A Random Act of Kindness on the 10th

Today at Ten on the 10th we are sharing inexpensive  Random Acts of Kindness.

This idea is ridiculously simple. All it takes are a few dollar store bud vases, flowers from a grocery store bouquet, and a little stand to hold a note printed on cardstock.

I'm setting this up on a hall table in the assisted living home that my mother-in-law lives at. I hope her sweet neighbors will enjoy the surprise of finding fresh flowers to take to their apartments. Yes, I could hand the flowers out, but I love the anonymity of this plan. I don't want the recipients to thank me. The goal is to secretly add a little surprise happiness to someone's day.

Note to self:

Plant a cutting garden and start shopping for bud vases at garage sales.

Imagine how much random kindness ten bucks could spread!

Please stop by all the other inspiring Ten on the 10th posts!

Tammy at Patina and Paint

Patti at Pandora's Box

Stacey at Poofing the Pillows

Mary at The Boondocks Blog

Eilis at MyHeart Lives Here

Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable

Laura @ White Spray Paint

Katie at Let'sAdd Sprinkles

Carol at Bluesky at Home

Shipwrecked VBS- Imagination Station

Today is the fifth and final day of Vacation Bible School at our church.  I've enjoyed every moment of this fun week in "Imagination Station." The setting of this year's program is a jungle island where the crews have found themselves shipwrecked.  My station involves learning about Jesus and saints while doing awesome science activities.  The program we use is Group's - Shipwrecked - Rescued by Jesus (the Totally Catholic version). In decorating this classroom, I wanted to create the vibe of The Professor's hut on Gilligan's Island. The parrot puppet was an Amazon find.  One of the middle school volunteers enjoyed hiding behind the cardboard puppet theater to surprise the kids by saying each day's Bible theme.  I used grass skirts from the Dollar Tree to decorate the cardboard.

The borrowed paddles were made into a cross using "rope."  This is actually inexpensive cording from a fabric store.  I had the crates on hand.  The tiki torches were a Dollar Tree find.

The steering wheel is another borrowed goody. It came from a tug boat forty years ago.  When I first learned about this year's theme, I sent a sign up sheet around in my women's Bible study group with a wish list of items. Everyone came through with life jackets, shells, and more.

I created the "Jesus Rescues" life saver with a Dollar Tree float and some black alphabet stickers.

Each day I displayed a science board about that day's saint.  We also enjoyed informative daily visits from the saints.

This is the sloth sanctuary, which is part of the Shipwrecked program.  The cute little sloth is laying in a hammock made from a Dollar Tree fishing net.

The background wall is covered in a leaf patterned bulletin board paper from Hobby Lobby.  My daughter and I went a little crazy hanging vines on the ceiling.  We also covered the floor with tarps for a sandy look. I stapled grass skirts to a strip of balsa wood for the hut ceilings.

This map is the sign near the door.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour.  Wish me luck taking it all down after tonight's final session!

A Babbling Bird Bath and Other Summer Favorites

This my new little pride and joy.

The bird bath (without the fountain) was found at At Home (79.99).

Not wanting to breed mosquitos, I added a little solar water fountain.

It was purchased through Amazon for under fifteen dollars. 

This is an affiliate link.  If you use it to make a purchase, 

I will be compensated but your price will not be affected.

It works well in full sunlight.  Once the sun goes down (or disappears behind a tree), the fountain stops immediately.  (There is no battery or power cord.)  This is not a problem for my purposes.  It's kind of fun to look out the window and see if it is on or not at different times of day.

I tried each of the three different nozzles included with it.  They worked TOO well in my sunny front yard.  In a matter of moments all water had sprayed out of the bowl.

Leaving the water spout uncapped solved that problem, and I enjoy the way it babbles.

There are little suction cups on the bottom of the solar fountain, however I find it is easier to just let it float around in the water.  Have I seen a bird use it yet?  No.

But it adds some lovely movement to the flower bed on a hot afternoon.

I am also enjoying these African Daisies.  They take the heat and so far don't seem to attract rabbits. Those little boogers fellows are really munching most of my flowers this year.

I won't show you pictures of the floral carnage.  

Here are some of the successes. 

My new dwarf butterfly bushes are doing their job.

New and old Lantana plants are growing happily side by side.  I was impatient for the orange ones to come back after the winter freeze.  Funny enough, now they are much bigger than the pink ones I planted this spring.

Have a wonderful day!

Joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Wall to Wall DIY

Ten on the 10th - Flower Edition

Welcome to Ten on the 10th. Today I'm sharing flowers for under $10.

Flowers that never wilt.

Flowers that the rabbits don't eat.

Flowers that look cool and refreshing on a hot day.

This sleeveless blouse was $9.99 at H&M.

I packed it for a recent trip to Northern California.  

It was virtually wrinkle free and didn't take up much space in my suitcase.

The fabric is a bit sheer, so a layer under it is a must.

Here I am enjoying the beautiful beach at Carmel-by-the-Sea while wearing it. And these are a few of the other beautiful things I saw.

Amazing Redwood trees,

Enchanting cottage gardens,

and the San Francisco Botanical gardens. My batteries are completely recharged from my four days in California.  While there, I rented a car to visit the neighborhood of my childhood. Our family moved from that area forty years ago.  Some things had changed greatly over that time, and other things seemed just like they had been the last time I saw them.  I was tickled to see some children's bikes (complete with handlebar tassels ) parked in front of my childhood home. So glad that some other lucky kids are growing up there. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Be sure to check out all the other Ten on the 10th June inspirations.

Tammy at Patina and Paint

Jane atCottage at the Crossroads

Patti atPandora's Box

Stacey at Poofing the Pillows

Mary at TheBoondocks Blog

Eilis at MyHeart Lives Here

Kim atExquisitely Unremarkable

Jemma - At Home WithJemma

Katie at Let'sAdd Sprinkles

Carol at Bluesky at Home