Random-ness.....

Ok I'm back...well I've been home since Monday night. However I caught a nasty cold from all those sick college kids & am just feeling good enough to actually get stuff done again...phew!  Thought I'd just share some pictures of our trip with you & check in and say HI!

Also thanks to everyone that played along in my fun Paddywax Candle game.....I know you've been waiting so the winner (picked randomly of course) is:

VIVIAN LINDSEY

Congrats!  Please email me at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net with the choice of Paddywax candle from the "Library Collection" you'd like and your mailing address ok!

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In case you didn't know the hubs & I left on Thursday morning last week to spend some time at the Univ of SC with our daughter...who we hadn't seen in 3 months. We came back Monday and now are counting down the days till Thanksgiving when we are all together again.  My son stayed at home because he had other things he preferred doing LOL!

 Me & my mini-me....reunited again!

Friday night was Halloween so Alexa was out with her friends. She was a flapper & her best bud Reid was "2000 Justin Timberlake" LOL!  The hubs & I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary at Cafe Garibaldi in Columbia, SC (highly recommend it) instead...I had a glass of wine, some yummy food and oh! they MAKE their mozzarella & ricotta cheeses...to die for!

My son & his girlfriend were back at home at a costume party. They dressed up as Squints & Wendy Peffercorn from "The Sandlot" movie. She looks about 12 next to him, not 17 LOL!

Saturday night was the Gamecocks game against Tennessee...my first SEC college game & it didn't disappoint...really fun...minus the 38 deg temps & wind.

This is me freezing my patootie off....I was frozen by half-time. We left at the end of 3rd quarter because it was miserable...oh and we were winning when we left...then they lost...guess I should've stayed huh? LOL!

Here's a little video of the pre-game madness...I particularly love the student section and their choreographed dance LOL! And NO that is not me screaming, I was too cold...the student section is on the right and that stadium holds like 85,000 people and the cement risers were SHAKING. Even with the cold temps it was a sold-out game...craziness like I've never experienced!

The tailgating at SEC games is out of this world...like nothing I've seen before.  Univ of SC has multiple tailgating lots and they were filled with tents, food, tvs, couches...you name it. This is the "Cockaboose" that they have next to stadium and you can rent each one for your pre-game party...insanely cool!

Alexa was at game with her 2 best guy friends in the student section...none of the other girls wanted to come because of the cold. But my daughter is a die-hard football fan like us so she was there...but they left in the 3rd...wimps...hehehe!

Meanwhile back at home, Riley was at the Notre Dame vs Navy game in DC with our neighbor. It was actually warmer at home than in SC...c'mon now. I woke up to SNOW in SC on Saturday....last week my daughter was at the pool....sheesh!

The last night there we took Alexa & her friends out to dinner...with real food apparently...because they are sick of dining hall food.  Although said dining hall food is pretty darn delicious from when I went to school.  But we had a good time, lots of laughs & it was nice to meet her new friends...good kids!

Alexa's Room

her roomie's room

And I'd be remiss if I didn't show you my daughter's dorm apartment...well her and her roomie's bedrooms.  Alexa's wasn't too bad although I know she cleaned before we got there LOL...her roommates room is more what I expect my son's to look like in college. 

Have a wonderful week y'all!

Graduation Party-time!!!

CLASS OF 2014

One of Alexa's Senior Photos

There is a reflection because I could NOT get the darn picture out of the frame today...either I was weak from exhaustion or the frame was having fun with me...grrrrrr!

I know, I know....its been over a week since I've posted...I apologize.

We have had a whirlwind of activities around our house gearing up for graduation and the

graduation party for Alexa that happened this weekend!

PHEW.......

It's all over with...it was an emotional roller coaster, physically exhausting but lots of memories were made and a good time had by all.  Today I'm sharing pics of our Graduation Party that we had on Saturday.  Then this week I will share graduation photos....and project pics for other things I've been working on!

So lots of pictures in this post....but enjoy!!

This was a table I set up in our foyer for the party.  A few pics of Alexa, a place to put gifts/cards, balloons and flowers for the graduation girl.  Also my "KEYS TO SUCCESS".....

I had ordered bulk bags of silver skeleton keys on Amazon and cut tags for them on my Silhouette Cameo.  I used black cardstock because I wanted it to have a chalkboard feel and I had white-gel pens for people to use to write with.  She won't get the jar of keys and tags until we drop her off at college...I wanted her to have something long after the party ended to reminisce on and laugh/cry at.  Some of the tags are silly I'm sure, some are great pieces of advice and some are some tips she may need at some point.  The large jar I got on Amazon too...I liked the lid and size.

I had a lot of food for this party...and I was stressed I wouldn't have enough for the 65+ people.  But I always have too much food....we donated all the leftovers from catering to the local homeless shelter because I didn't want it going to waste.  I had Red Hot & Blue cater pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad....sandwiches from Which Wich...party platters and cake from Wegmans. I made lemonade, fruit salad and desserts.  My mom made 2 platters of Texas Brownies...mmm yum!

This was the beverage station I set up....I made homemade strawberry lemonade and wrapped water bottles with custom wrappers I made.  We had wine and beer and sodas in coolers outside.

I had bought 50 blue mason jars and striped straws for the lemonade...blue was one of the theme colors since Alexa's school colors are blue, white and black.

I had a white cake made by Wegmans and inside was stuffed with fresh strawberries and cream....it was really, really good.  I decorated it myself...hahahaha...the black icing kinda melted a bit but I used a Gamecock decal and some footballs from the Party Store along with sprinkles...it worked.

I didn't get the best pictures of this because I was rushed for time....but I had bulk-ordered small white take-out boxes and made stickers for the front of each.  Then used striped tissue paper to line them and fill half with Kettle Corn and half with Cheddar Popcorn. Then everyone could grab a box and chow down.  Those are my mom's Texas Brownies to the right...mmmm ;)

I had bouquets of white roses and daisies around the house including that lovely centerpiece I had my dad make me.  I keep fresh flowers in it every week.

This is our backyard patio and cabana all decked out for the party.  The coolers were a necessity to hold all the drinks we needed iced down :)  I love my patio because of all the different seating areas and places to be depending on the weather and activity.

My hubs and son helping get ready!  That's my mom's dog Snickers surveying the scene in most pictures LOL (no I didn't get a new dog)!

This is one of my fave little sitting areas as it sits behind the main seating area/fireplace...the butterfly bush and grasses are at edge of patio so there are always hummingbirds and butterflies flitting around. Its kind of hidden and a great place to read and get away.

Alexa with a group of her friends.  The bar to the left is one of two bars..I love the round bar addition because its another great place for seating or food buffet.

My niece, my mom and my sister-in-law.

Alexa and her friends using the photo booth props I ordered and some I had made.

Alexa's BFF Mya came up from Georgia for the party and to see her friends graduate. She grew up with them all but moved at the end of her junior year...was nice she could see everyone!

Alexa opening some of her graduation gifts...the girl made out well...thank you to everyone that sent or gave a gift, we are so happy you were able to come and join us to celebrate her successes and future!

Annnnnddddd...this is what happens at the end of a great day when you are slap-happy and tired!

Alexa and the hubs show their goofy sides ;)
James kept asking Alexa all day if she wanted to "take a selfie" hahahaha and singing "It's the Final Countdown" song to her.  So they had to take a selfie together hahaha!

I will be back on Thursday with Grad Pictures to share......


Entering In The Following Linky Parties:

Family Fun Friday

WOW Us Wednesdays

Summer Celebration Link Party

DIY Showoff/ Fun In The Sun Party

The DIY Dreamer

Ivy & Elephants

Meet My Snow People!

I've seen these lil' sock snow people for years at craft shows and online but never had time to make any.

But this year I vowed to get some made for the upcoming holidays...and I'm a sucker for snowmen too!

I just don't like the ACTUAL cold snow stuff ;)

So there are lots of instructions online but thought I'd do a brief synopsis with tips on how I made mine for you all!  

Best of all these cost me ZERO dollars to make...other than the bag of rice which was $4...I used old socks and supplies from my craft room!

*AND*

They are NO SEW folks...good news for me because I hate to sew LOL!

Ingredients for Snow People:

Crew Socks

Old/New Patterned Socks or old sweaters/shirts

Rubberbands

Scissors

Bag of Rice

Straight Pins

Buttons

Embellishments of your choice

**disclaimer: obvs these are NOT made to be toys for wee ones**

Crew Socks work best for the body of the snow people...I had a pack of crew socks that Riley deemed "too tight" (whatever that means) and it was just lingering in the closet because I'd never taken them back.  So I snatched it right up for this project.  If you are buying socks make SURE THE TOES ARE NOT COLORED...some socks have gray or yellow toes and that's not what you want if you end up using the toe for a hat!

Step #1:  Cut the leg part off of the sock so the foot/toe is separate

Step 2:  Turn the sock you cut off inside out and grab a rubber band and 

twist it on the top part of the sock...as far up as you can manage.  Then turn the sock out again so the rubber band is now inside the sock...got that?

TIP:  I'm messy pouring rice and I didn't have any helpers so I poured my rice into

a slim glass, stuck the sock over it and flipped it over...NO MESS.  You could also use a large funnel too.  Because if you spill all that rice, well folks you got a big mess to clean up :)

Step 4:  Fill that sock up with rice, smooshing it down each time till you get it filled out nicely.  Remember you want the bottom to be nice, round & plump ;)

Step 5:  So you end up with this...a gourd shape...squish the rice around to make the shape.  Then use another rubberband to secure the top, again as close to the end as you can.

(Tip: I trimmed off the top after I rubberbanded it so it wasn't so much sticking up)

Step 6:  Then take your 3rd rubberband and twist it around the center, creating the head and bottom of snowman.  Don't worry about the rubberbands because you are gonna cover them up real soon!

TIP:  Roll your sock when you're done with a lint-roller to clean off any fuzzies or strings.

And then you decorate them to your heart's desire---this is the FUN part!

It only took me 1 hour to make all 3 of these Snow People.

I used stick-on pearls for their eyes and noses...some I left off the noses just to be different.

But you could use straight pins with beads on the end just as easily.  

The scarf here was made with parts of an old sock as well...I just cut a long piece off of a kneesock and tied it around his neck and trimmed the edges for a frayed look...super easy.  I added a straight pin in the center of the scarf so it doesn't come off or untied but you could use glue too.  The buttons were put on with fabric glue but you could sew them if you wanted...glue is easier though, just sayin' :)

Their caps were all made with other socks...I just cut off the toes of some old socks, rolled the edges and plopped them on their heads.  I used white pom-poms to finish off the top of each hat..adhered with fabric glue.  This one I added a holly cutout with a punch & some pearl berries from my crafty stash.

This one got a different scarf treatment and the cap is from a fuzzy old sock I had.  But the scarf and hat trim were made from some leftover fabric I had and then I frayed the edges.  Don't spend $$ on materials, look around your house for things that you can use...I have old flannel shirts, jeans, socks, etc that I store in a small bin and use for craft projects and its FREE!

This lovely pink lady is my fave, I love the soft colors...her scarf and cap are made from an old sock as well.  Then I punched a few snowflakes out of white cardstock, grabbed some paper flowers from my stash and glued them all on to embellish. I love the addition of the sparkly button and pom-pom on her cap too!

So now you know how to do it, its a quick and easy project...perfect to do with elementary school aged children too!  Before you know it you can have a whole snow family made.  Let your imagination run WILD with the possibilities!  I'm gonna buy some cream socks to make more vintage snow people with some burlap and tea-dyed fabrics...will share those when I'm done!

Happy Crafting!

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I'm entering these guys into the following fab Linky Parties:

Family Fun Friday
Domestic Superhero
Savvy Southern Style
The DIY Dreamer
Practically Functional/The Fun In Functional 
The Dedicated House (anything blue friday)
Making HomeBase
What's Cooking With Ruthie
Holiday Idea Exchange
Six Sisters Stuff
That's What {Che} Said
Making Monday
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Cedar Hill Farmhouse - The Scoop
Awesome Things Tuesday

Commona-My House - Give Me The Goods
Common Ground
Thirty Handmade Days - Party Bunch
Hi Sugarplum / Holiday Cheer