Southern Scraps

I finally got brave and tried my hand at making a skirt from a men's shirt. Hubby put some shirts out for a yard sale last year and they didn't sell. I held back a couple of them from the Goodwill pile. Here's what I started with: Here's the end result:

Happy Memorial Day! And thanks to all who served and sacrificed and thanks to all the families! In reality, this is a day of sadness and mourning for many, and I pray God will wrap you in his peace and comfort. This week's Must Do Monday is all about planters. Last week we looked at porch makeovers , and I'm itching to try some of these planter ideas for my porch. sip-n-wear painted up some cute polka dot planters: There are lots of stacked planter DIYs out there: Painted and stenciled from diggers list : Another from Positively Splendid Love the pop of color on just the band and the stenciling on these from Sharing Our Path Color blocked and stacked by East Coast Creative via Infarrantly Creative Have a great week. You can find a few more outdoor space and planter ideas on my For the Home board at Pinterest .

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a fabulous three day weekend.  I think most of us will be outdoors, but if you spend it inside doing some organizing, here is a neat tip for you that I found at  In My Own Style . No slip hangers! Take your regular hangers - wire or plastic and wrap them with pipe cleaners from the craft store! Genius! You know you have those pesky dresses or tops that slide off all the time. This will fix the problem.  Click on the link above to read the whole post and how-to.

In addition to all the great ideas and projects I come across in blogland that I want to try out, I collect various magazines with projects that I want to try. (Am I the only one addicted to magazines?) This week I finally tried out a necklace in one of my Bead Style issues. Here is the magazine project (it's from Best of Bead Style 2011) I'd love to create this one as featured with all the colored beads, but I was using some of what I had on hand, along with some extras I picked up on clearance at Michael's this week. That's the beauty of DIY- you can take an idea and make it yours. I followed the tutorial but substituted color and size of beads. I also tweaked the number of beads called for- the magazine projects calls for 12 20 mm round beads, rondelles, and pearls. I used all round pearls and my largest was 18mm. I used 10 instead of 12 of the 18mm because the strand in my stash only had 11 beads. I adjusted the other numbers by two less as well.

My front and back porches are in need of some cleaning and attention. The back one stays either covered in pollen in the spring and fall or dirt in the summer, so I don't think it's worth putting a lot of extra stuff out there. It would just be more to clean. Hopefully one day we will replace the screen with glass and it will be a nice room to enjoy. In the meantime, I can focus on the front door and porch. It's not a big porch but there is room for a couple of chairs and a few things. Here are some front doors and porches that inspire me. Look what some paint and bright pretty flowers can do: 320 Sycamore The Frugal Homemaker Design, Dining and Diapers Pillows and plants add a lot of color and visual interest too. bhg.com diy Design Fanatic

Now that I'm in love with washi tape and have officially tried it out for myself, I thought I'd share some places to find some pretty and interesting designs. Of course there is Michaels and Target. But here are some cute options on etsy: Seals, Tags, and Stuff Bela Donna Beads Bela Donna Beads Write Back Soon Pretty Tape Pretty tape And how about a cool way to store this stuff AND dispense it? Sugar b Supplies

We battle cholesterol issues around here. Not high, but not enough good cholesterol, so hubby's last check up sent me looking for more heart healthy recipes. Here is one I found at Heart Healthy Online that was a hit. And it's quick- perfect for our busy nights after work. Southwest Chicken Skillet Ingredients 1 tablespoon southwest chipotle-flavored salt-free seasoning (Mrs. Dash) 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size strips   I used precooked bagged chicken strips (maybe not as healthy but quicker) 1 medium yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped 1 small zucchini, bias-sliced and quartered 1/2 of a medium onion, cut into thin wedges 1/2 cup bottled salsa 1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn 1/2 cup cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained 4 8 inches whole wheat flour tortillas, hot cooked rice, or red sweet peppers with tops and ribs removed (optional) Chopped fresh cilantro (op

I've always been in love with taking photos. Over the past few years I've been investing in better equipment and learning to improve my photography. I carry my camera in a backpack camera bag and it's really good for traveling and sight seeing. Sometimes though when I'm on short outings I'd like to be a little more stylish. Those bags that look like purses are so pretty, but I don't care much for the prices. Here are five tutorials for making your own. by Ramblings from Utopia by Fraase Family The Crafted Sparrow Make It and Love It Tales of My Life

I'm a little late sending out Mother's Day wishes. I've been busy finishing up last minute Mother's day gifts and shopping and then yesterday we traveled to visit our mothers. To all of my readers who are mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts....Happy Mother's Day. It's never too late to appreciate all the things that women do to "mother'' and care for others every day. My mother and I on her 70th birthday in Dec. 2010 (Note to self: It's a shame that Dec. 2010 is the last time we had photo taken together.)

I wasted no time in trying out my washi tape . I gussied up a plain gift bag with it and created a matching card for Mother's Day.  Here is a close up of the card:  I did a generic sentiment on the bag so my mother can reuse/regift it if she chooses: The sentiments were stamped and adhered to a label cut with my Nestabilities Labels four in my Sizzix big shot. I really need to get back to more paper crafting. This was a fun project. I'll be linking up here: Think Pink Sundays ** Under the Table and Dreaming * Sundae Scoop * Creative Bloggers Party and Hop * Craftomaniac Monday * Make the Scene Monday * Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up at TGC * Masterpiece Monday * Motivate Me Monday * Inspire Me Monday * Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff * Pink Hippo Party * More The Merrier Monday * Twenty Minute Tuesdays * Take a Look Tuesday * Handmade Tuesdays * Tuesday Time Out * Tell Me Tuesday * Tuesday Talent Show * My Uncommon

I bought four rolls of washi (paper) tape from Target and five rolls from Michael's this weekend. ( I used the 25% off coupon at Michael's). So what can I do with all this stuff? Besides cards and embellishing scrapbook chipboard and stuff, here are some of my favorite projects from around blogland. From The Cottage Market via 36th Avenue Canvas art - One Artsy Mama candles by Itsy Bitsy Paper Bangles by Delicate Construction Notebook by Oh Hello Friend Coasters by A Pumpkin and a Princess Swirl Vase by Sew Woodsy Hope you have a fun craft filled week!

I am in love with this idea that I found over at In My Own Style  - turning ribbon spools into gift boxes. What a genius way to repurpose, reuse and save! You must go check it out. Here's another way to use those empty ribbon spools - make a cute photo album . Thougthts of a Card Making Scrapbooker shows you how. Both of these ideas would be great for Mother's Day. Have a great weekend!

Here's my version of the Anthro Paisley Rebirth necklace based on the tutorial from Bev at Flamingo Toes.  I loosely followed the tutorial. I didn't wrap my chain the same nor did I wrap it as tightly because I was afraid I would run out of chain. I didn't have quite as much as I needed. Here's mine compared to Bev's.

Congrats nmitchell!  please contact me by email within 24 hours (10 p.m. May 2, 2012.) You are the winner of my earring giveaway!