The Apple Street Cottage

It's almost October and that means decorating for Halloween around here.  I've been working on an idea and I decided it was time to get started on it before I procrastinated for too long and Halloween was over!   The best thing about this project is it's totally FREE, that's right, I didn't have to spend a dime!  The first thing I had to do was take a walk and use my clippers to cut some tall weeds and small branches.  Here's what I collected: The weeds:   T he small branches: I left my foot in the picture to help show the size of these branches. I grabbed some of the weeds and started placing them around one end of the branch.  It's only fair to tell you, I thought hot glue would help keep them in place - WRONG!  The glue did not stick, and in all honesty, everything stayed in place just fine without it. Here's another look at this step: Then I started wrapping twine around them: When it looked like enough twine and everyt...

Fall is upon us.  I'm convinced, since I could hear the dry leaves rustling as they blew down the street yesterday - even though the temperature was in the high 80s and it was humid!   In spite of that, the project list is growing and I wanted to share this quick and easy one before I got tied-up with the bigger ones. I found some old keys and embroidery hoops at the flea market and immediately thought, "Windchime"! This is a very easy project.  You need keys, a small embroidery hoop, a pen, fishing line, and a lit candle. I started by deciding how to space the keys (I used 10) around the hoop and marked each spot with a dot from a pen.  I drilled the holes, sanded any rough edges, and was ready for the next step. I cut a length of fishing line and tied it to each key.  I melted the end in the candle flame to keep the knot from slipping - an old trick that my Dad taught me! Then, the other end of the fishing line was threaded through a ...

...if this is you: Having some fun on this beautiful Friday.  I hope you'll leave a comment and share this post if this is something you do!  Please take a look around this little blog, the Cottage loves visitors and new friends! So glad you stopped by - have a great weekend and may you find something awesome on the side of the road! Linking to: Pinbellish Shabbilicious Friday Craft Frenzy Friday

It's the end of August and so many wonderful things are happening in the garden...like this: Don't you just LOVE fresh produce?  My little garden has been good to us this season and I've been able to freeze some of it to enjoy this winter. My flower gardens are flourishing.  If you remember, the cottage had absolutely no landscaping, so I had a blank slate.  Here are a few glimpses of the flowers: Then my mum from last fall started to bloom: And this showed up: I've been enjoying Summer so much this year that I'm just not ready for Fall yet.  Like it or not, I'm afraid the two seasons are about to collide.   How about you?  Are you ready for Fall or do you want to squeeze out a few more weeks of Summer? Linking to: Merry Monday Table It Amaze Me Monday Make It Pretty Monday Inspire Me Tuesday Grandma Ideas

With the front door painted a bright, cheery yellow, it was time to paint the shutters and give the cottage a new look, until we took them off and discovered this: Yes, my friends, that is rotten wood.  The shutters were original to the house and the only thing holding them together was the paint - MANY layers of paint.  It was time for a new plan.   We could: repair the original shutters - not a viable option. make new wood shutters like the originals - a lot of work. replace the shutters with a vinyl in a similar style..... ...and then we walked across the street and looked at the house.  My husband said, "You know, I kinda like this 'no shutters' look".  I immediately said, "no way!", but then we started to talk about it.   We both agreed if there would be no shutters, the frame around the windows needed some color.  The shutters were going to be a dark blue, but we both agreed the window frames needed a lighter color. After lo...

Everytime I did, I thought, "Man, this thing needs help!" and help it got: I chose a bright, cheery yellow. Here's the "before" shot: If you've been following, you'll remember the rescreening project - which was just the beginning.  You can read that story HERE .  The rest of the door needed some TLC, which is evidenced here: After scraping and sanding... Did I mention the scraping? The driveway was a mess! After finishing the screen door, the main door also needed some attention.  It didn't need a lot of scraping and sanding, but it did need an update - it was white: Not anymore! The transformation is striking, don't you think? From here, we're moving on to the shutters.  My hubby has been painting the house, so stay tuned for the cottage's new look! Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by! Linking to: That DIY Party Amaze Me Monday Merry Monday Make It Pretty Mon...

UPDATE: We had a visit from the niece and nephew of the original owners of our house. Tim had seen a lot of the work we've done, but this was the first time his sister had been here since we bought it. When she saw the photo of their aunt & uncle in the dining room she blew them a kiss, turned to me, with tears in her eyes, and said, "Thank you for having them here".  It touched my heart...  Keep in mind, this couple built this house in 1931 and were the only people to live in it previous to us.  Fran lived to be 101 and was loved by all who knew her.  We feel honored to live in their house. I thought I'd share a little bit of history along with a recycled frame. Apparently, there is entirely too much light in the dining room, because it was impossible to get a good shot of this frame and photo - glare everywhere! Meet the original owners of The Cottage: This was the only angle that had very little glare. Here's a close-up of the pic: Me...