Easy to make and fun to serve, use cut PVC Pipe for the base of a festive napkin ring!

It’s a little on the DIY side of projects, but The Junior League of Houston implemented this idea for their recent Charity Ball and I just thought I would pass it along. It seemed like a unique idea to bring some pizazz to plain ole’ black or white napkins… Here, they simply painted cut pieces of painted PVC Pipe and glued on Feathers and Stones to match the look of the surrounding decor.

You can have your local Hardware Store, Lowe’s or Home Depot cut the pipe for you there, on site. Or, for an even more quick fix and less permanent use, you could simply cut Paper Towel or T.P. Tubes with an exact-o knife (Scissors might distort shape).

Cover it in Moss with a flower on top for a Ladies Spring Luncheon… Glue it inside torn strips of bandanna and tie the ends in a knot for a B-B-Q…  or simply wrapped with an array of ribbon…How creative can you be with this concept?

While, carving Pumpkins, that is!

For my 29th Birthday Party, which is the day before Halloween, I converted my back yard into an outdoor living room and invited everyone to come on over and pick a pumpkin from my very own pumpkin patch.

Just because it’s doing the dirty work, doesn’t mean your liquid dish soap has to look the part?! Take out that manufactured plastic bottle of soap from under your kitchen sink, and dress up the dispenser to let your kitchen style shine!… Spotlessly, Effortlessly and virtually Cost Free!

Re-dispense your soap into that previously enjoyed, funky, now empty bottle from your favorite Wine? …Salad Dressing?…Liquor?!…  Whatever?! Pop on a spout top (found in most home bars, olive oil bottles, or at The Container Store) and dress your kitchen counter to make your cleaning work look like play.

Not only are you sprucing up your household chores, but you will also be sprucing up your contributions to today’s recycling efforts! (that is assuming you toss your old  “Reggie Miller” dispenser in the “Blue Bucket”)

Hope you Enjoy!… your way to the Happy Plate Club haha

-Palmer

My Birthday is the day before Halloween, so I never knew if everyone was celebrating me, or just the occasion with such “pizazz”. Regardless, it has always made for a “drop in the bucket” when it comes to throwing entertaining and creative B-day Parties!

In my recent years, I have come to rather enjoy hosting pumpkin carving parties, especially for those who don’t have children (myself included) and tend to get excluded from or simply let the more juvenile  traditions of this season go by the wayside.

This year, back in July, we planted our own Pumpkin Patch with the intention to invite my B-day guests to come pick their own pumpkin from our own patch and carve their Jack-O-Lantern over Cocktails and Popcorn. Unfortunately, due to just barely surviving our most detrimental Drought here in Austin since the 1950′s, I don’t have enjough pumpkins to serve all of my guests…actually… I don’t have any, that will be ready, that is.

I do have two beautiful healthy baby pumpkins that are steadily taking their turn (from Green in color, to Orange). Though they wont be ready to carve by Halloween, we have had so much fun tracking their growth: from a buried seed in the ground, to the first sprout of leaf peaking through the dirt, to the monster it has become of giant leaves, strangling vines and blossomed flowers… Even more entertaining?!… Hunting for the pumpkins amidst the vines and actually finding out that one has grown!… and being able to say I have my own pumpkin patch! haha

I could very much see this becoming a fun and memorable tradition for children and adults alike! Though it did take some time to clear out the area, planting and tending to my pumpkin patch has been quite effortless, timelessly entertaining, and costing no more than the 10 cents I paid for my packet of seeds.

Next year you should try it! They say the best day to plant for the perfect Halloween Pumpkin is July 4th. I was a few weeks late on that deadline this year (we had a party to attend), but next year I will remind you all ahead of time so you may enjoy a patch of your own, as well!

Within seconds  make your own decorative and intricate Homemade, not Handmade, Paper for invitations, note cards etc… using nothing other than what is already in your home: Found Objects and a Copier Machine.

I, along with three other bride’s maids, were in the honorable position to host our Bride’s first wedding shower. Unique in her own personality, our party theme was one-of-a-kind, in turn, as a This Couples “Favorite Things” shower. Rather than holding her guests hostage to registry for the traditional desirables of Crystal Clears and Lacy Linens, our Bride and Groom- to -Be preferred their friends shower them with what we each independently and personally found relative to their start: Hand carved salad bowl? Pillow made of retired linen napkins? Bottle of wine?

Needless to say, finding a pre-made invitation to suit was taking more time then just making our own…so I did, and easily at that! All it takes is a few found object relative to your “subject” and a copier machine.

First, I made my invitation. I then gathered construction paper and leftover fabric, assembled them in to place behind my invitation, and one trip to the neighborhood copy store later, I had 35 unique and “homemade” invitations, $0.35 each, ready to send out to set the unique, one- of- a- kind tone for our celebration to come!

If you want to make your own stationary etc, simply place a blank sheet of paper in front of your designs (instead of the invitation) where you would like to write in the future, and copy away!…

What I like about this concept, artistically, is that it creates an intriguing look of contrast from the three dimensional textures and shapes captured on a one dimensional  sheet of paper, as well as replicates the festivity of design detail from the objects being photo- copied!

I look forward to seeing what you all use to copy your own custom paper… Toy soldiers? Jewelery? Flowers?…

Enjoy!

-Palmer

I was collection samples of AstroTurf for an art project at Home Depot… Who knew there even existed so many styles from which to choose?! Samples are offered as 4″x4″ Squares pre-cut cut for you to take home. Once I did, not only did I find that the samples worked well in material choosing for my project, but the samples themselves ended up working for me in turn… As Coasters!

Slightly quirky in action, they make everyone stop and chuckle at second thought, and even more so when balanced in an elegant application. These “Cost Free Coasters” make for great last minute or resourceful gifts, as well as fun table decorations.

Supper Bowl Party, or Host’s Thank You Gift for the Sporting Season?! Ladies Luncheon in the Spring?! Just for Fun?! To further accessorize, hot-glue on a small silk flower in one corner for the “Ladies”, or a Miniature Golf Ball for the “Gents”? You may also take this theme to the next step and buy a larger piece of AstroTurf  in order to cut impromptu place mats or even a table runner?! The look is lovely over a white linen table cloth.

Regardless, whatever you do… Enjoy!…Haha!

-Palmer

P.S. Some AstroTurf Styles will frey after several uses. To prolong the life of your Cost Free Coaster, simply run a line of supper glue around the edges on the underneath side.

…for a fun last minute baby birthday vase. Our flowers were ideal for the occasion, pink and white daises for a little girls 2nd Birthday Dolly Party. But, when our host realized her vase supply was out of stock, we had to find something else that would pleasantly display her blossomed bouquet.

With the party colored in pink and green, it just so happens that her drinking glasses matched just right. We simply cut a string of ribbon around the width of the glass and taped it in back, over lapping the ends and rolling the tape the width of the ribbon to tack it under neath, so that it appeared seamless… costing no more than what was already in the cabinet and taking no more time than a snip here and a tac there.

It worked great for us, and if you find the need, it can work great for you too!

Enjoy!

-Palmer