Saturday

The Napkins, The Barn & Fox Hollow Cottage

You've seen the dining room chair backs, and heard how I loved the whole process of redoing those chairs (my nose just grew because that is a complete lie) but you did not see a tutorial on how to transfer the image.

Mostly that's because when I'm in the zone, stopping to take photos almost never happens.  That and my tutorials usually suck.

But when I do a guest post I don't skimp.

So while my friend Shannon is on vacation in my old stomping ground of Southern California, I'm at Fox Hollow Cottage today with a tutorial on how I took some old muslin napkins and used the image from my chair backs and made matching napkins.

muslin napkins


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Thursday

Lamp in a Box

Have you heard of Lamp in a Box?

Ford Lamp in a box, Bliss-Ranch.com

Well let me just tell you; they are P.D.C.... Pretty Darn Cool.  This one arrived at my house as a Christmas gift from the Lamp in a Box folks.

For the base there are several styles and the usual finishes.  Mine is satin nickle.

There isn't anything extraordinary about the base, but that's because for me it's all about the shade.

I have this little corner in our bedroom where I like to curl up to read.  I'd tell you that's with a good book, but more than likely I'm answering emails or reading blogs on my Ipad. 


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Monday

Laundry Room Makeover Plans

I have a laundry room makeover coming up.  The thing is, it's not my laundry room.

That means there has to be some trust that I won't do something stupid in there.

Nope this isn't my laundry room, this one is much cleaner with by far less laundry.

Basic downstairs laundry room
However I remember the days when I happily washed this little girls clothes for her.  I also remember after she started washing her own clothes - static cling caused a thong to stick to one of her dads sweatshirts.  I deposited it in her room out of sight - dad wouldn't of been able to handle that!


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Sunday

Favorite Mug Desserts at Bliss Ranch

It's January and while everyone is busy getting organized, eating healthy and shedding pounds, I'm snuggled in for a long winters nap with a goal of my own.

Chocolate Fudge S'mores Mug Cake from How Sweet It Is


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Wednesday

Dining Room Chairs With a Vintage Grain Sack Look

It's been a while since I first posted about the 6 dining room chairs that came to live with me from an ad on craigslist - they came along with two turkeys on sale from the grocery store for Thanksgiving - that we ate.

You know how you are so excited to finish a project that you hurry up to work on it and then you love the whole process so much you stretch it out for a year because you wanna extend the process of the whole mess since you are having so much fun and you don't want it to end?

Me either.

But Thanksgiving 2013 arrived, two more turkeys were purchased and eaten, and the chairs were completed.

And now 2 months later, January 2014, their debut......

Dining Room Chairs With Vintage Grain Sack Look, Bliss-Ranch.com


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Monday

2013 Project Collage

I realized as I was putting this 2013 project collage together that my computer holds a lot of pictures.

And in those pictures there are a lot of projects I never posted about in 2013.  If you would like to see the projects I did post about, just click on the Gallery of Projects link at the top.

2013 Project Collage Bliss-Ranch.com

My favorite post of last year?


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Thursday

A Christmas Project FAIL


The stockings were hung by the chimney with care and nary a problem......

A large piece of subway art I finished up as a gift turned out fantastic......


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Faux Crates & Real Bells

I'm a little behind this year on everything.  Even with letting some things go that I do every year, I'm still watching the days fly by trying to accomplish and prepare for some of our family traditions.

Faux Crate Christmas Tree Stand Cover

These gift crates, or faux tree crates are almost finished and will be delivered.  If you would like, you can read last years great crate post, to see who gave me the inspiration, and find out how I made them.

This year I made three - three piece, backless, bottomless, three sided crates.  When they are easily screwed together they slide under the Christmas tree and hide the tree stand. 

Faux Crate Christmas Tree Stand Cover

Now don't be telling my friend Dii, who reads my blog, that one of those is hers.  Just in case she doesn't recognize her last name, and the year she got married. 

I wanted her to have it under her tree before she hosts a big family Christmas bingo party,  but it's still on my dining room table.  Have I mentioned I'm behind this year? 

Bell Ornaments

That same friend made me some red, green and bronze bell ornaments.  I love them.

 Dii ..... I'd like about 100 more of these please.  In your spare time is fine.

Bell Ornaments

I also have a giveaway winner for some Rockin' & Roastin' coffee from Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer ............

Joey Kramer Aerosmith Rockin' Roastin' Coffee

Random number generation / Random Numbers

Generate a random number between and  = 21  

Cassie from the blog Primitive & Proper, come on down, 
I've got some coffee for you that is gonna rock your world!




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Simple Decorations at the Ranch

Last night I sat down to do a rather lame decorating post and instead spent the whole time on phone help with our cell phone provider who had messed up our account.  I'm over it, as long as my phone works when I check it in a few minutes.

 Now I can get back to the lame decorating post I intended.


Yes, those are plastic ornaments, from a garage sale, under a cheesedome cloche.  I bought them to use outside on my decorated window ledges.

My window ledges have not gotten decorated.

I had excellent organization - cutting the greens and red dog wood branches before the snow flew.

I simplified this year.  Not because I wanted too, out of necessity.  I needed that extra week we usually have between Thanksgiving and Christmas.


Brawn is responsible for decorating the top three feet of our tree, so don't judge it.  It's about 15 feet to the tip of it, and I'm not standing on a ladder and leaning into the tree.  You know what would happen.  And saying each year "don't put all the same kind of ornaments next to each other, mix it up",  I guess falls on deaf ears.

I realize vintage measuring apparatus turned into a star are not anything new.  However when our tree top star fell from the sky I had to find something proto while Brawn was up on the top of that ladder.  Hence the big star - it's 17 inches across - but I love it.

I wanted the lights to twist between it, but I dare not ask for too much for the top three feet.

There is nothing else vintage on my tree this year.  We went a different route.  So of course the star is a bit out of place with all the glass bulbs.

These glass bulbs never made it any further than in a pottery bowl on a very dusty willow coffee table.  Festive enough, and fuss free.  They are staying.

We have poinsettias all over the place that have white lights strung through them.  Big punch, pretty impact, and easy.

The nativity has it's prominent place. 


The only thing that involved any effort, I didn't even do!  My daughter wrapped a big picture in the dining room.

Me?.... I stuck an upside down poinsettia arrangement in the light fixture and called it good.  10 second decorating this year.

And I'm really ok with all of it.  I'm putting my effort into the things that matter, like enjoying my family.  Don't get me wrong, I love decorating for Christmas and making it warm and cozy for all who are here, and fussing and making new things, but not at the expense of running myself ragged.

There are only so many hours in a day.

So this year at the ranch, it's plenty Christmasy inside, just simple.  And there is not one thing wrong with that.


The metal yardstick tree topper thingy is linked up at:

Salvaged Junk Stars @FunkyJunk
Super Saturday Link Party @ItAllStartedWithPaint


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Saturday

Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee Giveaway


I'm gonna talk a little bit coffee...
        a little bit the life of Bliss...
and a little bit rock & roll.

 Joey Kramer's Rockin' & Roastin' coffee, music to your lips. 

Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee Bliss-Ranch.com
How do you like your coffee?  Rocking?

Served roastin' hot on the deck like that photo above?

With a side of 6 inches of snow and a 39 below windchill?  Yes 39 below ZZZEROWW.

You can't see the steam that was wafting up from the cup for all of 3 seconds before it turned into ice, but it was there.


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BB
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