The Great Pumpkin Contest Winners!!

photo: courtesy, Country Home Magazine

Many thanks to those who participated in the contest I co-sponsored with Ki Nassauer of Junk Revolution. We had some great entries, both through this blog and via email. Who knew such creativity could be expressed through some junk and a pumpkin or two? Ki, that's who... and the talented ladies who took part in this challenge.

The first place prize ($100 gift certificate to Ki's online store) goes to: Terri at Paint 'n' Thread. This pumpkin has personality!!

Second place ($50 gift certificate) goes to the super talented Margo/Robolady of Margo's Junkin' Journal :

Third place ($25 gift certificate) goes to Diane Mazur, who emailed us this entry (what a lot of work!!):

The following are the winners of the random prize draw (they each win a $25 gift certificate to Junk Revolution's online shop):

Primtiques and Poetry and her fun entries (my favourite is the greyish-white pumpkin):

Linda Crispell, a very talented artist who junked up her pumpkin with old bottlecaps:

The final random draw winner goes to Karin at The Style Sisters. She took advantage of the revised contest rules and did a post on her blog about Ki's new business, website, and online store (again, opening November 10th).

**So, ladies, please send me your email addresses (to linda@restyledhome.ca) , and I'll hook you up with Ki and she will look after getting your prizes to you. Congratulations!!

The Witch is In...Happy Halloween!!

Taking a page from Matthew Mead's new Halloween magazine, I copied him directly (although not quite as lovely) and staged my own ready-to-wear Witch ensemble in my front entry. This was a fun and easy Halloween display: a pointy, velvet hat with shiny buckle; cape; witchin' shoes;, keys; pet crow; and of course...broom! Every witch needs a broom...

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Traditions are very important to me, and some things just need doin'. In sickness or in health, with brothers or not. With a generous assortment of pumpkins, a bad chest infection (me) and two boy at basketball practice, Sophie and her little friend and her brother (their sister, too, was sick), their mum (my good friend and Scrabble partner) and I decided that pumpkin decorating just can't be skipped.

After a nice supper and some goodbyes to the men in our house, we started carving our pumpkin masterpieces. I made a skeleton, Sophie a scary Jack-o-lantern. Not very creative, I know, but better than nothing, right? I even toasted the pumpkin seeds, which are always a hit with the main man in the house.

After carving, we took the annual porch shot with our pumpkins. It is a bit sad that the boys didn't join in, but it just worked out that way this year, and my oldest had no interest anyway. ~Sigh~

To cap off the evening, the kids decorated some cookies from a kit I bought, and this was a big hit with the girls!

Can you believe I just remembered to dig this great runner out of storage? It is from Pottery Barn (last year).

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**Check out Tanya's (Sunday Baker) post about her take on traditions. She invites you to share yours, and has posted a very special photo of her very own pumpkin carving memories. Tanya is my go-to gal when I don't know what to make for dinner, and I always enjoy each and every one of her posts.

Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Four

Hard durable flooring is ideal for pet owners. Sealed stone, hardwood, or vinyl flooring will hold up well. If you do choose to have carpeting, get the cut pile variety. Loop pile carpet can be snagged and unraveled by a rowdy pet. An alternative to carpeting is buying several stylish area rugs. These can be cleaned easily, unlike carpet, where the carpet padding can never be fully cleaned if an animal has an accident on the carpet. Just don’t buy rugs that are too expensive, if you do you’ll be stressed out about them getting dirty. Carpet tiles of the sort often used in commercial spaces are another way to go if you want to have carpet. This way, if one square gets dirty, you can pull it up and replace it.

Brushing your pets often can really lessen the amount of hair that ends up in your home. I bought a brush called the furminator that works great on my dogs, I get a lot more hair off of them than I do with a regular brush.

Giving your dog plenty of treats is another way to help keep your furniture looking nice. If they have appealing things to chew on, they’re less likely to chew on your stuff. I go to thrift stores and stock up on small stuffed toys for my dog a couple times a year, much cheaper than buying very similar stuffed toys at a pet store.

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Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Three

If you’re a big sucker like me, and you like your animals to live in the lap of luxury, consider getting a fashionable piece of furniture just for your pet. If you can get your pet to use it instead of the human furniture, you’ll have a lot less couch cleaning to do. Leather bean bag chairs are a good option that I’ve seen dogs fall in love with. This same idea goes for cats too, if you buy a piece of cat furniture with a little cubby in it or a platform up high where they can lounge they won’t sleep on your furniture as much. I made my cat a little hideaway under an end table and he sleeps there faithfully every day. If you do allow your pets on your furniture, it will probably be worth it to you to buy a small hand held vacuum. You can store it in a convenient place, such as under an end table next to the couch and even keep it plugged in. This way, it’s easy to get out and vacuum your couches often. Another option is to buy slipcovers for your couches that you can wash frequently. Slipcovers are actually in fashion right now, and they come in quite a variety of styles and fabric types.

These days there are plenty of pet accessories to choose from that will match your home. There are stainless steel food and water dishes or ceramic dishes to choose from.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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A new way to win!

Ki Nassauer of Junk Revolution

For some reason, this Halloween is finding us all very busy, and doing some last minute scrambling to get organized and ready. Costumes planned, pumkins carved, treats bought...decorating pumpkins is often at the bottom of the list, especially if it is not a job you enjoy. I haven't even carved my own yet, although I plan to remedy that tonight! Either way, because you are all so busy, I am opening up the junk pumpkin decorating contest to include those who simply mention Ki's new website and its online shopping debut (the store opens November 10th).

If you include the following in a quick post, you will have a chance to win one of three $25 gift certificates to her online store. As women, we all strive to support other women and their creative endeavours. Ki is a junk expert, and has branched out on her own, once again, and I am hoping you will help me spread the word and allow everyone to benefit from her creativity, imagination, and expertise!

Leave your link in the comment section for this post. This contest will still be ending on October 31st, so hurry and join in. The prizes are great, but the shopping is even better!!

Here is what you need:

Include this logo:

and this information:

Join the Revolution!! Ki Nassauer, Country Home contributing editor, founder of JunkMarket, and now, Junk Revolution is officially getting her online store underway! Keep checking in with her website (http://www.junkrevolution.com/) as she works to expand it to include valuable tips and inspiration. Beginning November 1oth, wonderful junk items will be available to purchase for yourself or the fellow junkers in your life. To get to know Ki better, follow her along on some of her junking jaunts, and to learn more about the history of her business over the years, check out her blog: http://junkcamp.blogspot.com/

And that's it!!

**For those still wishing to enter a "junked up" pumpkin for consideration, go here! The dollar values for the gift certificates are: first prize:$100, second prize: $50, third prize: $25

Also, check out Margo/Robolday's blog for a chance to win this:

It's a beautiful vintage bag designed by Ki and created by her sister. Just a glimpse of the goodness that will be offered for sale on her new website!! Again, the shopping area will be up and running by November 10th.

Be sure to check it out!!

All trimmed out...

I live in a new house. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about mice, critters, weird bugs...frozen pipes, slow-moving toilets, or drafty doors and windows. My house is efficient, cozy, and very low maintenance. My house is also quite devoid of the charm that comes with older homes...

It seems to be the catch twenty-two of choosing old over new. Sure, we could technically have filled our home with salvaged fireplace mantels, banisters, old doors and more. We could have purchased old door knobs and spent hours returning them to their former glory. We could have laid reclaimed hardwood on my floors, too, I guess. However, the truth of it is that we can't. I/we have neither the funds nor easy access to said materials to do so; and the reality is that after living in a less than ideal rental home while building, just getting in seems like the only goal. So, up go the new (designed to look older) doors, lighting, fittings. We lay pre-finished flooring and are happy to have it. We end up with a home that we are happy to call our own, but loaded with architectural detail it is not.

I have long pined for wall panelling/wainscoting/bead board, etc. My doors are trimmed out in a trim style I love (Boston headers), and we don't scrimp and install the cheaper, flimsier version that most contractors use. Still, I dreamed of the flat panel detailing that my dining area and front entry was calling out for (you know what I mean...). Enter my Prince Charming, who casually announced two weeks ago that he would begin the project the very next day. Now, I admire those women who can do such projects themselves with ease. But, if I am to be honest, I don't think I am cut out for it. I am clumsy, accident prone, and like things done yesterday. Definitely not the attributes of a successful carpenter.

Happily, my hard-working husband laboured away installing the detailing, and had it ready for painting after only one day of construction! I dutifully picked up my trusty paintbrush, and after three days of painting, declared the project finished!

Next up is some crown-moulding in the living room, bead board in the mudroom, and something even better in the bathroom (although I have yet to decide what). New home or not, we will work at giving it detail and character, and our kids will do their part by chipping away at its newness by scuffing up walls, denting the hardwood, and dinging the trim work.

It's a family affair...!!

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Another example of my husband's work to add vintage character to our home:

Lovely examples of great details anyone (with a bit of skill and a few tools) can add:

(Note, the following are not photos of my home)

(top photo: source unknown)

Middle and bottom photo: Country Home.com

(Photo below: House to Home.com)

Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Two

Pick your color scheme carefully if you have pets or anticipate having them soon. Stay away from white carpeting, curtains, or furniture, they won’t be white for long if you own pets. Black fabric and upholstery shows light animal fur really well, and it can be hard to keep it all cleaned off, so try not to use very much black in your decorating. Bold or bright colors also show fur easily. The best colors for us animal lovers are soft neutrals, any color within the range from light tan to chocolate brown will stay looking nice with pets fairly well.

Don’t use flat finish paint if you have pets. When they rub against the walls (or run into the walls as my dogs sometimes do) it will be harder to clean flat finish painted walls. It is best to avoid white walls if you can. This will force you to think about your style a little bit more, and your home will probably end up looking better if you paint them colors other than white.

Your tables and end tables will need to be sturdy. Where you have animals you’ll have play and they’ll inevitably run into your furniture. Also, keeping a lot of knick knacks on your tables probably won’t work well if you are going to own pets, clutter free is best, that way there is less to be knocked over.

Ideally, you’ll have a pantry in the kitchen where you can store your pet’s food. This way, you can keep it hidden instead of having to either display it or go out into your garage each time you feed your pets.

Check back soon for part three of this blog.

This blog is brought to you by rehab jobs.

Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part One

I’m an animal lover and live with two dogs and two cats, but that doesn’t mean my house has to look worse for the wear. Sticking to a few rules when decorating your home can allow you to have a home that looks good and pets simultaneously. In fact, a home that is decorated to be durable and stylish may reduce your stress levels when guests or kids are over, you won’t have to worry about messes as much.

Stay away from decorating in fabric types that attract hair. If a fabric has any tendency to have static, it will attract animal hair like crazy. Velvet is another fabric to steer clear of, you will have a hard time keeping velvet hair free. Certain fabric types like microfiber are easy to keep fur off of. Ideally, you would choose fabrics that are close to the color of your pet’s hair to minimize visible fur on the fabric. There is a new fabric type called crypton, designed to resist stains and smells. It comes in many colors and styles and you can check it out at www.cryptonfabric.com. Leather is a good fabric choice for pet owners too. It is easy to clean and very durable. Pleather will work well too. Ultrasuede feels like real suede and is very good for pet owners too.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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All Hallow's Eve...

Doesn't everyone have a pet crow? I have had this "caged crow" for a few years, now, and love hanging from my porch.

I plopped this wig on this glass head and it is one of my kids' favourites. Easy peasy decorating!!

It's almost here...soon bags of candy will be stuffed in our children's closet - wrappers will be found under beds, on every flat surface, tucked under pillows, stuffed into pockets. Pumpkins need carving, candles bought, costumes need to be rustled up. For kids, it is a magical day. Honestly, could it get any better than being out after dark, endless treats, and a good game of dress-up? For me, the fun is also in the planning: pizza for a quick supper, costumes layed out on beds, and decorations of course...

A rather unassuming Mona Lisa...

...and her more sinister twin:

(I got this at Zellers (Cdn), and the image changes as you pass by)

I had promised to show you what my mum, Sophie and I made on our annual girls crafting night. Normally, I am very prepared with all the supplies in order. This year, I was betwixt and between over what to make. I saw this fun skeleton over at Julie's blog, and decided on the spot that it was perfect for us: a little glitter, a little happy spookiness, and easy to boot. I hunted down some miniature skeletons and ended up buying a garland of them at Walmart for $4 each. I cut up my garland and decided to instead hang them individually on my Halloween tree, and this is what I ended up with:

I used my crown stamp on some cardstock, and then cut it carefully out, glittered it, and hot-glued it to my skeleton. I have three with crowns, each wearing a framed B or O to spell BOO, of course! For the others, I used a witch hat stamp and also glittered the bones a little to give some added sparkle.

Here are some more "pretties" hanging on my tree:



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Don't forget about the pumpkin decorating contest with Ki...awesome prizes...yours for the taking...and only four days left!!

Highland Fling

I have spoken of my love/hate relationship with plaid/tartan before. However, there is no denying the warmth and coziness and sense of history it conjures up, at least for those with a Scottish or Irish background. Today, I experienced the absolute best of tartan as I watched my daughter and her fellow Highland dance students perform for the residents of a local nursing home. My daughter is shy, but not shy. She is quiet as a mouse in school, but yammers on and on at home. She blushes deeply when performing, yet secretly loves it and enjoys the spotlight, though she is hard pressed to make eye contact as she dances. Today, while watching her dance - and even more so, watching her smile quietly while waiting her turn to take the stage - I felt my heart swell with such pride that it fairly hurt to swallow. At times, I feel a rush of panic as I realize that my years of having a "little girl" are dwindling, and I have a sense of urgency to drink in all of her childhood while it lasts. Of course, there are times that I am a cranky old mother who doesn't see the shine on everything as I should, but I do know that my children are such incredible gifts and that they will only be children for so long. It is our job as parents to make the effort...to spend the time and enjoy the moments while they are still within reach. I know only too well, that my daughter's little hand will reach for mine only so much longer. While my boys are still quite affectionate and loving to me, they are not as dependent on me as perhaps I would like. They years have a way of passing us by and we wake up one day with children that are perhaps taller than us, and certainly full of opinions that we may or may not share. Indeed, it is our job to spend as much time as we can in the days leading up to this half-strength cutting of the apron strings, and of course be there for when our older children do admit to needing us.

Today my girl and I also took in a viewing of the new High School Musical movie. All of the dancing and singing was right up Sophie's alley (and mine, as a lover of musicals), and I found myself sneaking peeks at her reactions to the different scenes as she sat a few seats over with her friends. I found myself wishing she was seated right next to me so we could enjoy it together. As luck would have it, half-way through the movie I felt a little person shuffle past her seatmates and settle herself onto my lap. As she leaned back against me and I breathed in the scent of her hair, I felt just so insanely happy. Happy to be there with her, and happy that she is neither too big nor too grown up to fit snugly into my arms.

Life is good...

Showing me her beach finds this summer...

Pumpkin Carving – Part Four

There are special pumpkin carving kits available at many stores. These kits are a lot easier to use for carving than knives that you happen to have around the kitchen, and a decent kit can usually be found for a good price. Kits usually include tiny serrated blades in several different sizes that make cutting intricate patterns easy. If you intend to really get into carving the details, having a drill on hand can make your task easier.

Candles look the most authentic inside carved pumpkins that are displayed, but the heat from the candles often causes pumpkins to shrivel and age prematurely. To prevent this, consider buying some lights meant to go inside of pumpkins. You can get lights that have tiny batteries in them so you don’t have to worry about finding an outlet. You can also get lights that flicker to look like a candle flame. These don’t usually cost more than a dollar per light, and they’re easier than candles too since you can leave them on instead of having to remember to light and blow out the candle each night.

There are a few unique things you can do with your pumpkin if you want it to stand out. You can put wax paper inside the pumpkin covering the design, this will create an opaque look when the pumpkin is lit. Tin foil inside the pumpkin across from the pattern makes the light emitted from the pumpkin look brighter.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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Seasonally Confused??

I have been off the radar a little bit, and I can't really explain why. Sure, life is always busy for young families with children...keeping track of their school lives and extra-curricular activities. I have also been working on a couple of projects both for myself and a client, and I have been making a concerted effort to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in weeks or (in some cases) months. But I think what has kept me away from here is what my son summed up in two distinct words last night...

Both of our sons are on the varsity basketball team for their school, and were at their inaugural practice of the year last evening. As they noisily piled in the mudroom door upon their return, I could hear them laughing with their father and mumblings of Mum, and Christmas, and a few other bits I could not decipher. Happy to enlighten me with what was making them laugh, my eldest blurted out that they had decided that I was, "seasonally confused" because of the view into my living room window:
What the heck....?? A little taken aback by their use of the uncommon term, I initially was indignant and somewhat confused. Of course, they always enjoy when I become rankled, so they continued heckling me, asking why I have a Christmas tree in October. Never mind that said tree is black with orange lights, and is quite obviously more festivus than festive, they have continued to dub it "Mum's Halloween Christmas Tree", and they think it is pretty weird.

Could they be right? Am I seasonally confused? And no, it is not the tree that is evidence of that, but more likely the fact that I have been indeed daydreaming of Christmas. In fact, I have picked up considerably more Christmas decorations than is proper for this time of year. I have also been making lists of proposed Christmas gifts and scanning the flyers for signs of deals. Perfectly normal, some would say, except that until today, I had no Halloween decorations up, and not a stick of candy bought for the scores of trick-or-treaters that tend to land at our doorstep.

Too busy? No time? Not enough decorations? No, no, and no. Truth is, I had checked out of Halloween - moved on to bigger and better things (Christmas) and was in fact living in the future instead of the moment. I have always loved Halloween and its childish fun. I have always thrown my heart into decorating, for me and for my kids (at least when they were young enough to appreciate it). I wanted to eke out as much magic as I possibly could from this holiday, as I firmly believe that every and all holidays are a built-in break from the sometimes mundane and often routine nature of our lives. Whether they have spiritual meaning, or are simply meant to gather us together in the name of fun: holidays are gifts. They remind us to slow down and remember what is important, and how much fun it can be to simply enjoy the moments that make up the holiday.

So I'm back - back here and back to the present. I will still make mental lists in my head of all the things that need attention for the biggest of holidays, but I will also focus on costumes, candy, pumpkin people and at least one person who still gets a thrill out of this fun, whimsical holiday:

Why should she miss out on having a spirited, silly mother??

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Don't forget to check out the pumpkin decorating contest (co-sponsored by Ki Nassauer). It is almost the weekend, and the odds are really great that if you even attempt to junk up a pumpkin, you'll be shopping over at Ki's great site...just in time for the holidays!! Go here for all the details!!

Pumpkin Carving – Part Three

Drilling holes where you will need to start each cut will make carving easier. This way, the hard work is done, and you have a nice starting point for each cut. Make sure you make the most of your carving tools by sawing with them, this is how they are meant to be used. Pumpkin carving is time consuming; expect to spend awhile on this project if you want it to look good when you are done. Pay close attention to your pattern as you cut, you don’t want to end up losing track of the final goal and accidentally sawing off a vital connector area.

When the hard work of carving the pumpkin is done, you might want to spend a few minutes working to make it last as long as possible. Place the pumpkin in a tub full of cold water, let the pumpkin fill with water and sink. Let it soak for at least a couple of hours. Add a little bleach to the tub of water to help prevent molding. This process sounds strange, but it works to firm up the pumpkin. When you remove the pumpkin from the water, let it dry off and then rub Vaseline along any cut edges. This traps the water in the pumpkin, which is what you want, because when water escapes this is what causes pumpkins to shrivel.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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Pumpkin Carving – Part Two

Projection kits have gotten popular for pumpkins lately. To project the pattern from the pumpkin onto a wall you’ll want to carve a small pattern into the pumpkin. You also need to carve it backwards if there is any text involved, so it will project the correct direction when you are done.

Pumpkin carving can be as intricate of a process as you would like it to be depending on how complicated the pattern you select is. Many people carve a basic pattern, which will yield black where no pumpkin is carved away, and bright yellow where the carving has been done and the candle shows through. There are two other shades that can be achieved with careful carving though. The first is light orange, which will show through if you carve away all of the skin off of the front of the pumpkin and some of the meat, the more you carve, the lighter the orange will look. Dark orange will show through if you remove the pumpkin meat from the inside, leaving the skin alone on the front side.

Once you pick out a pattern that you like, you will need to transfer it to the pumpkin. First, tape or pin the pattern to the pumpkin. You can push a thumb tack through the paper along the patterns lines, you’ll need a lot of holes to see the pattern clearly. This is a lot of work, but it will be worth it when you are done and you don’t have to guess where to carve any of your lines.

Check back soon for part three of this blog.

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