Flower Bed Makeover

Happy Memorial Day....it's been a great weekend weather-wise! We got rain today, but it was needed! The bummer is that the girls have been sick. Tess is the worst...croup & an ear infection. Poor girlie! We're hoping with each day, we all get better and get the "sickies" out of the way for a fun summer ahead. ☺

I was able to tackle one project that was kind of fun. On Saturday I worked on the back flower bed. Now to appreciate the transformation, here are a few pics of the "BEFORE". ☺

This is an area no one (the general public!) really sees since it's behind the garage....but kind of an eye sore for us because WE see it from the deck or backyard.

So, I just started in and didn't have a big plan for how it would all turn out. But, grabbing this and that...little by little it all came together. I found this red collinder at a garage sale for a whopping TEN CENTS! You'll see it in the "AFTER" pics...I spray painted it white and added a flower for a neat planter.

The window I actually got on Middlefield trash day about a week ago! There was a whole pile of windows and my nephew Carter was in the van with me as we drove by....so he helped me load up three windows!!! Aren't FREEBIES great?!!!


And now for some AFTER pictures!!!

Now, I have to say something about the little squirrel. I know...he's a little corny looking...but, it's a sentimental thing. I'm pretty sure he used to belong to my grandparents, ♥ so--naturally he has a place in my garden. ☺

My mom gave me a few of the wooden things...the yellow bench, the angel hanging on the fence, the three tiered stand...

The rocks we had laying around and I spray painted them with white and yellow...gave them a different look. And the big tin can is holding ivy--FAKE ivy! ☺Shhhh! It's my little secret!

I love the white lights on at night...

And now a few photos of my girlies being goofy. (this is before they started to get sick!)

In the background you'll notice a white chandelier hanging...this is project that isn't quite finished. When it's done, I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

Coupons...coupons...coupons....do they really pay in the end?

I've been learning how to do this whole coupon thing....and want to encourage any of you out there that might think it really wouldn't work for you. Here's a picture of a few items that I got totally FREE last week!

What you see here is three 4 packs of Activia, one 4 pack of Danimals Crush cups and YES---two Canoles! (I just couldn't resist them at the bakery display!) This week Giant Eagle has yogurt 4 for $8 and an instant $2 off. I had four .75 cent coupons (and GE doubles) so I had $6 worth of coupons to get all the yogurt FREE! I also had a $3 off coupon from GE....so the Canoles were free too! ☺ Off course there were some other good deals that I took advantage of too!

There are blogs out there that break down the sales for the week and tell you exactly WHERE to find the coupons. (whether it is from the paper or where to go online to print them) Here are two blogs that I've used:

http://ccherrypicker.blogspot.com/

http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/

Once you learn the "how to" you begin to look for the deals each week!

This week CVS has an AWESOME deal on the men's body wash! You pay $4 buckaroos for either Gillette or Old Spice body wash and you $4 extra bucks back RIGHT AWAY--printed out on your receipt. I had a coupon for $4 off two...so guess what? I made money on this! In the end, for 2 body washes I paid $4 and got $8 extra bucks back! ☺ They have a limit of 2 per family....but you can still buy them for $4 each. So, I had some other coupons for "buy one, get one free"....I got four more and paid $8--which is $2 bucks a piece. Not too bad and will make GREAT gifties!☺ (all the men in my fam will be smelling real fine!)

My point is this....I'm sure some of you think "Oh, I just buy the generic stuff because it's cheaper than the name brands--even using coupons". Right? Well, maybe not! Here is an example of something I wouldn't normally buy, but with a deal like this--it's just too good to pass up! Just a couple weeks ago CVS had the Crest Pro Health toothpaste---you know, the expensive stuff. Well, with extra bucks and coupons it was a money maker in the end.  Here is the breakdown....


Crest Pro Health Toothpaste $3.50
$3.50 ECB (extra care bucks)
Limit TWO
Use $.75 from 5/02/PG
= 75¢ PROFIT


The trick is to clip all the coupons (and SAVE them) and wait until things go on sale. You wouldn't believe the money you save and the deals you will find! I'm NOT an expert. I know there is a lot more for me to learn. (In fact, our church is having a little seminar type class this week that I'll be attending!) But, I am having some fun with the whole coupon thing!

On a side note...for those of you that shop online! Check out: http://shopping.fuelperksmall.com/welcome

This is the Giant Eagle mall that lists tons of stores to shop at online. The advantage? By "clicking" thru the sites on this website, you will get fuelperks for all your purchases!!! So, if you like to shop at Kohls (LIKE I DO!!!), then click thru the Kohls logo on this site and anything you spend will go towards fuelperks. (every $50 earns .10 cents off per gallon at GetGo) Oh, you do have to register your Giant Eagle card, but it's worth the extra few minutes!

And another thing about Giant Eagle...starting the 27th, the Middlefield GetGo is doing FoodPerks~! Scan your GE card at GetGo even if you're not redeeming your fuelperks. Every 10 gallons you buy will get you 1% off your food bill. (and you can save up and use on one of those WHOPPER shopping trips--up to 20%!) Go here to learn all about it: http://www.get-go.com/foodperks/home  and be sure to watch the video and earn an extra 5%!!!

A new use for my garage sale find!

So, I had my annual garage sale last week! Whew--glad that is over for another year. ☺There were a few others that brought stuff over to sell....and I found a GREAT DEAL! This wire hanger (usually used in the kitchen for food) was a whopping .50 cents!!! (Thanks, Mrs. Watson!)

I love the way it looks in my flower bed holding a few plants/flowers.

It's so true...one man's junk is anothers treasure!

Glass pendant necklaces

So, I tried my hand at making these VERY cool necklaces and I have to say they are fairly easy and make nice gifts! Hopefully I'll get this posted in time for anyone that might want to make them for end of the year teacher gifts!

Here is a picture of what I'm talking about....

And I'm going to post two links of where you can go and learn how to make them.

http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/04/glass-tile-pendants.html

http://treyandlucy.blogspot.com/2009/01/love-these.html

I bought the glass tiles and bails on ebay. I also found the Diamond Glaze on ebay too. I am in the process of looking for the little ball chains....just haven't had time. I did find them at Michaels for $2.99 each....but I know that I can do a lot better. Personally I like the ball chain look, but you can use ribbon or anything you want to hang them.

I had plenty of scrapbooking paper to choose from! I think these would be so neat with your childs photo too! Happy Creating!!!

I've been bit by the bug to "create"!

Lately my world has opened up to countless "BLOGS" that have given me tons of inspiration to create, recreate, repurpose, reuse, refashion....well, you get the point. One blog will lead to another blog...and another...there are just way too many out there for this little brain to handle!

This couldn't come at a better time of year....GARAGE SALE TIME! So, today I found some really neat deals and I wanted to post a little something I whipped up that is totally do-able by ANYONE! It's a little treat pedestal....here's how it came to be....

I found these glass fancies at one sale today. The bigger one was .50 cents and the two taller ones were both for .75 cents total.

I'm one of those people that when I get an idea--I HAVE TO DO IT NOW! (ask my mom!) I cannot wait until I have the "proper" tools. So, for this project I used super glue. I have no idea if this will hold up in the long run. If I made a living making these, I would invest in the proper glue, but it seemed to work fine for this one.

Anyway, I found a box of medium dessert plates in my attic that I never used. I took one and used it for the top part....flipping the glass upside down and applying the super glue around the rim of the base....and pressing the glass plate on top of that.

AND WA---LA!!! Here is a dessert stand that cost .50 cents! I put a little pink ribbon on it and added a fake flower under the glass part.

And here it is as a "layered" look with my cake pedestal...I can't wait to make some fun goodies and have a party!
I also think this would look SO COOL if you put one of those little battery powered tealights under the glass for a neat look at night! Or, this would make a nice candle stand too. The possibilities are endless. ☺

I found a few other "treasures" today. Maybe I'll make this a habit and post what I'm up to!