Showing Off My Planties: {Thanks to the Nester's Planty Party!}

A couple of weeks ago the Nester did several posts about using plants in your home decor...well, she inspired me to add a few bits of green around my home which I showed you here.  Today Nester is hosting a Planty Party, and I just had to link up!  Thank goodness that she encouraged us to be brave and embrace adding greenery even if it meant that eventually we'd kill a plant, 'cause I'm pretty sure I've already killed one in the last two weeks!  :-)  BUT, I am still working on this green thumb thing, and I am lovin' the fresh, green, live colors in my home...while it lasts!

So, here are my plants!

 pretty sure I already killed one of the succulents...I don't know how...too much water?  too little sun???

outdoor herb garden & bird watching area...we have a pair of cardinals that frequent this part of our yard!

 some planties in the kitchen!

these have done surprisingly well with the artificial light...they've actually grown a bit since I bought them!

 more kitchen plants I love...I am loving the pretty blue pot they're in too!

 pretty green, live plants...for now!

 and did you know you can put green onions in water and have perpetual fresh onions to add to your cooking?  simply immerse the bulbs in water with their roots and the green tips will continue to grow.  when you're ready to use some, just snip off what you need and the bulb will shoot up a new green stem you can cut later on!  (oh, and notice my two sweet little seedlings in the background of the picture...these are my favorite things to cultivate!)

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my planties!  Thanks, Nester, for the chance to show them off!

Blessings, Grace

Linking up to the Nester's Planty Party

Something Fun for Friday {Coffee in a Tea Cup!}

This past week has been sort of stressful...some of that "real life" stuff has been gettin' in the way...so today I thought I'd post something just for fun.

A week or so ago as I was cleaning out my "china hutch" (you can read that here) I got out my little collection of tea cups.  I was "into" collecting them about 15 years ago or so but they have largely remained unused.  I wanted that to change, so I decided to display them in a way that would encourage more use!  Every morning I have a cup (or two) of coffee...so why not have it in one of my sweet tea cups?!  I especially love that I have written in permanent marker underneath my cups saying who the cup came from and when I received it.  How special!  So now as I drink my coffee I can also remember the sweet person who gave me my cup!

Here's to drinking coffee in a tea cup!  Cheers!

Blessings,Grace

My Own Little Secret Store! {Organizing my Etsy Items!}

Spring cleaning fever has definitely gotten to me, and my most recent effort to clean & organize led me to creating my own little store front.  A place where all my Grace Note Gifts Etsy items are easily at hand, all my shipping material is ready to go, and a spot where I can re-evaluate my inventory and keep tabs on what needs replenishing.

It was a simple project.  I just emptied an old Ikea desk of ours (previously used as a china hutch of sorts) and papered the back of the shelves and the insides of the doors with some lovely wrapping paper I found at World Market.  Then I got various baskets and containers that I already had laying around my home and used them to house the various necessities for my shop.

I love how I can view everything at once, easily ship items...and I kind of like the little set up just to look at, haha! ;-)  What can I say, I'm proud of what I make!  I love having hidden organization...from the outside this looks like just a regular desk, and on the inside it is my own little secret store! 

A few things I'll be adding soon:

Hope that everyone's Monday is off to a good start!  Have a blessed week!

Blessings, Grace

Photos on Canvas: The Cheaper Alternative to Frames {Tutorial}

There is no doubt that I love a good picture frame...having just the right frame for a photo can really make or break the look of the snapshot.  That being said, there is just something simple and clean about the look of a photo on canvas.  When all you really want to see is the picture, with no frame to take away from it, canvas is the way to go.

Yesterday I was at Hobby Lobby buying frames for our recent family photo shoot pics...thankfully Hobby Lobby usually has almost all their frames 50% off...but when you have a dozen or so pictures to frame that can still be expensive!  So, I walked over to the painting section and found some canvas (8x10 and 10x14) that were in packs of 2 for $3.99.

I simply used Mod Podge and painted the whole front of the canvas, then immediately after, while it was still wet, I centered and pressed down my printed photos onto the canvas.  I've done this in the past and the pictures have stuck on beautifully without any bubbling or breaking away from the canvas.

I am really loving my new family photos, courtesy of Goode Photography.  I can always frame them later if I want, but for now I am loving the clean, simple lines.

What do you think?

Blessings, Grace

Linking up to:

My Impulse Buy: {BUGS} for my Boys!

When you have boys bugs are just a fact of life.  Little boys spot them everywhere...in the dirt (while digging in it!)...in our house-yuck (although Big Brother will happily grab them up for me now with a kleenex and dispose of them for me! Score!)...flying through the air ( Little Brother will scream "bu-bu-bu" when he sees one)!  Bugs are just everywhere for sweet little searching eyes to see!

So, seeing that I have two little boys, two little bug-lovin' boys, I decided on a whim to buy some bugs the other day when I was at our local nursery.  They sell the good kind of bugs there, ladybugs!  Natural pest controllers!

We brought our thousand or so ladybugs home and waited until dusk to let them out.  We sprinkled them over our bushes and in our strawberry plants and anywhere and everywhere we wanted them to go.  The boys LOVED it, and I did too!

Here are my two little bug lovin' dudes!

What was your latest impulse buy?  I betcha it wasn't bugs!!!  ;-)

Blessings, Grace

"New" Look, Same Great Scents!: {Branding My Soy Wax Melts}

I've been updating the look of my Soy Wax Melts...I'm trying to find the right look that people will recognize as my own brand.  Apparently branding is pretty important when it comes to creating your own business. :) I'm sure I'll be tweaking my look, but for now I'm loving this little stamp that I ordered from a fellow Etsy seller.  I'm happy with the results, and love the cohesiveness it will add when I use this stamp to "brand" my products. 

What do you think?  New scents will be added tomorrow, so watch out for them!

Blessings, Grace

My Own Little Store Front: {Organizing My Etsy Shop Wares} Sneak Peek!

Today I have been on the organizing warpath!  It started out with my kid's playroom...it was a mess, toys everywhere, goldfish crumbs strewn about and it was driving me crazy.  It only takes my boys about 0.2 seconds to make a room like a tornado came through it, so messiness is just a fact of life, but today I had just about had it, and after cleaning up a lot of our toys ended up in our garage sale pile...just don't tell my boys!  :)

After cleaning up the playroom I decided to sort of set up my own little store front for my Etsy wares.  I've had all my stuff semi-organized, but my pantry was getting crowded with all my inventory and candle making supplies, and I really wanted a place where I could easily get to all of my things, see what I have on hand, and package up my orders efficiently.

Enter a little used desk that had previously stored my collection of teacups, various serving platters and vintage serving pieces.  I rarely, if ever, opened up that desk, and I really prefer a piece of furniture to be functional!  So now all those items are taking residence elsewhere in my kitchen cabinets, and here is a little sneak peek into what I am affectionately calling my own little store front!

I can't wait to have it completely organized.  I will try to have it ready for the full reveal later this week!

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

Blessings, Grace

Going {GREEN}: Adding Some of Nature's Finery to My Kitchen

After reading the Nester's most recent posts I realized my home could do with a few more plants.  So, today while my 4 year old was at school, little brother and I headed to our local nursery and came home with some of nature's finery.  I also took a few clippings off of my rosemary plant and brought them inside as well.

I just love the added bit of green now in my kitchen.  Plants really do breathe life into a room!

I purchased the planters at Hobby Lobby.  They are on sale this week for 50% off, and the total for both was about $10 combined...gotta love that!

How do you incorporate green into your home?  Drop me a line and let me know!

Blessings, Grace

Linking up to:

Vintage Inspired Cabochon Earrings {My Newest LoVe}

Lately I've been having some fun making some vintage inspired earrings for my Grace Note Gifts Etsy Shop.  I purchased some lovely little cabochons from a fellow Etsy seller, and I am definitely enjoying the end result of my jewelry making efforts...in fact, I really want to keep these little guys, but I guess I can always make some more!  ;)

What do you think?  Aren't these happy little earrings?!!

I am going to be making some additional pieces in a variety of spring colors. So stay tuned!

Blessings, Grace

An Oldie But a Goodie: {Easter Topiary Tutorial}

This is a project I did a couple years ago which I shared at the time on a former blog, but I thought I would share it with you all since it's a cute little craft just in time for Easter.  

Supplies: Dollar Tree Robin's Egg Blue bowl & Bubble Gum Eggs...


Floral foam & Styrofoam balls...


Ribbon & Pencils I had on hand.


 Easy-peasy Easter Topiary:
Insert Pencil into Styrofoam Ball, Remove, Squirt in Hot Glue, and Reinsert Pencil. 

Wrap Pencil in Ribbon, and Hot Glue at Various Intervals to Make Sure it Stays Put!


 Hot Glue Spanish Moss Like Crazy all over the Styrofoam Ball...Burn your Fingers at Random...It's all Part of the Fun!


Now Hot Glue the Gum Eggs until They Completely Cover the Moss. 


Hot Glue Floral Foam into Bowl...

 And Hot Glue Bottom of Ribbon Wrapped Pencil and Push into Floral Foam. 

Once the topiary was in place I covered the floral foam with a bit of moss...


...and here is my finished Easter Topiary. I tied a sweet little bow beneath it to add an extra touch!

Hope ya like it!

Blessings, Grace

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