bright shamrock shining behind the House Mates logo

3-17-24

What I Can’t Let Go Of:

Grandma inspires more modern day life hacks!

Did you miss last week’s life hack, compliments of my Grandma? You really must jump back and check it out. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you. Just click here to check out Grandma’s every day “tool” and my interpretation for today. Then hit your browser back arrow and I’ll be waiting for you right here.

I’m in DC right now visiting our daughter and our new-ish son. It’s Jon’s 40th birthday and Katie wanted to throw him a big celebration. Katie deputized a good friend to get him out of the house for a few hours, while a few of us transformed it. Time was critical.

collage of four images showing the steps of using a twist tie to thread wide ribbon through a small hole

I remembered this modern day hack of how my Grandma and Mom would use a thin wire needle threader, and how several years ago, I modified it to work for unruly twine and wide ribbon (as seen above).

This easy hack saved oodles of time making Katie’s party vision come to life.

Feeling the influence of these ladies in my life while scrambling to celebrate our new son**, was wonderfully joyful, For a moment I was saddened Jon never got to meet these wonderful women. And then it came home, that really we are all products of those who preceded, nurtured and guided us. So Jon has glimmers of them, a sense of them, through Katie and me.

On the Blog This Week

The above mentioned party and visit in DC is the reason The Weekender s coming to you on Sunday instead of the usual Saturday.

finished Spring wreath is hanging across a pair of double doors

Spring Wreath

Tuesday was the March gathering of The Handcrafted Society — a group of my crafting besties!

We all shared Spring Door Decor.

You don’t want to miss my split personality wreath. A wreath that pays homage to the garden tools and the outdoor toys that shelter behind those doors.

Yep, you’re right. That’s one wreath on two doors! How? Why?

You’ll want to see how I did this. It would work great on gates too.

Plus ten more charming Spring Doors to inspire you!


Grow Grass Indoors

It’s fast and easy and inexpensive — the trifecta of crafting!!!

All the tips, tricks and details are in the blog post. Great for Easter, but also Spring brunch, Mother’s Day, baby and bridal showers, opening of baseball season and many more.

looking down on Easter live grass centerpiece with strong sun rays shining on it

Coming Next Week:

A charming way to transform Dollar Tree foam bunnies along with Free printables.

As I mentioned, I’m out of town with our daughter and new son, helping them with some home projects before we welcome their little one come August. So this newsletter is short. I hope you all understand.

Lots of fun projects coming up.

As you probably know by now, I use some affiliate links in my newsletters and on the website. An affiliate link means that if you click on my link and purchase something, I may receive a small commission but you pay nothing extra.

I truly appreciate you using my links whenever possible!!!

Let me know, does the term In-law bother you too?

Or am I a crazy loaner in this department?

I hope you’ve been enjoying the weekend!!! Thanks for hanging out with me a bit,

round image of Diane smiling next to a Signature that reads: With Joy, Diane

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Diane Sudhoff
key with a tags that reads "Subscribers" Next to the words "Free Printables Library"
close-up of hand holding a cell phone mock-up of an order page on top of a collage of products
Heading that Reads: Most Popular Organizing Posts

Click Image to

Jump to  Post

view of storage tubs on rollers on a wall-mounted rack close to the ceiling
shelves holding shoes attached to the legs of a repurposed piano bench
closeup of layers of velvet lined jewelry trays in a dresser drawer
Inside of a well-organized kitchen pantry
bundles of faux flowers are stored on the side off a large painted HVAC system
Copyright © 2025 South House Designs