The Apple Street Cottage

It's almost here and I finally got the house decorated for Christmas.  For whatever reason, it was a slow process this year, but it's done.  Here's a peek: The stairs have been decorated with garland, gold ribbon, and these beautiful blue poinsettias that I found last year at Michael's: There's no fireplace or mantle here, so my Lenox Santa sits poised on top of the china cabinet surrounded by garland, red and gold Christmas bulbs, and pinecones: My grapevine wreaths have been decorated for the holidays: This little paper house was made several years ago, but it still comes out every year.  The top comes off, so it's actually a box: We call our tree the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree".  We bought it several years ago for $20 at Walgreen's.  It looks so humble when it comes out of the box, but when the lights and ornaments are added it's beautiful.  This is not a themed tree.  It is not flocked.  It doesn't have a high ti...

A promise is a promise, so here it is...the wine cup upcycle.  If you follow me here, you'll remember the post that showed you how to remove adhesive from sticky labels.  I used the wine cups as an example and I promised to show you how I upcycled them.  If you missed it, click HERE .  Let's take a look at my first project: I put an empty wine cup in the middle of my Pairpoint Silver Bowl , surrounded it with Pinecones and a little greenery (yes, it really is blue...I think it's a blue spruce shrub)) from the garden.  I added a set of 10 battery-powered lights to the bowl and a battery-powered tea light to the cup.  Have another look: Here's a better look at the bowl: I didn't stop there, though.  Out came some craft supplies... Brushed some Mod Podge on the cup: Applied some paper napkins, don't forget to separate the layers so you only have one! Smoothed the edges: Until it looked like this: The top edge was trimmed of...

It's December so it's time to start sharing some Christmas projects.  This sweet little Countdown Box was made several years ago, but can easily be replicated today.   The original box and cards are no longer available, but, no worries, I found this cute little box at Walmart that will work perfectly.  Grab some chipboard from your local craft store and you're good to go! The original box was white, so I inked the edges and glued scrapbook paper to the top and sides.  A little pom pom fringe and a button were added to dress it up and it was done.  Since you've already run out to the store and purchased that cute box I just showed you, you are ready to decorate the cards.   I typed out my 24 activities ( which I will share at the end of this post) and printed them on cardstock.  They were cut to size, and stamped.  After inking the edges and adding scrapbook paper to the cards, the activities were glued on.  I also added n...

We've all been there.  You take a label off a bottle or jar for a DIY project and you're stuck with that sticky adhesive that won't come off.   I used to always reach for a chemical adhesive remover, but, not anymore!  Slowly, but surely, I'm trying to eliminate chemicals from our lives and I've got a great way to remove labels.  Are you ready?  It's peanut butter! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll remember this stack of Pinot Noir wine cups I came across at the liquor store.   I knew they'd make a great recycle/upcycle project, so all I needed to do was clean them up - after drinking the wine, of course!  As I peeled off the label, I was left with a sticky film.   It was seriously strong...it stuck to my finger even after I turned it over. Out came the peanut butter and it was a very simple process. I put a dab of peanut butter on my finger and proceeded to spread it across the adhesive on the cup: Afte...

The weather has been cool and rainy all week but, in spite of it, we had 175 Trick or Treaters in an hour! Yes, we ran out of candy and had to turn off the porch light and blow out the candle in the jack-o-lantern.  How was Halloween at your house? In honor of the cooler weather, it's time to share my Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.  I mentioned it in my moving post, so it's long overdue.   This is what you need to get started: Ingredients: 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup 1 can of water 1 jar of your choice of salsa Chicken breast - yes, that's a frozen chicken breast in the pic! Cumin Garlic powder Tortilla chips Your choice of cheese for topping - we like Pepper Jack. In your crockpot, mix together the soup, can of water, and jar of salsa.  Add the chicken breast (frozen is fine - I do it all the time) and cook on high for 5 hours.   Go work on your latest DIY project, clean your craft room, read a book...you've got plent...

Welcome back!  A few weeks ago I promised to share the details for the grapevine wreaths on my kitchen cabinets.   They are easy to make, you just make a circle and start twisting them together.  If you'd like to see how to get them started, click HERE for the post I did last Spring.   The weather was warmer when I started them and, you'll notice that some of the vines are still green.  That makes it much easier to bend and wrap them.  Be aware though, that those vines will shrink a bit as they dry and you may need to add more to them later on.  Since they grow wild around here that's no problem. To hang them on the cabinets, I measured a length of fishing line and looped it through the wreath.  I tied a knot and used a lighter to burn the ends.  That keeps the fishing line from slipping. Once that was done, the fishing line was hung on the inside, top of the door on a pushpin. I like this method, because it's invi...

I've been dealing with a sinus/ear infection for the past month and this second round of antibiotics better do the trick. When I took the time to think about it, I realized the last time I needed an antibiotic was over ten years ago...I guess I'm making up for it!   My energy level hasn't been what is usually is so here's a little 'this & that'... The other day, the morning sun was streaming into the dining room... Our daughter sent us a care package from her recent trip to Italy that included these: My husband added some tomatoes from the garden: Which resulted in this amazing dinner: The day I went back for my follow-up appointment and learned that I still had the sinus/ear infection, he made homemade bread and stew to make me feel better: Yes, he's a keeper!   If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this ironing board that I found at roadside sale for $5: Apparently I was on a roll because I found this child-size one this p...