Happy New Year!

We wish you and yours a wonderful and safe New Years!

Thanksgiving Center Pieces

We are an old fashioned family that has a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. What with the turkey, all the trimmings and our family and guests, it doesn’t leave much room for a fancy center piece.


So, here are some simple and inexpensive yet beautiful center piece ideas.

This is very simple, yet looks expensive

Use a pumpkin as a vase

Wrap a ribbon around candle jar/glass and tuck in a flower from your yard .

(All images were sent by family and friends so dont know the sites they came from. If you do, please let me know and i will post the credits )

What ideas do you have?

Mummy Flower Pots

Halloween Mummy Pots

Materials Needed

Terra Cotta Pot - 5 ½ inches tall

Muslin at least 2 torn strips - (you can add more as desired)

2 black 10 mm Pom Poms

Acrylic paint: fluorescent green or orange

Stencil brush

Paper towel

Hot glue gun

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Glue the end of a muslin strip to the rim of the terra-cotta pot with a small drop of glue.

2. Wrap the strip around the pot, gluing it lightly in place as needed.

3. Continue covering the pot with muslin strips, gluing the beginning of each new strip to the end of the previous one. Occasionally twist the muslin during the wrapping process to add dimension, and glue the twist to the pot.

4. When the pot is completely covered (do not cover the bottom of the pot), dip a stencil brush lightly into the fluorescent paint. Dab the brush on a paper towel to remove any excess paint, and lightly brush on the muslin until the pot is covered. Allow the paint to dry.

5. Add black Pom Poms for eyes.



photo and article source: http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/mummies.shtml

Recycled Shoes

Do you have an old pair shoes you just can’t part with, but you can no longer wear? Perfect! Turn them into planters!


Just remove the insoles (if possible) , drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage and ta da, you have a new planter!

As you can see, you can use any kind of shoes, boots, sneakers, or kids shoes. Just use your imagination.

Enjoy :)

Recycle your Bra!

( This originated in Australia as a fundraising venture to find a cure for breast cancer.)

Thursday Thoughts

 

Friendship......It doesn't matter what color you are.

4th of July Flowers

I am having a little get together today for the 4th of July. It is last minute so I’m now scrambling to find some easy decorating ideas. And I thought I would share them with you.


First, the centerpiece:

This is the easiest thing I can think of as I have tons of craft balls in different sizes. I’m going to use a 3 inch diameter Styrofoam ball. They you just push in carnations all the way around until it is full. You can also do the same with a square if that is what you have handy.


 
I have a white tablecloth for our picnic table, so I’m going to go to the dollar store and get some red plates with blue napkins. I will also be adding candles. I have some clear round votive candle holders that I will wrap red, white and blue ribbon around.


I have asked everyone to bring a dish and I will provide the desserts. There is no time for baking so I’m off to Publix and the dollar store!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Dandelion Honey

I love honey! I use it for so many things; teas, toast and pancakes. Today I found a great recipe I would like to share with you.

You will need:


• 4 cups dandelion petals
• 4 cups water
• 3 (1/4-inch) thick slices lemon
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split in half
• 2-1/8 cups granulated white sugar

Preparation:

Pick dandelion flowers during the daylight while in full bloom, remove petals, then measure petals only.

Place petals in a heavy saucepan along with the water, lemon slices, and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 6 hours.

Strain dandelion tea through cheesecloth and discard solids. Place in a heavy saucepan and bring to a low boil. Gradually add sugar while stirring until sugar is dissolved. Lower heat and let simmer to desired syrupy thickness (may take up to 4 hours).

Dandelion Honey is great on toast, muffins, pancakes, and biscuits.

Yield: about 1 cup

Flower Arranging 101

Flowers are popping up all over my yard....now what do I do? I want to enjoy them indoors as well as out and Im sure you do too. So here are some great websites to help you with your flower arranging!

Basics

Look like a Proffesional

How to make a Fresh Floral Bouquet

Martha's Flower-Arranging Secrets


Enjoy your flowers longer and bring some love indoors.

We have a Winner

We went to Random.org and entered 28 entries, and # 15 came up as the Winner!
Congrats to @spiritofgiving2 !
Please contact us within 24 hours to claim your prize so we may ship it out!

Flower Giveaway!

Win a pair of Beautiful Magnolias for Mothers Day!

Magnolias ~ Symbolizes splendid beauty, dignity, love of nature and nobility.

Our soap flowers are only made with a rich creamy, vegetable based soap that will leave your skin soft and moisturized.


See below for directions on entering and Good Luck! 

Must Enter By:


We would like you to join our blog, but not nessassary to win and then comment in this post which soap flowers that we make are your favorite.
Visit our site by clicking here: The Soap Florist.

Extra Entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter @SoapFlorist (unless you already are) and comment here that you did so or you are.

2. Tweet about this giveaway and include “@soapflorist” in the tweet. Make sure you comment here including your twitter user name that you did so. (Please don’t spam your followers)

3. Comment on any post here at The Soap Florist Blog and comment here the link of where you commented. (this is a daily option)

Giveaway Info:

Open to US residents’ only (shipping purposes). This giveaway will end Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 4:00 PM EST. The winners will be picked by Random.org and will be announced the same night via this blog and Twitter. The winner will need to claim their prize within 24 hrs to enable us to ship out in time for Mother’s Day. If winner doesn’t claim prize within this time period, we will pick a new winner but can not guarantee that it will arrive before Mother’s day.

Enjoy and thank you for participating!

Deforestation Concerns

April Flowers

April is a good time to start planning your landscape and the design of your yard. You can select from many different types of flowers to plant in April. Use scented and colorful flowers for entrance ways or flowerbeds. Border flowers are ideal to add to any flower bed or along a fence. Use ground cover flowers for bare areas of your yard.

Pansies

Pansies come in a many varieties for shapes and colors. They're a short plant that is excellent for borders on flower beds. Plant pansies in April, after frost warnings have passed for your particular planting zone. Great for container gardening.

Sweet Williams

Attract butterflies or hummingbirds to your yard by planting Sweet Williams or Wee Willies in full sun during April. They come in shades of reds, pinks and white. Very light scent.

Pulmonaria

Pumonaria, also known as Blue Ensign is perfect to plant in April in bare spots under trees, along fences or the base of mailboxes. Perfect shade plant and spreads quickly.



Check with your local nurseries for flowers that grow well in your area or soil.

Then enjoy your garden of scents and colors!

Life is Good!

Shared Space

As many of you know, my sister of "Hailey's Dragonfly Garden" has moved her studio to my studio. I had plenty of room and it will be nice to see her more often. We do have a few more things to do, like adding more shelves and unpacking more boxes, but all in all, she has settled in nicely.

Take care

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Free Products

We all are feeling the pressure of the economy, so here are some great offers to try new products FREE before you buy them!


Burt's Bees® Natural Toothpaste Sample


FREE Tax Filing with TaxAct!

Video Yoga Classes

FREE sample of Joint Oats 4 Dogs!

Free Berres Brothers Coffee
Promo code 21RR

Free sample of Crest 3D Whitestrips

Wordless Wednesday

What a great idea for a craft project!

Wordless Wednesday

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what
makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love..

They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their
family and friends.

Women have vital things to say
and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Wordless Wedsnesday

Wordless Wednesday

This is For the Birds

5 oz of shortening or lard
1 cup of bird food mixture
(Birdseed, sunflower seeds, unsalted nuts, oats, coconut flakes, raisins, cornmeal, etc)
Two cleaned and dried yogurt cups
Some ribbon or netting material (Like an onion bag)
Scissors

Instructions:

1. Heat the shortening in a pot until it just melts. Add the bird food mixture to the liquid and stir thoroughly.

2. Fill each of the yogurt cups and insert ribbon. Just knot one end and insert the knotted end in the wet mixture.... or insert nothing and use a netting material to hold the food cake when solid.

3. Store the in the refrigerator until the shortening hardens and the mixture is solid.

4. Cut the yogurt cup away from the bird food cake.

5. Tie a ribbon to the hook and hang on a branch.

You can double your recipe and keep in the freezer for up to two months.

 Have fun!