Tweeeeeet!

So, I L-O-V-E keeping up with allllll my bloggy pals -- and since I don't post quite as much as I used to I've been feeling so out of touch with all of you! :( BOO!

I've since discovered Twitter (yes....a little late to the game there) -- and I'm LOVING IT!  Come Tweet with me so I can keep up with all you!!

@HandMeDownHouse

 

More Outdoor Winter Decorations

Okay, so I have another fun outside wintery-looking project for you gals today.  I actually did this project for Christmas, but decided to leave it up longer because it's not too Christmasy (like my wreath).


First, I found these shiny gold vases at Target on clearance for a mere $6.49 each.  Woo Hoo!  You absolutely cannot beat that price.  I had some ideas for these vases -- not that I don't love some brassy gold vases for my front door -- I just though a silvery tint would be a little more seasonal. :)

So I first primed these lovelies;

then I painted them with some of my brand new Krylon Stainless Steel spray paint.  This stuff is AWESOME you guys -- I got it from Krylon to try out and BOY do I love this finish!  It didn't run or get puddled like some spray paints do -- so it gets and A+ in my book!

I also found some branches around our property that were tall and had lots of little "fingers" on them.  I painted these with some white spray paint (is there anything that doesn't look good coated in a white paint!?!)  I did quite a few coats of this stuff just to make sure I could use them again next year without them getting all chippy.

I wanted some red berry-type objects to put on the ends of some of my cute white branches.  

And I happened to find these wooden "beads" that I chose to cover in a layer of dark red spray paint.
 

What do you think of those?  Ready to see them on my white branches??

And finally, I added some pine tree branches to my white-berry branches and placed them in my vases outside my door.  I LOVE these!  Unfortunately our driveway apron is a bit slanty so my larger vase was tipping over at first.  But then enter our ridiculous amount of snow and I was able to prop it up with it.

It kind of goes with my wreath from last week, don't you think??

 

Linking up to:

Mondays:Between Naps on the Porch ; C.R.A.F.T; Craft-O-Maniac; Keeping it Simple; Mad in Crafts; Making the World Cuter; The DIY Showoff; The Girl Creative Tuesdays:  All Thingz Related; House of Grace; I'm Topsy Turvy; Lucky Star Lane; Sugar Bee Craft Edition; The CSI Project; These Creative Juices; Today's Creative Blog Wednesdays:  Blue Cricket Design; Creations by Kara; Debbiedoos; Domestically Speaking; My Backyard Eden; Night Owl Crafting; Seven Thirty Three; Someday Crafts; The Thrifty Home; Trendy Treehouse Thursdays: Beyond the Picket Fence; Craftastical!; Fireflies & Jellybeans; House of Hepworths; Life as Lori; Somewhat Simple; The Shabby Chic Cottage Fridays:  Chic on a Shoestring; Finding Fabulous; Fingerprints on the Fridge; Frou Frou Decor; Frugal & Fabulous Design; It's a Hodge Podge Life; It's Fun to Craft!: Just a Girl; Remodelaholic; Simply Designing; The Shabby Nest; Tatertots & Jello Weekend:  A  Little Lovely; Be Different Act Normal; Funky Junk Interiors; House of Thrifty Decor; I Heart Naptime; Kuzak's Closet; Under the Table & Dreaming

Winter Wreath

First, thank you SO much for all your super-sweet comments after my last post -- it was such a nice welcome back! :)

So waaaaay back before Christmas even, I made a winter wreath for our front door.  And although I wish I didn't have to have a winter wreath up in January in February, we do live in Minnesota, and it is definitely still winter here.  Brrrrr!  Not to mention, we've had more snow this year than I've ever experienced in my whole life -- so yes, the winter wreath will be staying up for a few more months. 

This wreath is SO fun, and SO easy (and cheap) -- you know, my favorite things!

First, I found this wreath at Goodwill for only $.99.  I liked the twisted viney branches for my base -- and just took off the "Christmasy" decorations on the front.  I decided to paint it white for a bit of winter elegance. 

I gave it a few coats of white spray paint  -- oh yes, this was definitely painted quite some time ago -- with our below zero temperatures there is just no spray painting right now :(  

The next thing I did was spray paint some big pine cones. First I primed them so the paint would stay on through the cooold, coooold, months.  I chose a metallic blue for these pinecones -- another fun wintery color. :)

Soooo shimmery!  I love it -- the color just screams winter, right!?!

Next I glued three pine cones onto the front of the wreath with some trusty Gorilla Glue.

Finally, I found a pretty brown ribbon in my stash and tied it onto the front to hang it on the door:

I hung it on the door -- and viola!

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and cute this wreath was!  I think it turned out pretty glammy from where it started, don't you think?

And the absolute BEST part was that I only spent $.99 on the actual wreath!  (Although I did splurge on the blue paint which was $3.29 -- still okay though, right!?!)

 

Linking up to:

Mondays:Between Naps on the Porch ; C.R.A.F.T; Craft-O-Maniac; Keeping it Simple; Mad in Crafts; Making the World Cuter; The DIY Showoff; The Girl Creative Tuesdays:  All Thingz Related; House of Grace; I'm Topsy Turvy; Lucky Star Lane; Sugar Bee Craft Edition; The CSI Project; These Creative Juices; Today's Creative Blog Wednesdays:  Blue Cricket Design; Creations by Kara; Debbiedoos; Domestically Speaking; My Backyard Eden; Night Owl Crafting; Seven Thirty Three; Someday Crafts; The Thrifty Home; Trendy Treehouse Thursdays: Beyond the Picket Fence; Craftastical!; Fireflies & Jellybeans; House of Hepworths; Life as Lori; Somewhat Simple; The Shabby Chic Cottage Fridays:  Chic on a Shoestring; Finding Fabulous; Fingerprints on the Fridge; Frou Frou Decor; Frugal & Fabulous Design; It's a Hodge Podge Life; It's Fun to Craft!: Just a Girl; Remodelaholic; Simply Designing; The Shabby Nest; Tatertots & Jello Weekend:  A  Little Lovely; Be Different Act Normal; Funky Junk Interiors; House of Thrifty Decor; I Heart Naptime; Kuzak's Closet; Under the Table & Dreaming

A New Year! (And some new changes....)

First off I have to say a big fat thank you to you guys for puting up with my extended "leave" from the blogging world.  I hope you haven't missed me too much. :)  And another huge thank you for all the kind and concerned emails I've gotten from you wondering what's up over here at the Hand Me Down House.  I really do consider all of you gals my friends -- so I 100% appreciate your concern and kind words.

My absence started out as a short break during the start of the Holidays -- but the Holidays for us means a lot of Christmas shopping, and A LOT of Christmas Get-Togethers.  So I decided to stop blogging for the whole month of December.  There just wasn't a lot of time to fit everything in for my family and I, let alone doing projects to the house and keeping up with my blog.  But after a month long recess, I've decided I will be making some changes here for the next year.

This post is SO overdue -- I've been meaning to fill you all in sooner -- but I've really been dreading writing this. So, with that being said I will tell you I'm not quitting my blog.  I would never just give it up like that.  But, I will be blogging much less than my once  5 times a week schedule.  I'll update you on the house as we change it and I'll certainly post any fun projects I do.  But I plan to do projects and house updates a little bit less -- so don't be suprised to see a gap in posts.  And also for this reason I've decided to cut my advertising.  There is a lot of pressure that comes along with having sponsors; and it was making my blogging more of a job than enjoyable.  Blogging started out as an absolute LOVE of mine -- and I want to keep it that way.

Don't mistake this "cut back" in posts and projects for a dislike of blogging -- I still very much LOVE it!  It's so fun seeing my bloggy friends faces every day and see what's going on in their wold.   And as I'm writing this now after a month of "taking off" -- I'm remembering how good it feels to "talk" to you girls!  But my family is the most important thing in my life -- and I have to make them my priority.  That means maybe letting a project at the house sit for a few days so I can visit grandparents, or not stopping at the craft store for new materials so I can go home and see my hubby -- I'm sure you can all relate.  

I hope you can all understand how much I just love being apart of the blogging world -- I absolutely do!  But between family, work and just every day life; I had to cut back on some things that were taking my time away from the things that truly matter.  

Some bloggers decide to make their blogging a full time career, like John & Sherry at Young House Love -- and some decide to give it up completely for the sake of time, like Disney at Ruffles and Stuff.  Well I'm right in the middle -- I can't give it up completely -- but I can't maintain my crazy posting and crazy projects and still have the time I need for work and family. 

So -- I hope you can forgive me for the missing month of December -- and I hope you can still enjoy my posts in 2011!  We've got big plans and dreams for the house that we're hoping to accomplish -- and you guys will be included in the process!