Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween Weekend!

Yay the weekend is here.  Normally we go out for Halloween, because although we may be ALL GROWNED UP, we still like to dress-up for the festive fun.  However, this year we will be staying in and having friends over.
I found these drinks I think will be fun.  I hope they taste as yummy as they look!  Check em out.




The Sinister Cocktail:
  • Fine black sanding sugar
  • 1 lady apple, chopped
  • 1/2 lime, cut into wedges
  • 1 ounce maple syrup
  • 1 ounce apple cider
  • 2 ounces vodka
  • Ice
  • Club soda
  • 1 thin crosswise slice lady apple, for garnish

Directions

  1. Moisten the rim of a martini glass with water. Place sanding sugar in a saucer and dip rim of glass in sanding sugar to coat; set aside.
  2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle together apple cubes and lime wedges. Add syrup, cider, and vodka; fill with ice. Cover and shake until well combined. Strain into prepared martini glass; top with club soda. Garnish with apple slice and serve. ~ Pic and recipe from Martha Stewart.com
and then there is the Tropical Peach drink, 
Just swap out the peach for a slice of pumpkin or tooth pic of candy corns. Ummmm I will probably go with the candy corn!
Tropical Peach Ingredients:
  • 1 oz Grey Goose La Vanille (or vanilla flavored vodka)
  • 2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1/4 oz peach schnapps
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Garnish: peach wedge
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a peach wedge. ~ Pic and recipe from cocktailtimes.com
It's a looking like a good weekend to me!

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Thursday, October 28, 2010

DIY - Seashell Arrangement

My favorite types of DIY projects are ones that are easy enough that anyone can do them.  This is just that type of DIY project. 



Flower arrangement without the flowers + seashells = Seashell arrangement.  I love seashells and have them all over the house in different ways.  Most of the time they are just in bowls or glass jars or around the base of my plants, but that can get boring.  This is one of my favorite ways to display my shells and it's super easy to do.




First you need a bunch of small sized seashells, and a bag of wooden sticks like you use for Shish Kabobs.  Then place a wooden stick into the opening of each shell. You can use a dab of glue on the end of the sticks for a secure hold.  Once you have you shell sticks ready, fill a glass vase with sand and insert the sticks in a staggered fashion, just like you would flowers. 






Sometimes I use coffee beans and moss as well, any filler will do as long as it is heavy enough to keep the shells for falling over.




Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Thanksgiving Decorating The Staircase Step 2

In case you missed Step 1, just click here to visit, and now step 2.

The base of the staircase!  It looked a little bare.  I knew what I wanted to do but...
I didn't have another buffet table or console table that I wasn't using and happy with, in it's current location.  I had to come up with another solution for a table.   What did I do... I grabbed two nights stands from one of my guest rooms, slapped on a piece of glass, and viola a new console table.  Don't worry my guest room is not missing the tables.  I had two other tables I found at a yard sale that I repainted and was wanting to use in that room to break up all the dark wood.  I''ll post a picture of that later but now back to the base of the stairs. (Sorry I ramble sometimes)  Here is the finished product.


and a close up


Banana chips, yummy and pretty!

Here is a repurposed light fixture, sitting over a potted plant


and my warty pumpkin and other fruits on brown postal paper.


and here is what you see when you walk down the stairs,


Now complete.

So what are your decorating plans for Thanksgiving?  Have you started yet?

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Decorating With Mason Jars!

I always decorate my staircase for Christmas, and it's always one of my most favorite places to walk by (down or up) in the house.  So, this year it dawned on me... why not decorate the stairs for Thanksgiving!  Intro to the fabulous mason jar!  I found a box of mason jars in my garage a few weeks ago.   My Grandmother, who I refer to as Gram, had a vegetable garden for most all her adult life and would always can her excess veggies, some of which had ended up in my pantry.  I saved the jars of course.  I was so glad I came across them, just in time for my holiday decorating.  I used a few jars for shades on my chandelier, and the extra jars I decided to hang, going up the stairs. 



Here are a few pics of what they look like during the daytime.  I used dried flowers in some jars, with green potpourri type filler in the bottom.


I wrapped some of the jars with brown postal paper, and filled with dried flowers, and others I filled with coffee beans and tealight candles.

I also placed tealight candles on each stair.  I love the look of the stairs in the evening when I get to light the candles.  Here are a few pics when the lights go down... (sorry these pictures and kind of blurry)






I love these jars, and you can fill them with anything.  Like, fresh flowers, fruit, nuts, and combinations of the same.  You can write quotes on the brown paper, or wrap the jars with raffia, or twine, the possibilities are endless.  Ode to the mason jar!

Or... go jarless!  Just tie dried grass, wheat, or flowers to the rails with raffia.

Betters Homes and Gardens

 Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Halloween Decorating Ideas

I was saying before that I never really decorate inside for Halloween only outside. I sort of skip straight to Thanksgiving decorating for inside.  But... I was surfing the web today and came across the PoeticHome.com blog for Halloween decorations, and I was inspired!  I think it is a little late to start throwing up Halloween decorations around the house now but next year I will keep these great ideas in mind, and put Thanksgiving on hold!

Grace from PoeticHome.com used black chalkboard paint on hardback books, then hung them above her mantel.  R.I.P on the books in chalk is just genius!  She also used a repurposed architectural salvage sign to cast an eerie glow.  Love this!
Here she used black tacks to write letters on pumpkins to spell out complete words.  So clever.


You can see more of her Halloween decorations at PoeticHome

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Halloween Decorations

Halloween is almost here, so I thought I would revisit my outdoor decorations this year, one last time.  I never really talked about what I did out there.  So here goes,
Here is my poor bare door, when I started,
Then my Grim Reaper came out to play.  Oooooh spooky!  I used dead tree limbs, dirty garden stones and old pieces of wood, trying to create a sort of decrepit old cemetery feel.

Then there is my mummy and spider on the other side of the door.  Again I used some dirty garden stones, and then some broken and non-broken pottery, and dead grass.  The dead grass part takes some planning. 

And then my poor skeleton, the birds have picked him to the bone.  And then more broken pottery and dead grass, as well as dried ornamental grasses.

A tip or trick (pun intended..you know trick or treat) an easy way to make a spider web looking back drop is to use gauze that you use for a wound.  Just pull it apart all the way to a single mesh like layer.


Happy Halloween!!!

Trick or Treat???

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Fall / Thanksgiving Decorating Inspiration

I love the holiday's, all of them, they are great excuses to decorate and entertain, party, party, party!  Like Halloween Party, Thanksgiving party...well dinner, Christmas Party.  It's funny though for Halloween I always decorate outside spooky and scary, but  inside I skip straight to Thanksgiving.  I love the fall colors.  Pottery, Glass, Pumpkins, Gourds, Corn?  Yes please!

Inspiration drum roll...





Images from Pottery Barn.  One of my favs for the holidays!

So how do you like to decorate for Thanksgiving?  

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Glass Plate Tri-Level Cupcake Stand & Mason Jar Chandelier

Glass plate cupcake stands,  from glasses and plates.  Yet another thing yard sales are great for.  Really cheap glasses and plates, and you don't need a complete set.  A glass lid with no bottom...no problem!  Only 5 cents really!!! Sold.  Just a little reenactment of my yard sale experience.


Super easy, and great looking!  You need three different size plates, small, medium, and large.  And, you need three glasses, one tall, and the other two shorter.  I always use the tallest glass on the bottom, then goes the largest plate, then another glass, then the medium plate, then another glass, then the smallest plate.  You get the picture.  Use glue made for glass on the bottom of each glass before you set the plates to make the platter secure. 



I also used mason jars for lamp shades on the chandelier.  Then I hung a few strands of crystal looking beads at the bottom of the chandelier to dress it up a bit. Makes a neat look!  Seems perfect for Thanksgiving for some reason.


Then I set the glass lids upside down on top of a couple of jars and filled the lids with coffee beans and tea light candles.  Smells good and looks pretty!


Smiles!

~Renew Redo~


Friday, October 22, 2010

Fall / Thanksgiving Decorating With Paper

This year I have been playing with paper decorations for the fall season.  I made the paper leaves garland for the mantel, and now I have made larger leaves to use in other areas of the house.  They are great to stick on mirrors for just a little hint of the fall season



I also used Microsoft Word to type up a few lines of Thanksgiving oriented words, printed them out and used zigzag scissors to cut them into strips.  Then I tied them around my glasses, and candles for a festive detail.


The ball above is made out of dried yellow rose petals and a foam ball.  I told you I'd hot glue anything to a foam ball and call it pretty!!




Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

Fall / Thanksgiving Table Setting Decoration

Before,


One of my favorite things to do is decorate the dinner table.  I don't know why, I just enjoy it.  I think it's back to that instant gratification I have mentioned before.  My latest Fall / Thanksgiving table setting is,

I used the basic fall colors for my color scheme.  Yellow, green, and orange.  I layered my tablecloths.  The bottom cloth is green and then a white cloth on top.  I tied all four corners up with a yellow ribbon.  You don't see a whole lot of the green tablecloth, it mainly just hangs out from under the white cloth on the corners. Even though you can't see what I'm talking about at all in the picture above! 


I used my little settee on one side of the table for seating, and two wood backed chairs on the opposite side


I used a wicker like wood table runner down the center of the table, and then this year seems to be my year for decorating with paper, so I added a few strips of Thanksgiving oriented words, and thoughts, around the table as well. To make the strips, I used Microsoft Office Word, typed up a few lines then changed the font and size of the lines.  I used black and orange for the colors of the words, then printed them off and cut them into strips with zigzag scissors.

I used unripened oranges and pine cones in a wooden bowl in the center of the table.  I used the unripened oranges because we have a tree in the back yard, but lemons and limes would work just as well.


 I went back and added the paper strips around the glasses, and tied them with raffia.  Just a pretty little detail.  You could also put your guests names on the paper, and use them as place cards.  I used a cream colored parchment paper because it's thicker and more sturdy.



Smiles!

~Renew Redo~

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