DIY Crafts - grace grits and gardening

Fabulous Fall Decorating, Thrift Store Prices!

September 22, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Today is the first day of fall, which means I’m talking fall decorating. If your house is like mine, both the inside and outside could use a little spiffing up for autumn. My potted plants look tired, and I know even a simple pumpkin on the porch will do much to detract from the lingering heat.

I’m not one to spend lots of time at the mall, but I do enjoy hitting flea markets and thrift stores. If the change of season sends you out in search of seasonal decor, I highly recommend a visit to your local Salvation Army. Second chance items not only have plenty of life left, but the gems you uncover won’t make a dent in your pocketbook.

Amen to that.

Are you ready to see the fabulous fall tablescape I created? With a twenty-five dollar budget, I think you’ll be slightly amazed at the cool thrift shop finds I snagged at the Salvation Army in Rogers, Arkansas. (Yes, this is a sponsored post, and yes, opinions are only my own.)

To see the complete before and after, as well as read my tips for successful thrift store shopping, click HERE and you’ll be directed to my guest post on the Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas blog.

Thanks!

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Fall Decorating with #thrift store finds! @SalArmyNWA #NWAGive #DIY #falldecor[/tweetthis]

How to Upcycle your Christmas Cards

January 7, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Christmas 2015 is a wrap. I put all my decorations away yesterday, and now my house looks bare. I seriously can’t remember what I had on my dining room table before Christmas. After hauling all the containers back into the garage, I’m left with a stack of pretty Christmas cards from friends and family. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to toss out Christmas cards. I mean, some have glitter on them. And cute animals.

So today I have a fun, simple craft project for you (good for kids, too). This is my favorite way to upcycle Christmas cards—I repurpose them into gift tags for next year. When Christmas comes around again, you’ll be happy you did this.

#RandomLoveLetter Bookmarks

July 1, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

My friend Sarah, who blogs at Random Love Letter to Adventure, has been participating in a #RandomLoveLetter Instagram Challenge during the month of June. The idea behind this IG micro-challenge is to leave a note, a “random love letter”, in a public place for someone to find. Something unexpected to brighten someone’s day. As usual, I’m extremely late to the party, but on Sunday I became inspired to create #RandomLoveLetter Bookmarks to leave in each of the books in my Little Free Library.

This was a simple craft project especially since I had this incredible notepad from SugarBoo Designs purchased at Shindig Paperie in Fayetteville. There’s an inspirational saying or quote at the bottom of each page.

Not only is each page already perforated, there’s also a hole on one end begging for a ribbon. (If you don’t want to buy such a notepad, you could type up your own, right?)

This project is justification for saving every scrap of ribbon you happen upon all the live-long year. Not that I do that:) And the packages of vintage rick-rack you weren’t sure how you would use? Bingo.

Those ink stamps? Use them!

For a completely spur of the moment project, this turned out to be really fun. I made enough bookmarks for every book in my Little Free Library plus a few for later.

Speaking of books...I’m doing pretty well working my way through my “not so typical” summer reading list. If you missed my summer reading list click HERE.

So far I’ve finished The Girl on the Train (★★★★), The Deep Green Sea (★★★★), The Pleasure of My Company (★★★★), Hold Still Sally Mann (★★★), The Life and Adventures of an Arkansaw Doctor (★★★). I’ve also read a few that weren’t on my list including The Vacationers (★★★), Biography of Marilyn Monroe (★★★), and Stoning the Devil (★★★★).

What’s everyone reading?

Happy July 1! (Can you believe it’s July?)

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]A great reason to break out the #craft supplies! @Sarahdshotts @LtlFreeLibrary #RandomLoveLetter #summer #read [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Love Letter, Bangin’ Rackettes