tiered stand...2 ways.

If you follow me on Facebook - 

you saw a sneak peek of something I'm working on. 

  

 

My inspiration was this tiered stand I saw at The Purple Pug 

(she has the 'original' Pottery Barn one...but I'm too cheap to buy one)

My version is much less expensive and I'm hoping it will be just as cute!

It's not finished yet..but it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 

The next stand I'm working on is more colorful.  

I fell in love with the bright colors of these plates from Target.  

I had a wooden candlestick (from Goodwill) already.  

I've painted the candlestick a glossy, bright red. 

So neither of my stands are finished..

but I wanted to share what I've been working on.  

It feels like forever since I've done an actual project. 

Once they are finished, you guys will be the first to know :)

Have a great Thursday!!

Thrift store Thursday

I haven't been to our local Goodwill in a while (besides dropping off lots of clothes last week).  The ladybug and I stopped in yesterday.  

Here are the goodies we found:

 Heart shaped mirror $3.99

I'm picturing this pink, white or red?!  

What do you think?

2 solid wood candlesticks $1.99 each.

Maybe bases for cake/cupcake stand? 

Pink streamer $.39

Had to get it :)

Have you found any treasures lately?  

Don't forget...

Next Monday starts my

"BiRThdAy WeEK GivEaWay ExTRaVaGanZa"  

here's the list of the FAB sponsors:

*Lelan of Good Gravy Designs*

*Genevieve of Celebrate TODAY..The Superchick Way*

*Kristy of The Purple Pug* 

*Pam of Party Starters*

*Tanya of Froufrou Britches*

*Megan of branches by megan darienzo*   

Halloween Carnival (the sweets and treats)

The Halloween Carnival was a success..good crowd & great weather.
I'll stick to the eats in this post
(and save some of the other goodies for another day)

Here's a shot the 'adult food' table.
My mom made all of it herself -
(now you know where I get it)

here's a good one of the spider & eye eggs :)

I decided to keep all the food (and drinks) outside.
It was a great day plus it helps keep some of the mess under control.


Here is the 'junk' table.

 

One of my favorite details

My version of a Pumpkin Patch
Oreo 'pumpkin' cookie pops
{displayed in wooden box (.99 at Goodwill), floral foam and moss ($1 each at Dollar Tree)}


Here are a few other faves:

 Owl cupcakes
{Sitting on a clear plate on top of a giant spider candle holder ($4.99 at Ross)}

Oreo 'cake'.  I had 2 of these on the table

 {on a cardboard cake round (6/$2 at Hobby Lobby) decorated with printables from The Celebration Shoppe...sitting on a spider votive holder (6/$3.99 at Goodwill)}

Rice Krispy treats dipped in candy melts & sprinkles...on a bed of candy corn.
Heaven on a plate, if you ask me!!

Simple chocolate and vanilla cupcakes,
made fancy with printables from The Celebration Shoppe and spider rings

witch broomsticks and extras w/ labels from Tricia-Rennea, illustrator {freebie}

 Fizzy worm juice complete with worm ice!

notice the straws :)

__________________

Just so you don't think I sent the kids home without candy..

I love a little red wagon full of toys and candy.  

Favor bags were lunch sacks with printables from The Celebration Shoppe.  

TREATS banner was a gift from Nancy at A to Zebra Celebrations.


And to make sure it wasn't a total sugar-fest...
some mini waters (w/Halloween theme bands)

Everything was super simple to make & it all turned out pretty cute.

If you'd like, I'd be happy to share the 'how-to' of pretty much all of these goodies 

(where I got the ideas and how I made them my own).  

Just let me know if you're interested & I'll get to work on it for you!!

Come back tomorrow!

I'll share some of the activities at the party/carnival -

hayride, face painting and pumpkin bowling - all on a budget!!!

Lizard & Ladybug's Halloween mantle

I gave you a peek over the weekend of our 'Halloween' mantle.  

Here are some shots (our fireplace/mantle is in a room with very little natural light)

The frame is from Wal-Mart ($3), the pine cones from my mom's back yard, 

pumpkins are from Wal-Mart (6/$5)

(I painted a few with chalkboard paint & some white).  

The spider votive pumpkin holder came from Goodwill.  

The candle/candy dish is from $ Tree.

 

 Here's the other direction..  a good shot of the candy corn garland.  

Hot glue, candy corn and twine - super simple.  

The 'boo' sign is just chipboard letters on scrapbook paper in a $ Tree frame. 

*it's now hanging in our kitchen.

and from the other direction.  

It's almost impossible to get a decent picture of the whole thing.

Close up of my 'chalkboard' rocks and a few more Wal-Mart pumpkins

Keeping it real..some of the candy corn 'jumped' and I needed a quick fix - 

a clear pin and cheapo spider work every time :)

I would love to have the whole house decorated.

But with 2 little ones (with very grabby hands), 

I need decorations that are simple and quick - 

cheap & too high to reach don't hurt :)

If you see something you like, let me know.  

If you see areas where I could improve, let me know that too!!



I'm linking up to:
Today's Creative Blog
The Stories of A to Z 

3 tiered serving tray (for under $2)

Remember my latest stash from Goodwill?  

The candlesticks and glass plates look pretty shiny after a good scrub

I bought them with the idea of making a tiered stand...

I used clear epoxy to stick it all together.

this is what I came up with (I'm not a photographer..but I can assure you that it's level - regardless of what it looks like in this picture -haha)

I found some clear melamine plates on clearance at Target - 

expect another 'kid-proof' tiered stand soon :)

Show and Tell Week at Belly Feathers

goodwill finds this week

Our AC died Wednesday.  It will be fixed today (Friday).  It's HOT!  Florida HOT!  Enough of my complaining - I'm too hot to complain anymore.
Jillian from Catch My Party made me forget ALL about the heat - my Rosh Hashanah dinner is one of the parties of the day!!  I could not be more excited!

The ladybug and I have gotten in the habit of checking out our local Goodwill Store.  These are the goodies I found the previous trip.

I wasn't really looking for anything specific.  Maybe something to use for the Halloween Carnival I'm planning...or some fun things to revamp. 
I think I got some great things this week.

Dollar Tree candle sticks (.39 each) and 5 glass plates (.99 for all) ) = cute cake stands

Cute little apple dish (the ladybug grabbed this one)  .69 = too cute to pass.

Toss across game (like tic-tac-toe using bean bags).  $1.99.  

Remove the sticker to add Halloween themed ones = 

a fun game to use at my Halloween Carnival.

Little spider tea light holders ($ 3.99 for 6) = cute decorations for Halloween

Total for the trip ~ $9

Not too shabby!

Happy New Year....(Rosh Hashanah)

The plan was to have dinner for 9 people at our house.  

Flat tire this...feeling sick that yada yada yada...

we ended up with 5 (2 of them, the lizard and ladybug).  

We had a kick-ass dinner (if I do say so myself)!

Since it's tradition to have apples and honey (to ensure a 'sweet' New Year) -
I decided the theme would be apples. 
To keep things simple - I got 2 bags of green apples and burlap (for a runner).
I already had the glass jars and round place mats.  

Table decor - done.

The menu ... apple chicken, kugel (noodle casserole), potato pancakes w/applesauce, vegetables and salad.

For dessert..I was stumped, until I saw this apple cake recipe.  

Found via @parentsmagazine on Twitter.  

It was so simple (took ~1 1/2hrs to bake) & it turned out great!!

Of course..I don't send people home w/out a goody
(even if it's just my mom that showed up).
I had all intentions of monogramming plates after I saw this idea from lemon tree creations (found via Everyday Celebrating).

I ran out of time..so I decided to use a paint pen and cute stickers
on my goodwill plates.
Add a crisp green apple and a 'to go' container of honey...

& you've got yourself a pretty 'sweet' New Year favor!

Happy New Year (if you're celebrating) &/or Happy Thursday if you're not :)

**what's on the table is half of what I made - we are having a total repeat of this dinner for lunch today** 

the beginnings of my good will re-do

If you remember, I had a few good will finds this week.  

One of which is this magazine rack (~$2.00)

Add a little of this

and you get this.

We have nothing in our house that 'goes' with this color, but I love it!  

You'll notice the legs in the background - it's the ladybug, not a ghost :)

This has already become a new 'toy bucket'...ugh!