Friday, November 28, 2014

~ Christmas ~ Bless The Animals and The Ones Who Love Them

The Decorated House ~ Bless The Animals. Christmas 2013. Adopt Rescue! Pottery Barn Bottlebrush Dog with Bottlebrush Trees. Christmas Decor 

We were blessed a few years ago with a rescue puppy who found us right after 
Christmas as many of you know. Probably because he came to us so close to this 
beautiful holiday, it is easy to remember to help out some incredible 
dog rescue people this time of year. The work they do day in and day out is amazing.
The world is certainly a better place for them.

Please consider making a donation to one of your local dog or 
animal rescue people, or organizations this time of year. 
You can save a life!

The cute bottle brush - sisal dog came from Pottery Barn last year. Since they are 
wire and sisal, it was easy for me to curl his tail a bit like our Cody Bear's tail is. 
He also got  some dry brushing of white paint to make him a little whiter.
Our lab mix puppy grew up to keep his pretty white color and the 
white paint made this one look more like our pup. 
And he goes perfectly with the bleached bottle brush trees. 

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful holiday
season. Slow down and eat the cookies and 
kiss your loved ones!


~ See Y'All Soon ~

Monday, November 24, 2014

~ How To Bleach Bottle Brush Trees for Christmas Decorating


How to Bleach Bottle Brush Trees :: The Decorated House

Have you fallen in love with these wonderful little bottle brush trees? I haven't seen them in their natural state of creamy off-white in stores, although they can be ordered on-line. However for just a few cents, you can create your own because you can change them very easily. 

The first ones I saw a couple of years ago were vintage, but today you can find them new as well.
The trees on the left are how I found them. They are sold for using in those little villages people put up especially during Christmas time. Look in the area  where you can buy the miniature houses and furnishings and that's where you find those strangely colored blue green trees.

I started bleaching them a couple of years ago, and I haven't seen anyone coming up with a newer idea.  It's all the same very simple process. After they are bleached you can use any kind of dye to make them another color like pink or aqua if you wanted to. Or just leave them pretty and natural.

HOW TO: This is all you need to know! 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

~ Decorating for Fall - Autumn with Vintage


No the Keno brothers from Antique Road Show are not looking for this little boot; this is a different kind of treasure. Family "treasure" might be a stretch, but this little copper plated boot - shoe was Sweet Hubby's so it  makes it a little family treasure. His mom kept long after he was grown, and gave it to him several years ago. Most of the time it has been on my desk being used to hold trinkets, paper clips and who knows what since then. At least it has been out and not stuffed in a closet. Since this Fall the decorating is copper and lime green, the search was on for copper. And this little "treasure" was perfect for holding a special pumpkin.

There is always a place in our Fall Decorating for this beautiful hand painted ceramic pumpkin. It has been a part of Fall for so many years, and it is always fun to bring it out.  The copper coffee pot also has been around here for at least 20 plus years. It has been hiding in the garage as I contemplated how much of the old copper stuff to give away. I actually forgot it was still here. Filled with late sumer flowers it adds a nice extra touch of copper. 


Sitting in the little round glass area of the copper shoe  is the smallest of the velvet pumpkins that I made. You can see how I made the pumpkins HERE.  If you are thinking that you would like to make some of these but you just can find any dried real pumpkins stems, then why not make your own? 

I had one pumpkin stem that was my favorite, but it was too large for this little velvet pumpkin, so I made a new stem for it. This one is made of air dry clay. I don't have the package so I'm not sure if it is paper clay. The air dry comes in different types, but I think this kind is the paper. It is very easy to use, and you can keep it from drying out by keeping a damp paper towel in a plastic bag with it.

 

I haven't used it in almost a year and it was not dried out at all inside the plastic bag. I laid a damp paper towel over it for a few minutes before I began sculpting with it, and if a spot seemed to dry I just dipped my fingers in a little water and applied it to that area. Very easy and fun to play with. 

~ See Y'All Soon ~

~ How to Make a Pottery Barn Style Pillow with Christmas Wreath - DIY


The Decorated House - Pottery Barn Knock Off Pillow
Handcrafted Christmas Decorating Ideas:

When I first saw the Pottery Barn Pillow, I was smitten. There had been a few copycats and knock-offs but none where quite what I was looking for. Even the Pottery Barn version was the reverse of the colors of what I wanted. So of course, it's time to make your own!


See Y'All Soon~

Friday, November 7, 2014

~ 50 + Fabulous Fall - Autumn - ThanksGiving Decor Ideas

http://www.pinterest.com/decoratedhouse/fall-~-autumn-decorating/
Fall and ThanksGiving Decorating Pins

I hope you enjoy some of the wonderful things I have pinned 
for Fall and ThanksGiving Decorating.
Click on the picture above and you will usually go to 
the source of each picture for more pictures 
and sometimes tutorials and downloads.
Happy Weekend ~ See Y'All Soon