Winter Manter 2014

  Is is best to start with a clean slate 

when changing your mantel decoration?

 Well, I did, but I sure struggled with this one. 

After Christmas decorations come down, I enjoy putting up this vintage picture of  "Making Apple Cider" ... but our mantel needs lighting for anything to show up. 

 

  

Mr. Z. drilled three holes in a 2x4 where we inserted small night lights and three larger holes where we sat three vintage glass lamp shades. 

This added enough light to shine on the painting. 

 

With the basket in front of the electric plug made it very difficult to reach the plug to turn the lights on and off.

This remote control that I bought at Lowe's for Christmas lighting was just what we needed. I bought a second one for the floor lamp and lights behind the stained glass windows. One remote will control both plugs. 

(oops ... looks like the mantel is not so clean)

The Hearth ...

 

... checker boards were left over from Christmas, so just left them sitting there.  The gray round is a beautiful wooden lid from a large food storage or shipping barrel.

 

Area right of the fireplace ... you can see the other remote that works the lights in that corner.

Favorite crocks ... and stone-look bird. Love how this old crackled yellow crock brings out the yellow in the picture. 

 

Three burlap birds nestled in an antler horn ...

Birds of a feather, flock together. 
Purchased from a friend at her Christmas show.

Hope you enjoyed seeing our Winter mantel. 

Thanks for visiting ... hope you will let me know your were here.

Thanks for your comment. I you have trouble completing your comment, please let me know so I can try to fix it.

Blessings,

Just had to show you a close-up picture of this bird.

He has a clip on the bottom that I attached to this large 

birdcage.

Linking to:

Revisionary Life Thrifty-Life-Thursday

Fluster Buster creative-muster-linky-party.

 

Angie @ Knick of Time Tuesday

Coastal Charm .... Nifty-Thrifty-Tuesday

Painter's Drop Cloth Drapes...Stamped Branding Irons

 

Saturday projects for my daughter and I have been working on drapes for the hunter's/guest lodge section of the ranch house which is over the garage. They are week-end ranchers and travel about 500 miles each week-end to take care of the house and ranch chores; so Saturday is the only day we could work on drapes. With all the other chores, we did good to get four panels done each week.

They have quarter horses and raise exotics.  We live about about one hour away. This part of the house has two bedrooms, a bath and a "great-room". It is decorated with Western/Ranch and Mr. Scott loves the old actors from the Western movies.
We are using painter's drop cloths for the drapes and decorated each panel with ranch brands ... or other "brands" that we created. Circle 6 ... we used an old bed spring for the circle and the 6 branding iron. This is a combination of the three, one and zero branding irons.     Just used a regular horseshoe for this brand. This Y in a square is a brand registered to Scott's great grandfather which we believe is Fork Creek Ranch. We cut a stencil for it. They have a Rockin' W branding iron, decorative only, not used for branding. This is the Ranch name. We added the  S, K and J to the brand.  
A small S for Scott (husband) and J for Justin (son) K for Kathie (Mom) ... and numbers ... don't know what the numbers represent.

We put a shallow layer of just regular house trim paint in a recycled aluminum pan and dipped the branding irons in the paint and then stamped them on the painter's drop cloth panels.  Some brands was made with a stencil. We also used black on some of the brands, just using regular craft paint.


There are six windows in the "great-room" that get a lot of  West sun. 
Look up ... the ceiling is done with recycled rusty tin roofing material.
 
Drapes are hung with a tension rod and fit inside the windows so they can be lowered half-way or removed when not needed for blocking the sun. My daughter draped a large bandana over the rod for a valance. Looks really good.

This has been a fun project ... learning as we go.
She is happy with the results and that is important. 

Thanks for visiting ... hope you are inspired to try painter's drop cloths for drapes. 

I made some Drop Cloth Drapes last year and so very happy with them. View here. 

Blessings,
Audrey Z. 

     Inspired:

This is an email I received from Pat at Corn in my Coffee Pot

Hope you will pay her a visit.

She had already made a comment on the curtains, so I got permission from her to post this email that I received from her.

Pat saying:
Oh yes! I loved your curtains. I'm thinking of all the transfers you could do on them. Not just branding irons. You could use different sized round objects for a variation on a circle or bubble theme. You could use shoe prints for a sports themed room. Track or running shoes just across the top edge, you could use a little car and roll a wheeled pattern for a boys room with trucks... Or! a real tire that has been rolled through paint for a bigger effect.

The ideas are limitless!

I pinned this idea. Thank you for sharing them ! Pat

My reply:  

Oh WOW Pat ... these curtains really turned on your ‘inspiration button’ ... love all your ideas and all sound exciting, especially the track shoes and real car tire. What a great idea for someone into car racing. 

What has 'turned-on" your creative button lately? 

 

Linking to: Savvy Southern Style


Debbidoo's Newbie Graduate Party
Funky Junk Interiors unique window treatments.

Barbwire trim on re-purposed Toolbox Tote.Ugly to pretty

I hope you saw this blog ...  Tool Box Tote Trays and STUFF. Fab Finds $14.00  of my fabulous 'picks' that I bought for $14.00. If not, you can go to the link above.

I love the old time-worn wooden toolbox totes ... what a story they could tell.

 

This gray one is my favorite but it is big and heavy. It is 32½" long ... 8½" wide. There is a little compartment in the back where two saws would have been kept. 
This is a carpenters tool box.

Can you imagine carrying this around full of tools?

I cleaned away all the gunk, washed it really good and sanded it to show more ware and get rid of the stains.

 
Then I applied a thin coat of light brown BRIWAX. Never used this before, but I really love it. This brought out the glow of the bare wood and brightened the gray color. May have a little blue in the gray ... maybe a French gray. Looks rich now. 
 

I had two really neat antique pieces of barbwire and this "key-like-cotter-key-chained-together-thingy" that I thought would look good on it.

  

Ugly, mean looking Barb ... OUCH

Here is the make-over. 
 
I attached the wire with the three, big SHARP barbs to what I decided was the front because I wanted the slotted saw compartment in the back for standing stuff like platters or books.

The rather plain, simple piece of twisted wire with very sharp barbs would go on the back.

 

 That piece looked a little lost all by itself, so I moved it to one side, added the key chain thingy and the rusty iron star.

Wow, this turned out good and needed to be on the front ... but way too late because I had nailed big staples in to hold everything in place, so no changing anything now. Just go with it. 

My daughter has dishes at her ranch house that are decorated with Western scenes and barbwire ... so I got the bright idea to clean up and decorate this tote for her to use as a centerpiece this Fall.

 Well; now have decided it is way too big for a table centerpiece. 

Regardless of size, or how or who will use it, I was happy with the decorations and I will find a place for it.

I simply added some Texas Whitetail deer antlers and an old clock face. Too much stuff distracted.

I think it turned out pretty nice and I will enjoy decorating with it, that is if my daughter does not borrow it. 

I am sure you could not miss the ORANGE tote in the first picture ...

But look at me now ........... 

Tutorial coming up soon about the Tote and that beautiful lace tablecloth in the background.

Thanks for the visit. I love your comments. 

Blessings,

Audrey Z. 

Linking to: 

The Dedicated House

Knick of Time Tuesday

From My Front Porch to Yours

Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

I Gotta Create