The Apple Street Cottage

  Fall may be knocking on the door, but I'm not ready to let it in.  I found this enamel coffee pot in the spring and just knew it would be perfect for flowers.  You may remember it being mentioned in This & That Summer 2022 where I also shared the fact that it had a large candle melted in the bottom of it.  Ugh! There is a flower story, but first, let's talk about that melted candle.  Normally, I would use the freezer to remove an old candle from a container.  I'm sure you know the method:  pop the container in the freezer for an hour or so and when you take it out, the wax pops out.  This particular container narrows as you go up, so there would be no 'popping out' the frozen wax.   On to Plan B.    I heated some water in the kettle.  While holding the enamel coffee pot in a heat-safe bowl, I poured the hot water in the bowl, around the enamel pot, and let it sit for a few minutes.   Sorry, it's blurry but I was holding the pot down in very hot water! Usi

  Yard  (and Estate)  Sale Season is in full-swing around here and I have been participating.  If you missed my post:  The Ultimate Yard Sale Guide   be sure to check it out.  I've consolidated all of my tips for successful treasure hunting and you don't want to miss it!   For me, it's the Thrill of the Hunt and getting a good bargain.  I shared some of my recent finds in my  This & That - Summer 2022 post  and some have already had fantastic makeovers!   This weekend did not disappoint.   I started on Friday with an Estate Sale.  They had several excellent photos in their ad and I spied a couple of items I wanted.  The ad made it clear they would not allow Early Birds so I arrived at their start time.  Much to my disappointment, they were already open and over-run with shoppers!  Ugh! Happily, I found my first item right away!  When I saw it in the photo, I thought it was a cutting board.   In reality it had a very sloppy stain/varnish job.     It's quite heavy fo

  That's right, my friends.   It is still August.   Hot and humid. You know, the Dog Days of Summer? That being said, there will be no mums, orange pumpkins, colored leaves, or pumpkin spice anything until after Labor Day. It's the rule - around here anyway! In honor of that rule, I created the 'Not Yet, Fall' pumpkin. Welcome to the  Creative Craft Hop  hosted by Sara from  Birdz of a Feather .   If you just came from Donna @ Modern Monticello , welcome to the Cottage.  At the bottom of this post I'll direct you to the next stop on this hop, but be sure to visit all of the other stops too for some amazing inspiration. They will all be listed.  Now on to this project... The orange styrofoam pumpkins from the dollar store are such a staple for the DIY/Crafty community. I started by painting one with white chalk paint leftover from my Not Just an Ashtray Stand project. I then sprayed it with clear sealer. Since the center was a bit chopped-up, I also flipped it ove

  Bottle cutting is a thing and to be completely honest, I'm not very good at it.   The instructions make it sound so easy...etch the bottle, alternate hot and cold, the bottle breaks along the etching.  Simple enough...except I had 3 bottles break and NOT along the etching!  Sorry, no pics.  Fortunately, the 4th one broke the way it was intended: Look at that!  Perfection! No worries.   I promise to drink more wine so I can get better at this hobby. This post may contain affiliate links. Welcome to  The Sustainable Pinterest  Challenge , a group of bloggers who are challenged to recreate a pin from Pinterest focused on sustainability. Many thanks to  Julie from Sum of Their Stories  for hosting. This month's theme is 'Upcycle' and my inspiration came from this pin , but I decided to 'kick it up a notch' and use more of the bottle.   This is the bottle cutter I use. After cutting the bottle, I used wet sandpaper to smooth the edge. I also had a piece of sandpape