham fabric to the board, starting with one side, then doing the opposite side.  This keep the pattern on the sham even.  I then folded over the sides and stapled them, stretching them a bit to make sure they were snug.




After it was all stapled, I had a perfectly covered bench seat, ready to be put back on the bench frame.





I then turned the bench over after making sure the top matched up perfectly with the frame, and put the screws back in the bench, tightening them to make it secure. I now had a bright, new bench that matched my bedroom perfectly, and all for the cost of $7.49 and about 1/2 hour of work!!  So easy, so simple.





This system can be used to cover benches, footstools, and even dining room chairs! If you want the chenille look that I got, you can find chenille bedspreads at the thrift store (use the remainder for pillows) or spreads or pieces of one can be purchased on ebay for very small amounts.  Otherwise, look through the pillow shams, draperies, throws etc at the thrift stores for a fabric that you like.  No need to go to a fabric store and spend big bucks!!! :-)

Alternative to Buying New Cushions

I have 2 wicker chairs in my living room that came with floral chair cushions that don't quite match my decor. I am not good at sewing, and didn't want to purchase new cushions, as they can be quite expensive. So, as an alternative to either of those, I found a way to cover my cushions so that the covers can be removed and washed when needed, and the cost was amazingly reasonable: Less than $1! And the complete process of covering each cushion took less than 5 minutes!


I started by scouring the local thrift stores for standard size pillow shams. Most thrift stores sell them as a pair. I found exactly what I wanted, in a pattern that really goes well with my Romantic Country decor, and the cost was only $ .98 for the pair!! Always check the fabric for stains or tears before purchasing.

This is the front of the pillow sham.

This is the back side of the sham with the opening.

Slip one end of the cushion into one side of the sham. It will probably fit snuggly. Pull the other half up and over the rest of the cushion.

Turn it over, and shake the cushion down so that it is completely at one end of the sham. Place it on the floor or table and smooth out the top.

You will have part of the pillow sham that is empty. Fold it over to the underside of the cushion, and place it back on the chair. Fold under any part that is hanging out in the back of the cushion.

You are finished!!! How quick is that??!! The best part is, that you can remove the cover for washing whenever needed, and you can purchase other sets of shams from thrift stores so that you can change the looks of your chairs anytime you wish! The pillow shams are available in different sizes from standard to king size, so check to make sure which size sham you will need for your cushion.

I hope you enjoyed this little tip!! It is a great way to save money & yet decorate your home the way you wish! :-)

Finished chair!

Add color to your space!

Is your space blah, dull and all neutrals? The easiest way to spruce up a room is to add color. You can have neutral walls, neutral furniture, neutral carpet, but adding splashes of color using throw pillows, vases, flowers or candles works wonders! And, you can get ALL of these things at thrift stores and garage sales!!

In the following photos, you can see how this neutral room was brighten by adding items that were found at the thrift store for between $2.00 & $5.00!

As you can see, purchasing a variety of throw pillows in different shapes and patterns, but the same color family, can make a plain beige couch pop with color! These pillows were purchased at a thrift store. (Be sure to check them out well for damage, spots and give them the "smell" test.)

The larger pillows are actually firm bed pillows in removable tailored pillow shams. These are great to use for lying against or putting your head on while watching tv. You can always replace the pillow if it gets out of shape, and the shams can be washed.

The orange bird plate was purchases for $1.99 at a thift store! See how it makes an otherwise dull brick fireplace pop!! The black wrought iron mult-candle holder was also purchased used. Lighting the candles gives the effect and warmth of a burning fireplace without the heat or the mess.

Take a look around and see what you can change to make your space pop with color!! :-) Thank you to my daughter, Tracey for letting me photograph her thrift store treasures!!!