Pandora's Box

 Pandora's box or drawer or...when looking for Halloween inspiration, I have NO lack of sources!

Halloween has always been a favorite of mine-for ALL of the reasons! And so, it makes sense that I would have an over abundance of Halloween "stuff" from crafting, scrapbooking, decorating, partying, etc. over my many years. When last we talked, I told you I was going to start the rest of the year's hangers so, after these guys which will take care of "sunflowers" and "autumn"...

...next up would be Halloween and Thanksgiving. I had trouble deciding on just what images I wanted but finally settled here:

And, of course, Halloween would be first. I was really leaning towards black for the frame. I still think it would have been beautiful but, for whatever reason, I went with the orange...maybe just to set off the small amount of orange in the image?

This is really such an easy craft. I found a piece of Tim Holtz scrapbook paper that had quadrants of different images and went with the bottom right which was almost the exact size I needed to cover the back.

The back doesn't really need to be covered but it is something I have always done and, just in case I were to move this to a different spot, the back might some day be visible so I might as well catch it while I'm here.

I'm trying to make each of these hangers just a bit different so I pulled out all sorts of things to see what I might want to use as embellishment. In the end, I distressed the edges of the frame with black ink, made a small tag and then a bow with a sheer ribbon and used a black glitter pipe cleaner twisted for the hanger.

I'm not swearing that the embellishments may not get tweaked a bit before October rolls around but, for now, I'm good with it as it is.

Well, the lights are starting to flicker and I hear some thunder so I am going to sign off before the power goes out. Next up will be Thanksgiving and I'll be back with that one soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Oops!

 When last I posted, I thought I was finished with my 4th of July tour for 2025 but, after looking back, I realized that I forgot to take you into the sunroom...let's go. We all know that I no longer over decorate the sunroom because we use this room so much and it is just an extra step to have to move things before we can function but, I do have a few things out as well as so many of my seasonal photos in the TV cabinet.

This is where this guy landed. Honestly, he would probably benefit from being a bit larger or maybe being incorporated into a wreath of some kind...I will have to remember that next year.

I love this guy that we made so many years ago. He was so simple that even though Presley was quite young when we did it, she was able to do all of the painting, etc., herself. And, she even designed her own face. Just found these and they're actually from 2014!!

I'm no longer quite as enamored by this "paint stick" star as I was back when I made it and it was all the rage on Pinterest but, there is a nail in the wood so I went ahead and hung it at the other end of the sunroom.

NOW I think we are done...unless I find another room that I forgot. Lol I have my grand Golden here with me for a few weeks so I am going to take him out and let him have some play time. He is really easy and adapts to his Nana's schedule rather quickly so we will have a fun time together. I have started looking for images to use for my Halloween "hanger" so that is probably when I will be back. I have TONS of old fencing to cut up and dispose of along with-believe it or not-STILL lots of leaves along the fence lines and all around the A/C unit. I'll get it done just about when this year's leaves begin coming down again. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

WooHoo!

 Wow!! What a weekend I had and to say that a LOT got accomplished would be a total UNDER statement! My brother and sister-in-law came down and wanted to know what was on my "to-do" list. They do this often to help me with the things that would need a bit more strength than I have and more than my two hands. Some of the things on my list required more technical knowledge than I have and they're good at that and others were things that a handyman was supposed to be here to do-more than six weeks ago and I was still waiting-and I hadn't heard another word! 

Everyone who knows me knows that I am very patient with some things. I am not aggressive and don't like confrontations so I will back off most times and just wait. But, there are some things that do tend to get to me and most of those things are things that I have to look at every day or, things that if they aren't addressed now will take much more to address at a later date.

And that is what lead us to our adventure. We had been talking about hiring their handyman-who WOULD show up-but, since they live an hour away, his fee would have to include travel both ways each time he came. And, that was beginning to sound good to me but we both did a bit of research. The thing that was needed first and foremost was to cut off the remaining fence structures after the removal of the lattice.

I was able to get all of the lattice off although it did not come off as easily as I had expected. I loved the lattice there and the fact that the fence was 8' high but, after so many years, the lattice was becoming a constant source of need for repair and, because of the way it was constructed, there were many more steps involved than just pulling it off and nailing on new. After the fence blew down and so much of the lattice and structure was destroyed, I made the decision to take it off and just go with a 6' fence. But, the 2X4 supports were up there to stay! That fence was worth every penny we spent having it built because it was built to stay and there was NO WAY I could get those things down by myself.

After careful consideration, we headed to Lowes. Since I already have 2 DeWalt batteries and a charger, it seemed like a no-brainer to pick up a reciprocating saw (which was on sale for Father's Day) and have at it ourselves. Would I have rather paid someone else to do it? Maybe. It was definitely a chore and the battery only held a charge long enough to cut two 4X4s at a time but, everything from the gate north is done, I now own a saw that I will use for many other things and, we had some laughs along the way.

My brother and sister-in-law are my heroes! They did it all with me mostly just giving encouragement and picking up the pieces as we went. Luckily, we are able to get behind the fence so that made it just a slight bit easier. They also helped me add an extra piece to the new gate to fill in a HUGE gap left by the fence company.

All of the rest of the lattice going south from the gate will eventually need to be removed as well but that will be a HUGE project as most of that lattice is still pretty much intact. I think for now I will just replace a few sections of that broken farther down and address this project down the road. Most would think that having lattice stop so abruptly would bother me-even I am surprised that it doesn't but, for some reason, stopping at the gate seems to be OK with me-at least for now Lol

Even with all of the work that got done-and there was more than just this-we did get to enjoy a nice dinner out and then a movie back at home that evening.

And so, that brings me to today. My plan had been to go out behind my fence and clear a bit more of the growth encroaching on the back of the fence. I got some done yesterday afternoon and was really proud of myself until I woke up today with lots of itchy welts on my hands and arms. It is not the usual poison oak that I seem to get into but, whatever it is, is driving me crazy so I decided that I would leave that for another day. I did get some of the fence fragments in a can and out for pick-up tomorrow as well as four cans of leaves and trimmings and now I am DONE outside for today. And again, that brings me here.

I thought I would finish up the 4th tour because I think I have found my craft inspiration for the next few weeks. My brother and sister-in-law brought me some more of those fancy frames from $Tree so I think I am going to try to get all of the rest of my hangers made for the holidays yet to come.

On to the the guest bath.

And the nod in the primary bath.

So that is it for 4th of July 2025. I'm already over the red, white and blue so I was tempted to make this swap a bit early but, it looks like I might be having some company for a few days over the holiday and we will be celebrating in some way-possibly at my house-so, I guess I will wait until they leave on the 5th. You'll be the first to know. Lol

My grand daughter is driving up my grand dog tomorrow and he will be here with me for awhile. He is easy to take care of but having a dog here 24/7 does change my routine a bit so I'm not totally sure what the next few weeks will bring but I'll be sure to let you know. Stay safe and stay tuned.

It's All About Family!

 It is another scorcher here today but, thankfully, we are expecting some rain relief this afternoon...fingers crossed that happens. While I'm still inside, why don't we head into the family room?

I'm still loving the Statue of Liberty watercolor that I did a few years back. I saw the inspiration on Pinterest but, since I am in no way proficient in watercolor, I kind of cheated. Well, I kind of HAD to cheat because I really had no idea how to achieve this picture by just painting. I found a Statue of Liberty image, sized it and printed it out. Then I cut it out of clear Contact paper and put it down on my water color  paper. Here you can see my inspiration and the size of the statue image that I used.

I then just kind of "dropped" red and blue watercolor paint around and over the "mask". I also hit it up with drops of water. Once it dried, I peeled off the Contact paper and I had this.

The shelves got changed a bit as I added some things from other areas and one of my new blue Luminara candles and the Lady Liberty image that I zhuzhed up and framed.

I really struggled with the mantle this year. I so wanted to keep the greenery garland that was there but I also wanted the glow of the lights and these red, white and blue lights just fought with the green. In the end, I went back to my old tried and true which is two pip berry garlands with the strands of light mixed in. It gets harder and harder to work with those pip berries and tangle of light wires every year and it is truly just hanging on by a thread so next year I will either have to do a major "remake" of those garlands or give up the star lights...we shall see.

I still love my Uncle Sam that I got in my favorite shop in Micanopy (on the right along with his "brother" who is in the living room) and the other one that I made from a spindle from Lowes (along with his "brother" who is also in the living room).

I must admit that I am still not a big fan of the primitive Uncle Sam "doll" that I made last year. If I remember correctly, I wanted something to do that would take awhile and I saw so many primitive Uncle Sams on posts that I thought I would give it a try. I didn't have a pattern so making one-which is definitely NOT my forte-and then making the doll and the clothes did take awhile and kept my busy for sure but, I am just not a fan.

I will say that I post my monthly decor on a craft website and this guy gets so many "likes" and comments that I guess maybe I am in the minority-or, there are just a lot of doll lovers out there. Lol I DO like the box that I made that he is sitting on though.

This wreath that daughter #3 made me many years ago also gets lots of likes and comments. It makes me sad to think that those sweet little hand prints now belong to a junior at the Coast Guard Academy and a junior and senior in high school! Where do the years go?

So that is the family room for this year. I'll have to remember to take a picture when it gets dark and the room is just lit with the lights on the mantle and the candles. It is so pretty and relaxing. I'll need that to remind myself how pretty and peaceful it is when I am struggling with those pip berry garlands again next year. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.