Roses are Red and Pretty as a Picture

I know the day has long past, but I received this sweet gift of beautiful red roses from my Valentine on Valentine's Day, and the memory of them is now captured via the camera.  It's nice to have the ability to savor something that won't last, will eventually be gone, or fade away, but the memory remains and thanks to photography the vision does too. 

That Valentine of mine sure spoils me.  And, speaking of which he also gave me a very special gift for Christmas, a new digital camera.  To say I've been overwhelmed with learning all about the new gadget is an understatement, but, challenge excepted!  Getting off of the auto mode on my little point and shoot digital was scary enough for me let me tell ya.  I had one minor glitch with one of the lenses that came with my new camera, but all is well now thanks to the nice folks at Nikon for taking care of that.

I have always enjoyed taking pictures, and love to capture memories with photos.  With today's ability to point and shoot with our camera phones it's become even more popular to capture and share images, instantly even.  Photos are an important part of our daily lives, not only personally but with the internet, advertising, blogging, etc., photos do the visual work.  

Practice, practice and more learning has me even more excited about the world of photography.  I'm feeling like a pro, well almost that is, now that I have the power of my 'big girl camera', which is what I refer to it as.  

I don't know if other ladies were given flowers from their Valentine and their dog, but this one sure was!  I know both of my fellas love me.

The photo above was a quick point and shoot photo.  Not bad mind you, but...

This is a beautiful shot.  Much more interesting, and those roses seem like they are begging for a nose to move in closer for a sniff, or perhaps for someone to touch their silky and velvety softness.  

They truly were very beautiful roses.  I wanted them to last forever.  I actually hung them to dry out, so I can keep them that way for however long they will last.

This photo of my single rose is a beauty also, and another example for one of the many reasons why I wanted a new digital camera.  A few changes allows you to make the best of the image.  And, with digital photography there is also the advantage of not wasting film, and many more shots can be taken with subtle or more dramatic changes, adjusting the shot to your liking. 

I'm taken a shot at being a better photographer, and adding to my skills for capturing images, and memories...

P.S.  A little shout-out with kudos and huge 'thanks again' to my In-Laws for whom gifted me two new tripods (full, and small sized) for my camera via the generous gift card I received from them for Christmas!   

Monday Message

~ My Monday Message ~

I came across the message below and it appears to be written early in 2014, it's unedited and I don't know the original source, but I found it to be a worthwhile read and a great message!  Enjoy!

... AND THEN IT IS WINTER.

You know .... time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday

Thoughts and Things - This week...Office Storage on a dime, Hibernate? & Hero/Dad!

I like using conventional items in an unconventional way, and always enjoy finding new ways to do so.  These great Better Homes and Gardens organizing ideas, offer many ways to do just that.  Take a look at one of the cute ideas I used for making a pen and pencil holder using a tin can.  But, what I liked best about it is being able to change the look, quickly and inexpensively, when ever I want to change my desk decor or even to make it fun for the holidays too.

In keeping with my winter decor, I simply wrapped a tin can with white paper and gold ribbons. 

image source

Such  a cute idea and endless possibilities to custom make to match any decor.  And to me it's a plus that it's a recycle project too.  I like the coordinating paper on these holders above, and those were mounted to the wall via pan-head screws.  There are many more ideas you can find and use for your home office, just visit this link to Home Office Storage on a Dime at bhg.com to see for yourself.

Brrr-ville

As winter lingers here, we have been in a bit of a deep freeze over the past few days.   Monday brought with it much rain and the possible threat of snow and ice.  By nightfall the treat was more of a reality with ice forming on the trees, while the roads appeared only to be wet, but relatively safe for travel.  We were out and about at that time and it was actually very picturesque.  

Over the remainder of the night many suffered broken tree branches, fallen trees and even power outages.  We were fortunate to have only a few small branches fall in our back yard.  By morning the rain had ended as much of the ice on the trees remained.  The temps hovered around the freezing mark, and many made the choice to stay home from work as some businesses were closed and also some schools.  The weather can change all that is planned in no time.  This is nothing in comparison to the blast of a blizzard some are experiencing!  We are just not prepared for any type of it here!

I captured the images below from my back porch of ice on our trees the next morning.  

We will be continuing to see much of this for a few more days with the temperatures staying below freezing.  In the mean time, I'm sure I'll be asking ..."Is it Spring yet?"

I hope it's warm where you are!

Brrr-ville!...

Happy LOVE Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  

A day of LOVE.  

So what better to display on my front door than those four letters!

LOVE... 

Lots of LOVE to you and yours!...

Valentine Decorating

A Valentine greeting from my heart to yours!

I just couldn't pass up the chance to add some Valentine touches to my home's decor, and spread a little love and hearts around.  It is the month of 'LOVE' after all.  Uh oh ...I think I caught the heart fever, the love bug!

I shopped my handy decor stash of lovely hearts and pretty things, all of which I had on hand from years past.  I was enjoying each discovery and remembering where, or when, I got this, or that, and why I loved it, and before I knew it I was fallin' in love with it all over again!

I decided to begin by adding a little Valentine decor on my mantel.   I started with just a few red hearts and the love started to spread from there.  I added a few simple on-hand goodies from around the house.  I love the idea of not spending any extra money or at least only spending a few dollars to do quick-change decor.  

A while back I shared how to make my Roses Heart Wreath, it is still one of my favorites.  I chose to display it by hanging it from a plain black frame, which I gave a little lift for height.  I had planned on placing a mirror behind those, but instead decided not to use it.  I picked up the little "Happy Valentine's Day" sign and the cute Gold hearts garland at Target, last month actually, from their 'mostly a dollar' area ...I always find something there to love.  The garland lights-up (battery operated), and I thought it was just the cutest, a real 'me' kind of thing!  I added a few felt hearts to tie it in with the others I used on the small mirrors hanging above. I had everything else so this was almost no-cost decorating.

The Teddy Bear belonged to my daughter and is now a favorite of the grands when they visit, he just seemed like he belonged in the grouping so I sat him in front just begging for a hug!  The big red heart (in front), once held some chocolates and the fabric covered box was too pretty not to keep it, I knew I'd want to see and use it, again and again.

These flame-less pillar candles were an easy dress-up with layers of ribbon, and they're no-cost decorating since I already had everything on hand.  I shared how to make them in a previous post, they too are another easy craft, you can learn how here.  The candle sconces I've had for sometime now, the heart design on them had my heart at first glance, with my loving hearts like I do!

Speaking of roses, you may have seen my tutorial on making old fashion paper roses, and also how I made this lamp shade go from plain - to - pretty with my handmade paper roses!  You can learn how here.

This Willow Tree "I love You" statue has a special place in my heart because my Valentine gave it to me, one Valentine's Day.  The red-glass vase, which once held anniversary flowers from my sweetie, is perfect for the pretty, faux, red roses and they also have a sweet treat among them.  Did you notice?  My handmade Hershey's Kisses roses are in the arrangement also!  They certainly are sweet, in more ways than one, and are one of my more popular posts.  It's so easy to make them too, you can learn how to make them for your sweetie here. 

Over in the kitchen the love continues.  Above the frig is a little message of "I love you",  I simply hand wrote it in red on a piece of copy paper, cut it to size and then added it to the cute frame.   Above and next to it is a pretty heart I made by wrapping crepe paper around wire and also embellished it with felt hearts and glitter ribbons.  A simple heart card sits up there too.

More touches of red really pop over on the kitchen counter.   We have plans to (one of these days), paint the cabinets (when we actually decide on a plan ...and we've had other more important home improvements come first i.e., tile floors, and a covered porch and new patio), but, for now they are the original 'pickled oak' we chose for them when we built the house over nineteen years ago.  I'm seeing them either white or off-white in the near future.  I'm also dreaming of new counter-tops too!

These canisters are always a little something extra to add to my decor, and not only are they functional, they are fun to decorate too.  I had some left-over peppermints from the holidays, and also some of my favorite red candy on hand 'fireballs' and Jolly Rancher's 'cinnamon fire' hard candy, (shhh) I usually have a stash of one of those, or both  here somewhere.  A little heart ribbon dresses each of them up real pretty-like.  In keeping it real, I only had a small amount of sugar on hand, but not to worry ...I think it still looks very 'sweet' though. 

My cute little chalkboard/cutting-board lets you know that my recipes are "Seasoned with Love", and more felt-hearts add a touch of red there.  And, although it may be a bit of an eyesore, my toaster-oven is a well used kitchen helper and so it is a must have for us!  I dress it up a bit with a pretty disguise like it's another shelf to decorate.

This side of the kitchen is all about the coffee ...and we love our coffee as you can see here, we have two ways to brew ...espresso and kuerig.  Maybe that is why I chose to use just a simple touch of 'love' on my fancy red tin, and a pretty red heart behind the initial M.

Just the other day, I shared a post for this Love-ly printable I added to an inexpensive frame.  It's another easy and low-cost craft project too!  You can also make one, and find out how I made it here.

Oh, and my Baker's rack, I couldn't forget that, it also got some love!

I gave it some love, hearts, and paper roses too!

*** *** ***

I love doing budget friendly decorating, and enjoy sharing what I have done with others and to show that it can be done, inexpensively.  I have collected items over the years and I also shop the dollar stores, thrift shops, and am always on the lookout for a good bargain.  

I hope you enjoyed my Valentine Decorating tour, and also hope that maybe you were inspired to add a touch of hearts and love to your home's decor too!

Happy decorating and have a Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO

It's time to share some LOVE!

It's that time of the year when our hearts are reminded ...LOVE is in the air, and hearts are everywhere.  Do you see it?  Can you feel it?  With Valentine's Day approaching I've been thinking about LOVE.  I don't know about you, but I do have to admit to being a bit of a romantic.  This woman is all about, all of the sweet, sappy, heart gushing feelings associated with all things...Love.  I'm not ashamed of it either!  I believe it is one of the greatest feelings.

Of course there is the ever powerful romance type of love shared between two people.  There is the very special love you feel for family - your children and grandchildren, your parents and grandparents, your siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and more - Also the love for friends.  There's the love for treasured items, favorite things, places, even our pets...I know I love my dog!  There are so many kinds of love.  You can share love, give love and yeah, also make love!

Isn't love grand?...

Speaking of all things love.  I found the black wooden LOVE plaque (pictured above) at Hobby Lobby and I fell in love with it, had to have it, so it came home with me to add more love to my life!  I'm reminded of LOVE every time I look at it!

*** *** ***

I created the LOVE-ly printable below after seeing the phrase (at the bottom of it), some time ago.  I wanted to use it in a frame to display some - LOVE - in my home decor.  It was so easy to make by simply printing it in the size I wanted and then adding it to a inexpensive frame.  I always love easy, and inexpensive!  You can download a copy for personal use, and make one too!  Click on the image below, then right click on it to choose "save image as..." to save to your computer.  I simply used my printer settings to choose the size to print!    

There that's more like it and what I had in mind!  I LOVE it!

Sharing some LOVE...

Monday Meswsage

~ My Monday Message ~

LOVE!...

"Early Spring" says Beau! - Groundhog Day

February arrives and we have the annual Groundhog Day events to begin the month!

Well, Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania saw his shadow today, predicting six more weeks of winter!  {Blah!}

image source

yahoo news - punxsutawney phil predicts six more weeks of winter

But, Gwinnett County Georgia's own General Beauregard Lee, famous groundhog residing at the Yellow River Game Ranch, saw NO shadow.  So Beau is predicting an early spring!  I'm definitely going with Beau!  Especially since he lives right up the road from us!

image source

gwinnett daily post news - bring on spring gen beauregard lee doesn't see his shadow

Beau has a reputation for being spot on with his predictions.  He has only been wrong once in 34 years!
I like that Beau!

Thoughts of Spring put a smile on my face!...