Folded Book Photo Display

A few weekends ago, my sister and I went "treasure hunting"...also known as shopping in antique stores and home decor places.  We bought a few things and gathered lots of ideas. Its the best place to find inspiration and ignite my creativity.



Beside the cash register at one of these stores was the cutest little folded book where business cards were adorably displayed.

As soon as I saw it, my mind started thinking of how I could recreate it.


This morning, I grabbed one of my favorite books to re-purpose...I love the colorful cover that I will use for another project. I love that the pages are a little discolored, thanks to their age. I love the size. And I love that it came from the free box at a local used book store. Give me all the Readers Digest Condensed Books. ha.

But any book with this same thickness will do.

It doesn't even need to be a hard backed book, because the first step is to remove the cover.

Then, I started folding. I folded each page in half. (Perfect movie-watching activity)

And if I came across a page that had an illustration, I just adjusted which way I folded the page to hide the picture. In the end, it didn't matter which way each page was folded.

Instead of business cards, mine will display photos or cards received. (Snail Mail Forever!!)

I've been wanting to host another Crafternoon...this may just be a featured project. It was easy, cheap and the end result was rewarding.

Who would be interested in a future Crafternoon...I'll come up with the projects, you'll pay a small supply fee, and we will all craft together!

A Free Pine Cone Wreath for Fall

Everyone seems to be jumping full force into this fall season...but I love summer. I love the sunshine and warm weather. Trips to the beach and wearing shorts. It's one of the reasons why I am so happy to be living in Tennessee.

So, I have decided to just slowly decorate my house for fall. A small pumpkin here and some autumn colors there. I've also decided to use mostly natural items for now.

I started with my front door wreath. Thanks to a large pine tree in our front yard, we are constantly picking up pine cones. One day, I collected a grocery sack full and left them in the garage.  The cones seem to be tightly closed and a little damp when they first fall off our tree. After a few days, the cones had dried out and "bloomed" nicely. (Please don't judge my lack of proper pine-cone terminology)

I was going to try hot gluing the cones to a wreath form - but Martha said floral wire was the way to go. In the end, I was thankful for the wire - this allowed me to "pose" my pine cones as I went along. And since I may use this wreath for multiple seasons, the wire will help my wreath to last longer.

Martha suggested a wire wreath form, but since I had part of a grapevine wreath already in my wreath stash, I thought I could avoid a trip to the store. When I buy a grapevine wreath, I usually cut the vine that is wrapped around the entire wreath. I can then get two wreaths from the same set of vines.

To make this pine cone wreath, I first cut a bunch of 6-8 inch pieces of the floral wire.  Wearing my gardening gloves (because those pine cones are prickly), I did what Martha said and wrapped the wire around the top part  (I am sure there is a name for that) of the cone.

Then I wrapped the wire tail around the grapevine, tucking in the leftover wire.

I was pleased with the end result and I love how it looked against my blue door. In January, I might paint the tips of the pine cones with white paint to resemble snow.

I took a little walk today with a pair of sturdy scissors and came home with a little bit of bittersweet. Most of the berries are still green (usually til after the first frost), but I was able to find a few branches that were turning that pretty shade of orange.

Little pieces of the vine stuck nicely in between the pine cones. As the berries open up, more and more orange will be exposed. Eventually, these berries dry a burnt orange color. I still have a vase full from two years ago. They seem to last forever.

So, for $0, two nature walks and a nap time, I was able to decorate my door in a natural way. I love the little bits of color that the bittersweet added. And I love that my blue door tells me it's OK to hold on to the cheery summer weather for a little bit longer.

Free Roadside Berries Make Me Smile

I'm a simple girl to please. Even though my love language is gifts, I don't have to be given extravagant, expensive items to feel loved (although, I won't turn those gifts down!).

Today, I felt loved when my husband and son brought me an armload of bittersweet.

The roads near my house are filled with wooded areas. And beautiful bittersweet berries fill the trees. I've been spotting these pretty orangey-red berries for the last few weeks. We'll be driving along and I will point and shout out, "BITTERSWEET!"  The vines are usually hanging from the trees. Now that the leaves are gone, you can easily spot it.

I even saw some along our backyard fence the other day. My boys went on a walk today and came back with this awesome bunch of the bittersweet.

I love the colors, the way it easily twists around my pumpkins, and the fact that it is FREE! The little yellow parts will eventually fall off, but the branches make great decor throughout the winter.

Hudson proudly handed me this little branch - and so I kept it, squashed berry and all.

Take a look at the trees around your house...you might be surprised by bittersweet in your own backyard!

I am loving it on my table...it makes all those sticky smudges seem less obvious. haha! #momlife

First Day of Spring = FREE Rita's

Rita's Italian Ice is one of my favorite treats EVER! I first fell in love while I was on Encounter....Mango is pretty much the best flavor, but they will let you sample them all to help you decide.

Today, since it is the first day of spring, you can get free Italian ice! Noon to 9 pm.

I'm only wishing our Rita's wasn't downtown. It would be even better if they had a drive through. I just don't think Hudson is ready to maneuver downtown today. Oh well...I'll just enjoy Rita's another time.

But you should all go enjoy some free ice today!