springtime paper flower garland. easy and inexpensive.

(Spring has been in full swing here this week here in the Midwest – my apologies for the rainy day photos.)

Not sure I’ll ever outgrow paper flowers or paper anything for that matter!  When sprucing up for Spring and cleaning out my workroom in the basement I found one of these tissue paper garlands that I’d used to decorate for Tate’s first birthday party.  I was at first just going to hang it as bunting (it’s original design), but thought what better way to say “Spring” (and detract a little from 70’s wall-consuming mirrors) than with flowers.  Plus, they make every day feel a bit more festive!

Supplies needed:

• Green cover or cardstock  (you could even paint or color some white pieces green if that is all you happen to have on hand)
• Adhesive  (Double or Single-sided tape will work)
• 1 Ivory (or whichever color you prefer) tissue paper bunting or garland (linked above) or you could also purchase a set of these and hang them up seperately

 

Instructions:

So simple, but just in case . . .

1 – Fold.  Spread the garland out and lay it on the floor or on a hard flat surface.  Then, fold the left side over on top of the right side.  Line up the centers of the top portion with the centers of the bottom portion.

2 – Adhere. Use tape to adhere the bottom most top pieces with the top most bottom pieces.  Making sure they are flat and very secure. 

3- Hang your flowers.  I already had command hooks fastened to my wall (mirrors) so I just used the distance and height that they were at, but place them enough distance apart that you get a sag (so that they middle flower hangs lower than the outer flowers).

4 – Cut your leaves/ foliage.  I didn’t even use a template for this.  Just cut some leave-like pieces from your cardstock and then fold them in half so that it gives them a little dimension.  Place adhesive on them and hang wherever you choose.

And one with Tate in the frame . . .

So simple!  So inexpensive!  And can carry my not-so-pretty mirrors through Spring and even Summer! 

Happy March and almost Spring to you!

 

 

 

 

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Christmas ‘19.

. . . and like a whisper it transformed and evolved until it was gone. Christmas ’19.

sweet and simple will forever be my favorite (and homemade cinnamon rolls 😉).

Hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas and that the joy of why we celebrate lives with you the whole year through!

~xoxo~

P.S. – Goodbye 2019! Hello 2020!

the season’s first snow.

such a warmth, that cold brings . . .

thrifted and made holiday gifts. week three – thrifted shirt bunting and a few homemaking pretties.

Happy Tuesday and Merry December!

My thrifted and made gift idea for week three of this series is a handmade bunting made out of a thrifted shirt (or shirts you were about to take to the thrift 😉 ). I went with traditional seasonal colors but feel free to go with colors that don’t necessarily speak winter or Christmas. Think Spring – pinks, greens, yellows. Or muted tones that would easily match any decor or time of year. Also, if you have scrap fabric lying around, feel free to use it as well. Don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of having to sew something, you can also do a no-sew bunting by simply using fabric glue to attach the flags.

The bunting is such a sweet gift given alone or pair it with one or two other thrifted goods. Depending on how well you know the person you are gifting, you can pair it with a pretty platter, pitcher, a small art piece or print, a tea kettle or pot, a small indoor planter, a wool blanket or afghan, etc. With a just a little effort, these are all easy to find pieces at your local thrift store or estate sale. A few things to keep in mind – vintage tends to be more unique, quality over quantity, and purchase items that have multiple use potential. For example the old bread pan below makes for a great candle or trinket holder, the pitcher can be used not only to hold cream or milk but pencils or other goodies, and the platter is beautiful for serving treats or simply as an accent piece on a coffee table.

Thrifted goods:

Handmade goods:

Supplies:

• thrifted shirt (made of quality shirt fabric)
• a couple yards of ribbon, lace, binding or small width rope
• scissors
• pencil, pen or marker
• sewing machine or fabric glue or sewing needle
• thread
• measuring tape
• bunting flag template – buntingtemplate.pdf

Instructions:

1 – Print and cut out bunting flag template.

2 – Trace and cut. Lay shirt out as flat as possible and trace around the template onto the shirt with a sharpie, pencil, etc. Repeat. I used a larger boy’s shirt and was able to get at least 12 flags out of it.

3 – Fold and Iron. Fold the flags in half doing your best to get the back and front edges as even with each other as possible. Then Iron each flag.

4 – Measure and Place Flags. Lay out your lace, ribbon or binding on a large table or floor. Place flags evenly along it. I ended up using 10 flags. I left about 20 inches on each end and around 3 inches between each flag. You could pin your flags or I just placed small pencil marks along my lace where each flag would begin. (If you are using glue instead of sewing, you can go ahead and just fold each flag over your ribbon at this point, place glue along the edges of the flags, press down so that the front and back edges are even and then repeat for each flag.)

5 – Sew. Fold the flag over your ribbon or lace. Starting at the top of one edge of the flag, sew down one side of the flag and then up the other edge or side. I just kept the foot of my machine even with the edge of the fabric – so I got somewhat of a straight line. I used a zig zag stitch but a straight stitch would be perfect as well. Keep it simple. (If you are hand sewing, I would use an embroidery floss and just do long stitches.) Continue doing this with each flag.

6 – Done! Now gift or hang.

So sweet of you to follow along! Whether you are budgeting this Holiday season or simply enjoy the idea of giving handmade gifts, I hope my ideas are providing your with a little inspiration.

-xoxo-

Thrifted and Made gift idea – week two.

Thrifted and Made gift ideas – week one.

a “homey” and cozy advent.

With the beginning of advent less than a week away, I have found myself thinking more about the moments and memories of this year, the things I want to accomplish during this next month and in particularly this sweet season – such a beautiful time to reflect and prepare. While as a family we try to focus together on the weeks of advent with extra prayer and intent, I find this “countdown” to Christmas also a fun time to do something special for the kids in hopes it will encourage them to do something special for others. Especially as the bigger two have gotten older, during advent, the daily small gifts or bits of candy have gotten less and the things we can do together to perhaps make other’s seasons more memorable and meaningful have increased. Examples of some of the things we did last year included baking cookies for the neighbors, being extra kind to someone at school, helping Mom or Dad with a task around the house, do something nice for your brother/ sister, etc.

This year, our countdown consists of colorful and cozy house tags that make for a colorful and cozy corner. 🙂 Please feel free to download for your own use or to gift to someone special. You can get them here – houseadvent.pdf. Just cut them down to size and hang as you wish. I obviously went for wonky and haphazard this year. Well, every year. 🙂

Last year’s Advent: Advent 2018

And if you wish for something a little more simple (yet still sweet), I have used these (tagsadvent.pdf) in years past. Pair them with some linen, muslin or even parchment or paper bags. I also love using these as gift tags.

Next week, I will continue with week three of the “gifting- thrifted and made” series.

Week One : https://plaidpocketsandpinkshoes.com/2019/11/12/thrifted-and-made-holiday-gifts-week-one-the-smell-of-christmas/

Week Two: https://plaidpocketsandpinkshoes.com/2019/11/20/thrifted-and-made-holiday-gifts-week-two-a-blessing-book-and-a-little-brass-and-cloth/

I hope you have much to be grateful for this week!

~xoxo~

P.S. – Let me know if you have any trouble with the downloads. My apologies for the house numbers being a little out of order.

wreaths. for the season.

same wreath,

from summer/ autumn to autumn/ winter,

with just a few things from around the house (and backyard).

But if I were to have made or purchased a new one, these are all such beauties . . .

top row (l to r): dried orange wreath // star wreath // thread wreath

middle row (l to r): grapevine with bells wreath // pampas grass wreath // felted wreath

bottom row (l to r): white wool wreath // festive wreath // this one was handmade by me a few holidays ago

thrifted and made holiday gifts. week one – “the smell of Christmas”.

As we are getting our first real winter weather of the season today, I find myself suddenly yearning for the cozy of the holidays (unlike yesterday where it was nearly seventy and I wanted nothing to do with it). Therefore to better prepare myself and perhaps you, for the next month, I am going to be sharing some simple yet lovely gift giving ideas that are a little thrifted / a little handmade. Think teachers, neighbors, coworkers, friends, etc.

Week One: “The smell of Christmas”. A festive pot (thrifted) paired with items to make a homemade potpourri (handmade).

It’s an oldie but a goodie.

Items needed:

• thrifted pot
• an orange
• one to two cinnamon sticks
• a handful or two cranberries
• greenery
• a small bag or parchment or scrap fabric
• an instruction card (I have included mine below if you wish to use it)
• scissors and a hole puncher (optional)

The red pot was thrifted for a dollar or less and all the other items can be found at your local market, in your fridge or pantry, around the house or in your backyard. I’m thinking this enamel pot once had a lid and was perhaps part of a fondue set; however my thoughts upon finding it automatically turned to the holidays and how pretty it would be on a stove simmering with the smells of the season (cinnamon, orange, cranberries, evergreen). Keep an open mind when thrifting. Your pot doesn’t necessarily have to be red or “Christmasy” or in great condition. A black and white worn enamel pot would be perfect as would just a simple metal or copper pot. Look for something that is a bit unique and nicely made.

As for the brown bags, I had them and just dressed them up a little with a simple tree. However, you could use cellophane, parchment, or even some scrap fabric to enclose the potpourri items in as well.

I grabbed the greenery from the backyard and tied a few hand torn pieces of scrap fabric around the handle. The key (and the fun part) is to just use what you have – all of those odds and ends you have in your craft or sewing cabinet leftover from other projects or from the kids past projects.

Lastly, include an instruction or recipe card. A handwritten one would be sweet but if you wish to use it, I have provided mine below.

Printable instruction card: smell-of-christmas-potpourri.pdf

*You will need just a half of a sheet of paper and it will print two copies.

Enjoy!

-xoxo

P.S. – Now off to enjoy the smell of my bathed babe’s head as he drifts off to sleep in my arms one last time as a one year old. Life is so fun right now, may our days with him as a two year old be even sweeter!

so long sweet summertime.

Summer. Even at the end of her season she’s beautiful (and oh so sweet!).

travel. three days in northern california.

The pure beauty of summer break has come and gone. It’s always so magical and I really didn’t want it to end this time ’round. However, with just the one babe at home now, I have a bit more time to reflect on what a sweet and simple summer we all had.  Especially after our crazy summer last year (with the move back to the midwest), simple and easy was more than perfect.  Although we didn’t have the opportunity to take a big family trip, we all did have a little fun of our own.  Maddox went on a mini trout fishing vacation with my brother in Northern Arkansas.  Isla got to attend her first ever week long sleepover Summer Camp and was able to finally experience my hometown County Fair with my mom and family friends multiple days in a row.  And Bryan and I got to spend a few days together in northern California.  He was there for work and I got to tag along.  It was much needed and we had a really lovely time.

Thus far, being back in the Midwest definitely feels like home and the right place to be during this chapter of our lives.  However as much as my homebody self loves the comforts of home, travel, especially spontaneous travel, is always so revigorating and re-inspiring.  Having kids doesn’t always make spontaneity travel possible, but when it is it is cherished – even if its just a few hours or days.

Day One:  I flew into Sacramento with a layover in Denver.  With an afternoon to myself, I did a little sight seeing in downtown Sacramento and visited the Crocker Art Museum.  It was a great museum – such a beautiful blending of the old and new.

Travel –

Crocker Art Museum & a visit to Old Town and Downtown Sacramento –

(the above was a color on silk piece of a home/ yard in Webster Groves, MO – a little of home away from home) 

Day Two:  Bryan had to work most of the morning and afternoon.  I got up and left before the traffic got heavy in and around Sacramento and headed out to explore a small piece of the California Delta Countryside.  I followed or stayed near Route 160 or the River Road Scenic Byway.  It is a rural road that twists and turns through California’s Delta region along the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers.  I had such a lovely time getting to explore and see charming homes and estates (seeing the style and architecture prevalent in another part of the country is always so fascinating), cute bridges, quaint towns, windmills and wide open spaces with beautiful vegetation around every corner.  I went through the small towns/ communities of Isleton, Walnut Grove, Antioch, Rio Vista, and Courtland.  My favorite part was getting out and walking through the downtowns of some of these small towns – some were nearly vacant and some slowly being revived.

Then late afternoon, I met Bryan back in Sacramento and we made the couple hour trip east to Lake Tahoe.  A sight that we both had always wanted to lay eyes on, but never had until now.  The weather was spectacular and of course the view even more so.  After wandering around the lake for a couple of hours, we ate at Sonney’s BBQ Shack. I was prepared to be disappointed (after living near abundant great BBQ in the Midwest and the South for years), but it was really fantastic and worth the long wait. Then we drove back west up and down the mountains through dusk and dark. 

Day 3:  After once again waking early (because of the time change), we headed east towards the coast.  A drive to see the west coastline on this trip was necessary to me.  We landed in Bodega Bay.  Such a fascinating and gorgeous area. On the way there and back we were able to enjoy the scenery of Sonoma County and the area near Napa Valley. We would’ve explored the Napa area a little more, but the weekend traffic was really starting to pick up at this point.  I guess I couldnt leave California without experiencing at least one traffic jam. 🙂

*Tip: Wear layers when visiting this part of the west coast.  Temp ranges varied drastically depending on the time of day and where you are in relationship to the water.  We really wanted to do more hiking higher up (close to the water) but it was so windy and cool that we had to cut our hiking and beautiful views short.

(I ate at In-N-Out Burger for the first time while in CA.)

Day 4: Travel home via Denver again. Such gorgeous views from the sky!

It had been such a long time since Bryan and I were really able to soak up time with each other, drive and go as we pleased, and eat while conversating.  It was such a lovely few days. There are so many more things that I would like to see and do out west and in CA, but for now this was the perfect start.

Now, back to the end of August where the littlest one and I are left to soak up the dog days of these last few weeks of summer on our own.  We will do our best to make the most of them (lots of park, walks, and play time) while the “bigs” are at school and Dad’s at work.

Hope your Summer has been dreamy!

 

gum & summer.

. . . two things that are really sticky (and hot) this time of year in the southern midwest. (wink, wink)

Happy Weekend!!!