Summer Wreath

This is my first tutorial so I hope that I don't disappoint. My neighbor had a beautiful wreath on her door so I went to her house for advise. She helped me make the bows and gave me some ideas for my own wreath.

First I bought a wreath from Michaels for around 5 bucks, then I bought the rest of the supplies below. I already had the pipping and some of the ribbon. I think I spent around $12.00 for everything. I used a coupon and they were having a sale on their flowers.



First I took a bundle of spring flowers and shoved them into the wreath. I mean really shove them in, make sure they won't come out.

Then just fold it over.. half around on side and half on the other.

Now I placed a bow in the center of these flowers. I used piping to hold the bow together and made sure there was enough to tie to the wreath.

After you tie it to the wreath and you are happy with the placement of the bow, cut the excess piping.

I bought two large flowers; green and orange these were a little expensive so I only bought two. Cut the stem with wire cutters and placed on either side of the bow.

I also bought a three of these little flower bundles they were cheap, I used them for the top and bottom of the wreath to give it a dangled look.

You can see here where I placed some pink ones on the bottom

All you do is place the stem into the wreath do not use hot glue. If you are worried about messing up the flower, just pull it off and after you have the stem secure, place the flower back on.

Next I added my second bow where I felt I needed to cover a bare spot.

 I love these flowers, they are much cheaper if you buy in a bundle.

After I cut them apart (by the way, use wire cutters) I used them as fillers. Place them anywhere you see holes to make the wreath look fuller.

 I took some ribbon I already had and the leftover bow ribbon and

 folded them in half, held them together with more piping and attached to the wreath.

I did this step 2 more times until all my ribbon was gone.

And here it is, I hope you like it.

My Dream Door

I've been wanting a red door for as long as I can remember, and I finally decided to paint mine.

Here's a picture of my front door before it's transformation, I think I'll call it walnut brown.

 The door is fiberglass and it was distressed from years of wear and tear. I couldn't wait to paint this door and give it a new life.

Here she is my finished product, it took two days but I love it. Just a few more touch ups and I'll be finished.

I just went to Lowes and bought a quart size pre-mixed cranberry red door paint. It was the perfect color and I didn't have to get swatches or samples.

I finished the look with a new door mat from Marshalls for just $7.00 bucks. The Hostas were free, I just dug them up from my back yard and put them in some pots I already had. Only thing left to do now, is paint the black iron hand rails.

Extreme Couponing

There's a new show on TLC called Extreme Couponing, I was really looking forward to watching it however it was kind of a disappointment. These people are too extreme, they are dumpster diving, stealing off people's steps, and buying unnecessary items just because it's on sale. One woman has bought cat food and has no cat! Another woman buys diapers for a baby she doesn't have and another bought about 100 candy bars. Who needs 100 candy bars? Anyway I did happen to see The Krazy Koupon Lady on The Nate Show and learned a lot by going to her website. I found out things like: I can use 2 coupons on buy one get one free sales, and that I can use both a manufacture coupon and a store coupon for one item.  And I didn't even know that Target had online coupons and that each week they have promotions that let you can earn $5.00 gift cards. I've been going to different sites to find out what on sale and how people are getting things for almost free or free by combining coupons with sales. I've been going to websites for products that I like and getting free coupons. Thankfully, my mom has two jobs and one of them is at a newspaper distribution center so a couple weeks out of the month, she sends me free coupons that are left over. I even bought a baseball card holder, to keep my coupons in but I don't think it's wise to buy so much that I clean the shelves or spend money to save money. I only buy what I know I am going to use and so far I like it. I been able to get toothpaste for either free or .49 cents each, I haven't paid full price for soap, shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, razor's, detergent and lotions. I've also been able to save between $10 and $20 each time I go to the grocery store. Oh yeah! I learning how to play this game and I am using my saving for other things.

I'd hate to be behind these people at the checkout.






On a recent trip to Rite Aid I found this shampoo and conditioner on sale for 2.49 each and I had 2-2 dollar coupons so I got these for just .49 each and the trail mix was on sale for $1.00 each.

On another trip to Target they had a special on these Venus razors for $9.89 each and if you bought 2 they gave you a $5 gift card. To my surprise they were on sale at my Target for $7.89 each and I had 2-$5.00 coupons which means I paid $2.89 each and after my $5.00 gift card I ended up paying .78 cents for both. The soup was on sale for .60 cents each I had a buy 3 save $1.00 coupon. The shampoo was on clearance, I used both a Target coupon and a manufactures coupon and paid around $1.50 for both and the chips were also on sale and I had a Target coupon. That was a great trip and I couldn't believe how little I spent that day. I'm hooked, now if only we had a grocery store that doubled coupons in this town I'd be all set.

Feeling Crafty and Thrifty

I really hate cold weather. It's nice for about a month but after that, I'm fed up. I was feeling a little crafty today so I went down to my local Good Will Store for some thrifting. I was a little disappointed, all the good stuff was gone by the time I went. I find NC has a lot more crafters than in other places I've lived. During the warmer months there are at least 20 to 30 yards sales each Saturday in our town. I usually wake up early with my yard sale buddy, Brody and we walk around my neighborhood looking for stuff. Unfortunately, if they don't have toys my son is ready to leave he says, "come on mama, they don't have anything good at this one." I can't wait for this year, I always try to look for inexpensive things to decorate my house with.

Here are some of the things I've found in the past

I found this picture frame for 50 cents, it has nice lines but I don't care for the color. And I'm sure I can find something to do with that little tray and cover.

My cheap frame looks pretty good after I spray painted it black. The black is more my taste.

I found this little pitcher years ago at a yard sale with my mom. I've always tried to keep it on display.

The last few months I've been growing this plant, my neighbor gave me.