December Finds

I haven't posted my finds lately.

It's been busy around here getting ready for Christmas.

We've been doing a bit of painting,

making garlands,

folding and glueing ornaments.

Last weekend, I found some wonderful things

tucked away in the back of a booth

at the antique mall.

There were also a few things that I'd "organised"

and hidden from myself

instead of putting them in my online shop.

I found these letter tiles zipped away in an old plastic bag

Tucked at the back of a booth.

Today, I took them outside

spread them out on my favorite tree trunk

and made words with them.

Merry Christmas

Star

Wish

Snow

Joy

Peace

Noel

Love

Faith

What an awesome find!

There were also
Bingo Cards

Bingo Numbers

and

Children's Alphabet Wood Blocks

Tucked away, I found some things

that were from my trip to Dubuque, Iowa

a few months ago.

Trio of Oil Cans

Mexican Flower Pots

so much like the one my granny used to have.

Drawers from an old watchmaker's desk

The desk was beyond repair,

so we salvaged the drawers from it.

  I've been needing to refill my shop,but the oh-so-shiny-things of Christmas time have distracted me. So now the shelves have a few more items,maybe I can squeeze in another project, or two......or three? 

Free Blocks for a Little Peace & Joy

I'm always on the lookout for free or low cost projects.

I'm always happy to find bits of  leftover wood

and low cost paint.

This project combines the two

for a total cost of under $2 for twelve blocks.

While digging for some old blue jars in storage,

I found bits of wood.

My bf's family had repaired the local bandstand

and these were the pieces that were left when they were finished.

I've been wondering just what to do with them

and had been hoping to make some angels,

but there's nothing in my stash that would make a good angel head

to sit atop the block of wood.

A couple of weeks ago,

while at Home Depot,

I'd purchased sample pots of Martha Stewart paint,

that were marked $1.

The colors are Barn, Cornbread, Sultana(green), and Francesca(black).

After the blocks were painted,

they were sanded with 60 grit to give them

the I've-been-knocked-about-a-bit-too-much look.

Gesso was then applied with letter stamps and a stencil.

(I like to use stencils.)

After the paint dried,

the letters were sanded with 150 grit paper for distressing.

The JOY blocks were washed with brown paint.

To finish things up,

two coats of Minwax Wax Paste was applied to seal in all the goodness.

Who doesn't need a little more Peace & Joy?

Below are a few more of my Christmas ideas

Just click the photo for more details

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