Flower Arrangement Revamp & Lamp Shade Embellishment

I just wanted to share a couple small things I've done around the house recently that have made a big impact. First, I REALLY wish I would have taken a BEFORE picture of this flower arrangement. I'm usually so good about remembering to do that, but not this time. So you'll have to believe me when I tell you that the flowers were so faded and the leaves were so dirty that I just couldn't stand it anymore! I love this arrangement--it's in a metal basket with moss and the best part is that I only paid $3 for it at a church rummage sale a few years ago!

So...what I decided to do was pull all the old, faded flowers off and hot glue new, vibrant flowers on. I throughly wiped down (ok--I scrubbed!) the leaves and I also threaded ribbon through the metal basket and added a bow. It looks so fresh now and is a nice pop of color for Summer on my front porch. Loving the "revamp"!

 Next, this sad, plain, white lamp shade has been sitting upon a lamp I bought a while back at a thrift store

My mom gave me this champagne colored satin tie/scarf and I dug in my old jewelry box and found the pink bling brooch.

I just tied the scarf on, tucked in the ends, and pinned on the brooch. I may still mess with it, but for now it looks much better than the plain white shade!

DIY Fresh Fruit Arrangement

So we've all seen those wonderfully beautiful arrangements of fresh fruit in a great container that you can pay an arm & a leg for to give as a gift, right? Well, a few years ago, I decided that I'd just make my own! I needed an original, healthy Father's Day gift and I thought this would be a big surprise. (Dad loved it btw) Luckily, I took pictures of the process to share~but I'm just now remembering to share them!


Supplies needed:

Lots of fresh fruit
(I used strawberries, grapes, pineapple, honeydew melon, & cantaloupe. I even cheated & bought the pre-cut tray of fruits at the grocery store! This doesn't have to be time-consuming!)

Note: Try to steer clear of mushy fruits that won't want to stay up on the skewers or fruit like bananas and apples that will immediately turn brown.



Fruit Dip (optional)
I snagged a pack of Marzetti's chocolate dip in the produce section)

Bamboo skewers

A container of your choice

Weights to hold container
I used those glass decorative things--just poured them in & it added enough to hold the container up against the weight of the fruit.

A piece of styrofoam (you can cut it to fit your container)

Cookie cutters, sharp knife, cutting board

Directions:
1. Start by weighting your container. Then add styrofoam on top. I filled in around the sides of the styrofoam with the weights as well.

2. Alternate fruit pieces on the skewers, leaving enough room at the bottom to stick it into the styrofoam.

3. Cut some fruit into shapes using the cookie cutters (or freehand it with your knife, if you're feeling it.)

4. I covered the styrofoam with something so that the fruit didn't touch it, but honestly, I cannot remember what! Sorry...like I said, I made this a few years ago.

That's it. Present it with pride, knowing that you paid half the price and you made it yourself!

Baby Shower Goodies

I hosted a baby shower for my best friend this weekend at my mom's house, as you've probably heard already. We've been preparing for it for weeks and it went great! I wanted to share the blocks & the sign I made that coordinated with the theme of blue & brown polka dots & paisleys. The blocks were given to her after the shower. They have the baby's initials on one side, ABC, 123, BOY on the other sides.
I also made a diaper wreath that served as both decoration at the shower as well as a gift~and my Mom, sister, and I all made the little favor boxes. I included a pic of an arrangement we made that we hung little baby bottles, carriages, pacifiers, & other ornaments from. It looked so cute in person!




We stuck the sign onto my mom's welcome sign that was already there & it stayed...