Did you enjoy yesterday’s watermelon projects?  Today I’m back to share three more watermelon themed ideas.  I hope you’ll click over to enjoy these projects.

Katy from The Crafty Blog Stalker shares her adorable Watermelon Treat Bags.

Amanda from Dreamsicle Sisters shares her DIY Watermelon Dishtowels.

Debbie from One Little Projects shares her Watermelon Feta Salad.

I’ll be back tomorrow to share three more projects from the collage.  My day is Thursday and I’m excited to share my watermelon project.

What would you do with $150 from either HomeGoods, Target, or World Market?  I know I could spend $150 in any of these stores very quickly.

I’ve teamed up with a group of bloggers to bring you this fabulous giveaway.  The giveaway starts today and ends Friday, June 28.

(This is a Rafflecopter giveaway so if you are in a reader you may need to click over to enter.)

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m joining in with a fun group of bloggers to celebrate Watermelon Week.  Each day three bloggers will share a watermelon project.  My day to share  is Thursday.  Can you guess which of the projects in the collage is mine?  (If you guess correctly first, I just might have a prize for you!)

Here are Monday’s Projects!  I hope you’ll visit and tell each crafty lady that I sent you.

Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts shares her Watermelon Plates.

Heidi from Mom’s Crafty Space shares her Upcycled Canister Set.

Ashley from Ashley’s Dandelion Wishes shares her Summery Watermelon Salad.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for three more Watermelon Week projects.

At the end of May I was excited to share that landscape work had begun to improve the area between our house and our neighbor’s.  This area was decimated by last June’s derecho and I have been eager to improve its appearance.  Southern Landscape made a plan, did some drainage work, planted the large trees, and then it was our job to plant the rest of the plants and mulch.  We got everything planted over Memorial Day weekend and I’ve been slowly but surely working to finish this project ever since.

Catmint forms a border between the yard and a row of Green Mound Boxwood.  Mr. SP an I made the path using greenstone saved from a patio we removed when we added on to our home.

Lining the path are Ruby Spice Summersweet.

The maroon colored plant to the right of the path is Chinese Fringeflower.  The evergreens that will provide privacy between our house and the one next door are Japanese Cryptomeria and Green Giant Arborvitae.

Gardenia are seen in the left side of the landscape.  A Witchhazel is planted where the path curves.  Not seen but planted below the Gardenia next to the heat pump are Shamrock Inkberry Holly.

We made a path next to the house with more of our saved greenstone.  This was mined at one time in our town and is difficult to get now.  Planted on the bank are more Green Mound Boxwood, Mount Airy Fotnergilla, Shasta Viburnum, Henry’s Garnet Virginia Sweetspire, and Gro Low Fragrant Sumac.

The ferns that you see coming up in the bed and in the new grass are leftovers from my previous planting.

We are really pleased with the end result of our hard work!

I decorated early for July 4th this year so that I can enjoy my mantel for several weeks before the big day.  I crafted the red, white and blue bandana wreath last year and am delighted to use it again.  A burlap and American flag banner is this year’s patriotic craft.  This project was a quick one and I love the punch of texture and color that it adds to my mantel.  My mom gave me the vintage Coke carrier that belonged to my grandmother.  She used it to carry flowers to and from garden club events or to church to touch up her arrangements.

The vintage jars were hand me downs from Mama and my grandmother.  It’s neat to know that these are family pieces that helped to nourish my relatives during  cold winter months.  The jar below was recently given to me by my mom because it came from my town.

This Coke bottle from Cumberland, MD is the oldest of my set.

An old crate on the hearth holds more vintage jars, milk bottles, and telephone insulators.

The table by the window sports an antique hat, Blenko vase and a red candle holder.

Milk glass vases on the left and right sides of the mantel hold red, white, and blue dollar store filler and the smaller vases hold candles Mama found at Pier One last year.

Here you can see most of the room including the dresser that I revealed on Monday.

Have you decorated for the 4th?  I’m looking forward to seeing other bloggers’ decorations.

Sharing With:
Party Junk at Funky Junk Interiors

Can you believe that July 4 is just a few weeks away?  I like to decorate early so that I can enjoy what I’ve created as long as possible.  For the past several years I’ve made at least one patriotic craft.  This year I crafted a banner for our fireplace.

This was very easy to make and I know I’ll use it year after year.  Here’s what you need to make your own:

Supplies

Burlap

Small Flags

Navy Blue Bias Tape

Rotary Cutter and Measuring Tools

Glue Gun

Procedure

1.  Cut burlap into triangles with a base of 11” and a height of 12 inches.  I needed 5 to hang on my mantel.

2.  Leave enough bias tape at the starting end to hang the banner.  Glue the burlap to the bias tape.

3.  Glue the flag onto the triangle.

4.  Leave 5 inches between each burlap triangle.  Continue the process until your banner is long enough for the space you intend to decorate.

In this shot you can get a sneak peak of my mantel décor.  I wasn’t quite finished decorating when this picture was taken as I see the white vases are empty.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see the rest of my mantel.  Click on the “Projects” tab at the top for more patriotic crafts.

Sharing With:
Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A2Z, The Inspiration Board at Homework, Project Inspire(d) at Artsy Chicks Rule, Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, Home{work}Wednesday at The Everyday Home, Inspiration Exchange at Yellow Bliss Road, The Humble Brag at  One Project Closer’s The Better Half, Grace at Home at Imparting Grace, Chase the Stars, Inspiration Gallery Link  Party at Design, Diapers+Dining, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, July 4th Categorically Crafting Party at Someday Crafts, Party Junk at Funky Junk Interiors

Thank you 23andMe for sponsoring this post. For more information about this leading health and ancestry DNA service, please visit 23andMe.

Have you ever wondered what secrets your DNA hides?  Are you at risk or a carrier for a certain diseases or condition?  What is your ancestry?  Where do my relatives reside?  If you’ve ever wondered about any of these things, 23 and Me offers a simple test that will provide answers.

Having taught science to 7th graders for 21 of my 22 teaching career, I find genetics to be fascinating.  Learning about traits that can and cannot be inherited is always a favorite topic for students.  Did you know that smelly urine after eating asparagus is inherited?  How about the taste of cilantro?  Some people find it to have a pleasant taste and some people think it tastes soapy.  It tastes like soap to me!  Teaching students about DNA, chromosomes, and heredity is a topic to which I look forward every year.

A test from 23 and Me can help you to discover your ancestry composition like this example:

Isn’t that fascinating information?

A test will also show genetic relatives and where they live.

Other results include maternal and paternal lineages and  Neanderthal percentages.

Although ancestry information is interesting, what could be truly important to your personal health is the disease risk that your DNA may carry.  Are you at risk for macular degeneration, diabetes, or Parkinson’s Disease?  A test from 23and Me  will let you know.  My great-grandfather had Parkinson’s Disease and my precious Aunt Judy now suffers from it, so I’m particularly interested in my risk for this disease.  23 and Me provides over 240 health reports which give  information about conditions and traits for which there are genetic associations.  On the list of particular interest to me are back pain, alcohol dependence, breast cancer, coronary heart disease and hay fever.  I’ve posted many times about my SI Joint dysfunction and the pain it has caused me.  Did I inherit the trait that makes my joints loose and more prone to injury?  My mother had breast cancer.  Does my DNA contain a gene that will make me more likely to get breast cancer?  My dad suffered from terrible allergies and I control mine with medication.  Does my DNA contain this trait?  My grandfather died from a heart attack.  Do I need to monitor my heart health.  Taking a simple test will let me know.

Are you thinking about having a baby?  You should know if you or your husband is a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, or Tay-Sachs Disease.  A test will let you know if you are a carrier for 50 inherited conditions.

Personal genetic testing is easy with 23 and Me.  Order a kit, register it when it arrives, put your saliva in the provided container, ship it off and in 6 – 8 weeks your results will be sent to you.

As a teacher, I’m happy to discover the 23 and Me website because it contains interesting facts that I can use with my students and also a video that I know my students will enjoy.

It’s wonderful that modern technology lets anyone find out the secrets their DNA hides with a simple, noninvasive test.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

In late winter my friend and I found a dresser put out for the trash on one of our early morning runs.  Mr. SP and I repaired it, painted it and now it has a new home in our living room.

The top drawer front had to be replaced because the wood was badly warped.  We also had to replace some drawer slides inside the dresser.  We painted it with Churchhill Hotel Brown paint from Lowes in gloss and purchased the knobs on clearance at Lowe’s.  In all we spent less than $30 to bring this dresser back to life.

Do you remember what it looked like before?

What a difference a little bit of paint and TLC can make!

The dresser is currently empty and I plan to use the bottom two drawers for placemats and tablecloths.  The top drawer will be a great place to keep gloves and scarves in the winter.  We live in an old house with tiny closets and previously didn’t have a convenient storage area for gloves.  Our new dresser solves that problem.

We both really enjoyed working on this dresser.  I’m currently working on one that was stored in Mama’s barn that I plan to sell.  It’s fun to see something in bad shape come back to life.

Sharing With:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, The Power of Paint at Domestically Speaking, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings – The Heart of Your Home, Project Inspire{d} at Artsy Chicks Rule.

Being off from school has given me time to finish projects that I’ve been slowly working on all spring, one of which is art for our guest bathroom.  A vintage frame found during one of my April dumpster dives perfectly fit a torn but very pretty print also found in the dumpster.

A but of glue took care of the torn pieces on the print.  From a distance you can’t tell that it is torn.  Plus, the tears add to the vintage appeal.

The frame needed a good cleaning and a bit of repair.

The frame was spray painted with a blue that matches the blue in the flowers.  The gold accents came to life with a bit of Rub ‘n Buff.  The colors in the print coordinate fairly well with the colors in the curtain fabric.

I’m pleased that these two items were saved from the landfill and that I’ll enjoy them for years.  I’ll bet the original owner would be happy to know that someone is enjoying some of her castoff treasures.

One of my April Dumpster Diving Finds was a spice rack that I gave to my mom for her Women’s Club yard sale.  I kept thinking about that spice rack and finally asked my mom if I could have it back.  Luckily she hadn’t yet taken it to the Women’s Club yard sale storage area.

I wasn’t sure where I would use this spice rack, but I was positive that I would come up with something.

After two coats of Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue paint, the spice rack was ready for a new use.

Thanks to Mr. SP’s woodworking skills, I have two large cabinets for craft storage.  A pie safe holds some of my supplies and the back wall is covered in peg board.

The peg board made a perfect hanging spot for the spice rack.

My Mod Podge and glues are now easily accessible.

I’m so glad that I found this in the dumpster and that Mama hadn’t donated it.

I’m now on summer vacation and am enjoying completing projects and working in my yard.  It feels good to accomplish something at home and not just at work.

Sharing With:
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Power of Paint at Domestically Speaking, Keep Calm and Link Up at Chase the Stars, Inspiration Gallery at Design, Diapers, + Dining, Project Inspired at Artsy Chicks Rule, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now