My Grama's Soul

I have posted before about my little fireplace project.  Still fine-tuning the darn thing as I am trying to create something I am happy with. OK....here is the latest fix.  See the colored tiles I have incorporated in the recess.  I love them.  Our wall color in this room is still not a color I love...but must live with it for now. Here is another shot of what I have done.  Are you ready for the "rub" with these photos.  The "tiles" are NOT tiles at all, they are some wonderful colored papers I cut from a book I own.  Affixed them with Elmers glue and water and bingo.....looks just like expensive tiles.  When I have to be inside I always put my thinking cap on and try to figure out how I can be creative in some way...without spending any "cash".  The pillows on the sofa are old ones...and I simply pinned that little decoration on the front of the yellow one. Here is a shot of the room from afar...

I have had a grand time celebrating my birthday this month.  Since I am now a lady of a certain age....I always buy my own gifts.  It lets my wonderful husband off the hook and lets me get exactly what my heart desires. This year.....it is the beautiful Suzanni in the  pictures both above and below.  I chose this one because of the magnificent colors.  It was made in 1988 and I purchased it from a vendor in Morocco.  It is actually a wall hanging...but I will use it for everything from a chair cover to a table cloth.  I actually remove it each morning when we have our coffee while reading the paper.  I love colorful textiles...in fact I have numerous Kanthas I have collected over the years.  You can see an example of these on the orange cover on the chair and the gold Kantha on the desk in front of the window.  They are so versatile and you can change the feeling in a room in an ...

I'm always looking for ways to make something on a shoestring.  I think it is wise in today's world to shrink one's footprint as well as doing things as inexpensively as possible. To wit.....I am sharing a little stick light I made from a tree limb found in my yard..and a string of LED lights that plug in to the wall. Had the lights left over from some other project and the best part is I can easily unplug them in the evening when I go to bed. Simplicity and frugality.....the perfect combination. xoxo Jo

I have posted many times about using what you have to decorate around your house.  CREATIVITY OVER CONSUMPTION.....has been my motto for quite some time now. This little house is full of my treasurers  collected over a lifetime during many of our travels both in the U.S. and Europe. Since I would certainly NOT call me a minimalist.....I like seeing all my treasurers and having them around me.  There is a certain comfort from being able to see items that bring back wonderful memories and are also beautiful to MY eye. This is the bathroom off the master suite and the one that I use.  Brad said he didn't care what I did as long as additional construction was not involved.  So I made it MINE.   I have named this little room ANNIE OAKLEY MEETS GYPSY ROSE LEE...Makes me smile every time I come in here.  I moved the feather boas elsewhere as they were a little over the top...even for me! haha When I see al...

I don't buy much for our house anymore.  Since our downsize we just don't have that much room and besides I gave away so much when we moved that I NEVER want to have to do that again.   But this particular item....I could not resist.  It is a handmade deer head using old saris from India.  Pieces of straw are intertwined with beads and fabric.  His nose is a little to square...but I like things that are not so perfect.   I added the camel bells and the little bird just for decoration.   Try not to notice the little spackle patch on the wall, as I move things around I try to patch all the nail holes from previous endeavors.  I just have not had time to paint them.   I collect Kantha cloths from India..in fact it is probably the only thing I collect.   You can use them in so many ways.... as door coverings... our entry doors into the rooms in this house are all set back a ways so I can use these K...

Like many of you, I start decorating with Christmas things the day after Thanksgiving.  We are in a much smaller home now so I cannot put out as much as I have in the past. But....I do manage to set out a few of my favorite things....many I have made....some are things I have had for many years. The wonderful old santa photo is actually the front of a magazine cover dated from the 1920's.  My adult children didn't want many of their dad's things when he died...so I kept a few of the things I thought were special.   The brass candlestick actually was an anniversary present to my in-laws for a important  wedding anniversary.  Both of them passed on many years ago...and no one in the family wanted this set so I kept it as a remembrance. Here is the other candlestick and a wonderful Red Lion amaryllis purchased at our local Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. Both of these little trees are made with vintage bulbs and things I have h...

Our house is still on the market and unfortunately not much activity in our area...so, I have been busy doing little projects here. This is a wonderful mirrored room dividing screen.  In this pic the mirror is turned towards the wall. As you can tell, the back was just plain painted hardwood.  I wanted to be able to use both sides in a different way so I decided to gussy up the back side. These are all bits and bobs of postcards and papers I have collected over the years.  Many of the cards came from when we have traveled abroad.  The ones above with the sailboats are from Portofino when we traveled Italy many years ago. The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorite books and I loved the writing script so I included a page from there as well. Several of these cards are from our recent trip down the Rhine and the Danube.  The little boy and girl holding hands above is a valentines card from my wonderful husband .  I wante...

meet Monique see her jaunty "little hat with the feather" Well....the tree is finally up and lit.  Usually we have the tree up right after Thanksgiving, but this year we wanted a MUCH SMALLER tree so we had to find one.  We visited our usual spots and could not fine a "small" one to save our soul...so we went online.   Found this little gem at Treetopia.   She was so inexpensive....(OOPS what is that 2 doing in my pic)  LOL.  Easy to put together and only five feet tall.  Our old trees weighed a ton and we had such a time just getting them up and standing. We have tons of decorations....everything from birds to balls that look like glowing moons. And...I love it so when tree is just dripping with ornaments...don't you? Have some Santa's and some angels....a little bit of everything that that has blessed our trees over the years. In fact....the truth is.....we actually love a smaller tree.  So muc...

I'm afraid I'm the sort of gal who can never leave well enough alone.  (O: Anytime I find something I love to incorporate in our home...I end up changing it in some way. These pieces are things we have had for quite sometime and I wanted to give them a little different feel. The Mola above was purchased in Panama in the 60's while I lived down there with my first husband.  I had the old frame laying around...it was an antique gold.  I thought it would be more striking painted a dark, dark bluish purple.  Completely changes the feel of the thing. This old funky mirror was actually in a pile of junk.  The frame was silver..but I loved the funky look of it.  Brought it home, glued the small mirror in the center and painted the frame that same moroccan blue.  Looks so much more interesting. And finally this old lampshade...it has been a million different colors as I paint it whenever the mood strikes.  Blue again~...