{crazy for burlap}

Rhoda, at Southern Hospitality, is hosting a very unique event...

Oh, I am crazy for burlap!

It is my thoughts that burlap adds that unexpected touch to an otherwise predictable, and often formal decor. The rough texture ironically promotes a casual comfort and homeyness.

I recently changed out my dining room table arrangement to a simple crystal bowl, filled with a large candle and shells for the summer. For the base, I placed the bowl on a mirrored hexagon and piece of burlap.

Last year I came across burlap "ribbon" at Walmart in the craft department, and have found many uses for it. (Especially during the fall!)
The limbs on the tree below, were getting long, falling over, and taking up a lot of room.

I loosely tied them with a piece of the burlap ribbon.

Last Spring, I found the old, hand crafted strawberry basket, below, at a yard sale.

I put together an arrangement for my kitchen table, complete with the burlap ribbon as a base for the bow, which can be seen better in the second picture.

If you would like to see how burlap was used to decorate baskets of real strawberries given away as gifts, in another past post, click {here}.

And be sure to visit Rhoda's blog, for a list of "burlap decorating" participants!

~~~~~~

On a quick Tangent....

Congrats to Ashley!!!

She was awarded the Citizenship Award, voted on by her classmates, for the Sophomore Class. She gets that niceness from ME! {"wink, wink"....} LOL!

School is now officially out for us and the Summer has begun! ~Rhonda :)

{a $1 Basket and a Special Occasion}

Who would have thought

a Goodwill basket costing a mere DOLLAR

could be a part of such a joyous occasion?

(Original Store tag was $8.50)

This past Saturday, the daughter of a close friend of Kevin's from West Virginia was married.

The newlyweds traveled to NC today, to spend their honeymoon at our lake house.

I wanted to gather items to WELCOME them and hopefully make their visit extra special.

The basket was the perfect size for a base, and was "softened in appearance," with a coat of off-white spray paint.

The basket, below, was filled with chocolate kisses, nuts, a candle, frame, and....

....a gift certificate and menu from a tasty local restaurant that the couple favored when they vacationed here last Fall, with their family.

To accompany the basket...

Dollar Tree Glasses were transformed into a keepsake with "rub-ons," also from The Dollar Tree.

Quick & Easy Metamorphosis....

The one sheet of Rub-ons did two glasses, and also had two small "LOVE" transfers that were added to the base of the glasses.


Bought cream color towels and had them monogrammed at a local shop.

Below,

the collection of gifts to Welcome the special couple....

The Gift Basket wrapped and topped with a netting bow,

the towels in the decorative bag,

and glasses, juice, and candle on a silver tray.

Closeup of the sweet "wedding cake candle,"

also found at the Dollar Tree.

For more posts featuring Second-hand treasures and their transformations and creative uses, please visit the following blogs below...

~~~

Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch,

Rhoda, at Southern Hospitality,

and Diane on Tuesday, at A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

More Lake House Thriftiness...

Last Summer we renovated the Lake House and a majority of the decor was completed with thrifty finds. Browse on down for a few highlights....

Hand-me down chairs spray-painted black for the bottom back porch...

Thrift store bowl filled with shells atop a handed down table and chairs.

Goodwill lamp...

Second-hand Store Prints for the bathroom....

and master bedroom...

Flea-market frog and second hand books for the lamp base.

Oh, how I love a bargain! :)

~Rhonda

{memorial day revisited}

Chari, at Happy to Design, has started a new meme in which bloggers can repost and share a favorite post of their past.

I thought it only befitting to repost my MEMORIAL DAY Tribute from last year.

May GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, past and present!

~~~

...a time to honor those who lost their lives, while serving in our armed forces.

Thank you, just doesn't seem adequate for such a noble and gallant sacrifice, so that I can be free as I am today, as my children are...as we all are!

Seven of my uncles, and my paternal grandad, did not die in combat, but served their country proudly. My paternal grandmother was a "Rosie Riveter," during WWII, leaving North Carolina, to work in California.

My father-in-law, Bill enlisted in the Coast Guard as a young man, during Vietnam. Besides his two children and four grand-children, he considered serving his country his greatest endeavor. He served twelve years, four of them in active duty. Until the day he died, at 64 years old, he still walked the "soldier's walk," with the click of his heel.

I've often thought, how frightening it must have been for Bill, a country boy from rural North Carolina, who was one of two boys, whose mother sheltered them with her care. ...cooking for them three times a day, and taking care of all their needs. How did it feel to report to duty that very first day, in a foreign environment, where the future seemed so uncertain? But he was eager and ready to go!

So, to all the brave heroes that serve(d) America well, I pay this tribute of respect to you and your families...

"A Hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."
~ Joseph Campbell



Wishing you all a good and safe Memorial Day Weekend!
...and if you happen to be a spouse, child, or mother of someone who has served....Thank you!
~With all due respect, Rhonda
Posted by Scooterblu's Whimsy~Rhonda at 1:28 AM ~May 24, 2008

{succulents love}

I "heart" succulents!

When I bought my first home many moons ago, before Kevin and I were married, the previous owner left behind a pot of "hen & biddies."

I discovered that they live no matter how much or how little TLC they are given.

Those little boogers can adapt to most any condition or soil!

Last February, my mom and I attended a local garden show, and I mentioned how much I loved succulents, but didn't buy any that day. She later surprised me with some for my birthday, but they needed repotting.

I initially replanted them in the pot below...

But as the impatiens beside them grew and flourished, they began to look lost and small in their own pot.
On a side note, since this is a MET Post...
I am in the process of painting all my pots black, with Krylon Fusion Spray Paint, made especially for PLASTIC. Great spray paint, and the cohesion of pots is a vast improvement itself. ~~~
I recently found the USA vintage Pottery piece at a yard sale for $1.00.
My Grandma M. had several of these planters, and I have always held a fondness for them.The planter was perfect for the succulents, more appropriate in size.
To replace them in the black pot, I purchased fuchsia double-bloom impatiens.

Below, impatiens planted....

And the succulents have a new home as well....

For more great Metamorphosis Projects,

Please visit Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch.

I am also linking up to Rhoda's Monday Post, at Southern Hospitality, featuring

Second-hand Treasures.

Go over and visit her for more thrifty bargains and their use.

She is hosting an event on May 28th, that I think will be very interesting....

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Ours was very WET, with no end to the rain in the near future.

...Send a BOAT! :) ~Rhonda

{treasures...}

Thanks for all of your sweet comments on our birdhouses.

After that post, I had a severe case of "blogger's block."

I have a few projects in mind to paint and spray paint but the weather is not cooperating.

....rain, rain, rain!

So stay tuned and I will share those later...

~~~

But for Today...

My dad asked me to stop by a couple of weeks ago to take a few pictures of his "new....old car" for the insurance company. Bless his heart, he is a smart fellow, but he rebels against technology. He is not computer savvy, nor does he own a digital camera. He intended on sending POLAROID pictures of the car. I don't see a future in blogging for him! LOLOL!

...just saying! :)

{My Mom can do most anything on the computer, but I don't think she wants to bother with him! LOL! }

Anyhow, below is the car....

Oh, it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, for me!

Kevin collects old cars also, and will probably be a little offended that I have never featured or bragged on any of his. And maybe I don't appreciate old vintage cars as I should, being that I have been stranded just a few times by them. Probably the most angry Kevin has ever been with me, was when we broke down in his vintage '57 Chevy, but I'll save that story for another post, another day.

But this '57 yellow 'Wagon just struck a cord with my heart.

It looks so "June Cleaverish."

Can you just imagine June driving Wally and the Beaver to school or loading groceries in the back, all the while wearing her infamous high heels, perfectly groomed?

A girl can dream! :)

And just so you know, I've called dibbs on the car.....my inheritance.

I used the "eldest card" on my dad, trumping my brother.

Not that he wanted it, but just in case, we need to get some things straight now! LOL!

See the red truck in the background, reminds me of another story.

But that will have to wait until another post, another day also.

Seriously though, I don't make a habit of asking my parents for inheritances, this was all in jest.

{...although I really do love that car, color and all!}

I was reminded, of a few verses from Matthew 6:19-21.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasures is, there your heart will be also."

This is not to say that having "things" on earth is wrong. If so, I would be the first one guilty; and consider all that I do have, a blessing from God. Nor are we to love our things above God. This verse reminds us that this world is not our permanent home, just temporary. And that treasures on earth are insecure. But Heaven's treasures are secure and for eternity.

In today's economy, that takes on a whole new light, and this promise is comforting. :)

~~~

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! ~Rhonda

{mom's day projects revealed}

My Mother's Day Projects

began their lives, as a stack of cabinet plywood scraps that my husband purchased for $5.00 at an auction some time ago.

Since the project is a "metamorphosis" of scraps, I am participating in the "17th Metamophosis Monday," hosted by Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch. Visit her blog to see a neat project with old books featured, along with many others participating today!

In my last post, I gave this sneak preview....
Drum Roll Please......

Decorative Bird Houses!

These birdhouses are the new rage in our area, selling for $80.00 each, and most are smaller in size.
Kevin and I decided we could make our own!
We got a little carried away on the size....Ashley calls them "Bird Mansions! LOL!
Kevin, David, and Josh built the houses Saturday before last. Ashley, David, and I worked on the painting the rest of the week. The project took a lot longer to complete than we anticipated!!! LOL!
But other than time and using just a fraction of Kevin's $5.00 scrap lumber pile, it was worth it. They were fun to create. I think I had $20.00 in the paint, using a good quality exterior paint.

I created stencils for my Mom's and MIL's initials.

My Mom's...
And No, the "M" doesn't stand for MOM! LOL!

My MIL's.....
And Josh's Grandmother's...
I made the mistake of painting the roof blue, and the green would not show up over it, so unfortunately it did not get an initial.

I don't know the exact measurements, but they are a little over 2 foot and are 18" wide.

The will be attached to a 4x4 post.

For the blue faced one above, we painted it green, and then cut circles out of clear contact paper. We stuck the dots on the house, and then rolled two thin coats of blue over it. The sticky dots peeled off nicely. The dots and stripes on the other houses were freehanded.

Now I have one more assembled to paint for myself....later! :)

~~~~

On another note,

I have to brag on Ashley for just a moment...

She was awarded the COACHES Award for the JV and Varsity Cheerleading Squad last week during their annual School Sports Banquet. She was also voted on by the squad and awarded the Sportsmanship Award for the JV Squad.

I'm SO proud of you, sweetie! :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mom's Day!

~Rhonda :)