Are you ready for some football??

countdown:  50 Days and 9 Hours till kickoff, are you ready?

GO HOKIES!!



Change, Step 1



The decision has been made.  Going to make some changes.  Decide on my priorities.  What do I want to accomplish?  What is my plan?  What do I do next?

Step 1:
Time to get my small business up and running.  Work to build it into a money making project that I will have fun doing.

Check out my new shop on Etsy and tell all your friends!

If you are on Facebook then check out the Sweet Tea and Honeysuckle page.  Like the page and send an invite to all your friends.  Once I build a big enough fan base on this page I will begin selling here also.

I am looking forward to this next step in my new adventure.  You can help make Sweet Tea and Honeysuckle a success!

Happy Birthday America!!

This is the day we celebrate the birth of this great nation.  237 years ago our founding fathers put down on paper The Declaration of Independence.  This document was the formal statement of our separation from Great Britain.  This was the beginning of the United States of America.  The land of the free.  The home of the brave.  The independent.  The strong.  The united.  USA!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  

The full text can be found here.    

It's time we remember the foundation that this country was built and return to the fundamental ideals that

made us strong.  It's past time to convey equal rights on every citizen of this country, not just the ones who think like you.  Laws cannot be used as a means for legal discrimination.  Equality.  For all.  

So, as you celebrate today remember where we came from.  Remember all those who came before us, fought and died to give us the freedom we have today.  Pledge your loyalty to this country and to the people who make us strong.  Do your part to make it better.  Keep us strong.  Keep us great.  Keep us united.  USA  USA  USA

     

Red, White and Blue

Happy Fourth of July!!  This is absolutely one of my favorite holidays.  I love fireworks!  Lots of fireworks!  I love parades, cookouts and getting together with friends and family.  I love what the Fourth of July is all about and celebrating the greatest country on earth!!

So, after my successful Summer Wreath project my Mom suggested that I do a new wreath for the Fourth of July.  Well duh, I should have thought of that.  What a great idea!  This would be a perfect opportunity to try out the pool noodle wreaths as found on Pinterest.  Just do a search for "Pool Noodle Wreath" and you will get all kinds of variations and ideas.  So now it is time for a trip to the Dollar Tree.

Here are the supplies for my wreath.  $5.00 at the Dollar Tree bought me 1 pool noodle, 1 white plastic tablecloth, 2 wired star garlands and 1 American flag.  The only other items needed were my scissors, glue gun and duct tape. 

 The first step is to cut the ends of your noodle at opposite angles so they will fit together easily to form your circle.  I did this in the kitchen with a serrated steak knife.  Super easy.

 Next I used my glue gun on the ends to help hold them together long enough to get the duct tape on.  I did find that it would be most helpful to have an extra pair of hands to hold the ends together while you tape.  However, it can be done by yourself if necessary.  It was a little aggravating but mine turned out just fine.

Open the tablecloth and cut it into four long strips using the handy fold lines provided.  

Gather one end of the tablecloth strip and tape it to the wreath.  Begin wrapping.  Overlap your wrapping to give  it some texture and to hide the noodle color.

Keep adding your wrapping.  When you get to the end of a strip then  tape it and  start a new one by taping over the end tape of the previous section.  Make sure your first wrap covers your tape.

End your wrap by taping the last end under the edge of your  beginning and sliding some of the wrap over it.

Base of wreath is done.

Oops, I forgot to take a picture between the base wreath and the finished wreath.  Not much to show though.  I started the wire wrap at the top and used it to also make a loop to hang with.  Wrapping with wire garland makes it easy to secure to your wreath.  Just like a twist tie.  I used two 25 foot garlands.  This allowed me to wrap around the entire wreath twice giving it a fuller look.  I kept about two feet of the second garland loose  to use on the flag stick.  I decided on placement of my flag and slid the stick under the wire till I reached the flag then tucked the end under the wire at the bottom of the wreath.  I then wrapped the garland  up and down the stick and twisted the end to secure it.  The bottom corner of the flag was tucked just under a bit of wire to hold the drape in a graceful fold.

God Bless America!

This entire project took only an hour while I was watching Hawaii 5-0.  Would have gone quicker with an extra set of hands and the TV off.  I think my next wreath project will be for back to school in August.  Time to find another project for now.

Happy 4th everyone,

Trish