My Africa Christmas Tree

My Africa stick Christmas tree

I have a painting over my fireplace and with the heat coming up the wall did not want to expose it to too much heat. Needless to say, there it was a WIDE OPEN SPACE.

In previous years I had a wreath or up but felt nostalgic and had this yearning for "home" so I decided to bring a bit of my roots home for Christmas and do something a little different.

I saw something similar online and loved the idea so I added my little Africa spin to it. With the help of my husband we searched for sticks and after a fruitless search of way too dry sticks he decided to cut some fresh branches. This made him feel more comfortable as the wood was wet and less prone to catch fire. Not that I was concerned, the fire is not even close to the mantel.

I had some ornaments and also clay letters my sister made that I used to decorate the tree. I made the burlap and feather stockings a few years ago and thought it would add to my theme. the star was just a few sticks I attached first with a glue gun and then secures them with wire. All the sticks were attached to each other using wire.





I glued the letters to rustic looking burlap ribbon.

They are in Afrikaans and spell LIEFDE - LOVE, HOOP - HOPE, GELOOF- FAITH, VREDE-PEACE

Some of the ornaments are made from wire and beads that are sold on some of the street corners for tourists.

I added a Jacaranda pod. This is from one of the most beautiful flowering trees in South-Africa, but nit indigenous to SA. The have light purple flowers that bloom in October, the beginning of spring and the streets are lined with them where I grew up. It brings back beautiful memories.

Weather worm for the door-draft - Recycled jeans!

With the beginning of winter we have a few drafty doors. I decided to make use of he old worn-out jeans I saved for projects and make a weather worm to stop the drafts.




I used the pant legs. I needed at least 40 inches and luckily I am tall so they made it to 42 inches.


                                                           

 


Because of the shape of the pants I was not able to cut them into perfect rectangles as I needed most of the length.

I separated the legs and cut the backside loose from the rest. I removed the belt loops and opened the bottom seams and them I cut the legs into as straight of a rectangle as possible.

 

I sewed the jeans into a tube (right sides together ), turned them inside out and then sewed another line about 1 inch from the seam for the rice. I sewed the one side closes and started to full th little tube with rice using a funnel.

 

I was a little difficult to get the rice all the way down, there may an easier way but I will have to explore ways to find out. For now, this works. After the rice tube was filled, I stuffed the body with scrap fabrics and old re-cycled cut-up t-shirts that has seen better days. ( I believe in no wastage )

 

The rice weighs it down to keep the worm right there in front of the door were he is supposed to be. After stuffing the worm, I sewed the top end closed to keep the stuffing and rice in.

Good use of old jeans to keep the draft out and the warm air inside.

Back Porch "Welcome" with bright yellow and a red rose.

An old chair with potted plant seat, a yellow milk can and an old window frame painted with a red rose to brighten op my back entrance.

The frame was rescued from a house set for demolition. The glass was still intact and very secure in the frame. I primed everything and then painted the yellow background with a red rose as contrast. It is under the porch ceiling so not exposed to harsh sun & elements and has been providing a happy welcome for aver 3 years. I recently fond the milk can and then added the chair to complete the look.

I guess it will change again when I find something else to add or change to the porch.

Kitchen/Nook chairs with an African twist

Chairs - the "little black dress" your kitchen or bathroom needs.

Well, we went sailing again and I found these 3 chairs. Two were stained dark and one lighter, all with different seat upholstery. 

She also had a few pieces of upholstery fabric with african animals that she threw in with the deal. It had good bones and I saw their potential, SOLD!

We started working on them, took the seats off, liquid sanded the chairs and sprayed them flat black for an informal but classy look. 

This was a quick fun project and I am satisfied with the results. I hope it will make a nice addition to someone's kitchen or bathroom. It will also look good in a little corner as a coffee break area with a little round table. 

Solar garden chandelier

I saw a video of this idea and thought it would be great to have my own solar chandelier  in my garden.
We found an used fixture at our local rehab store for  $7.50 which was perfect as the fittings were able to be unscrewed to change it from shining down to up. The solar lights came from Walmart at $.97 each. So the whole project was less than $20. We had hot glue on hand to attach the lights to the fixture.
It only took an hour to put it all together.
I am loving our new outdoor lighting and can't wait for warmer weather to start living outside again.