My mother taught me to love fresh flowers and, lucky me, I have a romantic hubby who regularly brings home a bouquet for me.

Since we purchased our own home, we’ve enjoyed seeing our perennial flowers pop up in early spring and throughout the summer. From irises, day lilies and peonies in spring, to roses, hydrangeas, and lavender in summer, we have beautiful blooms at our fingertips from April - September. Instead of buying flowers at the store, I regularly cut them from my own yard to fill the house.

Also, given my interest in fair trade issues, I’ve also learned that cut flowers sold in many stores often affect growers negatively. They may not receive fair wages and have regular exposure to harmful pesticides. We can help others by purchasing only flowers that are Fair Trade Certified.

Whether you buy Fair Trade, or snip bouquets from your own backyard, you can feel good about bringing these beauties into your home.

If you’ve got the itch to try your hand at handmade, find what you need on Etsy. Be inspired by the sellers there, and then use the many resources available to get started making your very own scarf, scrapbook, jewelry and more.

Vintage Blue Glass Beads from beadbrats

Quilting Strips from QuiltPlay

Lace Trim by dishyvintage

Real Simple blogger Erin Doland talked recently about the benefits of taking a risk to unclutter. I like that. For many, uncluttering means admitting that we’re in over our head, we’ve acquired too much stuff, our schedule is too busy, etc, etc, etc. We forget that uncluttering can be freeing and can open doors to new possibilities and creativity. Clutter can be stifling.

With autumn around the corner, it’s a great time to consider what projects you may want to tackle while spending more time indoors. I’m not one for tackling indoor de-cluttering projects when the sunshine beckons, but take 10 minutes before bed one evening to jot down a few projects to try and tackle in the months ahead. And, set a deadline.

What’s driving me? The January deadline when baby is due to arrive.

The projects? Get the nursery ready, finish my backlog of travel scrapbooking, take any unused items in the house to Goodwill.

My college roommate gave birth to her first child this summer and asked me to create baby announcements. I was honored and delighted to be asked and LOVED creating these special cards for my dear friend. In keeping with my effort to use recycled or upcycled materials whenever possible, I kept the announcements simple with just a punch of color.

On side one, a baby carriage, using recycled scrap paper and vintage buttons…On side two, the big news and a photo of their bundle of joy!

Blissful Home gives a great example of how an item you have can live multiple lives with a little creativity. We all have furniture and accessories that have moved from room to room, been updated with a new color or slipcover, was a hand-me-down. If you’re like me, and on a decor diet, then coming up with new uses for something you already have FEELS like you’ve been shopping! Give it a try.

A plant stand…

As I enter a new decade, I’m going to work on learning to focus more on what’s important instead of focusing on filling every minute of every day with a schedule. I’m going to focus on family. I’m going to focus on being spontaneous and creative. I’m going to try new things and believe in myself more.

To celebrate my 30th birthday, I gave myself an hour all to myself tonight to focus on me. Taking a yoga class to refresh, stretch, relax, rest and daydream about becoming a mother and leaving my 20’s behind.

It was nice. And simple. Simply give to yourself a little bit of time every now and then.

With about a month of summer left, I’m trying to enjoy the sunshine and outdoors as much as possible. The colors and lifestyle of warmer months makes me smile so here are few handmade goods that make me think “the lazy days of summer”.

Ava bracelet by stylinstuff

Summer Dreams Lap Quilt (perfect for a picnic!) by lmkquilts

Taupe Swallow Jumper by designsbyamber

When I was younger I was always moving furniture around in my bedroom and reorganizing. I still do that, and consider it a simple pleasure to have a simple change at home to make things feel more fresh.

You don’t have to spend a fortune for a bathroom facelift. Check out how Design*Sponge added a splash of color to their medicine cabinet for a fresher way to start the day.

I love to scrapbook, especially to remember my travels. But scrapbooking tends to take quite a bit of time and I’m always behind by at least a year (right now, Prince Edward Island August 2008 awaits). So, when Melissa at The Inspired Room pointed me towards Martha Stewart’s memory jars, I had to share. LOVE IT! Throw in a postcard, a couple photos, sand, a stone from a special hike. This a quick way to remember a special trip or moment and would make a great gift too.

While I’ve tried to limit buying items in plastic, it’s inevitable in the grocery store. Here’s some inspiration on how to reuse some of the plastic bottles, from Crafting a Green World with 10 more projects here.