Dollar Store Valentine's Day Decor

Now that all of the Christmas decorations have been put away, my house has been left looking cold and bare. And that left me yearning to decorate for Valentine's Day! As a lot of us are these days, we're on a pretty tight budget around here, so I hit up the dollar store for a quick V-Day craft.

In my haste to put this project together and add some pink and red to my house, I forgot to take some photos along the way. I'm sure you can figure it out though. :)

I'm definitely not the first one to come up with this idea, but it was time I jumped on the bandwagon. So, I went to the dollar store and bought a glass candlestick and hurricane. Then I mated those two long lost love birds with E6000 to create create this pretty little combination.

While at the Dollar Store I also picked up some {four bags} hearts on sticks. I can't remember what they called them. Some sort of Pick I think.

The hearts are made of styrofoam so the sticks pulled right out. Once I freed all of my hearts I  plopped strategically placed them in my new hurricane.

And scene!

Five minutes {if you don't count drying time} and six dollars. That's my kind of craft!

Have a great weekend!

Oh, and yes I know I still owe you part two of Christmas in California. I promise to have that up next week.

DIY Bird Bath

I've wanted a bird bath for my yard for as long as I can remember, but could never bring myself to spend the kind of money that retailers want for them. Have you seen how expensive a nice birth bath can be? So, I set out to make one of my own. On a Budget. My frugal side and creative side compliment each other well.

After seeing all of the cute tea cup feeders out there, the light bulb went on and I devised my plan.  And, I couldn't very well keep this idea to myself, so I took some photos and put together a tutorial so you can pamper your little birdie friends as well.

Materials:
Serving bowl/platter (round bowls with flat bottoms works best)
1/2 inch threaded cast iron pipe 4ft long
1/2 inch cast iron flange
gorilla glue
scrap wood
rubber mallot (not pictured)
water
Spray paint (optional)

Gather up your materials and prep your work space. I didn't put anything down to protect my cutting mat, but I recommend laying some news paper down just in case.

Following the directions on the Gorilla glue, lightly wet the bottom of your bowl and apply a thin layer of glue to the back of the flange. I used a bit too much glue and it oozed up through all of the holes because it expands. A lot. Making sure to center your flange, press it onto the bottom of your bowl.

Place a heavy object (or a few) on top of the flange to "clamp" it for 1-2 hours.

While you're waiting for your glue to cure, spray paint your pipe taking care not to paint the threads. Of course, you can choose to leave your pipe as is, but mine was a bit chewed up so I used some brown spray paint that I already had to pretty it up a bit.

 Once everything has dried/cured for the directed amount of time, it's time to put everything together. After finding a suitable spot for your bird bath, place your scrap wood on top of your pipe (to protect the threads) and pound it into the ground about one foot, making sure it's plum.

Thread your bowl with attached flange onto the pipe, tighten down, fill with water and sit back to enjoy your handy work.

 

If your bowl is particularly deep, make sure to only put a small amount of water in the bottom so the birds can stand up in it. They won't bathe if they can't touch the bottom. Alternatively you could place a flat rock in the bottom for them to stand on.

The total cost of this project? Approximately $22. You can make it even more budget friendly by finding your bowl at the thrift store, but I fell in love with this one from Target for $12.99. Let me know if you decide to try this or come up with any variations. I'd love to see what you come up with!

My next project...

...After I get all of my baby sewing done, that is! I stumbled on this really cute tutorial for a toy storage hammock, or as I called them when I was a kid, a "pet net." Since we will be moving the changing table out of my daughter's room and into the new baby's room, we will need a place to store her stuffed animals. They currently reside on a shelf on the table and I thought this would make a great new home for them. It seems like a pretty quick and easy project, and can be made to any size that you need. Perfect!

Still here...

The holidays kept us pretty busy this year, and with my husband off of work for two weeks, we were traveling and visiting people almost everyday! Whew! Time to get back into the swing of things! I thought I would share a few of the handmade Christmas gifts that I gave this year. Of course, I couldn't show them before Christmas in case any of the recipients checked my blog before they received them! Anyway, here they are, I'm really proud of the way they turned out and hope to do a completely handmade Christmas next year!

Here is a purse, zippered pouch and key fob for my sister-in-law

Etched wine glasses for my Step Dad. My apologies for the dark photo.
I didn't realize how difficult it is to photograph glass!

Hats and scarves for my sister-in-laws twins