Simple Frugal Valentine’s Day Centerpiece

Seems like just yesterday I still had Christmas decorations up! Oh wait…It was only yesterday that I still had Christmas decorations up.

I know.

But, it was only upstairs…I promise…the downstairs areas were Christmas decor free!

OK, now that I got that off of my chest, on to something for Valentine’s Day. 🙂

This is an inexpensive centerpiece that’s super easy to make.

I bought three 8″ glass candles from the Dollar Tree and one fuzzy flower bush (OK, so I don’t know what kind of flower it was supposed to be, but it looked cool…AND it was red).

I covered the glass candles with burlap squares and tied on white ribbon with the flower inside. See?? Super simple. 🙂

This project cost $4.65 total for the candles, ribbon and flowers!

Happy Valentines Day!

White Willow Snow Wreath

 I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I am trying to get back into things and catch up on reading everyone’s blogs. I’m so excited to see everyone’s Christmas ideas! Definitely one of my favorite things! 🙂

Last year I decorated every room in my house…even the bathroom! This year I decided on a more simple, laid back approach…I also didn’t want to spend very much, hehe.

This wreath idea popped into my head and I was most of the way finished by the time I thought to take pictures.
It was pretty easy, though. First I collected willow branches and wired them together in a wreath shape with standard florist wire. Then I spray painted it white.

I added snowflake ornaments that I bought a few years ago at the Dollar Tree and tied white berry picks on with strips of knit cloth.
I found a snowman wall hanging  in my decorations box and added it to the wreath.

This wreath definitely makes me think of snow! Plus I can leave it up after Christmas! I hope to have my mantle and tree pics up before too long, so stay tuned!

Linking to these fun parties:

Easy $2 Large Hurricane Vase

                                                         

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Ours was pretty quiet for the most part. 🙂

The other day I was walking through Wal-Mart when I saw a display with large hurricane style vases on stands for sale for $15. My first thought (after “Those are pretty!”) was “I can do better than that!”

So I went to Dollar Tree and found a large plain glass hurricane style vase.

Then I went to Goodwill and found a large candle holder for $1.

I pulled out my trusty hot glue gun and glued the two pieces together.

Much better than $15 and it goes well with the rest of my decor!

Joining these fun parties:

Easy Pine Cone Wall Art

I hope everyone has had a good week so far! Our week has been busy but, we are looking forward to the weekend and a family gathering.
Today, I wanted to share an easy craft  with you.

First, find a frame  and spray paint it. I started with this ugly frame and spray painted it Krylon hammered copper. I know it’s hard to tell from the photo, but it’s kind of a weird faded black. The people who lived in the house before us were avid golfers and left the print here for us.
Now, I don’t have anything against golf…just not a fan. In fact, if anyone is interested in the print I will mail it to you. First one to email me (happyhodgepodgehome at yahoo dot com) can have it!

 Next, dismantle a couple of pine cones. Try to leave the “petals” intact when you take it apart.

Cover a piece of foam poster board (cut to fit just inside the frame) with some fabric. I chose this cream colored knit because I really liked the texture. Stretch the fabric on tight  (try not to leave bunches in the back) and hot glue it to the poster board.

Lay out your petals and beads  the way you want them and hot glue them into place. I used  suede strips (found on a spool in most craft stores) to make the stems. You could also use ribbon if you want.

Place your picture in the frame and find a nice place for it!

This is a very easy and inexpensive craft that can be modified in a lot of different ways! Have fun creating!

I hope everyone has  a great weekend! :o)

Linking to these fun parties:

Cute Canisters!

Everything has finally settled into a routine again here after our big trip. I haven’t really had a lot of opportunities to go looking for thrifty finds, but I would like to share something I found at a Goodwill in Houston, TX.

A cute canister set! I wasn’t really looking for canisters but just loved these when I saw them!

Here is the large canister.

I love the little pagoda on the lid.

The medium canister.

The lid looks like a little roof.

The small canister.

Each one had the Winterthur stamp on the bottom.

I could usually pass on canisters, but these…lovely! :o)

Don’t forget about my GIVEAWAY!! $60 from CSN Stores! Ends Aug. 5, 2010.

Joining these fun parties:

My Cloche

I hope everyone is having a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend! We are mostly relaxing and spending time with family. Maybe we will take in the local fireworks display tomorrow. :o)

Today I have something to share that is by no means a new idea. Here is my version of a cloche that fits with my tropical/Asian decor.

First, I found a couple of candle holders at a thrift store for .25 cents apiece.

I also found an old cheese dome for under $3.

I took the little feet off the bottom of the cheese dome.

I spray painted the candle holder and the bottom of the cheese dome.

I flipped the candle holder over and glued the bottom of it to the bottom of the cheese dome. I prefer my hot glue gun as opposed to other types of glue. It adheres well and there is very little wait time while it sets up. I’m just not that patient. 😉

Next, I glued some heavy twine around the outer edges.

All finished! That’s my version of a cloche. I don’t think I’ll keep the little birds in there long, but for now they work for me.

Have a great Fourth of July!!! :o)

Linking to these fun parties:

Glidden Paint Testers

What could be better than paint for a project? FREE PAINT!!

I like to watch forums such as A Full Cup and Hot Coupon World for special deals. Glidden has had several promotional offers where they have given away free paint. In the last 2 offers they gave away enough paint for me to repaint my entire kitchen (OK, so it’s a small kitchen…). This time they gave away two testers.

I am totally sold on Glidden paint. It has great coverage and goes a lot farther.

Here is what I did with my testers:

My husband found this old breadbox at Goodwill for $4. After some major cleaning and some light sanding, I used my tester colors on it. I chose True Turquoise for the outside and Arctic Blue for the door.

Here it is now:

A lot of coverage from those tiny bottles. I still have a little paint left over! What would you do with free paint?

Linking to:

More Salvaged Junk Mail

A while back, I took a piece of junk mail and saved it from a landfill by turning it into some wall art for my kitchen. Click here to see that post.

A local Japanese restaurant mailed out menus to everyone in town. The menus were made from thick paper and had a nice picture that totally redeemed this piece of junk mail. Normally, something like this would be tossed into the trash without a second thought.

So I cut it out and dressed it up a bit with some ribbon. Then I found a nice matching frame from my stash. And here it is! One less piece of junk mail in a landfill and a new decoration for me!

I know…I’m weird. 😉  Soooo, am I the only one who does this?

Linking to these fun parties:

Gitter Done – Redo the Porch!

Edited Post: Donna from Funky Junk Interiors has asked us to share our favorite projects. I would have to say that this one is my favorite right now. 🙂 I first posted this on Donna’s Gitter Done project…now, Linking this to:

Lately, this (below) has been the view of my porch:

That’s right a fold up table, a chair and an old beat up Tonka truck.

Here’s my mailbox…looking a little sad.

I’ve been planning to do something about this for a while, but just couldn’t get motivated. Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors offered just the push I needed.Today she is hosting a day for getting things done!

So, here is what I’ve been up to:

My porch now! Here are the details:

One of my brothers gave me this glider rocker.

A bit worn out…so I spray painted it black and made some new pillows for the back. 

I spray painted my mailbox black, and look…there’s my tropical birhouse!

                           

Here’s my rope lamp on a shelf full of trinkets.

I made a new cushion and pillow for the wicker chair.

A cozy little table to eat breakfast at in the mornings! And no, that is not a hole in my lamp (as my husband suggested) it is a decorative ribbon that I will probably remove. I just don’t feel like re-taking the photos. 😉

Another view. 🙂

OK…Here comes my favorite part!!!

Can you guess what this is? Well…it’s made out of these shutters…

It’s my beautiful new table made for me by my Sweet (and talented) Husband! Isn’t it lovely?! A couple of months ago, a really awesome neighbor crawled under her house and pulled some lovely shutters (a whole stack!). She gave them to me (so generous and sweet)! My husband took one set and made this table for me! =D

He left it so the slats could still open. His explanation was that if there were crumbs on top you could open the slats and let the crumbs fall through. 😉

My new table is a great place to have a cup of tea! 

Here’s a little candle I spruced up to put on my new table.

Ah, my table…

Umm…anyway, here are some more shots of my porch:

I love my new porch! Thanks, Donna for the little push that I needed to “Gitter Done”!

And thanks for stopping by

Goodwill Lamp Transformed

I love lamps! In fact, I have a real “thing” for lamps. Whenever I go to Goodwill I check the lamps. A few weeks ago I found this little beauty for $3.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with it as soon as I saw it! I bought some Jute rope, and got out my hot glue gun.

This was really so easy to do! I just love the result! :o)

Have a great weekend!

Linking to these fun parties: