DIY Showoff Rules!

So I won the "Earthly Essentials Giveaway" on The DIY Showoff blog!! Yay, free crafting supplies!!!
I entered a few of my projects using natural materials such as burlap, linen, jute, and rope. I won with my Purse entry just by luck of the # draw.



Oh I cannot wait for the goodie bag, and the crafting that will come of it....

Tablecloth or Runner?

It's really not quite either is it? But I still love it!
Mostly because its burlap and I have an obsession...


While returning a rug at Pottery Barn last week I saw these wide burlap table runners on display and also for sale in store, but unfortunately not on their website, so I can't share my inspiration. They were $39.00. They layered faux fishing nets on top and all sorts of nautical decor, think starfish. Of course it was an outdoor table dream come true. So I thought...I have an extra bit of burlap and I could throw that on top of my outside table!
So I did, and its not exactly wide enough for a tablecloth and a little too wide for a runner, but who makes the rules anyway? I think it looks good, and for something I picked up at the hardware store for another project, (seen here) I think it is just right. I might add a few new decor items on top if I find some while hunting at garage sales this spring.

Decor obsession?

I may or may not have a little thing for Burlap. You may remember our Holiday decor from our first Christmas in our home last year. I bought a large artificial wreath and garland that I decorated with fresh greens and silver bows.
Well this year it's all about Burlap. I made a Burlap tree skirt in January of this year, that I plan to add some "flare" to, so as soon as we get our tree I'll post pic's.

This is the "new" (Craigslist) entry table with the garland I used last year to make a mantel for our fireplace. Since the fireplace is still under construction.... I am using it here. Its the first thing you see in our home so I find it to be the best place to decorate for the seasons.


I added a large burlap bow, and pine cones from down the street, & some fresh cut juniper for fragrance.


Here it is with the lights on!


Our wreath with a new look, a much better sized bow than last year, I think.


I haven't gotten around to cooking my pumpkins yet, so here is one sneaking into December with a bit of red and green to camo it in. These red berries are Pyracantha, and I was going to use them inside but feared they might be poisonous, so with Baxter I didn't want to chance it. I googled them and they are not, so for now they are outside, but they might make their way indoors.



Here is our old entry way table with a pine display. A tall glass vase filled with pine cones and branches, and my favorite trifle dish filled with glittered pine cones. That little sachet bag is filled with ground fir needles and it smells like a little bag of Christmas, its just heavenly.

Hot Glue & Wine Barrels

Although I am eager to decorate the house with Christmas cheer, I am a firm believer of waiting until after Thanksgiving to decorate. That doesn't mean I can craft!
Have you ever heard of a pine cone top? I don't think anyone has, I tried googling it and found nothing on them. Down our street there are some large pine trees that had sprouted bright green pine cones this spring. We walked the dog by daily watching them grow and change over the months. Then one day after they had turned brown and opened up, the tops were popping off, and laying all over the street. They look like little wood roses, and I had to do something with them. We started collecting the pine cone tops 2 months ago, aren't they cool?


I got this grapevine wreath at the craft store.


And these are all the pine cone tops that we collected down the road.


I simply hot glued them on easy peasy.


Then finished off the wreath with a large burlap bow wired on, I made it out of a roll of burlap garland that I picked up at Michael's.



Another quick project that has needed some addressing for a while was our coat rack. This was it this morning. It's was a cheap buy that we picked up years ago. Kind of small, blah and the hooks were really close together.
As you can see I hang my giant purse on the hooks and it takes a lot of space.


We quickly put this together out of a piece of a wine barrel that our next door neighbors gave us, they have plenty, and some hooks from the hardware store.


Much better looking and less cluttered, just like that!

Little Finishes Outside

We spent most of this beautiful September Saturday outdoors. After a great walk this morning with Baxter to go feed the ducks, we headed into town to pick up supplies for the day.
Rory had ordered lots of parts at the auto supply for the Bronco that will hopefully help get it running again soon. We then took a trip or two, or three to the hardware store for the rest of things we needed for the day.
I picked up a roll of burlap and some velcro to improve the look of this cool old metal work desk that I've been using as a planting table and storage for our garden tools.
Here it is with all of my junk under it.


This ruffly (but manly) burlap skirt hides all that mess. I sewed it with a large heavy hem to add weight to the skirt to keep it down. I attached it with a peel and stick velcro to the bottom of the drawer. Having the seam in the center was a must for grabbing supplies with ease.
I picked up this great big orange begonia while at the hardware store and potted it into a bright pot, from Mexico. The blue piggy was a gift from Rory last Christmas.


Rory rewired and hooked up these two flood lights under our Oak tree in the front yard. We have been wanting to light up the tree since we bought the house, but its been on the bottom of the list. We are really excited to see it, but its not quite dark enough yet, I'll update this post once we can get a good shot!



Here we have one giant Oak lit up in the night. I couldn't really get a great shot with my tiny point and shoot camera and I could have really used a tripod. You can see the moon peeking through the branches.

Look what's new in our home

Thanks to Domestic Ease and their great giveaway of $500 worth of gift cards for Pottery Barn.
We now have two of these beautiful and large bed side lamps in our master bedroom. The color goes perfectly with the cedar green linen pillows that I made months ago, and the size just fits the space.
They are the Brookshire Ceramic table lamps with the large burlap shade instead of the linen one that comes with and shown advertised. I think I fell in love with the shade when seeing these gorgeous mercury glass lamps with them on. The ceramic style goes with our decor, and I know I could have never talked Rory into anything silver, so these were a easy and great choice for us both.


Here is the before shot with the thrift store lamps I picked up when we first moved in.



Thanks again to all at Domestic Ease for being so generous and best of all having a fabulous website!



I spent the rest of the winnings on some great new kitchen items I posted about here.

Burlap Headboard

Our Guest room has been a bit neglected over the last few months as we have been busy doing other renovations. The the mattress in there is quite comfortable but to make the room even more inviting I made this padded headboard. It is diamond tufted and upholstered in burlap. I followed the tutorial on Apartment Therapy.

And I used this as my inspiration.

Velvet & Linen

The room still needs a lot, some paintings and pictures hung, and a bit of decor.





Baxter my little helper here jumped up to give me a hand, as usual.


Super easy and we love it!