Hi! I am so excited that just a few hours ago we finished our DIY deck remodel! We began this in February, and my hubby has had the hard work, that's for sure and he did an amazing job. Our pitiful deck, which was just like a pass through from the back door to the back yard has become an outdoor room we can enjoy all year long. Now we have a roof, his handmade Adirondack chairs to sit in, cute décor from thrift stores, St. Augustine, and other special events like the Shrimp festival where we got the vintage buoys and World of Nations where we bought a beautiful handcrafted bird wind chime from Argentina. We found plants on Craigslist cheap and I painted the chairs and made the coffee bean bag pillows and found a big nautical themed pillow at Goodwill. Hubbys smoker does have a spot but that's ok because it helps him do his magic!  Here's the pics:

Chris even made a cooler from a vintage sewing machine base and a metal pail!

All this got me thinking about the front of the house which was very blah! A few trips to the garden center and Goodwill and I was able to do improvements in front for cheap!

 

The wreath I made a few weeks ago completes the front porch.

I'm so proud of Chris's hard work these last four months. He did an amazing job and I can't believe he finished within hours of our bbq tomorrow where we'll have 22 of us here. Our family reunion is Sunday and we'll have company again next week and now I'm proud of how our home looks and love our new outdoor room where plenty of people can hang out there! Love DIY!

 

How to make a rolled rosette flower

Hi ya'll! Summers here! I've got my stepdaughter with me and we're about to head out for some shopping and playtime at a beautiful park. I wanted a new wreath for the front door so I made this on Saturday and I love it. It's just a foam wreath, covered in burlap with lace already on it, some rosettes I made, a chalkboard banner from the craft store that perfectly holds our last name and a hanger from home décor fabric for more color. I found the rolled rosette tutorial a few years ago on Pinterest. You can find it here http://ourbestbites.com/2010/12/tutorial-rolled-fabric-flowers/ I made the hanger by cutting the fabric 4" wide, ironing the sides in about 1/2", then put it through the top, tied a knot, then sewed the ends on my machine putting right sides together. This didn't take very long at all, maybe 1 1/2 hours. Here's another pic and what else I've been up to.

My coffee bean bag obsession! My son Joe wanted a backpack, and wanted one that would double as a hiking, backpacking bag, beach bag, so a multipurpose bag. Here he is with it and he really likes it!

It's empty so it's flat but it will hold a lot. My hubby went to work and showed pics to the guys and called just a while ago to tell me someone wants one for their daughter who'll be going back to college in the fall! I haven't officially started offering these on Etsy or my fb biz page so that's a good sign. I love that these bags usually get trashed but are now being recycled into useful, beautiful, unique items so at least some of them aren't ending up in landfills. I challenge you to look at things not for what they are, but for what they can become. Blessings, Gina 

The 4th of July is coming! The 4th of July is coming!

Hi everyone! Summer is almost here and with it comes one of my favorite holidays, the 4th of July. I know our country isn't perfect and we certainly have issues to work on, but I believe we're greatly blessed to live here and we're still the greatest country in the world! Thank God for the freedoms we have and probably take for granted often. Since my door is my "mantle" I decorate for the seasons it was time to take my appropriate things out and I decided to make this bunting which is so easy and can be done in an hour. I'll share with you where I found these free printables I love as well. First, here's my door.

The horseshoes with stars we got at the flea market. The little Uncle Sam hanger ornament and the pioneer woman holding the flag were thrift store finds. I made the fabric pinwheels two years ago and just keep them in the jar in the closet near my rubbermaid bins of seasonal décor.

 I found the free printables here http://www.bonfiresandwine.com/2013/06/free-summer-printables.html and here http://lollyjane.com/free-patriotic-mason-jar-printables/

  I made the bunting by taking a dinner plate, large bowl, then regular size bowl like these

I folded my red fabric in half and traced the big plate, pinned inside the circle then cut them out so I got two at a time, then did a single one. I traced the large bowl onto my folded fabric, pinned in the circle to keep them together, cut again and did a 5th. You are not placing the bowls on the fold, you are moving it away from the fold so you get two which makes this go quickly. I did the same with the small bowl on the burlap.
  I placed the blue circle in the middle of the red circle, pinned and then zig zagged all the way around the outside of the blue. I placed the burlap circle in the middle of the blue circle and did the same only I went around twice to help prevent fraying.
  I took twine, tied a large loop on one end, placed a circle over it, aligned and pinned the edges, then started just under where the twine runs and zig zagged around to the other side. My knot came loose on one and it slipped off, after I had sewn the outside so I attached a safety pin to the end of the twine, inserted it in that top opening and pushed it back out the other side.
  I love my patriotic door and I love my country!
  I've done a few more of the burlap bags. I came up with my own pattern for a large tote since I've done gussetts on bags before and I love how it came out. Then I did another tote, not as big, with outside pockets in the front. I love these coffee bean bags and hope to get more orders soon or sell the ones I listed in my lil Etsy shop.
  Enjoy the free printables and the bunting. They will add a nice pop of color for your 4th of July too! Blessings, Gina