Knick Knack Paddy Whack!

I am all girl when it comes to cutesy stuff. I love pretty things. But I am also my mother. My mother is anti-clutter. She is the opposite of a hoarder. She never wanted a bread machine or a stand mixer because it would just be stuff on her kitchen counter and she can't stand "stuff." I knew I had inherited the trait when I made the declaration to my family that "if it doesn't have a place, it goes to Goodwill!" Each of my children's toys has a home. Every dish or utensil has a place in my kitchen. Even the cotton swabs have a special container in our bathroom! Part of this is out of necessity because I have a small house but much of it stems from my mother and her ongoing quest to conquer clutter.

So back to cutesy stuff. I have a few of the Willow Tree figurines. I love them. But I have a problem with them just sitting on top of a dresser collecting dust. The anti-clutter alarms start going off when I see them just standing there serving no functional purpose. Then one day it happened....I was looking at the collection of books that was accumulating in my daughter's room and I had a light bulb moment. I will create Willow Tree bookends!

I was all set to have my husband cut pieces of wood to make into bookends but then I found this set at a thrift store for $1.25. All it took was a smack of a hammer and the apples popped right off. I was left with unfinished, wood bookends ready for my magic.

I cleaned them up and put on a few coats of paint.

I sanded my paint job and sanded down the edges. Then I rubbed each one down with a light stain (using a lone sock that has been hanging around the laundry room!)

I glued on my angels and here they are! My husband is in the process of building shelves for Kayla's room so these beauties will soon have a place and a purpose!

P.S. I didn't want to use something like Gorilla Glue that would make these bookends a permanent home for the angels so I used a few dots craft glue to adhere the figurines to the wood. My daughter may not have my "no clutter" gene and someday she want to have these figurines just sitting by themselves on her dresser.

Happy Friday and enjoy the holiday weekend!