DIY Projects

My Kind of Green – Beautifying Home & Garden with HedgeScapes

May 10, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

I received product as compensation in exchange for my honest review. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own. I only promote things that I truly love!

Since moving into our new home 6 months ago, we’ve been without any landscaping or greenery in our yard whatsoever. Truthfully, we were waiting until the last frost of the season to come and go before we decided to start laying sod, but the months that we went with just staring at a red clay yard were starting to make me feel a little gloomy. I’ve always felt that landscaping was a very important element to a home. In high school, I actually took a class called Landscape and Turf Management, where I learned all about different types of plants and grasses to use to change the aesthetic of a home. An appealing landscape adds value and curb appeal to a property, so it’s certainly an element of necessity that you don’t want to skimp on!

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In The Wild VBS Decor Ideas

May 5, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Affiliate links are included throughout this post. Purchases made through clicks on these links may result in a small commission earned on my end at absolutely no cost to you. In The Wild VBS is going to be a blast, and I love helping promote all things Vacation Bible School!

VBS 2018 may have just started in your neck of the woods, but the brilliant minds at Lifeway have been getting the ball rolling on their quest to make VBS 2019 the very best one yet! Earlier this afternoon I was anxiously awaiting their theme announcement on Facebook Live (shown on their Facebook page) and was ooh-ing and aah-ing at all of the magnificent fun it’s going to be!

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Even MORE Shipwrecked VBS Decor Ideas

March 23, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Affiliate links are included throughout this post at absolutely no cost to you. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Summer 2018 is getting closer, and churches all over the country are gearing up for an exciting summer filled with Vacation Bible School activities! One of the most popular VBS themes for 2017 was Maker Fun Factory by Group, and this year the VBS masterminds have been setting sail and putting together a curriculum that will help spread the Gospel through the message that God is always with us, even through the toughest storms we may face in life.

This year, we’re putting our goggles on and getting ready to make a splash with Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus!

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Even MORE Game On VBS Decor Ideas!

March 23, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Affiliate links are included throughout this post. All opinions expressed in Even MORE Game On VBS Decor Ideas are completely my own.

Summer 2018 is getting closer, and churches all over the country are gearing up for an exciting summer filled with Vacation Bible School activities! One of the most popular VBS themes for 2017 was Galactic Starveyors by Lifeway, where kids learned that God is the maker of the entire universe and everything within it, even the things that can’t be seen with a telescope! And while seeing all of the giant stars and planets in the sky may make all of us feel really small, God loves each and every one of us individually and wants a personal relationship with us. Isn’t that amazing!? If you got to participate in Galactic Starveyors last year, I’m sure it definitely made an impact on your life. I know it did mine!

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Polar Blast VBS Decor Ideas

February 1, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Affiliate links may be included throughout this post at absolutely no cost to you. I love sharing about VBS and all of the fun finds I come across to help make your VBS planning a real success!

It’s time to bundle up and strap on those snow boots, because this summer is going to be SUPER chill with the kickoff of Polar Blast Weekend VBS happening at churches all across the country!

Children have the opportunity to discover just how cool Jesus’ love truly is, while having a (snow)ball of a time jumping into fun games, cool crafts and magical music they’re sure to remember for years! You can catch a quick preview of the Polar Blast excitement in the hype video posted below!…

Shipwrecked VBS Snack Ideas

January 26, 2018 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

AFFILIATE LINKS MAY BE INCLUDED THROUGHOUT THIS POST AT NO COST TO YOU. I LOVE SHARING ABOUT VBS AND ALL OF THE FUN FINDS I COME ACROSS THAT CAN HELP MAKE YOUR VBS PLANNING A REAL SUCCESS!

Ahoy, mateys! Word on the deep seas is that Group has officially released their 2018 Vacation Bible School theme, and we’re all really going to be feeling the motion of the ocean as we weather life’s storms and come upon a desert island and learn that God is always with is, even through the toughest waters. It’s all happening in Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus, coming Summer of 2018!

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DIY No-Sew Burlap Stocking + Holiday Guest Stocking Stuffer Ideas

December 18, 2017 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StockedWithLove #CollectiveBias

One of the things that makes the holiday season so merry and bright is celebrating and spending time with friends, family and those you hold dear. We had the privilege of hosting my family in our new home for a few days during Thanksgiving, and while things will look a little bit different for Christmas, we’re still fortunate enough to host a party this week at our house filled with many of my family members that don’t get to see each other very often. It’s something we’ve all been looking forward to for a long time now, and I’m so happy that I get to have the role as host of the gathering!

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Healthy Thanksgiving Snack Crafts for Kids

October 27, 2017 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

These Healthy Thanksgiving Snack Crafts for Kids are a fun and delicious way to celebrate the Thanksgiving season, plus they’re a great activity for kids to get involved with in the kitchen!

Throw those hands in the air if you’re currently scratching your head trying to figure out how in the world we’re already knocking on November’s door! 2017 has been crazy busy for us, but I seriously can’t believe how quickly the year has flown by! This Thanksgiving is going to be huge for us. We’ll be hosting my family in our brand new home for the very first time (and very likely still unpacking all of our belongings…estimated move-in date is the week before Thanksgiving day!)

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Ghoulishly Glam Halloween Decor for the Front Door!

October 22, 2017 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

This post was sponsored by Lowe’s as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

We’re just one month away from packing up our belongings and moving into our brand new home that we’ve been building since December of last year. Watching everything come together during these final few weeks has been nothing short of amazing, and being able to see elements of the home that I had previously only been able to see in my dreams finally become a reality has made all of the work and the wait completely worth it.

Up until about 2 weeks ago, our home did not have a front door on it. The door had been sitting in a storage room just waiting to be installed, and when my husband finally brought it out and hung it on the hinges, my mind was instantly overwhelmed with all of the ways I was going to decorate it for every season. I just couldn’t wait to get a wreath hung up and to make the front entrance of our brand new home reflect the personalities of the people living inside! 😉

Even though we won’t be inside the home before Halloween of this year, my heart just couldn’t stand to let our beautiful front door be bare. So with the spooky season being among us, I just had to head out to my local Lowe’s to pick up a few ghoulishly glamorous pieces to adorn our new home and to give everyone who passes through a spook-tacularly warm welcome to our humble abode! (Make sure to hover over all of the images so you can easily shop the look!)

Lowe’s has quickly become one of my favorite shopping destinations to pick up seasonal decor to decorate the inside and outside of my home. During my most recent trip to Lowe’s, I instantly fell in love with this 24 inch Halloween tinsel wreath that they had on display right next to the front entrance, and it quickly sparked a vision for my decor theme as I pushed my shopping cart through the rest of the store!

The next spooky sight to catch my attention was this Holiday Living Skeleton, which fit perfectly nestled inside the wreath. My toddler loves playing with him, because you can move his arms, hands and feet in all sorts of fun ways! He comes with a hook that makes him easy to hang, or he can sit upright when propped up against something.

I also spotted a pre-lit Jack-O-Lantern giving me a creepy grin, and I knew right away it had to come home with me!

This beautiful Pre-Lit Pumpkin Stack Topiary stole my heart when I saw it browsing online before I went in the store. My particular store didn’t carry it, so I placed the order online and had it shipped straight to my house! I fell in love with the shimmery purple and black leaves and brushed metal looking base – all perfect elements to create the “glam” vibe I was going for. I even swung by the outdoor garden section and picked up a purple mum plant to tie in with the purple in the topiary!

Perhaps my favorite find at Lowe’s was this adorable little Pre-Lit Musical Mummy Greeter that my daughter fell in love with. It has a very friendly little laugh and leans more on the “cute” side instead of scary. It’s perfect to put candy in on Halloween night for trick-or-treating, and it’s fun to listen to him laugh when people walk by!

I also picked up a few real pumpkins in different sizes from the garden section and gave them a touch of glam by painting them black and silver and adding a little glitter. I placed one of the painted pumpkins on this cute little pumpkin stand and stood it next to the mummy!

My toddler was absolutely tickled by all of the spooky shenanigans going on at our brand new front porch! She was grinning from ear to ear while I was putting all of these decorations in their place, and she asked me if I could take a picture of her standing with all of her new “toys.” She danced a little happy dance on this Halloween door mat and struck a pose!

If you’re currently on the market for some frighteningly fabulous Halloween or Fall Harvest seasonal decor, Lowe’s offers an incredible selection, and all at a really great value! You can visit Lowes.com or shop in store for more seasonal indoor and outdoor decor inspiration!

Update on Our Home Building Process

October 15, 2017 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

Way back in January I made my official announcement here at Southern Made Simple that our family was growing in a BIG way! Throughout 2016 we (but mostly my husband) worked so incredibly hard creating and perfecting plans, gathering prices and making lists of contacts of workers to help us break ground and get the ball rolling on building our forever home.

We currently live in a small little brick home owned by our grandparents. They have been so gracious to allow us to stay in that home since 2013 so that we could save up enough money to put towards our future home, and they were even more gracious to deed us a little bit of land right next to our current home to build the house of our dreams. (Our grandparents are such a blessing to us, and are truly a pillar of incredible strength in our family. We don’t know what we’d do without their love, wisdom and support!)

So since it’s been a good long 9 1/2 months since I updated you last, I figured we were definitely due for a new update. A LOT has changed since January, but we’re still chugging along in the process, and our original date of completion (which was August 2017) has been pushed back to November.

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