Do-it-yourself projects and Home Decor
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. I will be taking the next little bit off from posting here on the blog. But I will be popping in on twitter, Facebook, and instagram. So I will see you back here in 2013!!! I am going to start the year off with a bang with my BIG family room reveal and the 2nd annual Best DIY Project of the Year CONTEST :) See you soon!
Last year I had “Home Depot Week” on my blog and I had so much fun with it that I decided to do it again :) Last year I debuted my first ever {spoof} music video. I also talked about toilets (yep, yep I did!) and what Home Depot and Kermit the Frog have in common.
Today lets chat about Holiday decor.
The Home Depot has a style guide out for the holidays. It is stunning as usual and chuck full of awesome ideas. See what I mean…..
I LOVE that they used decorative aluminum sheeting around the candles! So clever!
And these wreathes turned chandeliers are beautiful!!!
There are a ton more ideas in the Holiday Style Guide :)
Come back tomorrow because I am sharing my last Celebration of Service event of the year with you. This time, it was in my home town!
And if you missed it yesterday, the Home Depot is participating in a HUGE giveaway on my blog. So go enter!
The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Celebration
of Service Blog Network. As part of this program, I received compensation
for my time (ie. travel, accommodation). They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about
any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers
and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their
own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC
guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Hold on. Don’t go anywhere. Did the phrase duct tape scare you a little when paired with holiday decor? Cause I am not going to lie, when I was asked by Scotch Duct Tape to create something for the holidays with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape I was a little baffled as to what I could do. BUT after a little brainstorming, one idea lead to another and then another. And I am THRILLED with how my two projects turned out!!!
PROJECT #1
I have seen so many versions of Christmas trees made out of the styrofoam cones that I thought I would make my own version using duct tape!
Actually I made two different versions. The first one was two toned. And I unintentionally made a harlequin pattern. I thought it was fun! And I bet you could figure out how to make it a chevron pattern too.
Here is how I did it:
#1 Gather your supplies. I used a styrofoam cone from the craft store and duct tape. I also used scissors. I prefer to cut the tape instead of tearing it.
#2 I don’t work with styrofoam a lot and MAN! It is messy! So I covered the whole thing in a layer of duct tape mainly so it wouldn’t shed everywhere while I was working. But also it helped the other duct tape to stick better.
#3 Cut small pieces of duct tape (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches) Fold thetop edges in to create a point. ***If you always fold down the ripped or cut edge, then you piece will all be the same width. If you fold down the smooth, original edge they will not*** I learned that the hard way and if you look at my two toned tree you can tell they are different sizes.
#4 Start adding the pointed pieces to the bottom and work your way up. stack them off set like a brick pattern.
Project #2
My kids wanted a project they could do. But the tree projects took a long time (at least in kid time!) So this next project was born :) I took the same idea of folding the pieces of duct tape but added them to a styrofoam egg instead. It was much faster to make and it wasn’t as big of a deal if the points all lined up. Perfect for the kids to do!
For more project ideas follow Scotch Duct Tape on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!
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This post is a collaboration with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape. To see more creative projects, visit www.ScotchDuctTape.com.
I LOVE hearing about other people’s holiday traditions! I find it fascinating and it helps me get new ideas for my family. They can be something super simple or something with deep meaning. It could be a tradition your family has done for generations or something you yourself started for your little family.
So tomorrow I am going to have a linky for you to add your posts about Holiday Traditions! If you do not have a blog, you can leave your tradition in the comments.
I can’t wait to read them all!!!
I will leave the linky open for the whole month of Decemeber. So if you don’t have a post written yet, you can write one whenever works for you and then come link it up!
I have a confession to make. I have never done a tablescape before. A nice dinner at our house consists of non-paper plates and putting some candles in the middle of the table. I guess that is what I get for living with 5 boys :) So when Wayfair contacted me about doing a tablescape challenge I was really excited!
The way it worked was that I was sent a list of a dozen or so items and I was suppose to pick 5 of them to include in the tablescape. Here are the items I picked.
(3) Tablecraft Cake Stands, Lenox French Perle plates in white, and a David Shaw silver platter
I was tempted to rush out and buy new decor items, ribbons, etc. But them I realized that it just wouldn’t be “me” if you know what I mean. I like simple. I like rustic. And I like to reuse items I already have and incorporate nature.
Remeber when my tree fell over during a terrible wind storm this summer? I was devastated and also determined to use it for some projects so it would not be a total waste. Parts of the trunk work perfectly under the cake stands to give it texture and added height.
Fall is the perfect time to bring in nature!
I had so much fun pulling together the fall look that I decided to go ahead and do a Christmas table as well. With just a few changes it became a whole new look.
Not only did decorating for Christmas really throw my kids off, but they kept asking when I would be done so they could eat the cake :)
These wood candle holders are also made from the fallen tree. I used a 1 1/2 inch bore bit to hollow the log out enough to stick the candle in it. I love the contrast of the rustic candles on the shiny new platter.
How much do you LOVE these plates? These plates are my FAVORITE. I think they are perfect for any occasion and can be dressed up or down. I am so in love with them. I never got china for my wedding. My dad had passed away a few years before and things were tight. I have never been sad that I didn’t have nice plates until now. I think I might need to save up and get the whole set!!!
So are you the type of person who loves to go all out for holiday tables? I wasn’t in the past but I think I just became one……
I have a confession to make. When I joined the blogging world a few months back the whole “subway art” thing was going strong and I didn’t get it. In fact, it kind of annoyed me. BUT it has grown on me! A lot. And I have jumped on the band wagon so to speak. Jumped on and took over the reins. I have started making my own and I LOVE it!!!! I have a new addiction. Not only have I created this WINTER SUBWAY ART PRINTABLE for you, but I have also completed a VALENTINES DAY one and have several more in the works. Like little girl ones for their nursery or room, little boy ones, craft room ones, etc. I kinda went a little nuts!!! I’m addicted I tell you!
My printer is broken so I had my printed out at Walmart as a photo and I am loving it on the photo paper! It looks SOOOOO nice. So crisp and clean. I’ll take some pictures of it all framed and displayed tomorrow and get them posted.
Thank you to all you awesome followers :) You rock! I love being able to share things with you.
This is an 8×10 printable :)Just double click on the one you want. This will bring up just the picture at full resolution. Then right click it and choose “save as”. It will save to your computer and you can either print it at home or as a photo through a store.
Purple
Blue
Green
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I had an idea a few years ago to put vinyl lettering on some clear bulbs for my tree. It was a great idea except that the brown vinyl I chose didn’t show up very well against the dark green tree. So I thought about about it and came up with this. I hang them from the garland above my windows and then you can read them because they are against a lighter background. I love it! It is one of my favorite decorations to put up.
My neighbor was nice enough to let me use her machine to cut the vinyl. I picked words that reminded me of Christmas. I have 3 windows so there are 18 bulbs total.
I wish this picture showed how it really looks in real life. The simplicity is so pretty and you can read them easily. I know the picture doesn’t make it seem that way. Somedays I wish I were a better photographer. I guess I should say that I wish I had the TIME to LEARN to be a better photographer :) One day. . .
I hope you all are ready for Christmas. Because ready or not, it’s a comin’!!!
P.S. Come back tomorrow for my linky party!!! I want to see what you have been up to :)
I love topiaries! I knew I needed to make some for Christmas this year. These pine tree trees are easy to make and you will save money too :)
Here is what you will need:
drill, 1/16″ drill bit, plaster of paris, 4″ pots, burlap, sticks, glue, and fake pine branches.
The first thing you need to do is tape up the hole in the bottom of your pot. This way the plaster won’t get out.
Mix up the plaster directly in the post according to the directions on the package. Then put the sticks on the pots and let them sit for several hours until they have completely set up. I got my sticks in the backyard. I trimmed them off of one of my pine trees. Any stick would do. I cut them to be three different heights.
Drill holes in the top of each stick. The a few more at 45 degree angles just below the top of the stick.
I stripped the plastic off of the fake pine branches to expose the wire. Then I bent the wire in half until it snapped in half. If you have trouble breaking the wire you can use wire snips.
I put some glue on the hole before sticking the wire in it. Any glue would work.
Here they are all glued! Just play around with the location of the branches until it looks like what you want. The holes are small enough that if you choose not to use that hole, you can’t see it. No one will know :)
I used burlap but really you can use whatever fabric you want. Or, you don’t have to use any at all. You could add pebbles or moss to the pots to cover up the plaster.
Set the pot on the fabric and then bring all the side up around the stem. Since burlap frays so easily, I just pulled me of the strings and used those to tie the fabric. You could also use ribbon or jute.
I love these because they really could stay out all year, or at least all winter. Enjoy!
This a very special tradition in my family and it was started when my mom was a little girl. My mom grew up in a small Idaho town called Ririe. They were not very well off growing up and they usually only had one gift each for Christmas. They also didn’t have a fireplace. Since opening one present doesn’t take very long, my grandma came up with this idea to stretch out the fun. She had a small ceramic fireplace and she sewed four small stockings. On Christmas morning the kids would find a small piece of paper rolled up in their tiny stocking. It was a clue. One by one the kids found clues all over the house until they found their present.
When I was growing up, the small fireplace was passed down to my mom and we did the same thing at our house. We were fortunate enough to get more than one present, but the one from our parents was always the one that was the treasure hunt gift.
Now that I am grown and have my own kids, we carry on the tradition and do this at our house. My oldest sister got the original fireplace, so I made my own. I made it out of clay.
The clues would be anything from pictures of things in the house for when we were small, to a scripture verse, to an ad in the newspaper, and a show description in the TV Guide or even a word in the dictionary. It was so easy to silently solve the clues when it was a siblings turn but you turned instantly stupid when it became your turn. Seriously. That is why I don’t go on game shows. I know I would blank!!!
This was my favorite part of Christmas morning and now my kids look forward to it too :) Thanks for letting me share.
First before we get started with the tutorial, I have to tell you something. I went shopping today to get a few things. I hate shopping. I think I was at the second store before I realized that I had not washed off the giant blob of zit cream on my cheek. That’s right folks, I strutted my stuff around town in a tee shirt and old jeans, no makeup, yesterday’s hair do, AND zit cream covering a zit so big I could draw a face on it with a sharpie and call it my twin. And of course the stores were crawling with 20 somethings with perfect complexions, stylish clothing and tiny rear ends. Why am I even still getting zits??? I am 31 for crying out loud. Why do people lie and tell you you will grow out of it? That is just mean. (deep breath) Okay, on with the tutorial!!!
I didn’t time myself so for all I know each wreath took 7 1/2 minutes. It just sounded more catchy to say 5. It really was fast though. I love quick and cheap crafts! I bought 3 wreaths at the dollar store. They had bigger ones but because of where I was going to put them I needed them to be a little on the small side. I had pine cones from our backyard and I always have craft wire on hand. I used scraps of fabric. I ripped them into strips about 1 inch wide.
I tied the fabric on. I love the look of the rough edges.
Then I took craft wire and put it around the pine cone and then around the wreath and twisted it so the pine cone would stay on.
I used another strip of fabric to hang the wreath.
to create something for the holidays with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape I was a little baffled as to what I could do. BUT after a little brainstorming, one idea lead to another and then another. And I am THRILLED with how my two projects turned out!!!
