Let's look at the dining room decked out for spring. Super simple this year but I think that is OK as spring is a time when I think of fresh and simple seems to say fresh better than a lot of clutter. That's my way of saying I was just too tired to come up with any more ideas. Lol
I found this little bird "shard" in one of my bins. I don't think I've used it in awhile. Many years back I used "shards" for almost every holiday but they have gone on my "not so favorite" list recently. It's funny that I found the "bunny chard" and used it this year for Easter as well. I just thought the basket with the flowers needed a little something more peeking out.
From this angle, the sunroom looks like a bowling alley. This room is long and narrow...and difficult to decorate. Now that the treadmill is gone, it looks even longer and narrower...but so much cleaner! It just dawned on me that some of you may be wondering about the C.P.A. sign on the wall at the end. It hangs above the door into my husband's home office. When he retired, we took it off of the courtyard wall where it hung for many years at his "real" offices and it made him feel good to have it here.
While you're looking at this picture, make note of that really white finial on the side table. You'll see why in a minute. Does it hit your eye as harshly as it does mine?
O.K. So now we move on to the title of this post. You all know I love a project...and sometimes I have to search pretty hard to find some - at least some that I might actually want to do. I had a few little things hanging on the to-do list that I didn't get to...until today.
The first was this Easter Scherenschnitte picture. I have blogged before about how I used to be addicted to this craft. I not only made them for every holiday for myself and as gifts but I sold them locally in a craft boutique. A lot of the ones that I did were mounted on"country colored" mats because that's how my house was decorated back then and that was how a lot of people were decorating. I made this Easter wreath and it was mounted on country red ( which is more of a rust color ) and one day I just decided that I didn't like that with my current Easter theme of spring green and violet. And so, I haven't used it for a number of years.
This year, when I left it in the bin once again, I decided that when I had time I would try to get it off of the old backing and on to something I might use again. When I packed Easter away I pulled it out and left it in my craft room and there it stayed until I came across it the other day. Yay...a project. And quite a project it turned out to be because the scherenschnitte was done on a very thin parchment paper and tears very easily!! Luckily I still have some of my scrapbooking supplies and found a few drops of one of my favorite things ever hiding in an old bottle. The stuff is called "UnDo" and the last time I went to look for some, I found the company had been sold. It is used to dissolve glue but not get rid of its "stickiness". So, you could use it on stickers or postage stamps and then reuse them. You could also use it on a photo and when it dried, it did not change the image. It was truly magical stuff.
It did not work that magically on this paper but it did eventually undo it enough that I could very gently and very patiently get under the cutting with a blade and I finally got it off. Then it was just a simple matter of cutting a new mat. I am really not a fan of the frame any more either but, since the cutting is tea dyed, the brown frame kind of works and I can live with it. Now I just have to remember it next year!
And now on to these lovelies. The one on the right is the one I told you to make note of in the sunroom. I know how I have blogged before about how I am sensitive to colors. There are just some things that jog my eye and I can't seem to ignore them. That would be both of these finials - just too white. That being said, I have managed to ignore them for years but this year they just weren't cutting it. And, I was looking for projects. This was a simple one. Just a matter of grabbing some craft paints and a few minutes later, they were good to go.
This one no longer sticks out like a sore thumb on the family room mantle.
And this one fits in so much better in the sunroom. See how it now goes with the pillows and valance over the windows instead of fighting them.
Those were such simple fixes but they give me such a sense of accomplishment. Things that have been on my list forever now checked off. Yay!
The big project is a whopper and this post is already too long so I will save it for next time. Stay tuned.
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