​I am sure that somewhere in your garden, shed or garage you have an old, ugly looking planter that just like me, you are saving for whatever unknown reasons in the future. Smile. Well, aren’t we lucky today? I found mine and decided to give it a facelift to grow some needed fresh herbs.
 
It doesn’t take that much time or money to restore it. Just clean it really well, and allow it to dry for at least a day to make sure is totally dry. Then go to the store of your choice and get a can of spray paint, the color that appeals to you. Then just paint the booger, and allow it to dry completely again for one more day before filling it with soil.
 
Finally, if you don’t have seedlings that you started at home from other herbs, just go to your garden center and purchase some of the (ORGANIC) herbs that you like most and BOOM, you will not have to purchase herbs weekly at your grocery store anymore or at least for a while. If it’s wintry outside, then keep the planter indoor in a sunny window location or outdoor if you have good weather.
 
Oh, and don’t forget to water the planter to keep the plants alive. Enjoy your new herbs. 

I was walking the other day and suddenly noticed this magnificent tree with some unexpected flower-type that I have never seen before. Since the tree was huge and covered with these flowers, I decided to grab a couple of limbs and see what I could come up with.

After I got home, I looked for a plane vase to not compete with the beauty of these limbs. Then, I combined them with other greenery and this was the end result.
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Friends, it doesn’t take much to create a simple arrangement. Mother Nature is out there and the beauty of all she makes is simply exquisite. There is an abundance of colors, textures, shapes, and dimensions to select. It is simply a matter of capturing what you like most and then become crafty, smile.

Time to get busy creating your holiday set. And yes, I suspect that most of us will celebrate this holiday at home in our family rooms with our immediate family living in our household. However, do you know what? Everything is good. There are two important things that I would like to celebrate big time:
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1. I will be grateful to God for giving me the gift of live to celebrate it with some of my loved ones, since I am aware that other people will not be as fortunate as I will be.
2. Furthermore, I just can’t wait to see the current 2020 year to go away, to disappear and be gone for good. It has been a terrible year and I do not want to remember it ever.
3. Finally, I Love You All, please stay safe, wear masks, and follow the recommendations of the professionals in the medical field. It save lives. This like everything else will pass and we will be able to enjoy each other’s company again in the future.

It is impossible to drive by any street during the holidays and don’t get to see an inflatable. These days they come in all shapes, colors, designs, themes and especially, size. I saw a Santa Claus that was two stories high, huge. Also and unfortunately, in my nearby neighborhood, they posted a home ring doorbell video of a bear wrestling with one. Insane!
 
I don’t have any inflatable, but I thinks that they must be the easiest and fastest way to decorate the front lawn. Here’s the drill: Unpack them, plug them to an extension cord and boom, the holidays spirit is up and running in less than hour, smile.

Seriously, it doesn’t take a lot of money or trips to the stores to come up with a homemade gift that whoever you decide to give it to, will appreciate and enjoy. It is also an alternative to a last minute gift that you can put together at home with whatever ingredients that you may have.

Just get one of your cookies recipe or bean soup, or just go on-line and get a cookie recipe that you love. Gather the dry ingredients listed. Then hand write or type in a card the wet ingredients that your gift recipient will need to have at home to make the cookies, usually butter, vanilla, egg and or milk.

Get one of your repurposed glass jars. Mine was repurposed from a nice looking (and yummy) artichokes jar that I decided to clean well and keep for any future project. The size really matters here friends, so that you can include other extra goodies you may want, such as M&M, white chocolate chips, cranberries, etc. My jar is one quart or the equivalent of 4 cups and yours can be the same or a bit more or less.

Then let the fun begin. Get all the ingredients lined up and measured exactly. This will give you an idea of how to combine the layers by the colors. Usually, you will measure and mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and mix well, that’s one layer, since these ingredients are all white, it doesn’t matter. Then decide on what order you will do your layers and make sure to press gently after each layer before adding the next layer.

Decorate the jar with ribbon or cord and also the lid. Handwrite or print the instructions of how to make the cookies and attach to the jar. You don’t need to give the recipe, since you already added all the dry ingredients to the jar, just write the wet ingredients.

Done! You’ll make someone happy. Actually, a lot of the people that will eat them too, since the number of ingredients in my container yields 24 regular size cookies, smile. 

These are, as I call it, “The New Kids on the Block”. Smile. I found these new decorations this year around my neighborhood. Each year they become better and better selecting their pieces, awesome.

I cannot thank my neighborhood residents enough for making my day every day. For sure! They decorate their properties with such care and love for everyone to enjoy. Their artistic talents are displayed here for all of us to enjoy. So, what’s your favorite?
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Thanks Neighbors!

I decided that I need a new wreath for this year. So I began the fun part of thinking shape, colors, decorative picks or berries or pine cones, etc.…

I have a lot of Cedar pieces, therefore, they became my first inspiration. Then during my morning walks, I gather a lot of pine cones for the project, got home and baked them at 200 degrees over aluminum foil paper for about 15 to 20 minutes, to kill any pest that found home inside them and allow them to cool.

Finally, I went to my craft room and gathered some festive color picks. The fun part was about to begin, smile. This is a simple project. Just stick the twigs through the wooded wreath. Don’t try to be perfect, I like mine all over the place, the way nature is, smile.

Once all the Cedar is poked into the wreath, gather some of the berries and pinecones and glue them to the greens.
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Next, just find a place to hang it and enjoy it. And remember, this is mostly a natural material wreath and is not intended to be put away for next year’s holiday season. Therefore, gather the decorating pieces and discard the greens once it is done for this season. Smile.

This is not the first time that I make a Kissing Ball for the Holidays. However, things turned out for the worst this year. Smile

Since I do a lot of crafting, I always have leftover decorating pieces. Furthermore, I have over 6 Cedar trees in my property, so I took some of the branches without distorting the shape of the tree. After I gathered all my materials, I began the process.

At the beginning it went normal and my thought were more of what kind of design I will pick as I go. So, I went further and further, and I kind of liked the way the ball was looking.
Then suddenly, I looked at my cedar branches and noticed that the pile I started with was significantly reduced. However, in spite of the fact, I continue to like the way the project was looking.

Then unexpectedly, I realize that I could turn this initial project into a “Half Kissing Ball” and that is exactly what I did.
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Finally, this project cost me nothing, because I had the leftover materials from other projects as well as the Cedar branches in my own back yard. However, if you want to make one, just go to the Dollar store, purchase few decorative pieces and then ask your neighbors, (that is if you don’t have pine trees in your yard) to give you few branches. Place them in a bucket with water for few hours and then, follow my slide presentation. The whole project may cost you less than $5.00. Winning!!!!

​In early November, I made and then posted in my blog under my Gardening Page, the “Anytime Hydrangea Wreath” using dried flowers and green material from my garden. Today, I am showing how I turned that same wreath into a festive holiday wreath with a simple can of spray paint and a bow.

If I look at cost for this baby, the only things that cost money are the 1 yard of ribbon and some of the gold spray paint. In essence, I can say that this whole wreath didn’t cost more than $5 and that is if you didn’t have the paint, ribbon and $1.00 wreath to hold the plant material at home already.
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Therefore, go to your yard, or the nearby woods, grab some green material, get some ribbon and make your own Christmas wreath without going to the craft store or purchase one already made elsewhere. Smile.

A good friend gave us this nice bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain as a gift. Needless to say, it was delicious, however, we used it all. So I told my husband that I should do something with the empty bottle because it was a yummy gift plus it has a nice shape.
 
I went into my craft room after I washed it well and remove the labels, just to think how I was going to transform it, so that it won’t go to the land field.
 
Suddenly, it came to me. I opened some ribbon boxes and came up with this idea, a bottle now turned into a flower vase. However, if you keep the lid on, it can be used as a home decorative accent.
 
Our friend would be so proud, we used all the oil and didn’t even bother to throw away the empty bottle, smile.