Christmas at Apartment 12

Christmas decorating this year is centered around greens and pinecones. They are more wintry than Christmas so they will stay up through January and possibly part of February. As I mentioned before, I get good quality greens the day after Christmas for a large percentage off...so fun to see what is left!

Welcome!



I love my entrance in the winter just as much as I do in the summer!

The greens are tucked in around what is already there. I found the large pinecones in the bottom of the bag; I forgot they were in my collection. Painting the bookcases are a project for this winter.

I love my wide window sills!

 

I don't do much red; however, these were the hunting socks my honey had ever since he started hunting at a young age. They were a seamless wool until I cut them into smaller socks. I wish I would have left them like they were. The red jacket is mine and is hanging there solely for decoration. The bench was made by his mother and my shoes are stored in a basket under it.

 My tarnished silver tree, a perfect size for a small space.

Pinecones and burlap! I used an embroidery hoop to wind the burlap swag around it. Simple perfection!

 My collection of putz houses. The two below were taken when we had our first snow.

Dining room buffet dressed in simple greens and cloches.

 

A favorite with greens and berries tucked in.

 Bedroom window.

This was taken during the first snow as well.

 

Wishing you a joyous Christmas and a wonderful 2015!

 

 

~ Esther

 

Christmas Wreath {thrifted}

Christmas decorating doesn't need to be expensive. I found two plain wreaths at the local thrift store for $2.00 each and put my own signature on them. I used pinecones from many years of collecting them off the ground to decorate and after-Christmas sales burlap ribbon and glittered words.

 

The scrunched-up wreath on top right. Bottom right, it's fluffed up and given a light spray of white paint. Wreath on left is the finished product. It was a simple, several hours project. 

I'm delighted with the finished product. The swag above the door I've had for many years but it's the first time it's outdoors. It's sheltered by being close to the house and protected by the floor of the deck above. And a close-up of the wreaths below.

 

It's not too late to shop the thrift stores for Christmas goodies!

 

~ Esther 

Glass Baubles

Did you know you can turn aged, outdated, painted-on-the-outside glass Christmas balls into a beautiful thing? Glass ornaments are very fragile and need to be handled very gently. These balls were discarded and being the re-cycler I am, after experimenting I discovered the paint can be scrubbed off.

The top can be taken off easily by gently tugging on it. I used a Stanley pan scrubber that is guaranteed to not scratch the surface. After wetting the ornament and the scrubber, I gently scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed until the paint came off. I rinsed both inside and outside with warm water and left them sit overnight to dry. Then comes the fun of filling them!

I filled this one while it was still damp and the Diamond Dust Twinklets I bought at a craft store several years ago, stuck to the moisture, leaving a snow-like look.

I filled others with strips of sheet music, curled ribbon, Epson salt and beads. It's best to use light articles to fill the ornaments. I intertwined silver-mirrored balls with the glass ornaments and love the silver/clear contrast.

The silver tree was bought after 2013 Christmas 40% off at a local store which is the best time to buy next year's decorations. Last year I left mine up for Valentine's Day which I decorated in hearts and roses, though by it was over I was ready to put it in storage.

 

~ Esther

Old Gold

Those who followed Fleur Cottage know that I love mirrors, both indoors and outdoors. I need to be more selective since I've moved here but it's still difficult to pass up a lovely mirror. I found one this past summer at one of the few yard sales I stopped at.

 

I'm not very keen on gold or at least, cheap-looking gold. But I do like this...I call it 'old gold.' In fact, when I picked it up I didn't even envision it painted white (not saying I will never!). It's hanging in my bedroom where it reflects a glimpse of the room. The black mirror reflects the other side of the room. Sometime I will do a post of the whole room.

 

My lovely putz houses are coming out of storage and on the window today.This cold weather that blew in through the night gives me the urge to begin putting Christmas decorations out.

 

~ Esther

 



On This Day...

...my late-planted lavender is blooming madly! 

This is my view at the end of our one half mile driveway in the meadow across the road. We are surrounded by an amazing golden glow from trees like these in our back yard. 

Simple beauty!

~ Esther

Embracing Autumn

I try! I really try to embrace autumn but I do it with sadness because it's saying good-bye to summer loveliness and my favorite season. Having said that, fall is truly beautiful, treasured all the more because it's so fleeting.

I put a few autumn decorations up which are mostly recycled from last year. If it's not broken, why fix it?

I put this basket together four years ago at Fleur Cottage where it hung on the outside door. I found these very realistic pears and apples at the GW.

I love my wide windowsills! There is something on them year round.

Two years ago I bought orange pumpkins on sale and spray-painted them white.

Then there's my canning jar rings turned into pumpkins by stringing together 24 rings, sticking in a dried stick from the outdoors and tying them with tulle. Glamour meets rustic!

And the lovely foliage we're surrounded with is so beautiful!

Soon this décor will be switched around for Christmas-another favorite season!

~ Esther

Porch {part 4}

I love my big porch! It's added living space in the summer, shelter in the winter plus what's not to love about a big roomy porch? I'm very visual in my head before it's a reality but even I didn't know how grand this was going to be.

 2014

 It became a family project all the way through. 

Son L, who is in landscaping, offered his expertise and equipment. I explained my vision using the boulders and he took it from there. It's beautiful and even better than how I saw it in my head. 

 

(Notice the hanging baggies? It's to keep the flies away; the jury is still out on that one for me. I think the porch is too tall for it to be effective but does seem to make a difference at the side door.)

This chandelier was an electrical indoor light fixture bought for a few dollars at a yard sale. I took it down to its bare bones and use it outdoors. It was painted white for a wedding and will be painted another color again. It's the perfect heft for the farm table made by my honey before his illness. 

Years ago on a BH&G's magazine cover, I saw a large boulder with an indention where rainwater collected as a birdbath and thought it was delightful. Now I have my own thanks to L for doing a fine job of balancing the rock...love that too!  

~ Esther

Courtyard Entrance {part 3}

I had a long-time dream of a U-shaped house with a courtyard in the center of the U. I don't have the U-shaped house but I do have a courtyard. And I love, love it! It's an easy-care space with my very, very favorite perennials and annuals planted in it.

It was a lot of work and heavy lifting but I also had a lot of live-in help. And I learned how to run a Bobcat that saved me a lot of time and energy. I was in my element!

It started with this: a piece of plywood, a few pots and a dream.

The dream included old brick, recycled wrought iron and stone walls.

After the concrete for the porch was poured I started with the first stone wall, which was a backward way to start. I ended up taking it back down again later because it wasn't lined up with the porch. (Lesson learned...start from the house out instead of the other way.) And this was AFTER everything else was in place!

I back-filled in with good dirt and composted horse manure as the wall was built. The ground here is stones, rock, clay, shale and is hard. My mantra is when you get lemons, make lemon aid!

My helpers! After watching me do the first brick column J wanted to learn how to do it as well. P got in on it too, then it was brother teaching brother. As the dry-stacked brick columns were built, the recycled wrought iron was put in place and the clematis' were planted.

Wayne dug the other side loose enough for me to work with it. I literally hacked it out of the hill but, again, it was worth the work.

I wasn't sure how this was going to look like and designed it as I was building it. It turned out well. Today it looks like this.

I LOVE lavender! Out of the twenty-six plants I bought this spring only one died...not a bad record for the type of soil that's here. I was told it also keeps ticks away...yay for that!

The finished bones of my long-time dream courtyard. 

Wayne was on the look-out for brick and got some from a friend/employee. The brick will be used as a walkway from the arbor to the porch. It really doesn't take much to make me happy!

Last but not least...the porch!

~ Esther