Luck O' the Irish

St. Patty's Day is only a few weeks away and I can't wait to have all my friends and family over to celebrate our Irish heritage.

I have been slowly turning my house green!

I will be making lots of yummy Irish recipes too. I will share them with you soon...I think my favorite is the Guinness jello shots and bubble & squeak...so yummy!

I painted the sign, then distressed it using Jim Holtz stain. I love that stuff!

I used 2 different shades of green tulle and candy coins. I may replace those with plastic ones so we can eat the chocolate. :D

I cut the shamrocks with my cricut then punched holes and stung them on a ribbon. I also inked the edges with Jim Holtz stain.  So easy!

I even hung them from the curtains. Found the foam shamrocks at the Dollar Tree.

I also found the green flowers and flags at the Dollar tree. Love that place! The leprechauns are made with sculpey clay. I still need to attach their feet.

Milk glass from my collection laced with Dollar Tree ribbon. I found the felt shamrocks their too.

There is still much more to come. I have found lots of ideas on pinterest I want to try for the party.  Find them here. http://pinterest.com/mrselmore/luck-o-the-irish/

I painted the sign, but if you don't want to go to the trouble I created a free printable for you!

shamrock 8x10

Happy St. Pat's day!

It's almost here......

I love Valentine's Day! I love all the happy hearts and lace; and best of all it's an excuse to drape your house in PINK! If it were up to me my whole house would be pink, but sometimes you have to include the hubby in the decor plans. Boo on his anti-pink attitude!

Just thought I would share some of my decor. It has been an evolving effort to find the perfect mantle decorations, but I love it now.

The bunting was so easy to make. I cut out the hearts with my cricut. The paper is from a pack I bought at Michaels. It has about 10 sheets for each month. I used the October paper to make gifts for my boo friends. After the hearts were cut out, I inked the edges and just ran then threw my sewing machine. If you do this, make sure you have it set on the longest stitch length. It keeps the paper from ripping.

Valentine's Day has also migrated into my kitchen...

and into my dining room area...

I got my little chicken at the thrift store...he's an AnnaLee...for $1.00. The volunteer said that an old lady donated 1,000 of them. Some of the characters are very creepy looking (especially the 3 foot tall ones), but I fell in love with this guy. He was supposed to be for Easter but I have a feeling I may find a place for him every holiday. He is soooooo cute!

I LOVE the 4th of July

Our parents have finally met, and got along fantastically...YAY!! 

 All of our friends got to see the new house.

 and it is still standing....barely.  

That brings me to the question: Why do rednecks always buy the biggest fireworks?  When I went to the fireworks store to buy sparklers, they asked if I had any kiddos at home. Can a grown woman not enjoy a few sparklers?

My stupid, white trash neighbors, on the other hand, bought huge mortars, then let them off on their slanted sidewalk. Long story short, the canon fell over, hit a bunch of kids sitting on their porch a few houses down, and started my tree on fire. No one was seriously hurt, just a few blisters, but that ended their night. The cops were called and it was a very crazy way to end an otherwise fantastic housewarming/independence day party.  

A few of the highlights of the day:

alcoholic flag jello...courtesy of http://sharonjohnsonphotography.blogspot.com/2011/06/4th-of-july-and-flag-jello.html with a little rum in the red jello

cornhole

and SPARKLERS!

Hope you had as much fun as we did!