Holiday Dumpster Divers

Yes, it’s true. We are those people.  When walking our dog last night we took home something out of one of our neighbor’s trash piles.  On the first pass, we saw the said item, commented on it, and kept going.  On second thought, Judd, stealthily swept back and retrieved it.

What is the said item, you ask.  Well, um, it was a long strand of live garland.  I have no idea why our neighbor would throw it out.  It was clean, still smelled fresh, was only a little bit dry (but still manageable), and it was very well wired together.  It was a wasteful move on our neighbor’s part if I do say so myself.  But, hey her trash is our treasure.  :)  Maybe we can get her to throw away a slip covered linen sofa or some custom bedding next.  I won’t hold my breath.  ha.

Being so close to Christmas, I was kind of over the decorating.  All I managed to do this year was to get our tree up.  I thought that would be enough since we weren’t expecting company this year.  However, when we saw the garland, the idea of a beautiful mantel was too much to keep us from it.  Judd deemed it worthy of using.  Now, I am glad we have it.

There was enough garland to put on our mantel and to use on our table as a centerpiece.  I added white lights, silver balls, and pine cones to the mantel garland.   Judd picked some fresh magnolia from our yard to tuck in it also.  Oh, I also added a cute little wooden reindeer that a colleague gave me for Christmas (Thanks Teresa).

I used the same treatment for a small piece of the garland on our table.  I positioned it on top of a split barrel that I already had.

For a last minute, on a whim, decoration I think it all came nicely together.  I snapped a few photos with Judd’s iphone.  Per our usual lately, my apologies for the poor photo quality.  We’ve got to get a new camera.

          

In case I don’t get another post up over this busy holiday time, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Flattered

We are so flattered to be featured on Shanna’s lovely blog, Revamped French Maison.  You can check out her post on holiday highlights by clicking here.

Thanks Shanna for including us in your post!  We are glad to have made a new friend on the blogosphere.

How To: Make Garland From A Grocery Bag

Last week, I ran in Publix (a local grocery chain) to pick up a birthday cake for Judd.  Did I mention that my amazing husband turned the big 3-0 last week??? 

[His birthday usually falls on a day when one of us is frantically working on or studying for fall semester final exams.  Lucky for Judd, those days are behind him.  Now, the stress of finals is all my own.  BUMMER.  Last week his birthday fell on the same day that my statistics final was due!  Eeek.  Hence the reason I was running to Publix to purchase a ready-made birthday cake.]   

Long story short, at check out the cashier unfolded a paper grocery bag and placed Judd’s cake inside of it.  We usually place our groceries in reusable grocery bags or we just get plastic when we are in a hurry.  (I know, I know, just go ahead and report me to Al Gore).  So, I haven’t looked at a brown paper grocery bag in a while.  When I got home, I noticed that printed on the front of the crisp brown sack was a pretty blue and green bird.

 

On the side of the bag, in large blue font, was the word “celebrate.”  I left the bag on the counter for a day or two trying to decide what to do with it.  As soon as I saw that little bird, I knew there was a craft project just waiting to be made with it.

On my next weekly visit to Publix I asked the bagger to please place our groceries in only paper sacks.  When I got home and unloaded my groceries I had a total of 5 bags all with the same holiday bird motif.

My craft project wheels started to turn.  Last night, I decided to make a garland out the lovely paper birds.  I am not sure exactly where to use it just yet.   This year will be the first time Judd’s parent’s cabin can be used for Christmas.  Maybe the garland would be pretty used as a rustic decoration at their farm.  We’ll see.

To make the garland, I slid a legal notepad (cardboard side up) inside the bag to use as a cutting board.  I used an X-Acto knife to cut around each bird.  This was a quick way to trim out the birds without having to bend them or deal with cutting around the bulky bag. 

Next, I used a whole punch to make one whole at the top of each bird.  I took a long piece of jute twine and double tied each bird to the twine by poking the jute through the punched whole.

Here is the finished product.  Keep in mind, I did not make these for my house.  Also keep in mind that I have been frantically working on my final exams and have not yet decorated our mantel.  Pretend you see what you saw last year.  Ha.  I quickly threw some pinecones on the mantel to add a rustic feel for these pictures.

 

Now, I just have to figure out what to make with the “celebrate” side of the bags. 

What do you think about this budget friendly project?  Is it something you would create for your own home or rustic space?  Do you have any ideas for the “celebrate” part of the bag or for other uses for the birds???

Can you guess where we went last weekend???

We went to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.   Our Auburn tigers had a most successful victory over the South Carolina gamecocks.

Judd and I stayed with a FABulous friend.  We also tailgated, caught up with old friends, cheered our hearts out, and spent a night out on the town in what we now affectionately refer to as FABlanta.

Here we are outside of the Georgia Dome.

This one is of all of us inside the World Congress Center (adjacent to the Georgia Dome).  WAR EAGLE!!!

We are hoping to go to Arizona to cheer on Auburn at the National Championship Game.  We are looking for tickets.  Please let us know if you have some extra tickets or if you come across a good deal.