Southern Scraps

Back during the summer I purchased this tank from Old Navy clearance for less than $2. I knew it would be perfect for embellishing for my niece. I made it into one of her Christmas gifts. I basically made a corsage for one strap. I made it with five flowers. For each flower, cut however many circles you wish. The more circles, the fluffier your pom pom flower will be. Fold each circle into fourths. Take needle and thread and stitch the middle together. Stitch your next folded circle to this one and continue until you have a full flower. Glue flowers to a felt circle. I glued each flower to a piece of felt and added pin backs to the back of it so the corsage can be removed for washing the shirt or worn on another item. It was really quick and easy. I completed it just before Christmas.  Here's a close up: Thanks for looking. Hope your getting lots of crafting or rest this week, whichever you choose.  I'm winding down this week, so I'll be sharing those proj...

Now through Dec. 31, the Christmas section in my shop is 40% off. Stock up on cards and tags for next year. Get tags for an early "wrapping basket" gift for someone else.  Or get yourself a gift in the jewerly and gifts section - those items are 20% off.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A little late on the Christmas wishes.... I spent the three days before suffering from either a stomach virus or food poisoning...not sure which... but whatever you call it, the experience was not pleasant and it put a damper on my final prep and activities. I am happy to say I was able to be out and about yesterday with family and able to enjoy food again! I hope you all had the best day ever. Looking forward to a wonderful new year of ideas in blogland! I'll be spending the next week packing, reorganizing, cleaning, and winding down a bit. FYI: I took the above picture in early December when I took my mother to see Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It's worth a trip if you've never been and a great place for family activities year round.

The hustle and bustle really has kicked in. It's been two weeks since I shared anything here. The tree has been completed for about a week and a half but I just haven't had time to post. I'm sure you understand. I used to put up multiple trees but due to space and a fur baby, I've only done one the past two years. I've chose to do the butterfly tree. I have a collection of butterfly ornaments. I added in berry sprays, poinsettia garland, and ribbon. Here it is: The tree was up for a few days with no topper. I just don't have a suitable topper. But then I took my mother on a weekend trip for her 70th birthday (yes, we actually have four family birthdays in December amongst the Christmas rush). I bought some butterfly sprays and really intended to work them into the tree. Then it hit me- I could arrange them on top. It would really look better with some other sprays worked in, but it will do for this year. Maybe I'll hit the Michael's clearance after...

Here is the vignette I created on the sofa table/bookcase. I took the Wise Men printable from Craftily Ever After and changed the color. It's not as red as I wanted but I didn't have anymore photo paper and printed it on a matte coated cardstock. I don't want to waste paper and ink either, so it works. (Really, if I absolutely hated it I would have printed it again.) I framed it in the frame we (hubby) repainted a couple of months ago. I put a glass nativity with it and another hurricane filled with ornaments and the dried components from Michael's around it. I took a cheap arrangement from the Dollar Store purchased last year and used on the porch table and placed it in the center. Next is an old ceramic tree and finally an angel that is usually on my hearth. I placed her on a pedestal I created at Halloween (candle plated glued to candlestick). I placed that on another candle plate and arranged some of the silver ornaments around it. I'm pretty p...

Here is my mantel decorated for CHRISTmas.  It's just a hodgepodge of things we've collected through the years, and oddly enough, most of it is stuff my husband had when we got married.  You've heard me say it before-- I wish that TV wasn't there. It really gets in the way of decorating. I also used my diy hurricanes again. I filled them with red balls, gold ornaments and the dried components I mentioned earlier (HERE). I thought the arrangement of things needed the color and height of the hurricanes. The (fake) poinsettias on the hearth are new this year. I tried live ones before and they just didn't survive. In the future I hope to make a garland or banner, but for now the purchased Michael's one will have to do. The two pieces on the end are gourds that my hubby painted ten years ago. He doesn't do much of that anymore but he can- he's crafty too.  Thanks for visiting. I'll be linking up to the parties on the side and here:

I was inspired a couple of months ago by this fall centerpiece in a tray .  I knew then that I wanted to do one for Christmas. I have some tin buckets I bought a few years ago on clearance that I intended to use for gift baskets. Somehow that hasn't happened yet. Only one was used for a Valentine gift . I'm glad now that I still have them and didn't use them. I began searching the thrift and discount stores for a tray. I couldn't find one. But I did find this glass tray at Ross Thursday night and decided it would work. It was $14.99 and in my opinion worth is because I can use it in three locations around the house and for multiple holidays. (I'm thinking ahead to easter and to filling it with grass and eggs.) The gold table runner is from Big Lots for $5. I'm thinking of adding some length to it by adding ruffles of some plaid red and green Christmas material with a gold accent that I got at a thrift store a while back, but that may have to go on next yea...

We started dragging out the Christmas decorations today. We worked on the outside but I have yet to begin inside. I took some of the indoor stuff and decided to share this because it was fairly easy and inexpensive to make. I made this about ten years ago. This photo is about two years old, but I think this still looks great. I've stored it carefully through the years. Some of my other stuff has not faired so well and went into the trash today. Ten years ago, I found myself without any Christmas decorations to my name because I had gotten divorced earlier that year. Getting decorations was not on my mind, getting the heck out was all that mattered.  I also did not have the funds to buy a lot of expensive decorations because I had just moved into my own place and had a very small income. I had seen these lighted floral arrangements at a craft fair and decided this would look good on my hearth. Thank goodness Christmas lights are cheap and make everything look nice.  I to...

Fonda's  Holiday Wish List Meme TodaysMama and GameStop   are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you. 1. What is your holiday wish for your family? To be happy, stress-free and healthy! 2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? We visit my in-laws for cinnamon rolls and gift exchange. 3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?  Maybe an  out of country trip. 4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? with music, movies we watch every year, and decorating together with the stuff we already own. 5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Chinese checkers 6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? I don't have any kiddos, but if I did, I hope they would be able to stay overnight with their grandparents like I did on Christmas eve. 7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-h...

If you are not brave enough to fight the Black Friday crowds, or just prefer to shop online, I'm having a sale in my etsy shop . Certain sections, including Christmas and jewelry and gifts are marked down 10% for Black Friday. AND I'm participating in Somewhat Simple's Holiday Boutique so if you visit there, you'll find an additional coupon code. Here are some of the items available in my shop: Colorful memory wire bracelet Rejoice greeting card set Gift card holder Thanks for visiting and have a safe and blessed Christmas!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 (New International Version, ©2010) Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. May you have time to reflect on all your blessings today. I have so much that I do not deserve and I give credit to God for it all. 

Back during the summer when I got interested in fabric and all those great flowers everyone was making, I tried my hand at a couple. I finally got around to deciding how I might use these flowers and added the pin backs this weekend so it could be a brooch . I made this one from the following you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gecQrb1fzIk I cut my circles out with a scalloped Nestabilities scalloped circle die. I used two fabrics and two sizes of circles. It takes a lot of circle to get them really full, but I love how this one turned out, especially with the scalloped edges. I think it looks great on this jacket. I'll be linking up to Get Your Craft On and other great parties. Thanks for stopping by.

Last night our church had our annual Thanksgiving soup and salad supper. It's a nice meal and service where we reflect on our blessings and what has occurred during the last year. I made Simple Broccoli Salad for the meal. It really is a simple dish to make, especially if you get the precut, prewashed ready to eat broccoli florets in the bag. 2 cups broccoli florets 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled 1/4 cup sweet red pepper 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar (I actually used about 1 and a 1/2 times what was called for so on the dressing ingredients and also increased the amount of broccoli and bacon so it would make more.) Combine broccoli, bacon, and red pepper. In another bowl, stir the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar until smooth. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Doesn't it look festive with the red and green combo? Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

If you are new to paper crafting and wondering what tools to invest in, I highly recommend punches. They are versatile and can be used for many projects. Here are some things I've done recently with my punches. I made these tags using a scalloped punch (about 1 1/4 in), angel punch, 1 inch circle punch, 2 inch circle punch and 2 1/2 inch scalloped circle punch. I layered all the circles to get what you see here. Here's a mini breakdown:  The word circles are from Cutting Cafe .  You just print and punch out! These tags can now be used for lots of things- dress up candles, gift packages, gift bags, and treat bags. You could even hang them on a Christmas tree as ornaments. I also used another file from the Cutting Cafe and a scalloped square punch to do these cupcake toppers . I have a lot fun with my punches! Thanks for looking. I'll be linking up to some parties listed on the side.

I added a little fall/Thanksgiving decor to the dining room table. I picked up new place mats when I got the Halloween mats. I picked some that will match my decor year round, but can be accented for the season. I purchased some sunflowers on clearance at Michael's and put them in the crystal vase that is always on the table. I added my dollar hurricanes that I made for Halloween and filled them with some small gourds and pumpkins. Remember my fall wreath and my pondering what to do with the leftover gourds and such? I found a use for them. I had to pick up another package and add to them but that's okay. The other package was on clearance at Michael's as well when I got them.  I reused the thrift store napkins and made new rings. I made the rings from a paper towel roll, scrapbook paper and felt leaves cut with my Sizzix. The die is probably out of production but I'm sure they make another version.  Here is a tutorial for the napkin rings. I won't share m...