Valentine Dollar Tree Party

Hello everyone! Debbie over at Debbiedo's is hosting a Valentine Dollar Tree Party and I wanted to join in on the fun. So off to the Dollar Tree I went to see what I could find. I actually came away with two fun ideas! For this first one, I purchased an 8 X 10 silver picture frame, a package of puffy, glittery heart picks, and a spool of Valentine themed ribbon. I also used two different scrapbook papers, but I already had these at home in my stash.

I removed the glass from the frame and put it away to use at a later date. I then removed the puffy hearts from their sticks. I inserted the red piece of scrapbook paper in my frame and layered my patterned, translucent piece of scrapbook paper on top of it. Then I just used a dab of hot glue and glued three of my puffy hearts onto the paper. I used a thin tipped sharpie pen to free hand the words faith, hope, and love under the hearts. Then I took my ribbon and crafted a bow that I hot glued to the top of my frame. I topped the bow off with another one of the puffy hearts. And this is what I ended up with:

Isn't that cute?? And I only spent $3.00 on this project!! I decided to create a little table top vignette with it.

I am so pleased with how this little project turned out. For my second project, I'll have to give you a little bit of background. Before I married my awesome hubby in 2009, my son and I lived with my Mom for several years. Every Valentine's Day, my Mom and I would buy little gifts for each other and let my son present them to us. We never spent more than a couple of dollars, it was more about just having fun than trying to buy expensive gifts that neither of us needed or used. Now that I am married and no longer live with my Mom, I still carry on this little tradition of buying or making her something for Valentine's Day without spending a lot of money on it. So while I was at the Dollar Tree, I decided to pick up a few things to put something special together for her. My Mom is a diabetic, so candy is out of the question. I decided to make her a "whipped cream topped milkshake". Here's what I used:

I purchased a plastic cup that came with a lid and straw, two bottles of pink tinted bath salts (I ended up only needing one bottle and about a fourth of the second bottle), a white loofah poof, and I used one of the puffy heart picks from my picture frame project. So total spent (not counting the puffy heart) was $4.00! All I did was take the lid off of the cup, pour in the bath salts, smoosh the loofah poof down on top, and insert one of the puffy hearts through the loofah to simulate a cherry on top! I then stuck the straw back into the cup, going down beside the loofah poof. I thought it looked a little plain, so I tied a leftover piece of my Valentine's ribbon around it. And voila, a cute "milkshake" for my Mom for Valentine's Day! She will enjoy using the bath salts and the loofah to pamper herself with and she can use the cup and lid over and over again! I plan on adding a small tag that will read "You shake me up, Valentine!" Not bad for $4.00 if I do say so myself! Here's a view of the front of my "milkshake":

And from the back:

This turned out so cute and I know Mom will love it! And this little project is proof that you don't have to always give your Valentine candy or flowers. Just give them a "milkshake" with whipped cream and a heart shaped cherry on top instead!

Click HERE to pop over and check out all the other creative Dollar Tree ideas for your Valentine at Debbie's party.

I'm also linking up for Marty's Tabletop Tuesday weekly party over at A Stroll Thru Life. Please be sure to visit these sweet ladies' blogs. I promise you will leave very inspired!! Until next time...

My Newest Endeavor....

Hello everyone! I have always loved to crochet from the time I learned how way back when I was knee high to a grasshopper! Lately, I've discovered a new kind of yarn that looks like fishnet. A friend of mine posted some pics on Facebook of some scarves she made with it and I just fell in love! So, upon inquiring about it, she led me to a YouTube video that shows you how to make these beautiful ruffled scarves. I had to run out and buy a few skeins to try it out. Here's what I've made so far:

Four scarves in just one day! They work up quickly and I think they are just beautiful! This one is called "Salsa":

I've already sold three of the four scarves! How awesome is that? I guess you could say I'm hooked! ;) Until next time...

My Word for 2013

I've seen several bloggers who chose a "word" for the upcoming year instead of making a lot of resolutions that, let's face it, usually get broken before the first day of the new year comes to a close! So I'm jumping on the band wagon and choosing a word for myself for the new year.

2012 was a good year for my husband and I in a lot of ways. It was also a not so good year for us in a lot of ways. It's so easy to be upbeat and positive when things are going well. But when we hit a rough patch, sometimes it's very easy to sink down to a level of self despair that is very difficult to pull yourself out of. In light of these reflections, I've chosen the word "calm" as my word for 2013. You see, I tend to veer to the side of negativity and hand wringing despair when things aren't going so well in my life. Even though I always make it through the rough patches, I dwell on the bad things that are happening instead of focusing on all the good things that I still have in my life. So for that reason, in 2013 I'm going to learn to:

Because no matter what I'm facing in life, this, too, shall pass!

Have you chosen a word for 2013? If so, I'd love for you to share your word with me.

Until next time....