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What's Coming to the Shop & Sale!

sale
Hey there friends, I'm stopping by to let you know that I am having a SALE over at the little shop.
Now I know there isn't much right now, but that's the point.  I want to clear every thing out, to make room for the new items.  Ahem, see that banner down there?  It will be posted to the shop and these go pretty fast, so if you want to reserve yours, please let me know ahead of time.

It is decor for the Holidays!  I know, I know...it's July and you're thinking of Holidays?  Well July is almost over ya'll and before you  know it, it'll be Christmas time, so why not get ready?

Remember to subscribe to the blog in order to know when these hit the shop.  I love the uniqueness of these garlands which are made to reflect inspirational words and Christmas songs. You can view a sample here to see how I used it to decorate my tree.

DSC_0644
I also wanted to let you know that I am also selling these lovely rustic candle holders,
among the many things that are going to be sold.  I am offering them here first, so 
you get the first pick.   They are in mint condition and need a new home.  You can
spray paint them if you want them in another color. They are $16.00 for the set
& SHIPPING is FREE within the states excluding Hawaii & Alaska.  
International s/h along with Alaska & Hawaii will have to contact me. 
They will not be posted on Etsy!  So let me know if you want them.
What's awesome about these candle holders is that it can hold wide pillar candles as 
well a tapered candles, see the insert?  Isn't that cool?  
So if you have any questions,please feel free to contact me & will reply to you as 
soon as I can.  Happy trails and happy shopping!


Little Projects

flowers
After the busy month of places to be, things to do, people to see, it finally slowed down this summer in order for me to work on little projects.

My son and I re-vamped this clay flower pot for his cactus plant.  We used acrylic craft paint to paint the inside blue and the outside in white, giving it a two toned appearance.

After the paint dried, he applied glow in the dark paint on the outside surface. When the lights go out, it glows and for him that is an awesome effect. I have to admit, it really is!  I couldn't get a good photo in the dark to show you, but you get the idea.

glow in the dark flowerpot
I also finished another chalkboard project similar to the large chalkboard I made a few months back on this post and since then, have painted the frame white.  I have wanted a narrow chalkboard forever and with an extra piece of wood in the garage, I finally made one with my hub's help of course.

We used a flat wood board measuring about 14 x 47.5 inches.  I painted the board with chalkboard paint.

Mr.M cut the angles on the frame and nailed them together.  I then stained the frame and when it was dried, nailed it to the black board surface. The frame measures 15 x 48 inches.

Now all I have to do is make the frame look aged, I was inspired by this chalkboard.  I should have done that before mounting it, but oh well.
I will make it look like antique wood later on & will post about it, so stay tuned.

diy chalkboard
staining wood
diy chalkboard
We added a little art on the board to add a summer feel to our patio.  This will be a 
great little board for seasons and holidays.  

Have you been enjoying your summer?  
Happy Crafting!


What Can Cricut Explore Cut?

*This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking the links.  



Cricut Explore cuts more than you can imagine!

I love to share some of the things that I create at home, especially the most recent projects.  But I have to confess that some of my projects would have saved me more time, if I had one of these amazing machines. 

When I viewed the Cricut Explore list, I was really impressed with all that Cricut Explore can cut, have you viewed their list?  It is simply amazing! Imagine all you can do with this machine, all the wonderful projects and decor for parties, holidays, school, clothes or whatever you set your mind to.  You know, if you have someone who loves to make things in your life, this would be an awesome gift! Hint, hint!

Here is what Cricut has to say about their amazing product.  "We have been pushing the Cricut Explore machine to its limits, and guess what we discovered? It can cut! It handles various types of paper, vinyl, foil, tape, and much more."

Take a look at the complete Cricut Explore Cut List to explore the limitless possibilities of what you can create. Also, shop now and get free shipping on all orders of $35 or more, when you use the promo code: FREESHIP35 at checkout. 

Happy Shopping!



Create an Outdoor Space

palletpatio
Create your own outdoor space with what you already have at home!  Do you have extra wood or a pallet lying around?  Perhaps you have an old table you want to paint over?  Do you have extra fabric or paint in your closet?

It doesn't take much to make an outdoor space inviting.  You know what the Nester says, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  At the inspiration house, we like to keep things simple. This handmade patio was created with extra items that was sitting around collecting dust in our garage and closet.

With our finds, we handmade and revamped what we had on hand.  The pallet chairs were a gift from a friend which we painted white and our table was made by using a pallet, you can view the post here. Please excuse the table's crooked legs, that's my fault for dragging the table against the floor, but it will get fixed soon. The toss pillows were handmade and hand painted, you may view the tutorial on this post and the flower pot is a makeover that I did several months ago.

The most difficult task was creating this patio area by installing the pavers.  That took a lot of work and elbow grease, those pavers are heavy, but the patio is coming along slowly.  The grass is finally growing on one side of the pavers, we will also place some plants around to add texture and color.

Making something cool out of scraps is awesome and hope that you were inspired to take anything you have and turn it to something useful even an unused space.  How will you create your outdoor space?
pallettable
pallet coffee table

Linked to:

The Bewitchin Kitchen

How We Created a Butterfly Garden


There may not be a creature on earth that is more admired by children and perhaps adults, than the butterfly. Why not put out a welcome mat for these amazing creatures? One of the most wonderful features that butterflies have is that they are easy to attract into your own back yard. Our backyard oasis was designed to attract butterflies by providing them with only four things; 1) Plants that the baby caterpillars can feed on 2) Host plants that serve for laying eggs, 3) Flowers that provide nectar and 4) shelter from wind and predators.
Plants that provide Nectar
Your own observations will tell you what kind of flowers will attract butterflies where you live. Start by setting aside a sunny part of your garden to grow wildflowers.  Among the wildflowers try planting a Butterfly Bush (buddleia).  It's fragrant flowers spikes bloom from July until the first frost--and most butterflies can't resist them.

In planting perennials, consider Phlox, Yarrow, Black Eyed Susans, Coreopsis, and Shasta daisies. We have had great success in attracting the Tiger swallowtails and Monarchs.

I had to snap several photos in order to finally capture the beautiful wings of this lovely Eastern Tiger Swallow Tail Butterfly.  

Plants that caterpillars can feed from
One good way to ensure a continuing supply of butterflies is to put in plants that will feed caterpillars and their larvae.  Consider Bermuda grass, clover, dock, hollyhock, lupine, nettle, St. Augustine grass, and turtle head for this purpose.

Shelter for Butterflies
Butterfly houses, similar to bird houses, provide shelter to the fragile creatures during storms as well as food.  They may be brightly painted, just as their inhabitants are.  

Planting a butterfly garden will not only attract these beautiful insects to your yard, but it will also preserve them.  Many species of butterfly are endangered and creating a habitat where they can thrive will help them to survive.
Because many butterfly species are threatened, please don't try to "preserve" their beauty by killing them & mounting them in boxes.  Admire them in their natural habitat.

I must admit, these are beautiful, and they are so large in size.  This is the Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, isn't he a beauty?
What attracts these amazing creatures here in our garden the most are the wildflowers like the buddleia, also known as the butterfly bush.  We have plenty of those around the property and they attract the hummingbirds too. Many zinnias planted in a garden along with purple cone flowers are appreciated by all these amazing creatures and the flowers bring in beautiful colors into your garden.
To find out what plants attract butterflies in your area, visit your local gardening store.
I hope that you have enjoyed our little butterfly adventure, these are only a few of the many photos taken in our butterfly garden and I hope that you enjoy.

Note: No butterflies were harmed.


Outdoor Pallet Table

pallettablescoverPallets are very popular right now for creating practically anything you like, from wall covers, furniture and accessories. They work well for a rustic look in furniture or incorporated in a particular design. Pallets may be purchased or if you are as lucky as we were, you may even get them free.  We have had this pallet forever and it has seen it's fair share of paint drips, crayon scribble, dirt and everything else.  It started as a back drop for some of my blog photos, but over time, it just got plain ugly because of lack of care. We have used pallets in the past; when we created our mudroom space, we used half of a pallet to give our seat height by placing under the bench and we also made pallet night stands on here.

I decided it was time to fix our pallet and create something useful with it.  I asked Mr. M to give me the sander and instead he sanded the pallet completely.  It was super smooth and all the marks were pretty much gone. He added legs to it with some extra wood that was in the garage.

The legs are of a different kind of wood, so it was not going to stain the same, that's when I decided to paint it white and to stain the top.

After the paint and stain, I waxed it to give it a nice polish. 

For this project we used:

1 pallet
4 x 4 for legs (left over in garage
electric sander
white paint
wood stain
paint brush
sponge
nails or screws
drill or hammer
wood furniture wax

Got to love free things right?!  For more ideas on using pallets visit my pallet furniture board on Pinterest and follow to get the latest ideas.

IMAG0531IMAG0532pallet table inspirationsbyd.blogspot.compalletoutdoortablepallet tablepallet We love our table and are enjoying it. View more photos of this table on this link.  Thank you for stopping by and checking out our pallet table.  If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.






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