Fashionably Late

Rhoda from Southern Hospitality has been hosting a fabulous Top Ten Projects of 2008 party and I'm arriving late....but better late than never, I always say!

It's been both fun and rewarding to look back through the past year and remind myself that I was actually able to complete a few projects.

Last spring I took an old dresser, that someone had left at the curb for trash, and turned it into a treasure for our backyard patio.
I love the transformation of an old desk from the thrift store into a beauty of an entry table.
There was the "ugly art" that I changed into a unique and useful chalkboard.
I'm surprised at how popular my 5 minute monogram project became!It's exciting to see how others have personalized it to their taste.
I always enjoy a quick and easy project like taking a plain wooden tray and making it special.
I did a paint makeover on one of the very first door projects my husband and I ever made. I'm always amazed at how much paint can transform just about any object.
Speaking of door projects, my husband and I enjoyed taking several doors, that we had stored in our garage, and making them into useful and beautiful pieces of furniture.
I'm so glad that I started to blog in 2008! It's been just the motivation I needed to accomplish a few projects. I'm looking forward to a new year full of creativity!

I Heart the DT

What do you do when you put away all of the decorations from the past holiday? Well, go to the dollar store of course, to see what's new for the next holiday. And, as usual, I found a few fun things to buy.
I think that the dollar store is a lot like the thrift store. If you look with an open mind, there are always treasures to be found!
Here's what I bought:At first glance, this may not seem like much, right?
Look again!

A roll of holiday ribbon is always a good investment. I have a favorite little boutique that always looks beautiful for each holiday and season. One of the tricks they use is to tie festive ribbon on the items that they always have on display. They tie it to apothecary jars, candles, lamps, wherever! That little touch changes the look of the whole store. It's a great idea to use at home too.

A bag, or two, of conversation hearts is a MUST for Valentine's. Put them in a pretty bowl, jar, or heart shaped container for a treat or a gift. Use them as fillers in hurricanes or apothecary jars. They look fun just spread along a shelf or down the center of a tablecloth. One year, I made a simple and quick gift by gluing the candy hearts onto inexpensive candles. They can be glued on in a random pattern or in a few rows at the base of the candle. I used hot glue, but I put the glue on the candy piece, not on the candle itself.

Rub on letters can be used for more than just scrapbooks. Rub them on a mirror for a special message to your loved ones. They can be put on a glass container that holds candy or a candle. Or you can add them to a heart shaped wooden plaque for an easy, inexpensive decoration.

Holiday ice cube trays are great! Think about freezing red drink mix instead of just water. You can use the trays as molds for melting chocolate to make a batch of homemade chocolates. One year I mixed up a batch of plaster of paris and poured it into heart shaped molds. When the plaster was dry, I painted the hearts and gave them as favors. You could even add a magnet on the back of each plaster heart.

Heart shaped tins can be used for holding the homemade chocolates or magnets, or any small gift. You can use them as a family mailbox for placing love notes inside. The tins could be personalized with paint pens or permanent markers, or decoupage an old fashioned valentine, or monogram onto the top.

What ideas can you come up with for these little dollar store goodies?

The Last Holdout

Today I plan to take down and put away my living room Christmas tree.

Yes! It is still up.

I usually don't take it down until after my kids go back to school. I like to keep this tree up a little longer than the other decorations, so I can enjoy it's beauty without having my mind running in a dozen different directions. It's kind of a ritual for me. While I take it down and put everything away, I reflect on the holidays and the past year. But early this morning I realized that, this year, I hadn't taken the time to really enjoy it at all. It had just been a task on my list of things to do. And so, at around 6 AM, I turned on the lights, laid on my tummy, and took time to gaze and day dream.The village is no longer as orderly as it once was, but I resisted the urge to make everything right again. Instead, I tried to learn a few lessons in the quiet of the morning.The village looked a mess, but it was that way as a result of our cat, my youngest son and his best friend, and my little grand-daughter having fun.

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

LESSON #1: Real life is messy, yet I spend so much time trying to make things appear perfect and pretty that I often miss out on life.
LESSON #2: It's often in the messes where the best memories are made!
LESSON #3: What good is it to have pretty things, if we don't take the time to enjoy them.
LESSON #4: People are more important than possessions.
LESSON #5: I need to spend more time this year on the important things, people and relationships, and less time on acquiring possessions.
LESSON #6: There's a lot to be learned in the quiet of the morning.