Dollar Tree Wreath

I joined a FaceBook group called Dollar Tree Crafts and OMG are there some cute things I had no idea could be found at the Dollar Tree!  I rarely go to dollar stores, but I'm sure going to start!  I started with this burlap wreath.  I wanted something for the door now that Christmas is over, but I didn't want something just for Valentines Day, but wanted something colorful and non-holiday related.

I had a wire wreath form already (from Michaels), so I stopped at Dollar Tree for some burlap ribbon.  They only had these colors, blue and pink, and only one spool of the lime green.  For a $1 each, I thought I'd give it a shot.  At least it was colorful.

The wreath's I'd been seeing online must have all been made by burlap ribbon that was wider than this, because the instructions called for a rolled up curl of ribbon that was then pipe cleaner twisted onto the wreath form.  So those instructions wouldn't work for me.

I am an instant gratification kind of girl.  I hate crafts that require paint to dry, or glue to set overnight, and I didn't want to wait for another trip to the store for different ribbon.  It was one of those "make it work" moments, as Tim Gunn would say!

So without measuring, I cut roughly 6 inch strips of the dollar tree ribbon, including the green only on every other station.   I used the pipe cleaner that came already attached to the wreath form, but found it was spaced way to far apart, so I pulled one from each side and eeked out a twist in between each station.

I did the same on the back wires of the wreath form.

It still left too much open space, and so I cut strips about 7-8" in length, but then cut them in half lengthwise, and simply tied them to the wreath frame, coving some of the pipe cleaner, but mostly just to fill in until I ran out.  I used the green sparingly, so I had enough to make a bow, which I'm not sure I will keep.  I'm thinking I may add a few flowers as it gets closer to spring, but for now, I'm happy with it.  It took about an hour and $7 worth of ribbon.

New House Makeover

After finally deciding that we were ready to settle down again, we found the cutest little house in Kettering, Ohio.  Its actually a pretty big house when you get right down to cleaning it, but I just love it.  And it has a basement!  Which means I can relegate the boys and tv down to the "family room", and have my own living room space to decorate and sit in!

The house is a cape cod/bungalow style, with hardwood floors and arched doorways.  The unfortunate part is that the previous owners painted all the doors, moulding and baseboards the color of dried mud, accented with a deep army green.  

The kitchen however, is FABULOUS!

 See what I mean?  So the first order of business was to paint.  And paint.  And paint.  The color I dub "Dried Mud" takes three coats of Valspar premium white paint to cover over it!

I had chosen two different colors of gray to be the living room and dining room and hallway color.  Using those little paint chips, I deliberated for days.  Then we bought a gallon of each.  Big mistake.  The light gray I chose looked WAY too blue, and the darker gray looked almost sage green.  Stop the brushes!

At least the white was starting to look good.

Back to the paint store - found a light gray and a slate gray for the accent wall and the bottom of the walls in the dining room.  MUCH better!

Since our tv and recliners were going in the basement, I had to start from scratch on furnishing the living room.  I knew I wanted a lot of bookshelves on one wall, and while I first thought I'd have Noel build some to look like "built ins", I fell in love with a set of three book cases at Morris Furniture.  It was the last one, floor model, on clearance!  Score!

After countless hours on Pinterest and watching all the episodes of Fixer Upper, I knew I wanted a slipcovered couch.  I checked every furniture store in the area, online and Ikea, and leaving my butt prints on many couch, I kept coming back to the one at Kings Furniture.  It was just what I wanted, super comfortable, but way out of my price range.  On my third trip to visit my couch, the sales woman tried to give me a package deal with the couch and two side chairs.  No thanks.  I put my coat on to leave.  She said the owners happened to be in the store and she would check with them.  Good news, she said.  The owners were willing to give me a better price.  It was a good deal, but I really didn't want $600 chairs, even if they were marked down from $850.   So I left.  And lamented.  That same couch online was close to $2,000.  Kings was selling it for $1499.   So I took my chances that the owners were still there.  I told Noel (my husband) to stay in the car, that I may have to unbutton a few buttons to work on this deal.  SCORE!  The owners sold it to me for $1200, that included tax and delivery!  I was hoping to stay around $1000, but I LOVE this couch!

Next hunt?  Accent chairs.  I wanted cheap, comfortable and stylish.  I went to every Goodwill, scoured Craigs List, the internet and Target.  I found these at Tuesday Morning, and I love them!

$199!  SCORE!

Then to choose curtains.  Now I consider myself pretty decorating challenged, so these are hard decisions for me.  I looked at a lot of curtains.  Again, I wanted style on a budget.  These were options:

I didn't want gray, the kitchen is already gray, the walls are gray, I didn't want gray overload.  I chose some solid denim blue with a slight texture, but the boys thought it was going to be too dark.  I found some ombre beachy looking curtains at Kohls, but they hang from clips, so I would have had to put the curtain rod almost to the ceiling so they wouldn't puddle on the floor, I look I don't care for.  We put the solid blue up, and actually I love it, so I should have gone with my gut in the first place.

These were an option, but ended up not working for me

After the blue curtains were up, I realized they still looked a bit naked, so I found some sheers.  I didn't want to completely change out the curtain rods we JUST put up, so I found an "add a rod" at Bed, Bath and Beyond that hooks to your original.  It softens the window and the swirling pattern picks up some of the pattern in the chairs.

I had a lot of fun choosing what books and knick knacks to display on my shelves, and was able to take out my Hungarian figures and dolls (Both my parents are from Hungary, arriving in the U.S. in 1957).  I'm able to display some of my sea shells too (I have a sea shell addiction!).  

The old window is still an option I am considering, so its not on the wall yet.  I'm considering some of the photos I took in Alaska instead, although I'm sure Joanna Gains would say I need that old window as my "something old and architectural".  LOL

It took me another two days to decide on what photos to display and how many and what arrangement.... This is what I came up with:

As a final touch, I love trees and leaves and birds, so I bought on Etsy some vinyl birch trees and applied them to the wall in the corner...

Its still a work in progress.  Right now I am using a side table as a coffee table, and thinking of adding another bird or two on the wall.

Sanibel Shelling 101

A lot of people have asked me my secret to finding such awesome shells at the beach, so I thought I would share my methods.  Mind you, the ideal way of finding great shells involves lots of bending over and getting tossed around in waves.  I can't do that, but that doesn't stop me from my passion for beach treasures!

The beaches I most often visit are on the gulf coast, near Ft Myers, Florida.  Sanibel Island is my favorite, but there are lots of beaches in the Ft. Myers area that have great shelling opportunities.

The first thing you have to understand is that there is no ONE beach, or ONE time of the day, or ONE time of the year that is better for shelling.  The tides come in and out, the wind blows east, the wind blows west, the water temperatures and currents continually change, so you can't easily predict where the best places are to find shells.  If they were easy to find, they wouldn't be such special treasures!

I do know that the best time is right around low tide.  About an hour before the lowest tide, and for about an hour after.  You can find tide charts online, and depending on the phase of the moon, the tides are higher or lower, often going into negative numbers.  Negative tides are a great time to see varies live shells, sand dollars and star fish.  NEVER take a shell that has the live creature in it!

Now that we've got that said, you will need some basic tools and supplies.

A beach umbrella and a chair:  You will want to take a break on occasion, and have a shady spot to sit and sift through your finds.  The best way to install a beach umbrella is to use a hand shovel to dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep.  Then screw the base of your umbrella into the bottom of the hole.  Fill it back in about 1/2 way, then pour some water in the hole.  Then add the rest of the sand, tamp it down with your foot, add a little water, and mound some more sand around the base, then tamp it down with your foot.  That umbrella won't go anywhere!

A Beach Cart:  Because my friends and I have several chairs, towels, umbrellas, a cooler with water and snacks, a couple of hand shovels and a few shelling rakes, we bought a beach cart.  It's a big help!!  We bought this at Sam's Club, but I've seen them in Florida Walmarts and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Now a lot of times, especially on Sanibel beaches, you will find large piles of shells, sometimes 5 to 6 inches deep.  This is one of the least taxing ways to shell.  I purchased a small bath matt, with rubber backing and some thin memory foam.  It makes sitting on that pile MUCH more comfortable.  I use my hand shovel to dig around in the pile.  The top may be picked over by other shellers, but I find all kinds of good shells several inches down.  The sandbox sifter and kitchen colander are often helpful if you are sifting for very small shells.  Bring water and sunscreen!!

That is my friend's walker, made especially for the beach with

big balloon tires and a seat!

If you aren't finding piles of shells, its time to walk the beach.  Often there is a high tide line with varies shell pieces and sea weed.  Use your shelling rake (the black basket on a stick in the picture above) to move the seaweed around and to uncover the half buried shell pieces you find.  Often those "pieces" are nice shells buried in the sand, and seaweed often has shells caught up in the debris.

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Pick through the high tide line

This treasure was found under the sea weed

but alas, he was alive, so I put him back into the water

If you are hot and not finding many shells, try the surf.  You have to kind of train your eyes to focus on finding things that are "different".  Look for different shapes, different colors or different sizes.  That way you will find shells other than the typical bi-valve shape of clams and arks, which are the most commonly found.

Among all those white, common shells, are some treasures.  Click on the pictures to enlarge them and do some cyber-shelling to see what you find!  It pays to dig around!

If you still aren't finding anything, its time to take your hand shovel and do some digging.  Dig around in the sand between the high tide line and the surf.  Sometimes there is just a thin covering of sand over a shell pile.  Or dig at the surf line, or in one to two feet of water.  I also know several great shellers that snorkel.  Digging in the water is physically taxing, and can be a little risky, because along with the shells, there are sting rays and crabs and jelly fish that also inhabit the water.

So while its a bit like looking for a needle in a hay stack, but with some patience and time, the sea will reward you with beautiful, one of a kind shells!

This man found this shell in about 3 feet of water, feeling around

with his feet.  I had shell envy, so I got in the water and started feeling around

with my feet.  I found this big guy!

But alas, this one was still occupied, so after the photo 

opp, back in the water he went!

So once you have found the shells, you have to clean them up!  Soak them in a solution of 1/2 water, 1/2 bleach for about 30 minutes.  I've left them overnight before, so time doesn't really matter.  You just want to kill any bacteria and get the smell of decaying sea critter out of the crevices.  Often there will a barnacle or two on an otherwise perfect shell.  Using a dental pick (found at the flea market), they will pick right off.  Also, sometimes you will find that small shells have lodged themselves into the opening of a bigger shell.  Use the dental pick to get them out.

To keep them colorful and shiny, put a few drops of mineral oil on a rag and rub it all over the shell.  I've also given them a coat of Krylon clear gloss spray paint, but the die hard shell collectors advise against this.

There are lots of good books and websites you can use to identify your shells.  Happy shelling!