A Going Away Gift

My brother-in-law and his girlfriend moved this past weekend. They went to New Mexico to live near her mother. They were living in Cincinnati, but they flew out of Lexington's airport, which is about 30 minutes from us. We drove to Lexington to meet them and grab a bite to eat.

Earlier in the week, I decided to make up a goodbye basket for them. I spent $5 total on the basket, so it's not a big expensive. First I went to the Dollar Tree. I got an address book in which I wrote the addresses of my husband's parents, grandparents, and siblings for Jimmy and Jessica to have so that they can keep in touch. Then it was off to Wal-Mart. I bought a packet of note cards so that they can will have no excuse for not writing us! Then I made a copy of a cute picture of my son and put it in a refrigerator frame for them. I also got some Pringles and sugar wafers.

The basket had the essentials of any gift basket: immediate use items (the snacks), sentimental items (the picture), and practical items (the address book and note cards). I put everything in a bag that I already had at home so that it would be easy for them to transport it.

Bohemian Earrings

Okay, I can hardly call myself Bohemian anymore. That used to be my identity. I had this awesome bag I got at Goodwill from the 70s. I wore flowers in my hair and hippie clothes. I believed in peace and just causes.

Then life caught up with me.

I'm determined to get back to my Bohemian ways because I think I was more spiritually secure and in touch with myself and the planet.

In that spirit, I went out today and bought the supplies to make earrings. I've never made earrings before, so I thought, "why not?" I made them tonight while Brian and I were having our one adult conversation of the day.

I bought what are called Fish Hook Earwires. (Don't laugh, crafters. I'm learning here.) They're basically the ones that have the long stems you put in your ears, and they curve out the front. I bought some really neat aqua beads. I put a round white bead, a long translucent aqua, a circular blue, and a square blue. I'll post pics of these, too.

I used Tigertail to string the beads and am keeping them on with crimp beads.

Making the earrings was really simple. I was impressed with myself, though. I thought they turned out great, and I have an aqua shirt that will look good with them. Now I just have to learn how to make a matching necklace and bracelet.


Here's the picture of the earrings. It's not the best picture. The beads actually are a beautiful aqua color, but you get the idea. I wore them out Saturday, and they seemed great then.

Easy Flower Centerpiece

My in-laws came by last weekend for a casual Sunday. We were serving bacon burgers (will be added to the food area soon), which were delicious, so we decided to go for a casual centerpiece as well.

I'm not that crafty, which I regret, so I have to go for simple - and cheap! - decorations. I got a good picture of this one that I'll post as soon as I can find out how to post them through this site.

You will need a Mason jar that's washed and dried. You need only the jar, not the lids. The jar was free for use since I got it from my grandmother last year with some canned green beans in it. It's been sitting in my pantry waiting for my experiment with canning this year.

Then you should get some colored river rocks. I found mine at the Dollar Tree for $1 (of course), and it was far more than what I needed. Check places like Wal-Mart, too, or craft stores, though they probably cost a little more there.

Then I put 2-3 inches of the river rocks in the bottom of the jar and filled most of the rest of the jar with water. Then I put in a small bouquet of wildflowers from Wal-Mart ($4).

I made two table decoration jars with 1 bouquet. So grand total I spent $5 on this set of table decoration, and it turned out really well. Stay tuned for the pics so you can see for yourself.

As promised, here are the pictures of the centerpiece. I've included a closeup of a single decoration and then both of them together.

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