U is for Umbrella

We're down to the difficult letters in the ol' A to Z Challenge. 

I wrote about underwear when I did the A to Z in 2014. 

I took pictures of my cat from under a piece of glass while she sat on top of it for 2015.

Topping either of those topics would be nothing short of impossible, so I found a craft instead; in fact, it is a FIVE MINUTE craft. Here's the Pinterest pin:

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/
2015/08/diy-5-minute-umbrella-wreath.html
#.Vx1h-fkrLIV

This was the most expensive Pinterest challenge I have done to date, but it may be worth it. The supplies needed are an umbrella with a curved handle, artificial flowers, and ribbon. That's it. I found the umbrella at Target for $12.99, the flowers at Michael's for $7.99 per bunch (I bought four) which were 40% off AND I had a 20% off entire purchase coupon, and the ribbon was only $1.00 at Michael's.

The directions did not specify to do this, because most people know enough to do it without being told, but the first thing I did was cut the tags off the umbrella and flowers. This may not sound like a big deal to anyone else, but my family will tell you I am really, really bad about leaving price tags on things (my mother always called me "Minnie Pearl" because of it).

First, you were to prop the umbrella up so it would stand up straight. The pinner used a basket with blankets in it, but as I didn't have a cute basket handy with blankets casually placed in it, I opted for the closest thing I had, which was a large Rubbermaid tub filled with the contents of my pantry. (It's a long story, but suffice it to say a mouse was involved, and I have freeloading cats.) 

I guess you could say it was a silver lining
that I had this tub in my dining room that I
could use to hold the umbrella while I worked.

Tie the ribbon into a bow around the middle of the umbrella. This creates the "vase."

Wired ribbon. I forgot to take the umbrella
into Michael's to match to the ribbon and
was just lucky that it matched.

Stick Arrange the flowers into the top of the umbrella.

Those umbrella ribs WILL fight you.

Ta da! You're done.

Ooooooo!

It fell over THREE TIMES before I
could snap a picture.

Now hang it on the front door, IF you have a hook big enough for the umbrella handle to hook into (I didn't and had to improvise with a rubber band looped around the handle).

Can you tell it was a little windy?

I LIKE IT AND IT WAS THE EASIEST CHALLENGE YET!