~ 20 Minute Door Decor ~

I recently saw some cute cone shaped door hangers at JoAnns.  They cost $9.99 and I didn't even want to pay 50% off for it.  So...I bought some inexpensive flowers to go in one, and decided to make my own.

I knew I needed a sturdy cone shape for starters.  My empty, clean Culvers cup worked just fine!  I cut off the bottom, then fashioned it into a cone shape and stapled the ends together.  They won't show.

This shows the Culvers cup down in the paper cone cover that I made next and I stuck the cup to the cone cover...I think I stapled it in the back....see below:

I wanted to use sheet music to be the cone cover.  The ones at JoAnns are more like a page from a book...either one would be great.  This is just a copy of a piece of sheet music.  I rolled it into a cone, making sure the cup could fit inside, then stapled it together in the back.  I had to cut some of the side of the paper off so it wouldn't wrap around and show in front.

Next I added some green grossgrain ribbon to the top, to add color and finish the edge.  I wasn't striving for perfection on this.  Then I chose 3 buttons, added coordinating embroidery thread to the holes, and glued them on.  Btw, I think I used double sided tape to stick the ribbon on...I can tell I was tired and didn't want to go to the fuss of doing it all 'just right!'

And there she is!  I added a pretty pink ribbon...stapling it to the back, ironing it, and tying it into a bow.  I have some white sticky tac behind the cone, keeping it from moving around too much on the door.  And I used more double sided tape here and there to make the cup stick more closely to the cone in the  front.  It's cheerful, cost me just about $1.50 out of pocket, and I used trash (the used cup) and materials I had at home.  Honestly I think mine is just as cute or cuter than the $9.99 one!  Hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial.  Thank you for stopping by!  I truly enjoy and appreciate each one of your visits and comments!  God Bless You!

I am linked to The DIY Showoff Linky Party
and to http://todayscreativeblog.net/ and http://www.dontwasteyourhomemaking.com/
Tip Junkie Linky Party
Elements Interiors 

~ A Garden Luncheon For My Mom's 70th B-day ~

April 8, 1941, my mama was born in a cotton picker's shack in Oklahoma.  Her grandfather noticed after birth, that her umbilical cord had come untied, and saved her life by retying it!  So now, April 8, 2011, we celebrated my mom's 70th b-day.  The day dawned beautifully here in southern Indiana.

I had the joy of hosting a Garden Luncheon for mom and several friends.  One guest got sick that morning, so that's her empty spot on the right.  I made Garden Stakes out of old spoons and gladioli bulb place cards...you can see them better here.

It's always a joy to use my pink depression glassware for a ladies' party.  :)

Sandra Lee gave me the idea for the Charming Little Cakes.  Recipe is here.

Asparagus Tarts were very tasty and so easy!

Doesn't this little cake make you feel like a princess?

Pasta/Bean Salad

Cucumber Chicken Salad....soooo good!  Recipe is here.

My Mama...

Since this was a Garden Luncheon and since my mom is new in the area and is starting from scratch with new flower beds, each of the ladies brought her some perennials as gifts!  And I displayed photos of mom throughout her early years.

Puff Pastry and Creme Treats...couldn't be easier or tastier!  Recipe next week.

Mom with her gardening goodies, including a new trowel and a bar of handmade soap!

It's me and my mama.  Don't mind that I look hot (it was in the 80s that day!) and frizzled (my hair loves hates humidity!)  But I was happy that all had gone so well and mom had been celebrated!

My mother at age 17....oh to have been born in the 1940s when natural beauty seemed so easy and classy.

We ended mom's b-day with dinner at O'Charley's with my Dad, husband, and son.  Then my guys and I stopped by the Ohio River for the most beautiful sunset...love living near a river.

Ahhhhh...the end of a wonderful day.  With my handsome husband.   And knowing that my tomorrow was going to be free, free, FREE!!

A Garden Luncheon ~ Part 1

My sweet mama is turning 70 on Friday.She was born on April 8, 1941.

  Because we now live in the same town for the first time in 18 years, I am hosting a Garden Luncheon in her honor.  Fun!  I'm starting on the preparations today.  This morning I made lemon slice ice cubes to go in our drinks.

I am also making the table favors today.  Thanks to some brilliant gal on a blog which I cannot remember and could not find today, I decided to make old spoon garden stakes!  I found exactly 6 old but beautiful spoons at the flea market for .29 to .50 each.

I looked online for some free flower clip art.  Then decided to check the pretty, old calendars that I have been keeping for a craft.  Sure enough...the pictures on the back of the calendars, showing tiny examples of the pages inside, were the perfect size.

I used my circle punch to cut out pictures of pretty flowers.

Next, I coated the bowl of the spoon with a thin coating of Mod Podge.

Then placed the circle punched flowers and a printed tab of 'bloom' in the center of the spoon bowl.  I let it air dry for about a half hour, then coated the bowl of the spoon completely in Mod Podge again.  Let dry another half hour.

While those dried, I used pink tulle leftover from my niece's bridal shower 4 years ago to make 7x7 inch squares.  Inside each double square I placed 3 Gadioli bulbs, and tied the packet with pink curly ribbon.

I added a green fabric tie with some raffia ties to each spoon, and made a place card to go on the tulle packet of bulbs.  Hurray!  I like them!  Which is always a plus when you are making something for the first time.  :)  The spoons can be used in the ladies' flower beds or in an inside plant.  I plan coat the bowl of each spoon with a thin coating of polyurethane too, to make them weather proof.

 Check back later this week as I make more fun things for my mom's 70th b-day Garden Luncheon.  Thanks for popping by!  And mums the word....don't tell my mom about any of these surprises!  :)

I am linked to http://www.tipjunkie.com
and to http://www.remodelaholic.com 

The day's reward.....

After an afternoon of working in the yard, adding flower beds and gardens, this beautiful southern Indiana sky was such a sweet reward....

I sat on the patio and thought about how comforting it is to watch the neighborhood's yard lamps come on.

The lights coming on one by one, saying "home" and "rest."

The sun setting in the west, with dark tree silhouettes...

The weekend is winding down, and the evening breeze is sweet.

Good night moon...and tree...and yard...and day. 

April Sights, Smells, and Tastes

Today has been a wonderful, sunshiney first Saturday of April in Southern Indiana.  We celebrated by going to our town's Home and Garden show.  I LOVE that down here the H&G Show costs $5 and parking is free....a far cry from the H&G shows in Chicago!

Do you see something in this picture of one of the garden displays that is alive and breathing besides plants?!  He kept coming to this little waterfall and getting a drink...so cute!

Terry Haas of HGTV's Designed to Sell was there!

Have you seen this type of horizontal, skinny tiles?  I like!  For a kitchen backsplash, I think.  I like the different textures and finishes of the tiles.

This gentlemen demonstrated building a Square Foot Garden. 

Love, love, love.  Such a peaceful, pretty little scene.

Yes, I'll take one of each, please.  :)

After 3 hours of walking on cement, we were bushed and thirsty.  Back at home, I mixed up my own version of a Frappuccino...for about .25?  Totally icy and yummy! 

And here is where I sit, basking in the freedom to do nothing for an hour before supper.  Just me, my lappy, and my Frappy.

And enjoy the sweet, sunkissed, April breeze coming in my bedroom window.  Bliss....

Prices Going Up ~ Shopping Plans

Good Morning Friends!  I just spent some time biking indoors and watching Fox News.  The CEO of Walmart has announced that prices are going to go up seriously.  June is the projected time to start seeing this, but I'm seeing it now and I'm sure you are too.  A head of iceberg lettuce at my Walmart has been $1.88 for weeks...that's awful!   Fox News doesn't have an article up about this yet, but here is one I found elsewhere:  Walmart CEO: Inflation Serious Concern

Why is this happening?  The increasing price in gasoline affects the price of the goods being trucked to all the stores.  Plus they said that China and India are having an explosion in their middle class populations.  These families who now can afford more of the 'normal' things of life such as meat, clothing, and paper, are driving up the demand of these items.  Also, the price of cotton is rising, so naturally, clothing is going to increase in price.


What to do?  Here are a couple of the shopping strategies I am using:

1.  I recently replenished our dresser drawers with new underwear and socks for my family.  These things are made of cotton, so I'd prefer to buy them now rather than this summer when they are more expensive.

2.  Grocery shopping for a month's worth of freezer and pantry items at a time.  Today is payday for the month...woohoo!  So within the next few days I'll be shopping for a month's worth of ice cream, meat, canned goods, cereal, popcorn, etc.  I did this last month, which you can read about here.  But I'll be able to do an even better job this month as I now know just how many boxes of cereal and popcorn we actually eat a month.  I'll need more canned tomatoes and ice cream, and less canned chicken, for instance.   I figure that by shopping for a month's worth of these things at Aldi and Walmart, I'm getting good prices and will be a month ahead of any price increases to come.

3.  Watch for good deals on Groupon and other places like Restaurant.com and here in Evansville, IN we have DiningDiscovery.com.  These places allow you to buy restaurant gift certificates at a discount.  We budget just about $20 a week for eating out (a family of 3, one being a teen boy.)  If we buy eat out gift certificates at a discount, this stretches our dining out money significantly.  Last Christmas we took advantage of the deals at Qdoba, Culvers, and other places that were offering a free $5-$10 gift card for every $20 in gift cards purchased.  Rather than giving them all as gifts, we used some of them to stretch our own budget.


4.  We are planting a Square Foot Garden this spring.  This type of gardening takes minimal space, minimal care, and minimal watering.  It will be great to walk out the French doors and pick fresh produce for dinner.  Yay!

I'm sure you have great ideas too, and I'd love to hear about them.  I do use coupons on items such as toiletries and paper goods, but if the store brand is just as good and cheaper, then that's what I do.

Let's encourage each other to be frugal, wise, and resourceful this spring and summer!  Count it as a fun challenge, and it will end up being a blessing.  :)