A Pretty Keen Gift

Well look what I got in the mail!

Sharon over at Keen Inspirations saw these while shopping, 

thought of me (how's THAT for sweet?), and bought them for me as a gift! 

Aren't the colors perfect? About 15 minutes after I ripped them open and read her card, 

I knew exactly what to do with them!

I hold the camera like a twit, don't I?

A few leftover shiny bits...

...and another Dollar Tree cakestand gets a quick shot of lux!

Sharon, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. This is the first

piece added to our new decor from outside the house, and we'll treasure it always.

Keep scrolling, we did a lot this last weekend!

Top This

Today we're going to froth up our tropical tree with a topper created from a tinsel cone nabbed at the Dollar Tree and some of the usual on hand ingredients. You will need:

One tinsel tabletop tree

Shells

Flat backed marbles

A starfish, SPRAY PAINTED SILVER

A bamboo skewer

Silicone adhesive

First, determine which arm of the starfish is flattest.

 

 Set your skewer, pointed tip down, in the crease and slather with adhesive. 

Smooth it down with your finger.

Set this aside to dry.

 

Start adding your marbles and shells, working your way around the cone. There's no wrong way to do this.

 

Turn the cone a little at a time and add some more.

Thom likes his embellishments in linear order.

 

Done? Cool. Allow this to dry. Peel the glue off of your finger while you're waiting.

 

Once everything is set, stick the pointy end of the skewer into the top of the cone.

 

Balance, baby.

 

 

Tie some wire edged ribbon to the bottom of the starfish 

and pop that bad boy on the top of the Christmas tree.

 

 Do you like?

We're pretty cool with it!
Scroll down, I've got one more for you.

Cheap and Beachy

 No, NOT me!!!

 First, take the hanger off a clear yet iridescent ornament ball.

Add a little beach sand. Too much will make it heavy.

Yes, I used a funnel and a scoop after this one, but I liked the antique baby spoon photo.

 Drop in a shell. Hurry, two minutes is almost up.

 Replace the hanger and tie a bow through the loop.

 Using a small scrap of wire, twist it onto the tree.

Yep, that's it.

No need to call in Martha Stewart. 

You could get your cat on this. 

If he had thumbs.

Be grateful he doesn't.

Tuesday Tangos

Party on a Tuesday?  

Don't mind if I do!

 

 

Facinate Your Feline Overlord

A small quilter's straight pin inserted into the inside hem of your lampshade

makes a great ornament Feline Overlord Toy hanger.

I recommend something unbreakable.

Bonus: you'll work off some of that fudge bending over to pick it up constantly.

Kiss Me!

What's more traditional than a mistletoe kissing ball? 

Of course, mine was a green plastic puddle when we found it during fire clean up, so let's have a little fun and make a new one for about $4. For this, gather:

Plastic mistletoe. These were two to a card at Dollar Tree. Can you resist the shimmer?

One iridescent clear glass ornament.

Clear silicone adhesive. Yes, I know, I have a crush on this stuff.

You'll also want ribbon and glitter.

First, remove the hanger from the ball.

Cut a length of ribbon about 24" long.

Squeeze a line of silicone around the ball just off center.

Wind the ribbon around the ornament meeting at the top just behind the opening.

Set it aside and allow it to dry.

Oh, hi.

Now, sprinkle a little glitter in the ball.

We also added some of Savannah's aqua fairy dust. Don't panic if you don't have any on hand. I understand this is not a common household item for some reason.

Shake the contents to mix and spread the glitter, although you want it pooled on the bottom.

Put two of the mistletoe sprigs back to back and slide them in the hole, 

squeezing silicone in to fill it.

Next, take another piece of ribbon and tie the remaining sprigs along the length every 1 1/2 inches or so.

Sorta like this.

Take the tail of that ribbon and the one that's glued around the ball and tie them into a bow. I slipped a little glue into the knot.

This should trail off the ball to balance it. Put a dot of glue on the ball and afix it in place. Set it aside, go have some soy eggnog and allow the whole mess to dry for an hour.

Hang it from a conveniently located smooching spot.

Glitterific.

Lure your significant other over and pucker up.