DREAMING OF WARMER WEATHER…

 

 

Warm sun…palm trees…sound of the ocean….

 

I knew it had to be a dream!!!

Oh well, might as well enjoy this little patch of sun…

UH OH!!  I am sooo busted for being on the sofa….

“OUR ORNAMENT” FOR 2009

 

Hi!  I’m back to share a little more handmade Christmas goodies. 

Each year my husband and/or I choose or make a new ornament to add to our tree.  I just finished making this year’s “our ornament”.  Wanna see?

here ya go:

 

She’s a little wonky looking, but I’m pleased with how she turned out. 

Here are some pics of the one’s I made several years ago:

 

This one is my favorite out of the bunch:

 

And here’s all of them together:

Do you ever make your own ornaments?  I’d love to see them.

JINGLE BELL SWAG TUTORIAL

 

 

 

In my last post I showed you my Pottery Barn inspired twig reindeer and Jingle Bell swag.  I had a few bells left so I decided to do a tutorial on how I made the swag.   I have never posted a tutorial before, so please bear with me.   

Here goes:

 

Step 1:  Gather your supplies.  For this project you’ll need:

• 2 pair pliers
• jump rings (for the tutorial I used bigger rings so you could see it better.)
• piece of chain (mine was approx. 10 1/2 inches)
• bells (for this tutorial I only used 16 bells because that’s all I had left.  In the original I used 40)
• cigarettes & coffee (optional for you but a MUST for me…lol…)

 

STEP 2:  Open all of your jump rings and clip off the little tags from the bells.  I couldn’t get a picture of myself  opening the jump rings because, well, it takes both hands.  So I’ll send you HERE to see a quick video. 

STEP 3:  Take one of your jump rings and pick up your bell and one end of the chain.  Close the jump ring.

 

STEP 4: Keep doing this alternating sides of the chain as shown in the next 2 pictures.  Do this all the way up the chain skipping a link or two between each bell.  Leave some room at the top of the chain to put your bow on.  The more bells you use, the fuller the swag will be. 

 

 

STEP 5:   Make your “ring hanger thing”.  Take an old coat hanger and shape it around a can of veggies or soup to make a circle.  Twist it to close the circle and cut.  Take one of your jump rings and pick up the top part of the chain and hook it to your coat hanger circle.  Close the jump ring.  Slap a bow on your swag and you’re done!!  This is what it looks like with 16 bells (I don’t have enough ribbon to make another bow.) The more bells you use, and the closer you put the bells, the fuller it gets.

Here’s a picture of the one from Pottery Barn:

 

And here’s another picture of my original one using 40 bells:

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.  If there’s anything you need help with, just holler.  And if you decide to make one of these using this tutorial, I’d love to see it!!

I’m also linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special.  Head on over there to check out some more great projects!!

TWO POTTERY BARN INSPIRED CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS…

 

 

I have a $0.00 budget for Christmas decorations this year :( but I did manage to make a few things from items I already had on hand. 

This is Pottery Barn’s oversized twig reindeer (which were inspired by a woman who makes twig reindeer’s):

 

this is my (oh, ok…DH helped…lol…) version of PB’s oversized twig reindeer:

isn’t he cute!!  And to think that I wasn’t getting ready to throw these pieces in the wood stove…lol…

 

Next up is Pottery Barn’s jingle bell swag:

 

and using these bells leftover from our wedding (Big Lot’s $1.00/pk)  and some chain from my jewelry making supplies:

this is my version of Pottery Barn’s jingle bell swag (don’t laugh at my attempt to make a bow…lol…):

 

I think I got a little carried away with the bells…lol…Do you think I should remove some of them?

 

And next is a centerpiece for my dining room table:

It wasn’t Pottery Barn inspired.  But again I was trying to make something pretty with what I already had on hand.

This is what it looked like early this morning while I was having my first cup of coffee.  So peaceful at 4:00 am:

  Do you like my fake snow?   It’s epsom’s salt.  The candle inside was given to me by a good friend.  It is a small cinnamon scented candle from The Yankee Candle Co.  It smells sooo good!!

I have linked this post to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday.  Head on over there to check out everyone else’s awesome before and afters. 

Well, what do ya’ think?  Did I do good?  :)  Guess that’s all for now…Catcha later!!

I’M BACK….

 

…did ya miss me? 

And this time I’m armed with a camera.  OH YEAH!!! 

So I thought I would bombard you with a bunch of pictures. 

I’m not sure why but I can’t seem to get into decorating for the holidays this year.   I did manage to get a couple of things put up the day after Thanksgiving. 

I’ll start with our “Charlie Brown” tree.  Did you notice the angel on top?  Oh…that’s right…there is no angel because it broke  :(    (note to self:  hit the stores the day after Christmas to get a new angel)

 

  

And then there is the display on top of our entertainment center.  It was made from various items.  

The cute little houses were hot glued to an old grapevine wreath that had seen better days.  So I picked the houses off and tossed the wreath. 

The snowman was in a floral arrangement from last year.  Isn’t he cute!! 

The white angel was given to me several Christmas’ ago by my youngest son and the angel with the instrument was given to me by a dear friend about 6 or 7 Christmas’ ago.  It kind of looks like the angels are watching over the “little town”. 

The lighting is from those cheap plastic plug in candles.  

Ok..enough rambling…Here’s the center of the display:

The next picture looks over to the left of the snowman.  There’s the candles I was telling you about.  There is one set on the left and another set on the right:

Same side, just included the angel in this shot: 

Here’s a close up of the white angel:

 

This view is on the right hand side Notice the other angel:

Here’s a close up of her:

Nothing fancy, just making do with what I have on hand.   But it is really pretty at night when the lights are out and the candles are plugged in.  

 

And here’s one of my favorites.  Another gift from my youngest son.  These are the Christmas bears from Avon several years back.  It’s a mama bear and a baby bearand they are interactive.  They sing a Christmas song together and the mama bear tells the baby bear a bedtime story (Twas the night before Christmas).  They’re really cute.  Here they are:

 

How do you decorate for Christmas?  I’d love to see!!

WANNA SEE WHAT I PICKED UP FOR $20.00?

 

While my mom and I were browsing our favorite thrift store today, I saw 4 or 5 boxes sitting on the floor.  2 of the boxes contained vanity lighting.  And one of the other boxes contained this:

                   

Isn’t she purty!!  She still had her tags and everything on her.  There was a packing receipt still in the box.  It was just purchased in June of this year and was never installed by the previous owners.  

And I got her for $20!!!!! 

So I rushed her home and out of curiosity I started checking websites to see if I could find this fixture anywhere and I found it.  Read this from Lighting Universe. 

$160.00!!!! 

DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!!!

 

“The Home Office Journey”…part 2

 

If you’ll remember a couple of posts back, I was working on setting up/organizing our home office area.  Go here if you’re not sure what the heck I’m talking about.  The calendar is finished &  the incoming mail “sorting” baskets are up.  So now I need a desk, a chair, good lighting, a place to store my binders, & a filing cabinet or file box for those important papers that need to be kept. 

I’ll start with the desk.  I’ve had this piece of furniture for a while now that I just keep moving from room to room.  It’s old and worn out,  but it was my Grandmother’s and I’m just not ready to part with it.  It’s an old dining room table (I think).  Yep…you heard right…a dining room table.  But it’s not just any kind of table.  ( and no, I still don’t have a camera :( …these are pictures from moving day about 4 years ago.) 

Here, I’ll show ya:

Meet my new desk:

It’s not a very big dining room table is it?  Wanna see more?

 

That’s what it looks like underneath.  I have asked others  for years and years what that crank underneath was for.  No one knew.  I’ve even tried turning it but nothing.  But one day while we were in the process of moving to this house,  I found out:

I must have broken the years of stain and sealer loose…lol…because that baby just opened up.    See how far that baby stretches?  6 feet!! 

So what do ya think?  Do you think it would make a nice desk? 

Stay tuned for more!!

JOIN ME ON MY JOURNEY TO SET UP OUR HOME OFFICE ON A THRIFT-STORE BUDGET

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I’ve posted last.  Between family issues, football, work, and small home improvements, life has been pretty hectic!   

BUT…I did make time (here and there)  to read some of my favorite blogs.   And while searching for ideas/tips to set up a home office/family command center,  I’ve also stumbled upon some new favorite blogs.   

I personally like using our home management binder.  It works for me, but it’s not working so well for DH and DS.  They need a system where it’s more “in your face…and out in the open” . 

So I took every page out of the home management binder and nailed them to the wall…just kidding.

I just want a place where I can pay bills, plan menus, post everyone’s chores, sort mail, drop off keys, etc., etc., etc.

So, let’s break it down and see what all we’ll need. 

First, we’ll need a large calendar.  I don’t care for the whiteboard calendars because they’re just so boring looking.  But I love these ideas:

I recently stumbled onto Just A Girl's  blog.  She has one of the prettiest Organization Station's  that I have ever seen.  Wouldn’t you agree?  And look what she did with an old wooden wall pocket.  (kicking myself for giving mine away…)

Then I came across The Creative Crate's $3 frame makeover.  How creative!

  

That would be perfect for our home office.  We are already using a similar setup for our daily chores.  I printed off our daily chores and put them in sheet protectors then hung them on the wall.  Then we use a dry erase marker to check them off as we do them.  But using picture frames would look so much prettier.  So, I’ll be on the lookout for a large cheap/free frame for our calendar.  YES!!!  I scored one tonight at Goodwill.  It was marked $8 but everything was 50% off today.  $4 is right up my alley!!!  …doing a happy dance…So one of tomorrow’s projects is to fix that calendar!

Next comes the mail.  It needs to be sorted immediately after it comes in the house.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.  So we’ll need a system set up for the mail.  Here is some very good info on that subject. 

I decided to use 3 baskets because, well, that’s what I had on hand.  To make them look like they go together, I had my DS spray paint them all the same color and then I hung little labels from them.  It’s a temporary fix, but I think it’ll work.  (I’ll see if I can borrow a camera and get some before, during, after pics )

Are you curious to see what else I’ll be doing? 

I guess you’ll have to check back in and see : )   

 

 

I’M BAAACK!!!!!!

 

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since I’ve last posted.  For several reasons, I had to put this blog on the back burner for a while.  But…now that I’m back….I’ll start by posting a few grocery deals that I’ll be cashing in on this week:

 

Meijer:

ITEM:	SALE PRICE	MQ	MBQ	FINAL PRICE
King’s Hawaiin bread (4 pk)	SALE PRICE 10/$10 GET 11th ITEM FREE	$0.75/1 MQ (IP coupon)		FREE!
Country Crock	10/10 11th item free	$0.35 in 5/17 RP	$1/2	FREE!
Aunt Millie’s bread	10/10 11th item free	$0.35 in 5/10 RP		$0.30/loaf
Hunt’s Ketchup	10/10 11th item free	$0.20/1 5/10 SS		$0.60 EACH
Reynold’s wrap aluminum foil	2/$5	$1/1 5/17 SS	$1/2	$1.00 EACH
Kellogg’s cereal	4/$10 buy 4 get $3 off instantly @ register	$1/1 6/7 RP		$3 for 4 boxes
Lysol products	1/2 off	various Q’s in 4/26SS 5/3 SS 6/7 SS		Very, Very cheap cleaning supplies!!
KEN’S SALAD DRESSING	10/10 11th item free	$1/2 5/3 SS		$0.50 EACH

 

KROGER:

ITEM	SALE PRICE	MQ	FINAL PRICE
Ground chuck	$1.78/lb		$1.78/lb
Kroger milk	$1.75/gallon		$1.75/gal.
Kraft singles	$1.69	$1/1 IP print 2	$0.69/pk
Daisy sour cream 16 oz	$1.69	$0.55 5/31 RP	$0.69
Hot, lean, or croissant pockets	$1.77	$0.50/1 5/17 SS	$0.77 each

So, that’s all that I’ll be picking up at Meijer and Kroger this week.  What deals did you find?

Play Day!!

It's been a while since I've made any jewelry, and today while I was supposed to be cleaning/organizing my craft room, I got sidetracked and made these. Nothing fancy, but I had fun!


DENIM DAYS...although it's very hard to tell, this is made up of various shades of blue beads.




SUMMER SUNSET...made with citrine, peach colored moonstone, czech glass, and 2 small red glass beads. These are my favorite colors!!



Did I get any cleaning done? NOPE!! Do I care? NOPE!! It'll still be there when I get ready to have a go at it again. Life's too short...have yourself a "play day".


Do you like them? I'd love any feedback on them.

LOOK AT WHAT WE WOKE UP TO!!

IT MAKES FOR A PRETTY PICTURE...BUT WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN BED!! OVER 125,000 PEOPLE (INCLUDING US) WERE WITHOUT POWER THIS MORNING. THAT'S JUST COUNTING THE ONES IN THE KENTUCKY UTILITIES AREA. OUR ELECTRIC COMPANY WORKED THEIR BUTTS OFF TO GET IT BACK ON AND THEY'RE STILL OUT THERE WORKING!! (THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE WOOD HEAT THIS YEAR) WHILE WE WERE OUT CHECKING OUT THE DAMAGE, THERE WERE TREES AND LARGE LIMBS FALLING DOWN ALL AROUND US. VERY SCARY!! EVERY TIME I HEARD A CREAKING SOUND I HEADED FOR THE DOOR. AS SOON AS MY BATTERIES RECHARGE, I'LL POST SOME MORE PRETTY PICTURES...WELL, BETTER GET SHOVELIN'!

WINTER STORMS...ARE YOU PREPARED?

I AM NOT!! Well, not completely anyway. (Thanks to all of you professional "grocery store bandits", I do have 11 boxes of hot chocolate, toilet paper, 5 boxes of cereal, soap, deodorant and a few more goodies lol.) All kidding aside though, I really do need to get my rear in gear and get a few things stocked up...especially water!! I can remember a few years back when we had this TERRIBLE ice storm. Luckily, I still had heat, power and water, but my mom who lived only 20 minutes away didn't. "Somehow" we managed to drive to her house and bring her back to ours. It was almost TWO WEEKS before any of the surrounding areas had heat/power. Looking back on that got me to thinking. What if we had no power/heat/water for two weeks...what would we do? Would we have enough food/water and other necessities to get us through it? And then there was last year. I was heading to work at 4:00 am on the coldest morning of the year & my little red escort bit the dust. Smoke was pouring inside the car so I had to bail out. Do you know how hard it is to get help at 4:00 in the morning? Well, I got to make 2 phone calls on my cell phone...and the battery was completely zapped. The wind chill was 14 below zero. I'm in my very thin work uniform freezing my butt off. I turned around to see if the car had stopped smoking so I could get back inside and I'll be da%&^d if the car battery wasn't completely dead. Old Man Winter, You won last year...But this year I'm not going down without a fight!! So I started surfing through FEMA and The Red Cross websites, and a few others to make a list of things I would need to ride out a winter storm. Lot's of wonderful information out there. Like this site CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION They give you tips/precautions to take before, during, and after a winter storm. So with all of this information printed out and coupons in hand (OH YES, I have coupons for batteries and water and a few other things), hopefully I can get everything I need before HE comes back this year!! So...are you prepared? Do you have any tips you care to share about preparing for winter storms? Please post them if you do.

Looking back on our Thrifty/DIY wedding

After celebrating our anniversary last week, I pulled out the photo album to look through our pictures. We didn't have a big, fancy wedding. It was in a small country church surrounded by family, a few friends, and a lot of good food lol. Our reception was in the basement of the church, and the whole shebang was DIY. Oh, how I remember trying to get everything made on time. TALK ABOUT STRESS!! (But I wouldn't go back and change any of it.) I wasn't working at the time due to an injury, so I had a very, very small budget to work with. Like a dollar store/thrift store budget. But, I think everything turned out pretty good. Everyone had a good time, good memories were made and 2 families were brought together as one. Anywho, I just wanted to share some of the DIY things from our wedding. I promise I won't show you ALL of them. lol. I'll start with the unity candle at the top of this post. The pillar candle and holder, and the two taper candles were bought at a Dollar Tree. The flowers were from walmart, and some that I already had around the house. The taper candle holders were things I already owned as well.

I purchased this little dress at my favorite local thrift store for $1.00!! It fit my flower girl perfectly. I also picked up that little basket there. I filled it with some of the flowers I bought at walmart. The picture doesn't show the color of the dress very well, but it was a deep purple velvet type material with lighter purple roses around the waist.
Oh, what's this? Not long before the wedding, I had two more little girls wanting to be flower girls also. They wanted a basket of flowers too!! So I quickly threw together two more baskets. Their mother had their dresses already. How lucky was I to have 3 little flower girls!!

Next, is my bouquet. Put it together myself. Tacky to some I'm sure, but I thought it was pretty. Also from the same walmart flowers. Here's a shot of the cake table and a closeup of the cakes I made. When my DH and I saw that cake topper, we knew we had to have it on our cake.


Like my "cake stands"? They were made using a microwave turntable on a small candleholder for the largest cake, the med. size cake is on a glass plate sitting on top of a turned over crystal wine goblet, and the small cake is on a glass saucer on top of a turned over crystal compote, (I think that's what they're called) . Hey, don't laugh...it served the purpose.lol. Well, didn't mean to bombard ya with a lot of pictures, (sure I did!!) but while I was looking through our photos, I thought what the heck, someone out there in blogland might enjoy seeing them. Thanks for looking, and come back again.