 Gold ornament on my tree. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I had many trendy ideas for decorating my Christmas tree this year…and until I checked my bank balance! Lol! Jokes aside, this year has been tough financially, and there isn’t enough money left in the pot to handle gifts, food, bills, Christmas dinner, AND expensive holiday decor. So, we scaled things back a little… This year, I have challenged myself to work with what I have on hand for all my holiday decor…and it WAS a challenge. Some areas could use more “stuff”—if I wanted to go out and buy extra decor—but for this year, it has to be what it is.
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 DIY wreath berries and faux greens. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs—or follow me on social media—chances are you’ve seen this wreath base before. The vine wreath base with the “Welcome” sign has become a decor staple, providing the perfect template for an ever-changing assortment of seasonal faux floral arrangements.  Closeup of ivy, gold poinsettia, and berries on this DIY wreath. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. This holiday decorating season has seen a lot of DIY projects, including this super simple ivy vine wreath! As with another recent DIY wreath project (see below), I started with a twisted vine wreath base stripped of all its old faux florals.  Wiry garland with faux greens, pinecone, and red berries. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. This year’s holiday season has been devastated by the current chaotic economy. It’s turning out to be a very lean holiday season indeed! This year—in particular—the festive decorations have become a beacon of light in the darkness, at least for me.
But what do you do if you can’t afford to indulge in the latest trends in Christmas decorations? What if all you have to work with is cheap, wiry—and obviously fake—garland? This year, I have three cheap garlands, two hung over the top of my windows and one wrapped around the staircase railing. In this DIY, I'll share how I dressed them up to make them look festive.  Celtic knot painted on a decorative tray. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Welcome to part two of my DIY chalk-painted tray project! In part one, I chalk-painted a decorative tray using a “chippy” weathered effect. Now, let's go through the steps I took to design and paint a border around the vertical exterior sides of the tray. This will not be a tutorial on creating Celtic knots—that would turn this blog post into a book (which is in the works, by the way)! The goal is to help you create a simple design that can be traced onto the newly painted decorative tray for a bit more pizzazz.  Finished diy weathered tray with some fall decor. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. This month, I tackled a simple DIY project using an unfinished wooden tray, furniture stain, and chalk paint. The tray was one of those items that kept getting moved from cabinet to cabinet…because "someday" I would come up with an idea for a DIY project!  Succulents and coleus planted in my outdoor fairy garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020. As a child, I loved everything related to castles and fairy tales. The irresistible pull of the unseen world wormed its way into my psyche and never let go. The sense of wonder I felt when I imagined worlds full of magical folk like fairies, elves, gnomes, and talking animals was perhaps a way to escape a troubled childhood.  Closeup of bonsai ficus leaves. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. If you have a small bonsai ficus that has become a little unruly or has over grown its pot, today’s blog has a few tips that may help you repot that burgeoning bonsai tree! Last year I purchased a bonsai ficus retusa and over the past year it has become side heavy, leaning to one side and pulling itself out of the soil. The tree leaves themselves are flourishing and look amazing, drinking in the warm sunlight from its tranquil spot in front of my south facing window. The severe lean that is causing the roots to be exposed, however, has me concerned that this tree may soon find itself in distress. An intervention is needed!  Homamde lavender, chamomile, and lemon potpourri. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Nothing speaks to being calm and relaxed like the aromatic floral scent of lavender. Retail stores are filled with essential oils, incense, candles, and potpourri with the lavender scent.  My chamomile has a ladybug visitor. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I’ll let you in on a little secret—chamomile is my favorite herb! I have to tell you, I have developed quite an infatuation with this gorgeous little flower. Two years ago, I planted chamomile in pots that eventually ended up on my back patio.
 Mint growing in my garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. A few years back, I bought this packet of mint seeds to plant in my yard for fresh mint. Not only did I have no idea how to grow mint, but there was no thought given to how I would use the stuff when it started to grow…and grow it did! So, the first thing you should know is that mint is prolific! No, seriously, you'll have to keep on top of it so this plant doesn’t spread all over your yard. But it needs little care to keep it alive, and you get a lot of it for whatever uses you have in mind. Which brings me to my second point…What can you do with fresh mint?
 My cherry tomatoes from last year. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. Last year, I grew tomato and cucumber seedlings in styrofoam cups on my kitchen's southwest windowsill. After a couple of weeks, they were a couple of inches tall! My cucumbers are once again rapidly growing. This year's cucumber and tomato seedlings (along with other herb seedlings) are sitting on my living room windowsill, which roughly faces southwest.  This year's seedlings growing on my windowsill. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. So this year, I'm sharing my gardening journey, pitfalls, mistakes, triumphs, and tips. This will probably be the first in a series of articles following my journey from planting the seeds to using my homegrown vegetables in recipes.  Mint in my back garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. Herbs…They are fun to grow AND useful for many things! This spring's goal is to increase the variety of my existing indoor and outdoor herbs. A second—but equally important—goal is to learn more about the care of these plants so I can get the most out of the growing experience.  Finished upholstered dining room arm chair. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. It’s been a year since we bought our dining room set from an upscale consignment shop in our area. It’s a beautiful set, but the chair upholstery was not looking its best. I tried cleaning it (I even did a blog about it last year), but ultimately, I was unhappy with the fabric. Anyway, the padding is so worn it feels like you’re sitting on a board--time for a reupholstery project!  Pots with planted seeds sitting on my windowsill facing southwest. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Over the years, I have looked forward to planting seeds indoors. I love watching the fragile green seedlings push their way up through the moist soil and begin to sprout. We live in a rental home, so digging up the yard is not an option and limits my ability to grow vegetables and herbs. We have a small raised garden for growing mint, sage, and chives, and there are also usually a few containers on the back patio where herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, and chamomile grow over the spring and summer. So this year, I wanted to plant more herbs in containers, with the idea that they can be placed outdoors on the patio or indoors on a windowsill, keeping my houseplants company.  Upclose view of faux orchids. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. It's springtime! Time to make another faux floral design for my front door wreath. Every season, I re-use a pre-made wreath base, which serves as a template for whatever seasonal floral design I want. I couldn’t tell you where I got this old wreath from—I’ve had it so long now! The twisted vines conveniently allow me to insert stems into gaps between the entangled branches. Most of the time, the stems stay in place, but occasionally, floral wire is needed for extra stability. (Because I change out florals for this wreath, I never use glue.)  My new pothos plant recently misted. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. A couple of months ago, I bought this gorgeous little pothos plant from my local home and garden store that had too little soil in too small a pot. So I knew the poor thing would need to be repotted sooner rather than later. Now that the warmer weather has arrived, it’s time to give this struggling plant baby a better plot of earth.  Top down view of my bromeliad mother plant and her newly planted pups. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. About bromeliads… Without getting too technical, bromeliads are a type of air plant or epiphyte, meaning the plant draws what it needs from the humidity in the air. This plant doesn’t technically need soil, but the soil does provide a way to anchor the plant into a pot and provide an extra boost of nutrients and water. In nature, an epiphyte’s roots attach to trees or other plants, anchoring them to a good place where they catch the best nutrients and humidity from the surrounding air.  Pothos plant just misted. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I have been refreshing the decor in my master bathroom and decided to add some greenery to the mix. Adding plants in a bathroom is a win-win for everybody. The plant gets plenty of humidity (which many tropical plants love), and we get a sense of healing and calm. If you’re using your shower regularly (which I hope you are!), your plants will benefit from the humidity in the air. If you have a window for natural light, that’s even better. Typically, tropical plants are the best for bathrooms or areas with high humidity.
 Burning finished homemade soy candle with eucalyptus and spearmint fragrance. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. There’s nothing like homemade, right?
I used to work in a store where I merchandised candles and could never resist the urge to smell every new scent I unpacked. There’s just something about the allure of scented candles that’s irresistible! There’s just one thing about store-bought candles, though…They are full of pollutants I don’t want in my house. I decided to learn how to make homemade candles several years ago...and I was hooked! |
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