'Tis the season to deck the halls. My family truly goes nuts with the holiday decorating this time of year. I have simple and quite traditional tastes in holiday decor. I like to surround myself with evergreens and red ribbons. Over the years we have been in our home, I have added quite a bit of greenery to our holiday decor and I am going to share my ideas with you. So number one is the most obvious. If the tree top is still in pretty good shape, you can put a block of floral foam in a large vase or planter and "plug" the tree top into it. This will give you a small topiary that can be put on a table, buffet or sidebar or even next to a doorway, window or path. With a few ornaments and maybe a short string of lights, you have a nice piece to add to your holiday decor. I used mine last year as a small tree in my holiday light display in my yard. I plugged the tree top straight into the ground. | Slideshow pictures courtesy of Home Depot online. |
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Thank you to all my friends and family for their support. I could not do it without them. And remember Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale going on now on at my Etsy Shop and Online Store!
This is a simple and useful way to fold a napkin…a silverware pouch brought to you by eFavorMart.
through my ideas this morning deciding what I wanted to share…I decided on the info on veils. As I was looking over the link again, I realized it only tells how to wear. So a the logic progressed, you can't wear it if you don't know what style you should wear…you can't choose a veil style before you find your dress….and so on. So this is the first in a short series that I am going to call Bridal Basics. And today's share is "How to Choose a Wedding Dress'. The Wikihow page I found is quite informative on choosing a wedding dress style to suit you.
There are a many ways to use a napkin ring holder. This short video demonstrates a simple yet elegant way. Again, video brought to you by our friends at eFavorMart. When my daughter was a baby, we had her bassinet in our living. I would sleep on the couch next to the bassinet at night and she took all her daytime naps in it until she outgrew it. One afternoon, she had just fallen asleep. I needed to use the restroom, which we have a powder room off our living room. I opened the door and the door let out this loud slow "CREAK!" She started to stir. I quickly went down to our basement where my husband keeps all his tools and such and looked for the WD-40 only to be disappointed. We were out. So then the light bulb appeared…cooking spray. So off to the powder room armed with butter flavored Pam. Of course, an oil is and oil and it worked. The next time the door started squeaking, my husband sprayed with WD-40…and I realized how much I disliked the odor. So now, for things with low friction that are in the house (mostly doors), I use cooking spray instead of WD-40. I actually learned this a long time ago when I had a pet mouse. Mice or hamsters and their wheels and night…good grief! Using cooking oil is safer because the mice will lick and gnaw whatever you put on the wheel as a lubricant. I thought about sharing this today because I went out onto my porch and my storm door hinges started creaking this morning. Even though this is an exterior door, I opted for the cooking spray because we have a very curious puppy who chews and licks everything. And no sooner did I spray the hinges, she was out trying lick and chew them. So the tip of the day, for a temporary squeak or one where chemicals could be harmful to exposed children or animals, cooking spray will usually work well. I must caution though…cooking sprays can be flammable so this is not a good idea near something that may have sparks, open flames or high amounts of friction. Oh, and I now never buy butter flavor cooking spray…just in case. :)
Everything about it is customizable to your event…the colors, the style of holder (can be vase, mug, pencil cup…whatever you choose). The pom can easily be removed and you are still left with a pen or pencil. After a quick look for pricing (no comparison shopping), you can make 96 pom favors on personalized pencils to fit into 12 centerpieces (that would be 12 tables/8 guests per table) for $82.00. Again, I said this is without comparison shopping, using any deals or anything like that. That comes down to $6.83 per centerpiece which includes favors per eight person table. Prices were based on WalMart for tissue paper, Oriental Trading Company for personalized pencils, craft store/dollar store for vases, ribbon and rubber bands.
I refuse to buy poms because I know how easy and cheap they are to make. Not to mention, you still have to put them together anyway when you buy pre made ones...they do not come already 'fluffed'. So here is a tutorial on how to make your own poms and some ideas for what to do with them. Half PomHalf poms have so many possible uses, I cannot list them all. But for starters, they can be added to ribbon for a beautiful sash, used in center pieces, favor box toppers and bridal car decorations. Poms can be made out of paper, plastic or cloth…in my examples I have used white toilet paper (awesome for this project if the poms are for indoors), tissue paper, and the advertisements from a sunday newspaper. In the past, I have used super cheap plastic table cloth with no backing to make poms for the bridal car (so they would be water resistant). Any result, when you are finished, pull the ends of each stack together to make a 'cross' or 'x'. An you are now right where you would be if you bought them pre-made.
Full PomThese poms are great for flower girls to carry as well as for decorations. You can hang them or place them on a vase and let the ribbon dangle and collect inside. I tied a ribbon loop around the middle instead of rubber band. And when pealing or fluffing, after I pealed about 4 layers, I flipped the pom over and started again on the bottom. I did a quick price check, just one 15" ball, to buy pre-made is $9-15 plus shipping…and you do most of the work anyway. You can make up to a 20" ball for $3 or less! See my post Functional Centerpiece/Favor for a fantastic idea on how to make a beautiful centerpiece and favors for many events including personal or business parties, showers, or even weddings.
Ok…here is an easy craft to make for or with any princess. This one's just so cute and simple I had to share immediately. This napkin fold is pretty cute. I don't know if I will ever get a chance to use it though. While I was checking out how to videos, I found several on creative folding of napkins. So here's my next share…this ones called "Eagle's Nest". Benefits and tricks:
I have decided to take a new direction with my blog. Through the years I have found many decorating, recycling, recipes, make-up, nails, and hair tips. Some I have discovered on my own, others have been shared with me. So I am going to share them here. So my first share comes from one of the places I get supplies from. This is how to tie a bow. I could never get my bows to turn out right. It seems so simple and as smart as I usually am, if feel kind of silly for not figuring this one out on my own!
So it is November here in the Ohio Valley and the weather is starting to change. I definitely feel the difference this year in comparison to years past. Today I feel like I am 80 years old. My knees are aching, the arthritis in my hands is flaring up and my muscles are fatiguing quickly. I know stress has a lot to do with it, especially coupled with the falling thermometer. Usually I felt much better this time of year due to the cooler temps…but father time is taking a toll and this year it is actually bothering me. I'd still rather snuggle up on the couch with a soft warm blanket as opposed to sipping an iced tea while sweating just sitting on the porch…but my bod is starting to disagree with me.
one by one…but I just can't help thinking about everything else that I have/want to do. Sometimes the list goes on so long that I forget what's on it. I am constantly reminded of the tasks that lay ahead of me…they are all around me, all the time. I never get to escape or have 'down time'. And even if I do, I can't help feeling I am wasting time and I should be productive. This all make me feel quite defeated most of the time. I keep saying to myself; "as soon as I get this done…." but there is always more sneaking on the back of the list all the time. Then there is the list of 'hobbies' or other projects that do not impact anything, they are just out there in limbo, and are things I'd really like to do, but I just don't think I will ever get the time. Maybe someday it will get easier and I will have the time. Hopefully, I will still have the desire and ability.
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July 2015
AuthorMy name is Jennifer. I am an ex-career woman, mom and owner/creator of JLO Specialties. Categories
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