Southern Scraps

I have never set a St. Patrick's Day tablescape before, but I managed to pull one together for this year on a low budget. I had many items on hand and managed to find some cute things at the thrift store and Dollar Tree, along with 50% off Michael's items. The fun green glasses were a thrift store find at 79 cents each. I already had the jute napkin rings and found some green napkins for less than a dollar a piece at another thrift store. I picked up some stems for 50% off at Michael's to add to the arrangements. I already had the burlap wrapped jars and some faux flowers on hand.   If you've been following my St. Patrick's Day posts , you know I picked up $7 worth of items at the Dollar Tree to make a wreath and had leftovers. The remainder of the hats made cute little place setting decorations. The wood slice was already on the table as part of the winter tablescape , so I left it out as I imagine leprechauns as woodsy type fellow...

Occassionally the house just gets to smelling yucky! There is only so much human, dog and food smell you can take before you want something fresher and cleaner smelling. This was the case for us recently and my hubby had discovered reed diffusers through a coworker. So we went to Pier One and purchased a couple. They are a bit pricey and one isn't enough for our large open floor plan. However, they do sell the refill oils and additional reeds, so I decided to search the thrift store for a unique bottle that would work to make my own with the refills and reeds. Luck was on my side and I found these with narrow openings. I've read that the narrow opening will make your oil and scent last longer as less can escape through the smaller opening.   A slightly more artistic shot: Obviously the before shots are before I washed them. A good cleaning and they were ready for adding a little decorative touch and some oil and reeds. I pulled out my stash of beads and jute an...

It's almost officially summer so that means its time to pull out the summer decor, particularly my coastal decor. I started with my mantel. I made a large portion of my coastal decor last year . I've switched up the mantel just a little bit this year.

I tried out what seems to be a simple craft and FAILED! I have been wanting to add some more non seasonal, everyday décor to my collection and thought the jute and twine balls would be just the thing. I made a couple by coiling some jute around a Styrofoam ball and gluing it down and wrapping the ball. These were easy enough, but if I ever make more of these I will try to use as little glue as possible, because I really don’t like seeing the lines and gobs of glue between my rows of jute. I also made one the same way with yarn. Here is where the FAILURE comes in. I got some balloons and proceeded to make some twine balls with cotton twine and Mod Podge. Here’s what I started with. I realize it would probably be cheaper with glue and water, but I’m lazy and thought I’d skip a step so I used Mod Podge. Only one of four really turned out well. One of them was really deformed and not at all even. This one pictured below that I tried with yarn still looks like something shed...

I love all the DIY decor accent balls out there, especially the ones with jute and twine. Here are some options I'd like to try out. Brassy Apple uses a variety of materials: Brassy Apple V and Co. spray painted her twine first: V and Co. Bayberry Creek also uses a variety of items: Bayberry Creek Happy Monday. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the $15 gift certificate for Beach City Bath and Body Products- a great way to start the year- pampering yourself.