All my christmas decor smashed to smithereens!

We finally got everything out on Saturday and when we opened up the boxes we realized everything had been smashed!  Christmas villages, snowman, nativity scenes, cookie jars, ornaments.  I'm a little sad, but not really.  Because I love change and this gave me a good excuse to start a new christmas look in my house.

So here is our tree.  The only thing that survived was the gold ornaments  They were kept in a seperate cabinet and didn't fall off the shelves in the attic.  Everything else was bought this year and this tree cost $102 to decorate.

I think it's pretty beautiful!  Most everything was bought at the dollar store or the $2 section at target.  The first thing I did was the lights of course, then I added all the big elements.  The dollar store icicles take up alot of space and for a  dollar each, they are worth every penny.  The bells and huge balls are from target and they were $2 each.  I then started adding the little items like the balls and puffs.  I also added about 25 pheasant feathers that I had left over from thanksgiving.  I think the key to a good looking tree is to put little plained  ornaments inside the tree more, about 3 inches inside and then put the more ornate or glittery ornaments on the outside.  The top is more pheasant feathers, color feathers and bling from target. I forgot the angel topper was from us, she survived also.

Next to the tree I decorated my tabletop with the leftovers.

I have different silver candlesticks year round with the candles.  They aren't originally all silver, I just pick them up at thrift stores and spray paint them.  I added icicles from the dollar store to the bottom of some of the candles and replaced some candles with leftover ornaments.  I also took a little pin and stuck some to the front of the plain candle to dress them up.


Since we lost so much I have alot of decor to make and rearrange so I am going to try to post every day this month.  Also I am part of a 25 days of christmas group and hopefully you will be able to enjoy some new bloggers this month.

Beginning December 1st, join us here on Parga's Junkyard for a

25 Days of Christmas Blogshare!

24 amazing bloggers have joined forces with Parga's Junkyard to bring you the ultimate in Holiday goodness.

There will be recipes, gift ideas, tutes, stories, stocking stuffer ideas and much more!

Be sure to check the Christmas Blogshare post of the day everyday in December, beginning December 1st. New friends are the greatest blessings any time of the year...

December Blogshare LineUp!

December 1st - Tots and Me -

December 2nd - Vodka and Motherhood

December 3rd - Your Mama Said What

December 4th - Happy Go Lucky Harvey

December 5th - Bleak 2 Unique

December 6th - Pargas Junkyard

December 7th By the Brook Designs

December 8th - Radcrafter

December 9th - Pounds 4 Pennies

December 10th -. Smitten by Abigail

December 11th - Empty Nest

December 12th - Tiaras and Bowties - Think Smink

December 13th - The Freshman Cook

December 14th - The Bunnies of Christmas by Mary Ellen

December 15th - My Simple Walk

December 16th - Clipper Girls Saving Spot

December 17th - Musings From a Sahm

December 18th - Larissa Hill

December 19th - Coupons for Wisconsin

December 20th - Allergy Free Cookery

December 21st - Liz Finding My Own Life

December 22nd - A is A Family

December 23rd - Lee Me and the Girls

December 24th - My Crazy Bliss

December 25th -Golden Reflections

Christmas is my favorite time of year and I am so excited to be able to share a little of the excitement and fun with you!

Do you have a Christmas blog post you would like to share with our readers? Sign up on our linky below to share your posts! If you are one of our readers and would like to see more Christmas posts click on the Linky below!

Merry Christmas to All!

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coastal charm
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measured by the heart

model home monday 7

Today was a busy day!  All my ornaments and decorations fell in the attic.  Sometime this year, we didn't really notice till we went to get them.  Christmas villages smashed to smithereens, ornaments are dust, etc.  I'm secretly thrilled, it's an excuse to get new stuff.  My stuff was hand me down decor that my mom and mom in law didn't want anymore 20 yrs ago, plus stuff I've added.  So anyways today was a whirlwind of shopping and decorating and model home picture taking.  So here we go.....

 

This is the model we will be looking at today.  Drees is a high end builder here, but I'm really not liking the looks of this model from the outside.  Yucky lot placement.

When you first enter the home there is a little library area.  I loved this wall treatment.  So I took a closer look.  I think it is just mdf cut to the same size with the sides being painted black and then just attached to the wall.  Very cheap, but dramatic effect.  Here's a close up...

In my experience you can get the home depot guys to cut exact cuts for you for free, especially during the day m-f.  So this could be a very easy weekend project.  Just be sure to paint the mdf with a foam roller, it just goes on smoother.

Model home master bedroom.  Noticed the same paneled look on the headboard.  I love that headboard. 

 

Kitchen, love the hood and the seating at the island.  Plus I love the glass with fake veggie fillers.  

Here is the dining room, it has a fireplace, unfortunately my picture stunk.  But out of this whole beautiful house I can sometimes get sidetracked by the oddest, smallest details.  I love the monogram on the slipcovered chairs.  I have been planning on doing this for my breakfast nook since I painted my new fab table.  Can't wait to get started.  If only life would slow down for a bit I could get them done.  Thanks for stopping by.  I am trying to have all new christmas decor this entire week, hopefully.

lisa

Off topic post Adoption news

For those of you who have been following me for a while I wanted to give an adoption update. 

I kinda lost my mojo.  My husband was on board, but no one else really was that excited and I started to wonder if I was wanting this for the wrong reasons.  I stalled.  We haven't done anything.  Well we did go to one class and decide which agency we wanted to work with, but that's it.  Nothing.  I let the opinions of others guide me instead of praying and listening to God.  People are excited if you want to adopt a baby or a toddler, but when they hear you want to adopt an 11 or 12 year old they get a little panicked look in their eye.  I can just hear their minds thinking, "does she know she could be adopting a psychopath? ", " Is she really up for the trauma this child has probably endured?"  Well no, not really.  But I can't stop myself from wanting to do this. 

I went to Bible study a few weeks ago and the speaker was talking about a time when she lived in China and she was part of a bible study with 5 other woman.  Within 18 mts of moving to China every one of the woman had adopted a Chinese orphan.  She started to wonder if she was being called to adopt also.  She spoke to all the woman individually and everyone of them told her the same thing. You shouldn't adopt just because you are a Christian, you should adopt because you are missing a child in your family.  Well that settled it for her, she had always felt her family was done.  I have not, ever.  I have always wondered where my other two children were? It's not that I was dissatisfied with the two children I have, it was just there are two more meant for our family.  Really this is crazy talk if you aren't considering adoption, but that is how I have always felt. 

I started praying and my best friend called to see what was going on and I admitted I had stalled.  She knew my husband and I were going to Chicago for a work thing for him.  I didn't know anyone.  She suggested that I pray that God would speak to me during this trip.  I felt like that was a good idea and instantly visualized a scene in my head where someone was eating off to the left of me in a restaurant talking about adoption.  I started praying this scene would happen if God meant for us to adopt.  We were there for 3 days and nothing, the last day was my birthday.  We had to have a quick lunch and then head to the airport.  I was sad, but ready to face the future for whatever God had planned.  In my mind we were on our way home and it was settled.  Except during lunch I overheard a woman to the left of me talking about going to China in a few days to pick up her 2nd adoptive daughter.  It was so surreal.  I actually leaned across the table and asked her if she was talking about adoption.  I 'm sure she thought I was a total nut bag.  My husband was also a little shocked, I'm normally not that social in public restaurants.  But there it was.  Time stood still and I knew that we were adopting and that it was just meant to be.  So starting January 1st we are going full bore into training and fingerprinting and whatever else we have to do to get our two new kids.  Who ever they are.  I wonder if a year from now we will be thanking God for them on Thanksgiving? 

lisa

model home monday 6

I was able to put together pics for two cute kids rooms this week before my picnik crashed on me.  Picnik is a great free picture processing site, that usually works great, if you are looking for one.  So here we go.

Actually here is the dining room first.  I love EVERYTHING about this room.  It is totally me!

So pretty.  I am making that hydrandgea floral vase.  It's fake hydrangeas put in a pretty glass vase and then you add this stuff from the floral dept that looks like water once it dries and it is set for life.  If anyone knows the name of the fake water put it in the comments for the rest of us please.

Here is the cute little girls room.

One of the things I liked about this model was that it was not a model with alot of upgrades, just good design.  So it's doable for all of us.

Here's the other side of the room.

Love the ribbon ties on the curtains.

Here is the cute boys room.

 

I love the different colors and width of the stripes.  It goes all around the room.

The same stripes again with vintage baseball pictures.

I love the red dresser and mirror with the red and white striped curtains.  Just a well done, simple room.

lisa

linking to
craftomaniac
making the world cuter
sumos sweet stuff 
keeping it simple 
sewcando 
becolorful 
marvelous mess 
the southern institute 
making monday marvelous 
baby making machine 
sugar bee crafts 
measured bytheheart 
reasonsto skip the housework 
nothing but country

Bookcase redo

Do you remember this bookcase?

Remember how much I hate it!  It was my first attempt with annie sloan chalk paint.  Love the paint, hate the wax.  The backing was absolutely ruined by the wax and it could not be repaired.  I was ready to donate.  But some of my followers are huge smarties and suggested backing it with material or paper.  That got me thinking.  So here is the new bookcase.

I found an old methodist hymnal and used the pages to back the bookcase.  I now love it!  I'm selling it locally but wanted to show my peeps first.  The poly is still drying in the corners, so it's a little darker there.  It was very easy to do.  Just poly the back, stick a page on it and then poly the top.  No rips, puckers or anything.  Then a second coat of poly.

lisa

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craftomaniac
be colorful 
reasons to skip housework 
tip tuesday 
nothing but country 
mommivores dilemma 
house of hepworth 
somewhat simple 
delightfulorder 
crazy cute 
missmustardseed 
tatertots and jello 
perfectly imperfect 
funky junk 
whipperberry 
show and tell saturday

model home monday 5

Last week I showed a model home with a darling little girls room that I took lousy pictures of, so here is the room with better pictures.

Here is a closeup of the bedding.  It's really precious!  The little side table to the right is made out of clear plexi, I think, and filled with pink gumballs.  It doesn't matter how well that thing is sealed my daughter would have had that broken apart her first naptime!

The next picture is what I love the best of this whole room.  It's just a great all over idea that can be used in so many ways.  There isn't glass in the picture frame.  It's just an oversized picture frame with the painting done on the wall behind it.

Pretty chandy.  Please notice the ceiling is brown also.  As an experienced mom I think this is brilliant.  It's a very dark room and during the day, it is perfect for naps!  My kids rarely if ever played in their rooms or our huge playroom, they always drug their toys to where we were.   

Once again the darling stencil with a rhinestone in every heart.

If someone can tell me how to rotate a picture in blogger I would so appreciate it.  This beautiful cabinet, though very, very impractical for a kids room, is perfect from a design perspective.  The room is dark so it needed little glimmery pops around the room so that it wasn't too cavelike.  The bedding had shimmery material on the pillows, there was a mirror, the frame was silvery and glimmery and then this glass case filled with candy in glass containers.  Just something to think about if you like to have dark walls, those glimmer, shimmery, glass pops can really add some warmth.

lisa

linking to:
tatertots and jello
funky junk 
passionately artistic 
craftomaniac

model home monday 4

This house is a standard pacific model.  It is very typical for my area.  Very muddy colors and the house is very dark.  Not my cup of tea.  I have noticed this in model homes in Texas, and Arizona. Probably because it is so blinking hot in the summer.  My friends love this look and maybe you will too. 

 

One example of the darkness is the cabinets.  They are in the grey/taupe range and then a tea stain is done over the top.  Nothing is white and bright, everything has a muddiness too it.  This is the stain on all the cabinets throughout the house.

 

Beautiful kitchen.  Love the hood vent and the stovetop.  Lots of iron work, fake plants and glass cloches for the decor.

 

I adore the open shelving in the kitchen.  Once again though notice that there is no white, it is all the same color.  

I am a sucker for anything under a cloche.

This photo is so sad.  It is the cutest little princess room ever.  I am going back next week and getting a great picture of this whole room, so if you want more detail on it come back next monday.

Here is a little tease of the princess bedroom.  I love this stencil all around the room and each one has a rhinestone glued to it.  So cute.

Sorry to be a day late with just a few picture.  I have an upper respitory infection and have been not feeling great.  Please come back next monday and I will have great pictures of this room to show all the details.  I'm flying to chicago tomorrow and hopefully will have fun displays to show from my trip.  I expect to look in every thrift store and antique store I can find.

lisa

reasonstonotdohousework 
running with glitter 
 nothingbutcountry 
uncommonsliceofsuburbia
tatertotsandjello
whipperberry
at the picket fence
the shabby nest

a new kitchen table

I have a sweet friend who moved out of town that gave me about 9 pieces of furniture.  Really Christmas day for someone like me.  This table was one of those old oak tables with the chairs from the around the 80's.  We have all had them, or our mom did.  I actually got a table very similar to this when I first married and sold it in a garage sale because I hated it.  That was before I had vision and pinterest and other people's blogs and time on my hands, etc.  This is it now

Isn't she beautiful? I love her in my new kitchen with my new travertine floors.  I used oops grey satin paint and did an ebony minwax stain with two coats of satin poly on the top.  I love ebony stain.  I just sanded down the top to bare wood and stained until I liked the tone.  The top coat of poly is still drying in this picture.  I am in love.  I am going to make seat covers out of bleached painter's canvas to go with it.

lisa

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running with glitter
crayonfreckles 
house of hepworth
funky junk
tatertots and jello