Door Stops and Doll Heads!

My mother came to my house last week. Can I tell you how much I love my mother? I told her this trip, that no matter how old I get - when she dies - I will feel like an orphan. She is simply amazing. I think it might have to do with growing up in the 40's and 50's. There is simply nothing she can't do - even if that is a double negative!



This trip we labeled: Operation Bedroom Curtains! She came with a purpose - and as my dad says "I was cracking the whip". He calls it "Cracking the Whip" I call it bribing with chocolate, movies and dinner. I keep a steady stream of sweets in the house and it keeps her sewing machine moving! This is a picture of my bedroom prior to the new curtains.



We had a plan for what we wanted them to look like - but after we took a little shopping adventure to look for finials we knew our budget had different plans. We needed 28 "Finials" and they were running about 15 dollars for 2. That would be $210 - and that wasn't happening. We decided to put our thinking caps on and head to Home Depot for some improvisation!



We literally went up and down every isle. Could this plumbing fixture be used to hang a curtain? Could this rubber chair bottom boot be used to make a finial? In the end we settled on these door stoppers. They ran $1.50 each and we knew that after one stop at Michael's craft store we would have the complete package.



We bought a bag of 12 wooden "Doll Heads" for the finial part. The "Doll Heads" were $3.00 for 12 - which brought our total to $51.00 for all 28 finials! My hubby drilled the "Doll Heads" to fit snuggly on the door stops. Score! A quick coat of black paint and we were good as gold!



Here is the finished product. You can see we hung the first curtain and the next curtain is ready to be hung on the hooks.



Walla - Finshed bedroom!



Walla - Finished sitting room!



I love you mom! Thank you for spending your time with me! (I'm putting the whip away - till next time!)

Fall Decorating Idea

Fall is here...and how do I know this? It is this time of year that I constantly dress inappropriately for every outdoor event. At my daughter's cheerleading at 5pm I've dressed in fleece and jeans only to be met with blazing hot bleachers and direct sunlight. At my other daughter's morning Volleyball game I have managed to wear capris and a short sleeve shirt only to be sitting in a gym catching a cold and frost bite. Yes I love the fall - Mother Nature can't make up her mind (just like me)!
One thing I can rely on is my Plastic Pumpkin topiary. He patiently waits in the basement for the opportunity to show his little face for such a brief time. I can always count on "him" to let my neighbors know - Fall is Here!



Construction of this perfect fall decoration is easy. I just purchased 3 graduated plastic pumpkins from my local craft store. The smallest pumpkin gets a hole only in the bottom. The medium and large size pumpkins get holes in the top and bottom.
Insert dowel stick through all three pumpkins while leaving a little excess on the bottom. I hot glued some leaves around each pumpkin, since you are able to see quite a space because of the pumpkins stems.



My dad drilled a small hole in the bottom of the dowel to thread with a wire. He then tied a brick around some string and fixed it to the wire. The topiary is so light. This weight keeps it from flying away in the cold night wind!

I have had two of these pumpkin topiaries for 5 years now. I think they were definitely worth the investment!