simple Analogy

My Christmas Mantle

Thankfulness and joy go hand in hand, and they can both be found on my Christmas mantle.  In the frame is Psalm 100... "Serve the Lord with gladness....  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving..." - a free download from Dear Lillie.

Along with thankfulness and joy can be found a few "extras" that the boys added after I finished the mantle... a cowboy next to my angels and a pirate next to the big tree.  They had to put their two cents into the decor :)

Linking up with Cherished Bliss - a new to me blog that's right down my alley!

Holiday Decorating

My ribbon for the tree was looking a little shabby last year.  You know how it looses it's shape-ability after a few years...  So, I came home from Michael's on Friday with 40 yards of wide burlap ribbon.  I'm sure you've seen it if you've been following  Michael's Dream Tree Challenge.  It's about 7 inches wide, stiff enough, but not too stiff.  I tucked it in and out of the tree, and I'm loving the way it looks with all the copper and snowflakes.  Kind of that shabby chic look. 

I also used it to make a new swag to hang on the front door.  I added a few loops and let the extra dangle on one side.

That was the most cost effective ribbon I've ever used.  I got it for half price ($3 for a 10 yard roll) and only used twenty yards.  Two rolls to return... or maybe I'll use them to wrap presents with.

My guys helped me do the decorating this year.  The boys were not too happy, because they wanted to do the tree their way.  They made such a big deal out of it that I promised next year they could do the tree, all by themselves, and I won't even touch it.  That's gonna kill me, because I love doing my tree!  But I love my boys more, and next year will be Landon's last year at home before he goes off to college.  Did I really just type that?  So, we may have a ninja tree next year - or call of duty - and it will have ZERO ribbon, but it'll be something the boys will enjoy and remember.  

Amusement Parks and the Effects From Them

I'm recovering from VacationBibleSchool-itis.  That's what it's called when you're in your mid thirties and run around for a whole week with two and three year olds.  

Symptoms: aching feet and back, toddler songs running through your head every minute of the day, dreams of living in the bathroom, loss of desire to do anything that doesn't include a nap.

It's nothing serious and can be remedied by a nice relaxing weekend and plenty of nap.  Good night!

P.S.  Megan helped me paint the scenery, and I'm pretty pround of the way my "sky" turned out!

What Do You Do With a Broken Teacup?

My mom ordered a tea set from England for a friend's daughter who is graduating from high school.  I guess the English don't know how to package tea sets for shipping overseas very well, because the set arrived with several of the cups broken.  The company told her to just keep it, and they would send a replacement set.  This one arrived with several teacups busted as well.  Grrr!  Between the two sets, there were enough whole cups to make the set.  

So then the question was put to me, can you make anything out of these broken cups?  Why yes!  A flower arrangement.  I added floral foam and arranged the flowers so that they covered up the large chip in the rim of the cup. You'd never know!  Mom wrapped the package and set the broken-teacup-turned-floral-arrangement into the bow.  

Beautifully salvaged!

Texas Send Off

Another name for this post could be "How To Decorate Cheaply for a Texas Send Off:  Beg, Borrow, DIY, and Buy In That Particular Order".

The Event:  A church-wide dessert fellowship to say farewell to our associate pastor who will be taking a senior pastorate in Washington.

The Budget for Decorations:  $100

The Inspiration:

1.  Texas, Texas, Texas

2.  State art

3.  Bandannas and Texas wildflowers

4.  Paper fans 

The Result:

Ok, it goes without saying that Texans are proud of their state.  So this party pretty much had to be a Texas theme.  I went with red, white, and blue (Texas flag colors) and added some turquoise to lighten things up a bit.  I could have gone old-and-crusty-cowboy, but chose to go more whimsical-and-fun while still staying true to Texas.  The result was a fun mix...  

I was rushing from the soccer field to the church to decorate and totally forgot my good camera!  Ah well, iphone pics will do...

Bandanna banners (already on hand from my Western VBS last year) and paper fans (from Party City - love their new paper decorations wall) hung from the ceiling.

The focal wall with it's Texas state art, flag, and wildflowers.  I made the signs and Texas out of cardboard (supplied by a friend's husband for free) and a little paint!  The heart was made using this method and my husband's hands (because they are bigger than mine).  The flag was borrowed from the auditorium, and the wildflower star was borrowed from the church secretary.  Gingham "curtains" were leftover from VBS as well!

Cowboy hats (borrowed), Texas wildflower jars/wreaths (also already on hand from a previous church event), wooden craft stars and homemade paper confetti adorned the tables.

And if you look closely, you will see the ever so subtle Texas flag made using three colors of table covers.  It's so subtle that probably no one even notice, but I knew it was there and that's what counts!

For the pastor's young sons, a money tree... a limb off my mom's dead tree spray painted turquoise and planted in sand.  We used a combination of clothes pins and twine to attach the money to the tree.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it at the party.  It was blooming with money!  Their boys LOVE origami, so I had a few of their friends make some of their favorites to add to the table.  Thanks Laura, Emily, and Cassie!

Thank you to my decorating team - Sarah, Cassie, Rebekah, and Beth - and my tear down crew - my husband, Damon, Phil, Sarah, Clyde, Tracy, and all the others I didn't see because I was looking at the ceiling focusing on not making my husband fall off the scaffolding that I was pushing him around on while he took down stuff from the ceiling.  He's a good man!

Go Texas!

Chicken Wire Frame - The Spring Edition

You'll remember this from Christmas.  Move over pinecones - it's time for butterflies.  This board was revamped for spring using things I had on hand...  an old calendar provided the flowers and yellow butterfly, my purple butterfly watercolor painting fit right in with the scheme of things, and homemade purple t-shirt ribbon from the {PRESENT}ing party last fall was perfect for the fringe.

I love this board, because I can change out the colors/theme, and it's like having a whole new picture in the dining room.  In this case a whole new look for free!  Who DOESN'T love inexpensive decorating?

***What I didn't show you in the picture was my grubby fingerprints on the frame.  I probably should have dusted the frame BEFORE I took pictures.  CROP!  Keepin' it real - well, sort of!

Baby Shower Pennants

Did you guess pennants? 

One of our friends is having her first baby, so the craft day syndicate girls and I hosted a shower for her.  It's been a while, and we had so much fun putting things together.  We used her bedding as a jumping off point with the stars as a subtle side theme.

Michelle came up with the theme (picnic) and the food menu:  mini hotdogs (so cute - wish I'd have had more time to get a close up), peek-a-boo star PBJ, chips and dip, roasted veggie panini, fruit salad, rice krispie star pops, and lemonade.  Everything you'd find at a picnic!  And she made the guest book with a string of mini pennants running across the front.

Megan made the paninis and the cupcakes.  Love the star cookie toppers!

Beverly handled all the logistics:  scheduling, phone calls, facebooking.

I made the pennants and table runners.  Meg and I both shopped at our mom's for the fabrics.  The pennant triangles were 8" long and 6" wide sandwiched between the bias tape.  The table runners were all the leftover pennant fabrics cut into 10 1/2" widths and sewn together to look kind of like a rustic quilt.  I made one super long runner, and we cut them into the lengths needed for the tables.

Add a few picnic baskets around the room, mason jars tied with jute and filled with baby's breath to the tables, and best friends and you just about have our picnic themed baby shower in a nutshell.  We held it at our church.  I wanted to get a picture before the guests started arriving, but there were men on ladders installing speakers in the ceiling up until about ten minutes before the shower started.  Yeah, it cut it a little close, but in the end it all worked out. 

Just a note:  If at all possible, host baby showers with your best friends!  It's great!  

Research Happens

At the same time that the boys are in the middle of their yearly research papers (of which I am very much a part since I am their teacher), I'm in the middle of a research project of my own...

I'm in the planning stage of adding a little seating area in the nursery at church.  Since I don't have a pinterest account (dumb old pinterest requires a facebook/twitter account to join - I'm bitter) wanna see what I love? 

source

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And pull it all together with this.

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As you can see, this is World Market heavy!  I did all the research online to save myself time and gas then hit the brick and mortar store to "kick the tires" a little.  I could spend hours there just looking around.  So inspiring!  Of course my eyes are a little bit bigger than my budget, but hey - start with the main pieces (couch and chair) and add the rest as the budget allows.  That's my plan. 

If you sign up for their email you'll get a 10% off coupon!!!

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Oh, and just in case you need help with bibliography pages, try Bibme.  I'm tellin' ya - kid's these days have all the good stuff!

And This Is What I Did With My Pinecones...

Adorned my new chicken wire frame bulletin board.  LOVE IT!  (Staple chicken wire to the back of a frame with a staple gun, then put some wide foam tape over the jaggedy edges so they won't tear up your wall.)

Spruced up an old wreath whose berries are starting to loose their luster.  It'll make it through the season.

Really, I'd like to hang these all over my house, but that'll have to be next year!  It's time to bake and clean.

Fancy That

 
Fancies are like shadows...  You can't cage them, they're such wayward, dancing things.  But perhaps I'll learn the secret some day if I keep on trying.        - from Anne of Avonlea

My newest fancy...

 
 
 
I did not create my own succulent garden as I had planned.  When I saw this one at Lowe's and the $15 price tag, I knew I couldn't make it myself for cheaper than that, so I snatched it up.

I'm not much of a green thumb with indoor plants.  My bamboo is going strong after all these years which has given me hope that I can keep these alive.  That and that everything I've read about succulents say that they thrive on neglect.  That's the plant for me!