Hunter Gatherer #8

I can't believe Christmas is in 2 days.

Hubby is home  in 23 days. 

Yep a lot of count downs around here. 

I hope your Christmas Season is everything you dreamt of.

I don't have any finds to share with you, but I'm hoping to have some after the Holidays.  Please enjoy the party and spread the word!

PARTY TIME!  NO RULES!! 1.  I would love it if you became a FRIEND of my blog, it'll make it easier for you to find the party.
2.  If you would like, you can link back to the party, I have a button for this too, but don't sweat it.   3.  Please link as much of anything you want, no limit.  Etsy shops and Give Aways too!   4.  Stop by and 'LIKE' Type A on Facebook too, I do GIVE AWAYS and fun stuff over there that I don't do here.    Party On my Peeps!

I'll be at Three Manog Seeds if you need me!

I hope you are enjoying the Holiday Season.  I just wanted to let you know that I'll be spending the day at Three Mango Seeds, please stop by and say "HI!"

The DIY Showoff, 2 Days 'Til Christmas!!!

Hi Type A blog friends! I'm Roeshel from

 If we haven't met, it's so nice to e-meet you! I share the transformation of our old farmhouse and love featuring other DIY bloggers.  And if we have met ~ it's good to see you! I am so honored to be guest posting for Tammy today. She's such a sweetheart and has some amazing crafty ideas, doesn't she?  Today, I'm sharing my wood chip tree tutorial. 

Materials.  I used:

• 2 Styrofoam Cones, two different sizes
• Hot Glue
• Wood Chips (Grilling)
• PVC pipe fittings, 2 different sizes 
• Spray paint for plastic (or acrylic paint)
• Paint, stain or dye (optional)
• Small Star (holiday pick from craft store)

How to:



1. I gave the PVC pipe fittings a spray of sparkly brown paint and let dry. These are the tree trunks. I chose pipe fittings a little smaller than the bottom of the styrofoam cones.

2. Next, I attached pipe fittings (tree trunks) to the bottom of the styrofoam cones using hot glue.

3. Using hot glue, I started at the bottom, glueing wood chips around the Styrofoam cone. I overlapped each row and staggered them a little when needed to fill in the gaps.

4. Continue working upwards in layers.  Find the right pieces is like putting together a puzzle. I liked using pieces with bark for texture.

5. Optional:  paint or stain the wood chips and let dry. 

6. Add star to top by poking wire into Styrofoam or secure with hot glue. Embellish if desired.

My inspiration was the West Elm seagrass tree (Tammy and I both fell in love with those but not the price) but due to a shortage of sea grass in western PA, mine turned out different but not in a bad way...(I LOVE the ones Revamp shared earlier here in the week using popcycle sticks! So clever!)

I love natural this year...

Thanks for letting me share my holiday project, Tammy!  Merry Christmas everyone!

~Roeshel

The Bella Cottage Give Away WINNER

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

KARIN from Art is Beauty!!!  Congrats on winning these gorgeous wings from The Bella Cottage!

Thanks to everyone that entered, and to The Bella Cottage for supplying the Prize!!!

Decorating Cents, 3 Days 'Til Christmas!!!

Hi, I'm Andrea and I blog at Decorating Cents.  It's a blog where I chronicle my home decorating adventures and share my DIY projects. 

It's an honor to be participating in the 25 Days of Christmas with Tammy. Today I am going to share some easy paper trees.

 Supplies used:

Scrapbook Paper

Scissors

Glue

1. Cut a square of scrapbook paper and fold in half.  Cut a tree shape.
2. Trace the shape four more times.
3. Cut out your trees.
4. Glue backs of the trees together.

A simple way to decorate for the holidays.

I would love for you to drop by Decorating Cents to see of my other home decor projects.

Thanks for having me Tammy.  This has been fun.  Happy Holidays!

Mural Maker & More, 4 Days 'Til Christmas!!!!

Hello! I’m Colleen from Mural Maker & More where I write about my murals and a whole lot more – more paint tutorials, more crafts, more decorating ideas. Basically, anything that involves decorating with paint.

So let me ask you - has this ever happened to you:

Hubs: Hey Hon, did I tell you that we’re invited to KC’s (insert any good friend’s name) for Christmas Eve?

Me: Uh . . . no, you didn’t.

Hubs: Yeah, we are. You have something ‘round here we can bring as a gift, dontcha?

Me: Um. . . no, I don’t think so.

Hubs: Huh. You don’t? Well, you can whip something up by then, can’t ya?

Welcome to my world of last-minute-Christmas-gifts. I needed something fast, easy, that didn’t require much thought. But, in the end, would look like I spent forever on it. They are, after all, our best friends .

I looked around and spotted some new-to-me wine goblets. I always pick some up when I go to the thrift store for this very reason – they make great gifts.



Here are the other supplies I used to stencil them:

• Rubbing alcohol – to clean the goblets
• Nail polish remover – to remove any labels
• Martha Stewart Crafts adhesive Holiday Stencils
• Martha Stewart Metallic Yellow Gold paint
• Martha Stewart Mother of Pearl paint
• small foam round dauber
• paper towels
• cotton swabs (to remove booboo’s)
• scissors

You can use any paint you want but I chose Martha Stewart because it’s a multi-surface paint and doesn’t require a medium or sealer. I used her stencils because they are small and have an adhesive backing which makes them perfect for stenciling round objects, like wine glasses.



Ok, did I mention this was easy? It is. Clean the glasses, remove any labels and cut desired stencils from sheet.

I chose a couple of snowflakes and some tiny little stars.

I mean, Christmas is in a few days so why give them a Christmas-decorated goblet that they’ll only use for a day or two. Snowflakes and stars can be used for another month or so. In my house, anyway.



I only wanted the star part of the stencil but I didn’t want to cut the “Merry Christmas” lettering off since I’ll probably use it next year. Then I just dabbed the foam pouncer into the Yellow Gold and onto the stencil. Easy Peasy.

Remove the stencil, place it onto the plastic backing and blot the excess paint off. Then reapply to another spot and add some more stars.

Then I just turned the foam pouncer around to the other end and dabbed Mother of Pearl – a really pretty white pearl paint – here and there on the snowflake stencils.

A couple of tips on these adhesive stencils and Martha Stewart paint:

They’re flexible and bend really easy, so I press on the center part of the stencil first – where the intricate parts are – and work my way to the outside. I used a paper towel to press it to the glass so I didn’t get *more* paint on my fingers.

Don’t apply stencils too close to the lip of the goblet. The paint is nontoxic but you still don’t want it near the drinking sipping area.

When you’re finished stenciling, moisten a cotton swab (or two) and remove any excess paint from your glasses.

Wash the stencil, dry thoroughly and then affix it to the plastic backing and you’ll be able to reuse it over and over again.

The paint will cure permanently in 21 days, then the glasses are top-rack dishwasher-safe. But I think I’d still wash them by hand, just in case.

To keep it simple, I stenciled some stars and snowflakes on the bases too.





And there you go – a quick and easy Last Minute Gift! Not that your husband would pull a last minute invite, you know, but just in case he does, now you can whip up a handpainted present.

Thanks so much to Tammy for inviting me to guest at her 25 Days of Christmas! I hope you’ll drop by Mural Maker & More sometime and say hi!

Have a warm, wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Anything Goes #48, Highlights #47

The Bella Cottage GIVE AWAY!!!

Sorry about the late start with the party, I just wanted the Christmas Guest to have the spotlight this morning, but now it's Party Time!  I hope all of you are having a wonderful Holiday Season.  I have to admit I'm a little stressed, can't wait for Beefcake to be home in January!!!

Okay, on to the fun stuff, last weeks Highlights. 

Artsy VaVa

Art is Beauty

Confessions of a Craigslist Junkie

The Salvage Collection

On Hollyhock Farm

I know it's a busy time of year, I just want to say Thank you for partying with me!

PARTY TIME!  NO RULES!!
1.  I would love it if you became a FRIEND of my blog, it'll make it easier for you to find the party.

2.  If you would like, you can link back to the party, I have a button for this too, but don't sweat it if you don't. 

3.  Please link as much of anything you want, no limit.  Etsy shops and Give Aways too! 

I have my Facebook page up and running now too if you would like to pop over to my side bar and like me on Facebook that would be wonderful!!

 Party On!!!

Merry Christmas :)