Christmas Top Five

Ho Ho Holy Moley! I can't believe 2014 is almost over! Thank you so much for dropping in every now and again to see what's new on The Hydeout. I never imagined I would one day be blogging (ew...I still don't like that word), but I love writing about my adventures in home decorating and am looking forward to sharing some exciting new projects next year (read: bold wallpaper for the entryway and a possible fireplace refresh)!

So, I thought it would be relevant to end the year with my Top Five Christmas Decorating Ideas for a Warm and Cozy Family Home. And here they are, in no particular order...

# 1. Retro Hodgepodge Tree

I love a perfectly imperfect tree decorated with a mishmash of ornaments and tinsel and paper decorations the kids have made over the years. The trick to keeping it from looking tacky is sticking to a color scheme and a loosely applied theme (i.e. mine could be rustic vintage). I will take down any completely clashing ornaments the kids put up when they are not looking and hide them at the bottom of the Rubbermaid container. But anything nostalgic goes up, and my favorites are actually the paper decorations for the pops of white they lend to the tree, which really brighten it up.

#2. Mason Jar Snowscapes

This was an activity I did with the kids at one of our Christmas parties a couple of years ago after seeing similar jars in the Anthropologie catalog. All you need are some large Mason jars (vintage ones look nicer but any old spaghetti sauce jar will do), plastic figurines, bottle-brush trees or whatever you can imagine putting inside, Plasticine, sparkly fake snow from a craft store like Michaels, and some Elmer's glue. Begin by coating the inside of the lid with glue, then build up a small mound of Plasticine on the inside of your lid. Cover the Plasticine with glue and sprinkle with fake snow. Finally, insert your figures into the Plasticine, using more glue if necessary. Carefully place jar over top and secure tightly to lid. My friend's kid made one with a pewter owl figurine inside and it looked just like something you would buy at West Elm!

#3. Mid-Century Swedish Gnomes

                   I picked up this trio at a thrift store waaaay back. I love their wooden vintage looks and their expressive faces. I just bet these guys get up to no good when there is no one at home... ;) I have seen similar Scandinavian style gnomes at stores like HomeSense. 

#4. Shelf with Swag/X-mas Card Holder

To display our Christmas cards this year (BIG HUGS to those of you die-hards who still send these out), I thought I would attach some baker's twine to the garland decorating the display shelf above the entry to the living room, and hang cards with mini red paper clips I found at Target. Best thing is that it frees up the fireplace mantel for more decorations!

#5. Retro Plastic Light-up Santa

There is something about an old-fashioned Santa, whether he be the plastic light-up kind or a velvet-suited tree ornament type, that brings me right back to when I was a kid. This guy holds court in my living room every year and I just bought a bigger one to go in my yard this year at Value Village. 

And...One for Good Luck

I know I said I was only going to post a Top Five, but I couldn't resist throwing in this pic! 

Hope your holidays are merry and bright!

Peace, Love and Joy always,

Lara

Renegade Craft Fair NYC

This past weekend I took a trip to NYC with one of my oldest and bestest friends, and to my great joy and surprise the Renegade Craft Fair just happened to be in town. I have always enjoyed craft shows, from church bazaars to the Canadian creme-de-la-creme, the One of a Kind, but the Renegade was in a whole other league than even the OOAK. This show was chock full of hipster type Etsy sellers and the best part is there was no admission fee (take a cue from that, OOAK)! Martha Stewart American Made was on hand, doling out some freebies and giving some free craft lessons. I took part in a wood burning class, which was super cool, although I was a little disappointed with my end product. There was also an old-fashioned photo booth, yummy food vendors and lots of lumbersexuals on hand for eye candy (read cute boys with scruffy beards and checked shirts...seems to be a big trend in NYC) ;)

Other trends I noticed were all things fringed and tasseled and AIR PLANTS everywhere! By far the busiest booth was "Coral & Tusk," who sell textiles embroidered with whimsical animals and natural objects. They had big boxes filled with these embroidered fabric scraps for dirt cheap, and there were about 15 people at any given time trying to crowd into the 5 foot by 5 foot space...yikes! But it was worth getting a few elbows to the ribs to get these amazing finds, which I plan to turn into pillows:

coralandtusk.com

I also couldn't resist this charming little terracotta Geo-Planter:

www.ash-ware.net

And, of course, I had to get myself something tasseled:

rebeccadaryl.etsy.com

Finally, these teensy, delicate wishbone earrings in 14 kt gold rounded out my Renegade haul:

www.alibinyc.com

I was simply lucky that I happened to be in the city when this fantastic event was on, but it happens in different U.S. cities (and London, England) at different times, so if you are ever as lucky as I was to be in the right place at the right time, you must, you must go! http://www.renegadecraft.com/

Being Happy With What You Have

Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend who just bought a new house and she started asking me my opinion on some renovations she was considering. I actually had to tell her I wasn't the best person to ask as I have never done any major renovations...never taken down any walls, never replaced any kitchen cabinets, never installed new flooring. I guess you could say I've been pretty lucky--all three of the properties I have had the pleasure of owning with my husband were in pretty good shape when we bought them. But that's not to say  there aren't lots of changes I would love to make to our current 1960s house...just that when it comes down to taking a family vacation in the winter or splurging on a swanky new bathroom, Mexico wins.

The thing is, I really do want to live in a house that I feel good about. Heck, I have more books on interior design than I do cookbooks. I also really enjoy the challenge of making something not so spectacular look...well, if not spectacular then a heck of a lot better, just by flexing my creative muscles and avoiding spending too much cash.

In one of the first posts I ever wrote back in July ("The Living Room"), I talked a little bit about that giant eyesore--the outdated, multi-tonal stone/brick fireplace that I've been stressing about since we got this place in 2010. It just didn't fit with my vision of the living room and I felt like it threw the rest of the design out of whack. But, what to do?

Before

Well, it's taken almost four years of fussing around, but I have finally gotten to a point that I actually love our family hearth...and I NEVER thought I would say that. I've considered painting it white, and still might do so, but for now I can totally live with it. 

After

A few ways to live with what you have...and be happy with it:

• Make liberal use of paint...it is the easiest, most cost-effective way to make a difference (read the "Living Room" post to see how I changed the color of the fireplace insert, which made the single biggest difference to the look of the fireplace).
• Use accessories to add bold pops of color that distract from whatever it is you are trying to hide (in this case, the plants, books and even the cat bed are those colorful distractions).
• Don't underestimate the importance of cohesiveness. Bringing in elements that are similar in color, texture, style and finish can make the overall space more pleasing to the eye, and hopefully help to camouflage the not-so wonderful aspects of the room (the rustic vibe of the barn wood mirror really did that for this room, as it echoes other rustic, wooden, vintage pieces in our living/dining room).
• Invest in art. It doesn't have to be expensive, but art is beautiful and it always adds a touch of class to any room. The same goes for artfully framed photographs. And kids' art always makes a house feel cozy.

There you have it...embrace what you have! You just might be amazed at what you can live with, if you open your mind to the possibilities. :)

Getting our Spook On

It's my favorite time of year again...HALLOWEEN! Here are a few pics from my hauntified front yard:

The metal flower decoration is just something I keep on the door year round. For Halloween I attached some mini rubber skeletons to it. The sign is Martha Stewart from a few years back. I just love how everything pops against my front door, which I painted in Martha Stewart's "Barn Red" last fall.

Aaaaaand of course there are pumpkins and mums in assorted colors. I am so excited about all the varieties of pumpkins you can find now! Although you can't really tell in this picture, the bigger guy on top is the red warty sort (my personal favourite :)).

It's such a simple craft, but my girls spent a good hour making dozens of these jack-o'-lanterns to decorate our front windows. I love how creative they got!

Last weekend we went to Dollarama and I gave the girls ten bucks each to pick out whatever Halloween lawn decorations they wanted. Now there are gory body parts, skeletons and grave markers dotting our lawn. My fav dollar store find is this seven-foot spook.

How do you decorate for Halloween? Do you keep it sophisticated and restrained or do you go all out? I would love to see your pics! Upload them to The Hydeout's Facebook page...and in the meantime, I leave you with this photo of the hairy dude who appears to have taken up permanent residency on my front swing. Happy-Howl-o-ween!

Chalkboard Wall

Do you have an eyesore in your house that burns your retinas every time you look at it, but you just don't know what to do about? Believe me, I have several, but I finally came up with a solution for one of them. I am a firm believer in first impressions, and the first impression guests were treated to at my house wasn't as stellar as it could be. Oh, there are a lot of things that could be improved about our entryway, but the thing that bugged me the most was the 8' oak kitchen cabinetry panel that is parallel with our front door.

Before

You might say, what's the big deal? And, honestly, you would be right. But I am not one for bare walls, and this expanse of bare wood in a finish I never would've picked for myself was just begging for a makeover.

So what does a girl with no less than five chalkboards or chalkboard-styled pieces of art in her house do? Why turn this eyesore into another chalkboard, of course! I know you've seen this done many a time before on HGTV and Pinterest, but chalkboard walls are really handy. Now I can change up my greetings with the holidays, post menus for all the gourmet dinner parties I host (uh, yeah, like that's going to happen), and leave notes for family members in a pinch.

After

All you need to transform a wall into a chalkboard is some Rust-Oleum Specialty Chalkboard Paint (it even comes in different colors), and some latex-based primer. I did one coat of primer and two coats of paint. Not bad for an afternoon project! What do you think? Are chalkboard walls here to stay or are they a trend that will look as dated as stencil borders in a couple of years?

Vintage Toys

When you go to someone else's house for the first time, what is the one thing that makes you feel most at home? For me it's that sighting of a vintage toy. I am a kid at heart. And I love, love to decorate with kids' art, kids' books and kids' toys (the vintage kind, that is...you won't find me lining my mantle with my daughter's Beanie Boo collection any day soon ;)).

The best toys in my opinion are the ones I grew up with in the 70s and 80s. They don't make 'em like this anymore:

At my old house in Toronto, I used to have a curio cabinet filled with part of my vintage toy collection. I would like to do the same thing at this house, but first I want to refinish the old cabinet. I'm thinking of painting it with Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in Grain Sack or Flow Blue (www.missmustardseedsmilkpaint.com/colors/)...stay tuned for that blog post!

When it comes down to it, though, I believe that toys should be played with, not kept behind glass so they can one day be sold to finance that Winnebago. My almost-five and seven-year-old are allowed to play with all my treasures...but if I come home to find they've given all my Strawberry Shortcake dolls Mohawks, well, let's just say if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy ;)

Here are some of my favorite toys from when I was growing up. Recognize any of these?

Original 1980s Strawberry Shortcake Dolls

1970 Barbie Country Camper. Look who stopped by for a S'more...it's Jimmy Osmond in the sparkly silver pantsuit!

The Barbapapas

What were some of your favorite toys from your childhood? Leave a comment, or post a photo of your favs on The Hydeout's Facebook page...I would love to hear from you!

Pillow Talk

As anyone who knows me knows, I have an unhealthy obsession with throw pillows. Unlike my obsession with plants, which I can sort of justify by telling myself that I am "rescuing" them (from what terrible fate, I'm not quite sure), pillows just take up a lot of space on the couch...and after a while, in our closets, which are filled to bursting with them.

I love that you can totally change the look and color scheme of any room, just by swapping out the pillows. Three years ago, I took an introductory sewing class that changed my life. We learned to make an envelope-back pillow cover, and I have since made about a hundred million of these. For any of you living in the Hamilton area, I highly recommend taking the pillow-making class at Needlework (www.iloveneedlework.com). Once you know how to sew, the possibilities of what you can do with your decor have no end!

Which brings me to my latest project. My husband's family cottage is situated on the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Reserve by Lake Huron, and last summer, I found the most gorgeous wool fabric at a CAR WASH there, of all places! This super amazing car wash sold tons of beautiful traditional print fabric, craft supplies for leather moccasins, and even some Pendleton blankets. I knew I had to snap up the sweet fabric below or I'd be kicking myself in the tush all the way home.

Last week, I finally found the time to turn this fabric into two new envelope-back pillow covers. So quick and easy...and much easier on the wallet than ordering similar pillows from Pendleton!

When paired with some Turkish kilim cushions I ordered from Istanbul last year (!), I now have the colorful, exotic couch I've been lusting after for years.

Insta-makeover! (Well, not quite instantaneous, but it's amazing what a difference a couple of new pillows can make.) If you're ever up by Pinery Provincial Park, take a side drive down the road to Kettle Point. The beach is beautiful...and the car washes are a crafter's dream :)