As I shared over the weekend, I’m a sucker for a pretty hanging basket. The problem is, they get expensive.  And other than one year when one of my favorite local nurseries had a Groupon available, my sweet penny-pinchin’-hubby just isn’t going to shell out $45 for one hanging basket. (We have two big hanging baskets on our deck, so those two alone would cost $90 ~ eek!)

While I’m not anywhere near figuring out just how to make a perfect hanging basket (as evidenced by a few baskets on our front porch that aren’t looking too hot right now. . . ) the ones we made out back this year are doing so well, and I’m convinced you can do this too.  Here’s what we did . . .

(Here’s one of the baskets we found at Bennett’s that was just beautiful, but with a $45 price tag ~ goodness!)

1. Find a great nursery that knows what they’re talking about. Here in the North Alabama area, we like Reseda’s and Bennett’s, because the workers all love plants, and are helpful with novice gardeners like us.

2. Once you’ve found a hanging basket you like, ask exactly which flowers are in it. Even though I like to think I know a thing or two about flowers, I really don’t know much, and most folks who work at better nurseries have a ton of plant knowledge. A good nursery will help you find matching plants in smaller pots so you can do it yourself.

3. Buy those plants! Because the nursery is starting their hanging baskets so early in the season, the baskets probably don’t need quite as many plants as you may need if you’re starting later. (Although, you don’t want too many plants or they won’t have enough room to do well!) We used five plants (there are actually ten shown below because we made two baskets.) The basket we liked included the yellow in the middle for height, and four more trailing flowers around the edges of the basket to come down once they grow.

4. Don’t forget the containers. The containers for hanging baskets can get expensive, so we re-used wire baskets from previous years, and replaced them with new coco fiber. (Ours are similar to these found on Amazon.)  The coco fiber gets pretty pricey too, so if you can get it to last two seasons, you’ll definitely save some money ~ I noticed these on Amazon are almost half what we paid at the nursery . . . I’ll do better next year!

5. Start planting. We used Miracle Gro Potting Soil. . .

And Soil Moist (this stuff is like the little crystals that you find in ~ it helps keep the soil moist especially in the heat of summer, but you’ll still need a lot of water!)  We’ve had this container for 8 years, so even though it cost us $10 initially to purchase, it’s been well worth it!

6. Plant your tallest plant in the middle, and plants that you want to spill over the edges around it.

Then, water faithfully and wait 3 weeks . . . or better yet, six weeks (here’s ours after just three weeks ~ I was amazed!)

My husband and I are guessing that we spent about $20 per hanging basket by the time you figure in the cost of the dirt, plants, and new coco fiber every few years.  While they’re not the most penny pinched deal ever,  it’s something we love and completely worth splurging on because we enjoy them so much! You can also check out a peek of my hubby’s (brilliant!) watering system over here ~ one of these days I’ll put together a post of how he designed it but the pictures might help.

Do you have any tips on starting pots at home? I’d love to hear them . . . I’ve been so happy with these baskets this year, and am always looking for new ideas!

I’d love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!)  If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)

See more previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!

My son turned 13 a few weeks ago {gasp!} which means I’m officially old enough to be the mom of a teenager.

Ugh.

However, he’s still not all that old to me (sorry kiddo), so we had to throw him a party. I searched “teenager birthday party ideas” on Pinterest and Google, and literally came up with nothing, so here’s what we decided to do.

• Ate pizza (easy)
• Ordered a cookie cake (he was so excited . . . that was our splurge this year!)
• Played football (my husband told them they could play tackle football. I had to go inside because I was slightly nauseated while watching them just waiting for an injury. Football is not for this timid momma!)
• Made cute gift bags.

But, since this is the TWENTY-NINTH birthday I’ve put on for these kids of mine, he seemed just fine with it.

 

I’d love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!) See previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!

Last weekend we finally had time to plant our Raised Bed Vegetable Garden, and can’t wait to see our veggies start growing! We’re trying out the square foot gardening method (which we’ve never used before), and I’m shocked at how many vegetables it looks like we’ll be able to grow in such a small space. Here’s what we planted:

• Green Peppers
• Red Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Red Onions
• Sweet Onions
• Red Potatoes
• White Potatoes
• Sugar Snap Peas

While I’m so excited about our garden, my favorite part of the weekend was getting our ferns on the front porch . . . I love “Hanging of the Ferns” Day around here! Until moving to Alabama I really didn’t love ferns, but something about living in the South and seeing a slew of ferns on the front porch just makes me happy these days. And I’m telling you what, the ferns at our local nursery were just incredible this year.

(I’d love to somehow keep ferns through the winter and not have to re-purchase them this year, but we don’t have anywhere to keep them in the winter. If you’ve ever tried keeping ferns indoors over the winter months I’d love to hear your suggestions.)

We also bought several plants to start working on our planters, but haven’t quite gotten them planted  yet . . .

If you’re considering starting a raised bed garden at home, you may want to check out this Greenland Gardener 6-Inch Raised Bed Garden Kits for just $29.98, shipped.

You can also get the All New Square Foot Gardening Book for just $11.98 (regularly $19.98), and if you’re here in the South and love flower gardens, our favorite gardening book is Harvey Cotton’s Easy Gardens for the South. He’s a local author and the book is incredible . . . not all that  penny pinched but a must have for serious Southern gardeners!

I’d love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!)  If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)

See previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!

(The little girl with Reagan in the picture is my friend Shannon’s (who helps so much with PPP) daughter Faith . . . we figure they’ll both be in therapy for years one day together thanks to their penny-pinchin’ mommas, but they’re awfully cute now!)

Last weekend, my sweet Reagan turned six (yikes!) and we had the most fun getting ready for her party. I counted it up, and as of tomorrow when I throw my oldest’s 13th birthday party, I’ll have hosted a whopping 29 birthday parties for these crazy kiddos.  But I’m thinking this tea party was my favorite!

I would love to tell you that I was completely organized and had planned things for months, but I literally sent invitations out via evite on Tuesday and hosted her party on Saturday. (I know, I know . . . I should have had my act together sooner!) I made a good list two days before the party after checking out several fun ideas on Pinterest, and set to work. Here’s what we did to get ready . . .

First these are the things I purchased:

• 5 glass canisters for goodie bag gifts ~ $5 at the Dollar Tree
• 1 bag pink “grass” ~ $1 at the Dollar Tree
• 2 dozen Gigi’s Mini Cupcakes ~ Free thanks to Groupon (they were $14.99 but I had some free credit that I used)
• 2 rolls wide ribbon ~ $4 on 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby
• 4 sheets scrapbook paper ~ $1 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby
• napkins and table cloth ~ $2 at the Dollar Tree
• 10 yards pink tulle to dress up chairs ~ $7.62, $1.27 per yard at Hobby Lobby, used 40% off coupon (2 yards per chair)
• 5 cellophane bags ~ $2.50 (I was at our local cake store and think I could have found them cheaper, but wanted to grab them when I found them so I didn’t have to hunt them down!)
• styrofoam door hangers and stickers to decorate and keep the girls busy for a few minutes ~ $3
• 1 princess crown cookie cutter to make cheese sandwiches ~ $1.99 at the cake store
• 1 bag Hershey Kisses for gift bags ~ $1.99 (clearanced Easter candy at Publix)
• 1 loaf bread for cheese sandwiches ~ $1.20 (BOGO Nature’s Valley at Publix)
• 2 lb. grapes ~ $3.39 (on sale $1.69 at Publix)
• 1 bag goldfish ~ $1.29 (BOGO at Publix)
• 1 box Rice Krispies Treats ~ $1.54 (BOGO at Publix)
• 1 jar apple juice for “tea” $1.49 (BOGO at Publix)
• 2 rose bouquets (on sale $3.49 at Publix ~ I also added a few daisies that I had leftover from Easter brunch that survived the week)
• three plates ~ $20 (the “tiered” cake stand was actually three plates that were on clearance at Hobby Lobby from Easter sale – these were a splurge but I fell in love with them and will use them for Easter and other birthday parties!)
• Martha Stewart Crafts Pom Poms, Pink, 2 Sizes (these were so cute, but I undoubtedly could have made them for less than $1. . . I’ll do a tutorial on how to make them in another Friday Fluff Up project ~ all you need is tissue and some florist wire!)
• Total Spent: $79.99 ~ which includes the plates that I’ll re-use (I wish I hadn’t spent the $14 on those Pom Poms but they were really cute, and now I know how to make them!)

Here’s what we already had at home:

• silver teapot
• picture frames with Reagan in them to “fluff” up the buffet
• my Cricut cutter to make name tags and “Tea Time” sign ~ I’ll also use the sign in her scrapbook
• our regular everyday dishes and silverware (saved me from buying plastic and paper plates) 
• ribbon from our Easter decorations to hang the Tea Time sign with

I am super excited about our penny pinched garden that we’re starting this year! We’ve had a garden for years in the ground, but last year just got too busy to get started and missed a season of fresh veggies. So, when I saw this great raised vegetable garden idea on Pinterest last Saturday morning, I begged my husband to consider it.

Since I’m pretty sure he’s a farmer at heart, he happily complied.

While I really wanted to use the beautiful cedar planks that were used HERE, when he got to Lowe’s and found cedar boards were $60 (which would have cost us $300 ~ yikes!), he settled on untreated wood. So, for $43 (after using this $10 off $50 coupon) one box is finished, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to do another one this weekend.  I see fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans and maybe even potatoes in my future!

We followed these directions almost to a tee, and James is hoping to hook up a watering system to the garden so we won’t have to worry over the watering. (Since we don’t have a watering system in this crazy Alabama heat, he created a direct dripper system a few summers ago that waters every hanging basket and flowerpot in our yard. It saves a ton on water, and all of my baskets look fantastic all summer long. . . I’ll show you pictures of that one of these days because it’s amazing!)

 Our local Radio Rewards gift certificate today was a $50 credit at our local nursery for just $25, so we’ll be using that to buy dirt and get planting. James keeps telling me it’s already too late in the season for lettuce, but I’m praying that we’ll be able to get a little started before it gets too warm around here.

If you’re new to gardening and don’t know where to start, Amazon has the book Vegetable Gardening For Dummies right now for just $13. Our absolute favorite flower gardening book is Easy Gardens for the South, and while it doesn’t talk about vegetable gardening much, it’s a great resource for flower gardens if you live in the South.

Do you plant a garden during the summertime, and have you ever done a raised garden? I’d love to hear your tips . . . please leave a comment with any suggestions as we get started!

You can also check out my garden board on Pinterest . . . oh to pinch enough pennies to buy everything there!

Remember my office re-do that I shared a few weeks ago? Well after spending way too many pennies on those beautiful bookshelves (which I absolutely adore . . . ) I knew there was no way I could spend big bucks on pictures to decorate the walls. But with Easter is right around the corner (and my husband’s family all visiting for the first time in years), I’m working on getting our home look it’s very best ~ even while on a budget.

I have several little projects I’ll be sharing as I get ready, but I’m thinking this will be one of my favorites. I absolutely love the look of these plates on the wall, but I’m not courageous enough enough to put that many holes in my wall. . . I’m horrible at figuring out how to hang things correctly!

So, after walking up and down the aisles at Old Time Pottery, it finally dawned on me that I could use shelves instead, and I’m so excited because I’ll be able to change out what’s there seasonally. Love it!

Take a peek . . .

Here’s the cost breakdown:

• two shelves $16.99 each
• 3 plates $1.99 each
• 1 picture frame (I already had the smaller one) $7.99
• fabric for inside the larger picture frame $3.50 (it was a remnant, and I think there’s enough there to recover my dining room cushions too . . . woot!)
• “h” initial $3.99
• “Keep Calm” canvas $4.99 (not sure I love it, but couldn’t beat the price!)
• plate holders $6
• Total:  $66.42

And by the way, I hung those little shelves {with anchors}  all. by. my. self.  (Applause please!)

But . . . . .  if my sweet husband ever removes them I had absolutely nothing to do with it (and will blame any damage done on the kids.)  Ummmm. . . thirteen {large} holes later those suckers are there to stay.

 
Have you done any fluffing up in your home lately? I’d love to hear about it!  And take a minute to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place . . .)

See previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!

Can you believe Easter is just 23 days away? (Yikes!) I’m so excited, because for the first time since my father-in-law became ill in 2009, everyone (everyone) on my husband’s side of the family is coming to our house to celebrate Easter. Of course I’m getting a little excited, planning my menu, and doing a little penny pinched fluffing around my house!

Now, I’m not one to decorate much for Holidays other than Christmas, but did want to at least come up with a fun centerpiece. So, I started thinking about the glass jars I’d used in the fall to decorate with, and decided to change the popcorn out to jellybeans for the Spring. If I can find some inexpensive daisies right before Easter I’ll switch the candles out to those, but in the meantime the candles work just fine!

Here’s what I used:

• Pink polka dot ribbon $2 at Walmart
• 4 bags Jelly Beans $1 per bag at Walmart
• Pink “grass” $1 at the Dollar Tree
• Glass votives and jars that I purchased at the Dollar Tree in the fall
• Large white platter we received as a wedding present (we’ve had it for almost 17 years …. I’m getting old fast!)

(Note: the jelly beans are perfect because they taste just awful. . . my kids all tried to sneak a few and then hunted me down to inform me they were disgusting. That’s good news, because otherwise my centerpiece would get eaten long before Easter! Word to the wise: when decorating with candy, make sure it tastes horrible.)

Do you have any cans of free Muir Glen sauce you have hiding in the pantry? They’re perfect to fill up your jars so you don’t waste too many jelly beans . . .

And here’s the only other Easter decor I have . . . I found these guys at Hobby Lobby on clearance a few years ago and just loved them!

Looking for a few more Easter ideas? Here are a few of my favorites:

• Absolutely beautiful Spring Wreath (I want this one bad. . .)
• Peep Smores
• Lamb Cake
• Easter Egg Floral Arrangement
• Resurrection Eggs

And of course, you’ll want to make some of our favorite Resurrection Rolls (yum, yum, yum!)

I’d love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!) If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)

See previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!

Last weekend my daughter had her tenth birthday (yikes!), and she invited five of the sweetest girls over for her very first Slumber Party. I was so worried about what to do with those girls (my husband took our other children to visit his parents for the night . . .), but they had a wonderful time, and were all so much fun! Here are a few things I did to keep the party within our budget:

1. Little Caesar’s has a great deal on pizzas with our local Enjoy the City Booklet. I fed all seven of us for just $14 ~ not bad!

2. Instead of cake, Caroline wanted a Sundae Bar.  I used a few toppings from last summer’s ice cream sales that were in our pantry, and hit Walmart for the items we didn’t already have. I also bought the plates, napkins, popcorn bags, and plasticware all at the Dollar Tree for ~ you guessed it ~ a dollar!

 3. I found these cute metal buckets in the Target dollar bins last fall, and grabbed them because I knew with two little girls I could find a use for them. We filled them with candy from the Dollar Tree, $1 LED flashlights for flashlight tag (those were a hit!), and lemonade packets for them to mix in their water bottles. I used my Cricut Cutter with this vinyl adhesive to create names on each of the buckets, but you could easily just purchase stickers at your local craft store if you don’t have a Cricut!

4. Of course, since I already had the Cricut out, we went ahead and made a sign for the mirror . . .

5. I bought a beach ball at Walmart for $1, and put different questions/dares on it for the girls to answer. They threw the ball, and whoever caught it had to answer the question under their right thumb. Here are a few of the ideas:

• Sing I’m A Little Teapot and do the hand motions
• What’s the grossest thing you can think of?
• Look around at the group for 30 seconds without smiling.
• When you grow up, what will you be famous for?
• Do a backwards somersault.
• Lick your elbow.

 6. When they arrived, we had simple markers and large sheets of paper and they colored their “placemats”. (I thought this was so cheesy, but they all loved it ~ 10 year old girls think apparently think coloring in bubble letters is still awesome ~ thank goodness!)

7. Because both my husband and daughter’s birthdays are two days apart, they shared a cake on her “real” birthday. This was the double decker cake we got at Sam’s for just $14.99! (Warning: you may not want to get icing on the top – it was very good, but with icing in the middle also it was wayyyyy too much for my family. . .)

That’s it! We also watched a movie on Netflix (for free thanks to my free trial), and since all the girls love gymnastics, they practiced their “routines”. (They were so funny . . . they would take turns and “score” each other on how they did, and were incredibly thorough!) It was so much easier than I expected, and we spent less than $100 . . . and Caroline was thrilled when it was done.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Caroline! 

(Can I just tell you how much I love that girl? If you’re a momma, you already know.)

I’d love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!)  If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)

See more previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!