I MIGHT Be Sick of Flowers! NOT!

Whew....last week was a really busy week around here!

The Sweetwater Floral Consultants had two gigs!

What fun to help with a wedding....

The Bride made her own bouquet!

The Mother of the Bride came with buckets of flowers and Hosta as well as friends to help!

Would you believe....96 little bouquets of flowers plus lots of table arrangements.

Note that the view out the window of the venue is THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION!

The second event was the creation of floral decor for a Golden Wedding Celebration.

The BRIDE, her Daughter-in-law and Grand Daughter came to Sweetwater to create the centerpieces, corsages, and boutonneires.

I think Grandma was proud to watch her Grand Daughter's confidence grow as she became accomplished at creating the arrangements!

The view from the tables was spectacular Lake Minnetonka on a gorgeous Sunday. That is pretty hard to beat!

So.....


Wednesday was a trip to Koehler and Dramm
to buy bunches and bunches of flowers.

http://www.koehlerdramm.com

All those flowers needed conditioning....more playing with flowers.

Thursday was spent creating all the wedding flowers.
Friday we spent setting up the wedding venue.
















Saturday we made the Anniversary flower arrangements, corsages and boutonneires.

Sunday the Anniversary flowers were set up!













Then....I needed to make use of all the leftovers...because you really can't throw away a good looking flower!

And NOW....
The garden is in full bloom....so those flowers really call to be cut for the house!
YIKES!

You would think that I would be SO OVER flowers.....but NOT!

They say you can't be too rich or too thin....but I would say....

You can never have too many flowers!

Have A "Blooming" Great Day!

Thrifty Beach Themed Decor

We all know that BEACH = SUMMER!

Alas there is no plan for a beach vacation for us this year.

Really, I am not complaining....I love Summer around here too much!

BUT...

That doesn't mean there can't be a "beachy" feel to some of the decor at Sweetwater.

Here is the inspiration for my "beach on a table" vignette.

Are you getting the theme?

Yup...Dockside!

Did you know you can buy decorative pilings?

For a mere$119.99 these three wood pilings with rope can be yours....and there is free shipping!

 

OR NOT!

It is pretty simple to make your own! 

I am lucky to have access to a pallet pile.

These two 4 x 4 posts already had the angle cut and were just the right size.

I forgot to ask Mr. S. what purpose they served in the pallet world...but I think they are perfect.

You could head to the scrap pile at Home Depot and probably find something similar.

OR...rumor has it....if you search Pinterest....there is a way to make these with Pool Noodles.

Who Knew???

The posts got a gray paint wash.

Then I tied some thick rope around them.

DONE!

Let's deconstruct the rest of the vignette.

The wreath has been around a long time.


The rope is wrapped around the wreath with shells, starfish and driftwood decoration.

Some of the starfish were actually made from playdough!  (SEE HOW HERE)

A simple burlap bow finishes it off.

When I first looked at the photos for this post, I realized that the black lamp wasn't quite right.

I shopped the house and found a much better fit.  (Rope Lamp Tutorial).

I share this with you as a hint.  Whenever you are "staging" and area, it is good to step back and edit it.  It is almost never about going out to buy something.  More than likely if you "shop" the house, you will find the perfect item you need without spending a cent.

I have been collecting sea glass on some Manzanillo Beach strolls for years.

This collection holds many memories of warm sunny days.

It was a perfect addition to my "faux" beach.

 I put some sand in a low glass vase and displayed the collection in a fun way.

This big glass jar with shells in it has been around forever.
It is the perfect "anchor" for the table. (pardon the pun)

This vignette was almost free....if you don't consider the cost of the trips to collect sea glass!

Simple and Sweetwater Style!

Have A Great Day.....and if you are at the "real" beach....wear your sunblock!

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Share It One More Time

Happiness is Homemade

Bar Table from a Wine Barrel

Today's post is brought to you by some dear "old" friends of ours.

You know those friends that you have and don't see often enough?

But. when you do see them....it is like you were still hanging out in the old neighborhood?

Well these are THOSE friends!

AND

Thank Goodness for Facebook to help us stay connected.

When our friends posted about a fabulous DIY project, I just knew I had to share it with you.

 Is that cool or what?

Even better....I asked for specifics and directions and my friend basically wrote the post for me!

Tutorial for Wine Cork Topped Bar Table

Acquire a wine barrel. 

Drink copious amounts of wine, reserving the corks. 

Purchase a glass top (we went to Pier 1). 

I organized the corks by length, although it's not necessary. 

Then by trial and error, place the corks on the barrel top creating your own design. 

Finally, place 8+ vinyl or silicon cabinet door stoppers on the barrel top. 

Put on the glass top. Super easy!

I feel a little embarrassed to show you the Sweetwater Wine Cork Projects.

They are pretty simplistic in comparison...

BUT...

The "drink copious amounts of wine" part holds true!

These trays or trivets are made by hot gluing corks into thrift store wood trays.

They come in very handy and save the surface of your table.

When I made this "manly bulletin board" for the ice fishing house....

Corks were the perfect border to hide the raw edge of the wool shirt!

So I challenge you to "drink copious amounts of wine" 

...

or make friends with a bartender and ask her to save you some...

And GET CREATIVE!

And to my old friends...thanks for sharing!

Wish the house that this bar is in wasn't so far away!

and remember....

 

Have A Wonderful Day!

Pillow Knock-Offs Summer Edition

One of my favorite ways to give a quick fresh look to a room is with new decorator pillows.

I must not be the only one....just take a look at HomeGoods or Target and you will see bunches and bunches of pillows that have fun seasonal motifs.

Now....I guess giving a fresh look to a room for around $30 seems like a deal.
But if you follow this blog....you know I think that is WAY too MUCH $$$ to spend.

Come along and I will show you my inspirations from the stores....
and then....
My KNOCK OFF versions of the same pillows.

source

 This nautical inspiration is really fun.  But it made me "Crabby" to think about hand painting something like this.

Source

I love this simple burlap pillow and it is definitely on my to do list....

Target.com

But this charmer from Target is the one that really caught my eye!


Who doesn't like lobster?

The red color is perfect for the blue and white decor in the lower level.














I used my Cri-Cut and Sure-Cuts-A-lot program to create a lobster stencil!

The stencil is done on canvas with red acrylic paint.




I went all fancy and did red cording around the edge.



The navy and white stripe fabric is left from my DIY Ironing Board Cover.
And....oh my....I actually put a zipper in the back....wasn't I ambitious?





Since everything I used was already in my "stash"...this cost me nothing.   If you started from scratch, you could probably do this for under $10.

Zazzle.com

I have always loved those vintage postcards that say "GREETINGS FROM...."

Zazzle has done a pillow with this theme.





HMMMMM

I decided to commemorate our fun trip to Savannah, Georgia this past winter.
Some simple Google Image Browsing and I found this great vintage poster.
My apologies....I didn't save the source....!!!

I used the "Print on Fabric Using Your Printer" technique to create this fun pillow.
Using an machine applique stitch around the print is a clean way to attach the printed fabric.

This next Knock-Off isn't exactly a Summer theme....
I am continuing to work on the Kate Spade Inspired Guest Bedroom.

source

I came across this pillow when I was looking for ideas.

I had the green and white striped fabric.

It was pretty darn simple to create this knock off.


It has a bed pillow for a form so that it is bigger and fluffier than the inspiration.

The better for cuddling a Grandboy!!!

So the next time you are in a store with a big display of accent pillows.....
Pause....say HMMMMM....and go home and create something!

Have a Wonderful Day!

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Coastal Charm 

Peony Proud!

It is Peony time here at Sweetwater!

This picture probably says it all!