Dollar Tree Fall Centerpiece

Since the temperatures have been in the 40’s at night here in Western Pennsylvania, and I’m starting to see the leaves turning to the bright & beautiful shades of Autumn, I have to give in to the fact that Summer is over.  Fall isn’t in its full colorful glory yet, but it’s just around the corner.  Yes, I’m finally facing the fact that it’s Fall.

This is my first Fall home decor item for the season.  Most of the items for this project are from the Dollar Tree, with a very few exceptions.  And it’s so easy to put together.  Just because the items were bought at the Dollar Tree, doesn’t mean it has to look like it.  And tomorrow, I’ll be using it in a Fall Tablescape.

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New Bathroom Towels

After Spring Cleaning the bathroom, I realized that I’m really sick of all of the turquoise in there.  Once the walls were scrubbed, and everything was taken down, I got the bright idea that maybe the bathroom could use a color change.  It’s been sitting for a month, with only the basics until I decided on what color I wanted.  I finally chose silver & white, which is one of my favorite combinations.

New Bathroom Towels

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Painting Candles

While I was putting together the ‘A Tablescape for Ryleigh‘, it dawned on me that I’ve never done a DIY post on how to paint candles.  I’ve put it into other posts, (like the Orange & White Tablescape) but never one dedicated on how I do it.

I paint candles a lot so they will go with the project I’m working on.  You can’t always find the color you want, but you can always find the acrylic paint color you’re looking for.  And sometimes you don’t have the time to go out and shop for new.  The hardest part of painting candles is waiting for the paint to dry.

Here’s how I did it:

Painting Candles

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Feather Sprays-Tutorial

I’m always looking for new ways to add color to my centerpieces.  One of the ways to add color, inexpensively, is to add feathers.  They not only add color, but they add movement to a piece.  They also make a nice addition to flowers as a filler.  By putting feathers together into a spray, you can add height to them.  Feather sprays are easy to make, and can be used in most centerpieces.  I’ll show you how:

Feather Sprays

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My First Year as a Blogger

It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’ve been reminiscing about this past year.  Creatively Sam’s is almost a year old, and it has blown by so fast that if I let it, it will make my head spin.   I remember how scared I was when I first started my blog.  There was so much to learn (I’m still learning) and as it’s evolved, I’m getting the hang of organizing how I write my posts, getting my ideas into post form & finding the time to do it all.  I knew that I wanted it to be a ‘teaching’ blog.  I’m not getting any younger, and as morbid as it may sound, I wanted to teach what I know before I go.

The most important thing to me is my family.  My husband is my soul-mate and he makes me happier than I ever thought possible.  My son is an amazing person with a heart of gold.  He has a God given talent for the guitar (which is why I shared his video in the Merry Christmas post) and he has a gift for fixing cars.  He’s only 22 and is already an Assistant Manager of a national garage.  Both of them are very supportive of this endeavor.

Creating is my passion.  It calms me even on my worst days.  Since I started this blog at the end of January, I had Valentine’s Day on my mind.  My posts led up to my first public tablescape.  I showed how to re-vamp a centerpiece for the holiday and make a pattern for a reversible place mat.

Valentine's Day Reversible Place Mat       Valentine's Day Tablescape

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White & Orange Fall Tablescape

Cuisine Kathleen has issued a “White Fall” challenge.  ONLY WHITE dishes, but ONE other accent for linens, glassware etc.  This was fun, but very challenging.  No problem with the white dishes, since they’re my everyday go to dishes.

The challenging part was the ONE other color.  Not different shades of the other color, but one other color.  My other color started with a burnt orange sheet that my husband suggested I buy when Walmart had their sale going on.  And a tablescape was born:

White & Orange Fall Tablescape

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Fall Garland Centerpiece

Back in August, I did a tutorial on how to make a Table Garland Centerpiece.  It was a beautiful, simple and very easy centerpiece to make.  I thought I’d show you how to make the centerpiece in Fall colors using florals & foliage from Walmart.

Fall Garland Centerpiece

And here is how I made it.

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Apple Theme Tablescape

Cuisine Kathleen has issued another challenge, and I’m up for it!   I love when Kathleen gives us these challenges.  It really gets my creative juices flowing.  This time it’s an apple theme.

I thought about using a red tablecloth, but decided not to.  (too much red)  So I went with a white underlay with a white lace tablecloth overlay.  I brought in the red with the place mats & flatware.

Apple Theme Tablescape

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Apple Napkin Rings

I thought I’d show you how easy it is to make napkin rings with a theme.  I’m doing apples this week for my Thursday Tablescape, so it’s only natural for me to have some apple napkin rings to go with it.

Finished Apple Napkin Rings

They were so easy to make, and they are so unique and very inexpensive.  Here’s how I made them.

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