You all know how I love a blog linky party, right? Well, imagine my delight when The Nester invited me to her Mantel Party! Okay fine, she invited everyone and anyone, with any type surface, to the party too.

Mantel turned Dining Room Shelf

A few summer’s ago I scooped up a discarded fireplace mantle at a garage sale. I don’t have a fireplace but why would I let logic stop me?

I knew in my gut the fireplace mantel would eventually find a place in my home. Plus, I couldn’t bet the cost. The purchase price? One dollar. Yes, a single buck.

Here she is, with new life, as a dining room shelf.

The Details

I love looking at the framed photo of Pete and I from the year before we were married. We look like kids! We were (and still are) very in love. We had no idea that 8 short years later we’d have a mortgage, a minivan and 4 kids under the age of 5.

I turned my crepe paper centerpiece from Living with Lindsay’s $5 Challenge into a wreath.

My son Ryan contributed his artwork, an astronaut flying in space with a view of Earth, for the mantel. I just love that my white frame has a clip inside. I can quickly change out its contents to meet my decorating whims!

Baby Girl Nursery Decor

Here is a link to my post about decorating the wall above Claire and Leah’s diaper table. Man, I love having baby girls in the house again!

Here is a list of things to think about (in The Nester’s words) when putting together a mantel, wall shelf or table scape.

1. Scale–you want big stuff, you want small stuff, you want medium stuff

2. Layering–don’t be afraid to put stuff in front of other stuff

3. Height Variations–make sure you have tall stuff and short stuff

4. Texture–shiny, smooth, rough, glass, wood, soft, sharp? I can’t think of any more textures but you get the idea

5. Color–consider repeating the same color a few times

6. Natural–try to add in one thing from nature

7. Meaningful–kid made pottery, a grandma’s silver rattle, quirky photo, framed letter

If you are visiting from The Nester’s Mantel Party, thanks for popping by Just a Blink!

Love,

Jess

Do Dollar Stores make you giddy from all the crafting potential? I know it sounds weird. But, there are a group of us crazy crafters that love a challenge, especially a thrifty challenge.

Lindsay, from Living with Lindsay, is hosting the 2nd Annual Five Dollar Challenge. Armed with a $5 bill, I gathered some supplies from my local Dollar Tree.

My challenge? Create a new Spring Decor item according to Lindsay’s guidelines and make a tutorial for the project. Hence, the super long line of photos below.

*Dear Voters: JJ, Emily and Gina* Thanks for stopping by Just a Blink and checking out my $5 challenge entry! It was a total blast to push my creativity to meet this budget.

Supply List

• Green floral wreath – $1
• White streamers -$1
• Faux baby’s breath flowers – $1
• Package of mossy stones – $1
• Bird knick-knack – $1
• On hand tools- thread, pins, sewing machine, marker, paper, glue, scissor, wire cutters

Center Piece

1. Sew two streamers together on the sewing machine. Push the streamers as you feed them to create a ruffle. You’ll need as many lengths as it takes to wrap your wreath.

2. Wrap the ruffled streamer around a wreath pinning each section as you go, making sure the pins are in the back. Fluff up the streamer on each side of the stitch line for a softer looking ruffle.

3. Cut the baby’s breath into small portions. You may need a wire cutter if the stems are really thick.

4. Stuff the stems into the open edges of the streamer ruffle. Add mossy stones to the center circle of the wreath.

Finished center piece (Base plate not included in challenge)

Name Card Place Holders

1. Sew a length of streamer ruffle about 6-9 inches in length to act as a pillow for a name place card. Yank on one of the threads to make a tighter ruffle and tie it off to the thread on the opposite end, creating a circle. Fluff up the paper.

2. Tape or glue a small name card to a single piece of baby’s breath.

3. Cut out a scalloped circle out of card stock to act as a plate decoration.

4. Set the small ruffle circle, from step 5, on top of the scalloped circle. Add a  name place card and cover it with a mossy stone. (plate – not included as part of the challenge)

Finished place card holder for Easter brunch!

Napkin Ring

1. Cut a long section of stem, from the baby’s breath bouquet, using a wire cutter.

2. Twist the stem wire into a circle

3. Cover the wire circle with a thin strip of fabric. I used gray felt. Add a dab of hot glue to hold the fabric down. Insert the napkin into the ring. (I used a paper towel to meet the standards of the challenge, it’s paper, right?)

Chair Detail

1. Loop-tie streamer to the top of a chair. Use double the measurement from the top of the chair to the ground for your streamer length.

2. Tie a piece of coordinating fabric around the top of the looped streamer.

3. Tuck in a bit of baby’s breath and faux leaves from the stems.

Complete Dollar Store Table Setting

The photo below is my official entry for Lindsay’s Challenge.  Wow! My Spring/Easter table setting was put together for just $5 (plus a tiny bit of paper and fabric that I had on hand)!

But why stop here? This table needs to be gussied up a bit, no?

1. A few extra touches: table cloth; cake-stand for the centerpiece; jelly bean favors; egg decor butter spreaders; white plates and glass cups

Now, I have a lovely spring table setting for two!

Love,

Jess

P.S. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this project! I thought, at first, it was going to look like I was decorating with toilet paper. Well, whatever the source, I think it turned out kinda nice.