Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Best of 2013

2013 is coming to a close. I was looking back at the post this year and we had an array of favorite posts. I have to agree with my fans choices.


Let's start at the top of the list. 2012 I was covered in bug bites and was determined to keep those biters under control by planting herbs and flowers. My tower of herbs was a winner on our deck and on pinterest. Did you know Parsley will still grow below freezing?






















Monday, December 30, 2013

Refrigerator Organization





 

2014 is almost here and it's time for a fresh start. Why not start with the refrigerator.  You are what you eat right? So let's find out what that mystery item is, clean those shelves and organize.


Stockpile organization




The last few months we have stocked up on several items: gravy, broth, pineapple and protein bars. It's become a little difficult to see what are the canned goods. 


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Claypot characters

These frugal and easy crafts make wonderful teacher and grandparent gifts!


Here are some fun-tastic clay pot crafts for you and your family! I wanted to be different. The first image that pops in people's minds when you mention Christmas is Jesus or Santa. We all know Frosty comes in 2nd. What about the elves, reindeer, angels and gingerbread people!

I had so much fun painting these and researching the cutest smiles for the heads. I used real buttons for the Ginger person. I added clear glue and glitter. I later found a pack of 100 wooden buttons-yay for no more coloring and size matching.
 
For the elf and reindeer I drew the antlers and hat freehand. The elf hat is two pieces of felt stitched together. I measured the head and made sure one layer covered just a bit more than half the head. I added a bell to the tip with some snow. He looked a little bare so I added a scallop collar using my cuttlebug - Scallop die cut. Textured snow paint finishes the bottom.



The reindeer antlers were a bit tricky. You could use pipe cleaners instead of the felt. After staring at a few billion antlers online they started to look like two Y's connected. ;-) (I was chanting Y Y Y when I discovered this which concerned the husband).


Felt alone was too flimsy so I applied a coat of Mod Podge and they stiffened up. Use a small layer b/c too much will make them too stiff. If you make them thick enough to stitch two together I would recommend putting floral wire inside. You need them just right for them to stay on. My first batch was too stiff and they broke right off. I touched up the paint, hot glued again and added moss as hair. It will mask the hot glue marks around the antlers.

I went back and added ribbon bows on the gingergirls heads and neckbows for the gingerboys.

Frosty is my favorite! The snowball pot is 1.5 from ACMoore. The trees came in a three pack from HobbyLobby.com when I made the tree globes at $1.99. The felt hat I tried to create but it was proving to be difficult to stiffen into shape. I bought the hats at factorydirectcraft.com for $1.99.
 
All the character pots are 2.25 inch pot. The heads are 1 1/2 inches. I used fusion glue to adhere the pieces to the 6 inch saucer. Pots were bought at 50% at ACMoore this past summer or $1 for 3 at Dollar Tree. The heads (knobs) were bought online at caseyswood.com

Some of these beauties are gifts while others are part of our own decorations. You can visit my pinterest board for more ideas. Next year I want to try the village!


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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

These are the animals that will DIE because of SB310!


Humans kill humans everyday. Maybe we should ban ALL human breeding! Round the kids up in cages to end the violence! Doesn't matter if they are angels or devils. Just cage them all. That's what is happening in OHIO. These humans are caring for animals the way we all should. Respect and love. Yet someone feels they all should be banned and removed from their loving homes. What in the world has happened to the human race.

WW-Snowflakes & visitors

It's seems as though snowflakes weren't the only surprise visitors last week!


 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Clearance & Crafts

For the last three years I have been collecting clearance odds and ends at the craft store and the local drug store. I never had a plan for the pieces when I make the purchase, until today.


This frugal holiday craft cost under $3 max. 

The greenery was a craft store find two years. The pine cones were found locally on the ground! The berries and tiny wreath were found three years ago at the local drug store.

I decorated the planter and painted it black for Halloween and fall. We had a broken "Happy Holiday" stake that I placed in the pot. Tonight I sat down without a plan but had floral wire and all these items. The pot had a bare spot from the cabbage plant. I just weaved the wire on the greenery to the wreath. I had no real plan. The planter had an odd bare space so it didn't have to be perfect or any set shape. I added some sno-texture to the cones and glitter.

Update! It has snowed a few times and it looks wonderful with a dusting!

Sometimes you need open eyes and mind and the rest will fall into place. My inspiration Bing photo below!