Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I made something I pinned on Pinterest!

It’s no secret…I am addicted to Pinterest! I just love it! But aside from the fact that I can “shopping” for all kinds of expensive things without spending any money, it has also renewed my home decorating “bug”. My house is in need of some home improvement but I have a hard time getting Tony on board with some of my projects I would like to have done. And then there’s the money aspect…we don’t have any extra at this time in our life.

So, I have gotten very excited about some decorating posts I have seen on Pinterest that are very “frugal”. And by frugal, I mean cheap! I saw a beautiful wreath made using shatterproof ornaments bought at the dollar store and I knew this was right up my alley..

Here is what I got from The Dollar Tree. I bought about 5 sleeves of large  sized ornaments, 3 sleeves of medium sized ornaments and 2 sleeves of small sized ornaments. I kept them all in the red, green and gold color scheme but varied the finish on them. Some were shine, some were matte and some were glittery.

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The next step was to actually hot glue all the tops to the ornaments so they wouldn’t pop off. Gabrielle helped and it didn’t take hardly any time at all once we got in the rhythm of it. Once that was completed, I had Tony undo a wire clothes hanger so I could thread the ornaments onto it. He didn’t get the concept so I ended up having to get another hanger and undo it and form a circle with it. Then Gabrielle started threading different sizes and colors onto the hanger using the smallest ornaments to fill in gaps.

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I had to let Gabrielle do that part because I had a little problem with dong it randomly. It would have taken me all night to finish it since I had started over two times before I decided to let her do it.

This is what it will start to look like as you are working on it…

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Once you have the hanger full, connect the ends back together. This part was tricky for me because I had mine very full. Hang it with a ribbon or bow and you are done.

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Here’s the finished product hanging on the wall above the hurricane globes I made from the dollar store.

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I didn’t use all the ornaments (mostly the smallest size was left) so I used them in my globes along with some gold jingle bells I also got from The Dollar Tree. I love how they look!

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These were also inspired by a pin on Pinterest and they are so easy to make. Just get a 3 large glass vases from The Dollar Tree and 3 glass candlesticks, some sticker remover and an adhesive that works with glass and dries clear.

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If you didn’t understand my precise (lol) directions, you can click here for complete detailed instructions to make the wreath and here to make the hurricane globes.

Monday, December 19, 2011

It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas…

 

and it has been since Black Friday at my house but I haven’t stopped long enough to blog about it. Wow! I can’t believe Christmas is less than a week away. I have so much to blog about…I hope you don’t get tired of the posts.

We put on Christmas music to set the mood. Gabrielle and Cassidy was already hyped up as you can see from these photos.

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Every year it’s the same thing…they start out with a bang ooohing and aaaahing over their favorite ornaments from the past but then too quickly get tired of doing it. I end up having to keep after them to finish what they started.

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Cassidy is always on the lookout for a good photo op… LOL!

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They get side-tracked and poor ole Bruiser puts up with them decorating him also. He’s a good sport about it.

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Don’t you just feel sorry for him? At least, he acts like it’s no big deal.

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Finally, it is completely finished and the angel topper is placed on top. They like to take turns getting to put it on each year.

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It’s not a professionally decorated theme tree but it is full of our memories and we think it’s beautiful!

Stay tuned for more Christmas related posts. We have been busy, busy, busy.

Rock The Block Blog Hop

 

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The Rock the Block campaigns starts on December 19th. Order $25.00 worth of CTMH products from the Autumn/Winter Idea Book and get this GREAT My Creations Collage Cubes (a sneak peek at what’s going to be in the Spring/Summer Idea Book) and an exclusive E-size stamp for only $15.00,

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Here’s a special Blog Hop showcasing this special set. I hope it gives you lots of ideas.

Helen Onulak
http://www.hookedonstamping.com

Kathleen Androlewicz
http://BowlOfStamps.blogspot.com

Traci Godbee
http://www.createwithtraci.com

Georgia Hauglid
http://inkygeorgia.blogspot.com

Lori Brown
http://savingmine.blogspot.com/

Sheila Bennett
http://www.sheila-bennett.blogspot.com

Susan Brooks
http://www.stampingintheopen.blogspot.com

Mary Eisen
http://mestamp2.blogspot.com

Gina Brandstetter
http://www.gmbscrapper.blogspot.com

Krista Hershberger
http://kristascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Rubio
http://www.JenRubio.blogspot.com

Jean McNulty
http://stampinmaui.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Mindemann
http://www.ejoym.blogspot.com

Teresa Scrivens
http://www.creatingwithinkypaw.com

Diana Soling
http://mystampingspot.blogspot.com

Wendy Kessler
http://www.MyScrapbookingBlog.com

Michelle Loncar
http://www.michelleloncar.blogspot.com

Amy McVey
http://www.clearlystamping.blogspot.com

Angela Garcia
http://www.angelascraftcloset.blogspot.com/

Wendy Coffman
http://www.stampingrules.com/

Karen Fullam
http://www.enrichingmemories.com

Allisa Chilton
http://rockymtnpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Katy Taylor
http://www.scrappinkaty.blogspot.com

Heather Schmuckal
http://www.heatherjanedesign.blogspot.com

Nikka geers
http://www.nikkageers.blogspot.com

Kristine Ponte
http://kponte.blogspot.com

Angel Sawyer
http://runningwithscissorsdesignco.blogspot.com

Vicki Price
http://priceofpaper.blogspot.com/

Rachel Ventura
http://thehappyscrappinsquad.blogspot.com

Jen Patrick
http://www.roxybonds.com

Lalia Harris
http://craftylalia.blogspot.com

Cecilia Marsh
http://www.dirttrackwidow.blogspot.com

Shirley Ross
http://www.momnmescrap.blogspot.com/

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Rock the Block Promotion


Join the craze! When you place a minimum order of $25 from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book between December 19, 2011 and January 31, 2012, you can get two new products for just $15: the My Creations® Collage Cubes (a Spring/Summer 2012 sneak-peek product!) and the exclusive My Acrylix® Rock the Block E-size stamp set (available only during this promotion). That’s a retail savings of almost $30!
You’re going to love the way the collage cubes and the Rock the Block stamp set work together for interactive, 3-D fun. Watch this video to get more details from Kristine Widtfeldt, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

December SOM Blog Hop

 

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I can’t believe it’s December already! Christmas is in 4 weeks! Are you ready? I have only bought 1 gift so far this year. I gotta get hopping!

This month’s Stamp of the month Blog Hop features S1112 Mad About You, a 14 piece stamp set to get you ready for Valentine’s Day. You can use this set on your scrapbook layouts or on your personalized Valentines.

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As always, there are plenty of talented CTMH consultants on this blog hop. You can start anywhere during the hop…it’s a complete circle. But if you get lost just come back here to get back on track.

Enjoy!

Helen Onulak
http://www.hookedonstamping.com

Kathleen Androlewicz


http://BowlOfStamps.blogspot.com

Adeline Brill
http://www.adeline-brill.blogspot.com

Brae Montgomery
http://thebrae-er.blogspot.com

Shannon Beck
http://www.cardsfromthefarm.blogspot.com

Doreen Guilfoyle
http://whereisyourhappyplace.blogspot.com

Wendy Coffman
http://www.stampingrules.blogspot.com/

Paige Dolecki
http://PaigesPaperParadise.blogspot.com

Jen Rubio
http://JenRubio.blogspot.com

Katy Donaldson
http://www.scrappinkaty.blogspot.com

Gina Brandstetter
http://gmbscrapper.blogspot.com/

Susan Brooks
http://stampingintheopen.blogspot.com

Dawn Heuft
http://stamptildawn.blogspot.com

Haley Dyer
http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com

Sarita Schraeder
http://www.blessedscrapper.com

Amy McVey
http://www.clearlystamping.blogspot.com

Nicole Griggs
http://www.nicolescreativezone.blogspot.com

Dawn Ross
http://iamahappystamper.blogspot.com

Krista Ritskes
http://simplycreatingtogether.blogspot.com/

Georgia Hauglid
http://inkygeorgia.blogspot.com/

Wanda Riley
http://Creatingwithwanda.blogspot.com

Mary Eisen
http://mestamp2.blogspot.com

Judy Burger
http://www.makingtimeformemories.blogspot.com

Melinda Everitt
http://www.ifyoublingit.blogspot.com

Kami Welter
http://www.scrappin4memories.blogspot.com/

Jill Lucas
http://scrapwench.blogspot.com

Melissa Laverty
http://www.fancymelissa.com/blog

Carla Ironside
http://carlacreates.blogspot.com

Traci Godbee
http://createwithtraci.blogspot.com

Annette Green
http://AnnettesCreativeJourney.blogspot.com

Teresa Scrivens
http://www.creatingwithinkypaw.com

Beth Naumann
http://www.bethscreativeblock.blogspot.com

Pamela O’Connor
http://cherishyourmemories.blogspot.com

Michelle Loncar
http://michelleloncar.blogspot.com

Tamytha Jenkins
http://www.paperheartist.com/

Lisa Sargent
http://www.lisasargent.net

Shirley Ross
http://www.momnmescrap.blogspot.com

Angel Sawyer
http://RunningwithScissorsDesignCo.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Mindemann
http://www.ejoym.blogspot.com

Angela Tutton
http://www.tuttonstreasures.blogspot.com

Debra Van Patten
http://memoriesoftheheartbydeb.blogspot.com

LeAnne Dudley
http://www.dudleychickdesigns.blogspot.com

Jen Patrick
http://roxybonds-scrappin.blogspot.com

Sheila Bennett
http://sheila-bennett.blogspot.com

Lori Brown
http://www.savingmine.blogspot.com

Traci Pasqualone
http://ScrapiTraci.blogspot.com

Karen Fullam
http://www.enrichingmemories.com

Jean McNulty
http://stampinmaui.blogspot.com/

Diana Soling
http://mystampingspot.blogspot.com

Kristine Ponte
http://www.kponte.blogspot.com

Allisa Chilton
http://rockymtnpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Casandra Bennett
http://casandra-scrappinbliss.blogspot.com/

Heather Schmuckal
http://www.heatherjanedesign.blogspot.com

Nikka geers
http://www.nikkageers.blogspot.com

Vicki Price
http://priceofpaper.blogspot.com/

Krista Hershberger
www.kristascraftycorner.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving Day

We go to my cousin’s house in Glennville every year to celebrate Thanksgiving. It includes my Daddy’s side of the family and Tyrone’s wife Jane’s side of her family so it’s a big crowd. Everyone brings a side dish and a dessert. You can imagine all the food there is to eat.

This year, I made Pumpkin Trifle and Pumpkin Bread

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I found the recipe for the Pumpkin Trifle at Taste of Home.

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This has become a family favorite. I wasn’t going to make this but Gabrielle begged me to. The great thing is that this recipe uses sugar-free, fat-free and reduced-fat ingredients but loses nothing in taste. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to make!

 

I also made pumpkin bread to take with us. I found this recipe on Pinterest. This recipes calls for a box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake and a can of pure pumpkin. That’s it. Mix them together and throw it into a baking pan or muffin pan and bake. It tastes wonderful! I was suppose to top it off with some powdered sugar but was out.

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I LOVE Pinterest! I have found so many great ideas and recipes on there. If you want to join in, then let me know and I can sent you an invite.

My girls love to go to Tyrone’s on Thanksgiving. He’s an excellent craftsman and has a shop that he sets up for us to eat in. There is always plenty to eat.

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There were four different kinds of meat…

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  And here is Gabrielle fixing her plate.

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I am embarrassed to say, here is my plate. I took a picture of it to send to my oldest daughter, Ashley. She spent Thanksgiving with her husband’s family in Ohio and was so upset that she wouldn’t get any “southern” cooking with dressing and pecan pie. That was so mean of me! Tee hee hee.

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After lunch, we hang around socializing for several hours. There is plenty to do…

like riding the kids around on his golf cart. Cassidy was so in her element driving her cousins around.

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Or playing ping pong…

Lots of matches took place like Gabrielle and her friend Ivy,

 

or Cassidy

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Or my nephew Jonathan and his sister, Eleni.

After you get tired of ping pong, you can play a good game of “Horse”.

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You can always listen to tall tales about hunting from Tony and my sister’s husband Stanley.

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By the time you have done or watched all this, you are tired. Here is my great niece Skylar all tuckered out.

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So now we get to load up and go to Baxley to Tony’s sister’s house and do it all again.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, Happy Thanksgiving weekend! I hope you all are spending time with family and friends. We have been so busy the last two days that I haven’t had time to post until now. Before I get into Thanksgiving, I will show you what we did to get ready for Thanksgiving.

First of all, I got a wild hair and decided to move my dining room table and hutch into the other side of my living room. My living room is a looonnng and narrow bowling alley type box with a brick wall and hearth on one end. It is terrible to try and re-arrange furniture in because it is so narrow. It is dissected in the middle by my front door and the hallway that leads to the kitchen, bathroom and my scrapbook room. On the side with the brick wall, I have my living room furniture and TV set up. I had a hard time decorating the other side but I always had two bookcases flanking the window with a desk in-between. The rest of the room was a hodge-podge of furntiure including a rarely used treadmill.

Our kitchen was remodeled years ago and included a large peninsula where a wall once was. I had them make it with on overhang so I could use barstools with it.  I loved it but it made the area for my table smaller. When we had people all around the table it was difficult to maneuver around it. So I decided to move it into my living room.

Gabrielle and I were the only ones home at that time. Tony was off deer hunting of course and Cassidy was at a friend’s house. We managed anyway but I was so sore for the following two days.

Here is the finished results.

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This is the view from the other side of the living room. See what I mean about a bowling alley?

Here is the hutch.

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I just realized that this picture is crooked. LOL!  I will come back later and give a close-up of all the details.

This side chest was on the other side of the living room but I knew I would have to move it to make room for the Christmas tree so I went ahead and moved it to this side.

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On the other side of the table I have a dresser that a friend gave me. I had originally had it in the hallway but like it here better. I still need to repaint it and fix the sticking drawers. The large mirror was also a gift from another friend. I love it but it is soooo heavy. It has a gold finish but I think I’m going to paint it also.

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And now for the details…

On the table

I have had this pilgrim couple for several years but I just picked up the green tin bucket and the mini pumpkins from Family Dollar this year.The leaf table runner and placemats came from CVS a couple of years ago.

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I bought the tin hen from a decorating store here in town. The leaf plate, I got from Family Dollar…they had 3 different designs at $1 apiece so of course I got all of them.I made the 3 glass hurricane globes from a post I saw on Pinterest. I filled 2 of them with min-pumpkins bought from The Dollar Tree and the 3rd with a candle and leaves bought from The Dollar Tree. I have found a new love for dollar stores since finding Pinterest. I will replace the mini pumpkins with ornaments at Christmas

In my hutch on the top row I have a set of 3 rooster plates my mother gave me. She knows I have a thing for roosters. Next, I added a mini pumpkin to a cheese dish I had from when I sold Princess House crystal.

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Here’s the second shelf of my hutch with some more roosters and mini-pumpkins I picked up the charger plate from Wal-Mart this year. I wanted to get a complete set of them but was waiting until they marked them down more. I waited too late and was only able to get one..

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And here is the bottom row of the hutch. I again used some of my Princess House crystal this time filled with some scented pinecones along with some pumpkins.

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And last but not least, here is the dresser.

 

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I have had these candlesticks for ages. I got the pumpkin from a dollar store and painted it off white. I forgot to go back and paint the stem I see. Funny how you don’t catch mistakes until you are blogging about it.  The candle on the other candleholder is one of the flameless candles again from The Dollar Tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another rooster filled with mini pumpkins again. I picked up alot of these from Wal-Mart when they marked them down to 50 cents.

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Okay so here’s the last picture. I have seen lanterns everywhere on Pinterest including some DIY’s to make from cereal boxes. I found this little jewel at Family Dollar on sale for around $3 and grabbed it quickly. The pumpkin plate also came from there. I bought it along with the 3 leaves plates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that was my dining room redo for Thanksgiving. I moved the 2 bookcases and the desk into the kitchen where the table was and love it. I will show pictures of that once I am through with it.

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving posts.