For the Love of Hydrangea

Unless you are Madonna, here's a sweet twist on Valentine flowers. Instead of that expensive bunch of long-stem red roses that will soon fade away, why not opt for a lovely potted hydrangea?

I picked this beauty up at my local Kroger for around $25 last weekend. Yes, it is probably a little overpriced. Where else can you find blooming hydrangeas this time of year? And that is still a fraction of the cost of most Valentine flower arrangements.

To bring a little more elegance to the plant, I lifted it, paper and all out of the basket and dropped it into a silver wine bucket. I decided to leave the festive paper, bow and pick until Valentine's Day. After that I will remove them and tuck in bright green reindeer moss and maybe another small, trailing plant or two to get me through to spring.

I made sure to pick a plant with lots of buds so I will be able to enjoy fresh flowers for many weeks to come. I will snip the flowers as they fade. When spring comes I will plant it in the ground and wait patiently for the next round of blooms. 

I'm excited about my Valentine gift (even if it was a gift to myself). I look forward to fresh blooms year after year!

Do you have any tips or tricks to switch things up for Valentine's Day?

~Southern Fried Gal

Valentine Door Decor

I've had the same Valentine Door Decor for the past few years. I usually like to switch things more often than that.

It's hard to change when you adore something you already have and it only gets air time a few weeks out of the year. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of this door bucket project. But I decided this year it was time to look for something new.

And so I did. I started out in the neighborhoods around town. This door caught my eye right away. I love the bright pop of color in the stitching around the heart. Can you believe this is just brown paper (as in grocery bag or postal paper)? 

This look is simple to recreate . First cut two identical heart shapes out of brown paper. Paint them red and allow to thoroughly dry. Next glue the edges together beginning at the top to about 3/4 of the way down. Stuff tissue paper into the pocket to the desired fullness. Then glue the rest of the hearts together. For a finishing touch, you can a decorative stitch around the edges with a large needle OR just paint the stitches on. Of course this home has a large porch to keep it out of the elements.

I was looking through pictures for inspiration and came across the wreaths my friend Bridget used at Christmas. This could easily pass for Valentine's day just as it is or you can change it up. Instead of green, paint the grapevine wreath white with the red roses. or vice versa. It would be cute with bright pops of color, too - use your imagination! Here's a tutorial for making burlap roses - super easy!

Next I hit up the blogs for inspiration. I didn't have to look far to find another wreath to love. This burlap wreath reminds me of the Christmas door I did with burlap a couple of years ago. LOVE!. Fellow Arkansas Blogger, Amanda @ My Heart's Desire has a fantastic tutorial on how to make this wreath. 

Another great resource for inspiration is Pinterest. My friend Shea found this cutie on Etsy. It looks like this one already sold but it would be super easy to DIY. 

The X form can be made from branches you collect around the yard and wire together in the center with florist wire. Hot Glue pieces of red berry garland to the branches OR to simplify spray the sticks with red paint. The O is a wreath covered in pink berry garland and could also be as simple as a grapevine garland painted pink. Wire them together with florist wire and dangle from a white floppy ribbon. Super cute!

So - after finding all this fabulous inspiration what did I do? I took the lazy route. I found this cute heart bucket made from rusty metal, wire and nails on half price at a local boutique. The price was right. The effort was perfect (drop from a red ribbon on the door). It even has a little pocket in the top for Valentine's (hint hint to any peeps who want to make my day).

How do you show the LOVE on your door in February?

~Southern Fried Gal

Willow House Wednesday - I'm Retiring!

Last night was a bittersweet time for me. I submitted my very last Willow House party as a Director and Independent Consultant. 2011 was full of changes (I'll elaborate more on this in a future post) and in November it became apparent that my season with Willow House was coming to an end. 

I'm thankful for the income it provided while I stayed home with my BBC. I love how my home has morphed over the years with the gorgeous products. I appreciate the experiences, the personal growth and most of all the good friends that most likely would not be in my life any other way.

As this door closes for me I pray it will open even wider for my friend http://lovethedecor.blogspot.com/. I met Debbie a few years back through my blog. She won a giveaway on my blog, fell in love with the product and joined the company as a consultant not too long after. Since then she has consistently worked her business. 

On a personal note, she is a special person and there is not doubt in my mind that God placed her specifically in my life to minister to me during a challenging time (more to come later). I am now sharing my business with Debbie and pray it will bless her.

Debbie is much more organized in her business than I ever was. She consistently shares ideas and deals with her customer base (like daily - wow!). If you want to get in on that action and always be up-to-date on specials and ideas for design please click over and LIKE her on FaceBook. 

She is also a designer and can help guide you to the right decisions with one of her Design Consultations. You can get all her contact information on her facebook page, her personal Willow House website or her blog.

Thank you to everyone who supported my business over the years. While I'm sad to close this door I'm excited about the time I will have to invest in future plans. Those plans definitely include continuing to share design ideas, yummy recipes and lots more on this blog.

Have you made any big changes in 2012? I would love to hear all about it!

~Southern Fried Gal

A Look back at 2011

First things first - Happy New Year! I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted. 2012 is already going way too fast! Thank you to everyone who has dropped me a note while I was away. I appreciate your friendship!

I'm so late on doing a recap I almost decided not to do one. After taking the time to do so today I'm glad I did. It was a year full of inspiration, lessons learned and healing.

In January I was fortunate to attend the Willow House Leadership retreat in Birmingham. I fell in love with this gorgeous dining room. The simplicity of the centerpiece along with the textures of this room inspired my decor for the remainder of the year.

Inspiration continued to grow while at the doctor's office in February. I snapped a photo from a magazine  and then took what I had around my home to mimic the look in my family room redo.

In March I finally got around to putting up a tutorial for the diaper tricycles I have been crafting for expecting friends. I'm glad I did - it has been one of my most popular posts to date! I recently sold the one pictured above. I think it is my favorite boy trike so far.

In April I found myself bored and uninspired with my front door - which is unusual for me. Thankfully a bunch of twigs and a bird's nest led to my favorite Easter Door Decor ever. I even sold a few of these sweet crosses to some gals around town. That made my heart happy!

In May, I scored too many bags of mossy rocks at our local Dollar Tree and was inspired to craft this Mossy Rock Wreath. I'm glad I did because it would be what I would be forced to see every single day for months to come after my surprise hysterectomy in mid May. I needed those happy little rocks!

In June I learned a valuable lesson - how to accept help from others. I was humbled by the outpouring of help, love and prayers from our church, from our co-workers and from friends and family (those close and far away). I hope I can pay forward all the blessings I received during this difficult time.

In July I was still down and out but had a little fun virtually at the Willow House convention. Flat Carmella traveled with some friends to the event. She was much more popular that the real deal...hmmm.

In August I was back to work full-time and feeling better. I finally got to get in the pool for the first time since the surgery. It was very hard to not join in the pool fun throughout summer.

I did not do a single post in September! I cannot believe that - especially since I missed out on sharing my family coming down for Labor Day weekend. It's always a joy to have the cousins all together. They are creating some fun memories for this old gal.

The creative mojo began to return in October with a lot of coaxing from BBC. We created our Halloween door together. It is by far my most favorite Halloween door because we did it together and well, because it looks really cool!

A miracle occurred in November. I finally found a Cornbread Dressing Recipe that got rave reviews, was super easy and wasn't dry!

December rocked. It is the best December I have had in years. I couldn't commit to the usual (craft fairs, paid decor engagements, home parties, etc.) due to my health. I kept my decor simple. I purged, donated and/or consigned SEVEN buckets of Christmas decor, SEVEN bags of clothing and two car loads of other decor items. Our Christmas was slow, quiet and enjoyable. I pray I remember how lovely the month was and follow it's example throughout 2012!

Well - enough about me! I hope your 2012 is off to a fantastic start. I'm ready to get back into the bloggy groove - whatever that may look like this year!

~Southern Fried Gal

A Merry Christmas Indeed

This Christmas will have to go down as one of the best so far. As a family we weren't harried or stressed. We weren't doing things down to the wire as in the past. We got a chance to slow down and enjoy our little family Christmas. Here are a few highlights...

We hung our Santa Stop Here sign by the door. BBC was excited when he first saw it. I think DH was even impressed with how it turned out.  BBC  informed me this morning that he thinks he heard Santa at the front door because the sign was confusing. He suggested we add an arrow pointing to the roof next year. {giggle}

We baked and decorated cookies for Santa together. Even DH got in on the fun. He's responsible for the star character on the left. 

BBC was about to bust at the seams. I didn't think we were ever going to get him to bed. I think he finally gave in to sleep around 10:30.

Santa cam caught this image shortly thereafter...

And sure enough this morning our stockings were overflowing with goodies!

BBC was so fun this year. Look at that pure joy on his face. He was gracious - thanking each of us for our gifts to him. He was also quite grateful for the gifts he received from Santa. I think he may have been a little worried about a choice or two as of late. Thankfully for all of us, Santa graded on the curve in our home this year. We are blessed.

That's a wonderful teaching opportunity. God grades us on what Jesus did in our place and doesn't give us what we really deserve. All we have to do is joyfully accept His gift!

I pray you and your family had a wonderfully merry Christmas!

Christmas hugs!

~Southern Fried Gal