Vintage Silver Goblets

Not long ago I came across a fun vintage find.


This set of six silver plate goblets stand 2 1/2 inches tall and are about the cutest things ever!  They were still in their original box.  I paid less than $1 each.


They’ll never be used for brandy at our house, but I’m excited to fill them with some tiny flowers or little mints and put them at place settings for a luncheon or breakfast.


I love the patina, the shape and the size of them.  They make me smile when I see them.  I’d like to think of a fun way to use them in everyday life.  Any suggestions?

Hopeful Homemaker Linked to Reluctant Entertainer

Cherry Trees and Hope

I love my cherry trees.

Nearly every day I pause and look out my window to observe them, even in winter.  Even when it seems like nothing is happening.  I’ve learned that when I think nothing is happening, I am mistaken, for one day I’ll see this.


I draw strength from these trees.


Their potential gives me hope.  I want to believe that I have potential like my trees.


Sometimes I feel like I work so hard, but all it amounts to is an occasional bud here or there, and the tree as a whole (my life) seems unchanged.  I wonder how it can possibly add up to anything of value.


My cherry tree tells me to hang on, to have faith that one morning I’ll wake up and the sun will be shining…

… and this will happen.


Some stages of life seem to have very long winters.  My tree helps me hope that spring might still come.


I want to believe that my life can blossom…

…into something as beautiful and productive as my cherry tree.


I hope that someday my life may even be laden with sweet, juicy fruit.


Until then, I sit beneath it’s blooming branches, breathe deeply, and keep hoping.


So if in your life it still feels like winter, I hope you’ll join me in waiting.  There’s a chair out there, if you want to sit and stay a while.

Today I am grateful for cherry trees.

Hopeful Homemaker

Graduation Party Decor Idea

Last week my amazing brother and his fabulous wife graduated from BYU.  We had a little graduation party to celebrate their accomplishments along with my brother’s birthday.  I wanted to do something fun to decorate for the party without spending a lot of money.

Here is what I came up with.


I found a piece of foam core board at WalMart in one of the school’s colors (dark blue).


Using a dark colored marker and a small ruler, I drew a Y on the board.  I was able to see the lines well enough to complete the project, but they don’t stand out.

Next I took white (another school color) miniature muffin cups and crumpled the bottoms, pinching them into a point.


Using my hot glue gun, I dabbed a bit of glue onto the point of the muffin liner and glued it to the outline of my Y.


Repeat with more muffin cups, gluing them along the edges of the letter.


When I dreamed up this idea, I pictured the letter completely filled in.  When it took 200 cupcake liners to do the outline, I decided to stop there.  Two hundred liners may sound like a lot, but it was actually a calming experience for me to perform a simple, repetitive task while my mind was still spinning after this unexpected dash to the doctor’s office.  In all I think the project took less than an hour.


Because I purchased miniature cupcake liners in bulk last year, the only cost was the $3 foam board.  Everything else I had on hand.  As I was working on it, I was thinking how fun it would be to make one of these with a number on it to celebrate a birthday party.  You could also do a monogram.  I really liked using the school’s letter in this instance.  The muffin liners added much more dimension and interest than simply drawing would have done.


This was a fun way to make a big statement for our party.  It added festivity to our gathering without too much effort or cost.  I’ll be using this idea again!  What do you think?

Note:  to see how we incorporated the school letter idea into our dessert, check out this post .

Hopeful Homemaker shared at DIY Day and Girl Creative

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