New Front Door! And New Colors!

I absolutely loved our original wood front door. It was pretty and let light in without giving up too much privacy. But our beloved Angus destroyed it due to his absolute hatred for our mailman. Sadly, Angus died about a year ago, but that meant that we could get our new door that we needed desperately.  We had it installed by a contractor who worked on our addition - we loved his finish work so we knew he was the right one for the job.

Handy Hubby then did a bunch of coats of paint on the front - we ended up with Sherwin Williams Loyal Blue (after a brief stint with SW Bosphorous which I did not like at all).  And here she is looking all pretty for fall. I love how the orange and gold pop against the blue. So pretty!

But on the inside, I decided to jump on the painted door train. Wow. I'm glad I did!

It's the perfect way to introduce a bit more gray into our living room.  The color is Sherwin Williams Serious Gray (which we also used in my son's room). Also, that entry rug is from HomeGoods! 

Hardware Paint Removal

We have been doing some work on our front door… well, we got a new front door a few months ago.  Our previous door was destroyed by our poor dog who died last summer.  We had the new door installed on the original hinges because they are solid and probably are better than anything we could buy for a reasonable price.

But, we never removed the paint on the hinges and they looked really bad.  So, I took the opportunity to try to clean them up when Handy Hubby took the door off the hinges to paint it a few weeks ago.

 

I read about boiling the paint off hinges so decided to give it a shot.  I didn't have an old pot so I used an aluminum pan.  I decided to use the straight water method although I should have tried the baking soda method as well.

Here's how they looked after a couple of hours of simmering.  The paint didn't exactly roll off but they did get a lot smoother. 

So, I decided to grab a can of hammered metal spray paint because I didn't have anything to lose.  And they looked pretty nice!

More to come about the door...

Christmas Grapevine Wreath

I had grown a little tired of our Christmas wreath - your basic evergreen with a ribbon and some red sparkly berry sticks.  I can't even find a good picture of it on my door!  In any case, not memorable!

I wanted to make a new grapevine wreath but for the holidays.  I love grapevine wreaths because they are a great base for so many things.  Here's what I ended up with after a little fiddling around and a consultation from my mom (master wreath maker) who was visiting.

Here was my total cost:

• Grapevine Wreath - $2.50 (50% off at Michael's)
• Bead garland - $4.50 (30% off at Michael's)
• Berry sprays - $7.00 (50% off at Michael's)
• Ribbon - $4.00 (60% off at Michael's)

                 Total $18.00 

For less than $20, I have a new wreath that looks different than any other on our street.  The other great thing about grapevines is that you can change out the components easily which I love.  

Here's a picture of our monumental snowfall yesterday...  Not so monumental but still messy and a great reason to stay home.

Be sure to check out my yummy and sooo easy slow cooker chicken stew recipe on my Facebook page.

Winter Wreath

Winter is a daunting decorating task for me. I really like Valentine's Day (especially now that we have kids), but the other aspects of winter don't really call to me. So, what to do with the door. I pinned some door decor ideas on Pinterest (see that here). The greens and whites seem to speak to me.  I started searching high and low for a wreath that fit the bill but of course the stores all have spring and Easter wreaths out (it's January people!!!). Nothing just green. So, I was determined to make something. I always have a grapevine wreath ready for customizing in the attic. I went to Michael's expecting to pick up a bunch of sprigs but found nothing that fit the bill, or they were $4.99 per stem. No thanks.  Finally, I wandered into the garland section. Aha! Lots of green. Grabbed a pussy willow stem for some white and was on my way.

About 10 minutes after I got home, I put together this wreath.

I won't insult your intelligence with a tutorial. Just wrap the garland around and tuck in the ends. Voila.

Happy Tuesday!

Wreath Re-Hanging

I revealed my front stoop on Wednesday but it really bugged me that it was hard to see the wreath. This has always been a problem - especially since we added the roof over the porch which makes more of a shadow and reflection over the door.

I "had" to go to the Container Store for some Elfa pieces and I found this.

So cool - 2 strong magnets that hold through glass. No nails, glue, wire, etc.

I love the sun on our house late in the afternoon.

Here's a close-up of how it works.

Wish I had thought of this!

Linking to: Southern Hospitality, Between Naps on the Porch

Spring Wreath and SPRING DECOR LINK-UP PARTY!

When I held Kim's shower at my house a few weeks ago, I decided to get a jump start on a spring wreath which could do double-duty for the shower and for early spring.

Here's what I started with: $5 grapevine wreath from A.C. Moore; 5 pink silk roses ($1 each special at A.C. Moore); fishing line; and ribbon.

I started by sliding the roses into the grapevine wreath, one at a time and staggering them so they look like they are growing up the side of the wreath (sort of).

I trimmed the ends of the silk flowers.

I added some ribbon - toile to match the shower theme, but with some pink wired ribbon under it to keep it from being limp.

Now, it's your turn. Link up your spring decor ideas - crafts, floral arrangements, mantels, vignettes, etc.

p.s. Congrats to Katie on winning last week's giveaway! More details here.