Bleached Bottle Brush Trees

A couple of weeks ago I saw a post over at The Beehive Cottage about bleaching

bottle brush trees.  Love that look and LOVE all of Mary Jane's fun ideas so I thought

I'd give it a try. 

 

The first thing I did was pick up a bag of  trees from Michael's.

 

I used my 50% off coupon of course.

 

Then I filled up a plastic container with water and added about a

cup and a half of bleach.

 

Threw the trees in for about 10 minutes, drained them, rinsed them

with warm, soapy water a few times, then clear water. They turned out

like this. 

 

 

Why yes there are dishes in my sink.  But at least they're cute dishes.

 

Now they're ready for a few projects, like this one.

 

I think there were like 24 little trees in the package.

 

I have a few other ideas I want to do with them.

 

 

 

Seems like I've got a few more to work with.

Sunday Sayings

"Do not take one thing for granted - not one smile, or one person, or one rainbow, or one breath, or one night in your cozy bed." 

                                                                                                         Terri Guillemets

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our family to yours...

With love from

Mimi's Cottage

I've Had a Little Work Done...

Have you noticed anything new about my blog lately? Well, that's right, I have a brand new banner, AND, for the very first time in four years of blogging, I have a button. Pretty fancy, don't you think? The lovely and talented Keren from www.freeprettythingsforyou.com made them for me and I just love them! She was a dream to work with and oh so very nice. So now that my blog has had a facelift, maybe I should think about getting one for myself. Not even kidding.

Sunday Sayings

"Someday everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, be strong and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason." John Mayer

Giving Thanks

You know how much I like to copy adorable projects that are on blogs I visit

or Pinterest.  Well, I found a fun and easy Thanksgiving decoration on

My Heart's Song .  

 

I'm sure you will love Geneva's home and her blog as much as I do.

 

Go on over and say hello and take a look at all the awesome

things she and her honey have done to their home.

 

This project is simply tea dyed tags from Staples stamped with

letters that say Give Thanks and then wired on a branch

from my backyard.

 

 You could also attach the tags with crinkly seam binding or twine.

 

 

I just love the look of it.  I also love that I had all the supplies on hand.  One more thing to be thankful for.

 

 

Sunday Sayings

 

 

 

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." 

Elmer Davis

 

 

 

Happy Veterans Day

Tinkerbell

Have you ever tried to take a picture of Tinkerbell?

 

 

It's not as easy as it looks.

A Birthday Celebration

Last week I had a milestone of a birthday.

Mimi Sue turned gulp 60!

The Mister decided we needed to celebrate in a big way the big day

so he took the entire family to Disneyland.

We stayed at the Grand Californian Resort.

It was gorgeous!

We walked around Downtown Disney.

I couldn't seem to get all the grandkids together in one picture but 

here's some of them.

There's a reason they call it the happiest place on earth.

Had to have a Dole Whip float.  

Had to have lunch at the Golden Horseshoe.

Had a great time hanging out with our kids and their kids.

Made a few memories and a large pile of laundry.

Thank you Mister!  You made my dreams come true.

Once again.

Sunday Sayings

NBC News Image

"Adversity is like a strong wind.  It tears away from us all but

the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we 

really are."  Arthur Golden

Praying for all those affected by Sandy.

A New Roof For An Old Coop

We have an old chicken coop on our property.  It used to belong to 

the old Victorian home next door as did the lot that our house sits on.

The coop is pretty old, probably built during the depression.

It hasn't been used as a chicken coop for at least 60 years, maybe longer.

  

It's a nice little building, perfect for storing garden tools and lawn mowers

in the winter.  But it's poor roof had seen better days.  

So a couple of weeks ago the Mister and his friend Vaughn went to work.

First they stripped off what was left of the old roof and added 

a new fascia board.

Seven layers of shingles, tin, old linoleum (from the 50's), and other

substances that were hard to identify were scraped off.

New steel roofing was purchased.

And installed.

\

Now the roof is water tight and ready for winter.

The rest of the coop, however, needs a bit of work.

I love old outbuildings.

So worth the work.