Frilly Flower Bucket

On the drive home after the benefit a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering what I would do with the flowers, ribbons, as well as scrapbook paper. There was a lot of it, and I don't usually do a whole lot of projects with pink in them.

Back track to about an hour earlier that evening. I was taking all the flowers out of the ball jars and putting them in the 5 gallon bucket to transport them home easier. In the end, the bucket looked awesome! Since the flowers got cut down to go in the jars, they bunched together very nicely, and looked great.

Now return to the drive home. I got to thinking about the flowers again, and knew that mom has ice cream buckets that she keeps, because they are just too handy at times. I got to thinking that I have LOTS of ribbon. I got to thinking that I have scrapbook paper. I got to thinking that there are lots of flowers. And there you go....my frilly flower bucket.

So as soon as I got home, I got to work on the bucket. The hardest part....taking the brads out of ALL the ribbons, then tying the ribbon to the bucket handle. Once I got that paper on and all the ribbons tied on, I put the flowers in, and then completely forgot to take a picture of it! Can you believe that?

Thanks to a church friend, she got a picture of it when she visited Denean one day. (Please don't mind the look of the flowers. They looked much better when she got them...not wilted or droopy.)

If you are wanting to spread some cheer to a person, but in a unique way, try this out. It's so much more fun that just a plain vase. This frilly flower bucket could someday be used for another purpose.

Happy crafting!

Bath Sign

This past Sunday evening, I was finally able to get to my brother and sister-in-law's house to check out the 'bath' sign I made when Lindsey was redoing colors and decor in the bathroom. I got to help her pick out the colors, which was fun. They are a chocolate brown and a neat blue color. The walls got painted tan, and the trim and cabinets are white. I guess I should have just taken a picture of the bathroom, but didn't think about that then.

Here's the sign I made that works perfectly in the bathroom. The colors match quite well, which was a surprise to me since I just mixed the tan and the blue on my own.
(And yup, the same picture twice. One with flash and one without. Since it was about 8pm, no much natural light coming in to help out.)

I picked up the knobs at Hobby Lobby, and they are great. They weren't what I was originally looking for. But in the end, I think they work better than the others would have.

Anybody want one?

Happy Crafting!

Tile Coasters

For the benefit that was last night, I decided to make some coasters.

When I got the tiles, I had addition gift ideas in mine. I knew I was going to make one set for my mom...the far right column, since her birthday is coming up. Don't worry, she got them early. So not spoiling the surprise here. :) I also made myself a set. The 2nd column from the left.

I already have requests for some, because the 3 I took for the silent auction were fought over in bidding wars. If anyone else out there would like a custom set of coasters, let me know. I just might have to finally start an Etsy shop.

Easy Decorations

If you read my other blog, you know that I have been helping out with random things for an upcoming benefit for a young gal that has been fighting various forms of cancer off and on for the past 11 years. Because of the many unknowns with the benefit...like number of people for one, we needed table decorations that were easy to replicate, but on the cheap side.

My idea....flowers in ball jars, with scrapbook paper underneath. It was my mom's idea to try to put the pink cancer ribbon on the top of the jar, where brown and pink polka dot ribbon was placed to add a little color. But, I inquired about if it would be seen, or if the flowers would cover it up. So instead, mom thought we could just scatter the ribbons around the tables.

Thanks for Hobby Lobby having their sales at the right time, I got various forms of pink ribbon at 2 for $1. I also got a bunch of pink and brown 12x12 sheets of scrapbook paper at 3 for $1.

I was thinking about how to make them...and didn't really want to use glue dots (even though I picked up a box). I was wanting something a little more fun! I decided to go with brads. I just used my small hole punch, because it was faster than a push pin, and then put the brad through. I originally had small round white brads that came 50 in a pack for $2.99 (which were not on sale). But then I saw a pack of small square white brads that came 100 in a pack for $2.47. I think it's obvious what I went with. I think they turned out great!

And here is what I have done as of now. I might do a few more, just so we can use them in other places.

I'm excited to see how the table will all come together. I think it will be great!

Printable Calendars

Who isn't in need of a fun, simple, colorful calendar? I enjoy the calendars from the ISU Alumni Association. But after they put in any and every activity happening on campus or with the association, there isn't any room to write the important things in life.

Cameron over at Cottage Industrialist made a fantastic calendar that you can go ahead and print off on your own. The calendar starts this September, and continues through August of 2010. It's simple, but colorful.

Click on the calendars, and it will take you right to the site. The calendars print off in sets of 3. If you have cardstock on hand, you might want to use that to print on, just to make it a little more sturdy.

Also a great Christmas or birthday gift idea would be to put the calendars together like your typical calendar (with the spiral binding), but add photos, scrapbook paper, or have kids color on the back (and upside down) of each of the pages.

Be sure to check out all the other 'Good Stuff' on the site. Fun stuff!

Happy crafting!!