Christmas Decorating

So it has begun, today is December 1st, it is time to put the pumpkins away
and start decorating for Christmas. I decided to start on the front porch, I found
my decorations from last year and went out on a mission to find some greens. I
was driving around looking for nandina or red berries, but decided that tresspasing
on someone property might not be a good idea. So I headed to Lowes and found a wreath
and fresh cut greens for sale.

The ribbon came from the Dollar Tree and I may add more berries to fill the urns out.
I thought they looked good until I looked at my pictures, I see a few holes. My tacky
decorations are the red light bulb solar lights.

I just thought they were so cute, they are a lot bigger than they look here. Next, I will
start on the inside.

What I Have Been Working On Lately

I am winding down August with a few new projects. I was having lunch with my
Mom a couple of weeks ago and popped into the SPCA's Benefit Shop and saw a
few things that caught my eye. I went back last week to take a look again with hopes
of finding some things I saw to list on Ebay. This is what I came home with.....

 Hand painted Asian jewelry box with satin lining and brass hinges.

Hand painted high tea cups and plates.

A set of yellow cabbage leaf china from Portugal, $5.00 for the set.
On another note, a couple of years ago, I was given some furniture from a realtor who
no longer had the space to store it for staging. They were both in pretty bad shape so I
thought painting them would hide a the damage parts.

The mirror had a big chip on the corner, I used Waverly chalk paint in White to cover the mirror and
make the corner less noticeable, it has good bones.

This piece had some damage to the top and edges, I took the sewing machine out and
sanded the piece before painting it with Valspar Project Perfect Durable latex Enamel in Black Gloss.
I may add gold to the molding detail to the door and knob. It feels good to get these pieces done and
out for sale in my booth. I went by Michaels to pick up some wreaths and garland and then the Dollar Tree for ribbon and flowers and feathers for my Fall wreath project.

I used grape vine wreaths, a mushroom and berry garland with burlap flowers, pheasant feathers and
a little bird. One will go on my door next month and the other will be in my booth. And on a last
note, a few pictures of my flowers, these I planted from seed, so they are late bloomers.

 Zinias

The foxglove in the middle is not from seed, it is a biannual.

The Cleome is a flower that I love and the Hollyhock will reseed itself, you can see those little
brown round buds full of seeds. Looking forward to Fall, my favorite time of year.

Staging with Accessories at The Charleston Townes Apartments in Harrisonburg

Yesterday I drove to Harrisonburg to install my second staging job for Matchbox
Reality at The Charleston Townes Apartment model unit. This space had been
done four years ago and needed updating. The old colors were dark and faded
and needed a bright new look. I used as much of the old stuff as I could, a lot of
it ended up hidden in closets.

This big piece of art was my inspiration. I went by Pier 1 the day they showed me the unit they
wanted up dated. Sorry, I didn't take before and after photos. Anyway, I went to Pier 1 for inspiration,
and saw this big canvas in the clearance section at 75% off. Pier 1 stored it for me until the unit was
ready and I was doing my installation. When I went back to get it, it was way larger than I remembered.
I had taken a picture of it for the colors but never measured it. So typical of me. We had to strap it to
the top of the car and I almost lost it at one point getting from point A to point B.

The furniture is from Martin's Home Furnishings and I reused the lamps, the darker decor and
mixed it in with my brighter additions I the living area. Love the cool rug I got from Ballard Design

  This is the dining area and kitchen area. I added orchids to an existing wall pocket, repurposed
a few plants and a bi apple object with my mix of things.

This is the deck off of the living area. The rug was in the living area so I brought t out here,
added a few colorful pillows from Pier 1 to the white pillows and cushions and used some
of the old accessories for the table. The living area and kitchen are on the second floor. The
unit has four bedrooms, four and a half baths and two laundry rooms.

The male room, before it was black, white and red themed. This is more of a
cool spa like feel.

Here is the girls room and bathroom, a lot brighter than the previous one. I forgot to take
pictures of the other bathrooms and the cool suzani runner I found for the front hall from
Tuesday Morning. That rug I wanted for myself.

More pictures of the hall ways and one of the laundry rooms.

A few more pictures I found of the work in progress. The job took six and a half hours,
with a few runs to Tuesday Morning, The Dollar Tree and Target  for bath mats, t.p.,
tissues, trash cans etc. luckily they are all right there where these apartments are. It's
so much fun to get paid to go shopping and to work on there projects.