Southern Scraps

I started working on some Christmas card and tag designs this weekend. (I'm really behind the curve on this.) Sketches are always a great inspiration for me. I almost always reach for a sketch when designing a card. I used this sketch from Jen at i{heart}tostamp for my cards.  One of my cards does not follow the sketch EXACTLY because I only have one embellishment/flower instead of two. But that's the beauty of a sketch- you are free to use your own interpretation. Here are my cards: I used BasicGrey Wassail papers and some vintage digital images from VintageHolidayCrafts. When I finished the cards, I used the scraps to make some tags. The next time you need some inspiration, turn to a sketch and your scraps. 

Just came across this fun looking idea. I wanted to make luminaries for the driveway with jars but since kiddos get scared at my house, milk jugs might be safer. No broken glass. 15 Easy Halloween Milk Jug Craft Projects

My Halloween dining room table decor was inspired by this Martha Stewart idea . I bought a bag of bones from Michael's and some purple glitter but decided against the glitter once I got it home and placed the bones on my plate. One, I have a limited amount of time and two, I liked them plain. I added some bugs to my plate. It's hard to photograph a cake plate and not get a glare from the flash so bear with me, I took several pictures.   Here's a shot of the whole table. I picked up the mats at Tuesday Morning and the napkins from the Salvation Army Thrift Store- all four for $1!  I wasn't sure what I was going to do about napkin rings. But then I remembered my vow to use that stash of leftover faceted beads and came up with another use for them. All I did was cut about a six inch piece of 20 gauge wire. I made a loop at one end, strung on the beads, and finished it off with another loop at the other end. I took four of the spider rings that are...

I have never decorated the inside of my house for Halloween, even though we go all out for the outside. However, I've been so inspired by all of the great crafters in blogland that I've decorated my mantel and table. Most of this is with Dollar Tree decor and a few pieces we already had. My inspiration came from HERE at Cap Creations  and HERE and HERE at Mine for the Making, just to name a few. There are tons of others with great decor. Just visit some link parties and you'll see. (Never mind that dinosaur of a tv up there. I so wish it was not there. I could really decorate a mantel if it were not. Hubby hates this whole set up too, so a total redo of the mantel is on the to do list. We have another nice TV but it doesn't fit in that hole... another story.) Here are some close ups of the decor. I got my vases at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for $1.00 a piece, so I got two different sizes and I got the candlesticks for the vases for 50 cents each (I love i...

I saw these trees at my local Target.  They were $40 each and I wanted two of them. I'm not about to pay that for a Halloween decoration when sticks are FREE from the yard. My hubby was on board with the project too so here is what we did. We found two urn style pots at Big Lots- $3 each. My hubby painted them with Krylon for plastic. $5.44 per can. We got two boxes of 100 orange lights from Target- $2.50 each (Note the expensive pots only have 50 lights.) FREE sticks from the yard, some sytrofoam discs and blocks from Dollar Tree (hubby wanted to stack them for height and depth) $2 for foam for each pot, got some rocks and moss also from Dollar Tree, $1 per bag. The hubby painted the sticks black and we assembled our own spooky trees- for approximately $15 each!  (Really less, one can of paint will do both pots.) And we had fun together doing it.  Here's a shot of one in the daytime:  A shot at night all lit up:  Both pots (sort of hard...

NOW CLOSED: I tossed the names in a hat and picked one out. The winner is Jamie! NOTE: I've bumped this up to the top until Oct. 14. If you're looking for another post, please scroll down.  Scroll down for blog candy on World Card Making Day on Oct. 2. Hi, and welcome to my blog and my giveaway. I'm hosting a giveaway for a set of four handmade greeting cards. Two are 5.5 inches x 4.25 inches. One is top folding and the other is a regular side fold. The other two cards are square shaped. One card is a thank you card and the others are all ocassion. All are blank inside and have been created with quality acid free papers and supplies. You will receive envelopes also. So, what do you have to do to win?   I'm trying to improve my etsy shop and increase sales. I've recently begun some activities that have increased traffic to my shop, but still no sales. I'd like to have your feedback. Please visit my shop . Then come back and leave a comment with feedback or...

LOL! It's leaning against the wall by the front door. It will get moved out into the yard later. These photos were taken a couple of years ago. My hubby loves Halloween and does some over-the-top projects and decorations. He built this coffin a couple of years ago. I can take no credit for this. He made this all by himself. I would not have had a clue where to start. He had no pattern either. He sketched out the shape he wanted for the coffin on the shop floor and made sure it was wide enough and long enough for him to fit in. (Kids get great candy here at my house, but they get the daylights scared out of them.) He made this from 1x12 spruce boards and stained them. He used door knockers purchased from ebay that he added some paint to in order to distress and antique them. Handles from cabinets and upholstery fasteners were used on the sides for embellishment. Oh and the inside is lined too!