What Remains?  

Posted by: Julie

Beloved ornaments have been packed away...


Snowflakes have melted away...


Halls have be de-decked...


Santa has put away his boots for another year...


Christmas 2009 has come...



... and gone


And what remains ...
is the true meaning of it all!




 Let Heaven and Nature Sing!!!
 

Make your own colored sugar  

Posted by: Julie in ,

(This is a re-post from 2008.)
Have you ever been making cookies and ran out of colored sugar?
What about wanting a special color of and you can't find it?
Have you ever tried making your own colored sugar?
It is SO super simple and so frugal! Here, let me show you how.
Here's what you need.
I use my little mini chopper,
but a regular food processor or blender would work.
1/2 cup of sugar
liquid food color of your choice

Put the sugar in the processor and add in a few drops of food color


Give it a good whir around and presto...you have colored sugar!


I store mine in mason jars. I also re-use the shaker bottles from colored sugar I've purchased in the past.


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Cute and Quick Gift Idea  

Posted by: Julie

 I came across this ADORABLE idea at Beneath My Heart

Holiday Tile Coasters!


 Super Cute!

Super Easy!

Super Frugal!



I'll just ask you to visit Beneath My Heart for the instructions,
but I'll give you the break down on my cost.


~Cost ~ 
$1.11 for a set of 4.

Oh, yes...you read that right.

Tiles ~ $0.16 each x's 4 = $0.64
Napkins* ~ $0.03 each x's 4 = $0.12 
Felt** ~ $0.35 

*(I got a set of 25 napkins at Walmart and was able to use two snowmen off each napkin)

**( I bought felt to use for the back instead of cork. Each piece was $0.35 and I was able to get 4 squares off each)



A pretty ribbon to tie them all together and you have one great little gift .

My kids are giving sets of these to school teachers and Sunday School teachers.

I'll bet there are TONS of people that would enjoy receiving this sweet little gift!

What I've been working on....  

Posted by: Julie

 
Well hello there!

Gosh, it's been a while hasn't it?

Sorry I've been MIA, but we all know how busy December can be.

I thought I'd pop in to show you two cutie things I've been working on.

First, would you look and this GREAT bow for Christmas packages?



Totally FREE because I made them out of....
leftover WRAPPING PAPER!

I couldn't believe how super easy they are to make.
I'm thinking that after Christmas I'm going to make TONS with my left over paper and fill up boxes of them to give away next year. I mean, who wouldn't love to receive custom made bows?

Want to make some of your own?
Click HERE for the instructions.


And check out this sweet little dress?

I would have LOVED to show it to you on a cute little child,but my 3 yr old boy wanted no part of putting on a girls dress! LOL!



Isn't that the sweetest thing?

I made 3 of them to give to my little nieces for Christmas this year.
I know it looks a bit like a summer dress, but I think you could pull it on over a long sleeve white shirt to use in the winter. Add a pair of leggings and you're all set.

All you need...2  bandannas and 1 spool of ribbon
($1 each for the bandannas and $1.97 for the ribbon all purchased at Walmart)

Think you can't sew? HA!

The only sewing is 4 straight lines.

I KNOW you want to make one of these, right?
For the how to's visit Trey and Lucy

Happy Thanksgiving, Ya'll!  

Posted by: Julie


Homemade Keepsake Ornaments  

Posted by: Julie

giveaways

I'm linking to Today's Creative Blog 

Today I thought I would share the Christmas ornaments
I made for my mom last year.

First, I had each child sit very straight on a chair,
making sure the girls hair was out of their face,
and took a picture of their profile.

I printed it onto card stock and cut them out.





Next I put the cut-out profile picture onto green scrapbook paper
and traced each picture then cut them out.





I purchased round cardboard ornaments from Michael's and painted them red, then I used Mod Podge to secure the profile to the ornament.






I used the same green paper as the profile to print the children's names and the year. I cut it out and again used Mod Podge to secure it to the ornament.






I tide a simple little ribbon to the top of the ornament.




Now, I need to make some for MY tree!

Easy Christmas Ornament  

Posted by: Julie

giveaways

 

I'm linking to Today's Creative Blog 

Here is a very sweet and inexpensive Christmas ornament
I made to give as gifts this year...

bird's nests for the tree!



Here's how I did it:
I found this decorative excelsior moss in one of my cabinets
and decided it would make a great base for the nest.




I pulled out a small amount and just used my hands to press and shape until...


it took on the shape of a birds nest.


I thought it looked a little too "green" so I spritzed it with a bit of brown spray paint I had on hand.




I picked up a bag of spanish moss at the Dollar Tree



and added it to the nest to give it more dimension.



I made little bird eggs out of air dry clay I had left over from a school project and hot glued them in the nest along with a bit of Merry Christmas ribbon.




I made these as gifts, but I think I need to make one for my tree, too!

Welcome to my new kitchen!!!  

Posted by: Julie

Oh dear, what a yucky day to be out and about… so wet, windy and cold!

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Come in, come in and dry off. We won’t stop in the laundry room today (it’s not totally finished) but it’s still warm and welcoming.

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Let’s step through this door into the kitchen.

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Come along and I'll show you all the little details.

This is the bar area near my sink.

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I love that space but I don’t “use” it that often so I thought I’d dress it up a bit. (please don’t mind the cords, I’ll be hiding them in the near future) Click HERE to see a close up of the center piece.

While we’re standing here let’s look up.

On the top of the cabinets to the right I have a basket of apples…

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and on the cabinets to the left I have a little print (from Walmart) and one of my rooster canisters (from TJ Maxx).

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In the space on the wall above the window I have this little sign I found at Ross…

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Further down we have more cabinets and counter space.

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Here’s a different view.

I framed cookie molds for the art work and I set my re-purposed tins here. Click HERE and HERE to see how I did it. In the corner I have bunches and bunches of apples.

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See my apple plates? Click HERE to see how I made them.

Have you noticed my cabinet knobs? Click HERE to see how I updated them.

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Okay, forgive me, this is the un-finished part of the kitchen…the big, green monster!

(I’m going to paint it white like the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen. I just haven’t had the time.)

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It is Kenton’s office space. I added a brownish-blackish clock (found at TJ Maxx) above the desk and a print (from Walmart) on the wall beside the glass door. See the lamp? It used to be brass. I painted it black and sponged on bronze paint. It’s going to be fantastic when the desk is white!

Now here is the view of the kitchen from the glass door.

I changed the curtains from white to checked black and brown that I found at Lowe’s.

My dad came across the great rug I have under the table. It helps warm up that big, white floor.

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These cabinets are on the wall between the door to my laundry room and the door to my living room.

I love to listen to my radio when I am working in the kitchen and this is a great spot for it to be.

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I loved this print when I saw it at Hobby Lobby and I knew it would be perfect in my kitchen.

Here’s a close up (excuse the reflections)100_5094

We are back to the fridge and here are the pretties I have on top. The rooster canister came from TJ Maxx, the cups from Goodwill and the vase belongs to my grandmother.

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I even found matching salt and pepper shakers!

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I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my kitchen.

Thank you for coming by for a visit!

Please come back anytime :-)

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For more transformations,

visit Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch