When Crafting With Candy, Know Your Audience

So, I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking when I fell in love with my friend Pam's Valentine idea.  Obviously, I forgot her comment: "You gotta use a candy that you don't love more than life itself, or you're just asking for it be be refilled constantly." 

Obviously, I forgot the "audience" at my house -- since this jar wasn't even out on display 48 hours before somebody wanted to empty it.  [In reality, 48 hours is probably some kind of record around here!]

That person shall remain nameless, but suffice it to say that he[?] was told it was there for decorative purposes.  I really didn't think that these little cinnamon red-hot things would be very tempting.

Obviously, I am not the right person to ask.  Obviously.

The good news is that I am pretty sure he[?] heard the edge to my voice, shook in his[?] boots, and returned the jar to the tabletop, unopened.  Pretty sure.  Or, you know... umm, not.

Either way, I have learned my lesson.

When crafting with candy, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

#LoveIsWorthCelebrating

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A Valentine Banner

In my daily blog-reading, KIM'S, ALICE'S, and JENN'S posts inspired me to create a Valentine banner. I decided to use a roll of wide burlap "ribbon" that I had leftover from Autumn decorating.  I also knew that I had some Valentine scrapbook paper on-hand, so the basic idea was to create a banner from supplies that I already had.  I purchased nothing for this project.

I knew that I wanted to use the burlap ribbon for the individual banner-flags.  I started by cutting a small length of the burlap, folding it in half, and notching out the bottom.  Once I was certain that I liked the size, I cut 11 more of the same, making 12 little "banner-flags" in all.

I cut a way-too-long piece of red and white twine, so that I knew I had more than enough.  I stretched it out on my counter, and started folding the banners over it.

I cut 12 hearts out of decorative scrapbook paper, laid them on the banners, and stapled them in place.  I wasn't too worried about the look of the staples.  I knew that when I hung the banner, the staples would be too far away to really be noticed.  Also - the staples are the only way this is held together.  I stapled through the heart and both layers of the folded banner.

Once all of that was done, it looked kind of plain and in need of a bit more dimension.  I went searching for, and found some ribbon to tie in between each banner.

That was all it took, and I was happy with the results.  It's simple, and it cost me nothing.

As you can see, this is no "rocket-science" project.  Maybe it will inspire YOU to create something fabulously simple.

You'll notice that my wreath isn't exactly like any of my inspirations.  Instead, there are elements of each in it, making it completely my own.  My favorite part is that I didn't spend a dime, and I ended up using up some crafty odds and ends.  Win-win!

It's amazing how a little sunshine streaming through the window can inspire you!  It sure inspired me this week!

#LoveIsWorthCelebrating

I'm joining up at Share Your Cup Thursday HERE.

Quick Valentine Wreath

You may remember this wreath that I made a few years ago for winter and Christmas.  Since it was so simple, it stayed nice for a long time.  But when I took it down this year, I knew I wouldn't want to use it one more year. It was easy to dismantle without damaging the wreath itself, so I decided to put the grapevine portion to good use for another holiday -- Valentine's Day.

My girl and I hit Hobby Lobby the other day and looked around for supplies to turn our grapevine into something love-y, and came up with these supplies: pink and red bandanas, and felt hearts.

I love using unusual items for the "bow" on a wreath.  I simply rolled the bandanas corner to corner, and then tied them around with wreath in a square knot.

I took the ribbons out of the felt hearts, and used clear fishing line to tie them to the wreath-form.

What I specifically like about this wreath is how it is seen from the street.  It is obvious that it is covered in hearts, and if you're going to go to the trouble, then... well, it's nice that it can be seen for what it is!  

Admittedly, no crafting skills were used in the making (and I use the term loosely) of this Valentine wreath. But also, not much time was used -- and that was exactly what I needed this year.

A friend on FB recently talked about Valentine's Day being her favorite holiday, and reminded her friends that #LoveIsWorthCelebrating.  Since my kids are older, I tend to let these little holidays go, but the reminder was a good one for me.  I don't, however, think you have to celebrate in an "over-the top" way in order to recognize the holiday, and this simple wreath follows that same philosophy.

Do you usually celebrate Valentine's Day, or just let it slip by?

Don't forget: #Love is worth celebrating!

* Linking up with Share Your Cup Thursday

A Fresh Start

Happy week-in-between Christmas and New Years.  I trust that you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Ours was great... though something about it was different this year.  My daughter swears that it didn't seem like Christmas due to the fact that we didn't have one iota of snow.  Not one.  The grass is green, and the leaves have now fallen.  (It was an odd year for leaf-fall.  Anyone else notice that?)  Anyway -- snow is a Christmas-must for my daughter, so she was disappointed.

As for me, I have to agree with her about something just not feeling Christmasy this year, though I think it has more to do with events leading up to Christmas, or should I say the lack thereof?  Some years, we do lots of festive things during the Christmas season, and this just wasn't one of those years.  No complaints.  Just a statement of fact, as I honestly can't see where we would've thrown in one more "have to be there" item on the calendar.

I had a medical issue to deal with during November and December -- and am happy to say that all is well. I'll spare you the details other than to say that all the fuss and calendar-arranging over it kind of robbed me of the energy to fuss much over Christmas.  Once upon a time I would cover the house with Christmas, but I have learned to be more discerning, and only use what seems "right" for each year.  As in previous years, this year was more about little vignettes around the house, rather than covering every inch -- which ended up being a good thing, because...

The day after Christmas, my husband cooked us a fabulous meal of Chicken Parmesan with salad and homemade bread.  While we ate, he said, "How about if we start cleaning the carpets tonight?"  Now, cleaning the carpets is not MY THING -- so, I've learned to take him up on it at every opportunity.  We decided to go for it, doing the downstairs by thirds in each room so that there was still someplace to walk.  He managed to accomplish the task over a period of three days, even getting most of the upstairs completed, while the rest of us reorganized the house around dry areas of carpet.  What a good feeling to have it done!  As a result, Christmas got cleaned up, gifts got put away, and the house got a general tidying up!  Hip, hip.... HOORAY! Even our daughter (who hates parting with Christmas decor - especially the tree) could appreciate the fresh start.

There are still some Christmasy decor items scattered around, and I will whittle away at those as I have time.  There are no overwhelming tasks involved.

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season, and our security guard son was able to be with us for both Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day -- what a blessing.  I was prepared to rearrange our traditions, so that he felt like he was a part of the whole process, and not forgotten or left out.  But, he took it upon himself to work things out, without any pestering or pushing by me.  It made me realize how much he appreciates our traditions.

I hope that your Christmas was filled with the blessings of health and family time, with fresh air and free time, with PEACE and love, and with THE SAVIOR!

As we look to 2015,  my prayer is that:

• I will prioritize the things that are really important to me in life, and let go of things that just don't fit.
• I will use my time, energy, and resources more effectively and efficiently.
• I will become braver about using the word "NO" in order to save some sanity at the end of the day.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is not MY JOB (alone) to save the world.  I just need to do MY PART.
• I will look (more often/more naturally) to the Lord for guidance rather than trying to handle so much in my own strength.
• God will use MY GIFTS in a way that allows others to see HIM.

Wishing you a blessed new year!  I'll be back sometime after school starts up next week... maybe sooner.

DIY - A Wrapping Paper Placemat/Runner

I mentioned this little "runner" HERE, but I wanted to give you some additional details.  Remember that I used a short roll of gift wrap from the Dollar Spot at Target?  The width was pretty close to the depth of my microwave -- which is what I was wanting to dress up a little.  Our microwave is on a cart, and the top usually has some kind of decorative display on it.

I cut a length of paper that seemed appropriate, and then I started trimming.  Realizing that I wasn't good at cutting the rough edges straight, I resorted to using the paper cutter that I use for scrapbooking.  I matched up the clean edges, folded the paper and trimmed the rough sides with a nice clean cut.  Then, I went one step further to make it a little more interesting... I fringed the edges!  I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it and snipped away -- all the way around.  And one last step... I messed up the fringe a little so that it was more obvious instead of just laying flat.

I love the look!  This could easily be done (fringe and all) for a table runner, or even many individual placemats!

What little decorative tricks do you have up YOUR sleeve this Christmas?

An Old DIY Ornament Favorite

So, this post has been pretty popular lately, thanks to the great linky parties that I linked up with three years ago!  At the time I shared this idea, I said to use either glass or plastic fill-able ornaments.  This many years later, I will tell you that I made my ornaments with the large, glass balls, and they are way too heavy for my tree.  I would highly recommend using the plastic ornaments.

The good news is that they sure are a pretty way to fill a large bowl.  Underneath, I have some extra gold ribbon as a nest-of-sorts.  It just shows through a little in a few places.

I added some pretty pine cones, and a glittered, silk poinsettia stem.  These Vintage Sheet Music Ornaments are still one of my favorite DIY Christmas ornaments.  If you need a last-minute idea, they are SUPER-easy, and you can find the directions HERE.

Glimpses of Christmas

My daughter just asked me if I had written a blog post lately.

"Nope," I said.  It's not that I've planned NOT to.  It just hasn't happened.

She thought about it for a moment and replied, "People probably think you've fallen off the turnip truck!"  -- which really made me chuckle.

Since our daughter was quite young, she got the idea of verbal "expressions," but she got this one all wrong.  I tried to explain to her that she was thinking of the expression:

"I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday!'

which is the equivalent of

"I wasn't born yesterday!"

which does not mean the same thing as

"People will think you've fallen off the face of the earth."

OR saying that somebody has

"fallen off the wagon."

Did you follow any of that?  If not, don't worry about it.  It's just a long way of telling you that my daughter's words lit a fire under me, and here I am writing another post... finally.

So, guess what happened today?  The sun came out.  Really.  Our area isn't usually quite this gray in December, so this morning when the sun came out after SEVERAL really gray days -- well, I grabbed the camera just like I told you I would.

I feel like the decorations around here are a little half-hearted this year.  As I mentioned in previous posts, there's been a lot going on around here.  I've got one more afternoon of childcare tomorrow, and then I am home-free.  But life has been busy, and rather than stress out about what isn't done, I'm just letting it be.  For me, I'm just looking for some peace this holiday season -- not polished perfection.  Can I get an AMEN?  Let me also say that I salute those of you that have the time and ambition to "do it up big."  {And p.s., I have enjoyed touring your homes!}

MOVING RIGHT ALONG.  Sorry if I am belaboring that[above] point this year, but I am mostly preaching to myself that it's okay to keep it simple.  Thanks for bearing with me.

In keeping with simplicity -- I'd like to share a few Christmas scenes from around our home.  It felt good to take advantage of the sunshine this morning to get these shots.  EnJOY!

The weirdest thing happened this year.  I stocked up on candy canes -- specifically a brand that I've been buying for lots of years... cheap and delicious.  My daughter opened one to snack on, and it had ZERO peppermint flavor!!!  Have you ever had that happen?  Weird, right?  So, as far as my family is concerned... I purchased a Christmas decoration -- not a SNACK!  Oh well, fewer calories that way!

Simplicity :: A woven tray filled with pretty collections in jars and bowls.

I LOVE this silly little ornament.  I'm not sure if it's because that roof looks a little bit Mary Engelbreit-ish, if it's that glitter, or if it's a little bit of the Scandinavian looks that I love.  Each year I try to find a little place of honor for this gem.  Do you do that with favorite ornaments, or do they automatically go on the tree?

Speaking of little gems -- have you tried these Candy Cane Tootsie Pops?  They are awesome!  I happened to be standing behind a lady at Target who was purchasing them, and when I inquired, she really bragged on how delicious they were.  Hmmm.  She should know that she got me hooked! [as in "who cares if the candy canes have no flavor!"  LOL

This little scene [below] is atop my microwave.  Do you like the little runner?  It's wrapping paper from the Christmas Dollar Spot at Target.  I can't tell you how many times I have looked for that ever-blogged-about gold polka-dotted paper at Target.  No dice.  It's always GONE.  But I spotted this and just couldn't resist.  I knew I'd find something to do with it.  Hey - I might even wrap gifts with it! *wink

Thanks for stopping by to see my glimpses of Christmas!  May your Christmas Season be filled with GREAT JOY, remembering the REASON for the season -- Jesus Christ!

I'm linking up over at Nesting Place for the 2014 Christmas Tour of Homes,

and at the 2nd Annual Holiday Home Link Party.

Thinking About Christmas Traditions

I remember, back in my school days, being asked to write about our family's Christmas traditions.  At the time, I was thinking of "traditions" as being big, ceremonial things that our family did year after year.  I kind of came up dry, and I think I hurt my mom's feelings when I told her I couldn't think of any traditions we had.  Truth is, I just wasn't getting an accurate picture of the word TRADITION.

Through the years, I've come to realize that a BIG part of my family's traditions revolves around food -- nothing that is particularly from our heritage in any way, but things that are just special-occasion favorites to us.  Some people plan a new menu each and every year to keep it interesting, but my family knows what we like, and what we like is cheese-ball and crackers, and sausage balls waiting as an appetizer when we arrive at Mom & Dad's.  We like our main course to be beef, and it wouldn't be Christmas without mashed potatoes!  As for dessert, Peppermint Patty Brownies are a favorite, and there are always frosted "cut-out" cookies.

I've also realized that one of the things I love about Christmas is bringing out all of the "old faithful" decorations.  Some people decorate in a different color scheme each year, but to me, a big part of our decorating is our "same old" tree with the mismatched lights and the family-made ornaments.  I can't imagine a tree with color coordinated balls, or something that "matched" our decor.  For me, decorating for Christmas has almost nothing to do with home decor, and everything to do with memories.

It took me a long time to realize our most precious traditions, and to bring the things I love into clearer focus.

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?  Do some of them revolve around FOOD?

Do you have a favorite ornament that you can't wait to hang each year?

Is familiarity important to you around the holidays, or do you like all-things-new?

Gallery Wall Update... Already!

You can go HERE to read my complete Gallery Wall post, but here's a picture to show you what I ended up with.

I loved it for about 18 hours, and then... I just couldn't take that mirror any more.  At the time that I did the wall, my daughter said that she hoped I didn't put that mirror in a place that would startle her all the time.  Afterall, the wall is behind our kitchen table.  This area sees a lot of activity.  So, I hung the mirror high.

But, after living with it for several hours, I had to admit that even though it looked good up there, and we weren't startling ourselves or anything... I didn't really care for the things I could see in it --like the top of my refrigerator, or an odd look at where the wall meets the ceiling [depending on where you were standing].  So, the mirror came down.

I sort of prefer the irregular shape of the layout, rather than a perfect box of gallery elements on the wall.  I admit: I look at this arrangement every day and smile, and that {as a famous "friend" would say} is a GOOD THING.

 

As the U.S. rocks these freezing November temperatures, I hope that you are staying cozy and warm.  One of our local weathermen reported that ALL 50 STATES had freezing temperatures overnight on Monday, and that it was likely to be the case overnight last night as well.  Unprecedented for November.  We're off to a wild and crazy start... and it's not even officially winter yet!

Think warm thoughts!

Friday Farrago ~ 11.7.14

Well, this might be the most mish-mashed Friday Farrago ever.  Of course, it IS only my second "farrago" post, so I guess that's not saying much, but...

LIFE has been so busy lately.  Monday through Wednesday FLY by with lots of baby-rocking.  Before I know it, it's Thursday again, and I have to buckle down at home and get things done, or else the following week spirals out of control.  How do I know?  Oh... don't ask.

At any rate, if you follow along here, I'm sure you're well aware that I haven't been posting as often as usual. Not for lack of wanting, I assure you -- but the time just gets away from me.  For a while now, I have had little snippets of posts ready -- but nothing big.  So, I thought I would take a bunch of "nothing bigs" and combine them for the second in a series called  "Friday Farrago."

Ready?  Hold on tight.

A Coke and a Smile

One night a couple of summers ago, my hubby and I found ourselves home alone.  On a whim, hubby said, "Let's go for ice cream!"  We took a long and winding ride down country roads to get to one of his favorite ice cream places.

Admittedly, ice cream isn't really my thing.  Let's just say... it's not usually my friend.  On this particular night, I chose the smallest cone, which... wasn't small enough, apparently.  Before the evening was over, I was very sick. Like, sick enough to make me think about whether or not I ever needed to eat ice cream again.

The culprit was so obvious.

Days later, as we looked back on the situation, I said to my hubby, "Next time, ask me out for a Coke."

I like to say I was raised on Coke -- but the truth is, we didn't drink pop at home except for special occasions.  It was my GRAM'S treat to us when we visited her.  We could always count on white peppermint Canada Mints and CocaCola at her house, and though we had a few other "favorite" snacks, she'd often out-do herself, trying to find a treat that we'd never had before -- or the latest and greatest new thing on the market!

[The end.  Yeah.  Obviously this post has no good transition or ending... just some memories that came to mind, one sort of leading to the next.  What can I say?  They made me smile.  I thought I'd share.  That is all. By the way, the people at Coca-Cola don't know me at all, but I still love their product to this day!]

Grandma's Vase

Not long ago, I invited a friend over for lunch.  I told you about it HERE.  It was a gorgeous day, and I found myself with my act all together [woo hoo] and a few minutes before my friend arrived, I actually got to go out in the yard and cut a few pretty blooms that I had spotted earlier that morning. [They were already slightly faded by the time I snapped these pics.]  It was just a few short stemmed beauties, so I brought them in and put them in this sweet little vase made by my Gram.  When we were kids, my sister and I used to use this vase on our bedroom dressers with pretty little blooms in it.  It's always such a sweet reminder of my Gram... really -- her fingerprints are all over this post today, aren't they?

Table Talk

We started our marriage with a hand-me-down kitchen table that came from who-knows-where.  [My hubby probably knows, but this is my story... LOL.]  The table wasn't pretty.  It swelled out in the middle, and tapered a little at the ends.  Built that way, but awkwardly un-natural - and very laminated as I recall.  Nothing wrong with either of those things I guess -- but it wasn't us.  It hadn't been chosen.  Merely settled for.

Our choice was a round oak tabletop on a pedestal -- with a leaf.  Pricey for a young couple with no spare change.  One thing about my hubby.  When he wants something, he finds a way.  And so, he found our table in the classified section of the newspaper one day.

Together, we went to see it in the cramped and disheveled apartment of a smoker.  I was going to say in the apartment of a smoking man, but then you might have thought he was smoking hot, when really, he was just ummmm... smoking.  We looked at the table, negotiated on the price, and then said [cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze] "We'll take it!" -- and loaded it into our truck.

We took it home, where it landed in our gravel driveway, and got a good washing down before it was allowed into the house.  [AaaaaaCHOO!]  Pretty sure I washed it down TWICE.  Yeah.  We don't really get along well with smoky stuff around here.

As I recall, it had a few pretty worn spots on top, and my hubby put a couple coats of polyurethane on it.

Fast forward to family life.

[My intention was to include lots of other pictures of our table, set up for various occasions.  Alas, I never got around to looking for said pictures, so... imagine if you will...]

The table has become our HUB.  Since it is the only place for seated eating in our home, it sees breakfasts, lunches, AND dinners.

And sometimes this:

You can get to my Instagram account by clicking on the photo above.

Forgive the poor iPod photo... but really, this may be one of my favorite uses of the table.  My son asks if he can have his buddies over to play a game, and tries to plan a place that is out of the way so they don't disturb us... (there aren't many places to go in our house). When I offer the kitchen table, he accepts my suggestion, and I smile.  This table... it is really the heart of our home!

Here ends my "trains of thought" ragbag.  Hope you're having a Fabulous Friday.  TGIF!

My Gallery Wall (I did it MY way) ~ and a discount link!

I really fly by the seat of my pants on so many levels in life, and this project was no exception.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a long time, I've been thinking about doing a gallery wall, and finally I felt that I had procrastinated long enough.  For about a month or longer [okay, longer], I have had a pile of goodies collected for a gallery wall in our kitchen.  Recently, our daughter has been big into painting canvases, and between that and a few other goodies that I've collected, I knew that a gallery wall was the way to go.  We have a long wall behind our kitchen table that was screaming for some attention, but...

Here's the thing: the reason I've been procrastinating is because of all of those wonderful and helpful "how-to" posts about creating a gallery wall.  You know?  The ones with rulers and protractors and snapped chalk lines? -- well, okay -- maybe not protractors and chalk lines.  But who was I kidding, people?  I didn't even bring a ruler to this party!  I am just not that girl.  I finally came to the conclusion that I just had to GO FOR IT, and do it MY way.

So the other day at 3:37PM in the middle of nothing in particular and everything in general [and when I should've been thinking about what I would serve for dinner], I felt inspired enough to lay all of the items down on the living-room floor, and come up with a lay-out plan.  I took a picture, knowing that I would never get it right otherwise.  And then, I took my camera to the kitchen table, and using it as a guide, I pushed pins and hung pictures.  I was finished by about 4:03PM.

And guess what?  It wasn't perfect.

And another thing?  There are lots of holes behind these pictures that you cannot see.  [Get it?  You CANNOT see them.]

So, here's my technique: push those pins until the picture hangs right.  [Go ahead.  Take a minute to "pin" that lengthy tutorial (as in: on Pinterest)- LOL.]  Say what you want -- but I couldn't help but think that MYQUILLYN would be proud of my gallery wall.  I know SASHA liked it -- because she told me so (and that's her SWEET PUMPKIN PRINT by the way!)

The SPATTER-ART and the city-scape are courtesy of my daughter, as is THE POEM.

Recognize the blue daisies?  You may have seen them HERE.

The other items were here-and-there purchases.

Anyway... bottom line?  I did it MY way (please sing while you read that, as it was meant to be SUNG, and not said with nasty emphasis.) *wink

Here's the lesson I learned.  Don't procrastinate about doing something that you really want to do because you can't imagine getting it done with the instructions/suggestions you received from others.  Just go for it.  Get it done.  Do it YOUR way.

Because, guess what?  I don't have a pile of pictures sitting on my living-room floor any more.  And... my kitchen wall is no longer empty!  Also?  I love what is now filling that wall.

I'd call that SUCCESS!!

Now... I just have to get that standing-on-the-bed picture-hanging project done in our bedroom.  Stay tuned!

By the way, if you'd like to get a canvas of your favorite photograph [like I did with my blue daisy], CLICK HERE to get $25 off your purchase!!!

"Canvas People turns your favorite photos into canvas keepsakes.

Enjoy a variety of sizes, effects, and framing options."