DIY Clip On Poinsettias

***Edited to update the cost. I found the receipt! Each of the clip packets cost $2.99. Which would've made the total for the project around $10.50! That makes each flower 44 CENTS! Way better than the store bought ones! :)

Hi All!

I had planned on showing you my Advent Calendar and give you a quick tutorial today on how I made it, but well...it's not done. It's almost there, but it still needs some work (which it will get late into tonight I am sure). Rather than skip a day of blogging I decided to give you an even more brief tutorial on how I made some of my tree decorations this year. I'll be back with the Advent calendar later this week.

Now on to the tutorial! This year I'm attempting a more elegant Victorian color schemed tree. As I've been shopping for bargains I came across some gorgeous clip on poinsettias in a beautiful cream color. I loved them, but at anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 each I was not going to be buying them any time soon. So I decided to DIY them. The best part is that they're so easy to make, you can too! I stopped what I was doing to whip one up and take some pictures to show you. Here's how you do it:

Buy some of these:

I bought my floral stems at Michael's this past weekend at 60% off.  I bought 3 stems at $1.20 each which gave me enough for 24 flowers for my tree!

Then grab some of these little clips from the jewelry and findings section of the craft store. Pop the flowers off the stems.

Grab your hot glue gun and glue the long side of the clip to the green plastic part of the flower.

I added a little more glue to make sure it was secure and voila! Gorgeous clip on flowers for much, much less! 

(And now I just have 23 more to go... ;) )

Right after I finish the Advent calendar. Oy. 

Total cost for the project:

3 Floral stems at 60% off - $3.60

2 packages of clips at (either $2.99 or $3.99 each - I'm looking for the receipt, for now let's go with the larger amount) $8.00

Total - $11.60 + tax

That comes out to right at 50 cents per flower. That's half the cost of the premade "cheap" ones! :)

***Your cost may vary due to sale prices and local tax. This would be a fantastic project to tackle using stuff from after Christmas sales!

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Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths - see sidebar for link

Christina's Adventures - 20 Below Thursday! - See sidebar for link

Cyber Monday (And why you should support small businesses...)

OK, I'm not going to lie to you. I was one of those crazy people out at midnight on Black Friday. (I will say though, we hit two stores and headed home. It was crazy.) I love to shop. Even on Black Friday. Now that you know I'm mildly crazy let me share something else.

I would rather have something handmade or support small local businesses than go to Wal-mart. Nothing against them of course, I do shop there when necessary. But what I mean is, I like sourcing small businesses because generally, I know what I'm getting. I know the time and effort put in to make something. I know the ingredients. I can feel the passion of the creator in the item.

Last Saturday was Small Business Saturday. I was out shopping with a friend for her wedding gown and was pleased when she found one at a local shop in Virginia. She celebrated Small Business Saturday by purchasing her dress *at* a small business! (And it was a major purchase let me tell you!) They even gave her a discount!

Today is Cyber Monday and to celebrate and highlight some of my favorite shops online, I thought I'd present a list of some of my faves with links! Some even have special sales going on right now! The best part is that if you make a purchase, you're doing two (sometimes three!) things at once - supporting small businesses, celebrating Cyber Monday and in some cases even supporting charities sponsored by the vendors! How cool is that?

Check it out:

1. Janery - Jane @ The Borrowed Abode runs this Etsy.com shop. She has some fun, amazing things! A portion of her proceeds goes to a local charity as well. Here's a favorite of mine from her shop:

2. Gadanke - You all know my love for these journals! She's offering free shipping world wide on Christmas journals today until midnight! CRAZY! Just enter code HOHOHO at checkout!

3. ReeReeBee (My best friend EVAR!) - I might be biased because she's my bestie, but I couldn't advertise for others without including her Etsy site too! Check out the cute dish liquid apron!

4. Luv Boopa - Last up (but CERTAINLY not least) is Jennifer at Luv Boopa! She makes many amazing things, most of which are custom. The coolest thing about her shop though, is that she craft matches. When certain items are ordered, another one is given to those in need. I love this idea. Please check it out!

I hope you all had a great holiday and enjoyed your family and friends. I know I did. Please give these ladies some consideration when purchasing Christmas gifts. When you support small, local businesses in your area and online, you really are doing a good thing! (Also, if you know of any other amazing small businesses online or Etsy shops you'd like me to consider including through the holiday season, I'd love that. Just drop me a line at the e-mail address above.)

Thankful Week 4

Well it's the last Monday of November and I am thankful for a lot of things. Mostly, I'm thankful for all those leftovers that can be frozen and stored for later use. (I made a 12 lb turkey for two people. It was a little crazy. Turkey soup anyone?) I'm also thankful for a very patient hubby who went out with me at *midnight* on Black Friday. Yep, I'm one of those crazy people. And Kohl's was cra-zay. Let me just tell you. It was nuts! I'm also thankful for good childhood memories and looking forward to seeing the new Muppet's movie. Just the thought of seeing it on the big screen makes me giggle like a little girl again.
I'm also thankful for time spent with family and friends this past weekend. It was crazy busy, but so worth it. Especially getting time to spend with my husband's family and how they've taken me in so kindly as one of their own. What are you thankful for today and always?
I will be back after tutoring with a special Cyber Monday/Small Business Saturday post. Happy Monday y'all!

The Liebster Award

I am totally humbled. Mtashie @ The Place passed along the Liebster Blog Award to me! The award is designed to promote up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. I so appreciate her thinking of me!

The rules of the award are that you copy/paste the award to your blog linking back to the one who gave it to you. Then you pick 5 blogs to pass it along to and leave a comment telling them so.

Here are my choices:

Haley @ The Distracted Blogger
Kirsten - The Foreign Domestic
Kelly @ Simply Kelly
Kira @ Kissing the Joy as it Flies
Erika @ EZxs5

I'll be back later with another post. Stay tuned!

Thankful Week 3

Well, it's Thanksgiving week, so I certainly have being thankful on the brain. Here's what I'm thankful for today (and always). 
1. A husband who is patient and kind. 
2. My ability to save us money while grocery shopping. As a result I had to organize my freezer to fit everything in! What a problem to have!
3. Friends and family who love me.
4. The blogging community that I've become part of in the last year.
5. And especially all of you - for reading, encouraging and supporting The Scrappy Housewife in all the crazy adventures I've gone on since I started blogging. You guys are the best. :)
Happy Thanksgiving!

What I've Been Up To - List Update #2

Happy Friday y'all!

I have a slam packed weekend this weekend, so I wanted to take some time and update you on what I've bene up to here at the Scrappy house. Aside from tutoring and the every day stuff, I've been steadily working on "The List".

Here's what I've finished:

Small organizational bags for my purse (Unfinished crafts #3) and the plastic bag dispensers for our cars (Misc Projects #13)

I got the idea from Tatertots and Jello after I'd seen their idea (and had to search!) on Pinterest. I'll save you the searching and point you to the tutorial here.

Here's a closeup of my little bags. I searched everywhere for a cheap version of makeup bags and could not find them anywhere. 

I'm going to spend some time this weekend switching purses and I'll give you a tour of how I currently (and plan) to organize my bag with these. 

I also finished the mending which feels so good. On Wednesday I showed you how to fix (or at least camouflage) a burn in a towel.

In addition to that I cleared off the top of our dresser and straightened up (and purged!) the drawers. You can see how I organized my perfumes and nail polishes here. I also worked steadily on our advent calendar (and I have a special post coming on that next week...I'm just a little excited and nervous) and reorganized our freezer. Yes, really. Labels and all. ;) I'm a crazy person. I'll show you pictures of that next week and give you a link to the tutorial. 

Hope your week was productive! What have you been up to?

Mending a Burned Towel

Once upon a time I had a cute towel. You can see that towel below.

Once upon a time I was also far less proficient in the kitchen and I burned said towel (and food - but I digress...). You can see the burn and my sad face below.

At the time I thought all was lost, and I'd have to toss the towel, but I couldn't bear to do it. Luckily for me, a few years later (I said I was a project hoarder right?) I took some sewing lessons and learned how to sew with a machine. When I dove in to the pile of mending, I decided I would take a risk on my little towel and see if I could fix it. Luckily, it worked and it was super simple.

Here's what you'll need:

Burned towel (duh)
Spool of ribbon - $3.99 at Michaels
Sewing machine
Coordinating thread

First you'll cut your ribbon to the length you need, plus a little extra to fold under so you get a clean edge.

Next you'll pin that little extra tail to your towel.

Then, tuck in your little pin by folding the ribbon over it. If you'd feel more comfortable getting a crisp edge by ironing, feel free. I just chose to skip that step.

Then you just need to continue pinning down the ribbon all the way across your tea towel. This for me was the hardest part. If you're not careful you could end up with a crooked ribbon.

I bought a ribbon that had a thread accent (I'm guessing that's what that's called?) along the edge so I just lined it up in the center of my sewing foot and used it as a guide to keep my seam straight. You can see a close up of that below.

Now you can go ahead and sew a straight line using that accent as a guide. Remember to reverse your stitch just after you begin to lock in your stitch. Finish your one long straight seam. Easy peasy right? Right. When you get to the end of the towel, sink your needle, lift your foot and turn. This makes sure you don't lose tension. (I hope that's clear. If not, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to correct my explanation.)

Now just repeat the process until you get back down to the other end and remember to reverse and sew over your end to lock it all in before finishing.

When you're done, your seams should be hidden in the accent stitching on the ribbon. Check it out below. (I even surprised myself with this!)

And voila! You've successfully covered your burn with an attractive ribbon accent.

But Scrappy, the hole is still there! You're absolutely right. All I did was cover it on the front. To make sure it doesn't continue to fray, I'm going to pick up some Fray Check at JoAnn's tomorrow to seal it off. Most people won't ever know that hole is back there, except all of you. But you won't tell right? ;)

This post is partying at: (See side bar)
House of Hepworths - Hookin' Up With Hepworths
Christina's Adventures - 20 Below Thursday

Thankful Week 2

I'm participating in Becky @ Organizing Made Fun's A Month of Thankful Mondays. Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. An organized freezer. (Yep, really...)

2. The crafting time I had this weekend.

3. A squeaky clean puppy. (Seriously, he was starting to stank! Whooo!)

4. My Hubs help in all of the above.

What are you thankful for this week?

Sunday Pinspiration #4 - DIY Tips and Tricks

I haven't pinned much this week because I'm trying to go back through all of my pins and Pin Responsibly. So this week I decided to share some of my favorite pins off my DIY Tips and Tricks board.

Here are the guidelines for Sunday Pinspiration:

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.
3. If you like any of these and want to add them to your own Pinterest boards, please click the source link and pin from there to ensure proper credit.


OK on to the tips:


Chip a nail no more!

Source: realsimple.com via Christina on Pinterest

I honestly need this when arranging pictures. I have two or three "go to" arrangements, but they tend to be boring.

Source: annbeckphotography.com via Christina on Pinterest

Remove old paint with a crock pot? Yes please! Who wants to head to Goodwill for a spare?

Source: thisoldhouse.com via Christina on Pinterest

If you sew, and you haven't checked out Scientific Seamstress you're missing out. Also - free printables for folding, making your own bias tape, etc. Just sayin'. ;)

Source: scientificseamstress.blogspot.com via Christina on Pinterest

Happy Sunday y'all!

An Update on The List

*Edited to give a shout out to all the new readers I've gotten in the last couple of weeks. I hope you'll pull up a chair and stay awhile! I seriously giggle with glee at every new reader. (And when I get fun comments from current readers too! ;) Love y'all!

Well ladies (and gents if you're out there!) it's been a couple weeks since I wrote The List and I'd say it's been fairly successful over all. It's funny how putting things down on paper motivates you (or at least me) to do them!

Let's take a look at that pile from the beginning shall we?

Here's what I got done this week:

Misc. Projects

11. Recipe Boxes - I found the boxes cheap at Borders (and this was long before they were closing). They were originally from some Time Life promotion, but were five bucks a piece, and they even came with recipe cards! I didn't like the logos all over the box and since one was going to be a gift to my best friend I decided to personalize it with some vinyl and my Cricut. Mine has the buttons (I messed up the sizing of the recipe card so I had to improvise.) Then, for my friend I made recipe dividers for the inside of the box. Mine is going to hold my "50 _______" recipe books from each month's Food Network Magazine. It's a larger size which is just what she wanted! (4x6 not 3x5)

12. Ribbon box - Earlier this week I showed you the ribbon box I made out of an old cous cous container during my Craft Area Reveal.

15. and 16. Scrapping up my Homemaker's Mission Statement and a Favorite Quote (or Two!) - I just used Word to type them up and then printed them off and matted them with some scrap paper. The big one I made in Picnik - though I think it may get resized. I don't like it that big. I'm considering offering it as a free printable - anyone interested?

17. Pinterest Post It Holder - I saw several of these Post It Notes holders on Pinterest and I literally had a ton of those plastic picture frames left over from our wedding so I thought I'd make one as an added gift for my bestie. Here's a link to the tutorial I pinned - Paper Wings

Sewing Projects

3. Mending - This is almost finished. I bought some ribbon to cover a hole in a towel (I'll show you how I did it - assuming it's not an epic fail - haha! this week.) and I just have to do some machine mending on 3 pieces tonight. It'll be checked off next week for sure.

Here's a look at the pile now:

So, I'm making progress. Today was spent working on stocking up the freezer with healthy fare for nights when we don't really feel like heavy cooking as well as doing some organization there. I'll share that with you as soon as I'm done.

I've also been steadily working on the advent calendar, which I'll show you when I'm done. It's so cute. Srsly.

Have a great Saturday night. I'll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled Sunday Pinspiration!

New vs. Old

Some people love new, modern things. They want the newest, best thing all of the time. Well, no disrespect to them, but I love old things. Oh sure, I love all of my modern conveniences and I love new clothes and all of my high tech gadgets. When it comes to decorating my home, I think I like a mix of old and new. I love adding vintage pieces to our home. I like to think there's a story behind each and every piece. With new stuff, you're making the story up as you go. There's no history to it. I like knowing that someone else cherished a vintage find. 

This weekend, The Hubs and I went to our favorite vintage and antique store solely for the purpose of finding some inexpensive plates to make this:

Source: minhafilhavaicasar.com via Christina on Pinterest

And I did find a set that I loved. A 1940s tea and toast set from Steubenville. I came home, grabbed my glue and some cheap Wal-Mart candle sticks I had and yet, when I started looking at the set and began thinking about permanently gluing them to some cheap mass produced glass candle stick...I couldn't do it. Here's what I did instead:

I tucked a small jewelry gift box underneath the largest plate to elevate it and arranged the rest on top of my dresser in what I felt was a nice looking arrangement.

The toast plate holds the perfumes and body sprays I use regularly. (I chucked the rest.)

The saucer holds some nail polishes and creams. 

The tea cup holds some small samples of expensive perfume that I generally get for free since I'm not a big perfume person. The samples are the perfect size. The little bottle in the middle came from my mother's jewelry box. I don't ever wear it, but I do smell it occasionally. It's a nice reminder of how she smelled as I was growing up.

It was only $8.00 - for the entire set. I chose grey because we have grey accents in our bedroom. I just did a major clean off and reorganization of the top of our dresser that I will share with you soon and I wanted a pretty way to display some of my girly items. I just couldn't wait to show you my sweet little find. I imagine some other woman, from a time long ago, using the set to enjoy breakfast in the quiet before she begins her day. Maybe that's silly - but it makes me smile.

This post is partying at:

20 Below Thursday - Christina's Adventures (see sidebar)

House of Hepworths - Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths - see sidebar