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6.23.2022

county fair centerpiece

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when planning for our recent campout with our Lemon Drop Divas group,
i knew i would incorporate the 'county fair' theme in our trailer decor
along with lemons and yellow - it's a thing with us ;) 

so i did what i always do - looked around my studio
and house and garage and backyard
to see what i already had that i could incorporate into the decor.
it wasn't hard to find useful items,
especially considering that i have an entire studio filled with yellow stuff i've made!

continue reading to see how it all came together...

6.16.2022

easy-peasy county fair bunting

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it's not a party without some fun decor,
and this easy-peasy bunting project is perfect for summer fun!

whether you're hosting a backyard bbq, a block party, or a birthday party,
making cute pennant bunting banners doesn't have to be hard.
i hate hard. i love easy.
so i'm always trying to find the easy way to decorate!

i recently made these bunting banners and they came together really quickly -
without sewing!

continue reading, and i'll show you how...

6.09.2022

county fair award ribbons

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these fancy 'county fair'-style ribbons appeared in my last post,
as accents on the 'Dime Toss' game sign and the end of the game table.

they were pretty easy to create  - and are MUCH larger than anything i could find
in stores or online. plus, they had to be yellow!
so in typical Deb fashion, i made my own
using the fabric, ribbons, and other detritus stashed in my creative studio.

do you have plans for games at a Fourth of July or summer birthday party?
these could be the perfect decor accents -
or use them as actual prize ribbons!

continue reading to see my easy tutorial...

6.03.2022

county fair dime toss game!

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it's SUMMER and time to party!
and quite by accident, i just created a HIT of a party game...
when our fabulous girl camping group the Lemon Drop Divas plan an event,
we go ALL OUT. WAY over the limit. everything is themed, with coordinated decor.

a campout in May was themed 'Lemon Drop Divas County Fair'
and it was packed with references to old time fairs. 
including a midway. yep!
we were all given the opportunity to create a 'carnival games' booth
as part of our own fair midway, to enjoy with our friends.

i was stumped... until i was sorting through a bunch of stuff we had here at home
and realized 'we have a LOT of wine glasses that we don't use!'
and when that thought combined with the carnival game concept,
i had a light bulb moment.

continue reading to see how easy it is to set something like this up!

5.31.2022

what i did with all of my May flowers!

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after creating all of my flowers for the Instagram #flowermonth2022 challenge,
i decided that i wanted to enjoy them a bit longer...
so i combined almost all of them into one big flower arrangement!
but that's not all i included.

continue reading to see some interesting things tucked in with those flowers...

5.30.2022

May flowers: art challenge recap

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over the past month, i've been participating in a creative art challenge...
the #flowermonth2022 challenge on Instagram
was sponsored by three artists,
with thousands of creative people around the globe participating.
each interpreted the prompts - an alphabetical listing of flowers - 
in their own style and method.
it has proved to be not just a fun exercise for me,
but also an educational experience,
as i've seen many variations on the themes in many different art mediums.

my own creations for this challenge
were all made from materials & elements that i have here at home - 
all reused, repurposed, recycled, and turned into flowers & foliage:

scrap paper, paint, paint pens, colored pencils, felt pens, fabric, gift wrap, 
wood blocks, vintage crepe paper, tissue paper, wire, sweaters, yarn, 
vintage jewelry, sewing pins, even plastic parts from dollar store flowers.

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though my original plan was to make 12 different flowers, as shown here,
it quickly expanded to a plan for 14 blooms - 
and then i added one more at the last minute!

continue reading to see all 15 floral creations from my studio...

5.26.2022

May flowers: yarrow & zinnia

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it's a two-fer!
i don't have enough time left in the month to add more posts,
so this one is doing double duty.

the two last letters of the floral alphabet challenge - Y and Z -
just finished up on Instagram,
and i made a Yarrow blossom and some Zinnia blooms...

continue reading to see the easy ways i created these flowers
using everyday materials here in my studio...

5.19.2022

wire lampshade mobile

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you've all read my statements that 'i see things differently'
and 'i never really use things the way they were intended to be used!', right?
i'm very into 'use what you have' decorating & crafting using 'everyday' elements.

one day in 2020 when i was bored outta' my skull here at home,
i looked at a stack of wire lampshades and wire domes in the corner of my studio,
 and just played around to see what i could DO with them.
they ended up as a giant kinetic sculpture / mobile hanging from my studio ceiling.
and i shared that version here on the blog.

since then, i've changed it up a bit, and added a new element that makes me smile.
wanna' see?

...continue reading for wire lampshade mobile part 2!