Category: happy holidays.

the north pole bed and breakfast.

Published on by Quandie28 Comments

Last summer one of my readers offered me some cupboard doors.  She was remodeling her bathroom and the doors were going to be discarded.  They are the perfect size and shape for turning into stenciled signs.  I always appreciate finding the ones that don’t have an arched panel that makes them wrong for turning sideways.

I’ve already shared a makeover of one of these doors, but I had three left that I was saving for Christmas themed signs.

But then time got away from me.  I worked on other projects, and I spent a week in Mexico, and now here we are just 10 days away from Christmas.  It’s pretty much too late to sell Christmas decor.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t still paint one up for myself, right?

After my usual prep of cleaning with a TSP substitute and scuff sanding, I decided to pull out some milk paint.  It’s been a while since I’ve used milk paint, I wasn’t sure I still knew how!  But I like a chippy look, so I decided to go for it.

I wanted to go with a traditional Christmas red and I ended up having just enough of Miss Mustard Seed’s Tricycle left for this sign.

However, as any of you who have used milk paint know, sometimes you just don’t get the chipping!  I tried to fake it by using tape to pull off some paint (sort of like using tape to remove cat hair from your black leggings) and I got a few little chips here and there, but not a lot.

I also ordered myself a new stencil for this one.  I did have an older ‘bed and breakfast’ style stencil that I’ve used on lots of items …

but it was getting rather worn out (because I’m not good about cleaning my stencils after each use!).

So I searched high and low for a new stencil, and I specifically wanted a Christmas themed bed and breakfast design.  I thought there would be lots to choose from, but I really only found a handful of possibilities.  Ultimately I decided on this one from The Stencil Smith.

I liked that I could order it in an appropriate size for my cupboard door.  Well … close to the right size anyway, I did have to mask off the border.  But that’s OK, I don’t particularly love the border anyway.

I did use my shadowing technique just on the words “bed” and “breakfast”.

If you aren’t familiar with this technique, you simply place your stencil just below and to the left of center and apply the stencil with a darker, shadow color.  In this case I used Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean.  Once that is dry, move your stencil up and over just a tad and stencil again with your final color.  I used Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth here.

The shadow barely shows up in photos, but it really does make a world of difference in person, adding a lot of depth to the final look.

By the way, I don’t think I mentioned it, but the reason I specifically wanted a ‘bed and breakfast’ sign was because I planned to hang this in our bedroom.

I’ve hung it above my jelly cupboard (where I keep clothes, not jelly).  I draped it with some faux holly garland and a string of red, green and white lights.

I added a vignette to the top of the cupboard made up of a few of my favorite things.

Some vintage ornaments and ornament boxes, and that cute little lantern that I made up last year.

I also added some red and green books, and a ‘Christmas time’ clock

By the way, my friend Netti gave me that red book, The Q Document.  She thought it had my name written all over it 😉

I found these red and green vintage ornaments while out shopping with opK last week.

Now, I have to confess.  My original plan was to give the entire room a new red and green holiday look this year.  I was going to use those green shutters that I picked up last week and hang them behind the bed and breakfast sign, but ultimately I didn’t think my plaster walls could handle the weight.

I also found this adorable throw pillow at Michaels …

and I ordered a green and red plaid duvet set from Amazon.

Unfortunately, when that set arrived it was awfully cheap and tacky looking.  So that went back.  I found a nice looking set on Pottery Barn’s website, but at about $300 for the duvet cover and a pair of shams it’s a bit out of my price range.  I did then find another set on Amazon that I’m going to try, but it won’t be here in time for a Christmas blog post.

So for this year, the full-on red and green Christmas bedroom is on hold.

In the meantime, how do you like the Bed and Breakfast sign?

Although I did paint this one up with myself in mind, I would be willing to part with it if any of you locals need a last minute Christmas gift for someone … or even just some last minute decor for yourself.  I can always paint another for myself.  So check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details!

94 aldersgate street.

Published on by Quandie36 Comments

You may remember that I purchased a dollhouse while out garage saling this summer.

It was a bargain at just $5.  It needed a few repairs, but nothing major.  I asked my handyman Ken to create a replacement shutter for the window next to the door, and he made quick work of that.

Ken also created a new window sash for the upper right window, and re-installed the glass in that lower window, which involved adding new stops to keep it in place.

I also needed to replace some of the ‘roof tiles’.  Conveniently enough, I found a pack of popsicle sticks that were the exact size I needed for $1.50 at another garage sale.

I cut them to size and glued them in place.

Easy peasy.

As I was working on those repairs, I noticed that there was a signature on the bottom of the dollhouse.

Looks like Al made this dollhouse back in 1978.  It’s held up pretty good for 45 years old, don’t you think?

Initially I decided to use the Dixie Belle Patina Paint to create an aged faux metal look to the roof.  I first gave it a base coat of black with their Caviar paint, and then painted the shingles with their Bronze patina paint.  Then while the 2nd coat of the Bronze was still wet, I spritzed on the green spray.

But that’s where things kind of fell apart.  I started painting the body of the dollhouse with Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, but that warm white just wasn’t working with the bronze roof.

So then I decided to paint the body of the house with DB’s Sea Glass.  And I sort of hated it.  Sea Glass is a very pretty color, and it worked nicely with that verdigris patina on the roof, but the whole combo just wasn’t what I was envisioning for this makeover.

Then I reminded myself that my original idea for this house was to paint it white.  All white.  So that’s what I did next.  I painted over everything with DB’s Drop Cloth.

But I wanted the shutters and front door to stand out just a bit more, so I mixed up a custom paint color using 50% Drop Cloth and 50% French Linen to create a nice, pale grey.

It’s just enough to let those features pop, without taking away from the monochromatic look I was going for.

I felt like the trim over the door was the ideal spot for typography of some kind, so I cobbled together an ‘address’ from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

Perfect.  I love it!

Once everything was painted, I distressed the edges a bit to make it look a little bit worn.  I feel like distressing adds so much character to a piece, even a dollhouse.

I finished off the painted areas with some clear wax, then I used hot glue to affix some wreaths to the windows and door.  I attached the lights around the roofline with some Stick-Um candle adhesive, which is basically a super sticky wax.

All of that Christmas frippery could be easily removed after the holidays.  The Stick-Um residue can be removed with a hot soapy rag.

I didn’t do anything to the interior of the dollhouse except use a Magic Eraser to remove some pencil marks on one of the floors.

This way the future owner can dress it up with their own style.

To be honest, this ended up being one of those ‘what was I thinking?’ projects.  I don’t need a dollhouse.  I don’t have a spot for a dollhouse.  In fact, I got rid of my own pretty spectacular dollhouse six years ago (more about that here).

But this dollhouse was a mere $5 investment, so really, what do I have to lose other than the time it took to paint … and then re-paint … it?

And it ended up being a rather fun project to work on.

I had actually planned on doing this well ahead of Christmas, because I thought it might be the perfect time to sell it.  Wouldn’t it be adorable to find under the tree?  While it would make a fantastic gift for a child, it would also just be fun to have as Christmas decor.

But once again, time got away from me and here we are with just one week to spare.

I went on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to see what kind of competition there will be for selling it and there were tons of dollhouses for sale there!  I didn’t even take the time to count them all there were so many.  So clearly trying to sell a dollhouse around Christmas is not a unique idea.

The prices for those similar to this one ranged from around $150 to $250.  I’m going to price mine well below that though.  I really just want it to go to a good home.  If any of you locals are interested, be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Meanwhile, I think I did right by this 1978 dollhouse.

What do you think?

 

will it last?

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

Good morning from the garden!

I don’t usually spend much time out in the garden in December, but this year has definitely been an exception.  So far we’ve had a lovely warm fall/early winter, and although we’ve had a dusting of snow here or there, it has melted pretty quickly.  We’ve also had some lovely days with sunshine and temps near 50° this past week.

Will it last?

Well, it’s unlikely to last all winter, but for now it has given me plenty of time to get out and rake leaves, clean up wilted hostas and do some extra mulching (we chop up leaves with the lawn mower, and then spread them on the gardens).  I also managed to get some protection set up around my newest lilac bushes in an effort to keep the rabbits away from them this winter.

I purchased a roll of chicken wire at a garage sale for $1 and it was just enough to do my five newest lilacs.  I simply surrounded the lilacs with a length of the chicken wire, and then filled them in with some chopped up leaves.  Fingers crossed that this will be the trick to getting these shrubs established.

Speaking of winter protection, I decided to risk leaving my fairy garden in place for the winter.  I covered it with some chopped up leaves and am hoping that’s enough.

There’s a chance that everything in it will perish, but I’m willing to risk it.  Worst case scenario, I have to buy all new mini plants next year.  But the Alberta Spruce is a zone 3, as are the mini hostas.  The mini Barberry shrub is a zone 4.  The rule of thumb for overwintering perennials in a container is that they should be hardy to two zones below your growing zone.  Since we were just updated to 5a, maybe these things will be OK.

I was also able to fill my window boxes for winter without having to battle rock hard frozen soil this year!  I can’t even remember the last time that’s happened.  I looked back at some of my blog posts from previous years, and even November 9 was too late in 2019!

You may remember that I put some ornamental kale in the front window box for fall, it was still looking so good that I decided to leave it in place for winter.

Will it last?

I really doubt it.  I suspect it will turn into a frozen glob of mush by mid-January at which time it will be frozen in place and impossible to remove, but I thought it was worth a gamble.

In addition to the kale, I filled the front window box with spruce tips and a variety of other evergreens.

Then I added some faux branches of red berries.

I purchased a bunch of these at the after-Christmas sale at Bachman’s last year.  I decided that buying some faux items that I could use year after year in the window box was a good investment.

I think they look fairly realistic mixed in with the real stuff, and they are especially pretty with the dusting of snow that we got yesterday.

I also invested in some faux garland at the same sale, and I used it along with more of the berries to crown the headboard sign on our carriage house.

When I pulled out my Christmas lights this year I found that quite a few of the strings weren’t working.  I’ve always just used white lights in the past, but this time around I decided to add some strings of red and green lights that I found at Home Depot.  So I have a mix of white, red and green both over the headboard and in the front window box.

In addition to keeping the kale in place, I also decided to experiment with some ivy.  This past summer I planted ivy in the front window box, and also in the rusty urns next to the deck and like the kale, it was still going strong.

Since ivy is technically evergreen (meaning it doesn’t lose its leaves in the winter), I thought it might be worth keeping in my winter arrangement.

Will it last?

A quick bit of research online tells me that English Ivy is hardy down to around 10°, so no, it likely won’t last all winter.  But here we are in mid-December and it still looks good, so this will be another experiment to see if keeping the ivy is worthwhile or not.

I filled out the rest of those urns with the usual suspects, some spruce tops, a variety of other evergreens, some birch logs and some dried hydrangeas.

Add some lights and a little bit of snow and they look quite magical.

I was beginning to think that there wasn’t much chance of a white Christmas this year, but then we got an inch or so of snow yesterday.

Will it last?

Nope, I don’t think so.  It’s supposed to be in the 40’s here this week so it should all melt.

We’ll just have to wait and see if we get anymore snow before the big day!

tackling a tackle box.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

I can’t exactly remember how I came by the tackle box that I’m sharing today.

But I’m fairly sure that one of my friends must have found it for me.

I say that because I really don’t think I would have purposely chosen to tackle this one (ha, tackle, tackle box, get it?).

I tend to avoid things with old contact paper stuck to them like that yellow floral stuff in the tray.  This box is also pretty dented and misshapen.  Plus there was some kind of gunk that had totally hardened inside the bottom of the box.  Ewww.

But it was in my stash somehow (I don’t know, maybe I did purchase it myself?), so last fall when I was cleaning up a few other metal boxes out in the yard using the garden hose I added this one to the pile.  First I removed the contact paper, and then I scrubbed it with soap and water.  I then tried to scrape that hardened gunk off the bottom, but it wasn’t going anywhere.  I also tried to sand it down, but it was nearly impossible to get my little palm sander inside the box.

Eventually I just gave up on getting that stuff removed.  I moved on to painting the box with some of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. and then shoved it to the back of the project pile again.

I pulled it back out a couple of weeks ago when I was working on some other Christmas themed items and decided to just see what I could do with it.

I started by painting the inside in Dixie Belle’s English Ivy.

This is such a pretty shade of green, and perfect for Christmas.

Since I couldn’t get the bottom nice and smooth, I opted to line it with some gingham scrapbook paper after I painted it.

I painted the exterior in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once that was dry, I sanded it to distress the edges and then I brought out my transfer scraps to see what would work.

I ended up finding some cursive script that fit the top of the box.  I’m not sure what that was from, but it was most likely a re.design with prima transfer.

Once I had that script in place, I filled in some of the corners with bits and pieces from the Evergreen and Holly transfer from Dixie Belle.

This sweet little red breasted bird fit perfectly on the front of the box.

If you’re someone who pays attention, you might be wondering at this point how I seem to always have more of this transfer even though I’ve mentioned that it’s no longer available.  It was a limited release for Christmas 2022.

Well, as it turned out, one of my local readers purchased it online (you can still find it from various vendors online) and asked me to do a custom lockbox for her.  She had the lockbox, and the transfer, I just painted it up for her.

And as a bonus, she let me keep the remainder of the transfer after finishing her lockbox.

So I do have a bit more of the Evergreen and Holly and I’m rationing it out for a handful of projects.

Now, what would one do with a Christmas tackle box?

I suppose you could put your Christmas card supplies in it.  Is that a bit of a stretch?  Do very many people even do Christmas cards anymore?

What would you do with it?

If you are local and can think of a good purpose, this particular Christmas tackle box is for sale locally.  And I’m pricing it low due to that gunky bottom.  So be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

never say never.

Published on by Quandie13 Comments

I’m pretty sure that ‘never say never’ should be my motto.

Having just celebrated my 60th birthday (good lord, how is that possible?), one thing that I know about myself is that I almost always change my mind about things over time.  I suddenly find myself liking something that I once thought would never appeal to me.

And that brings me to today’s project, another pair of ice skates.

This is not the pair that I asked you guys whether or not I should paint, this is another 80’s-ish pair of skates that my friend Sue found for me (probably at a garage sale, but I’m not 100% sure).  Sidebar; I decided not to paint that pair since I’m using them outside as winter decor (you’ll probably see them when I share some of my own holiday decorating in December).

Anyway, today’s skates were another pair that were a no-brainer for paint.  They were quite blah to begin with.

First up I pulled out the laces and tossed them.  They were pretty stained and I didn’t want to salvage them.  Next I cleaned up the skates with a damp cloth and then gave them a coat of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

I knew I was going to use the holly and red berries from the Dixie Belle Evergreen and Holly transfer …

But I also decided to use up some bits and pieces from my scrap pile for the rest.

I just happened to have a couple of lines of script in gold in my stash, so I added those to the upper part of the skates next.  I also had the ‘$10’ and ‘$4’ in gold left over from re.design with prima’s Flower Collector transfer in gold.

I still had a little bit of empty space towards the front of the skates, so I pulled out an old re.design with prima transfer called Gilded Home & Nature which is just a bunch of random things in gold.

I was able to piecemeal a few things to add to the skates including some scrolly bits and the word ‘ROYAL’.

After all of the transfers were in place, I protected everything with a coat of clear wax.

Lastly, I originally intended to add some red velvet laces.  The skates have a fabulous red fabric lining, and I also wanted to play off those red berries.

But the red velvet ribbon I had on hand was too thick to fit through the grommets.

Then I remembered a pair of gold laces that I had removed from a pair of skates last year.

I really didn’t care for the sparkly gold look on that pair of skates.  I swapped them out for some alphabet twill ribbon, which worked much better.

And I very nearly threw those gold laces into the trash.

But at the last minute I decided to keep them because … well … never say never!

You just never know when you might really wish you had a pair of gold laces.

Having the gold transfers on the skates makes the gold laces really work here.

So if you’re someone who likes a bit of sparkle in your holiday decor, these are perfect.

I am tempted to say that the moral to this story is never throw anything away.  But I don’t really support that plan.  No one wants piles and piles of cast off bits and pieces everywhere.  But use your best judgement, you may find a use for those random scraps of gold lettering or that pair of gold laces.

I took this pair of skates into the shop, so if any of you locals are interested you could head in to Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater today to check them out.  As an added bonus, they are serving free mimosas this morning from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  You gotta love a free mimosa!

painting vintage sleds.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

By the end of last summer I was beginning to think that I wasn’t going to have any sleds to paint this year!

I hadn’t found any at garage sales, and usually I find at least 2 or 3.

Last year I had 4 sleds to paint.

That was a good year!

Maybe I should clarify that to say that I hadn’t found any affordable sleds at garage sales.  I’d seen a few that were priced in the $60 and up range, and I don’t even charge that much for mine once they are painted.

But then I found a broken one at a late season garage sale, and then another one at my friend Jackie’s sale in the fall.  Then I also remembered that I had a different sort of sled out in the workshop that I found in early summer.  I’d forgotten about that one!

So once again I pulled out my favorite stencils and got to painting.

First up, the broken one.

Fortunately, whoever owned this sled before me had already gone to the trouble of cutting out a replacement for the missing slat.  I’m not sure why they didn’t go one further and actually attach it, but my handyman Ken made quick work of that.

Then I painted just the slats in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry I pulled out my random selection of stencils to see what would fit.

This is really the most challenging part of stenciling on these sleds, finding wording that fits on the slats.  I have a selection of various stencils that I take lines of wording from for the sleds.  All three of these lines are from different stencils.  I’ve had most of them for quite a few years now, so I’m sorry but I don’t have sources for them.

I stenciled ‘Saint Nick’s’ in Dixie Belle’s Honky Tonk Red, ‘Christmas Trees’ in their English Ivy, and ‘cut your own fresh tree’ in Coffee Bean.

The next sled is the one I found at my friend Jackie’s sale, but somehow I neglected to get a ‘before’ photo of it.  But I didn’t have to do too much to this one aside from giving it a good clean, and then painting it.

That ‘Bed & Breakfast’ stencil is one of my favorites, but again, I couldn’t tell you where I got it.  But no matter, I’m sure you could find something similar out there if you do a little searching online.

I painted this sled in Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage, then added the bottom section of wording in their Coffee Bean.  I also added a shadow of the wording to the first two slats using Coffee Bean.

That shadowing really adds a lot of depth to a stencil, and it really helps make those words pop even though they are in that warm white.

It’s super simple to do, just stencil the design first in the shadow color, in this case the Coffee Bean.  Then move your stencil just a tad up and over and stencil again in the final color.

Last up is this sled I found earlier in the year.  This one is more of a toboggan, rather than a sled.

First I removed that bright yellow rope from the sides, that wasn’t going to work with my aesthetic at all.

Then after giving it a good cleaning, I painted it in Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean.  The stencil is from Wallcutz and I used Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth for the stenciling.

I sealed it up with some clear wax, and the I pulled a length of old rope out of my stash and strung that through two holes at the top of the toboggan.

Although most of us think of sleds as an outdoor sort of item, I think they can be adorable hung inside as Christmas decor too.  When I brought these in to the shop, I hung the Bed & Breakfast sled in a ‘bedroom’ vignette and it looks great (and P.S., isn’t that bed gorgeous?).

photo from Reclaiming Beautiful Facebook page

That being said, I do have a sled that I’ve hung onto for myself and I’ve used in in several different spots outside.

Hanging on the potting shed …

Hanging on the carriage house …

Or just leaning on a bench.

So many options!

What would you do with a painted sled?  Leave a comment and let me know.

the bomb box.

Published on by Quandie9 Comments

Earlier this year I picked up this wooden crate at my friend Jackie’s garage sale.

Apparently it once held bombs.  I’m not sure what she was doing with a box of bombs … uh oh, maybe I shouldn’t be saying ‘bomb’ so much, my blog is going to end up on some kind of a watch list.

The rope handles on the sides were intact, and I think they add a nice touch.

I didn’t want to alter the original stenciling on the crate, just in case someone … you know … likes it?

But the opposite side was completely blank, so I knew I could do something there.

I also thought this box would be the perfect size to hold a small tabletop sized Christmas tree.  It is 10″ tall x 13.5″ wide x 12″ deep.

I went through my numerous Christmas stencils and decided that the smaller version of the Rudolph & Co stencil I had would fit quite nicely on the blank side of the box.

I stenciled it using Dixie Belle’s Caviar.

Next I pulled out this faux tabletop tree that I purchased at Target a few years back and it fit perfectly in the box.

Obviously this was a super quick and simple project.  But how perfect is that box for a little Christmas tree?

I’ve brought this box into the shop this week, so if you’re local be sure to head to Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater if you want to check it out!

neutral or traditional?

Published on by Quandie22 Comments

A friend recently nabbed this cute little pair of mini chairs for me.

Although they had an awesome chippy paint on them, they were quite dirty.  I tried scrubbing them down, but they still looked fairly grungy so they definitely needed a paint job.

I decided to give them two different holiday looks; one is more traditional with red and green, and the other is more neutral.

Let’s start with the traditional look.

I painted this chair in my favorite Dixie Belle Drop Cloth.

Then I pulled out those same 6×6″ stencils that I used inside the Christmas clock shadow box that I shared a while back.  As I mentioned then, I ordered these from Amazon, but the exact stencils are no longer available.

I masked off the area for each of the colors that I used and stenciled them separately.

The truck is DB’s Honky Tonk Red, the tree is their English Ivy and the rest is done in Caviar.

It’s a little more time consuming to do a multi-color design like this, but I think it’s worth it in the end.

I painted the 2nd chair in Dixie Belle’s French Linen.

I used another of the 6×6″ stencils on this one too.

I used DB’s Drop Cloth, and this one was a bit simpler since I just used one color for the stenciling.  I did add a little dimension by adding a quick swipe of French Linen on each of the letters.  I just used an artist’s brush and added those free hand.

One benefit to the more neutral chair is that it isn’t strictly a Christmas decoration.  You could leave this one out all winter.

Either way, both chairs turned out pretty cute.

I’ll be bringing these into the shop along with the rest of my holiday merch this week.  They are priced at $22 each if any of my local readers are interested.

Leave a comment and let me know which look is your favorite!

my holiday merch.

Published on by Quandie14 Comments

Before I get into today’s post, congrats to Amanda whose name I drew to win my Christmas Inspiration giveaway!

Earlier this week I brought just a small sampling of my Christmas items into the shop where I sell some of my things on consignment, Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater, MN.

By a small sampling, I mean I was limited to just five items this week.  It was a bit of a struggle for me to determine which five things to drop off, but ultimately I went with these five …

First, the skates that I shared with you guys last week.

These are priced at $55.

Next up, this stenciled sled.

It is 37.5″ tall x  22″ wide and is priced at $58.

I also brought in this adorable green kid sized chair …

It is 22.5″ tall x 13.5″ wide x 12″ deep and is priced at $48.

Item no. 4 that went in to the shop already is this wooden stenciled sign.  I thought perhaps I should round out my selection with something that wasn’t in the traditional red and/or green.

This sign is 28.5″ wide x 21.5″ tall and priced at $45.

Lastly, I brought in the birdcage centerpiece that I created last year.

The birdcage is 12″ tall x 10″ deep x 13.5″ wide and is priced at $48.

So that’s the five items that have already gone to the shop.  It’s certainly possible that they have not been purchased yet (although last night was the shop’s holiday open house), but you locals would have to visit the shop to find out!  Check out their Facebook page for hours and location.

Now, how about taking a look at a bunch of the other pieces that I have ready to take to the shop next week?  Let’s call this a bit of a pre-sale for any of my local readers who might be interested.  If you are interested, you can jump on them now by leaving me a comment or by sending me an email at qisforquandie@gmail.com.

I’ve been working hard pulling together a bunch of items for Christmas and I wanted to show them all here, but I’ll be taking the time to write proper blog posts about a few of these items over the next several weeks as well, so stay tuned for more detail.

I have one more vintage sled with metal runners (personally, this one is my favorite with its neutral shades).

This sled is 38.5″ tall x 23″ wide and is also priced at $58.

I also have this next sled, which doesn’t have metal runners, but it still turned out pretty darn cute.

This sled is 37″ tall x 12″ wide and is priced at $48.

I have another kid sized chair, this one is painted in my favorite warm white, Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and I think it has a bit of a Scandi vibe with the red and white.

This chair is also 22.5″ tall x 13.5″ wide x 12″ deep and priced at $48.

This wooden ‘bomb box’ is going into the shop priced at $45.

At 10″ tall x 13.5″ wide x 12″ deep it’s the perfect container for a small tabletop tree.

I turned this old beadboard cupboard door into Christmas decor, and it’s for sale as well.

It is 25″ wide x 22″ tall and for sale at $55.

I’ll be bringing this lantern in priced at $32.

I have this ‘let it snow’ kid sized vintage shovel, which I actually painted up last year and kept for myself.  But I’ve decided to let it go this year for $45.  It is 34″ tall.

Speaking of things I kept last year, but am going to bring in to the shop this year, this sign falls into that category too.

This one is 13″ tall by 28.5″ wide and also $45.

I’m willing to part with these petite vintage ice skates for $25 …

and this adorable lantern (on right) for $26.

I also have a few faux grain sack stockings leftover from last year.

I’m marking them down to $11 each, so I’m hoping they sell this time around.

Next up is a random cutting board that I had in my stash.  I painted it in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and then I trimmed up an image from the I.O.D. Candy Cane Cottage transfer set to fit.

Super simple, and pretty cute, right?  It’s for sale at $18.

Did I also mention that I didn’t just buy one of the Candy Cane Cottage sets?  I bought two just in case I really loved it, and they sold out quickly.  Turns out it was lucky I did that, they are already sold out and pretty much impossible to find.

I put that same Hot Cocoa design from my 2nd set on a vintage gingham tray that I had on hand.

That gingham pattern kind of messes with my camera’s ability to focus, but I promise, in person it looks good and it’s priced at a mere $12.

I also used the Grandma Kringle’s Candy Canes design on a vintage enamelware coffee pot.

Once again I had to trim off a little bit of the design in order to get it to fit my piece, but that was easy enough to do.

The candy cane coffee pot is priced at $25 (and FYI, both of the rolling pins in it are for sale at $10 each).

Next up are some bottle brush trees that I dressed up by adding them to vintage silver pieces.

I tucked some battery operated fairy lights into some of them, the battery pack just slipped right inside the silver piece.  Those with lights range from $18 to $22, those without lights are $16.

I also did some bottle brush trees in vintage door knobs, priced at $12 each.

They all look festive grouped en masse on a large silver tray (priced at $24).

And there you have it.  Most (but not all) of my holiday merch.  I’ll still be working on some fun holiday projects and sharing them here along with some more detailed posts about a few of the items shown above.

If you locals (Twin Cities, MN) are interested in purchasing any of the items (other than the first five that are already at the shop), be sure to leave a message here or send me an email at qisforquandie@gmail.com.  I’ll try to modify this post to mark items as sold if they get spoken for.  First come, first served, and you may want to act fast because I’ll be delivering these to the shop next Wednesday.  I should also note that I don’t always see the emails right away, so your best bet is to leave a comment here.

the candy cane toolbox.

Published on by Quandie22 Comments

Remember back when I said I prefer to work with vintage toolboxes rather than newer ones?

Well, there are always exceptions to every rule, right?

Today’s toolbox was not especially old.

Nor was it in the usual rusty and/or crusty condition.  Which is kind of a bonus really.  It didn’t take a whole lot of prep to get this one ready for paint.  I washed it and then gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear B.O.S.S.  No sanding required.

And really, I probably didn’t even need the B.O.S.S. on this one.  But at the time I was prepping a whole bunch of toolboxes, sort of assembly line style, so I B.O.S.S.’ed them all.

I decided to stick with the red on the inside of this one, just giving it a fresh coat of Dixie Belle’s Honky Tonk Red.

Once that was dry, I added a candy cane transfer from I.O.D.’s Candy Cane Cottage inside the lid.

Next up I painted the exterior of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Then I started cutting up different elements from Candy Cane Cottage to see what I could come up with for the outside.

Rather than immediately rubbing transfers on as I chose them, I decided to place everything first to see what would fit.  That way if I needed to overlap some elements I could be sure to apply them in the right order.

This time around that only ended up impacting one spot, where the word “Old” overlaps the floral under it a bit.

If I had put down the wording first, I could have rearranged the floral so that it didn’t cover it, but in the end it’s easier just to do a little pre-planning.

Those florals were the sole reason I ordered this particular transfer.

They are such a pretty combination of floral and holiday with those red berries.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I only wish these images were larger.  I used the two larger florals included with the transfer on either side of the toolbox, and then supplemented those with two of the smaller florals on each side.

By the way, I should probably mention at this point that this limited time only transfer is sold out everywhere.  If you didn’t order it immediately upon release, you likely missed out.

I also added some wording from Candy Cane Cottage to the top of the toolbox.

I think it turned out pretty dang cute.

Now, you might be wondering, what in the world would you do with a Christmas themed toolbox?

Well, how about keeping your gift wrapping supplies in it?  Scissors, ribbon, tape, bows, etc.

Or, you could just use it as decor, placing it on a shelf or table top, or even just under the tree.

But I also really like the idea of filling it up and using it as a gift box.  Remember the toolbox I created a few years back as a Secret Santa gift?

This one would be perfect to fill up with the same sort of stuff.  Some peppermint schnapps, peppermint sticks, hot chocolate mixes and some fabulous retro shot glasses; everything you need to make a peppermint patty (the drink, not the candy).

Whatever you’d use it for, it is available for local sale so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details if you’re interested.  Be sure to act fast if you want to pick it up, I’ll be bringing this one into the shop on Wednesday.

Also, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know if you’ve used the I.O.D. Candy Cane Cottage transfers, and if so, how did you like them?