Category: happy holidays.

christmas schoolhouse chairs.

Published on by Quandie5 Comments

A little while back I purchased a pair of schoolhouse chairs at my friend Amy’s garage sale.

Super cute ‘as is’ really.  But I decided to give them a holiday look.

I painted one of them in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and the other in their English Ivy.

Then I went through my stash of stencils.  I have a few that fit on these little chairs.

In the past I’ve used this cute Milk & Cookie Co stencil from Wallcutz …

… a few times actually …

and this cute Christmas Farm stencil.

This sort of Scandinavian look was a good one too.

Sorry, I’m not quite sure where those last two stencils came from.

I liked the simpler look of this next stencil on more of a mid-mod style chair (stencil also from Wallcutz).

I may do another one like this yet this year.

But I was in the mood for something new on these two chairs, so I started searching online.  I ended up finding a stencil I liked from Three Birds Stencils on Etsy, and I was able to order it in the right size to fit my chairs.

I added it to the green chair using DB’s Drop Cloth, and to the white chair using their Coffee Bean, just in case someone out there prefers a more neutral Christmas color scheme.

I’ll be bringing both of these chairs to the craft show that I’m participating in tomorrow.

Unless of course a local reader wants to call dibs on either (or both) of them today.  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

As for the rest of you, leave a comment and let me know which of my many chairs was your favorite!

dreaming of a pink christmas.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

Anybody else out there love a little bit of pink at Christmas?

Back in 2017 I painted all of my Christmas gift boxes pink and then used Fusion’s transfer gel to add some graphics that I printed out.

And then there was my Venetian velvet inspired pink and gold stenciled wrapping paper from 2018.

In 2019 I turned an old vintage pink dustpan into Christmas decor.

So when I was going through my paint cabinet trying to decide on a color for the inside of the toolbox that I’m sharing today, I saw Dixie Belle’s Pink Champagne and thought “yes, perfect!”

But let’s go back and start at the beginning.

My friend Sue gave me this toolbox for my birthday many years ago.  She had added a number sticker on either side.

It was simple, but I like simple.  I used it to store scrapbook supplies.

A while back I used it as a guinea pig to try out the then new I.O.D. white Traditional Pots transfers.  I removed the number stickers and painted over just that bit of the box with black chalk paint, and then applied the white transfer.

I liked that look quite a bit too.

But recently as part of my Swedish Death Cleaning kick, I really pared down my scrapbooking supplies and I ended up emptying out this entire container.  Then I put it in my stash for a makeover.

I pulled it out recently thinking that it would be fun to give it a Christmas look, but using a stencil this time rather than a transfer.  I wanted to keep the black outside, but the original interior was a dull white that definitely needed a refresh.  And that brings me to the Pink Champagne.  I love the idea of pink for Christmas, and I also think pink pairs beautifully with black.

The Pink Champagne is a cool and quite pale pink, sort of an icy pink.  Perfect for a pink Christmas.

And by the way, I did clean the box, sand it lightly and then add a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss before I got started with the painting.  After two coats of the Pink Champagne, I applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat over it.

Now this box would be perfect for storing all of my pink and silver vintage ornaments.

Next up I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky to the outside of the box to freshen it up a bit.  Once the Midnight Sky was dry I started stenciling.

There were several steps involved in the stenciling, with drying time in between.  I first added the “Rudolf and Co” section in DB’s Dried Sage on both sides of the box.  Then I went back in and added the “Fine Reindeer Treats” to both sides of the lid, also in Dried Sage.  Then I came back in and went over just the “Rudolph” and the “Co” in Drop Cloth.

I’ve gotten so much use out of this stencil from Wallcutz.  I have it in two sizes (it comes in 7 different sizes), the bigger one was perfect for making the ‘foot board sign’ that I kept for myself and put up every Christmas.

I’ve used the smaller one on countless items like boxes …

and trucks …

and grain shovels.

I’m not always good about cleaning my stencils after use, so this one is getting a bit worn out after so many uses and it’s not as crisp as I would like it to be.  I may have to order a new one.  I used it on a couple of other items this year that you’ll be seeing soon, so be sure to stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’m not really going to store my pink and silver ornaments in this box.  I really just store them in a bigger box along with the other colors.  So this box is for sale locally (check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details).

Are you a fan of pink at Christmas?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Co for supplying their products used in the this makeover.

the perfect christmas red.

Published on by Quandie11 Comments

Are you looking for the perfect shade of red paint to use on some of your Christmas projects?

The red I’ve used the most has to be Honky Tonk Red from Dixie Belle.

It’s a lovely cherry red, perfect for pairing with white.

It’s definitely my go-to red for stenciling Christmas signs.

If you prefer using a no-fuss acrylic style paint with a built in primer and top coat, then Dixie Belle’s Fiery Sky from their Silk Paint line would be a good option for a Christmas red.

I like to use this color on the inside of toolboxes.

Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Tricycle is also a great choice for a Christmas-y red.  I used it last year on my North Pole Bed & Breakfast sign.

If you like the chippy look that you can get from milk paint, this is a great option.

Or if you like your red a little darker, Homestead House milk paint in Barn Red is another option if you want something chippy.

I used it on this pair of wooden skis way back in 2017.

Dixie Belle also has a Barn Red and I just finished using it on today’s project, this sled.

My friend opK found this sled for me at a garage sale.  Unfortunately the previous owners had given it a sloppy blue paint job.  After giving it a good cleaning, I decided to try a monochromatic look on this one, and I wanted to match the existing red as much as possible.  My usual Honky Tonk Red was just a bit too bright, so I pulled out the Barn Red.

I decided to work smarter rather than harder with this paint job, and this is today’s q tip for you.  When working with a combination of red and white paint, it’s pretty much impossible to prevent the white from turning pink if you sand the red after the white is applied.  It’s best to distress and then seal your background color first (whether it’s the red or the white), then add the stencil over it.

So after the Barn Red paint was dry, I sanded the edges to distress, vacuumed away any dust and then applied Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat before adding the stencil in DB’s Drop Cloth.

And here’s one more q tip for you, always put the approximate amount of clear coat you’ll need into a separate container when applying it over a vibrant color like this.  You don’t want to contaminate your entire jar with flecks of red, which are inevitable.

I like to use the Dixie Belle Finishing Pad to gently smooth out the stenciled paint without breaking through that clear coat down to the red, but you could also sand very gently with 220 grit paper, or just skip this step altogether.

Unfortunately, I did a terrible job of capturing the Barn Red color in my photos.   The color looks different in all three of my photos, but I think this next one is closest to reality.

After completing this project, I think I might actually prefer the Barn Red over the Honky Tonk Red.  I may have to switch up my go-to Christmas red.

I’ve painted up a total of four sleds this year.

I have this one in black …

And I also ended up painting the one that is to the right of the black one above.

These three will be making their way to Reclaiming Beautiful (the shop where I sell on consignment in Stillwater, MN) in time for their Christmas open house next Thursday,  unless one of my local readers wants to snatch one up before then.  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

As for the 4th sled, you’ll have to stay tuned to see what I did with that one.

In the meantime, which red do you prefer?  Or do you like a more neutral color scheme for Christmas?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their products for this makeover.

santa’s workshop cupboard.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

Remember this little red cupboard that I snagged out of a free pile at a garage sale this summer?

It was such a fun find!

You can’t really tell from that photo above, but one of the upper cabinet doors was cracked where the hinges were screwed in.  So I decided to simply remove both of the upper doors.  I used Dixie Belle’s Mud to fill in the holes where the hinge screws were.

After then giving it a good cleaning and a bit of sanding to smooth out some flaws, I applied two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  That gave me a blank canvas to start with.

I ultimately decided that it would be fun to give it a Christmas look, so I went through my stash of stencils and transfers but didn’t find anything that would fit on that lower cabinet door.  So then I started looking for a new stencil to purchase.  The Santa’s Workshop stencil from Three Birds Stencils looked like just the ticket.  I was able to choose from a variety of sizes, and there was an option that would fit my door perfectly.

Once my stencil arrived in the mail, I added it to the lower cabinet door using Dixie Belle’s English Ivy.

After sealing all of the painted surfaces with some clear wax, I swapped out the knob on the door for a pretty little glass knob that was in my stash.

I then added some decorative paper to the back of the shelves on top

and the bottom of the shelves in the lower part of the cupboard.

It worked out perfectly that the inside width of the cupboard was exactly 12″, a.k.a. the size of my October Afternoon scrapbook paper.

How frickin’ adorable is that?

I think there are two potential markets for this little cupboard.  First, obviously someone could purchase it as a Christmas present for a child.  How fabulous would it be to have that waiting under the tree on Christmas morning?  But I also think it would be awesome as Christmas decor.  Hang it on the wall, or place it on a sideboard or dresser, and fill it with your non-collection of vintage Santa mugs.

Oh boy, now I’m starting to talk myself into keeping it … and going on the hunt for Santa mugs.

But no, this piece is for sale locally.  Be sure to hit up my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

As for the rest of you, let me know what you think of this little cupboard in a comment, and let me know what you would display in it!

is it that time already?

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

It was quite the transition to go from 100°+ degree days while visiting my mom a week or so ago, straight into working on Christmas projects.  However, the holiday open house at Reclaiming Beautiful was just a few weeks away.  I had to get crackin’.

Luckily I’d made a good start on quite a few holiday projects before I headed out of town.  Now I just need to add finishing touches to them.

So although it feels really early to me, I’m going to share some of those projects with you today.  I used a couple of the new Dixie Belle holiday transfers and I want you all to have some time to order them if you want to use them on your own holiday decor.

First up is a pair of boxes; a tackle box and a Lane miniature cedar box.  Let’s start with the tackle box.  Here’s how it looked when I brought it home.

I kind of loved that original color and I really debated just cleaning it up and keeping it that way.  But it looks better in that photo than it did in person.  It was really quite gross and it didn’t clean up well.  Plus, I have found that my painted versions sell much more easily than the ones that I leave in their original paint.

So after cleaning it and giving it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out, I then painted the inside in their Fiery Sky.

That is one of the colors from the Dixie Belle Silk paint line, so it has a built in top coat that is extra durable which is great for an interior that is going to be used (for jewelry, craft supplies, etc, probably not for fishing lures).

Next up I painted the outside in DB’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I sanded to distress the edges and then started applying the new Yuletide Hearth transfer from Dixie Belle.

This is such a lovely Christmas floral, however I do wish the transfer had run vertically on the carrier sheet rather than horizontally.  I’m sure there was some logical reason for this placement, but it also means having to line up a seam every 6″ rather than every 12″.

So going around my tackle box meant that I had a lot of seams.

But my bigger problem is that there is no beginning and/or end to the design.  Wherever you stop ends up with a very obvious straight edge.

That would be fine if you plan to run the transfer all the way across the front of something for example, or in this case, all the way around my tackle box (although it wouldn’t meet up perfectly in the back).  It’s also fine if your item is less than 6″ wide, and you’ll see an example of that in the last project I’m sharing today.

I ended up trimming a piece for either end to try and make it look a bit more natural.

As you can see, I also struggled a bit with lining up the seams.  But that is towards the back and isn’t nearly as noticeable on the front, so I decided it would do.

But aside from all that, this is a very pretty transfer.  I just wish it was a little bit more user friendly for use on tool/tackle boxes.

As you can see above, I didn’t stop with the Dixie Belle transfer.  I also pulled out that I.O.D. Étiquettes gilded transfer that I purchased a while back.  You may remember that I didn’t love the results that I got with this one initially.  I think that was partly because I was applying the shiny gold transfer over black paint and the contrast showed every flaw in my application.

I think it works much better layered over something else rather than just on its own.

I also added some of the Étiquettes gilded transfer to the top of the tackle box.

I have to say it’s still not my favorite.  But that being said, I.O.D. did come out with a holiday themed gilded transfer and that might be fun to use on future holiday projects.  So that’s something to consider if you like the look of shiny gold for Christmas.

Next up is the Lane box.  I first painted this box last April.

You may remember that there was a flaw in that I.O.D. transfer (go back to read that post here if you want more details).  I mentioned in that post that I might end up sanding it down and starting over, and sure enough that is what I did.

I sanded the transfer off, then repainted the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once the paint was dry, I decided to attempt to use the I.O.D. Ephemeral Type stamp on it.  I still have very mixed results with stamping, but I’m working on it.

I’ll be honest, I had to repaint and restamp twice before getting a result I was happy with.  That’s why I started with the stamping rather than the transfers, I had a feeling I’d have some do-overs.  But it’s easy enough to paint back over the stamp and try again without having transfers to work around.

Once the stamp looked fairly good (I’m still not 100% happy with it, the curse of being a perfectionist), I added some of the Dixie Belle Caroling Cardinals transfers to it.

I found it much easier to play around with placement using this transfer.

I think this one is much more versatile when working with smaller projects like these.  I wrapped the poinsettia and evergreen garland around the sides, and added some individual pine cones and poinsettias to the top.

I love the pretty little red berries.

All in all, if you are trying to choose between Yuletide Hearth and Caroling Cardinals, you may want to consider how you will need to lay out the transfer before making your choice.

But both are lovely Christmas florals!

I also painted up another pair of ice skates this year.

The Yuletide Hearth transfer worked much better for me on these.  I was able to position them so that they didn’t leave a harsh straight edge anywhere.

I also added more of the I.O.D. Étiquettes gilded transfer to the skates.

If you were to scrutinize them closely, you’d see where I once again struggled to get the entire design transferred cleanly.  But I don’t think it really matters so much when it’s layered over the holly, it just looks worn and distressed … in a good way.

The original laces for this pair of skates were pretty worn out, so I removed them and added some gold ribbon instead.

If you want to check on any of my previous year’s painted skates you can find them here.

And as I mentioned in that previous post, I often struggle with the question of whether or not to paint items.  Sometimes it’s an easy decision, like with this particular pair of skates.  They weren’t anything special, and not even particularly vintage.

But then there are these two pairs of skates.

These came my way via one of Mr. Q’s coffee shop friends, and I think they are the most adorable skates I’ve ever seen.  I especially love that the lining of the little white pair is almost the same exact coral/pink of Dixie Belle’s Cottage Door paint.

Just in case you can’t judge the size when photographed on their own, here’s a shot showing the smallest pair next to some full sized (although still not nearly as big as my size 11 feet!) skates.

Clearly they start kids on ice skates pretty young around here.

But these have such an awesome vintage patina, so I decided not to paint them.  Instead I removed the laces and soaked them in some OxyClean to clean them up.  While they were soaking, I gave the skates a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.  That serves to both clean up the leather a bit, and to make it a bit more supple again.  It will also protect them from the elements a bit if they are hung up outside.

All of these items will be making their way into the holiday merch pile that I’m accumulating.  My local readers (Twin Cities, MN area) will have a couple of options for purchasing some of my stuff this year.  I will have some things at Reclaiming Beautiful, the shop where I sell on consignment in Stillwater.

In addition, my friend opK is letting me have a bit of space in her booth at the Stillwater Craft & Vendor Show at the Stillwater Armory on November 9.

However, if you see anything you are interested in prior to November 6, you can always email me at qisforquandie@gmail.com for more details to purchase it in advance.

Although I struggled a bit with several of the products I was using for these projects, I did end up getting lovely results.

Which item is your favorite?  Leave a comment and let me know.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their products used in these makeovers!

farm fresh pumpkins?

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not really into Halloween/Fall decorating.  Unless you count a whisk broom wreath.

One other notable exception is the fairy garden.  I do like to dress that up for the season with a few tombstones and a skeleton rising up from the ground.

Those fairies are a bit ghoulish!

I like to add a few fall touches to the rest of the garden as well with a few mums and ornamental kale here and there, and of course there is my Farmers Market sign.

I consider that fall decor as well.  If you’ve followed me for a while you may remember that this sign is two-sided.  The other side is painted in a more springy/summery green (Dixie Belle’s Kudzu) and has a Flower Market stencil.

I also like to come up with some sort of painted pumpkins every now and then too.

Last year I mostly went neutral.

I painted them in Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage and Sawmill Gravy.  I finished some of the stems using DB’s Gilding Wax, and then added various transfers to them.

I did a few smaller pumpkins using re.design with prima’s Middy label transfers in some very non-traditional fall colors too.

I did something similar back in 2020 with neutral colors and transfers.

I tried my hand at some toile pumpkins back in 2018.

But I found it a bit tricky to apply the toile transfers so I ended up only creating one before discarding that idea.

I ended up selling all of my pumpkins last year except this one …

Perhaps that lovely Dixie Belle Sea Glass color just isn’t ‘fall’ enough for most people.

So I decided to schedule that one for a makeover, and I also pulled out a few other faux pumpkins that were in my stash.

This year I’ve decided to add a little patina to the pumpkins using Dixie Belle Patina Paint.

I started by giving all of them a base coat of Dixie Belle’s Caviar.  You can use any chalk paint as your base coat, or you can use the ‘official’ primer from the Patina Paint line.  I like to use black paint because I find it easiest to then cover up with the Iron patina paint, which is the paint I added next.

It’s important to note that I stipple the Iron paint on with a pouncing motion.  If you brush it on you will inevitably get brush marks, which will then collect the activating spray.  And then they look pretty obvious.

So, I stipple on a first coat of Iron paint and let it dry thoroughly.  Then I stipple on a fresh coat.  Before it had a chance to dry, I also stippled a bit of the Bronze patina paint around the pumpkin stems.  Then I sprayed it all with the Green patina spray while the paint was still wet.

Once the spray dried, I very lightly dry brushed a little more of the Bronze paint on the stems and around the pumpkin just a bit.

Seriously, how cool are these pumpkins?  I love the way they turned out!

One note here.  I painted and sprayed these in the morning, and took these photos that same evening.  Usually the rusty patina (Iron paint and green spray) takes several days to fully appear.  It also continues to develop more over time, especially if the item is out in the elements (you can learn more about that here).

Since I was on a bit of a roll with the fall decor, I decided to do a quick suitcase stencil job too.

This vintage suitcase was one that I had in my occasional sale, but no one snatched it up.  Likely because it has a water stain on the front edge.

But I thought it made the perfect canvas for the Farm Fresh stencil from Dixie Belle, and displaying it standing up rather than in a stack makes that water stain less ‘in your face’.

I stenciled it using Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean paint and their Best Dang Brush which is my favorite brush for larger stencils.

Now this is my kind of fall decor.

Although ‘farm fresh’ might not be the best description of my patinaed pumpkins, what do you think?  And how would you display this vintage suitcase?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing all of their products used in these fall makeovers.

christmas in june?

Published on by Quandie5 Comments

We’re exactly halfway to Christmas!

OK, I don’t normally post about Christmas in June, but we do have a holiday section at our upcoming Carriage House Sale.

It will be a bit of an experiment to see if Christmas stuff sells in June, so I’ll try to keep you posted on that.

I have a few items left over from last year’s holiday season that will be included such as the Bed & Breakfast sign.

And this North Pole sign.

I have a pair of ice skates.

And a tacklebox.

And some bottle brush trees in vintage silver.

But I also have some projects that I just completed including this adorable little lantern.

And this much larger lantern.

I haven’t permanently attached the trees or the silver deer just in case the future owner wants to switch the lantern up for the various seasons.

Instead I used some Stick-Um candle adhesive to hold them in place.

I also painted up a bucket in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth and added a design from the I.O.D. Noel paint inlay to it.

This was my 2nd use of this particular inlay, and as you can see it turned out fairly faint.

If you want to read more about the results when using a paint inlay for the 2nd time, check out this post.

I did also paint up a sled for the sale.

We’ll also have a couple of sleds that aren’t painted.

And finally, I want to share these lovely vintage Christmas tablecloths that Sue is selling.

Perfect for your vintage holiday table.

We will be holding our sale this week rain or shine.  As of writing this post they are forecasting the possibility of rain for both Thursday evening and Friday.  Good grief.  It seems that we can’t go a day or two without rain so far this summer.  On the bright side, the hostas are getting ginormous.  They are loving all of the rain.

So … we’ll have tents and we’ll do our best to keep everything dry for the sale.

We will be accepting cash and Venmo only (no credit cards or checks).

I’ll post my address tomorrow here on the blog and also on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.

If you’re local, I hope to see you there!

winter decor.

Published on by Quandie15 Comments

I know I’m a bit behind the times with this post since the Christmas season is long over.  I have a good excuse though, I’ve been struggling with some dental problems.  I ended up having to get a tooth pulled (ugh!), and then … as per usual for me … it is taking a while for me to feel better.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really handle tooth pain very well.  I tend to curl up in a ball under the covers and hope that it goes away.  And that pretty much zaps my creative energy.

But, it has slowly started improving this week.  That, combined with our unseasonably warm weather, motivated me to get outside and transition my Christmas decor into simply ‘winter’ decor.

You may remember that last year we had so much snow that I couldn’t even get to some of my Christmas decorations to take them down!

But this year is a completely different story.  Our brown Christmas has turned into a mostly brown January too.

I took down my red and green Christmas lights, and put away the evergreen garland and faux red berries.

But I left the white lights in the pots on either side of the deck stairs.

In my opinion, white lights in the garden look pretty any time of year.  Plus, we need all the extra light we can get on these still long winter nights.  One thing about a warmer than usual winter, the nights are much darker without any snow to reflect the moonlight.

I’ll also leave the evergreens and dried flower heads in the pots for at least another month or so.

We haven’t had any heavy snow this winter, so the hydrangeas are holding up really nicely and providing some great winter interest in the garden.

I’m trying to appreciate brown this year.

And if you look closely at that photo above there are even some pops of green!  In January!  How crazy is that?  The green is mostly lamium, or spotted dead nettles, which stays green year round, even when it’s buried under a foot or two of snow.

And hey, remember my little experiment with leaving some ornamental kale in the front flower box to see how it holds up over winter?

It still looks fairly decent, doesn’t it?  Although I suspect that it will turn to complete mush when it really warms up outside.

You may have noticed that I took down the Rudolph and Co. sign that hung next to the door and replaced it with my Skate Rental sign.

I painted this one up two years ago using a stencil from Wallcutz.

I have to confess though, I’m still looking forward to replacing that sign with the Flower Market sign.  Last year I did that just in time for our April Fools snowstorm, remember?

Although I’d pretty much had it with snow by April 1 of last year, it was really pretty!

In other news, my sister and I are headed off to Disney World today.  Since I’ve been laying low to recover from the tooth extraction, I don’t have any posts stored up to share while I’m gone so the blog will be on hiatus for next week.  But I’ll be back in another week, hopefully more fully recovered and ready to go!

the year in review.

Published on by Quandie23 Comments

Happy New Year!

At the end of the year I like to put together a recap post of the previous 12 months.  To be honest, it’s mainly for my own benefit.  I tend to feel like I haven’t really accomplished much, but then I look back and realize I’ve done more than I thought.

For example, I’ve been thinking I didn’t really makeover any furniture in 2023, but that’s not entirely true.  I did do about 10 pieces of furniture (check out my fab furniture page to see them all).

One of my favorites was the Summer Villa dresser.

That one featured the I.O.D. Summer Villa paint inlay, and it was gorgeous.

Another favorite of mine was the flower market dresser.

It was created using a large stencil from Wallcutz.

The botanist bed was another favorite of mine.

That thing really was gorgeous.  It sold to a woman who was restoring the farmhouse that belonged to her Swedish grandparents.  Her daughter’s family was going to live there, and this bed was going in her granddaughter’s room.  I always love it when I learn more about where my pieces are going.

Reviewing these pieces from last year makes me realize that I shouldn’t give up furniture makeovers entirely.  I’m going to be keeping my eye out for fun pieces to makeover this year.

I did spend quite a bit more of my time on ‘smalls’ last year.  There were somewhere around 17 toolboxes (if my counting is right).  You can see them all by going to the ‘toolboxes’ category under ‘sorted.’ over on the right side of the page if you’re viewing this on a computer screen.  If you’re on your phone, then try this link.

But anyway, I think I did a toolbox for every season starting with spring …

This rose chintz toolbox would be perfect for housing your garden planning supplies.

I created a bunch of summery floral toolboxes, but I think my favorites were embellished with the I.O.D. Elysium transfer.

This next one with the I.O.D. Flora Parisiensis transfer was a close 2nd.

Then fall came along and I felt like I had to move away from the summery florals into something a bit more autumnal.

That one featured the Harvest Hues transfer from re.design with prima.

Fall is always such a short season, in the blink of an eye I needed to move on to Christmas.

I used the I.O.D. Candy Cane Cottage transfers on that one.

One of my top faves from 2023 wasn’t seasonal though, it was inspired by our trip to Norway in September.

You just gotta love a toolbox based on the Norwegian flag, right?

I really enjoy working on these toolboxes, so you’re sure to see many more of them from me in 2024.

There were lots of other smalls in 2023 though, everything from DIY apothecary bottles …

to painted lunch pails …

to painted pumpkins.

I brought home a few goodies from the thrift store, and garage/estate sales like my original Al Teeter …

and this lovely gold framed mirror.

And of course, lots of old books!

I also painted up several cupboard door signs in 2023.

I got my Flower Market sign done just in time for our April Fool’s snowstorm.

And of course there was the North Pole Bed and Breakfast sign.

Rather than being stenciled, this next one was super simple to create with some I.O.D. transfers.

Aside from all of the blog-worthy posts, I also accomplished quite a bit around here (with help in most cases).  We painted the back of the house, replaced a section of our fence, refinished the front stoop, repaired and refinished our deck, and repainted our Adirondack chairs.

Phew!

I really enjoyed working in the garden this year as well.  I’d planted a bunch of new bulbs the previous fall, so it was fun to see them all come up in the spring.

The peonies in the cutting garden really flourished last year too.

And of course the hydrangeas were amazing as always.

One of my favorite new (to me) plants for 2023 was the Raspberry Splash lungwort (or pulmonaria).

Another new favorite was the Curly Fries hosta.  I planted three of them in the shade garden.

But I think my best garden makeover for 2023 was the fairy garden.

I expanded it by moving it into an old wheelbarrow, and it worked out beautifully.  I’ve left it out for winter with a bit of protection, so we’ll see if everything survives.  If not, gee, I guess I’ll have to get all new plants for next year!

I did quite a bit of traveling in 2023.  Being able to head out of town whenever I want to is one of the best things about being retired.

My sister and I visited our mom back in February and we took a short road trip to the Valley of Fire while we were there.

I went back again in April and did a little planting outside of my comfort zone for mom.

My sister and I also went to DisneyWorld for her birthday in May.

We were there for the Flower and Garden festival which was right up my alley.

In September Mr. Q and I headed to Amsterdam with my sister and niece.

We spent six days in Amsterdam, and then boarded a Holland America Viking Sagas cruise around Norway.

We were pretty much plagued by rain the entire 7 day cruise, but it was still fantastic.

At the end of October my sister and I headed back out to Vegas for our mom’s 83rd birthday.  We took her on a little road trip to Zion National Park to celebrate.

Finally, I went to Puerto Vallarta at the end of November with my neighbor nnK and her parents.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do all of this traveling.  I’m hoping to do just as much in 2024.

I’m also hoping to have plenty of garage sale/thrifting hauls to share with you guys, along with lots of makeovers small or large.  I’m sure I’ll have a few gardening posts along the way as well.  I hope that you’ll continue to tag along!

In the meantime, leave me a comment and let me know if you had a favorite from among my posts in 2023.

a brown christmas.

Published on by Quandie14 Comments

Merry Christmas from the garden!

The probability of a white Christmas in the Twin Cities is somewhere between 70% to 75%, depending on which source you look at.  I’m surprised it’s that low, it really feels like we almost always have a white Christmas.

Last year we definitely had a white Christmas …

and then a white January, and a white February, March and even April!

We got a fresh foot of snow on April 1.

But according to sources online, 2021 was a brown Christmas.  I definitely don’t remember it that way.  I have photos here on the blog that would beg to differ.

But apparently all of that snow melted by Christmas Eve, technically leaving us with a brown Christmas in 2021.

Prior to that both 2018 and 2015 were brown Christmases.

I did get a photo of the carriage house in 2015.

Seeing that picture reminds me of how much I liked having evergreen garland and lights hung all the way across above the doors on the carriage house.  I may have to try that again next year.

While digging out that brown Christmas pic, I came across our family Christmas photo from that year.

That was a fun year, despite no snow.  From the left; that is my sister, my nephew (her son), my mom, me, Mr. Q and my niece (also my sister’s kid).  My nephew was visiting from Philly and my mom was visiting from Las Vegas.  It was so nice to have both of them here.

It must just be that I don’t really remember whether a Christmas was snowy or not, I just remember the fun times spent with friends and family.

That’s lucky because it looks like we’re having a brown Christmas this year.

It may not look as festive, but it certainly makes it easier to spend some time in the garden when there isn’t any snow and/or ice, or sub-zero temps.

I re-visited the idea of a garden Christmas tree this year.  Back in 2021 I put up a faux tree that I’d gotten for free at the curb.

I’d filled it with watering cans and garden implements.

But that tree ended up getting blown over in a storm and the ‘trunk’ was bent so much that it couldn’t be salvaged, at least not if I ever wanted it to stand upright.

This year I decided to purchase a small real tree and put it in a pot in that same spot.

It’s quite a bit smaller though, so the watering cans were a no go.

Instead I used some terracotta pots.  I also added some real winterberry sprigs and some rusty ornaments that I use somewhere outside every year.  I topped it all off with a rusty garden crown.

All things considered, I much preferred the full size tree.  Not only did it make much more of an impact, it was also much cheaper!  That little bitty real tree was $50!  I’m going to be on the lookout for another cheap/free faux tree to use next year.

By the way, did you notice the pair of skates hanging from my Rudolph and Co sign on the deck?

Those are the pair that I was questioning whether or not to paint.  At the time, I suspected I would end up using these outside.  Although paint with a good sealer would hold up outside, I don’t think a rub on transfer would.  So in the end I did not paint this pair for now.

I hope that those of you who celebrate Christmas have a very merry one, whether it’s white or brown.  I’m going to take a bit of a blog break over the next week, but I’ll be back in the New Year so be sure to stay tuned!