Southern Scraps

Last weekend we had the honor and privilege of celebrating my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. I'm so thankful God blessed me with parents who have been an example and upheld marriage as He intended it. I had lots of fun preparing and decorating. The huge panels behind the food bar are there to hide the kitchen. The reception was held at their church social hall which hasn't been updated since 1986 so it takes a bit of work to make it magical.  I enlisted the help of the hubby to make a large "50" to hang on the panels. I purchased a sheet of poster size thin foam board from Dollar General and asked him to draw and cut the numbers. Each number is roughly the size of half a sheet of board. Once he cut them out, I wrapped them in gold/silver tinsel garland purchased on clearance after Christmas at Dollar General. It took six strands of 9 ft garland to cover the letters. I attached it at the beginning and ends with a little hot glue. Total cost of party

Halloween is past and now it's that time of year for counting our blessings, showing gratitude, and giving thanks for them. Here are  15 crafts and  decor ideas for showing gratitude and thanksgiving. Thanks jar centerpiece

Remember my washi tape clothespins ? Remember I said they were part of a bigger project? I'm finally able to reveal my fall mantel and blessings garland. Some simple things on each side of the mantel. And the garland. I used fabric scraps from my stash and tied them to a string of twine to make a garland.  I was inspired by this one at Hoosier Homemade . I mentioned it here about a year ago and made it happend this year. The washi tape clothespins were used to pin doily leaves from the Dollar Tree onto the garland. I wrote "Count Your Blessings" on the center one. I had six more leaves so I asked the hubby to name three things he was thankful for and I added three more. Since we both said each other, I combined it into "You and me" on one leaf.   I think the leaves will become a tradition for us each year since I can change them out.   Just a heads up. I'll be having a Black Friday Sale in my etsy shop November 23, 2012 to

I finally got my garland finished and hung on the mantel this past weekend, so now I can finally reveal the whole mantel to you. Every project seems to be done just a few minutes here and a few minutes there, so it takes me a while.

Day 6 When I was shopping at Michael's on Black Friday I came across the pom poms in the kid and felt craft section. A light bulb went off- I could make a pom pom garland for my mantel in this year's colors with these. I hadn't even posted this Must Do Monday yet, so the idea was all mine- not original- but still I thought of it myself.  I will admit that afterwards I took the advice of The Inspired Room and used the dental floss to string my garland. I also used some rice beads, and clear, red, green, and blue beads from my stash. I vowed last year to use up that stash, so good for me- one more use for them! So- to make your own, you need pom poms, beads, a needle that will fit through your beads, and dental floss. Just string on everything with your needle! Measure your mantel and add a little extra for draping and overhang to get the right length. I had fun with this and the hubby likes it too. Sharing here: Think Pink Sundays

Last year I began to notice so many pretty garlands floating around in blogland. I fell in love and, time permiting, I would have one for each season/ holiday. But notice I said- TIME PERMITTING. So far I've only made an Easter banner . My fall mantel sure could have used a garland. SO, garlands are still on my must do list. Here are some that inspire me: This one could be adapted to any season or theme, depending on the colors of fabrics you use. from Hoosier Homemade