Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Outdoor Projects



The squash are beautiful this year and look festive alongside this special "classics" issue that Victoria has published, containing photographs from the original Victoria magazines. The issue is on high quality paper and the pictures are very uplifting. This is just out in the Wal-Mart book and magazine section. There was also a "Rooms of Bliss" issue with a blue cover, and both look really nice set out on a coffee table in the home. There were no ads in either one, and all pictures and articles were about the home and scenery.

A scene framed by the tree, from my window.

A special tea that came out only in December last year, which had a wonderful fragrance when made up in a tea pot. I have not seen it since the one month it was for sale, and have enjoyed the last few bags of it.

Cones from trees are in abundance around here, so I painted them with the Krylon spray paint called "Ballet Slipper," which is a pink that is practically white. See Chic Style Fall Colors.

Small inedible squash, pumpkins and gourds get the paint treatment and a sprinkling of glitter too.Cindy, at My Romantic Home, has some beautiful glittered pumpkins used on candle sticks. Her home is fascinating and has been featured in magazines. Almost every decorator has a link to her. A Bit of Pink Heaven shows some lovely white pumpkins and some silver gilded ones as well. The above pumpkins were not actually pumpkins but were white ornamental squash, not edible. There are quite a number of porches decorated with white pumpkins this year.

 See a naturally grown pink pumkin here,
and have a look at this pretty one.



They all go into a display basket hanging on the outside of the house, along with some leaves.

More white trash turned into pink trash, with added water-slide decals.

A rusted chair gets an update.

Cracked, discarded, outgrown boots get the treatment, too.

Empty metal paint buckets will be a rarity some day, as paint is now sold in plastic pour containers, so this one gets to be used again, painted pink. I have seen these painted with scenes and florals and were years ago sold at antique fairs.

I have not got around to painting the old swing yet, so a quilt and cushions will do for now.




These chairs still need more paint, but it gives you an idea of what they will be like when finished.


This is perfect for an outdoor tea, with a wagon as a serving cart containing all the goodies.
Here is another view of the outdoor tea table, and here are some wonderful pictures of a tea table on this blog.



A hanging candle holder with a led light provides a bit of decoration for the tea table.

Click on for a larger view.

Here is another pretty blog also with an outdoor tea table covered in lace. See Pink Friday for more great ideas with things you might have in storage that could be brought out and used, and here is a pretty blog in Dixie, called Blushing Rose.

This little message in pink chalk might have special meaning to some people:




Other painted gourds and pumpkins:




28 comments:

Gerie said...

Lydia, That is the most beautiful quilt, where did you ever find it? It's just so beautiful.

Gerie

Anonymous said...

Lady Lydia: It is all just lovely-that is the type of projects I just love to do. I never would have thought of painting the squash and adding glitter-I LOVE that.
~Rhonda

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I love the new special edition Victoria magazines. I have the Rooms of Bliss (and plan to give it to my daughter soon) and I saw the Holiday edition at Wal Mart. It is in the budget for my return visit.

I love the fact they are publishing photos from the original magazine and (as you said) on good quality paper.

Kimberline said...

Lydia,

I want to come to your house and sit under a tree on a chair you have saved and made beautiful and drink some of the strawberry rose tea :)

If not this side of heaven, I do hope to sit and visit with you in the by and by!

Love,

Kimber

Dorothy Aichele Conway said...

I like your blog and read it often. I wish you had an archive so I could go back to your old posings.

Lydia said...

Dorothy I have tried to get archives to show up on the page, with no success, so I will ask one of my staff (younger family members) to see if that can be straightened out. This was a good reminder.

Lydia said...

Dorothy,

Lovely header on your blog!

candy said...

Beautiful :)

Decor To Adore said...

What a perfectly soothing vignette!

Anonymous said...

Lot's of these projects are lovely, but for me they fall into the catagory of "extra's". Our family has had hard times, for a long time. Money isn't there for pink paint or glitter or garage sale finds. Would you feature some nice ways to freshen up the home when your budget is truly very, very difficult?

Lydia said...

For most paint projects, such as rooms in my home, I get free paint. This is extra paint from people who have finished painting their own houses and have a bit left over, and sometimes you can get greatly discounted paint when the particular brand or tint is being discontinued. Glitter is also given to me or can be found at the dollar store in packages of 4 for a dollar.

Posts on updating the home without money will be coming in the future!

Anonymous said...

If you go to Lowe's, they have an "OOPS" shelf in their paint dept. where the paint has been mistinted or the customer did not like the color and they sell it at half price or so.

We also have a paint store in our area that sells their mistints for $2.00/gal.! You can't be too choosy about color but sometimes they have some really pretty ones. I would suggest checking a store specializing in paints for discounts like this.

Anonymous said...

Lydia, your pink glittery pumpkins are just the BEST! I am going to run out and get a few and doooo this project! Thank you for your lovely crafing ideas, as always..
Lynn M

Anonymous said...

Lydia, your pink glittery pumpkins are just the BEST! I am going to run out and get a few and doooo this project! Thank you for your lovely crafing ideas, as always..
Lynn M

Anonymous said...

If you have a free white or off white, you can mix smaller portions of green, blue, red, etc. into white to get a tint. That way, the other ones stretch further.

Anonymous said...

Again another beautiful post. I like the chair treatment. It would even look pretty in a young girls room and especially with a nice fluffy pillow. Perhaps a post on setting up house, knowing you, even those of us with homes already established will likely find an idea or two. I look forward to more of your sewing and crafting projects. The tea on the wagon as a table was the kind of thing I meant when I asked you about whether you had made a simple desk or table. Thank you for all the inspiration you give.

Anonymous said...

For Anon. 6:14 am.... I do hear you, as our own financial situation has been rather tenuous for a number of years too. Some ideas that may help you are:

See if your recycling center has a hazardous waste disposal program. If so, there will be a good many things available for free, and paint is just the beginning. I found a can of spray glue (good for paper craft projects), stain, paste wax, & many more items.

Make friends with upgraders! And no, I don't mean it in a contrived sort of way. But there really are people who always want what is new, & sometimes this means that they will often have items lying around that they don't want anymore. For example: I knit quite a bit. Knitting is quite popular, but not at the top of the trends for crafts as it was in the past few years. So, acquaintances of mine (who like to dabble in the newest thing out there) might be looking to get rid of the yarn they amassed. I have gotten many good things this way.

Check all "Free" boxes at rummage sales. You will often find nothing that can be used for the kind of crafting you want to do, but the times that you do manage to glean some little goodie or other will make up for the misses!

Nature yields many useful items for crafting. If you live in a climate with deciduous trees, the leaves that are falling right now are prime examples!

Outgrown clothing is good to pass on to others who can use it as is, but perhaps you might find that a certain piece has possibilities if it were to be cut up & used for its fabric & buttons. The zipper too, sometimes. I have made a couple pillow covers this way (for decorative pillows), a bed pillowcase, & the lining for a purse. Smaller pieces I used for making doll clothes, & even smaller pieces can be used for quilting.

It can be so hard when money is tight...or even practically nonexistent...but it does give us the chance to be more creative with what we've got.

God's blessings to you-
Brenda

Anonymous said...

Sometimes when I want to give a new look or freshen the look without money I go shopping from room to room and find things I can use in another room such as a throw rug, a vase, a small figurine, a curtain or wall picture, etc.

When I do this it completely changes not only the room I use them for, but it changes the rooms I took them from. I have to come up with other things to fill the void in the borrowed room as well as changing the room I used the borrowed things in.

Sometimes I go outdoors and gather things from the yard or surrounding areas that may have wild grasses to collect for a centerpiece, fallen wood from a tree or wild flowers to place in a jar to add beauty for only a day or two.

Sometimes you can change rooms. Use the living room for a dining room or get the kids to change bedrooms for a while.
Sometimes soap and water is all that is needed.

Get together with some of your friends at church or in your neighborhood and have a swapmeet day at a host house or the church. Bring items you want to swap or trade for a time. Keep a list of who borrowed what and what you borrowed from others so at a designated time those items may go back to the original owner.
or
Give away what you don't want in exchange for things that someone else doesn't want.

Anonymous said...

When I lived in the city, I often walked for daily exercise in the mornings along sidewalks in different neighborhoods.
I learned to carry a bag with handles because on certain days it was refuse disposal day and things were left out at curbside to the disposal company to pick up and haul away.

I passed lots of items people were throwing away that were in great shape that I could use. I felt these items were off their property and on public land they really didn't want them. I helped myself.

If in doubt I knocked on the door and asked permission for the items. I was never refused anything. Sometimes I was warned about possible contamination, but was allowed to take anything I liked.

Some people call this dumpster diving, whatever you call it I was able to furnish my home with many delightful items for free, even furniture and appliances.

I have also left things out for my neighbors or other grateful walkers to find and take before the disposal company came. I made some pretty good friends that way also.

Lydia said...

No need to buy spraypaint for any of these projects. You can get craft paints for as low as 50c and sometimes lower, in small bottles for small projects and it works just fine.

The Lady of the House said...

So pretty, Lady Lydia! It all reminds me of my sweet mother who loves pink. Her Christmas tree is always bedecked in glittery pinks and whites. You wouldn't think it appropriate at Christmas, but just one look and you'll feel transported to a winter fairy wonderland.

I'll have to share this idea with her.

Anonymous said...

With no money to spend on crafts or decorating, I would put the word out at church that I was interested in people's leftovers. There are probably women with fabric, paint, even sewing machines who will be happy to pass them on.

Unknown said...

Wanna hear a good one? When I click on your blog I sing the words "home living is the place to be..." only it is to the tune of "Green Acres is the place to be" from the 1960's TV program. Try it, the words fit nicely. After all "Home Living is the place to be." There's no place like home!!!

Hope that makes all you readers laugh and have a happy day.

L. Rose
www.singlehomeschoolingmommas.com

Anonymous said...

I really like the basket display. Very pretty!

Mary Beth said...

I absolutely would not have thought of painting a pumpkin pink! Nor putting glitter on it. What a lovely arrangement. I love the basket on the outside. Just wonderful. And I love your blog.
:-)

Mary Beth
www.oklahomapastrycloth.com

Bek said...

Ohhh I love the quilt, the outdoor area is lovely.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the pictures of the white curtains with ball fringe. I just purchased the materials to make these for my living room this week.
Thankful for your blog!

Anonymous said...

love the "keep the fun in fundie" hahahaa
i can relate being that im labelled such a "fundie"

:):):)