Scenes of Home

My friend from Victorian Lady blogspot has sent me these from a company called "Pro Flowers," which cuts their florals directly from the garden and mails them. They last a long time, and I just love this multi-colored bouquet. This kind lasts a lot longer than florist bouquets. They arrived in a box at my door. Sometimes they have a two for one special, and when she orders a bouquet, she can also have the other one sent to someone else. Thanks, Lisa!!

There are some frugal ideas for the areas outside surrounding a house. Here is a morning glory that is disguising an old pipe on one wall, that grew from a seed.

A wreath for the front door from a garland of silk roses, topped with butterfly on a clip, and a wired mesh ribbon from a dollar store.

Sometimes the plastic containers from flowers at a wedding or memorial service can be used again outside by setting a pot of flowers inside.

Recycle an old birdcage by putting a potted plant in it.

Use a chipped teapot with a missing lid to display flowers. It will need drainage so if the teapot is cracked, that is actually better. If not, put rocks in the bottom.

The apple harvest is on, from a Japanese apple tree. I just love the innovation of the Japanese, because this tree is just my height and so I don't have to get on a ladder. When our daughter was young, she asked for a fruit tree on a birthday. I thought that was a good idea, and could imagine how many fruit trees we would have. This one is paying us back even though she isn't here. Toys and things just take up space, but a fruit tree gives back something many years later.

I have a lot more "shapes" in my head, but as there are probably a million of them, I think maybe when I get time, I'll show the process of making your own template shapes. You can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. It will be interesting to see what kind of templates other people come up with for cards, clip art, or tags.

When we were growing up in a frugal household, our parents only used money for things they could not make, themselves (like fuel, a motor for the boat, and a few essential household items), and they tried to find a way to make everything else, instead of spending money. That generation was a "saver" generation, and we can learn a lot from them.

Although the savings come a little at a time, by not going to the grocery store for everything, it eventually means that you can use extra money for something.