Making A Lavender Wreath for Thrifty Thursday...

My intent this morning was to cut and make lavender bundles

 from my 2 little plants and add them to my living room.  

I even had a helper who mostly stayed out of the way...

But it wasn't long into the process that I decided to turn those bundles into a wreath.

Thus a lavender photo shoot was born...

Cost?  Lavender - $0 (plant from a friend a long time ago that I

 finally figured out how to propagate to make 2 plants)

Wreath base - had on hand - may have been .50 from a yard sale

Florists Wire - had on hand - may have been .25 from a yard sale

Waxed String - had on hand - may be been $1/roll from a yard sale

I think that counts as Thrifty. 

And the best part?  You can't put a price tag on loveliness!

Plus - it smells delightful in here!  

Thanks for visiting today... and comments make my day.  ~Joyce

Spring In a Bowl - A 5 Minute Centerpiece...

This trough is most always in the center of my dining room table.

After weeks of ignoring it and the fact that it wasn't looking very 'springy' - 

I finally gave it a little update with things I had laying around...

The faux wild flowers are from Dollar Tree & yard sales.  

The butter pats are Quilted Nest inventory waiting to sell.

You can view them here and here.

After a 5 minute fix - this bowl definitely says 'spring' better than it did!

Seasonal decor needn't take much.  I simply had to stop and actually 

'do' something rather than keep passing by this bowl day after day.

What can you do in 5 minutes to change your world today?  ~Joyce
Linking to Talk of the Town

Our Simple Easter Dinner...

Our small family had our Easter dinner a few weeks ago.  

My starting point is often these sweet tulip dishes.  I purchased them 

to resell years ago - trusting the seller who told me they were in

 perfect condition.  Turns out they were not - so I kept them and

 have enjoyed using them for Spring events.

A quick stop at Dollar Tree yielded some faux wild flowers which I cut 

and divided into little bouquets.  I later added water to help the illusion...

The pink polka dot fabric is actually an old feedsack that has a lot

 of damage.  But folded this way - it looks complete and fine.
And gotta have candles; even if just a few votives on overturned sherberts.

And since lavender and pink seemed to be the colors.... this candle

 from my stash on a small pedestal will do.  I try to keep

 centerpieces low.  If too high - table conversation is awkward.  

It's no fun to dodge table decor to see who you're talking to.

I trust this coming Easter Sunday will be a special day for you.  

In the life of the Believer - it is everything!  Without the

 resurrection of Jesus - there would be no hope for an eternity with Him.  

If you've not abandoned your life to live His way- this week 

would be a good time to do so.  Would love to have you in the Family!  

~Joyce

St. Patrick's (Green) Tablescape for One...

Now that Valentine's Day is over... there are 3 seasonal decor 

looks to consider - Spring, St. Patrick's Day or Easter.  

I don't usually decorate for St. Patrick's Day - but just for fun -

  I played with a little tablescape using this plate/bowl...

I paired it with other green dishes that I have - 

all on a straw placemat...

I have seen people use twig wreaths as chargers - but I would find

 that incredibly uncomfortable for eating.  Using one under a side

 dish makes more sense.  You can then move just the bowl closer 

to you when you're ready to eat from it.  

So what do you think - would this work for St. Patrick's Day?  

And why not do a little inspirational reading if you're dining alone?

  The green devotional book is available here.

We have almost Spring-like weather here in PA today.  

And 'green' always makes me think of Spring. 

As always - happy creating!  ~Joyce

A Christmas Dinner Table & A Napkin Fold...

If you build it - they will come right?  Guess we'll see...  

Table is partially set and ready for guests in a few hours...

What's great about this time of year is I can keep the centerpiece

 pretty much in tact through the season and just make minimal

 changes with each event...

My table needs to be a little bigger this time around - 

so I added some extra tea light holders.  One is stacked on vintage

 twill ribbon to help vary the heights.  I used ribbon because it was

 the only thing I could find that I already had on hand that was 
in the right scale and color.  I threw in some fresh greens too - 
cause they were just sitting there from something else so why not...

On a house tour this year - I was introduced to the 'tree' napkin fold.  

So a little research yielded a simple enough tutorial to duplicate it.
  Never mind that not all my napkins are the same fabric.  

Who wants to be all 'matchy, matchy' anyway?

Here's looking forward to a fun evening of fellowship with 

folks we've never hosted before.

And isn't that part of the joy of Christmas?  

Opening our hearts and homes to others.  

Enjoy your weekend readers.  

And if it includes friends - all the better!  ~Joyce

Placemats or Tablecloth...

In setting my table today for a small gathering of 4... 

I was contemplating using placemats in lieu of a tablecloth.

But it looked too crowded and busy for such a small table.  

Then it hit me - 

  

...one placemat in the center would be perfect! 

And it complemented a jar of irises and lilacs nicely.

The lilacs are not quite in full bloom - 

so they should get prettier as the week goes on.

And those would be 'ants on a log' hiding underneath - 

also known as celery with peanut butter and raisins.

This was my first fresh flower cutting of the season.  

 Soon we'll enjoy some picnic table dining and placemats will work there.  
Welcome warm weather!  ~Joyce 
Linking to Monday Funday

Our Thanksgiving 2015 - With Thrifty Finds...

Some scenes from our 2015 Thanksgiving...
I forgot to take pictures of the people and the food - 
but here's a glimpse of the decor...

 
My starting point this year was this lovely runner that I picked up for $2.50.  
It said 'elegant' to me - so I paired it with  lace... 

I have some Libby glasses with leaves that are fun to pull out 
for the season (from my mother).
And I found these leaves motif votives for 25 cents each at a thrift shop.  
So I decided in lieu of center candles to have a votive 
at each person' place setting...

 More thrift finds (a Pilgrim family) graced the center...

I discovered I still had a few white mums blooming - so I made
 small bouquets with some ornamental grass from my flower beds...

 Our dining room is adjacent to the kitchen with no separating wall.  
So on the kitchen table - I often put more decor.  Truth be told - 
it's a place to store the everyday decor from my dining room table
 now that it's in use for 'dining'.  Make sense?  

I created a grouping that is visually appealing from all sides...

I carried the mums bouquet onto this table...

 The terrarium has been a fun find ($9.99) that I'm enjoying filling for the seasons.
 The bowls of acorns?  I came upon them on a walk yesterday and
 stuffed my pockets figuring I'd find some place to use them.  
This is where they landed...

The swan was a find from a yard sale this year for $2. 

A few faux vines brings into 'fall'...

It was a good Thanksgiving for us with family members that 
don't often get together.

How was your day?  ~Joyce
Linking to Home Sweet Home party

Spring Trees - On The Table...

When I returned home from my walk last evening - 

it was getting too dark to take pictures of my own trees.  

So instead - I snipped a few branches...

 ...and brought them inside to enjoy with breakfast this morning.

Pink Dogwood in blue mason jar

I had a friend invited.  Combined with an aqua blue

mason pint jar - 

they were the perfect Spring centerpiece.

I love this time of year when there's usually something 

I can snip from my own yard to brighten my rooms.

Have you done any 'snipping' yet?  ~Joyce

Fast & Free Fall or Thanksgiving Tablescape...

Need a quick idea for your upcoming Thanksgiving table decor?  

(Use what YOU have and this can be free!)  

I put this tablescape together for a brunch I hosted today.  

My theme started with these little twig bundle place cards...

I decided to work with the twig theme a little more

  Let's break it down:

Lace tablecloth

Burlap ribbon down center of table

Fall colored plates

Fall themed tumblers -  (just cause I had some)

2 Wooden candlesticks with tapers in coordinating colors

Small wooden cutting board

Pillar candle on cutting board in coordinating color

Fall or Thanksgiving figures (2 green quail and 1 pumpkin in my case)

Intertwined twigs from my yard and pheasant feathers

There ya go - instant table!

My leaf placecards were traced from an actual leaf on sheet music.  

A metallic gold pen to the edges helps make them 'pop'.

I think I'll just keep this scape in place for Thanksgiving next week.  

There are new people coming and they don't read my blog so I'm good to go.

Brrr...it's getting cold! 
Linking to Feathered Nest Friday