I love Of Monsters and Men. They are playing next week in Toronto and I didn’t manage to secure a ticket to either of their shows (yet!). I am crushed and hoping the fairy ticket mother comes out to help me. I have been listening to Nanna and the boys since June none stop.
And we are far from home but we’re so happy.
Far from home, all alone but were so happy.
From Finner – Of Monsters and Men
For as long as I can remember, my grandmother used this old, banged-up, homemade box to house all of our camping dishes and cooking related supplies. I wrote about her melamine camp dishes here. It would sit on the end of the picnic bench – a staple on the Willie campsites. By the way, not sure if you noticed, but my family takes camping very seriously. I think a lot of the habits and things they did (which were passed down to my siblings and I) were out of a desire to make camping comfy. Damn, if you’re going to be up in Algonquin Park for weeks at a time, you might as well make it comfortable. Well, as comfortable as a woman who used the same tent for 50-odd years could be. Ha. I loved my grandmother’s dish box, so of course when her possessions were being distributed I said I would house it for the gang.
The box in all her original glory.
When I was selected to be part of the ParaPaints Blogcrew I lined up some projects I had wanted to do – things big and small. This was definitely a project that was on the small side (size-wise) but big on importance. It’s nice to give an ‘heirloom’ a new do without changing it’s original appearance too much. The box’s original colour was very my Gramma – bright, durable… With lots of wear and tear on it. And of course, an awesome little Canadian flag.
Pretty great match, no?
Poor old box – looking a little worse for the wear….
But with a little love from Para Paints….
All her bumps and war wounds are gone now! It’s a little hard to see due to my excessive use of vintage Instagram/Hipstomatic filters (I am sorry. I am very very very addicted) – so everything is a little more yellowly in these images than in real life.
The melamine enjoying its fresh new setting.
The colour was a near perfect match. Yeah!
Another inherited object from my grandmother: her summer quilt. She used this quilt a lot – so it is incredibly thread-bare. So much so that I am scared to let anyone near it. I don’t even put it on the bed when the animals are close by for fear that a nail might get caught in it and tear it apart…
Wondering about this dizzy dame I am always referring to? This is us at ‘camp’ one year. Just chilling by the fire.
I had a lot of time with my grandmother in her later years. I can only hope that I will be as crazy and strong-willed as she was in her 90′s!
Disclosure: the paint for this project was provided by ParaPaints
There. I went there. It’s post Halloween. Pre-snow filled streets. Holiday music has started in some stores (or so I’ve heard). I need to wear a hat and mitts to walk the dog. So basically it is now officially ‘okay’ to start with winter-ish themed DIY projects. Whether you agree or not, there are some amazing projects making the rounds on social media right now. It has been AGES since I have done a DIY roundup – especially a themed one, so I thought I would get into the winter mood and tip my hat to some fun projects out there right now.
Adore this simple, naturey placecard holder idea from the folks at Martha
From Martha Stewart
I love the simplicity of this wreath – it doesn’t overly do the ‘holiday’ look.
Found it on My Shabby Chic House
I would love to do this type of thing but put my own spin on it. Maybe do gold glitter on dark natural pinecones or alternate natural with white?
Spotted on Eco Home Source
These little fella’s remind me of my grandmother so much it hurts.
Spotted on Decor 4 All but doubt that is the original source.
Don’t feel like going too far out of your way? Just take your ornaments and hanging them up like a banner. I obviously love the vintagey look.
This is from a magazine obviously but not sure which. Any takers?
These clay feathers are amazing
From the Gilded Hare
I really love how these bottles look – a bit dangerous though?
No original source.
Glitter animals are always cute.
Spotted on Sweet Paul
Make your own wreath!
From Martha Stewart
Love anything vintage. So of course I love this truck idea.
Spotted on Vintage Junky
Pin ItOh Meagan… You never learn do you? I have to put a disclaimer out there and say off the hopper that I ALWAYS have good intentions. It was me that suggested we stop for pumpkins last weekend when my family and I went to Niagara On The Lake. I wanted a pumpkin. Or few…
At a $1 a piece, we each bought multiples! Why not? In the city, pumpkins are like $8. We are millionaires in the country.
So back to my story. I bought 4 pumpkins, super enthusiastic about getting ready for Halloween with plenty of time to spare…. Right?
Then everyone else’s Instagram feeds were filling up with awesome carving images. Mine just sat staring at me. WHY AREN’T YOU CARVING US?!?!
If you haven’t already guessed it, it’s 6pm on Halloween night. By now, all the 3-5 year olds are done and retired to their living room floors with their loot. Forget about ‘em!
I needed a quick fix! And I came up with it – the DIY-ers pumpkin (or super-last-minute-girls-pumpkin). I grabbed my Scotch Blue 3M painters tape, a screw driver and my knife.
I used my tape to create straight lines down the side of my pumpkin.
Once I had done that, I grabbed the screwdriver and started creating small holes down along side of the tape. The tape helped me to create perfect, straight lines of holes.
I did about 60% of the pumpkin (the side people would see in the window) and left the rest! It only took me 5 minutes and turned out super cool. I liked doing something quick, easy and with materials I already have. Scotch Blue by 3M had kindly sent me samples of their painters tape. The tape was way easy to use and even easier to peel off. A very unconventional use I know but when you are in a pinch, it did a great job. Next project, walls! Or furniture!
It isn’t quite dark enough here so this ‘dark’ picture is sort of lame:
I will take some better pictures later when it is actually dark! For now – I am off to my sister’s to eat her candy and let her ‘play with’ (aka babysit) her niece…… xo!
Who occupies this nest? Me, Meagan! Say it with me, Meee-gann. Read more about Me in the About the Nest page.
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