DIY Decorative Cards

These simple to make DIY decorative cards are a lot of fun to make especially kids. What you need: Plain cards folded in half or cardstock Shaving cream Food coloring Large bowls Masking tape Step 1 (masking tape the inside of the cards around the edges) Step 2 (put shaving cream in bowls and mix food coloring in it to make it swirly) Step 3 (dip the tops of the cards or the whold card into the shaving cream) Cards … [Read more...]

Clothespin Christmas Ornaments

With all the holiday hustle and bustle, I couldn't find time to post these simple do it yourself Christmas ornaments. They were fun to make and made cute Christmas package decor. What you need: Clothespins (2 different sizes) Hot glue Twine or string Supplies First Step (remove metal from the clothespins so one clothespin is in 2 pieces) Second Step (glue wood pieces together as shown in photo) Third Step (glue 4 set together like a cross) Step Four (continue glueing the sets in between each section) Step 5 (put a string, ribbon, or twine through one of the holes and tie in knot or bow) Step 6 (decorate stockings, packages, tree, or whatever else you like) … [Read more...]

DIY Flower Crown

Sophia recently had pictures taken for her theatre/dance team. One of the requirements for the pictures was that she wear a flower crown. I knew I could buy a flower crown. I looked on Amazon. I wasn't thrilled. I wanted the look of a simple crown with fresh flowers. I've always had the mindset that it's not that hard to make the things you envision; such as a flower crown. I envisioned a simple green leaf crown with some flowers on the side. Here is the recipe for a DIY flower crown. Step 1 Materials; either floral tape or floral wire, scissors or clippers, some sort of vine, your favorite flowers Step 2 Measure the person's head who will be wearing the crown with the piece of vine Step 3 Use the floral wire or floral tape to connect the ends together Step 4 Cut the stems of 3 of your favorite flowers. Wrap the floral tape around the ends. Step 5 Attach your flowers to the side of the crown with the floral wire or tape. It's that easy. More pictures of the finished DIY flower crown. DIY Flower Crown DIY Flower Crown Here's how it turned out on Sophia for her pictures DIY Floral Crown Another picture of Sophia with her beautiful flower crown DIY … [Read more...]

DIY Monogram Pillows Featured on Shutterfly

A couple months ago I was browsing through my gmail and came across a message from a Shutterfly marketing representative who asked permission for my DIY monogram pillows to be featured on Shutterfly. She said they would be featured on their monthly Shutterfly/ Tinyprints DIY Project Websites. "Of course," I responded. She wasn't sure what month it would be featured. Anyway, recently I decided to re-commit myself to my blog. It takes time on the back end to clean things up. I was going through comments and there it was; DIY monogram pillows featured on Shutterfly; https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/diy-home-decor/ It was a proud moment. Having a blog and committing to it is a lot of work. Most of the time it's rewarding & fun. However, there are times it feels discouraging. You have days you question what the heck you are doing. Being acknowledged by anyone let alone a huge company like Shutterfly gave me the inspiration I've needed to get back in the swing of things.   Simple to Make Monogram Pillows Monogramming pillows with paint turned out to be a simple project. Actually, I did it in bed last night before going to sleep. It was that easy. I had already covered two … [Read more...]

SECRET TO LASTING HYDRANGEA ARRANGEMENTS & SIMPLE DINING TABLE SET-UP

My mother is extremely creative, especially when it comes to flower arrangements and setting up dining tables and making them look simple yet pretty. She figures unusual things out too - like the secret to lasting hydrangea arrangements. She's like a Martha Stewart. I'm lucky she has taught me how to do many of the creative things she's good at. I'm not sure how she figured this one out but the way you make hydrangea arrangements last longer is by filling your vase with ice rather than water. I'm going to show you in a series of pictures how I made two arrangements with hydrangeas & ivy taken from the yard with bouquets of Alstroemerias and baby roses from Trader Joes. I also used some rocks for extra appeal and to cover the stems. Step 1: Unpackage your flowers and lay them out. Gather greens from the yard. They are great to use as filler. Get your vases together. I used 2 square vases from Target. You also need good clippers for cutting the stems and leaves. Step 2: Cut down the stems and remove all the leaves from the stems otherwise it looks messy. Removing the leaves, gives the arrangement a much cleaner look. Step 3: Answer to the secret to lasting … [Read more...]

Repurposed Book End into Seashell Door Stop

Have you ever thought to repurpose a book end into a seashell door stop? Probably not. Maybe you have - I did. I love seashells. I live by the beach and have a huge collection. We have a heavy dutch door that won't stay open when I want it to. Rather than a door stopper, the following is a simple, easy to do project that doesn't take a whole lot of time, comes out looking really cute and is effective. What You Will Need plain bookend 2. white paint 3. paint brush, 4. glue gun 5. seashells I painted the brown wood colored bookend white so any open space or crack between shells wouldn't stand out.As you can see, I did a quick paint job. It doesn't need to be perfect. Just give the end a quick coverage of white paint if your book end is a dark color.Use your glue gun to cover the end with shells.Here is how it came out. You don't have to use it as a door stopper. You can do two ends and use them for books.I like the book end used as a door stopper. It works very well.It would make a nice gift. It's fun to make things with shells. I have two other shell projects on the blog you can make if you like; a seashell wreath and driftwood crosses. Both projects are simple to make … [Read more...]

Sea Shell Wreaths

Seashell wreaths are another simple DIY project. I have a large collection of seashells from when I lived at the beach that I thought I would use to make seashell wreaths. I bought a couple of these wreaths at the dollar tree and simply hot glued seashells to it. I made one for my mom and one for a friend. They both live at the beach so seashell wreaths will be appropriate for their homes.   Step 1 First you will need to gather your materials. You need seashells. If you can collect the shells, great. If not, Amazon has a pretty good source; 200 piece seashell mix. You need a wreath or wreaths. I haven't found the wreaths I bought at the Dollar store in ages. Plus they weren't that great. I saw these wreaths on my favorite spot Amazon, 10" Grapevine Wreaths (3 pack) for $11.99. I love the darker brown color. I also used sea glass that can also be purchased on Amazon here. You will need a hot glue gun to glue the seashells and sea glass to the wreath. Obviously you do not have to purchase anything from Amazon. They will sell all these things at craft stores.   Step 2 Secondly, attach some sort of ribbon through one of the branches of the wreath for hanging … [Read more...]

Garden Style Flower Arrangements

If you like the look of unfussy garden arrangements, try mixing greenery from your yard with store bought flowers. In this example, I used flowers I bought from Trader Joe's and mixed in flowers and greenery from the yard. I gathered the flowers and greenery and cut the stems down short. I put a rubber band around the stems and placed in thrift store silver bowls. Gather Greenery and Flowers From Your Yard Flower Bouquets From Grocery Store Mix your Greenery and Flowers Together Cut Stems and Place in Bowls Display on Table I'm linking up with:  … [Read more...]

Wedding Favor Idea

I was browsing around on Pinterest last night and came across a couple great unique wedding favor ideas. It made me think of my own wedding and the favors we gave to our guests. They came out really great and I thought I would share them on here for any of you who are planning a wedding or know of someone who is. We used the gifts as name cards that we put on the menu of each place setting. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of how they looked at the place settings. There is something extra memorable about an occasion that sends you home with a special treat. These little boxes of flower seeds did the job.  Enclosed in the gift box were packets of flower seeds and this message: Love is the seed of all hope. It is the enticement to trust, to risk, to try, to go on. If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, then the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow. Plant these seeds in a sunny spot, water ofter and wait for the flowers to grow. Enjoy the beauty.   … [Read more...]

Craft Organization Inspiration

Do you ever feel like you need to organize your crafts? Do you think about what it would be like to have one place where you could put all your ribbon, wrapping, scissors, glue, stamps, paper, paint, and other craft items? This is how I used to feel. I wish I had the before picture of this closet but since I don't, you can imagine what it would look like. Basically it was  a standard closet with a hanging bar for clothes across the top. We built in shelves and table space to create a place to organize craft supplies. Baskets are hung on the inside of the doors to store supplies. A decorative wire rack for magazines, letters, and paper is hung on the other door. We're going to put cork on the inside of the doors to pin pictures up on. Plastic containers hold spools of ribbon, thread, buttons, stamps, and miscellaneous craft items. Boxes of stationary and more baskets for storage. More plastic containers for pens and other supplies. If you don't have an extra room for craft supplies, a closet is a good option. In a small area you can create many places to store your supplies.   Having a specific place where all your craft items are organized makes it fun to do projects. At … [Read more...]