What To Do With Grown-up Lovies...

Lovie Bear

This is going to be the next project on my list!  How many of us have these treasured items that out grown kids have left behind!  These kinds of "lovies" have so many memories attached to them.  Even if the grown kids are blase' about leaving them behind, WE can recall many precious moments with them that our kids may have been too young to remember themselves.  Leaving these treasured lovies in the closet seems silly so when I saw this solution, I really loved it.  

So far, I only have 2 lovies to frame in a shadow box because my college daughter still brings hers back and forth to college...her little lovie should get air miles!!

Cheap and Chic: Backyard Beauties

Beautiful hydrangeas from the planter under our family room window....Transformed into indoor decor:

It took some doing to get my husband to plant the hydrangeas a few years ago - he just didn't like them - but I kept telling him that they would add a lot of color in the backyard and he loooves color.  He wasn't feelin' it but he caved and now he really does like them. When we sit on the patio by the cottage, they give us a burst of raspberry color (I have a section of green hydrangeas also and I almost like them better).

The only drawback is that in the Fall they dry out and get long and leggy and really need to be trimmed back.  But before they get to that point, I cut a few and use them inside.  In this picture, I found a container on sale at our local craft store for $19. and, with a bag of moss to anchor the stems, I added my cut hydrangeas.  They will dry like that - in place - and I won't have to do anything more.  And, the best part is:  the artificial versions were selling in the craft store for $8. a stem.  And...mine were free!

Cheap and Chic: Leftover Trimmings

We all have something left over from our yards - trimmings and whatever we've clipped that seemed dead.  Well, we can make a style statement with these trimmings by bundling them and placing them on out porch, by our front door, on the fireplace hearth or even, in smaller bundles, on our Thanksgiving  tables.

This design concept dates back to pilgrim times when homes were decorated with pine boughs to brighten spirits during the dark days of winter.  Found objects often make the best art.