Monday, April 25, 2016

U is for Umbrella



We're down to the difficult letters in the ol' A to Z Challenge. 

I wrote about underwear when I did the A to Z in 2014. 

I took pictures of my cat from under a piece of glass while she sat on top of it for 2015.

Topping either of those topics would be nothing short of impossible, so I found a craft instead; in fact, it is a FIVE MINUTE craft. Here's the Pinterest pin:

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/
2015/08/diy-5-minute-umbrella-wreath.html
#.Vx1h-fkrLIV

This was the most expensive Pinterest challenge I have done to date, but it may be worth it. The supplies needed are an umbrella with a curved handle, artificial flowers, and ribbon. That's it. I found the umbrella at Target for $12.99, the flowers at Michael's for $7.99 per bunch (I bought four) which were 40% off AND I had a 20% off entire purchase coupon, and the ribbon was only $1.00 at Michael's.

The directions did not specify to do this, because most people know enough to do it without being told, but the first thing I did was cut the tags off the umbrella and flowers. This may not sound like a big deal to anyone else, but my family will tell you I am really, really bad about leaving price tags on things (my mother always called me "Minnie Pearl" because of it).

First, you were to prop the umbrella up so it would stand up straight. The pinner used a basket with blankets in it, but as I didn't have a cute basket handy with blankets casually placed in it, I opted for the closest thing I had, which was a large Rubbermaid tub filled with the contents of my pantry. (It's a long story, but suffice it to say a mouse was involved, and I have freeloading cats.) 

I guess you could say it was a silver lining
that I had this tub in my dining room that I
could use to hold the umbrella while I worked.


Tie the ribbon into a bow around the middle of the umbrella. This creates the "vase."

Wired ribbon. I forgot to take the umbrella
into Michael's to match to the ribbon and
was just lucky that it matched.

Stick Arrange the flowers into the top of the umbrella.

Those umbrella ribs WILL fight you.


Ta da! You're done.

Ooooooo!



It fell over THREE TIMES before I
could snap a picture.


Now hang it on the front door, IF you have a hook big enough for the umbrella handle to hook into (I didn't and had to improvise with a rubber band looped around the handle).


Can you tell it was a little windy?


I LIKE IT AND IT WAS THE EASIEST CHALLENGE YET!





20 comments:

  1. I like that. The one you did came out so pretty. Seems easy enough to do. I have just the umbrella that I could use.
    By the way, I wrote about umbrellas also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It was ridiculously easy, and I didn't mind shelling out the money for it when it turned out so cute.

      Delete
  2. Very nice! But yeah no kidding about pricey. As a former Michael's retail worker, I know just how expensive fake flowers can be, especially the long stem ones! So it makes complete sense to only buy when on sale or clearance. What a great May Day/Spring decor item -- though I might be worried it could be easily thieved...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our front door is unsheltered and gets the brunt of rain in the spring and summer, so I am going to hang this on my mom's front door (she doesn't know this yet - surprise, Mom!). Depending on where you live, I can see that it might be tempting to someone to swipe it. Hmmm.

      Delete
  3. Very cute. I'm gonna remember this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Really nice so pretty yay for a likeable win

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ohhh SO MUCH FUN! But...what's the Minnie Pearl ref? I don't get it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/2009-03-03-minnie-pearl_N.htm check out the hat...it has a price tag hanging from it.

      Delete
  6. Omg we call my Mom Minnie Pearl for the same reason! Yours was even prettier than the one in the Pinterest

    ReplyDelete
  7. It came out great! Looks really nice on your front door.

    @WeekendsinMaine
    Weekends in Maine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I have it hanging inside on a coat tree and I'm liking it there, too, since the winter coats have been put away.

      Delete
  8. Very cute! And way to come up with something for the letter U :)

    Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love, love, love your front door. Feels like it should lead to a fairy tale.

    I have that same umbrella bouquet pinned. Just pinned. Not on my front door or anything!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! The house is 90 years old.

      You can do this, May. IT'S SO EASY. I kid you not when I say it took five minutes.

      Delete
  10. Thank you for the laughs with this one. The tags you might have left on and the plastic bin in the dining room because of mice and cats. Too bad the cats don't get the mouse. Reminded me of the time all the kitchen drawers were stacked in my dining room Very nice U :)

    Finding Eliza

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words! The mouse appears to have been a rogue mouse whose reign of terror ended in one of the eight different traps that were set. I still haven't had time to thoroughly clean the pantry and find where the little bastard got in, so the plastic bin remains in the dining room.

      Delete