Christmas Decor

Starting NOW!



This idea is designed for Christmas but could easily be for any themed holiday. I had this project all ready to go because of a class I taught so I wanted to share while you had time to plan ahead.:) I just got out all my leftover Christmas goodies from years ago and repurposed them into a new Christmas Decor item.



Christmas Centerpiece Tutorial

You will need:

A book from Goodwill or your granny's bookcase
(I used Reader's Digest Condensed books because they are pretty, they are free at my Salvation Army Store, and I've read all the ones I have)

Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks

6' of Ribbon (a little more if you want to make a bigger bow but 6' is enough)

Christmas pretties (non-breakable ornaments make a GREAT addition and you can get them from Christmas Tree Shops CHEAP)

Holly or evergreen from the bushes outside (or pieces of greenery garland)



You can add ANYTHING you can find that is cheap or free and when you are done it still looks awesome. I am going to do some plain nature ones next. :)

1. Wrap Ribbon around your book to measure and cut the rest off for your bow.
2. Re-wrap ribbon and hot glue ends to each other, keeping glue off book.
3. Wrap wire stem of large poinsettia or Christmas present cluster around the crossed center.
4. Make a Bow from other piece of ribbon, attach to center decor on one side.
5. Insert "Snow" (fiber fill) under other side of center decor.
6. Make an indention in the fiberfill to make a nest for ornament.
7. Glue fiberfill down and glue ornament in the nest.
8. Add finishing touches, like garland, tinsel, glitter spray, holly branches or evergreen sprigs, etc.
9. Carefully turn project side to side and upside down to see what needs more hot glue and add. Make sure everything is attached to everything where you can not see it.
10. Fluff up ribbon Bow and give away or place on table!

This was a fun project and with the exception of the hot glue you can do this with any age. The kids come up with some awesome creations. :)

Get a copy of a GREAT frugal book

http://www.amazon.com/Money-Saving-Moms-Budget-Streamline/dp/1451646208/ref=zg_bs_4736_2

This is the Money-Saving Mom's Budget. It will help you live more frugally. Money-saving Mom is an AWESOME blog that will help you find great deals on soooo many things, fun freebies, great recipes and SAVE MONEY too!

Sorry that this post is not linked, just highlight the link and copy to your browser. Blogspot will NOT post linked links tonight. :(

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COOL online app!

Accepted on E-zine Articles

I submitted 2 articles to www.ezinearticles.com and they were accepted! How exciting. I hope this will bring something interesting my way. God is moving and I am excited to see where this will lead.

LEGIT: Earn money from home

Augusta friends, if you are looking for a way to earn some money for your family while staying at home WITH that family, here is an opportunity for you! It is not a scam. It is local so you can see the teacher in person and you can ask all your questions.

You use the gifts and talents you already have to make an ongoing income. This is not multi-level marketing or a pyramid scheme. There is nothing to sign up for. Just come to the class and learn the facts. If you like the idea, take what you have learned and use it. Copy the link below into your browser address bar to sign up for the class.

http://teachonline-Carol.eventbrite.com

Jocelyn periodically teaches other classes that will help you to find potential options for you and your family to make money from your skills and knowledge. I highly recommend trying a class to see what you think.

Is Facebook Down?

I guess it is for many people. We've tried every possibility and can not get on. Huffington Post is reporting that it is down for many people, so we will just hang on and hope for the best. :)
Imagine spending an evening home without anyone on Facebook! Sounds like the days of yesteryear, where people talked to one another face-to-face and wrote letters on real paper with real pens.
What fond memories do you have of times past when we did things a little differently and time passed slower?

Blessed to Be a Blessing...

I have a story to share that is the epitome of why I stated this blog. It is called Blessed on the Net because I wanted to share blessings as they happen in my life.

Tonight I had one of those blessings happen so I want to share it. A girl from our church decided to give away some toys she has outgrown and decided to give them to my girls. She mentioned some Littlest Pet Shop toys and I said sure, my girls would love that. However, in addition to the LPS toys, she also gave DD#1 an American Girl Doll. Now, this is a big deal in itself, as these dolls are expensive and hard to find used. I could never get to the point that I would spend $100 on a doll so this was something my girls would never have unless someone else spent the money. However, this story gets even better.

We recently went to The American Girl Doll Store and Bistro for a field-trip related to our school co-op. Camille did not have a doll to take with her but borrowed one from another girl. She looked at all the dolls there and decided that if she EVER had an opportunity to get one of the character dolls, she would choose Julie from the 1970's (hmmm, that's MY era!! That is NOT history!!!). She was a good sport about it and I explained that MAYBE I could find a doll on the internet that I could get for her some day, or she could save up ALL her birthday and Christmas money until she had enough to buy one herself, if it was important to her.

So, that was a few weeks ago, almost 2 months. She had moved on to other things, looking forward to her birthday coming up in a few weeks and her ballet recital tomorrow. She had no idea about the toys that were coming. Tonight she gets to church and the young lady that offered the toys had them there. She pulls out an American Girl Doll box and tells DD#1 that she wanted to give this special toy to someone that she knew would take care of her. She hands it to my daughter and it is the Julie Doll!

I don't know why I was surprised. God has been sooo good to us over the years. We have been learning and growing in our knowledge and understanding of Him these past 2+ years at Good News Church and the blessings just never end. God promises to give us the desires of our hearts, even when it is not a NEED. My daughter was blessed by this beyond words. She shared with me "Mama, when I prayed tonight I asked that God would bless Lindsey back". Now that is an amazing blessing and I am SOOOOO blessed as her mom to be able to see this opportunity for spiritual growth in my daughter.

Thanks for reading my long story, I hope it has blessed your heart as well.

I made something New!

I made something new!!! I've been on this really creative kick lately (which means that I need to clean up around here!!!) and I actually havhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife completed a number of projects. Look at these! Aren't they cute?



I got the directions from here: http://www.dawnsstampingthoughts.net/2011/05/3-x-3-album-video-.html
This was where I started and I am less about glitz and more about homey looks, so I added buttons and not sparkle. :)

Check this out!

Join us at an ETSY meetup Craft Party. If you want to know more, click above or just ask!!!

Cheap Eats that taste good?

Try this!!!
http://www.livingonadime.com/store/dining-dime-cookbook/

Check out this AWESOME frugal living cookbook. There are no oppossum recipes so no worries. :)

I am always looking for easy ways to save money and there are some good tips here. You can order 3 cheap so get one for you and one for each of your siblings especially if any of them are single men. :)

Two posts in one week!!!

Wow! I am not usually a prolific poster. However, you can see that I am posting for the second time this week and I am amazed. Tomorrow I am going to post pics of a COOL project I am finishing tonight. I am posting the link to the project for you to enjoy now and I will post some pics of my finished project when it is done. I will be going to the store for elastic and then I can finish it.

This project is re-purposing a men's dress shirt into a girl's dress. I am making a 2XL men's dress shirt into a 4T dress for my youngest girl. I am also planning to make a 2XL into a nice summer tunic for my oldest girl. Here is the link to the original post that inspired me to go to the thrift store today and buy some men's dress shirts.

Shannon is not here right now so I can also raid his closet for those UGLY shirts that keep ending up on MY side of the closet. Watch out!!!

Love ya honey!

Want a new mixer???

If you do, please click on the link over there---------> It is the box labeled win something! and has "Foodiacs" in the box. Foodiacs is giving away a mixer and some King Arthur flour on their web page and if you win, I will get one too. Hugs for those who try! I already entered to win.