Monday, February 02, 2015

Delights of the Day



                            
                                                                   (Pinterest)

Greetings Dear Ladies,

If any of you have left work outside the home to be full-time homemakers, you probably wondered what you were going to do with yourself all day.  You may be finding out how much here is to do, how fast the day seems to pass, (especially when you have to leave the house to run errands) and how many things you can think-up to do!  It is a full-time occupation just looking after yourself and your husband, with meals, laundry, housekeeping, paperwork, correspondence, company, and home care. 

When possible, I like to take time to create something simple, which I am sharing today.

This is an English card-making magazine that includes an acrylic stamp and an embossing folder.  
Below: a card made with the stamp, using pigment ink and shiny white embossing powder.

The embossed background  is shown on this paper, below:

                            

                             
Some of the grocery stores and florists that use the Debi-Lily containers, like the one in the above photo, have really got some sparkly metal buckets and vases, but they are very expensive. The larger ones, with plants, are almost $30.00.  Since I am hosting an annual Ladies Day Lunch next week, I wanted to see how I could immitate this at a much lower price.

                              
Dollar Tree had tin buckets in green, red, purple and aqua, so I bought primroses for $1.29 and made these.  The wired burlap ribbon and crystal beads are also available at Dollar Tree and will make several of these projects, so the total cost was about $2.25 per gift. 

However I liked the way the plant looked in the plain tin bucket, below, so this will be the way I will present them. It takes less time and is just as pretty. 

                            
The guests will choose the ones they want to take home. I am hoping to add a final photo of the other colors of buckets with the primroses that are available now.

I am not sure how long the outdoor primroses will last in the house, but at just $1.29 or less per plant, they are such a treat to use as fresh bouquets on the dining table, kitchen area, coffee table, and the entry table. They last so much longer than cut-flowers.

Since I have not posted in awhile, I want to get this up before the end of the day, so I will make this short.


     

           
                 
                                  One of the things I had not noticed until yesterday were the umbrella bags offered free, on a rack as you enter the store, to keep the water from dripping on the floors or getting your purchases all wet in the cart. You just slip the bag over the folded umbrella to contain the moisture. This one is from Walmart.  How nice.  It was one of the day's little delights.
                          

Since I have not posted in awhile and want to publish before this day is over, I will make this short.

Thank you for all your thoughtful and helpful comments and also thanks to those who email me to encourage me when I do not post often!

With love,

Lydia



                               
Here is an interesting quote. It answers the puzzling question of what to do with negative, cutting and critical remarks---very well-said!

                  

Gifts for the Ladies Day Lunch. I got the metal vases at Dollar Tree and stuffed them with a couple of plastic bags to give the plants height. These plants can be put in the ground later but for now they make beautiful inexpensive bouquets that will not die.


Do you wish you were going to be here?  

8 comments:

Christine said...

Dear Lydia,
You are so right. You may recall that I was planning on leaving work, and have now done so. I find that I stay busy all the time; so much so that sometimes I must stop and give myself permission to be a little lazy for awhile :-)
The gift idea is lovely, as is the card. I'm sure the ladies will love their primrose and bucket.
It is very good to see your post this morning.

Blessings,
Christine

Lydia said...

Lovely to have you here, too, Christine.

Anonymous said...


You might want to look for pins at Goodwill to use in place of the beaded heart. You can find some very nice pins to use to decorate the pots, including heart shapes, for a low cost at thrift stores. I collect pins and have found many there. I think that you could easily remove the backs and glue them to the pots with hot glue. Or, perhaps you can use the back of the pin itself and stick it through the pot if it is pliable enough, thereby keeping the pin intact for future use.

Lydia said...

What a good idea! Dollar Tree used to sell bits and pieces in he craft area that looked like jewelry, and in craft stores there are things like keys and buttons and other shiny things that could be used....and probably much easier that gluing all those crystals in place with tacky glue.

Ladies who are given gifts of necklaces in the little $4.00 boxes from Walmart or Target, who do not use the earrings from the set, could use them for this sort of thing. I have seen wreaths in craft fairs that have old costume jewelry on them. This is a lovely idea. Thanks for commenting!

Janet W. said...

Your post this morning is most encouraging, especially the poster about negative people needing drama like oxygen. I have noticed this also. The next time I encounter this your post will encourage me and I'll remain possitive.

anonymous said...

Your idea of placing a pin or brooch on a pretty band around a planter is really feminine and pretty. What a lovely decorative idea to place them at strategic places around the house before offering them as gifts.
I like the card idea too.

Thank you for sharing.
Janet W.

Raggedy Cottage Garden said...

These things are so lovely. Unfortunately I grew up in a feminist enhanced environment and didn't notice the abuse effects of such until now which I have to face these things. I still do stay at home full time but I need to pay off college debts. Not too much however. We also do not own our own home and have children with various exposure to TV programming. I hope to find a way to pay off these debts so I may comfortably be in our own home.

Lydia said...

Laura, I hope for you that all may be well and that you will prosper. Many ladies have found they actually were better off financially at home because they aren't creating an expense by going to work. Sometimes we overlook the cost of going to work and find it is not cost effective. At home you can make your husbands work really "pay off" and you can prevent a lot of expense and a lot of money going out. As we become do-it-yourself-ers" we may avoid a lot of wasteful expense.