Here’s what “fell” out of my tree:

Christmas Wreath

Christmas Bough

In total I ended up with four of the lowest (and biggest) branches to play with.  Here is all you need to transform your extra branches into beautiful decor: 2 Wire Hangers, Pruning Sheers, Wire Cutters, and Green Wire.  That’s it!

2 Wire Hangers, Green Wire, Wire Cutters, & Pruning Sheers

The green wire I have shown is 20 gauge and easy to manipulate, floral or other easily bendable wire will also work.  If you have a wire wreath form floating around, omit the wire hangers.  Now, shape the hangers into a rough circle, line up the hooks, and using the green wire secure at the top, bottom, & sides of the circle.  I found it hard to even see the hangers anymore once the wreath was done, but if you’d like wrap the hangers with green floral tape.  Now clip one branch at a time into 10″-12″ lengths and secure to the wreath form you just created with the wire, overlapping the ends of each length.  Continue doing this until the wreath is as full as you’d like.

Now it’s time to decorate!  I had these clip on decorations from my usual grapevine wreath.  I got them at Michaels.  You could spice yours up using ornaments, bows, pine cones, or lights.  Whatever you have around the house or find in the yard even.

Here are a few inspirational ideas:

I really love the use of different plants for varying texture in all of these wreaths.  For more tips and how to add live plants to a wreath check out this article on Apartment Therapy.

My wreath took less than an hour to put together and I had enough branches left over to put together the bough on my front step.  I couldn’t believe how easy (and cheap) this was to put together!  Literally, this was free!  Now go make something beautiful!

I like to add at least one new decoration to my holiday collection every year.  It is too expensive to buy it all at once!  This year I made a Paper Star Garland and I’d love to share this cute little DIY decoration with you today.

First you’ll need the template!  I cut these out with my Silhouette, but they could easily be cut out by hand.

Grab this template and scale it to the size you want.  I used a 4″ star and a 2″ star.  Cut along the solid lines and score along the dotted lines.  Cut out 2 for each finished star and glue them together with the tabs.  Once they’re glued you can push them together to get the 3-d shape.  You should end up with a pile of stars like this.

I made 8 large stars and 4 smaller stars for a 6′ length of garland.  Next measure the length of intended span and add a few inches for slack.  For instance, my window is approximately 5′-6″ so I added another 6″ to allow for a bit of slack in my garland.  Now cut out double that length for the rope or twine, I cut 12′ of twine.  Tie the two loose ends together so you end up with a doubled over 6′ length of twine with a loop on each end.  I hang mine by looping each end over a thumbtack, preferably the same color as your molding or clear to not draw attention to them.

Hang up your twine at this stage to make sure the length is right and make any adjustments necessary.  Trust me you want to do this now before the stars are added.  Now back to the stars!  I cut out 6″ of twine for the larger stars and 18″ for the smaller ones, but make this your own, keeping 6″ as a minimum.

Once you have them all stung through (broaden the hole on the little stars if need be), tie them off where you would like them to meet the rope.  Don’t tie them too close to the star because you want it to dangle.  For the larger stars I tied them off roughly in the middle and for the smaller stars I tied them off closer to the loose ends so they would hang farther down.

Now take your long length of twine down and lay it out on a table or the floor.  Take your stars and space them out along your twine.

Now keep an eye on your helper.  They might steal one of your cute stars or try to run off with the string entirely.  SO very helpful!

Now once your helper is wrangled, and your stars are arranged as you like them it’s time to tie them off!

Finish with a little bow or just a knot, it’s up to you!  Once you’re done tying them all to the twine you can hang and enjoy your beautiful work!

My wedding china is beyond gorgeous and getting to use it is always special. One of my favorite colors is royal blue and I always always loves blues and golds together. Naturally, picking these William Yeoward plates for our registry was an easy one!   

Instead of doing a traditional tablecloth for Thanksgiving, I opted for something different. I headed to Michael’s Arts and Crafts nearby and found white foam mats that resembled placemats, bought royal blue construction-style paper, gold pens, gold and blue glittery pens, and craft glue. 

In some random brainstorm moment it hit me that I wanted to do each placemat custom for each guest. The placemat be a continuation of the china pattern and be painted on with gold pen, glitter, etc. Each design would be different and I would also write each guests name on the mat, replacing the need for a separate name card.

These took about 30-45 minutes each and are completely reusable! I stenciled an outline of a fork and knife on each setting for a unique twist and something different. Our family members loved this personalized and totally crafty touch to an otherwise traditional holiday.

In setting the stage for a perfectly romantic dinner for two, you can do the exact same concept for your loved one. If you have china you love but never get to use, pull it out. If you don’t have fancy china, you can always go to a second hand store and see if there are some reasonably priced pretty plates. If that isn’t in your budget, borrow from mom or another family member. Michael’s is an excellent source for the right types of paper and if you desire locating cushy foam mats.

All you need to do is pick you two or three colors based on the actual plates and begin your creative design on what feels elegant to you. If glitter seems a bit over-the-top to you, opt for colored .05 waterproof pens or even getting a selection of liquid calligraphy ink and pens or brushes. Don’t stress about this. It is meant to be fun, freeing, and light-hearted.  If you have any questions or want to run ideas by me for your perfect romantic table for two, ask away amy@linxdating.com

My music selection is Chris Botti- When I Fall In Love. 

There is a very old fireplace in our office too which is filled with large candles on sparkly bases with red and silver ornaments on the floor of the fireplace. As a non-funtional fireplace, this provides the ultimate way to light a room up and create a magical look without polluting the air! Candied faux berries fall gracefully over the fireplace with two handmade stockings ready for santa on either side. Vintage shabby chic-esque books, painting, stocking holders, and paper ornaments saying “peace” and “hope” line the mantle. We receive an over-the-top floral display every couple of weeks from the city and this weeks arrangement stands about 5 feet tall with orchids, red berries, and many other colorful branches.   Such a beauty! 

]]> http://imjustaftonsmom.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/another-felt-flower-wreath-fall-themed/ Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:06:23 +0000 writerofthereal http://imjustaftonsmom.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/another-felt-flower-wreath-fall-themed/ I just got done making a Fall felt flower wreath for my brother’s girlfriend and I really liked how it turned out, so I thought I would share it. I have to admit that when she brought over the materials I wasn’t in love with the colors she picked (bright orange, white and deep red). I actually thought they were ugly, but hey, I wasn’t going to have to look at it everyday, right?

This one is going to be short and sweet…I didn’t take any “before” or “during” photos while I was making this one. I banged it out in one evening and this was the result:

Fall 18″ Wreath

Felt flowers up close

If you like what you see…check out my Etsy shop and convo me for a custom wreath of your own! http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyHeartFelt

Tip #1: Natural decorations

A perfect way to decorate is by using seasonal accents founds in nature. Think twigs, red berries and greenery. These items can be artfully arranged in something like a vase, or perhaps across a mantel. Natural decor does not go out of style.

Tip #2 Gourds

So gourds are super popular during Thanksgiving, I mean who can forget the cornucopia full of goodies on the Thanksgiving day table? ( Okay Hunger Games: did anyone else imagine a giant cornucopia as in Thanksgiving cornucopia when it was referenced? Hope it wasn’t just me!) But just as popular as they are for fall, they transition well into Halloween. All you need is spray paint and/ or glitter! Display them au naturale during Thanksgiving and then throw some gold on them for Halloween and put ‘em outside!

Tip #3

Invest in a good wreath.

Don’t spend extra money purchasing a different wreath for each holiday. Buy One, just one. One that incorporates seasonal colors like reds, greens, burnt shades, and even gold. That way when you put it on the door in September, you don’t have to take it off until February!

Tip #4

Gold Spray Paint

Gold Spray Paint can transform anything, and goes for any holiday. An example of how great gold spray paint is.. take acorns. Normally they are boring. But spray ‘em gold.. put them in a vase, add some twigs, bam holiday.

Tip #5

Ribbon.

Ribbon like gold spray paint can be used to transform anything into something holidayish. It’s an inexpensive way to transition through as well. For example if you keep fresh flowers around the house a simple way to make it a little more festive is through your vase. Wrap your vase in holiday inspired translucent ribbon. Quick, easy, stunning and its cheap to change out ribbon colors based on the holiday you are celebrating!

Happy Decorating,

Brit

Here is what you need:

• Glue gun
• Ornament (snow man, trees, little house, anything that makes sense in a snow globe works)
• Sugar
• Glitter (optional)
• Mason jar

Here is what you do:

1. Hot glue gun the ornament to the inside of the mason jar top.

2. Add sugar (and a little glitter if you chose) to the mason jar.

3. Once glue has dried, put top on so ornament is hanging upside down, then flip the jar so the sugar is resting on the bottom.

What you’ll need:

• wire or foam wreath base (any craft store will have it)
• glue gun
• fabric/flowers/ornaments (whatever your little heart desires)
• Floral wire or plain old fishing wire

Directions:

Depending on the wreath you are making, use the wreath wire as a base and start adding your material with the floral wire until desired fullness.  Use glue to secure loose pieces and voila!

This DIY was inspired by the Anthropologie Holiday Edition Magazine I received in the mail and as usual love everything in it! I was instantly drawn to the delicate new take on the classic Snow Globe; the perfect Holiday decor piece and tag along gift for anyone you adore!

What you need:

• Mason jar(s) from Goodwill
• Super glue or hot glue gun
• Mini decorative Christmas tree from Crafts store
• Faux snow from Crafts store
• Glitter
• Add ons: Multiple sizes of mini xmas tress, pine cones, other holiday figurines.

How to:

• Take the top off the snow globe. The top will act as the “ground” for your scene.
• Glue down the figurines or trees.
• Glue the faux snow around the scene. Let scene dry
• Put some glitter in the bottom on the mason jar
• Fill with water leaving about an inch from the top. This is dependent upon how full your scene is!
• Glue around the inside of the lid, quickly screw on lid with scene submerged in water
• Admire!!!!!

This is a great project to do with kids! And don’t limit it to just one globe, create an entire winter wonderland using differing sizes of jars! Perfect!

Enjoy,

Brit

Today’s Unique Find is…

DIY Holiday Decor

TodayI..am inspired to do some crafting this Christmas. We’ll see how it goes! I doubt I’ll have time, but will definitely have to MAKE time to experiment with these fun DIY projects. DIY projects are so big these days and I like them a lot because usually they are WAY cheaper and more unique looking at the end of the day. It’s so much fun when someone compliments your decor and you can say “Oh yah, I made that!” Here are just some I found throughout the blog world:

 DIY Lanters from a case of the mundays on flickr

Mini Christmas Tree Crafts by Melisa from Pie N the Sky

posted on A fabulous fete

 Handmade Christmas tree art from The Other White House

 Vintage Inspired Ruffled Wreath (made from old book pages) from Project Wedding

 Mitten Tags from Design Sponge

]]> http://littlemiss312.com/2011/11/28/easy-and-inexpensive-tips-for-holiday-decor/ Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:14:40 +0000 Jessica Howells http://littlemiss312.com/2011/11/28/easy-and-inexpensive-tips-for-holiday-decor/ I love this time of year. Chestnuts roasting, children caroling and magic in the air. Yeah freakin’ right! Try stress-riddled, sleep-deprived, broke people, who would rather eat coal than sit down to a big family dinner. Try snotty-nosed children begging for obscenely expensive gifts they likely don’t deserve (naughty list anyone?). And as for magic? I caught my parents complaining about “who’s going to be santa this year” when I was 7 – secrets out. I don’t know if it just comes with age but it seems that year after year people lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas (err Chanukah, kwanza, whatever…) The glue that holds it all together is festive decoration…and maybe a little “All I want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey (you know you love it). Here are a few tips for upping the cheer this year and keeping it on budget.

1. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman – There’s no classier, cheaper decor than nature itself. Pine cones, sticks, pine sprigs. Turn it into a date or get some friends together and go for a nature walk to gather your materials. Here are a few ideas of what you can do to get you started…

2. Reuse, recycle, re-purpose. Wine bottles, cereal boxes or pistachio nut shells, the options are endless. Below I have wine bottles that have had the bottoms cut out and simply put a candle inside. Or cut a cereal box and form it into a cone securing with tape. Decorate with household materials and voila – you have a unique Christmas tree ornament. And maybe my favorite of all, the pistachio nut shell mistletoe

3. Light up my life. A string of lights or candles are a very easy way to decorate for the holidays. It is a small detail but you will be amazed how much it alters the ambiance of a room.

4. FYI, DIY! Hit up your local craft store and go crazy! They have so many fun projects this time of year. Here are a few that caught my eye that I would love to try…an ornament tree, tulle Christmas tree, or a personalized stocking holder.

5. Eat your heart out – Who says you can’t play with your food? Or at least decorate with it…

7. If you like then you shoulda put a wreath on it. Channel your inner Beyonce! A wreath is such an easy way to update your decor for the holidays. Hang it over a mirror or replace a picture for a few months. You can always buy one but the DIY versions are so cool in my opinion….

I found this iron Noel sign at pottery barn for $150.  I loved the seamless-ness of the letters, and the simplicity of the design.  But, I had to find a cheaper way to make the sign if it was going to grace my apartment with its presence.

I was pretty certain I could recreate the sign using wood, and paint.  Since I was already planning a trip to visit my grandparents, I would have access to pretty much any tool I could want - since I, myself, don’t own a saw.

After a trip to hobby lobby, I decided that I couldn’t cut corners and just buy pre-cut letters and glue them together if I wanted the seemless effect pottery barn created.  So I went back home, and created a “stencil” – aka. I printed off letters (Times New Roman!) and taped them together. I thought about using a different layout or even word, but the crooked o is what made me fall in love, so I decided not to change anything.

I used a black marker to thicken some of the letters, because I didn’t want them to break while I was cutting.

My plan was to cut the letters out and trace them onto the wood, but my mom suggested just taping them on and cutting over the paper, which is what I ended up doing, and it worked perfectly!

I used a pretty large piece of plywood (don’t use plywood, use real wood) – which had to be cut into a smaller section so I could move it around.

Using a large drill bit – we drilled holes through the inside of the letters, so I would have a place to stick the saw and start cutting from.

Then all that was left to do was start cutting! I used a saber saw for the first NOEL (notice I said first!), and moved up to a jig saw for the rest.  I asked my grandpa if I needed a supervisor while I was cutting, and he said “nope, you can cut yourself, but you can’t cut anything off” which apparently means I wasn’t going to get any help, and to start cutting!

After 30 minutes of cutting, I was starting to realize why pottery barn was charging $150 for each sign…

After making all the cuts, I had to sand, and sand, and sand some more. And then while I was painting, the still wet NOEL fell off the balcony – seriously.  So I had to wait until it dried over night, and sand and paint again.  And now I hate sanding.

But finally, for the cost of nothing (free wood, I owned the paint, primer, and wall mount I screwed in the back), and A LOT of hard work, you get…

Love it! I made the mistake of making this in front of my family – which means I now have to make 8 EIGHT! more.  I’ve enlisted some help, so hopefully we can crank them out in a couple of hours.  The new ones will be real wood and stained so you can see the wood grain- I’ll post a picture when they’re completely done.

Anyways.  The EASIEST Christmas decoration idea ever. Ever.

I recently purchased some decorative candles because someone (nick!) burnt the decorative candles in all of our vases, so it was the perfect time to try creating the “snowy candles” I found here.

Aren’t they pretty!

All you need is – a candle, epsom salt, Elmer’s glue, and water

No you don’t need to spend $10 on mod podge, just mix some Elmer’s Glue (or another permanent glue – not washable kid’s school glue) with a little water, and coat the outside of the candle with the mixture.

Then, roll the candle in the epsom salt, completely coating the outside.  The white glue will dry clear.

Easy peasie!

I need to stop taking pictures at night, and with my phone, so you can see the actual colors, but you get the idea!

First up, two mini Christmas trees I saw made on another blog (I can’t remember which one though, so if you’ve seen them before please comment so I can give credit where credit is due!)

I started both trees by making a tree base using 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, and cutting the bottom flat.  I recently purchased a roll of twine ($4 at Lowes), which I used to stick through the tiny hole at the top of the paper tree.

I pulled the twine down, and taped it to the inside of the paper so that you wouldn’t be able to see the “start” of the twine on the outside.

All that was left to do was to start wrapping!  I got about a fourth the way down and decided that I wanted to use white paper instead of black – since you could see tiny bits of it through the twine, so I started over, AND used glue to hold the twine in place.

After twentyish more minutes of wrapping…

LOVE IT!  The best part is all of the texture the twine creates.  It is going to look great paired with some white ceramic trees from goodwill.

Next up…a “Birch” Christmas tree. I love how the bark on birch trees peels off – plus the coloring is very pottery barn classy - which is my goal with these trees.  I started by pouring the leftover coffee on some cream-colored scrapbook paper, and letting is soak for a few minutes.

Then, because I have no patience, I stuck the paper in the oven to dry it. I am NOT recommending this – I know it’s (probably) a fire hazard – so don’t blame me if you try it and burn your house down! With all that said, I would do it again because of the grill effect lines the oven created :)

I then got comfy on the couch, and got to work ripping the paper into small rectangles to glue onto to the paper “frame” mentioned above. I curled the end of each piece with my fingers, and then glued it on.

Turn on HGTV – this takes a while!  As you can tell by the pictures… by the time I finished it was night-time. Which is also why the pictures are yellowish..

Finallllyyy…

I can’t wait to put these out! Ah Natural decor!

The first project I found was this ornament wreath from eddieross.com.  I wasn’t really digging the Eastery colors, but I loved the idea!  The only problem was – it was the beginning of September, and beside Garden Ridge (which is 2 hours away) I couldn’t think of a place that would have ornaments…so I bookmarked the idea and forgot about it.

Forgot about it until today that is!  The Dollar Tree has its christmas ornaments out! Woop.  So I cleared the shelves of red, green, silver, and gold ornaments (and a $1 porcelain pumpkin) and headed home.  Okay, I didn’t clear the shelves – but I did buy $20 worth of these tubes of ornaments :) Sorry babe!

I still have a few wire hangers stolen from my parents, so I got to work bending the hanger into a circle.

The directions say to hot glue the tops of the ornaments on, but since I’m using plastic ornaments I wasn’t too worried about the ornaments falling off and shattering, so I skipped this step.  All that’s left to do was slip the ornament on the hanger through the little hole thingy at the top.

Now I knew these would take a lot of ornaments – but I didn’t realize just how many I would use!  Let’s just say I had to revisit the Dollar Tree 30 minutes later to buy more ornaments!  The check out lady was all “Oh, you’re back”  The enthusiasm was just oozing out of her.

Anyways, $30 later I have two Ornament wreaths I love! Guess what you’re getting for your door Mom! Surprise :)

But back to why I’m thinking about Christmas already.  Christmas is the busiest time of the year, and since we have NO Christmas decorations, I figured I better get started on slowly making some holiday decor now.  I was actually looking for something I could spray or paint on gourds (since we bought some at the local farmers market and I don’t want them to rot before Thanksgiving) and I somehow landed on the blog BowerPower, and found these adorable ornaments.

Since Michael’s recently had a sale on their clear river rock/glass rocks for the bottom of vases for 99 cents a bag, I had a couple bags of red, green, and clear rocks that I was thinking about putting in vases for the holidays.  All I needed were some clear ornaments and I was set. (I used plastic ornaments because I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even get the glass ones home before I broke them).

All that was left to do was turn on the Lions game (Nick did this, don’t worry Mom, I still could care less!) and start hot gluing.  I was a little worried that the hot glue would melt the ornaments, but it wasn’t a problem.

I started with two clear ornaments, and decided I liked them enough to try green and red.  I glued the tops on, but I’m not sure why, it’s not like these babies could ever hang on a tree!

The clear ones are currently sitting on the bookshelf – they would make a good paper weight, and the red and green ones are stored away waiting for Christmas!

I think it runs in his genes.  Nick’s mom is amazing at decorating, and since she had four boys (for real!) one of them had to be good at decorating right?!  Neadless to say, I put his decorating skills to work.  It’s pretty much his job to decide were to hang or put the crafts and home decor I make, since if it was up to me I might have an apartment that looks like a college dorm.

But you want to know the best thing?  His eyes don’t glaze over when I talk to him about DIY crafts! I know, where did I find him right?!  He listens, and even gives me ideas to try.  When I decided I wanted to start holiday crafts (its September) he didn’t even bat an eye.  How did I get so lucky?  And when I handed him a christmas ornament I’d just made because I couldn’t watch the Lions game anymore he looked at it DURING THE GAME! Woop.