Southern Summer Wreath

Last week I started looking for ideas for a summer wreath for my front door.
I really don't like to spend a lot of money on faux flowers since my door is in full sun for half the day. The flowers fade so badly that I usually only get one season or so from the wreath.

 I wanted to do a summery "southern style", but the only things I had in the house were some magnolia branches I bought last year at GW and an old grape vine wreath. 

I wanted to use something different, but what?

As I stood there staring at the bare wreath I remembered the plate I had found at GW a while back. Just ignore the place mats.



Hmmm. Maybe I could attach the plate to the wreath...

I wanted to write "welcome" on the plate and decided to use a permanent marker. Pre-printed letters would probably look nicer, but I didn't know if they would stay on in the humidity and rain.
Please excuse the quality of the writing... I didn't get the "calligraphy gene" either. :)

After the marker dried, I tied the plate to the wreath with waxed string. We've had the roll of string  forever...and I don't know where we got it-- but you could use wire...or hot glue if the plate isn't too heavy.

I glued Spanish moss behind the plate and a couple of faux flowers. The ribbon came with the plate to hang it, but I decided to tie it on the bottom.

For Independence Day, I added two small flags.

Happy Summer and Happy 4th of July!

I'm hurrying to join Kim@SavvySouthernStyle for Wow Us Wednesday. See you there.

And also visiting Sherry@NoMinimalistHere for Open House Party Thursdays

Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out my giveaway seen HERE.
Hugs, Babs

5 minute Craft Project

As you've probably realized, I'm not much of a crafter, but I saw this on the Pottery Barn web site and thought, "Oh, I can do that."





I got out my plain old wine basket from GW, webbing, which I bought last year and a glue gun. The thing that took the longest was waiting for my vintage glue gun to heat up.

 

Now don't laugh. :)
Ok, are you ready?
   
Don't blink.

                                               Ta Da! 
 I had everything already so the cost was $0.  Now that's my kind of project.

 Since I was in the "creative" mode, I decided to make a little vignette on the hutch.

I bought another lantern at Kohl's since they were still on sale. It never hurts to have two of something... does it?

I found the napkins at a consignment shop several months ago and the faux grapes were in a basket I bought at a yard sale.

Thanks for not laughing too much.

***********************************************************
Don't forget to stop by and enter for a chance to win my Goodie Bag Giveaway. See the post  HERE.
 .

It's easy to enter. Just be a follower and leave a comment that you'd like to enter for a chance to win.


I'll be joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life  for TableTop Tuesday.  See y'all there.



Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits.
Hugs,
Babs

Low Country Summer Decorating

I love the look of a beach house, with blues, whites and sand colors but I can never seem to get that "beachy" look  with my traditional cherry and walnut furniture.

What I do instead is go for a "Low Country" look reminiscent of Charleston or Savannah.
It has all the elements  I love... antiques, old silver, lanterns,  baskets....plants...and shells, most of which I used for my new Summer look in the entry and family room.

Take a look and see what you think.

Y'all come on in and cool off. It's so hot and muggy outside today.

Here's my little sweetgrass basket to hold my keys.

I like how the lantern looks with the faux succulents tucked around the candles.

The green glass bottle holds Maiden grass from my yard for a look of sea grass.

And I have a copy of Low Country Summer by one of my favorite Low Country authors, Dorothea Benton Frank.

It looks like I'm ready to grab my tote bag, book and keys and head to the beach...I wish. :)

Now come on downstairs and see the coffee table in the family room.

I just put out some lemonade, pecans for snacking (in a monogrammed silver bowl, of course) and the latest copy of Southern Living. 

I used my grandmother's old dough bowl to hold the hurricane, plant and floats.

The fishing floats are probably not Low Country, but they look so pretty and they are "beachy".  :)

I'm lovin' the Low Country style.

Happy Summer!

Sources:

Lantern: Kohl's -65% off , last week

Faux succulents and fishing floats: Pottery Barn, on sale, this week

Green glass bottle: Hobby Lobby, 50% off some time ago.

 Everything else I've had "forever".

If you'd like to know more about Sweetgrass baskets, check out this link.

I'm happy to join everyone for the fabulous Blog Party at

SAS Interiors

See you there.  
Babs

Shopping and Stopping

While we were in New Jersey for the birth of our second grandchild, we actually had a time to visit this little shop not far from our son's home.  It was crammed with antique and vintage things as well as new ones that just looked old.

 This is actually the front door to the shop.
I never did see a name on the building. It must have been there somewhere.

Do you see anything you like? How about a sobriety checkpoint sign?

 ...or blue swim fins holding flowers, or cast iron mermaids ?

Aren't these little bird houses cute?

What about a blue boat with  lobster traps ?

Love that chippy blue paint.

Or maybe a garden tractor made from a sewing machine or perhaps a mill stone?

...colorful buoys/fenders and lovely barn siding...

Color and texture were everywhere.

Believe it or not, I didn't buy a thing.
I saw 3 demi johns that I wanted but they already had a "sold" tag on them.
 It was fun shopping and I wish I could have taken photos inside. It was even more packed with goodies, but photos weren't allowed inside.  :(

Now that we've finished shopping, we can do some "stopping". :)
Here are a few pics, that I didn't show you last time, from some of the other rest stops along the way from GA to NJ

 Here's a better shot of the vinca planted underneath the lamp post. This was at a service plaza in Maryland.

 This was in Virginia. I liked the metal Lutyens-style bench with the silhouette of the state of Virginia on the back rest.

Sorry this is so hard to see. It's the only one I took of the "facility". The little brick building looks as if it were built in the '40s or '50s and even has a slate roof and a brick chimney.

 Thanks for shopping and "stopping" with me.
I'm headed over to A Southern Daydreamer for OutdoorWednesday .



See you there and y'all be sure to stop by and enter for a chance to win my Goodie Bag Giveaway seen HERE.
Babs

Goodie Bag Giveaway

Yay! I'm so happy!  I now have 108 wonderful followers.
Y'all are THE BEST!
Your thoughtfulness, friendship and kind words of encouragement mean so much to me.
You've made blogging an absolute joy.

Oh, I almost forgot...the giveaway.  :)

I  know how much y'all love roosters and kitchen things so...
inside the bag you'll find...

...all these goodies...

...a rooster apron...

...a rooster note pad, pen and magnet for your fridge...

...yummy Wind and Willow mixes...

...a  rooster plate...

...a little pitcher with a bee on it...

...and a pair of chubby chef salt and pepper shakers.

It's an easy peasy giveaway.

All you need to do is be a follower and leave a comment saying that you'd like to enter for a chance to win the giveaway.

I hope y'all will join in the fun and pass the word.

Thanks again for being THE BEST bloggers out there.

Hugs,

Babs

Garden Finials

I hadn't planned on going thrifting this morning because I wanted to work on a post for a giveaway I'm having. More about that later.
But I decided I'd just run by Goodwill since it's close to my house.
Hardly anyone was in there and I took a brief look around and turned to leave when I saw these!

A pair of them just sitting there. I thought they might be terracotta or concrete but no... CAST IRON!!

Can you believe it?
Cast iron, 22 inches tall and only $4.54 each!!

All they need is a good scrub and a coat of black satin paint. Did I win the prize or what? 
Now all I need is a new door mat... don't look at that ratty old thing. :)
Back to the giveaway. 
Here's a little hint.
                                 Goodie bag, kitchen, rooster, yummy.

Here's the goodie bag. lol
I'll show you what's in it next week.
Be sure to stop back to see what's inside and enter the giveaway. 

I'm dashing over to The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday.

See you there and pass the word to watch for the giveaway on my blog.