DIY--Dollar Tree Valentine Wreath & FREE Bookmark!

Last week I decided to take a trip to my favorite Dollar Tree to see what seasonal items they had on their shelves. I browsed every aisle looking for items I could use to make an inexpensive Valentine wreath. I spent $5.00, and came home with the following items......I even have extra hearts and clothes line leftover!

My idea was to wrap the clothesline around the wreath giving it a nice red and white color.

Oh sooooo easy, and not a bad little splash of red for Valentines Day! After I wound the clothesline around the styrofoam, I glued the hearts on, made the bow out of some extra straw ribbon I had from a previous project, and glued the back of the wreath to a paper heart. Hanging it is painless with a 3M hook. Total time to make this.......20 minutes!

I happened to be browsing some ideas on the internet a few weeks ago and found another idea. I am forever turning the pages down on my books to mark a page. This FREE idea is so easy. I went to WalMart and grabbed some paint chips in the pink family. I purchased a set of craft punches with different images on them. (I know I will use these again.)  I punched each color on the chip strip with the heart punch, and then tied a ribbon to the end. The ribbon was left over from another project. Easy, FREE and now I won't ruin the pages in my books.

It doesn't have to break the bank to add a bit of festive to your home on these special days. I hope you have enjoyed my projects today and have inspired you to head to Dollar Tree for your own creation.

Wishing you a crafty day,

Kathleen

Thanks for stopping by The Lavender Bouquet. Feel free to share your comments with us in the Comments box.  

GOLDEN FALL MANTEL

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Today's blog is all about how a simple decoupaged pumpkin can turn a mantel into a Golden Fall vision. 

The Caspari cocktail napkins actually set the color pallette for me.....gold, crimson and orange. I'm such a fan of those 

colors in the fall. 

The mantel is tall and a bit wide, sometimes making it difficult to photograph in it's entirety. This view is the center of the mantel. Of course the decoupaged pumpkin takes centerstage. Easy drapped fall garland, leaves, mercury glass vases filled with golden pinecones, and golden spray painted mini pumpkins complete the center. 

Note the golden pumpkin on the left. Isn't it pretty? I love all of the texture. That little guy came from my favorite Dollar Tree store and used to look like this.......

After a good coat of gold spray paint he looks like this.......I love how the texture is accentuated by just giving it a shiny coat of paint.

Here's a side peek with the candlestick. I took advantage of the Pottery Barn sale last week and bought a pair of Theroux candlesticks. I love the timeless style and the bands of silver shine to them.

  

It's hard to believe that the mantel inspiration actually began with a napkin. Even the simplest things can give us inspiration to create something beautiful! Never underestimate the power of a napkin!

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Kathleen

See you on Wednesday!

GARDEN LUNCH TABLESCAPE & FOODIE FRIDAY DIP RECIPE

I hope your week went well. We haven't had the greatest weather; in fact most days were rainy. I don't mind when it rains because it's so good for the plants and trees, but when you are planning a luncheon on an open patio and the sky looks ominous......well let's just say I'm glad I was able to sneak it in BEFORE the rain came!

Today's blog was inspired by a beautiful bouquet of flowers I spied at the grocery store. Who doesn't LOVE sunflowers mixed with purple status, and daisies? 

Here's the bouquet that started it all----Can you see why I couldn't walk away without bringing it home?

Of course a table setting was necessary.

When creating the theme, I knew I wanted a relaxed feel. Not like a picnic relaxing but like a "Garden Lunch with the Girls," relaxing. 

I chose a purple and white gingham fabric from JoAnn Fabric. It took about 2 yards of approx. 46" wide fabric stitched together to fit my table. I finish stitched the entire hemline also. And there you have it....my new tablecloth.

After a successful trip to the Dollar Tree I brought home the purple placemats, the lime green charger plates, 2 lime green towels and the seed packets that I placed at each place setting.

I cut the towels in half and hemmed them making them into napkins,  and then tied them with purple ribbon from Michaels. I also purchased the pink vase bottles from Michaels on sale. The rest of the place setting items and the white urn are from my personal collection.

I couldn't resist adding a bit of a Foodie Friday recipe for you too! This Herbed Greek Yogurt Dip came to mind because it's so light and delish with veggies. It just so happens it matches my tablescape....hmmm......maybe that was a conscious decision!

Herbed Greek Yogurt Dip

1- cucumber
1 1/2 cups fat-free Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 head cabbage, optional

Grate unpeeled cucumber; chop. Drain on paper towels; squeeze dry. Combine chopped cucumber with yogurt, sour cream, dill, mint, zest, garlic, salt and pepper.

CABBAGE BOWL

Transfer dip to cabbage or serving bowl. Serve with veggies and/or pita chips or wedges. 

MAKES 12 servings
***Recipe from-Celebrate with Woman's World-Summer Keepsake Issue pg. 7

I hope you enjoyed my "GARDEN LUNCH WITH THE GIRLS" tablescape and recipe today. Have a wonderful Father's Day weekend!

CHEERS TO ALL THE DAD'S!

Katheen

****Thanks for stopping by and sharing your day with me. Stop by on Monday to see a very cool DIY project!

DIY---CRACKER BARREL RAIN BOOT PLANTER

I hope your week is going well so far. In Florida the predictable showers of May and June have visited us, but my daughter and I are not letting it dampen our spirits.

Before I left NJ I completed my "Pink Boots Planter" project and shared the final photo with you in the Blue Bench Vignette collage. I thought I would share how easy that DIY project really was.

Of course as I mentioned this particular planter I purchased in Cracker Barrel. They actually are made from a plastic molded material and can be easily painted the color of your choice. I used Valspar Pink Bubble Gum paint.

By adding a couple of colorful vining plants and a Dollar Tree sign, the boots were complete.
So easy!

Adding this bit of whimsy to my garden was just the touch I needed. How about you? What do you add for a bit of whimsy? Share with us.....let us know your ideas. By sharing we learn so much from others!

Happy painting!

Kathleen

CREATING A NATURESCAPE MANTEL & DIY VASE

Since I started blogging nearly a year ago, I have noticed an interesting change in how homeowners discuss how much they are spending on decorating. It used to be we didn't discuss prices, but that has certainly changed. Today, with so many DIYers, vintage thrift shoppers, and stores like IKEA, we all feel proud what we have done on so little! I like this new trend.....its fun, rewarding and let's face it, we all love to save money!

On the heels of saving money.......I have been laboring with how to decorate my fireplace mantel for Spring, quite honestly, by not spending a lot of money. I am all about recycling and reusing items by changing up their location.

I tossed around the ideas of colorful twigs, big urns to anchor and loads of other things. Of course I went to Pinterest and perused their pages of ideas, but nothing hit me. Then I was in JoAnn Fabric the other day and I found a small print that was very simple. It had ferns, a butterfly and some lettering painted on it. That was all I needed. I bought the print and built the mantel starting with my new little fern print. It reminded me of the woods when I was a kid where the ferns grew wild......hence my mantel theme was born.

I decided to make vases to incorporate into the theme using jars. Since I have already mod-podged and sprayed jars, I needed to try something else. I headed to Dollar Tree and found this cool lime green and white stripe clothesline and decided to wrap each jar with it. The color was great and would blend in nicely with the existing greens I was using.

Materials needed:

•  Thin clothesline or twine (Dollar Tree) (My 3 jars took one spool of clothesline.)
•  Elmers or Fabric glue
•  Glue gun
•  Old jars of various sizes

Instructions:

• Unwind clothesline
• Dab one spot on the very top of the jar edge with hot glue
• Start applying the clothesline by pushing the end of the clothesline into the hot glue (Make sure it is secure before moving on.)
• Apply Elmers or Fabric glue around each line pushing together the clothesline tightly so that there is no gap between rows. It is necessary to make sure you have enough glue on each line to keep things secure. The glue dries clear, so no worries about getting spots.
• At the bottom of the jar as you near the end, dot it with the hot glue just as you did in the beginning.

It's that easy.......aren't they the cutest? 

  NATURESCAPE MANTEL

To complete the mantel I needed something a little larger on both ends to anchor the vignette. I brought out 2 of my Ethan Allen pieces from years ago, filled them with moss from the Dollar Tree and ivory flameless candles that I had in my entertainment stash. I love the way they flicker in the evening light. 

I also needed some flowing fern like vine that I found in JoAnn Fabrics to ground the picture.

At first I wasn't sure I would like all different shades of green on the mantel, so I added just a bit of color by using fresh flowers in the color of purple and white and that was just enough for me.

I'm really happy with the final results. It's quite simple and was so inexpensive. Why not look around your house to see what you have, re-purposing is so much fun. I love new perspectives on old objects. Is it time for you to freshen something in your home?

I hope you have enjoyed watching me build my new Naturescape Mantel. Well see you Foodie Friday for some heavenly deliciousness!

Until then--Happy Creating!

Kathleen

***Thanks so much for stopping by The Lavender Bouquet. We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave us a comment.

                                             

BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL DAY TABLESCAPE FOR THE COST CONSCIOUS!

Every year all over the U.S. we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. Our country is full of celebrations with parades and special services to observe those soldiers that lost their lives for our country. We have the freedoms we do today because of these men and women, and, I for one, am very thankful for their service!

Many of us mark this day with the first picnic of the year. In some areas of the U.S. it is the beginning of warmer weather, in others, it may bring sweltering days when air conditioning is truly a blessing. But wherever we are, an outdoor meal seems in order.

Yesterday, was a beautiful day here in New Jersey. The sun was shining brightly, and the breeze picked up a bit just while I was shooting.  I created a Memorial Day tablescape which started with a foundation of royal blue and white wide stripe decorator fabric. 

The first time I laid eyes on this fabric was from my beloved Carolyne Roehm coffee table book, A Passion for Parties. Carolyne decorated using this for a birthday bash she held for family members. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. The complementary colors are endless, but red came to mind of course because of this being a patriotic holiday.

Memorial Day Tablescape

I filled the mint julep cups with Queen Ann's Lace and the porcelain urn with white Apple Blossoms.

My source list:

1. Porcelain vase-Hobby Lobby

2. Red rimmed plates, red goblets, and floret on napkin-Dollar Tree

3. Blue luncheon plates-Home Goods

4. Blue/white stripe fabric-Boca Bargoons

**Silverware, mint julep cups, and red linen napkins were already a part of my entertaining staples.

I'd love to hear what you think about this tablescape. Please drop us a comment.

 ENJOY!

                                   Wishing you all a safe and fun Memorial Day!  

                                                           Kathleen

It's Mod Podge Monday.......Check out our DIY Vases & Springtime Placesetting!

My husband and I traveled to our Florida house this weekend. A little change of scenery from the snowscapes to the beautiful palm trees and 80 degree weather has been wonderful.  Not only did we get to see our Florida friends, but we also got to spend a few days with old friends from our Perrysburg, Ohio days. I think it is safe to say, a good time was had by all!

Whenever I am in the warmth of the South during the winter months, I find myself longing for Spring flowers, and the bright colors of Springtime. With that in mind, I managed to find an interesting DIY project involving Mod Podge. I started with Dollar Store vases.........and one squeeze bottle of Mod Podge from Michaels.

Pour Mod Podge into the vase and swirl it around.

 

 

Swirl to coat entire inside of vase and let dry.

The result is a beautiful sheer pink glossy finish. The actual pink is a bit lighter and more pastel than the photograph.

 

 

I have plans to use these vases with all of my fresh cut flowers up North, but until then I created a Springlike table setting to showcase the vase.  I built this tablesetting using the white Mikasa plate as my foundation, then a Lenox aqua luncheon plate that I purchased in Home Goods in the center, and topped it off with my Noritake wedding china dessert plate. Look at all of that Springtime color!

Now run to Michaels and the Dollar Tree to create your very own easy and colorful vases for your home.

                        Happy Mod Podging.....and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby brother!

                                                                       Kathleen

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