A Birthday Party!

This year I was fortunate to be able to host the birthday bash for two of my young grandsons, aged 11 and 8 yrs old. Of course I asked if I could do the decorations in white. They think Grandma is a little funny anyway. The "P A R T Y" banner idea came from Scrapbooks Etc. I used bits from my scrapbooking stash and bits from thrift store finds, leftovers from the Dollar store - cost 0$.
Oh, I even used a bit from out of the local newspaper for the border trim.

I wanted to make more of these giant tissue paper roses, I just ran out of time and energy. There is a wonderful tutorial at My Shabby Streamside Studio

and they are lots of fun to make. Just like the Kleenex carnations we used to make when we were kids (only way bigger!). Thank you Sandy for taking the time to do that for us all.

The tissue was a handout at a store promotion last Christmas, so cost for this project - 0$.

Dollar Store balloons and thrift store streamers - $1.25

This banner is in French because my grandsons attend a French Immersion school. The two eldest are very fluent in both reading and writing both languages, the youngest started kindergarten this year, but knows a few words already. I am very proud of them.

Cost of this banner - printer paper and ink (you do the math)

A great birthday party celebration - PRICELESS!



Join another White Wednesday party over at Faded Charm - thank you once again Kathleen.

I Think Summer is Past

I wanted to title this entry "Bad Blogger" but I did not like what I saw when I put that into Google. The world has taken the ordinary English language and perverted some of the words and their meanings. But what I wanted to say, is that I am sorry I have been gone from the computer for so long. I have had a surge of creativity (mostly scrapbooking) and did not want to loose the momentum. In other words, I have been having fun.
This is a piece that I made from scraps and thrift store stuff, the basic idea came from Crafts 'n Things Magazine August 2010 Issue.

I do promise to try harder to blog (at least more that once a month!) Thank you to all my kind and patient followers and friends who keep coming back with their encouraging comments. That is why I blog, basically.

Thank you to Stacey for the cute vintage photo.

And now, a quote (borrowing the idea from my friend Janis )

The beauty of the house is order,
The blessing of the house is contentment,
The glory of the house is hospitality,
The crown of the house is godliness.
Unknown

White Wednesday - Remembering an Old Friend

Last April our little Aussie Shepherd passed away. She spent alot of time in the garden, so I wanted to put something out there to remember her by.

I painted a metal platter from the Dollar Store and Kara cut the pretty vinyl letters for me. Kara has a shop on Etsy.
I already had the iron hanger. So last weekend DH nailed it into the corner of the garden shed. I really love how it turned out, and it was a very thrifty project.

Happy White Wednesday #58 Everyone!

White Wednesday - Something Different

This is one of my recent 'treasure' hunting finds. It had an exact duplicate that was twice the size as well that I didn't pick up. Of course I regret it now. I already have a pink gum ball machine and have been looking for white gumballs - can't seem to find them.
I filled this little one with large pearl beads, also a 'treasure hunting' find. I think it is funny, my grandsons get a kick out of Grandma's decorating ideas.

This little shelf I have had for many years. It used to hold my CD's.

Don't forget to go to Kathleen's blog to link up with all the other great White Wednesday ideas. A great way to spend a few hours on a summer Wednesday.

White Wednesday - I WON!

DH and I spent the day at a local Berry Festival. That is where they close off the streets downtown and have all kinds of fun activities, live music and farmer's markets to see. This is one of my favorite stores to shop in. I get lots of inspiration when I go in there. They always have lovely music playing in the background, scented candles and sometimes home baked cookies and apple cider. It refreshes my soul when I go in there.
Here are a few shots from the inside.

Oh, BTW this is me and my fabulous prize! I won the sweetest bicycle planter. The details are exquisite! What a wonderful unexpected blessing.

Thank you Creekside.

White Wednesday - In My Garden

Here is my French flower cart (thank you Sandi for talking me into it) It was a birthday gift from my Dad. I had seen something similar in one of those great Romantic magazines that we all love about 2 years ago. I never thought I would see one like it. I found it at HomeSense, marked down by $50.00!
The white bird house is made from recycled fence boards. I bought it from The Passionate Home when they had their Farm Chicks style sale. It is very special because it was made by the father of one of the great gals that works there. I like it when I know the history of a piece and have a connection.

My DH and I made a little windchime from some odds and ends.

The bird feeder was in an earlier post. The fence actually started out as a garden bench. The weather got to it and it rotted. When I was taking it apart I found that the back was still in pretty good condition, so I painted it white and now it is a little fence. Recycling at it's best!

Thank you Kathleen for hostessing White Wednesday # 55!

A New Camera

I was getting disappointed with the photos that my old digital was taking so I bought an inexpensive Fuji mini camera. It will be much lighter to pack in my purse.
Just as the sun was going down, I took a few shots at the garden - just for practice. I would have tried out the camera earlier, but the owner's manual is on a CD and I didn't find it as convenient as a paper copy. I need to spend a few evenings learning how it works.

Do you think the photos are any clearer?