Category: happy holidays.

the holiday merch.

Published on by Quandie5 Comments

I’ve got a whole van load of holiday merch heading in to Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater, MN today.

If you’re thinking, hey wait, I thought that stuff was going in last night, well, it was.  But then the weather forecast called for thunderstorms with the potential for hail and maybe even tornadoes for precisely the exact time I would have been dropping off my stuff.

So I delayed a day.

It doesn’t matter much because my items won’t be going out on the floor until next week when the shop has their annual holiday open house (Thursday, Nov 5 from Noon to 7 p.m.).

I had to get my things in early because I’ll be out of town next week.

Today I thought I’d share a quick review of some of the items I brought in starting with the sleds.

I have six of them this year (one isn’t pictured) ranging from $58 to $65.

Next up, I have six pair of ice skates.  Two are left over from last year.  This pair …

and this basic men’s pair.

Then there is the red pair that I shared here a few weeks back.

Plus I have three more pair that I haven’t shared here on the blog.  This one …

this one …

and this one.

I have a holiday themed lock box (is that what this would be called?) also left over from last year.

And this tackle box is also headed to the shop …

Along with the Kringle’s Mercantile toolbox …

and the North Pole Brewing Co toolbox.

I have a trio of holiday buckets for sale.  This one …

my favorite one …

and this one left over from last year.

I ended up deciding to pop little faux trees in to all three of them.  I’m interested to see whether or not my Dutch bucket sells this year with a tree in it.

I have a couple of stenciled signs this year, the Bed & Breakfast sign from 2024 …

and a Kringle’s Mercantile sign that I whipped up using an old drawer front.

I only have one set of painted books so far this season.

But I hope to get some more done after I return from my trip.

Last, but not least, I added one of the I.O.D. Twelfth Night paint inlays to a vintage tray that I picked up while thrifting last winter.

Do you remember when I brought that tray home back in February?

I wasn’t sure what I would do with it, but the paint inlay was the perfect fit.

And on that note I’m going to wrap up this wrap up.  I still have to finish my laundry and then get to packing.  I don’t have any blog posts scheduled during my absence, but hopefully I’ll have a few more fun holiday projects to share after I return so be sure to stay tuned!

fine yuletide cheer.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

Fall truly has to be the shortest season in Minnesota.  I think it lasts right around 3 weeks.

One day I’m still wearing shorts and wondering when the leaves are going to start changing and the next thing I know they have already fallen and I have to get my mittens out.

I suppose part of the problem this year is that I’ve been busy trying to get all of my Christmas items ready for the shop, so I’ve been in full on Christmas mode for the last two months, thus skipping right over fall.

In fact, I’ll be bringing most of my holiday items in to the shop tomorrow.  I leave for a visit with my mom on Friday and I won’t be back until after Reclaiming Beautiful’s Holiday Open House which will take place on Thursday, November 5 from Noon to 7 p.m.

So today I thought I’d share just one more holiday themed toolbox makeover with you guys before it heads to the shop.

This one was a heck of a garage sale find at just $2.  It’s getting more and more rare, but sometimes there are still people out there who just want to get rid of stuff so they price it accordingly.

I ordered another stencil from The Stencilsmith specifically for this toolbox, so in anticipation of its arrival I followed my usual procedure for prepping it.  After cleaning and scuff sanding, I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out.

Next I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Ecru.  Once dry, I added the Gingham Black Tartan from an old re.design with prima transfer to the bottom.

Then I added a section from the I.O.D. Stag Tavern transfer to the inside lid.

As for the outside, I painted it in Dixie Belle’s Caviar and then added a portion of the North Pole Brewing Co stencil in Ecru.

The stencil comes with more wording on either side of that, and since that didn’t fit on the front of the box I moved those sections to the top of the box.

I stenciled those in Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage for a little contrast.

The “Since 1939” on the front of the toolbox is from another stencil, and it’s also done in Dried Sage.  I needed something to add to that metal label because it was riveted in place and thus would have been difficult to remove.

Finally, I decided I wanted to do some sort of aged metallic look on the latches and the handle, so I painted them in Dixie Belle’s Bronze Patina Paint and then applied the green activating spray.

I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to stage the photos for this one, especially since neither Mr. Q or I drink beer.  However, I ended up at the liquor store with my friend Annie last weekend and she spotted this …

A Christmas beer with the most charming illustrations on the label.

Perfect for a North Pole Brewing Co. toolbox.

Um, you might have now noticed that one of those beer bottles is empty.  Well, we didn’t drink it … but I did use it to make some chili.  And to be honest, turns out I don’t even like beer in my chili so I don’t think that 2nd bottle will ever get opened.

But, that’s OK.  It looked good for the photos 😉

As I mentioned, I’ll be bringing this toolbox into Reclaiming Beautiful tomorrow.  That is, unless one of my local readers wants to snatch it up first.  If so, you’ll want to act quickly so check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

the kringle’s mercantile toolbox.

Published on by Quandie2 Comments

Today’s toolbox started out pretty crusty.

As you can see, the bottom was quite rusty.  It must have been sitting in water at some point, I’m guessing.

This is a good opportunity for me to share how I handle excessive rust before I start painting.  Basically I wash the toolbox first, let it dry, then use a small electric sander to sand off a good bit of that rust and chipping/peeling paint.  Then I wash it again.

Finally, once dry, I add two coats of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss and allow that to dry overnight.  I find that I really only need the two coats over the rusty areas, so I don’t necessarily put a complete 2nd coat over the whole thing.

Next up I painted the inside of this toolbox in Dixie Belle’s Barn Red.

As you can see, this toolbox came with a removable tray and I chose to keep it.  I don’t always keep the trays, especially if they have those angled divider thingies meant for sockets like this one …

They are more difficult to paint, and I’m not sure that they are especially functional for non-tool related uses.

After sealing the interior and tray with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat, I moved on to painting the outside of the toolbox in their Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I stenciled the front of the box with one of my new Christmas stencils from The Stencilsmith.

I did have to re-arrange some of the elements to fit the box.  I used more Barn Red along with Coffee Bean and English Ivy for the stenciling.

Also, as you can see in that photo, the rust has not bled through my paint thanks to the Bonding Boss.

I added some holly from the now-retired Dixie Belle Evergreen and Holly transfer to the top of the toolbox.

I finished off the outside with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

I’m sure there are some of you out there who are now thinking ‘what in the world does one do with a Christmas themed toolbox?’

Well, you could use it simply as a holiday decoration.  Maybe just placed under your tree?  Or you could add in some greens to create a centerpiece.  Of course, my favorite thing is to display my non-collection of tree toppers in one.

They also make great gift ‘baskets’.  I have a couple more toolboxes to share next week that would be perfect for that, so be sure to stay tuned to see those.

In the meantime, the Kringle’s Mercantile Toolbox is for sale locally (find those details here).  At the end of the month I’ll be taking it in to the shop if it doesn’t sell here first.

buckets of cheer.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

I’m guessing that not too many people see a crusty old metal bucket and immediately think “that will be perfect for Christmas!”

I get it.  I guess it is a little weird.

But I think a small evergreen in a rusty bucket is perfect for a simple holiday vignette.

In the past I’ve typically used non-holiday themed buckets to hold some small trees.

But a couple of years ago I decided to paint up a bucket and add an I.O.D. paint inlay from their Gloria set to it.

I tried selling it with a small tree last year , but it didn’t go.  Maybe that’s because it isn’t overtly Christmas-y.  If you spoke Dutch and thus knew that it says something like “peace on earth and goodwill to all” then it would be more obvious.

I’ve debated going back to the drawing board and painting over it, but I kind of love it myself.  This style is right up my alley.  So maybe I’ll just continue to use it in my own home.

But that brings me to a couple of buckets I’ve created for this holiday season.

First up is this vintage enamelware bucket that I picked up at a garage sale a few weeks back.

This was a super simple job, I just washed it up and added a transfer from the I.O.D. Stag Tavern set.

The transfer was a perfect fit.  I had originally thought about painting the wooden handle on the bucket, but after I had the transfer in place I decided that the wood tone was just right with that stag.

The next bucket started out as a simple vintage galvanized bucket.  I don’t seem to have a ‘before’ photo of it, but it was similar to those in the photo at the beginning of this post.

After giving it a quick scrub, I gave it two coats of Dixie Belle’s Ecru.  FYI, if you aren’t already aware, the chalk style paint from Dixie Belle sticks perfectly to old metal items like this.

Next I applied an image from The North Pole Co. paint inlay from I.O.D.

So cute!

After protecting the paint inlay from smearing by giving it a quick spray with Rust-Oleum clear matte sealer, I lightly sanded the bucket to smooth out the finish.  Then I applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

So, what do you think?  Have I inspired you to add some crusty ol’ buckets to your holiday decor?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

tacklebox no. 25.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

As per usual, time is slipping away far too fast.  Since I plan to have the majority of my holiday merch to the shop before I leave to spend my mom’s birthday with her (which is on Halloween), I’ve already finished up a few more items that I’ll be sharing with you over the next couple of weeks.

Today’s project is a tacklebox makeover and unfortunately once again I don’t have a ‘before’ photo.  It seems that there was a whole batch of toolboxes that I jumped right into painting without stopping for a ‘before’.

Oh well, no worries.  You can just imagine it was your ‘bog standard’ (I watch a lot of British TV) green metal tacklebox.  I gave it my typical prep, a good cleaning followed by a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss on the outside.

However, I did decide to take the easy way out on the inside and I spray painted it with Rust-Oleum’s Leafy Green.

It’s just so putzy to paint those divided pop-up trays with a brush.  It takes about 60 seconds with some spray paint.

Once that was dry, I painted the outside with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth first.  Then, once that dried I added a stripe of their Barn Red down the middle.

I followed that up with a simple “No. 25” stencil on the front.

Then I chose a small section from a larger stencil to add to the top.

The holly transfers are from the old Dixie Belle Evergreen and Holly set (it is now retired, but you can still find it online if you search for it).

I gave the outside a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to help protect it from wear.

If you’re still someone who sends out Christmas cards, this tacklebox would be a great way to keep all of your supplies organized.

I have to admit that I don’t send out Christmas cards myself, but I do have a handful of really good vintage cards that I can’t seem to part with.

How about you?  Do you still send out holiday cards?  And if so, do you need a cute tacklebox to keep your cards, address labels, stamps and other supplies in?  Or maybe you’d do something else with this box.  Leave a comment and let me know.

a dime a dozen.

Published on by Quandie9 Comments

I always keep an eye out for vintage sleds when I’m out garage saling although oftentimes they are priced way too high for me.

Such was the case with these two sleds that I saw at an estate sale a while back.

My budget is $10 or less.  You wouldn’t think I’d be able to find many in that price range, yet somehow I always end up with a few.

I should clarify that I will make an exception for this style of sled …

They are so much easier to stencil when the seat is one solid piece rather than a set of three slats.  This style is also harder to find, so I am willing to pay more for them.

All of that being said, I managed to end up with five sleds in my stash for this year.

I always wonder if the supply of vintage sleds is going to dry up eventually, but so far it hasn’t.  Well, let’s face it, this is Minnesota, we probably have more sleds per capita than most states.  They are practically a dime a dozen around here.

I like to save up the sleds all summer and then paint them up assembly line style in the fall before it gets too cold to paint outside.

I used Dixie Belle’s Barn Red, English Ivy (green), French Villa, Coffee Bean and Drop Cloth for paint.

This year I ordered a couple of new stencils from The Stencil Smith for the sleds.  My old stencils were getting a bit tired.  If you don’t always clean them properly after each use (guilty as charged), they start to lose their crispness after a couple of dozen passes or so.

I chose stencils that had lettering that was less than 4″ or so tall to fit on those individual slats.  You do have to guess at that a little because the stencils are listed with overall dimensions, not with the size of each line of text.

I used my usual technique of creating a shadow around the larger words (the middle slat) by stenciling them first in Coffee Bean, then moving the stencil slightly down and left and stenciling again in the final color.  The top and bottom lines of text would not lend themselves to that technique because they are just too fine.

Once everything was dry, I sanded the sleds to distress the edges and then applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta.  That will help make them water resistant for outdoor use.

I think you have two options for displaying the sleds.  You can hang them horizontally, as I’ve shown above, or you can lean them vertically (and of course you could also hang them vertically).

You can also choose to use them outside or inside.

I have several sleds that I’ve kept for myself over the years, one that I always hang somewhere inside …

one that I often hang on the potting shed …

and one that I lean on the deck.

OK, to be fair, that last one isn’t stenciled.  I left it in its original chippy red paint because it was just too good to cover up.

I have to confess that I completely forgot my plan to paint one of the sleds with the Norwegian flag, like the one I saw in the Norway pavilion at EPCOT.

Shoot!

Well, maybe next year.

In the meantime, I’ll be taking 5 or 6 sleds in to Reclaiming Beautiful at the end of the month.  However, if any of you locals readers would like to purchase one sooner than that please reach out via email at qisforquandie@gmail.com.  I have one smaller sled at $58 (not pictured) and the rest are $65.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their products used in this project.

the red skates.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

Time is flying by, I can’t believe it’s already October!  At this rate, the holiday season will be upon us in the blink of an eye.

That being said, I have another Christmas project to share with you guys today.

This one is sort of a semi-makeover.  You may remember that I painted up a pair of red and white ice skates last year.

The skates started out like this …

I painted them in Dixie Belle’s Barn Red and Ecru, and then replaced those old laces with some creamy white velvet ribbon.

After giving them a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax, I used them in my own winter decor hanging them from a sled on our deck.  I purposely did not add any transfers because transfers don’t always hold up well outside in the elements … especially our Minnesota winters.

But I pulled them back out a few days ago and decided that they really needed a little more embellishment.  So after touching up the Barn Red paint in a couple of spots (and yes, after a full year of curing time you can easily paint directly over Dixie Belle wax with their chalk mineral paint), I pulled out the I.O.D. Stag Tavern transfers.  I knew there was a really pretty floral image in that set that would be beautiful on an ice skate.

I chose another section from Stag Tavern for the 2nd skate as well.

I have to admit that I don’t love the pheasant as much as the florals, but that’s OK.  These skates will be kept as a pair and one is likely to hang them together with the floral skate in front, right?

I’m putting these in the pile of holiday merch that will eventually go into the shop.  But of course, if any of my local readers want to snatch them up ahead of time that would be fine as well (check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details on that).

OK, so I’m curious, did you prefer these skates in their simple red and white paint job?  Or do you think adding the transfers took them to another level?  Leave a comment and let me know.

hot cocoa season.

Published on by Quandie16 Comments

I think it’s fair to say that hot cocoa season has started here in Minnesota.  At least, that is, if you’re an early riser.  Mr. Q and I get up early to go walking in the park before starting our day, and it was only 49° one morning last week.  That counts, right?

Well, even if it doesn’t, a few of you said that you wouldn’t mind seeing some Christmas projects here on q is for quandie even thought it’s a bit early.

So today I’m sharing the makeover of this piece …

I purchased this at a garage sale back in June 2025.  I think it was supposed to be a doll clothes closet.  I’d say it’s the right size for those American Girl Dolls, and it had a bar across the top inside for hangers.

It also came with a French provincial drawer pull on the top to serve as a handle, I suppose so you could carry your doll clothes around more easily.

I started with removing the drawer pull and filling the holes using Dixie Belle Mud.  I didn’t get a photo of it, but I also removed the rod from inside and filled the holes from it as well.

Next I sanded down those squiqqly markings so that you wouldn’t see them through my paint.  I also pulled off those little knobs to make the next couple of steps easier.

I gave the inside a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Barn Red.

Next I painted the outside in DB’s Drop Cloth.  I followed that up with applying an I.O.D. paint inlay from their new The North Pole Co. set.

After sealing the paint inlay with some spray sealer to avoid smearing it, and putting the little knobs back on, I then applied a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat both inside and out.

I’m thinking this little cabinet would be perfect for placing on the kitchen counter as a little hot cocoa station for winter.

I found a pair of seasonal mugs at a garage sale to tuck inside.

And I decided to paint up the lid of a glass jar to hold marshmallows.

I started by giving the very shiny, smooth lid a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss to help my paint stick.  Then I applied a coat of the Drop Cloth and added another paint inlay from that same The North Pole Co set.  It just happened to be the perfect fit.

I’m going to include the mugs, hot cocoa and jar with the cabinet.

I have to admit that I probably won’t be able to resist eating all the marshmallows first though.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this Hot Cocoa Season cupboard.  Would you have preferred it to remain a doll clothes cabinet?  Or do you like the idea of a hot cocoa station?

This little cupboard along with the mugs, jar and hot cocoa packets is ‘available for local sale‘.

what’s next?

Published on by Quandie7 Comments

I find fall to be a tricky time of the year for blogging.  Why?  Because I have to get started on any Christmas projects that are going to the shop about now.  I have a fall trip planned, so I need to get my Christmas merch ready a little bit earlier than usual this year.

But, it’s only September and I presume that no one wants to see Christmas projects on the blog already, right?  So, what’s next?

I know it’s actually time for fall projects, but I’m not really big on autumn decor.  Ironic, since this is actually one of my favorite seasons.  But for me the only fall decoration we need is that found in nature.

And maybe the occasional rusty pumpkin …

Also, I’m not planning to have a fall sale this year, so I’m not highly motivated to come up with fall themed items.

Gardening season has taken quite the nose dive over the last month or so too.  We’ve been experiencing severe drought conditions and the garden shows it.  My ferns are mostly dead, most of my hostas look a bit crispy, and I’ve pretty much thrown in the towel on my ‘Sunday morning in the garden’ posts.

In addition, garage sale season really slows down here during the dog days of summer.  My friend opK and I have found a handful of garage/estate sales, but haven’t brought home any large hauls.

Last week we ended up at an interesting estate sale.  If you happened to be on the lookout for taxidermy, it was the place for you.

That is if you happen to have a spare $780 and you’re in need of a bear skin rug.

But actually, there were quite a few things at this sale that appealed to me but were priced too high for me like these sleds …

One was $50 and the other $68.  I only buy them when they are $10 or less, and I already have 5 of them for this coming holiday season!

There were also lots of really beautiful ornate gold frames (some with photos, some with art, some empty).

But again at $70 to $85 each, they were too rich for my blood.

Granted, I could have gone back on the last day when prices were being slashed, but it was the holiday weekend and I had better things to do like heading up to the lake.

I did manage to buy one thing for myself.

I don’t see these antique marmalade jars around here very often, and this one is fabulously crackled.  Also at only $12 I think it was a bit of a bargain.  Do you sense the potential beginnings of a new non-collection?

But that brings me back to my original question, what’s next?  What am I going to share here on the blog over the next month or two until it’s reasonable to start sharing some of those Christmas projects?

Maybe a few miniature projects?  Possibly some random bits of furniture?  How about a not-exactly-Christmas, but kind of, toolbox or two?

I’m really not sure, but I hope you’ll stay tuned none the less.

the year in review.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

Happy New Year!

Rather than making a list of resolutions for the new year, which often leads to a sense of failure when you don’t actually accomplish most of them (hello exercising at least 5 days/week), I find that it’s much more satisfying to celebrate the things that you did accomplish over the previous year.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely tend to forget about the stuff that I’ve already done and focus too much on the stuff that I haven’t.

So for me New Year’s Day is a good time to look back and remind myself what I did in 2025, starting with my dollhouse reno.

I have to admit, when I originally decided to tackle this project I half expected it to get pushed to the back of workshop mostly unfinished.  I definitely was not confident in my ability to get it done.

But as it turned out, I really enjoyed working on it.  I finished 9 rooms, if you count the two hallways as rooms.

I do have two rooms left, the living room and the library (which is up in the tower).  I’m just waiting for some inspiration to strike for the living room, I don’t have a clear idea of how I want it to look yet, and the library is just going to require a lot of books.

I’m sure you noticed that most of the furniture I painted in 2025 was miniature too.

I had so much fun creating miniature pieces last year.

They are so much easier to work on than full sized furniture!

But now that my dollhouse is mostly complete, I’m not sure how I’m going to justify continuing to paint more miniatures.  I’m working on a plan for that though, so stay tuned.

I did manage to paint a few full size furniture pieces this year including a desk that I purchased for just $4 at a garage sale.

I also painted up this small cabinet …

and a trio of bar stools.

I hope to do more furniture when the weather warms up enough for me to work out in my unheated carriage house workshop again in spring.

I created quite a few rusty masterpieces in 2025 using Dixie Belle’s Patina Paint as well.

I use the Iron Paint and the Green Spray to add faux rust to otherwise somewhat boring (or dare I even say, tacky) items.

I love using it on plastic garden planters especially.

To me they look totally realistic, and since I don’t want to spend a few hundred dollars on an authentic iron garden urn they make a great alternative.

I also used Patina Paint to transform garish orange pumpkins into rusty masterpieces.

They were a big hit at my fall sale.

Speaking of which, I managed to host the Carriage House Sale twice last year.  Once in May …

and again in October.

I definitely plan to do that again in 2026.

Of course, I also painted a multitude of toolboxes in 2025.  I haven’t taken the time to count them all, but here are a few of my favorites starting with this pretty one from back in January.

I honestly could share a favorite toolbox from every month of the year, but that might get tedious.  So I’ve only gone back to May for this next favorite.

It seems that I had a recurring theme of roses last year.

I can’t help it that I.O.D. has so many beautiful rose themed transfers.

I did find some other florals to use too.

And of course I did a few holiday themed boxes as well.

I did a lot of traveling in 2025.  I took several trips to visit my mom (she lives in a suburb of Las Vegas).

I plan to head back there again in February.

I also took two trips to Orlando to visit my favorite theme park last year, one in February with just my sister …

And one in November with both my sister and my niece.

Mr. Q and I took a fantastic trip to the Brandywine Valley in May.

If I had to pick a favorite trip in 2025, this one was it.  We enjoyed checking out gardens …

historic towns …

historic homes …

and battlefields.

We also took an Azamara cruise along the St Lawrence Seaway all the way from Montreal out to the Atlantic Ocean in September.

Honestly, this trip would probably have rated higher if I hadn’t come down with Covid halfway through.

But prior to getting sick, we did do some fun sightseeing in Montreal.

and we really enjoyed the Fortress of Louisbourg.

And despite being rather under the weather, I did get to see Quebec City which has always been on my bucket list.

I finished the travel year off with my annual trip to Puerto Vallarta with my neighbor’s family.

A week at the pool with a good book is the perfect way to relax a bit during the holiday season.

I spent a bit of time out in the garden in 2025 too.

Despite my jumping worm infestation, things looked pretty good for most of the year.  I did have to do more watering and fertilizing than I used to do, but fortunately now that I’m retired I have time for that.

Although I was mostly focused on maintenance for 2025, I did finally choose a tree for the front yard.

It’s a Princeton Gold Maple, fingers crossed that it thrives in 2026.

For that matter, I hope for the same for myself and for all of you.  May we all thrive in 2026!  But before we move on to the new year, maybe take a moment to create your own list of the things you accomplished in 2025!  It’s so much more rewarding than making a list of resolutions, and I bet it will be much longer than you think.  In fact, why not share some of your accomplishments with me in a comment?!

Happy New Year!