Festival of Trees -2013 Tree

Last year my company created our first ever tree for the Festival of Trees. The University of Alberta Hospital Foundation is one of our major charitable recipients, as such, we figured we'd try our hand at a tree! 

Little did we know, that tree would end up taking 1st place and raised a fair deal of money at auction! Which is always amazing.

This year, we have it another shot with what I like to call our Industrial/Seussical Tree titled "Christmas Whimsy".

Here's a little photo journey of the creation of this year's tree:

The base of the tree is actually a tension-mounted floor to ceiling wine rack. 

At 7' with pre drilled holes (for the wine bottles) it was the perfect base! 

Next up were the "branches". In keeping with our industrial/construction vibe we found Electrical Conduit worked nicely. But since we wanted to light the thing a little differently, we opted to drill tons of little holes in each piece so that when illuminated it would kind of be like a pierced Moroccan lantern.

This was the set up for spray painting the branches. We went with a hammered silver spray paint. 

The next and most time consuming part was threading the lighting thru. In keeping with construction materials we chose rope lighting that was generously donated by Park Lighting!

It didn't photograph well (kinda flat? But was really cool when plugged in.

After that came the fun part:  Decorating!

Someone had selected some very Dr Seuss-like cartoony characters and spring and spike shapes which we fitting with our tall, narrow tree!

It started to take shape here! 

Next up, a tree skirt. We originally had a faux fur throw drapes around the base but not everyone liked it so it was veto'd for simply leaving it wood and spraying it silver to match.

Our tree topper was the last addition and boy does ours make a statement! From <a href="http://ikea.ca">IKEA</a> we yanked the lights outta this star and jammed our rope lighting up instead! It's definitely oversized but I like to think that that's how Dr Seuss would have liked it! 

When we got to the Shaw Conference Centre for drop off, we realized as soon as we set the tree on the white draping that our silver wood base was NOT special enough so a simple covering of snow and the addition of some lot presents and we were much happier! 

Here's how she turned out. Again, keep in mind it photographs flat but it quite stunning in person! 

As one of the only non-tree, trees, we really think it will be a standout! 

The gala is tonight so we have our fingers crossed that the tree will get bid on for a nice amount and raise a fair bit of money! Plus, we're obviously hoping the judges will enjoy it as much as they liked last year's tree! 

If you'll be checking out the festival this weekend, please check out our tree! Oh and of course leave me a comment trolling me what you thought of it in person! 

-Cindy

A Collection of Happiness!

I've been pretty busy lately, doing nothing in particular but a lot of randomness. Here are a few photos detailing my last few weeks:

I bought myself a happy new ski jacket since we are heading to the mountains next week! It's been about 10 years since I've been in skis do let's hope it's like riding a bike! 

This little guy, Fred, belongs to one of my besties! She's newly pregnant so we've been having lots of girls nights in since her hubby is out of town for work often!

This little guy turned one recently. This photo was taken at his party last weekend. He also had surgery to put tubes in his ears yesterday but seems to be doing well so hugs to him and his mama! 

This girl loves to go for rides but we keep the seats covered now after an incident with pasta salad meant a very $$$ seat shampoo visit 2 weekends ago! 

Dog park and then....

Afternoon snuggle naps! 

We are working on our 2nd Edmonton Festival of Trees tree! We strung up a makeshift line to get the "branches" painted today! I'll post more photos once the tree is complete! :) 

We got a huge dumping of snow here over the last 2 days so tonight's Girls Night Out has been swapped for Girls Night In! I'm off to get ready- stay warm! 

Meet Stanford!

Today is my Birthday!  Yup, the big 3-1!  Yikes!  In honour of such a terrifying realization, I bought myself a little gift.  Honestly, I didn't go out looking for anything, but I'd wanted one for a really long time so when I found the perfect one, there was no way it wasn't coming home with me!

 

Introducing the newest addition to our Animal House: 

Stanford!

I've had my eye on a stag head for the front entrance for a really long time.  A white one actually, but since I'm a little late to the faux taxidermy party, I hadn't been able to find a reasonably priced one that looked proper/realistic.  I was just trolling around HomeSense yesterday when I happened upon this perfect guy!

 

Honestly, I almost missed him since Gold isn't really my color and I don't typically go down the aisle with the magnifying glasses and other masculine pieces... but there was actually a mount of antlers (that were broken) that made me do a  double take, so I went back and there he was!

 

His profile is perfect.  I love that he has the detailing that looks like fur.  Upon close inspection, he had no chips or broken antlers which always seem to be the issue when I come across stags.

You wouldn't believe how happy it made me when I saw him on the wall!

 

His coloring in these photos shows a lot brassier than he is in person and while I love seeing gold items in other people's interiors, I just knew he was meant to be white.

 

 

But immediately after I took these photos, off he went to the garage for a makeover! 

 Here's his new look:

 This isn't the wall he's going to stay on, so please excuse the scuffs as I just moved a few pictures that had appropriate sized screws so I could take some photos.  His new home needs a new paint job, but I don't have any of the wall paint left, so that will be later this week!

Of course, I'm pretty much the worst spray painter there is, plus it's really hard to paint something like this without getting drips since you have to keep flipping him, but I think I did a pretty good job!

 

Of course, I gave him a few coats of Krylon white primer to cover the gold

 and then went with White in a gloss finish.

Love, love, Love!

 

Have you spray painted anything lately?

 

Wanted: Brass Birds Wall Art

Growing up, my family home had a huge wall of built-ins surrounding the fireplace, including a ginormous oak wall above the mantel. My parents had a huge brass bonsai tree and 3 flying birds on that wall and it was really quite stunning.

Of course,yesterday when I visited mom I noticed that she has it in the back entrance of her current house.

I've been thinking about them lately and really want to find a set for myself. I think it would be the perfect addition for my dining room wall!  Anyone who knows me and my love if birds is probably wondering what took me so long to get on the vintage brass bird wagon. I guess I just needed a reminder!

Needless to say, I'll be searching my local thrift stores and kijiji....and maybe mentioning it to my mom! If you're in the Edmonton area and see some flocking about, give me a shout! 

Thankful!

To all my Canadian friends out there, Happy Thanksgiving! 

Finley and I are heading out on a little road trip to visit my mom and have a modified thanksgiving dinner.

It's been a tough year for me so far, but today I am thankful. Thankful for the health and love of my Finley, Greyson and Mischu. It's lonely being single and I think I would go crazy if I didn't have them to come home to. 

I am thankful for my dear friends, with whom I spend significantly more time than my actual family, especially the ones  I work with! You have been supportive and non-judgemental through everything. Plus you make me laugh! 

(except the random photo bomb guy...)

Besties and co-workers! Truly spend more time with these two than anyone!

To my family, who I see far less than I should, you mean the world to me. I want to see you more! 

The 3 most important men in my life! 

This lady refuses to get her photo taken but she's #1! Even Finley thinks so! 

To the few people who read this blog, that I started out of boredom and have been wishy washy with, thanks for hanging in there! I'm inspired by you all and have projects on the go and have draft posts in the works! I'm excited to see where blogging can take me! 

Thanks! 

-Cindy 

Paper Mache Pumpkin

I was making a quick trip through Walmart this afternoon, looking for nothing in particular ( I would just know it if I found it) and of course, came across the cutest little project!

Yup!  They had these sweet paper mache pumpkins all ready for someone to go to town on!  I kind of actually liked the brown kraft paper color but knew I really wanted some creamy goodness to add to the front porch.

 

So of course I had to pick up some paint.  It was my first time buying Krylon's Paint + Primer in one and I have to say I really liked it!  I went with Ivory as I wanted it to look pretty close to the actual color of the "white" pumpkins you can buy.  I also decided to go with the matte Satin finish to keep things natural.

 

Once home, I headed out to the garage and got to work.  First, I loosely wrapped some painters tape around the stem so that it would be natural colored when I was done.

 

Three thin coats later and we were good to go!

Since it had the primer and paint in one this thing was super fast.  Plus, being paper mache, it soaked up the paint uber quick!

 

Here's the finished product:

 

 

There were a few spots that for some reason didn't want to take the paint coverage (I think there may have been glue or something there.?) but I didn't mind, since it made it look more natural.  At least in my mind...

I think it's a nice addition to the little table on the front porch.  Plus, seeing it now, the table is definitely in need of a new paint job so I know what I will be using the rest of the can of Ivory for next Spring! :)

 

Since you couldn't see the skull in the last picture...

 

 

It's super simple and the only new addition was this little pumpkin.  It was $7.96 at Walmart plus the cost of paint, which was nothing since I barely used any of the can and will use on some other projects!

 

Gotta love a project that take less than 10 minutes (including drying time!)

(Early) Birthday Bedding!

This past weekend I took my mom to her first ever CFL game (which was a terrible showing by the Eskimos....) so she obviously came into town for the weekend.  Since my birthday is next week, she said she probably wouldn't make another trip in, but left me with some Birthday money instead of taking me shopping like we had originally planned!

When she had asked me what I wanted, one of the few things I said I needed was new bedding.  The current duvet cover was looking a little worse for wear since it was entirely embroidered on the top and puppy paws and claws do a number on a million little threads.  Besides, it was fairly old, purchased for the last house and no longer matched the color scheme I had going on, and was far too hefty with all the embroidery, so I was pretty happy to seek out a new one!

Since my mattress is Super King sized, I'm pretty limited when it comes to bedding, but since I'm constantly stalking Quilts Etc to see if they've come out with anything new, I knew they had one I
was very interested in seeing in person, so off I went!

This is the shot off the website - I know, very French and fancy huh!

 

I absolutely LOVED the silvery, grey blue color and thought the quilted fabric would look good with the Moroccan-esque vibe of the Casablanca stencil on the feature wall I did earlier this year!

 

 

Of course, when I saw it in store, I was a little skeptical, cause it was actually pretty thick, it was even in the section with the quilts, cause of course, it`s quilted and can be used as a coverlet or quilt, if you choose not to fill it with a duvet.  But when I brought it home, it was the absolute PERFECT addition.

 

Don`t let these crappy night photos, taken on automatic fool you - It does not have a purple tinge to it.  However, it is definitely more grey than the store`s stock photo would lead you to believe - which was absolutely perfect for me! 

I`m working two jobs right now, so didn`t have time to wait for a beautiful, natural lighting... please forgive me!

 

Yeah, don`t mind the creases... it was perfectly smooth seconds before the photo and then the dog jumped up there!  Sadly, I also need to get working on a few other things that are missing from this photo:

1. Headboard - now that the bedding has been selected, I can finally choose fabric for my headboard.  I really haven`t a clue what though....  Either way, it will have nailheads!

2. Euro shams to fill up the space

3. Larger, fluffier pillows to fill up those shams... These are King Size, but apparently are NOT doing the job.  I was gonna ask the store, but of course their display beds are Doubles, so that won`t help me...

 

 

I am loving the quilted texture... and of course the dog imprint.... :(

 

 

 

 

I also apparently need to do repairs to one of the bamboo benches at the end of the bed.  It met it`s match in the vacuum the other night and needs a little mending and paint touch up, but that`s an easy fix.  Sadly, I am not loving the gold toss cushions so those will get moved to another room as soon as I find new ones!

 

Up next, I am really hoping to get the light fixture in this room swapped out for the one I`ve had waiting to be hung for a while:

 

 

Strangely enough, I`m carrying on the Diamond theme here and didn`t even realize!

The one problem is, this was initially meant to be a dining room fixture so it had a long chain and cables, the Ex cut everything down when he was going to hang it, but neither of us realized that the colors on the ends of electrical wires, don`t run all the way through the wires.... so now we have three wires that pretty much look identical.... Rookie Mistake.

 

I`m definitely going to have to get an Electrician friend from work to help me out with this instead of trying it myself!

 

I`m pretty happy overall with how the space is turning out!