Feeling Fallish...

Hi There!

While the temperatures around here are definitely not fall like, I've been busy this week putting up the rest of my fall decor. I don't have a lot for Halloween, but that may change if I find/create items that will celebrate the holiday without being too over the top. I thought maybe you'd like to see what I've come up with for the rest of the fall feeling in our home.

First up, I spent a few days creating the wreath you see here. It's made with a foam wreath circle from the Dollar Tree and a large roll of orange crepe paper. All you do is cut the crepe paper into four inch long strips, fold them in half and pin them to the wreath form. It takes a lot of pins, but no hot glue, which is nice. I saw the idea here and had a lot of fun creating this. I did a row of three loops, then a row of two loops and I'm pleased with how it came out.

Here's a close up of the decoration I came up with for the wreath. I'm pretty tickled with it. Burlap cut with a scallop circle Nestie. Gathered lace and gathered ribbon. I did pull out the hot glue gun for this piece.

After I got done with the wreath today, I wanted to work on another idea I've seen out there in blogland. I had picked up some frames from the Dollar Tree and chose papers I liked that fit my decor. I then cut letters on my Cricut with the Storybook cartridge and got this...

Ohhhh, I think adding the pumpkins to the apothecary jar, the wreath and the framed letters adds a nice touch to the vignette I've come up with. Yay! I found those little pumpkins in the jar at Joann's yesterday day. I got a decent sized box filled to the brim with the little guys for $5. 

On the coffee table this is what you see...

I'm not 100% convinced I like the leaf ball, it may be changing (I stuck the leaves into a stryrofoam ball). You see more of those little pumpkins in the metal basket I found this week at a Goodwill in Denver (for 50 cents or so) and I also found that cute little fabric pumpkin on the same shopping trip to Joann's yesterday.

I changed out the flowers heere and added a ceramic pumpkin from the thrift store.

And on the porch, I crocheted a bunch of leaves and added them to the poles. The picture doesn't do them justice, I don't think. 

I found a nice spot for that garland of pumpkin lights. *Ü*

Back inside...

I found this pillow at Joann's too. I admit it, I splurged, but I think it was worth it. I smile when I see it. Oh and the leaf garland (there are actually two strands) were tucked inside a bag of foliage I picked up at the thrift store. I don't pay more than a couple of bucks for a bag and I was pleasantly surprised at the treasures tucked inside!

And another little vignette by the tv. Most of the foliage you see here was picked up at the thrift store as well as the vases (but I got those months ago).

I'm happy with the mood I've created in the house. I don't think anyone else really notices, but I do smile when I look around, so it's worth it for that.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Hope you have a great end to your week!

Looking Like Fall and a card for you to see...

Hello there! And a Happy Sunday to you. I've got a few minutes before the Broncos game starts and I thought I'd share a card front I made yesterday.

I did my thrift store rounds yesterday and found a bag of what looks to me to be leather (maybe it's fake, I don't know) on sale for $1.50 or maybe $2. Either way, it was a steal. And I couldn't wait to try using it on a card. First, here's a picture of what I bought...

Part of the bag was filled with these long 2 inch strips of what looks like leather, and this

Two decent sized pieces of this reddish leather. It's obvious it's scraps from a project. Under the leather you see a remnant of denim I picked up awhile ago at Joann's.

And here is the card I made with a little piece of the strip...

I ran it through my cuttlebug and it cut very easily. Then I took a piece of that denim and ran it through. That took a couple of passes to cut. I wanted a layer between them, so I grabbed some green tulle (also from the thrift store) and ran it through the bug, too. I knew I wanted to use the jean pocket stamp from CTMH and I really liked how it looked using the Baily paper pack from K & Co. I added Brown Bag ink to the edges of the papers and sponged a little over the jean pocket, too. Oh and that button! I found it in my stash, and you can't really tell, but the "stitches" on it are kind of gold. To attach the pieces together, I initially planned on using a brad, but I can't find the ones I wanted to use (hence the button). So, I took a needle and thread and tacked them together to be sure they stayed put, then I stitched it to the base of the card front. The button is glued because I cut the shank off. I'm pretty pleased with the look. *Ü*

I've got the card front propped up in front of a fabric pumpkin I picked up at the thrift store last week. 

Here's the pumpkin:

Isn't it cute? I couldn't make it for $1.50! I've got it set out on my coffee table and I smile whenever I look at it.

 I've not taken out my fall stuff yet, but I have picked up a few items at the thrift store.

I just got the fabric pumpkin you see yesterday. Last week I found the wooden one, with the leaves on the top and the other one is from 2 weeks ago. I think I spent $5 total for all three of them!

Here's the bookshelf you see as you walk into the house. I'm developing a thing for pumpkins I think. LOL

And this is a garland that has plastic pumpkin lights attached! All but one of the lights work, too! I'm not sure where I am going to put it as it isn't very long, but for $1.50 I couldn't pass it up. LOL

I also changed out the foliage in the basket I have on the porch with some lovely fall leaves. 

When I go to Joann's, Michaels, etc, I  can't see spending what they want on the fall foliage when I have been sooooo lucky finding neat things for a lot less at the thrift stores.

Okay, that's it from me today! 

Hope you have a super start to your week.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Patriotic Porch...

Gee Whiz! Three posts, back to back?! In my defense, lately the girls have been all enamored with the Build-a-Bear website. We have 4 computers in this house and guess whose computer they want to use? Mine! Sigh. I know how they feel though, the two we have for them don't load very fast, currently they won't even turn on one of them. The other one in our spare room will be used if they have to. And Daddy's computer is off limits. So, that leaves mine. I have to squeeze in my posts right now while they are quietly enjoying some apple slices and caramel syrup. I've asked Steve to ramp up the other computers just a bit so they'll be happier on those. We'll see if it happens. Otherwise, my posting may be feast or famine style. LOL Right now you get a feast. Hope you don't mind!

Anyway, I have been picking up some items to help commemorate Memorial Day

(and most likely July 4th, too)

I thought you might like to take a peek.

Here is what I did with the hanging planters.

Not the greatest picture of them, but I also crocheted some stars. 

I found the pattern here after seeing this post.

We found this whirly twirly hanger at the Dollar Tree this morning.

And Jessica's teacher gave me this yesterday, which I thought was very sweet!

It was fun festooning the porch for the upcoming holiday!

Thanks so much for the visit(s)!

*Ü*

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Thank You, Some Flowers and a Doily!

Happy Friday to you! I hope you are ready to have a lovely weekend. We've got some plans this weekend, or rather the girls do and I'll be playing chauffeur. LOL We are going to the school for the rescheduled movie night that got cancelled due to snow a month or so ago. They are showing Up, which we've not seen. Tomorrow Jessica has a birthday party to go to and on Sunday, I just found out, she has a Daisy outing. They will be cleaning up trash at a nearby nature trail. Whew! LOL

I took the day off from cleaning and did a little crafty stuff. Yay!

First, I have to share this gorgeous thank you card that I received from Christi at Blessings on Paper. You may remember the surprise blog hop party we had for her back in January. Yes, I know it's April, but believe me, ANY card from Christi is well worth waiting for. *Ü*

She was so sweet to use one of the flowers I crocheted for her. Isn't this a beauty?? Thanks, Christi!

You can see a sneaky peek at what I picked up today, or rather the finishing touches. I picked up a wire container holder, for lack of  the proper terminology at the thrift store recently. You can fit 6 pots in it. When Michaels has their big sale a weekend or so ago, I found terracotta pots that fit perfectly on sale, so I nabbed them. Today I found some flowers at the dollar store that I liked and I filled the pots.

Here's what it looks like:

Nice and happy! Not too shabby for just a few dollars out of pocket!

Next up, remember that covered cheese holder I used to display my beaded eggs for Easter? Well, I mentioned I wanted to crochet a doily to fit inside. I just finished up the doily this afternoon. So, I've got to show you, right?

I'm thrilled that it fits perfectly! Of course, I need something to display, right? Well, for now I'm using this:

I thought the butterfly box was adorable, and fifty percent off, so it cost all of 64 cents. LOL Once I find something better to display, I'll just set the butterfly out on display but until then, this is kind of happy. I can't stand it upright because it's thismuch too tall to fit the cover. Drat.

Well, thanks ever so much for stopping by. I hope you have a fantastic Friday!

Three Stacked Basket Display

A couple of weeks ago I saw this idea and couldn't believe my luck when I found three baskets at the thrift store that I thought would work wonderfully (for about a dollar for all three)! I neglected to note the blog where I saw this idea, but I just did some sleuthing and googling and I finally found it here on Cheap Chic Home. Yay!

Steve stayed home from work today and one of the things he really wanted to do was clean the carpets and sofas. That meant lots of noise, so I headed out of the house and stopped by Michaels. Ever since I saw the post about the baskets, I have been on the look out for some flowers that I thought would look appealing, but hadn't found any that grabbed me and were inexpensive enough for my budget. My little jaunt to Michaels ended my search. I found the flower bushes on sale for $2.49 a piece and I had a super saver coupon for an additional 15% off. Yay! I bought three bunches and another little bunch with the orange flowers for a dollar. After doing some more running around, I came home and worked on my baskets. Here's how it turned out:

I picked up some floral blocks at the dollar store and hot glued them into place to give the stand a little more stability. Then I snipped apart the stems and started poking them into the blocks. I ended up cutting some stems shorter as I thought the flowers were sticking out too far. I also pulled off a lot of those long green leaves as it was too overwhelming. I am SO not a floral arranger of any sort, but even I was pleased with how this looked when I was done. I even got a "cute" from Steve, too. LOL For now it's on the tv, until I clear off the table by the couch.

For the time being, here's the rest of the little scene. I found that white glass pitcher at the Salvation Army when I stopped by there first, as it's on the way to Michaels. Steve's had his eye on a sofa or two there and he wanted me to check them out. Not sure about the sofas he's eyeing, but when I saw the 45 cent price tag on the little pitcher, I couldn't resist.

Nice and cheery on a blustery spring day, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your encouraging thoughts about my recent decorating/crafty efforts. I am having a blast exploring all these different projects. I've never done any major decorating attempts in all the years I've lived here in Colorado. Mostly because I'm not creative enough to think up these neat ideas. However, once I see something I like or that appeals to me, I can usually recreate it to my satisfaction. It took my discovering the crafty blogs lately to set me off on wanting to make my home a little more welcoming and cheery.

I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend! Steve and I are going to a 50th birthday party/retirement party for our friend Dave's wife Tracy. Yep, she just turned 50 and is retiring from the workforce after many, many years working for the Federal Reserve (most of the time we've known them, Tracy's worked the overnight shift, so she and I haven't seen each other much). I'm excited for her to be able to shift back to the land of living in daylight. The party should be fun. It's at a local hotel (about 5 minutes from our house) and I heard she might have them set up the Wii system they have. Maybe that will be the nudge to get Steve on-board for us getting one. (one can hope, right?) The girls are just hoping the Easter Bunny shows up and hides the eggs, so they can go a hunting. *Ü*

Updated Flower Ball Thanks to Erin

Erin saw my post, thanks to my prodding during our chat and shared that she thought I needed to add some glass beads and some ribbon. I had some laying around and here's what it looks like now. She says it looks more balanced now. Yay! Thanks, Erin!

Took a Crafty Day...

And worked on a couple of projects I've seen that I wanted to try.

First up is sure a day brightener! I got the idea for this on Organize and Decorate Everything here. It was literally easy peasy lemon squeezy! I picked up four flower bushes at the Dollar Tree and a round styrofoam ball at Hobby Lobby. I cut off the flowers and just stuck them into the ball. The gal who shared this idea used hot glue to make them stick, but for now, I liked how quick and easy it was just to stick them in.  I decided to rest it on top of the glass vase I have on my coffee table.

I tried to take pictures of it actually ON the coffee table, but I couldn't get them to look right. So I tried this way instead and thought you got a better idea of the colors in the flowers.

Next up is a project I saw in February on Someday Crafts here. Oh my goodness, I fell in love with the cheery gingham goodness! I've been collecting the supplies needed and today I decided to try my hand at it. I thought I could get three made, but only managed the one for now.

This was another tough one to photograph nicely, but I think you get a pretty good idea of what it looks like. The blog post I linked is a tutorial on how to make these, so I'll refrain giving the details. It was fairly easy and lots of fun to create. I actually put fabric over a button cover and added just a bit of fiberfill before putting it together. Aside from making the circle a little too small, it worked great. This may end up on the porch table or possibly in the girls' room.

That's it from me today. I hope your Wednesday has been a happy one! Thanks for stopping by and leaving all those lovely comments on the eggs I shared yesterday. You sure do know how to make a gal feel good! *Ü*

Today's Project...Beaded Eggs!

Now, before you think all I do all day is read blogs and make projects, I want to reassure you that I do housework, too! LOL In fact, this morning I spent a good chunk of time dusting and sweeping the house as well as cleaning a bathroom and decluttering our spare room, which has become a catch all room. Geez, I think it'd work much better as a crafty room, but hubby is not convinced. LOL After I was done with all that, THEN I worked on this project. *Ü*

Of course, I found the idea on a blog and of course, now I can't remember where.(eta: Kathi to the rescue...here's the link: http://craftysisters-nc.blogspot.com/2010/03/day-4-easy-beaded-eggs.html) Thanks, Kathi! These crafty blogs I am reading have linky parties, where lots of different bloggers link up their blogs with projects they have made. I see the idea and then I want to create it right away, ususally. I've been too impatient to note the creator. I've got to change that bad habit, so I can do better about linking up the person who gave me the inspiration.

Anyway, I took some large plastic eggs, some "ribbon" beads (both from Hobby Lobby and both purchased at 50% off) and my hot glue gun (well, low temp hot glue gun, no burning of fingers thankfully) and not too much time and I ended up with this. I had some of the beads left over, but not enough to cover another large egg, so I pulled from my stash of smaller ones and used up the rest. Yay!

You can see the idea much better in the second shot. I used a large pink and yellow egg, and a small purple and green egg. The beads are connected like ribbon. I could only find pink and white/clear beads, but I think they make other colors. I used the pink stuff on the purple egg and the white on the green one.

 I also took the second picture to show you how this display works. Again, on the crafty blogs, I've seen lots of clever ladies use a cheese dome to use as decoration. I found one this past weekend and was thrilled, especially since it was just $2! I put it on top of a large candle base that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I don't even have to glue them together because the candlestick is large enough to keep it stable. I want to crochet a doily to go inside, but until I do that, I put a doily I found this weekend on top of the base. I love how it looks all together.

Being that this is the week before Easter a lot of crafty ladies are sharing Easter ideas. I am enjoying seeing their creativity, especially since most of these are done on a budget. Today you can go here to see the blog party going on at A Soft Place To Land.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I've got the house all opened up because it's going to be in the 70s today. Wheeee! Of course, it's the warm before the storm...tomorrow we'll be in the 50s with a chance of showers. LOL Gotta enjoy it while I can, right?

Crochet Tray Mat is Finished!

Hi there! I've been crocheting like crazy and can finally share the project that is the result of all those squares I was making. Yay! I thought I was going to need 36 squares, but when I showed Jessica, who was wondering why the heck I was making all the squares, I realized I only needed 32, so I got done with that part a little sooner than I thought. Then I had to sew them all together and finally stitch the border. I just finished and am excited to share the final result.

Remember the tea cart I picked up at the thrift store a month or so ago? When I saw the pattern I used, I thought it would look great on the tea cart. The pattern itself called for just 24 squares, but the tea cart is a just a bit bigger, so I worked to have the mat fit inside the lines on the tea cart top.

Here you go:

I stood on a chair to get this shot.

Sorry for the over exposure. I guess I could have edited the picture, but I'm too impatient to share, so pretend it's not there, okay?

I'm really, really happy with how it came out. I'm also really, really happy to be done with the stitching. LOL

I found the pattern at FaveCrafts. You can find the specific pattern here. What's great is the patterns there are FREE! Love that!

Before I go, I wanted to share this as well. Remember Rosie the Bunny I made from the pattern I found on MaryJane's Tearoom? Well, on her blog recently she shared she had some extra yarn she was giving away to the first several comments. By the time I saw the post, I saw she had more than 6 comments, but I thought it was so nice of her, I commented anyway. It turns out, some of those comments were from Susan herself, so I qualified for the giveaway! Whooo hoooo! I've been waiting patiently (she lives in England) and today the package arrived! I'm so excited! If you are reading this Susan, thanks so very much!!

That's all from me for now. Thanks ever so much for stopping by. Oh, and if you heard about the big storm that dumped on Denver the other day...we got 8.9 inches of heavy wet snow, ugh. BUT, the weather is improving rapidly and the snow is busily melting. March is the snowiest month of the year and we are already at the average snowfall for the month. With another week left, lets hope this is the last big storm. It's been known to snow in April and even May so we aren't out of the woods, though.

Have a great day!

It Didn't Cost a Dime!

Hi there!

Before I share what didn't cost a dime, I HAVE to share the picture of the egg wreath my friend Heidi was inspired to create after seeing mine. I LOVE the multi-colored shreds she used. Heidi doesn't have a blog and I hope she doesn't mind my sharing. We've become good buddies as we sit and watch our kids take swim lessons. Unfortunately, I was late signing up for the current session and the class was full, so we are taking an imposed break from swim lessons for this session. But, I've already signed them up for the next session, starting in April.

Here's the wreath Heidi made with help from her sweet daughter, Annabelle. Doesn't it look fabulous?!

Thanks for sharing this with me, Heidi. I'm tickled you were inspired to create one for yourself. 

Well, I guess, technically, showing that wreath didn't cost me a dime either, so it fits with my blog post today, right? LOL

This past week, I got the bright idea to look for a piece of furniture to put into the girls' room. I haven't worked too much at decorating in there, mainly because it's usually a pit (they have way too much stuff crammed in there). But, seeing as we are on Spring Break this week, I'm going to try to rectify that. They've had one of these units you see here, with the open bins for toys (I've pulled it out of their room). For months now I've wanted them to go through the bins and take out stuff they no longer use. I wanted to replace it with a piece of furniture with closed storage, (maybe an armoire?) and looked for something at the thrift stores this weekend. I only saw one thing I thought might work, but it would be $99. Not a ton of money, but more than I wanted to spend. As I was taking a shower yesterday morning, I must have had the idea lurking in the back of my brain and I got the bright idea to shift around some furniture in the house.

This desk has been sitting in the corner of our entry way for years. It was mine as a young girl. My parents bought it as an unfinished piece and my dad and I worked together to sand it down and stain it. I used this as my homework station in my room for years! Anyway, I thought it would work in the space where the bins used to be. I quickly finished up the shower so I could grab a tape measure and check. Yep, it would fit!  Next up I had to empty it of all the junk that had accumulated in it. I haven't used it as a desk since we moved here in 1996, but I sure have stuffed it with junk. LOL And I discovered that mice have enjoyed making a mess in the drawers. Ewwwwww! I got all the junk out and put into boxes until I can go through and sort it out. Here you see it in the space in the girls' room. To say they are thrilled is an understatement. They still need to go through the bins and all, but the weather was gorgeous yesterday (with the forecast for snow later today and tomorrow) so I insisted they go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Now, the space in the corner didn't look right without the desk. I thought, I could probably find one of those long skinny tables at the thrift store, you know, the kind that people use behind a sofa. And the girls and I set off to the thrift store to see what we could find. No luck, but my brain must have been working overtime because I remembered a bookshelf we have in our "big" room that wasn't being used very effectively. So....I emptied that and pulled it into the entry way. I put it where our bench has been for years. I just shifted the bench to the wall where the desk used to sit.

You can see the corner where the desk used to be, as I haven't moved my Sarah picture yet. Here's the bench in its new location. That bear you see was owned by my grandmother who recently passed away. She would win stuffed animals playing bingo at the nursing facility where she lived. My dad sent the girls a box of the animals. I snagged this cute bear for me as a remembrance of Grandma.

And here's what I put where the bench used to be:

I'm just thrilled with how it looks! I pulled some of my recent thrift store finds  to set on the shelves for now. I even found some treasures in the desk I moved, like the two Easter ceramic pieces. I picked up a third larger egg holder and just found the glittery egg at Michaels. I found more doilies and linens in one of the drawers. (It's been literally years since I opened one of the drawers, she says, hanging her head in shame). Those need to be washed and will hopefully be usable.

Anyway, I've not been real big on moving furniture in the house, mainly because I don't really know what would look good. But, this...this I really am glad I thought of. And I just wanted to share! (and I really should take off some of the price stickers on the glass pieces, huh?) Even Steve thought it was pretty clever (high praise indeed from him, since he usually rolls his eyes at some of my ideas).

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!