Christmas Coop

Last weekend I worked outside to decorate the house 

and I had some decorations left over. 

What was I to do with them?

Duh, of course…DECORATE THE COOP!

I used red tulle left over from my wedding decorations.

Yes I still have wedding decorations from 7 years ago.

I told you can’t throw anything away!

Anyway…I wrapped the pillars with the red tulle.

I then stapled up some stockings.

(Last year the stockings were hung on the shutters on our house)

I had 2 (plastic) candy swags that my mom gave me a couple years ago that I had yet used.

I hung 1 over the door and 1 over the stockings.

THANKS MOM, they worked perfect!

Then used some left over ribbon and 

tied a bow to the wreath that was already on the door.

I wrapped a candy bead garland around the cream can full of chicken feed 

and tied a red bow on it. 

The candy bead garland was also from my mom. 

She was cleaning out her Christmas stuff a couple years ago and gave a lot of it to me. 

She knew I wouldn’t turn down free decorations (well free anything really).

I did buy 4 things for the coop decorations. 

I bought 4 candy canes at Dollar General (1$ each)

TIP WHEN DECORATING OUTSIDE...

Don’t worry about making it perfect.

The wind, sun, dog, cat, rain, snow, etc will mess it up anyway. 

So don’t fuss too much. 

When I tie bows I just throw them together and scrunch them up.

I literally scrunch them in my hands. 

It makes them look more relaxed and they are going to look like that sooner or later anyway.

Outdoor Christmas Decorations

It's that time...Well for me at least it is that time.

Some are waiting till after Thanksgiving.

I AM WAITING till Thanksgiving to put up my tree inside! 

But I am using these nice afternoons to put up my outdoor decorations. 

My house is green with cream shutters. 

I love how my house looks in the summer.  Green grass, flowers,

window boxes, and red rockers out front (till the wind storm took them out)

This time of year the place looks pretty sad. 

It has been crying out for some Christmas décor. 

I of course had to give in and spruce it up!

I love to decorate!

I love seeing the excitement on my children’s faces as the place transforms into a winter wonderland. 

I want them to always look back on the holidays and have fond memories.

I also decorate for myself because I love it and it makes me happy.

There is something magical about Christmas and it allows me to always be a kid.

I had to make sure everything was wired in TIGHT. 

The wind out here is insane.

Floral wire works best. It’s cheap and can be bought anywhere that sells craft supplies.

Hobby Lobby, Walmart, etc

I had some of the decorations on hand. 

But I did pick up a few new things this year…

I picked up the 4 red stars and the 4 small wreaths on the shutters at Dollar tree. 

Dollar tree stuff can be cheap when looking at it up close but it PERFECT for outdoor décor because it’s usually viewed from the road/drive.

The red ribbon was bought the Dollar General, $5 for 70ft.

Between the sun and wind I don’t like to spend much money on my outside décor.

(oh yeah and I have a dog that chews in EVERYTHING...ugg)

Some things to think about when decorating outside….

1.

Try to stick to 1 or 2 colors. 

You get a lot of impact that way. 

2.

Keep it big so it can be seen from the road/drive. 

Keep the small details next to the door. 

Because that where people stop and look (while they wait for you to answer the door).

3.

Cluster your decorations.

If you put up a lot of small decorations all over they get lost.

Clump your decorations into “areas” and they will really pop.

4.

All rules can be broken!!!!

I know I just gave guidelines that I try to stick to, but honestly do what makes you happy! 

That’s why we decorate!

If you have a favorite decoration that you want to put out but it doesn’t fit the rules.

WHO CARE!!!!  Put it up and enjoy it!!!!!!

Laundry Closet Makeover

I have wanted to redo my laundry closet for a long time! 

But it always got pushed down the list.

One reason was I never knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Another reason was I didn’t want to spend much money on it. 

Also, I always found another project that I thought needed done NOW. 

And last, it had doors! So it was easy to shut the doors and ignore it. :)

Last week our dryer stopped working.

Of course the only way you know it is broke is when you intend on using it.

I hung out clothes on the line. They froze! 

Since the washer and dryer had to come out to fix the dryer

it was the perfect time to redo the laundry room.

But I did not get a before picture!  SORRY!!!

(It was a basic laundry closet.  White.  Dusty.  It had one lonely cabinet hung on the left hand side)

I had no budget for it.

I had no plans for what I wanted to do.

I headed down stairs and grabbed a full quart of paint

(it was a mis-mix picked up a long time ago)

and an almost empty gallon left over from our last house.

(yes I moved almost empty cans of paint with me)

I dumped to paints together and painted away.

This is the color.  Not bad!!!

 The cabinet hung in the corner above the dryer (on the left side)

Then I had no plans from there. 
It sat like this for a few days.

Today I put my 1 year old cowgirl down for a nap and headed out to the barn to get inspired. 

We redid our corals this spring and I kept some of the old boards in the barn. 

I picked out a board that I liked and then hauled it back to the house.

I measured and started to cut with the table saw. 

I knew I wanted 2 ledges/shelves.

 There is that funny little electrical box on the wall that limited my design options some.

I just used the remnant boards to use as brackets. 

 I attached these to the wall then screwed the wood "shelf" into them

Then I hung the original cabinet on the side way and put up a shower curtain rod up to hang clothes on. 

I also attached a wicker basket under the shelf.  

I simple screwed through the handle/rim directly into the wood shelf.

Then it was the fun part. Accessorize!!!!!

This is the finished projects!

And best of all, it was FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not buy a thing.

Everything was on hand!

I had it all done before my husband came home for lunch!

He was really impressed.

My husband is very talented and I rely on him a lot to help out with projects.

But it felt great to do this whole project from beginning to end on my own

Suzi Homefaker Style: Egg Casserole

I love to cook.

I don’t cook complicated stuff.

I like to cook simple things with a lot of flavor.

(I also think presentation is a big part of food and the whole experience)

When people come to the house I always offer food,

whether it is a snack or a big meal.

I often joke and say wear stretchy pants when you come visit.

I have been called Suzi Homemaker before but I have decided Suzi Homefaker is a better fit.

In my eyes Suzi Homemaker is making everything from scratch,

whereas Suzi Homefaker takes short cuts as often as possible!

I will randomly post recipes that are Suzi Homefaker Style in my blog.

That just means they are EASY, QUICK, and YUMMY!!!

No fuss in my recipes!

This week I signed up to take an egg dish to my MOPS meeting.

I am not a big fan of egg casseroles!!!

I am pretty picky when it comes to eggs actually.

I usually don’t eat the egg dishes when I go places because I am so picky.

My big issue with egg casserole is that it tends to get mushy.

Sometimes egg casseroles with bread or hash brown can be mushy

so I decided to try using Bisquick mix. SUCCESS!!!

1lb sausage

Seasonings

Shredded cheese

6-8 eggs

2 cups milk

1 ½ cup bisquick

Brown sausage.

Add desired seasonings.

I used salt, pepper, about a 4^th package taco seasoning, and some dehydrated jalapenos from our garden.

Spray casserole dish with a non stick spray.

Pour sausage in the bottom of the dish.

Top with shredded cheese.  You can use any kind.

I just used what I had on hand.

If I were to buy cheese specifically for this recipe I would pick a Mexican or taco blend.

Mix up Eggs, Milk, and Bisquick.

Pour over Sausage and cheese.

Now you could bake it

or pop it in the fridge and bake it in the morning (like I did).

Bake at 350 for aprox 30-40 min

I put out a bowl of salsa next to the casserole to serve with it.

I think it is a perfect recipe to keep around for the holiday season.

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you thought of it.

The sign is done

The sign is done and being mailed out to the winner of the name the coop contest! 

I hope they love it!!!!

I DO!

It was so much fun to do.

We did a little brain storming on what they wanted/needed. 

They then sent me back am inspiration picture.

I loved what they sent.

I used the saying but did my own layout. 

I don’t like to ever copy someone’s idea exactly.

I just use it for inspiration.

The artist in me won’t allow me to use someone else’s composition. 

I love doing the layout and figuring out my points of emphasis.

I rummaged through my barn and found some old wood (we used to make the nesting boxes with for the coop).

That dictated the size. 

I did a lot of layers of paint and sanding (with my trusty radial sander).

And this is the final product…..

Here are some detail.

What do you think???

It’s not perfect.  I see flaws in it (especially in the photos).

But that is the point of hand painted one of kind pieces. 

I did not use a cricut, stencils or print out from a computer.  It’s all free hand. 

My spacing is not perfect and at times drives me crazy

 but I am coming to terms with calling it character and moving on! :)

Visit often for my next competition. 

Maybe you could be the lucky winner!!!