Fresh Find: Christmas on the Cheap!

Christmas is almost here, your house is decked out and ready to go. Why would you want to shop for decorations now? Because everything is dirt cheap, that’s why! For example, take these Debbie Travis for Canadian Tire blown glass ornaments…

These sets of 4 ornaments regularly come in at $9.99 and $7.99. I bought these for $4.93 and $3.93 each, for a savings of $9.12! Over 50% savings and $1.10 per ornament. Craziness!

Gorgeous. After making out this well… I’m not done. I’m definitely keeping my eyes peeled so next year’s Christmas can be full impact, at half the price!

Got any killer deals you care to share?! Well, what’s stopping you? Share with the rest of the class! Happy Holidays!

A New Site is Coming!

Look up, look waaaaay up. Our Fresh Crush site is changin’… for the better! To better suit the content, to better suit the readers, to make it more searchable, and of course to make it more pretty!

We’re doing our best, and aiming for early 2011. So, hopefully after you’ve all stuffed yourselves silly over the holidays, and couldn’t possibly glance at another cookie recipe, you’ll be ready to take a seat, wearing your new Christmas slippers perhaps?? …and, browse through the new site. NEW! SITE! Oh, how I love those words… and I hope you will too!

In the meantime, don’t worry, we’ll still be kicking around here, adding posts and finishing out 2010… what a year it has been!

Keep your eyes peeled!

Paper Ornament from Curbly

This tutorial from Curbly hits the mark for festive flair, while being in reach for even a first time DIY’er. Change your Holiday decor in a snap or make a bunch for friends and loved ones. This was my first time working with grommets myself, I found this video for a little bit of assistance when working with my grommet pliers. My advice, invest in a good quality grommet tool. The tool I purchased, gave me a little trouble, and I ended up using a drill bit and a rubber mallet as a makeshift setting tool.

All you need:

• scrapbooking paper
• grommets
• grommet setting tool
• ribbon
• single hole punch
• clips
• ruler or straightedge (for cutting)
• cutting mat & blade

So, head on over to Curbly, and check it out! There is still time before Christmas!

Show me your tree!

Tis the season. The tree is up, and incredibly enough the shopping is done. You might even spy the gifts wrapped under the tree. I point this out because, this doesn’t normally happen. I am usually one of those people running around on December 23rd, scanning the picked over shelves at the department store, hoping to spy that perfect gift for a loved one. Stress. But not this year!!

She’s normally put up along side the fireplace, but we tucked her out of the way this year as we hosted a party. Yep, past tense (and that was already our second!), but it’s really worked out because she’s visible from just about anywhere on the main floor.

We’ve got a gold and rust theme going on, but the tree in general is pretty traditional. I’ve got some childhood ornaments, some hand-me-downs, and some modern ornaments picked up over the last few years.

One of my favourites, a set of three handmade paper ornaments from a girlfriend. Don’t ask me how she did it, but they are truly beautiful.

I made this pie when I was about 9 years old. It’s a baked dough ornament. It’s made it through a ton of moves, sat delicately on many trees and even survived a few cat attacks.

This, I picked up just this year. Last years stock on sale… 97 cents each!

Another sparkly delight from a couple years ago. When I find something for a couple dollars or under that I love and that suits my existing theme, I jump on it.

What have you got hanging on your tree. Or do you have a favourite Christmas item sitting on a mantle somewhere? Share with us! You can even post your own pics on our facebook page!

Happy Holidays.

Thank You Sarah.

Let  me begin by saying I cannot take credit for this idea. I was in a very Christmassy mood, watching the Sarah’s House, Holiday edition — and, she gave me this fabulous (free-ish) idea.

If you have a wood burning fireplace, you probably have some split wood lying around. Why not use it to decorate your front door for Christmas?

And, for added holiday flare — hang some flickering LED tea lights!

I had LED tea lights and small glass tea light holders kicking around the house already. I used some low gauge wire to make primitive and rustic hanging holders.

Simply split a few pieces of wood, into skinny pieces, that you can leave hanging out of the wood pile to use as your tea light hangers.

The LED lights add a bit of sparkle with no concern of a fire hazard. Great when you’re expecting guests — pop outside and switch them on to great your guests with festive flare. Happy Holidays!

Fresh (Vintage) Find

I love throwing in a vintage find here and there. And, when I realized my magazines were getting a little bossy with my coffee table, I thought it was time to get them under control.

Enter the vintage magazine rack. Once again, Ever After Antiques came through on this one.

It still has room to spare, which is good, because it’s bound to get full. In such a modern style living room, it still fits in, while softening things up a little. Keep your eyes peeled at your local antiques store for the little details!

What do you think? Do you have your favourite local haunt? I’d love to know about it in the comments!

PS – Did you notice our Christmas stockings peeking out?

Before and After: Main Bath

Well the hard work has paid off. After much stenciling, I have something to show for myself. Just look at me working so hard:

Ok. It wasn’t so hard. There was no blood, sweat or tears involved… just a little effort for a little room. The stencil worked fabulously! And that little flat headed stamper from the craft store was well worth the money. If you have stenciling in your future — I’d definitely recommend one!

Remember this?

How about this?

Happily, it is now this:

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? So soft and subtle. A big change without ripping out fixtures and creating a big headache before the holidays. Now to keep my eye out for a little vintage shelf for above the toilet. One like this perhaps (with a paint job). And maybe a bit of artwork above the towel rack? Some creativity still to come, but for now… I’m one happy lady.

The Goods:
Mirror: Debbie Travis for Canadian Tire
Light: Martha Stewart for Home Depot
Paint: Base Colour: Behr Ultra Almond Cream (W-B-710), Stencil Colour: Behr Ultra Oyster (W-B-720)

How to Make a Stencil

Okay folks. Our little main bathroom paint job is done. Maybe a bit earlier than expected, as we decided to host a ‘Grey Cup’ (the Canadian Football leagues ‘Superbowl’) party at the last second. The. very. last. second.

We managed to pull ourselves together in the nick of time. But, before I show you the before and after (that’s coming tomorrow!). I thought I’d talk about how you can create your own stencil at home to get a custom look.

First, find inspiration! This was mine.

Next, it’s time to create a stencil. This is not as difficult as it sounds. It’s easy and more importantly… dirt cheap.

Find yourself some acetate. I like going to the office supplies store, and buying a acetate desk protector. It’s nice and large, and can be cut in two (so if you mess up, you can have another go at it). And at under $4, it is not a huge investment.

Now it’s time to transfer your design to the acetate. There’s a few ways this can go. Maybe you want to duplicate a design from some fabric, or a magazine cut-out. In this case you can lay your acetate over top and use a marker to trace it out. Easy.

Maybe you’ve got a design in your head, or want something custom. In that case, sketch on paper, or in my case, draw it out on the computer. I wanted something large, so I used my printer to tile print the image onto 3 sheets of letter sized paper.

Next, time to transfer this image to the acetate. Grab your Sharpie!

I HIGHLY recommend filling in your pattern. Takes a couple extra minutes, but depending on the complexity of your design, it’s worth it. It’s easy to get mixed up on the pieces that are staying and going. So do yourself a favour…

One more step before you make your first cut. Lightly spray the back of your stencil with spray glue. Trust me. Acetate can be a slippery little critter. Spray glue and place onto your cutting board. Then tape down your corners. This may seem like overkill, but one wrong slip of the wrist can ruin your day.

Now you’re ready to cut. Use a utility knife that is small, and feels comfortable in your hand. You’ll be here a while, so make sure you can maneuver it easily. Spread out, give yourself lots of room and move and rotate your cutting board as you go to best line yourself up to make a clean cut. And, one more tip: CHANGE YOUR BLADES OFTEN! I bet I went through about 3 blades for one stencil.

You are done! Give yourself a big pat on the back.

One last tip. Spray glue is your friend. Once your base colour has fully cured, you can use spray glue to help place and secure your stencil to the wall. Use a low tack spray glue, and give a little light spray to the back of your stencil with each new placement. You will thank yourself. Trust me.

Happy stenciling my friends! Be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages!

Deploy your dropcloth!

In honour of (re)painting our main bath, I thought I would do a post on the basics of a successful paint job. I thought I would, until that is, I found this post on wikihow. This little beauty lists 15 steps before picking up a paintbrush! You can’t get more detailed than that.

So if it’s your first time (and, that can be intimidating), give this a read. You’re bound to learn a few things, and gain a little confidence before you crack that brand new can of paint — which is a beautiful thing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my fabulous neighbours to the south! Much love to you all — hope you have a wonderful holiday!