Are Owls Still Hot?

I have no idea if owls are still hot or not, but in unpacking some boxes of junk treasures that've been waiting for my office to be done, this collection presented itself. 

An Ikea Ribba frame, an old Latin dictionary, and a baby owl trivet.

There was a spot on the shelves in the living room that needed something, and this fit perfectly!

from across the living room, the thread really isn't noticeable

I now pronounce my shelves perfect! 

And now that you've seen my perfect shelves, here's a sneak peek of something that's taking a lot of my time these days...

Before...

...After?

New Year, New Blog

It's a new year, did you notice? Some days I don't know what day it is, much less what year.

With this new year come resolutions. Like lose weight, make a budget, GET. SOMETHING. RENOVATED. It would appear that getting my house updated and working on my blog are mutually exclusive. Which is a bit of a bummer.

Here are my thoughts about what's to become of my blog:

No more posts about what's going on (or not going on as is the case currently) in the renovation process. WHAT?? No more updates? Wasn't this blog turning into a blog about renovations on my 1966 house??

Let me explain. I started this blog almost 2 years ago as a way of redefining my new life outside of the corporate world, exploring my creative side. Lots of creativity has happened, many projects have been started...with some finished, and I've found a whole new world to explore via style blogs, Pinterest and Houzz.

For those of you that love pictures, here are some of my favorite projects from 2012 are:

Gallery Wall

Pipe Shelving with Bench and Chalkboard Door

Silver Dusted Side Table

Board and Batten Dining Room

Mid-Century Atomic Side Table

Mid-Century Dresser

Penny Table

With all the ideas out there comes Inspiration Overload. It's been a ton of fun refinishing furniture, building stuff, making jewelry, painting stuff...but not much of the home renovations are getting done. 

AND...here's the rub: DIY isn't really my thing. I do little projects and will continue to switch out plugs, paint furniture, etc. but the big stuff like demo and moving walls, new plumbing, new windows, and all that jazz is best left to someone who will do it properly. When I was a single mom, I put in a new kitchen with the help of my dad...and wonder if it's still standing or if the couple who bought that house still curse me for it.

Very long story short, (yes, I'm a rambler and a lover of tangents but if you wait for it, a point will eventually get made...) this house needs some serious work and we are working this year on getting some real renovations. I had thought that my blog would be a journal of sort to show off the renovations, but now I'm not so sure. 

For me, blogging about projects is fun; blogging about my personal life is more like being on a reality show. Throwing my life out there for the world even a few people to read is too intrusive for me. Way to buck the trend, right? Keeping my personal life to my friends and family?? But it's right for me and for my blog. 

So, I may throw in a pic or two of the house as things get done but the blog will be more about things that interest me and hopefully you.

Ok. Hope I haven't lost you with this long-winded post. Happy New Year to all of you and may this year bring lots of good things to all!

Jingle Bell Junk Swap

Yesterday, I told you about the Jingle Bell Junk Swap and my vintage item came from Abbie, the genius behind Five Days...5 Ways



 Here's what I started with:

And here's what I came up with:

See it in the center of the wreath? 

Taking off the candle holders and stringing it in the wreath gave me just the little touch of brass I needed...and with a few more accents and a string of twinkle lights, it's just right for the corner of my newly board and battened dining room.

Vintage brass bells, a gold ribbon, and a gold-toned cherub finished the look.

Honestly, I sat and stared at this thing for weeks and just couldn't see Christmas in it. There was always the option of paint and glitter, or making it into a Christmas tree as my husband suggested, but none of those options seemed right. So I'm cheating a little bit and using just the brass parts as an accent and not using the glass candle holders at all. But most importantly...I like it and this little vignette makes me happy.

Oh, and what's that table you ask? It's another fun project I came up with that used up a ton of pennies, some scrap wood and an unloved sewing machine base.

 The copper and brass accents work so nicely with this wall color. In fact, you might be seeing the start of a theme...

This is a tough room to photograph, even with a sunny day. But the color is a beautiful neutral taupe color. Totally different than what I had planned on using in this room, but sometimes plans have to change, right?

Here's my before of the table base:

Dirty, greasy, with a contact paper-covered plywood top...well, my husband couldn't see why loaded it in the moving van.

But with a little cleaning and some scraps of 1x2 wood, paint and pennies, and a little styling...

These screw heads are supposed to stick out - I like the look of them exposed.

The pennies aren't resined in or glued down or anything...why go through the trouble? They don't move around and this leaves me with options. And options are good.

My husband loves the penny table and I love how it works in this corner. 

And that's my contribution to the Jingle Bell Junk Swap. Now go see what the other contributors to this fun event came up with (and tell them I sent you!)

Happy Holidays!