The Apple Street Cottage

  We've all seen (and purchased) those lovely bright orange styrofoam pumpkins at the dollar store.  Let me show you their true potential with very little effort or time,  starting at the top-left and going clockwise.  Don't let the picture fool you.  That's not yarn or a sweater.  It's a dollar store mop.   If you don't have an old sweater or you don't knit or crochet, this project is for you.  The 'Sweater-Look' Pumpkin  is easy and will take less than an afternoon to complete. I love the jewel-tone color of this pumpkin.  Some corduroy fabric creates a  Purple Pumpkin  that adds a little 'glam' to your Fall decorating. It's a Halloween Pumpkin speaks for itself.  It's another quick and easy project.  If you can't find the fabric, no worries.  I offer some alternatives that will work just as well. The 'Not Yet, Fall' Pumpkin was my answer to all the pumpkins I started seeing in August.  Honestly, Au...

  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...

  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 cut...

  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 ...

  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 ...

  As soon as I laid eyes on it I knew what this sad little ashtray stand could become, and I had ALL of the pieces to make it happen.  How often does that happen?  W elcome to the 'Do It Over' Designers blog hop.  We are a group of bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY.  I'm happy to host this hop and I hope you'll visit everyone to see what they have to share with you.  Their links will be listed at the end of this post. This is what I found: Dirty, damaged - you know, the usual things I find! As I started sanding, the burn marks became more apparent: The glass ashtray was either broken or lost and someone decided to put out their smokes on the wood. Ugh!  After the whole thing was sanded, it was sprayed with shellac. I was going to paint it white and no one wants 'bleed marks'. Out came the white chalk paint.  (Just a sidenote, everything was sealed with a clear spray after painting.) The plan?  Make this a side table for my balcony and ...