Advent Calendar - Red and Aqua Combo

Just finished my Advent Calendar!! Just in time!! 

Let the countdown begin!

And here is my Red and Aqua Holiday Wreath!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Red and Aqua Holiday Wreath

Inspired by the Holiday Decorating ideas from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, I decided to do the red and aqua combo! 

First on the list was the door wreath!

LOVE it!

Now time to decorate the Christmas Tree!

Aqua ornaments from Target

Ribbon from Joann's

i ♥ weekend!

Wishing you a relaxing and cosy December weekend my dear! See you on Monday! Xo, Si-
Je vous souhaite un agréable premier weekend de décembre, bien au chaud... A lundi! Si-

Sources [clockwise] : 1. 2. 3

New Broken China Jewelry In My Shop Today!

Here are a few of the new jewelry pieces that I finished up yesterday. These are

 all made from broken china: plates, saucers, etc. and each is completely handmade by 

me from start to finish. 

I have amassed a huge collection of plates and china pieces over the years. If I had to 

take a guess I'd estimate that I have about 800 pieces of china in stock right now!

Forget me nots broken china heart necklace with pearls

Bunnykins necklace 

Calico chintz necklace

Royal Winton Welbeck chintz petite heart pendant

Antique equestrian broken china necklace

K initial monogram pendant made from a broken plate

Antique 1880 flow blue broken plate heart pendant

Antique ivy vine motif teal English transferware

Royal Winton vintage Summertime chintz heart necklace

Art Deco poppies broken china pin brooch

Antique flow blue shamrock or clover motif broken china heart pendant

Antique rose porcelain heart pendant

1880's flow blue roses heart pendant made from a broken plate

Vintage pink rose china broken china jewelry oval pendant

Shield shaped necklace made from an antique rose porcelain china plate

Vintage Swiss Chalet china heart pendant

Vintage basket of roses broken china plate necklace

I hope you like them!

Built In Cabinets and Shelving in Progress

Our family room has a lot of unused space for us at the moment.  We have been in our home for four years, and this wall has pretty much sat there. We framed some sports moments and left it like that. With the the exception of painting it in Valspar's Leather Satchel everything remained the same.

 Then one day in September Rob build this and said I'm going to build some built ins and shelving.  I was excited that he was going to do something with this unused space and give us toy storage which we badly need with a princess loving almost three year old. 

Rob constructed the cabinets using the Kreg system, and then bought the doors from Second Chance a restore in Baltimore City for around one hundred dollars for all seven doors we needed.

 We purchased premade counters from Lowe's and stained them.  Here is the other side of the built ins.

 We had an electrician come out and move our outlets up and add an outlet for our television.

Rob then began construction on the shelving above the cabinets. Our foundation sits out a bit from the wall about half way up, and so he used that as the starting point for the first shelf.

 Rob then attached some trim in front of the shelving to make them appear thicker and give them a finished look.

 In between the cabinets Rob used wood paneling to make a wall to attach the T.V.  He used a 2 by 10 behind it to attach the TV mounting piece to later on.  He then gave it a fresh coat of white paint.

 Here we are so far with the trim left to do and of course starting to fill up those shelves. Everything is haphazard for now. But, we (as in Rob) hopes to finish it up by tomorrow.  Then in a few weeks we are going to add a built in bench underneath the TV.

Thanks for checking it out so far. We hope to make some more progress in the next day.

Megan

Sharing at:

Monday

Alderberry Hill
The Gunny Sack
The Dedicated House
Adventures of a DIY Mom 
Home Stories A to Z
Todays Creative

Tuesday
Uncommon Designs
A Diamond in the Stuff
Elizabeth & Co
Romance on a Dime
The NY Melrose Family
The DIY Dreamer
Claiming Our Space
The Winthrop Chronicles
Full Circle Creations

Wednesday
Southern Lovely
We Like To Learn As We Go
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Someday Crafts
High Heels & Grills

Thursday
The Taylor House
At The Picket Fence
Live Laugh Rowe
A Glimpse Inside
Seven Alive
52 Mantles
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Bloom Designs
House of Hepworths
Momnivores Dilemma
Western Warmth
Saving 4 Six

Friday
One Project Closer
504 Main
Redoux Interiors
Craftionary
The Grant Life
Just Us Four
Thrifty Handmade Days
Tatertots & Jello
Fresh Eggs Daily

Saturday
Too Much Time On My Hands
Tutus and Tea Parties
Classy Clutter
Its Overflowing

Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Things
Flamingo Toes
Twigg Studios
C.R.A.F.T.
My 1929 Charmer
Brassy Apple 

Holiday Mantel

I always tend to leave my poor fireplace pretty empty. We do not spend a ton of time near it and it is truly the after thought. This year though I've been trying to decorate it more than usual.  

Here is my poor fireplace before, which I've been trying to get Rob to agree to painting for quite some time.  What color would you paint it? I'm thinking of having him redo the mantle as well. My project list keeps growing each week.

I first added my taller trees on either end that I purchased from Marshall's last year. Then I made a small tree with white wire ribbon. I then finished that side up with my great holiday find wine bottle from the Elizabeth & Co Tag Sale.

I made this little sign with a leftover frame, scrapbook paper and an ornament from Jo-ann's. Then hung it from the top of my fireplace.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Megan

Sharing at:

Monday

Alderberry Hill
The Gunny Sack
The Dedicated House
Adventures of a DIY Mom 
Home Stories A to Z
Todays Creative

Tuesday
Uncommon Designs
A Diamond in the Stuff
Elizabeth & Co
Romance on a Dime
The NY Melrose Family
The DIY Dreamer
Claiming Our Space
The Winthrop Chronicles
Full Circle Creations

Wednesday
Southern Lovely
We Like To Learn As We Go
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Someday Crafts
High Heels & Grills

Thursday
The Taylor House
At The Picket Fence
Live Laugh Rowe
A Glimpse Inside
Seven Alive
52 Mantles
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Bloom Designs
House of Hepworths
Momnivores Dilemma
Western Warmth
Saving 4 Six

Friday
One Project Closer
504 Main
Redoux Interiors
Craftionary
The Grant Life
Just Us Four
Thrifty Handmade Days
Tatertots & Jello
Fresh Eggs Daily

Saturday
Too Much Time On My Hands
Tutus and Tea Parties
Classy Clutter
Its Overflowing

Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Things
Flamingo Toes
Twigg Studios
C.R.A.F.T.
My 1929 Charmer
Brassy Apple 

December's Giveaway!

This happy little set was hand picked by me for Y. O. U.

I still can't get enough of Riley Blake's fabric line, Alpine Wonderland.

Cheerful, Crisp, Cozy

Everything I wish for this holiday season!

Take a look at what you could win:

Essie's Snap Happy from their Winter collection

 A 3~inch round "Jack Frost" quilted ornament

 The cutest little deer and squirrel coffee cozy imaginable!

 And two mini hoop arts ~ tucked in a tree or hung on a wall they are adorable

To Enter:

Leave a comment :) Simple as that!

The Giveaway will close on December 7th

Frugal Friday~

Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Friday!

This week I am sharing links from the last two weeks...enjoy!

First up, I loved this cute Rustic Christmas Basket shared by Clean and Scentsible.  So simple and cute!  Perfect Christmas Decor!






I thought this retro branch buck shared by Made in a Day is both cute and clever!  What a fun idea!







That's My Letter shared a fun DIY kid's

Kidde Worry-Free Smoke Alarms~

I'm very concerned about the safety of my family, as I'm sure all of you are as well.   And making sure that we have working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are two of things that are foremost on  my mind when I think about keeping them safe.  So when I was contacted by Kidde to talk about their Worry-Free Smoke Detectors, I thought it was a good thing to share.





I'm sure you've

Falalalala {Make your own Christmas tree 2012}

Yes, it's time for a round up of the best eco-friendly and DIY christmas tree I hunted for you throughout the web. Many of you requested a 2012, sequel edition, to the previous 2011 one. So, without further ado, here are the nominees for best 2012 DIY holiday tree award.

Il est temps de vous présenter ma sélection de sapins de Noël à faire soi-meme, ou DIY que j'ai chassés pour vous sur le net. Beaucoup d'entre vous voulaient une version 2012, suite au billet des sapins de Noël de décembre 2011. Alors, sans plus attendre, voici les nominés dans la catégorie "meilleur sapin de Noël DIY 2012".

Sources : 1. 2. 3. 4. 

Minimal shapes are all over the blogosphere and online catalog lately. Here, less is more. This option is also perfect if you don't have much room to display a tree.

Les formes minimales sont partout en ce moment sur la blogosphère et sur les catalogues déco. Ici, on adopte la philosophie du "less is more" - moins c'est mieux. Cette option de sapin est également idéale pour ceux et celles qui n'ont pas beaucoup de place pour le traditionnel sapin.

Sources : 1. 2. 3. 4

For the eco-conscious, these trees are perfect because you let nature enter the house without cutting a live tree. I also like a whole lot the idea of reusing old cups or mix and matched ornaments and shaping them as a tree. 

Pour les écolos, ces sapins sont parfaits parce qu'ils laissent entrer la nature dans la maison sans sacrifier un vrai conifère. J'aime aussi l'idée de recycler des vieilles tasses dépareillées ou anciens ornements de Noël et de leur donner la forme d'un sapin. 

Finally, the optical illusion trees. Now, I am really falling for the canvas tree. You shoot it with your camera once [or screen print the picture of a tree], and you use it every year. How cool is this idea? I also like the cutout cardboard version on the right. It's also perfect for hanging Christmas cards. 

So, which one is your favorite? 

Enfin, les sapins "illusion optique". J'aime beaucoup le sapin imprimé sur toile. On en prend un vrai en photo et on peut le réutiliser tous les ans. C'est pas cool comme idée, ça? J'aime aussi la version en carton, assez pratique comme pèle-mêle à cartes de voeux. 

Alors, lequel est votre préféré?