Steampunk Airship!

This steampunky zeppelin by Globecraft Memories was far and away our favorite thing at the Craft and Hobby Show in Anaheim! The clear center is two bubble frames back-to-back making a clear round center. The gears and things are embedded inside! (This is a kit and can be found here.)

The company makes all kinds of bubble frames which are perfect for Victorian shadowbox displays. Of course, we love those too!

A Little Birdy Sold Me

Spring is the perfect season for birdwatching at the flea market, so our latest Flea Market Gold column in Create and Decorate magazine is for the birds!

We love the Treasure Island Flea Market in the middle of San Francisco Bay because it combines our two favorite activities: birdwatching and shopping. When you’re into birding like we are, you can’t help but I.D. every bird you see, even when they’re collectibles! Click here to see what we found!

A Home With Real Heart

Bring a little romance into your home with these heartfelt decorating ideas.

Get A Little Soft-hearted: Inspire romance in the bedroom with a simple but luxurious pillow embellishment. Just twist ribbons of raspberry and purple silk into a heart. Scrunch the ribbons as you tack them to the pillow cover with matching thread. Who knew ribbon embroidery could be so easy and look so good? (See more of this Valentine's Day inspired piece we did for Ladies' Home Journal by clicking here.)

Can The Clutter

New year, new resolution! For us it's time to can the clutter. Tin cans are tiny containers just waiting to be put to use. To recycle them into versatile storage, all you need is your imagination and a clean-edge can opener.

Chef’s Special

Turn pretty pie-filling cans into a piece of folk art that doubles as a cooking utensil holder. Bolt three eye-catching blueberry cans to a wooden cutting board with a frame hanger on the back. Display your clever work on the wall near the stove, and you’ll never search for your favorite spatula again. Bon appétit!

The Great Dividers

No matter how hard you try to keep drawers from collecting junk, they seem to be the vortex of miscellany. Get control over the odds and ends by cleaning a dozen tuna cans and nestling them into a drawer. Each little compartment can store thumbtacks, rubberbands, clips or twist ties. Junk drawer no more!

Clutter Cups

Corral the clutter in the kids’ room with magnetic tin cans. Hot glue heavy-duty magnets to ten soup cans and stick them to a steel cookie sheet. Hang it within kids’ reach using a plate hanger. Use the cups to hold crayons, chalk, markers and even Legos. Label the cans for easy clean up.

Closet Can Do

Organize your accessories with a scarf display made of sleek silver cans. Arrange seven soup cans to create a tight circle with one can in the center. Tightly wrap a long sash around the bundle of cans, secure it with a knot at the top, then hang your new organizer on the wall. Each cubby stores a colorful scarf and adds stylish organization to your closet.

Cannery Row

Keep the weeds out of the seeds by organizing your potting bench with bright vegetable cans. Choose a brand with gorgeous graphics of tomatoes, corn and green beans, or whatever you plan to plant. The clean-edge can opener creates nice fitting lids, too, so your seeds will stay high and dry.

Decorate Your Bathroom With Thrift Store Finds

Drawer Buster: Create art that doubles as storage and storage that doubles as art. Find a mini dresser and a few old black-and-white snapshots. Mount the drawers on the wall and tack a picture in each one using photo corners. Use the drawers as shelves, or hang earrings from looped pieces of wire. (See more of this fun piece we did for HGTV by clicking here.)

Tiny Winter Wonderland

Create a little Christmas cheer with a snowscape and a miniature reindeer.

YOU'LL NEED

Materials

* Glass cloche, 6" tall.

* Teacup saucer, approx. 6" diameter.

* 2 gold foil pipe cleaners, 12".

* Peat moss, 5" circle.

* Crushed velvet flock (Doodlebug): Lily White, 5.5 g.

* Styrofoam disc, 3" diameter, 1" thick.

* Red satin ribbon, 1/8" wide, 3" length.

* 8 mini jingle bells.

* Red metallic bead, 1/4" diameter.

* Miniature reindeer, about 2" tall.

* Wire-stem bottle brush, white.

* Snowy blue organdy ribbon, 1/2" wide, 18" length.

Tools & Supplies

* Spray adhesive.

* Metal cutting snips.

* Goggles.

* Red thread.

* Sewing needle.

* Hot glue gun and glue sticks.

WHAT TO DO

1. To create the base for the winterscape, cut a 5" diameter circle of peat moss and glue it onto the Styrofoam disc using the spray adhesive. Trim the edges of the peat moss with scissors. Hot glue the Styrofoam disc onto the center of the teacup saucer.

2. Don your goggles and cut the wire handle of the bottle brush with the metal cutting snips, leaving a 1" trunk. Make the bottle brush into a tree by trimming the bristles into a tree shape with scissors. Press the wire "trunk" into the peat-moss-covered Styrofoam so the tree is standing towards the back of the scene.

3. Dust the surface of the peat moss and the tree with the spray adhesive and sprinkle with white flock to create a snowy look. Hot glue the red metallic bead to the top of the tree.

4. Sew 7 mini jingle bells onto the red ribbon. Hang the jingle bell necklace around the deer's neck and crisscross the ends. Sew the last jingle bell over the crisscrossed ends to hold the necklace together. Hot glue the reindeer onto the peat moss in front of the tree.

5. Place the cloche over the winterscape and hot glue the bottom edge to the saucer. Hot glue the gold foil pipe cleaners around the base of the cloche and trim the ends. Tie the snowy blue organdy ribbon into a bow around the knob at the top of the bell jar.

Saved By The Bell: Bell jars or cloches are used to protect tiny plants from cold weather. Look for them at garden centers or Google the words "glass cloche." Or repurpose a glass-domed cheese plate. We see them at thrift stores all the time! 

Deck The Halls With Flea Market Finds

The flea market is our go-to place for bargain holiday decorating. Although Christmas items pop up year-round, vendors bring out the bulk of their decorations in September. On this trip to the flea market, we were on the hunt for Shiny Brites and other colorful ball ornaments to display in a glass bowl on a coffee table. Jennifer was on the lookout for pinecone elves to add to her growing collection, and Kitty was hoping to get a deal on a few Mercury glass ornaments (the heavy ones with mirroring inside) to showcase on ornament hangers on a bookcase. 

Although the Mercury glass was too spendy for our pocketbooks, we did find two-dozen Shiny Brites for $9. (They wanted $5 a box, but since we bought two boxes, we got a dollar off.) We found three pinecone pixies for Jennifer ($3 each!), and the vendor threw in a tiny bottlebrush tree that we admired. 

We also stumbled upon a bunch of hilarious old Christmas cookbooks. We think it’ll be a kick to set them out at our annual cookie party––we might even make some of the kooky cookie recipes. (What are Molasses Crinkles?!)

Crafters’ Delight

As crafters, we like to snatch up old craft books at the flea market. The methods are timeless, so we update the looks with modern materials and embellishments. This visit, we wanted holiday books with retro projects that are back in style, such as felt appliqué Christmas stockings. Jennifer found instructions for an old-fashioned pom-pom wreath that she plans to make in trendy teal blue with a lime silk shantung bow on top. 

We were thrilled to find a shoebox filled with vintage Christmas cards. We picked out a few with gold embossing, die cuts, and glitter accents. Kitty had the idea to cut the fronts off with pinking shears, punch two holes in the top for a ribbon, then tie them to wrapped presents. Jennifer thinks the cards will look great strung on a satin ribbon as a garland for her tree.

Hark! The Bargain Hunters Sing

We’re always looking for a big, unique item to turn into a conversation piece, and on this trip, Kitty was in search of some spectacular holiday find for her living room. We spotted a vintage store sign for Bennett’s Egg Nog Ice Cream that had a great holiday feel. And when we saw a neighborhood’s worth of lawn ornaments, from toy soldiers to reindeer, Jennifer toyed with the idea of placing one by the hearth as a focal point.

But the find of the day was a charming old wooden sled. We thought it would look festive leaning by the front door tied with a red velvet bow, or would make a great display for wrapped Christmas gifts. Kitty was careful to hide her enthusiasm for the sled before she knew how much it cost. (If they know you love it, the price will go up.) A cheerful gal in a cowboy hat said she was asking $38 for it, saying it was an authentic, vintage Flexible Flyer. We carefully looked it over and noticed the steering bar was broken and got the price down to $30. The sled didn’t quite fit in our cart, especially since Jennifer had just purchased a pair of giant illuminated plastic lawn candles (only $5 each!), but it was worth the extra trip back to the car!

Thanksgiving Finger Puppets

Make pipe cleaner finger puppets and put on a Thanksgiving show! Make the finger puppet body by wrapping your finger with a pipe cleaner. Glue a pompom onto the top for a head and decorate it with two googly eyes. For the pilgrim, spiral a black pipe cleaner into a hat. Give the Indian a headband with a bent pipe cleaner feather in the back. For the turkey, bend striped pipe cleaners in half to look like feathers and glue them into a fan-shaped tail. 

Pie, Oh My!

The fall harvest is upon us and suddenly we have a hankering for pie. Pie collectibles, that is!

The flea market is the place for all things pie—from bake-off cookbooks to painted pie safes. Right off the bat, we found a pile of old pie crimpers, perfect for making decorative edges. Vintage pie crimpers can run upwards of $100 if the handle is made of Bakelite, but Kitty picked out a wooden-handled one and got the price down from $18 to $12. We also saw rolling pins by the dozens. Kitty fell in love with a marble one with red handles. It set her back $15, but it comes with the good blessing of every pastry it has ever rolled out!

Along the way, we saw some larger “pie” pieces, including a rustic sign that read “Mom’s Homemade Pies Baked To Perfection.” But the find of the day was a lemon-yellow pie safe with a wonderful weathered look. Pie safes are cabinets with chicken wire or punched-tin doors that keep the varmints out while the pies cool. The vendor was asking $325 for the antique one we found, but Jennifer bargained her way to $275. Easy as pie!

                      

Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Since Victorian times, professional bakers (and grandmas!) have used ceramic pie birds to funnel steam out of pies and prevent them from bubbling over. Blackbirds are the most common pie vents, but if you keep an eye out you might be lucky enough to spot a blue bird, a rooster, or even the elusive red cardinal. These little birds are bursting with personality so get yourself a classic crow for about $15 and place it in a niche as a whimsical objet d’art. But be warned, pie birds are so cute you may wind up with a whole flock!

Flying Saucers

No country kitchen is complete without pie tins, especially ones embossed with phrases like “Mello Rich Pie” and “Flaky Crust.” Back in the day, bakeries had their names embossed in the bottoms of their pie tins. A homemaker who reused the pan would be reminded how much easier it would be to buy a fresh pie from “Mrs. Smith’s.” Legend has it that college students used to play toss with tins that read “Frisbie’s Pies”—a game that led to the invention of the Frisbee! These days, Frisbie pie tins can sell for $50 apiece, but we found a “Py-O-My Ice Box Pie” pan for just $3!

Decorating A La Mode

Ice cream scoops look cheerful even when they’re not serving up sundaes, so why not add a scoop of fun to your pie décor with a few of these old-fashioned dippers? Collect ice cream scoops in turquoise, green, and yellow, then hang them on a narrow wall, one over the other. You can get scoops for as little as $1 at the flea market so pick up an extra one for your gadget drawer, and you’ll be ready to serve anything a la mode!

Expect To Pay

Ice Cream Scoops $1 to $20

Embossed Pie Tins $3 to $50

Rolling Pins $5 to $20

Recipe Pie Plates $5 to $25

Silver-plated Pie Servers $7 to $25

Wooden-handled Dough Crimpers $12 to $40

Pie Carriers $15 to $35

Pie Birds $15 to $75

Pie Safes $250 to $2500

Get Jiggy With It!

When we went to The Southern Women's Show in Orlando, we met the folks from Purple Cows and got to see their CraftGeek Wind It. What a cool tool! We just used it to make napkin rings for Thanksgiving. It's a wire jig with templates so you can easily bend wire into smooth spirals and swirls. (If you've done any wire bending with round-nose pliers, you know this is tricky!) We embellished the wire loops with fall leaves, but we couldn't help adding a little steampunk touch--a skeleton key charm!

The Thankstionary!

Recycle a children’s picture book by gluing a different color piece of paper over each page. Pick something you are thankful for like mom, kittens, and ice cream to feature on each page. Decorate the pages with pictures cut out of old magazines, rubberstamps, and magic markers. Try to do one for each letter of the alphabet.

What You'll Need:

children’s picture book

different color pieces of paper

gluestick

magazine pictures cut out: mom, kittens, and ice cream

old magazines 

rubberstamps

magic markers

8 Things To Do Now To Get That Cozy Fall Feeling

With Halloween behind us and Thanksgiving around the corner, it's the perfect time to get in the fall mood!

Spring Into Fall

Welcome the season with a harvesty display on your front porch. Just load up an urn with a bundle of late summer sunflowers and wrap it in a bonny plaid ribbon. Complete the scene with a pile of painted pumpkins and a woodsy pinecone owl. What a hoot! 

Dress It Up

Swap out casual summery throw pillows for more dressy ones embellished with embroidery, gems, and sumptuous trims. Silky sari fabrics in spicy hues like cinnamon, ginger, and clove lend an air of exotic elegance without being too formal or fussy.

Make A Little Switch

With a small space like the bathroom, changing seasons is all in the details. Guest towels in terra cotta and Turkish blue add a dash of warm color. Earthy accessories like a cast twig dish topped with verbena leaf soap will harmonize with your bath no matter what your décor.

Get Back To Nature

Capture an autumn moment with a bouquet of birdy branches. Gather sticks and give them a metallic patina with copper and silver spray paint, then tie on organdy ribbons to echo the last-to-fall leaves. Finish with feathery faux birds perched on the ends to look like a flock stopping over on its way south.

Turn Over A New Leaf

Fall is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll when you set a rustic farm table with modern style. Die-cut leaf placemats in bold red let the beauty of the weathered wood shine through. And with cosmopolitan black-and-white plates and brushed silver napkin rings, you can take Manhattan to the countryside!

Savor Fall Colors

Adding an appetizing autumn palette to the kitchen is as easy as pie! Go for dishtowels and mixing bowls in colors like marigold, persimmon, and green apple. A red fluted pie plate with a recipe printed inside gives the look a vintage twist. Setting out your wooden spoons and cutting boards reveals them as handcrafted decorator pieces––that you already own!

Get Glowing

Put the whole house in the mood with an aromatic candlescape inspired by the great outdoors. Have the family collect acorns, pinecones, and seedpods from the yard. Place these natural materials in mismatched mason jars, then light them up with flameless candles in scents like mulled cider, spiced orange, and chai latte. Autumn aromatherapy!

Blanket The Room With Texture

Starting to feel a chill in the air? Then snuggle up with a warm throw. Hunt for fabrics that fit the season as comfortably as a favorite sweater. Plush wovens and faux fur in espresso and teal will inspire you to curl up and get cozy.

My Candy Corn Cups Runneth Over!

Candy Corn Cupcake Cups

These Halloween party favors are super-easy to make. Just punch a hole on either side of silver cupcake cups. Twist two black pipe cleaners together and feed the ends through the holes. Curl one end up and one end down to make a kooky handle. Fill with...what else? Candy corn!

To The Bat Mobile! Let's Go!

Haunt your house with a bevvy of bats!

Make a spooky mobile for Halloween! Cut the bat shapes out of black craft foam. Stick on self-adhesive rhinestone eyes. (We chose green and lime!) Spray a big stick with Krylon Glitter Blast Bronze Glaze, then string the bats up with fishing line!

Witchy Pinecone Owl

Who's scary? Who! Who!

Here's a fun Halloween craft for kids. Collect pinecones from the yard and dress them up as witches! Make the hat and eyes from craft foam or felt.

Set one by the front door to greet guests. Line up a row of them on your mantle. Or use them as placecard holders for your Halloween party!

How To Make a Witch's Hat

Click to enlarge.

Bring old bottles back from the dead!

Cast a spell with these bewitching candlesticks! Start by cleaning glass bottles inside and out. Give them a thrilling finish with Krylon Glitter Blast in Starry Night Sky, Citrus Dream, and Twilight Sky. Use sparkly stickers to label each bottle’s "hazardous contents." Top the bottles with candles and give your haunted house a ghoulish glow.

Instant Halloween!

Oh no, Halloween has snuck up on us! No worries. Jennifer took her gorgeous fall wreath and gave it an instant frightfully-fun makeover. She took a drugstore spider and wrapped his legs around the edge of the wreath. Enter if you dare!

Spider Attack! Instant Halloween Wreath!

Make 'n Takes Now Online!

We did a different Make 'n Take every day at the Southern Women's Show in Orlando. If you didn't get a chance to craft with us, we've put the How-Tos on our Web site. Just click on the pictures below to see each project.

Stamped Metal Jewelry

Resin Ring

Riveted Metal Pendant

Vintage Monogram Pendant

Good Times and Goodie Bags!

Our little Kia Soul stuffed with goodie bags!

We just got back from the Southern Women's Show in Orlando. So fun! We did Make 'n Takes every day with 50 Southern gals and gave away over 200 goodie bags! Krylon donated 50 Glitter Blast travel alarm clocks. Good swag! Here's a tip, though. Next time we'll stash that box in the car and not in our hotel room. We're started hearing tiny muffled alarms at 2 a.m! It took a few minutes for us to figure out what it was! Hilarious!