Our Festive Farmhouse | Christmas Tour 2016

Merry Christmas, everyone! And welcome back to the farm!

Every year I tweak our decor.. and I've acquired LOTS of it over the years. This season we decided to keep it simple and embrace tradition and quality time with our family. I considered selling a lot of what I don't use but something held me back from listing it all. I'm hoping that I'll run across the right family to bless with some extra holiday cheer sometime and all my hoarding will pay off when I get the opportunity to pay-it-forward. :)

I've always been drawn to simple vintage decor and this year nearly everything I used was handmade or heirloom. It's all very special to us! We made our tree topper out of wood from the original corn crib here on the property. My red wooden bead garland and vintage pie safe belonged to my husband's grandmother (Granny!) and the big, chippy white window is original to our home, as well! I discovered it hiding in our barn a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure the whole town probably heard me whoopin' and hollerin' in celebration! Aaand I drug it all the way down the barn stairs and up to the farmhouse all by myself. Much to Brett's dismay. #LOLZ. The chicken crate that I used to display our tree was thrifted during our Nashville trip this fall and my sweet hubs gifted me my beautiful German sled for my birthday a few years ago! Just about everything has a story and a memory attached. And although we have about 20 bins of ornaments, we chose a tiny tree and hand picked only our very very favorite handmade ones to hang! I probably only used 1/20th of the stuff I have but less is definitely more and meaningful for us this year! 

I scored the most darling 1974 vintage metal fire truck at our local Goodwill! It's perfect for our fire family and one of my favorite finds this year!

Classic whimsical gift wrap for the kiddos this year.. Gift GIVING is one of my love languages! Wrapping them with love is as much a blessing to me as the gift is to them!

Extra special wrapping for our "Christmas Eve" boxes.. It's tradition to open new PJs, hot chocolate, a Christmas movie and a bedtime story on Christmas Eve each year! (This super precious paper is from Target!)

My favorite Christmas cookies aren't edible! ;)

And a few Christmas throwbacks because I loved our porch last season!..

We have a few special Christmas touches in our newly spruced up kitchen, too.. (See what I did there? Spruced.. I've got Christmas puns, y'all! 🌲😂) How CUTE are these vintage cookie cutter garlands?! And both of the recipes on the vintage chalkboard are from each of our grandmothers in their own handwriting. It makes me feel like they're both with us every time we cook. One of my absolute favorite projects! (You can find my DIY chalk lettering tutorial HERE)

This jolly vintage Santa cookie jar was another Goodwill thrift find this year! And another sweet hand print craft. :)

I'm totally convinced that everything tastes better out of a santa mug. :)

DIY cup racks, cookie cutter garland and Longaberger baskets.. These are a few of my favorite things!

Handprint wreaths we made this year! And Brett made this beautiful cabinet for our kitchen a few months ago!

And how cute is this?! My momma made these for her ornament exchange.. It has dip mix inside! 

Me and Clark (Griswold)

And last but not least.. I can't blog this Christmas without sharing this.. 

"Baker Ashfurf" has been VERY nice this year! 

😂🎅🏻

Merry Christmas, everyone! We love you all!

DIY Chalk Lettering

My vintage schoolhouse chalkboard is one of my very favorite things! In fact, I have chalkboards in several shapes and sizes around the house. I love using them in fun new ways for parties and holidays. (My extra large one is one of those pieces that sort of migrates around the house because of its versatility!) I especially enjoy creating cool chalk art but my hand writing is just okay. I'm certainly no calligrapher and my attempts to duplicate beautiful fonts and typography are almost always futile. Typically they resemble elementary level scribbles at best! But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.. And it's a short cut that doesn't require a projector! It's super easy and your lettering will look perfect. All you need is a printer, some chalk and a little tape.

First things first.. pick a design. The world's your oyster! 

Once you decide what you want your board to say, you need to print your graphic. You can use a fun printable or download some pretty fonts and create your own design. My inspiration for this demonstration piece comes from Lauren Buzetti over at Schoolhouse Electric. I swoon every time she  changes up their board! 

The next step is important! Once you have your sizing just right and you've printed your words/letters/pictures,  flip your paper over and evenly rub chalk all over the backside. Then, flip the paper right side up and place it exactly where you want it on your chalkboard. You can use tape to secure it so that it doesn't shift!

Next, take an object with a firm tip and trace the outline of your letters or shapes. I like to use a carpenter's pencil. The tip isn't so sharp that it will scratch or leave an indention in the board, but it's firm enough to transfer the chalk onto the hard surface. You can use a pen or pencil or just about anything firm enough to hold comfortably and trace with.

Once you've traced all edges, carefully lift and remove all the paper. The outline of your graphic will be transferred onto the chalkboard and you can use chalk or chalk markers to fill in as desired. (I prefer the aesthetic of regular chalk. Just keep in mind that chalk markers are semi-permanent and can be more difficult to erase. They're great to use in heavy-use areas or on things like pantry labels that get touched a lot.)

Light outline.. ready to be filled in!

I like to use the broad side of regular chalk to coat the backside of my paper and these two tools to fill in my art by hand after I've traced everything. You can buy the fine tip cartridge here! It's my very favorite and it also has a handy eraser tip that really helps to clean up your edges without using your fingers!

Easy peasy, right?! And the possibilities are endless.. You'll look like a pro in no time!

-Lauren

How to Antique New Galvanized Metal - Get The Look For Less!

I absolutely love the authentic natural patina of vintage metal pieces, but they can be a bit pricey! I've been collecting rusty garden accessories and decor for years and recently I scored a handful of olive buckets at Target for $5 on clearance! (Not to mention several adorable metal accessories out of the Target Dollar Spot. My guiltiest pleasure!) You just can't beat the $5 price and the buckets were just precious! My only hesitation was that they were just a little too new looking. And so commenced: Operation: Rusty Buckets. :)

I've seen tons of tutorials on Pinterest and blogs and I knew I wanted to give this DIY a try. I also want to be completely transparent in my trials and errors during this process! Spoiler Alert: I had some major fails! Rusty antiques can take years to acquire their perfectly aged patinas, but hopefully my tips can help you to speed up the process if you love the look as much as I do.

Galvanized metal is usually composed of zinc or iron with a steal coating sealed on top to prevent it from rusting. There are some products that you can use to remove this protective top coat and kick start the natural aging process. What I have learned through many, many, many attempts is that your success is ultimately determined by the actual make-up of the item you're trying to alter. You can have all the corrosive products in the world, but unless your bucket is prepped correctly AND is indeed made of a galvanized product - your attempts may be futile, as mine were! Your results can also vary drastically depending on the item and length of treatment. I've seen my pieces appear to only have a duller finish, with a full rusty patina and even end up with a foggy white finish. All were pleasing! Just be prepared for varying results. And just think of how unique your project will be! Not a single identical one like yours in the world! ;)

So here's what I started with and the look I was aiming to achieve:

Here are a few of the bulk products I had on hand to begin the aging process. There a few items I experimented with that are NOT PICTURED! (Lysol and Clorox toilet bowl cleaner, Zep Acidic toilet bowl cleaner, pre-mixed salt water, salt block, steel wool, tap water and rain water.)

You will also need gloves, a few utility spray bottles and buckets large enough to fully submerse your items in.

Items pictured: Bleach, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, muriatic acid.

Links to purchase all supplies at the bottom of the post!

My initial attempts to age my buckets to the extent I wanted were unsuccessful. I removed the rope handles and started by spraying them down with several coats of a muriatic acid and water solution. (Make sure you wear gloves and protective clothing if you're working with this product!) I repeated this process twice and barely noticed any changes. After the second try, I decided to take it up a notch and I scrubbed the buckets with steel wool, but this time I coated them with several coats of pure muriatic acid. 

Still no changes.

My third attempt was to spray them with salt water and let them sit outside in the elements and rain to see I could see any progress at all. After four days outside - nothing.

I then generously coated the buckets with the toilet bowl cleaners, but after three tries with three different brands I hadn't noticed any change. 

The Indestructible Bucket!

At this point, I realized that the bucket itself may be resistant to this process. I was pretty discouraged! But, I was determined to make it work on something! I grabbed a shiny metal milk jug that I also bought at Target and soaked it overnight in a solution of vinegar, water and bleach. I didn't measure the amounts. I just grabbed what I had on hand and poured it all into a large bucket. The metal needed to be completely submersed so I added water until the solution covered all sides of the jug. I don't have a photo of the jug before I dunked it.. Bummer! But trust - It was S.H.I.N.Y! Much more so than the olive bucket!

Here are the results after soaking overnight! JACKPOT!!!

I knew as soon as I pulled the jug out of the water that its finish reacted completely different to this treatment than the olive buckets had to my other tries. The photo on the left is immediately after removing it from the solution. The photo on the right is after rinsing in clean water and letting it sit outside for a few hours! And the longer it sits the rustier it gets!

LEFT: Just after soaking overnight in a water/vinegar/bleach solution RIGHT: Finished product!

The perfect patina!

So.. obviously after my success I decided to try the same technique on my buckets. Onto try number... 257!?!? 

Sadly.. here are the results. After soaking overnight in the same exact vinegar/bleach/water solution AND sitting outside in the rain afterwards AND another coat of acid - they barely look any different. Two thumbs down. :( Aside from literally getting a grinder on these things I've just about tried everything. My friend Kelly also suggested that we set a salt block in them and let that natural process try to corrode the finish, but to be honest, I was ready to throw the towel in and set up my porch decor!

The Indestructible buckets after their overnight soak..

Olive Bucket result after ALL attempts.

Overall, the buckets are ever-so-slightly more dull, but nowhere near the rusty finish I wanted. However, my milk jug looks AMAZING and I am so pleased with it! For a $5 investment I can honestly say these buckets will last you a longggg time and still look as good as new! The cheapest vintage ones I found at the Nashville Flea Market this weekend ran about $40+.. So I can appreciate my clearance finds for the new awesomeness that they are!

Our 2015 fall porch at the farm.

I sincerely hope you can learn from my trial and error and that these tips help you achieve your rusty vintage bucket dreams! Happy DIY-ing!

-Lauren

If you'd like to order any of the products I regularly use to achieve this look you can order them here!

(affiliate links)

Zep Commercial Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner, 32 oz Bottle

Lysol Power and Free Toilet Bowl Cleaner Value Pack, 2 Count

Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner With Bleach Rain Clean Scent Bottle 24 Oz, 2-Pack

SUNNYSIDE CORPORATION 710G1 1-Gallon Muriatic Acid

Clorox Bleach Regular, 64 oz White House White Distilled Vinegar 64oz

Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar 32 oz

White House White Distilled Vinegar 64oz

Mad Buck Innovations Deer Brick Salt Lick Mineral Block with Exclusive Scent Cell, Acorn Scent

Red Devil 0320 8-Pack Steel Wool, 0000 Super Fine