New and Repurposed

While spending some time at home last week, Momma and I visited one of our fave stores, Just Plain Country.  Think antiques, primitives, thrift, crafts and a mini-bakery/snack bar all in one.  We can spend an afternoon (or morning) there easily.  I came home with some goodies, of course.  First pick was a rag garland.  A 15 foot rag garland for only 14.99.  That's a score in my book, because these things are time consuming to make and you can't usually find them so long, or so cheap.  It was immediately put in the basket!  I grabbed up some lights to twist into it too.  Unsure of where I was going to use it, until I got home and decided that the entertainment center needed some dressing up.

I think it's perfect, and it's got all the right colors, patterns, and designs in the cloth scraps.  It gives the living room a comfy glow at night.

This was all stuff I already had, and decided to experiment with.  The ladder was a hand me down, and although I loved it, I was never sure how I wanted to use it.  And then I decided on this.  The garland is made up of americana colored berries and rusty stars.  It's woven with little twinkle lights.  I still didn't feel like it was finished, so I added the little barn star, and that made it perfection.  I'm loving it.

The bench and chair were sold as a pair and so they had to come live at my house too.  I've been needing something for under the bar since we don't use it for a bar right now.  It fits perfectly.  The oddly shaped star and vase are new too, bought specifically for this bench.  The geraniums are from Walmart, the picture is a hand-me-down, a stack of cookbooks, top one being my first ever Gooseberry Patch cookbook from Ash, and it's a fall one (she knows me well).  And of course some skeleton keys, because I can't have enough of them.

The chair is in our front room by the door now.  It's super cute and will probably double as a photo prop at some point.  The bench might too.  They are perfectly sized for kids.  For now, though, it holds a candle, a little picture, and my favorite primitive house that lights up.  But the lights don't work.  They dry rotted and burnt out, so I couldn't just replace the bulbs.  Did anyone else know that Christmas lights can dry rot!?  I didn't.  I just special ordered a new strand so I can restring it, since it only takes 10 lights and can't fit a whole big strand.

Well, I think I'm done decorating/re-decorating for a little while.  Til next month.  Then it's August.  And in August, I decorate for fall.  Because I can and I love it.