Our cheap and easy Thanksgiving door hanger

David really wanted to get a fall wreath for our door. I was feeling crafty and said, 'I can do it myself! Why buy a pre-made one??' So we found this cute little door hanger basket at Michael's along with a lot of super cheap fall decorations. So after a few times of throwing this basket against a wall, David and I finished our little Thanksgiving door hanger.
 
What you need:
1. A bunch of fall flowers and picks. Remember: It's not fall without a pumpkin in there somewhere.
2. Some cute little owls with glue cobwebs hanging from their eyes (that’s how you know you got a good deal).
3. A twiggy basket that will poke your fingers 1,000 times.
 
What to do:
Step 1: Just throw everything in the basket. DO NOT cut the flowers at all. Just stick it all in there and call it a day. No need for glue or floral foam.
Step 2: Throw it against the fall a few times because you don't like it.
Step 3: Let your husband do it. He'll cut the flowers and place them like so. Ta-da!

How to make mini treat pennants

To show my love of pennants, I created this simple DIY for mini ribbon pennants to stick in brownies, cupcakes and other party treats. Here's what you'll need: toothpicks, 1/2" wide ribbon, tissue paper, tape and glue.

How To:
1. Cut your tissue paper into 1" by 2" rectangles. 
2. Fold it in half, then half again, then half again. Cut along the seam and well as down the center. Don't cut all the way through, you want to leave a little bottom strip to wrap around the toothpick.
3. Open it up and cut the middle any strips that you didn't get. There should only be one or two. You should have little fringey strips.
4. Wrap the bottom of the strip around the toothpick and secure with a little bit of tape.
5. Take your ribbon and cut a 3" strip.
6. Fold in half and cut a "V" through both ends at once to make a pennant shape.
7. Stick your toothpick in the center fold of the ribbon and glue.

Ta-da! You have a simple cute little pennant for your treats.

I made these brownies from the recipe in March's Food Network Magazine's chocolate issue. You can find them in their 50 Brownies special mini mag or online. They are toffee brownies.

And you can't have a treat party without a troll doll. I actually have two. But, the other one didn't bother to rsvp.

Pennant Love-DIY Friday

Guess what? More pennants! Today's DIY Friday features some beautiful pennant tutorials using pennant big and small made out of paper and fabric. Next week I'll have my own little tutorial on cute cupcake ribbon pennants. In the meantime, I've featured a great little paper one.

1. une deux senses 2. martha stewart 3. wedding chicks 4. adelyn stone 5. two crafty sisters

Clever and quirky Valentines-DIY Friday

Today I want to share some offbeat handmade Valentines. I'm not one for sappy so I'm much more likely to give out one of these clever little things.

1. sherelle christensen 2. twig and thistle 3. ohhappyday 4. design mom 5. design dazzle

Valentine's gifts for him-DIY Friday

I'm still not 100% sure of what I'm doing for my husband David for Valentine's Day. I have one idea that I will share with you next week. And it's hilarious. Or maybe a little head-scratching. You be the judge. Still, I need something to go with it. Something a little more special and less funny. Here's some ideas for this week:

Baking him something (Or buying him these from Janjoupatisserie and pretending I baked them-gorgeous!). Check out Kinga's beautiful macarons and ask her for the recipe. Also, check out some cute heart shaped red velvet whoopie pies.

 Or a creative Valentine's crayon card that appeals to his kid at heart.

And I LOVE this Valentine's fort from design sponge. This is amazing! I'm not sure I have the energy for it this year, but next year I'd really love to do this. I'd go a little simpler and inexpensive. But, I love the idea of this and having a little picnic inside. I think it calls for hummus, falafel and some spiced hot tea (spiked of course).

This idea is great for David's desk at work. If it wouldn't embarrass him. I'm not sure. But, I love it. It's also from designsponge. They have amazing idea that put all mine to shame.

Want some ideas that you don't have to make? Check out these lists:

The Urban Gentleman

Washingtonian

Glamour

Etsy

Engaged Marriage

Updating a lamp with stencils

We got a lovely new duvet and pillows for our bed as part of our wedding registry. It was quite a change to the look of our bedroom. We went from dark jewel tones to a bright, cheery and (gasp!) white bedspread. Now, my red and black bedside table lamp doesn't really coordinate. For Christmas, I got this lovely stencil from my mother-in-law. So, instead of buying a whole new lamp, I'm going to update it to coordinate with our new decor.

Our new duvet set (and my lemur with glow in the dark eyes...that never turn off):

The lamp (aaaand now nothing else in the room is red):

The stencil:

The process:

First, tape the stencil to the surface. This helps secure it, but you still want to hold the stencil taut during small details.

Then paint. I just used a regular ol' acrylic paint. I used gold. Think about how your colors with layer on your surface.

First one done. Next, I'm going to go all the way around with the stencil as well as paint the top and bottom edges.

But, this lamp isn't done yet! I'm going to paint the base (probably gold) as well as paint these Ikea end tables cream or white. I'll share the finished pics later.

Valentine's Day DIY Friday

I'm pretty excited about this Valentine's Day. We're going to a restaurant in Chicago that I've been wanting to try for so long. It's called Carnivale. This was going to be David's surprise that I ruined by saying, "Let's go to Carnivale for Valentine's Day!" So, I've got to come up with something good for him. That's not cheesy. Here's some cute crafts I've found so far in my search:

bhg 

I think a Valentine's basket with your own special printable labels is an excellent idea.


Lots of yummy heart shaped recipes.

A sweet fabric Valentine book.


David doesn't really want a pillow. But this is so cute.

And I will definitely be going with a handmade Valentine's card.

What I got for Christmas (part 1)- DIY digital picture frame

David got me a digital picture frame for our wedding pictures. He made it special with some little DIY additions! He's got my fever now! Muhaha!

First, he covered the frame with a dark metallic gray (my favorite color!) cardstock. Then he used a gel pen to write some of our favorite places, experiences and just things that are special to us (like the scary giant black crane from David's beach night wedding proposal in Florida). He also added some of the leaf ribbon we used on our wedding invitations as a border and attached a purple flower like the ones at our wedding.


This was probably the sweetest and most thoughtful gift he's ever given me (and he's very good at that!). He also picked out a cute little bird stand to put it on since he knows my love of birds. Thanks honeybear! You're the best husband I've ever had (even if I've only had one)! Love you!

Saying goodbye to winter...DIY Friday

Yeah, so winter isn't really over yet. But, here's a few fun winter DIY's to do right now and then I'll focus Valentine's day and getting ready for spring, yay!

 

Martha always gets it. I love these snow globes. I'm making these for next Christmas...if I remember.


Another cute kid-friendly do-it-yourself snow globes.


A fun way to preserve your memories for next New Year's: cookie tin time capsule. I always loved doing the time capsules in school.

Anything with oreos is okay in my book. Here's some yummy and easy peppermint cookie bark.

 And I can't get over how extremely adorable these polar bear cookies are.

How to make flocked Christmas decor-DIY

I love the look of those bright fuzzy retro ornaments and figurines. So, I was ecstatic to find flocking powder at Michael's. And you know I love some glitter, so I got some of that too. And I made these little retro inspired guys:

These are those cheap little plastic toys for children that I jazzed up for Christmas. They came from Michael's. They have all different sizes. I chose four small ones: a lamb, seal, polar bear and hare. I liked the interesting shapes and heights on these guys.

How to make glitter and flocked animals:
1. Paint the animals all white with acrylic paint. You don't want any peek-through of the color underneath. And trust me, it will. 

2. After they are dry, use a paint brush to put a fine layer of clear glue on one side of the figurine.
3. Sprinkle the glitter or flocking powder generously on top. I used the Recollections brand. The glitter is called Snow and the flocking powder is Cherry.

4. Let dry and repeat on the other side.


These are adorable as a little mantle setting all on their own or with some moss or fake snow. I'm going to use them in our Christmas village next year. These would also make some great ornaments and a fun kid's craft.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone! This will be my last post until 2012. See you next year!

Homemade holiday gift tags

Well, you already got a sneak peek at my gift tags yesterday on the wrapped presents. But, I had made a couple more that I didn't have on those packages. I absolutely loved making the gift tags because they took seconds and I like them so much more than the pre-printed ones I used to buy. It also helps that I have one of these:

from Joann

This was the first time I used it and it worked wonderfully! This is the Martha Stewart Scallop Tag Craft Punch. It's definitely worth it if I don't have to buy tags again (plus of course I got it on sale!) I made these homemade tags by gluing ribbon, tiny leaves from holiday picks and self-adhesive glitter letters and borders. You can find the letters and silver swirly border in the scrapbooking aisle.

Beautiful and simple budget holiday gift wrap

This year I decided to make our presents look as good as what's inside (truthfully I think the wrapping may be better than the dvd). So, I bought a bunch of 60% off ribbon and holiday floral sprays. Bring on the glitter!

Supplies:

Glue (anything you have)

Tape

Assorted Ribbons

Wrapping Paper

Floral Sprays

Bows

Gift Tags

Self-Adhesive Letters

I decided to start with a plain canvas so I used plain silver and gold wrapping paper for this. It shows off the decorations very well. But, it also shows every nook and cranny. I also used the traditional cheapie bows...well, for a little something traditional. I made my own gift tags so that everything would coordinate. The floral sprays are great to use for packages because they're very budget friendly and you get so much to use on packages. For these examples, I only used very little of the actual spray. Just glue them to a package underneath the ribbon.

I already had these great glitter letters. They come in a large pack which may cover your whole family if your first names don't all begin with the same letter (like David AND Dave)...Or use them for the first initial on a gift tag (that's my present with the M!).

Have your wrapped all your gifts yet? Only 6 days left! Happy wrapping!

How to make your own holiday gift basket

Yesterday my dad had shoulder surgery. It went great, he's fine! I talked to him last night and he was surprisingly alert and surprisingly not drugged out. Since he's going to be out of work for 6 weeks and probably incredibly bored, I decided to get him a gift basket. However, he's also diabetic. And it is hard to find a gift basket that won't put you in a sugar coma as it is. 

So, I took on the daunting task of making one myself. And it was incredibly fun! The great part about it was being able to fill it with sugar-free treats and savories AND crossword puzzles AND a little something for the pups.


First, I bought the contents at Target and Barnes & Noble. I bought sugar-free candies and cookies, Hickory Farms gift pack (with sausage, cheese and crackers), nuts, doggie toys, crossword puzzle book and a magazine. Then, I took a trip to Michael's to buy everything ON SALE! I bought the basket (50% off), the treat containers, ribbon, bows, a silly ornament and a floral pick

Yes, this is for a man, muhaha! But, I didn't really care. It's probably one of the few times in my life I will actually make a gift basket so I went all out and had fun with it. The down side? It cost $23 to ship. Wah wah waaaaaaah.

DIY Friday-Thanksgiving crafts

We're going to Washington D.C. for Thanksgiving to visit the in-laws (I'll have lots of photos to share, I'm sure). We'll be dining on salmon and curried cauliflower (wha??). And the wine will be flowing of course! However, the burning question is, do I like curry? The one time I tried it, I wasn't a fan. But, how do you know if it's good curry or bad? Was it cooked correctly? Did they drop it on the floor first? This will be the true test this Thanksgiving, since I know it will be the best curry it can be! 

Do you have a less than traditional Thanksgiving meal? When I was a kid, we used to go to a cafeteria in Texas on Thanksgiving day, called Luby's. No cooking for us! There was no sense when it was just the three of us. We'd have big family get-togethers before the holidays at my aunt and uncle's place though. I really miss that now, being all the way up here in Chicago. It has me reminiscing a little. But, no more delay-on with the Thanksgiving DIY's!

I love this idea. What a great way to remind ourselves the holiday isn't just about food: Thanksgiving tree DIY.

How do you make the perfect Thanksgiving pie?

A Thanksgiving table is not complete without some crafty pumpkin luminaries.

Don't forget the pumpkin placeholders!

DIY Friday-Unique things to do with fresh flowers

I know it's been a while...But, I'm so excited to be back with a fresh DIY Friday. If you're new to my blog, this is where I share with you some great links around the web for unique DIY projects. In honor of spring, all of today's DIY's feature fresh flowers. A sweet do it yourself Mother's Day anyone?

  


I love recycling and upcycling DIY's. What a clever use for old lightbulbs: flower vases.

How about fresh flowers on top of cookies? So pretty. 

More recycling! Make pretty fresh flower arrangements using aluminum cans. I would spray paint them in matte pastels.

Decorate with flowers using a mix of different size, shape and colored bottles.

Finally, a beautiful fruit and flower centerpiece.

DIY Friday-All about weddings

I just realized I never shared any other wedding DIY other than my own. Whooops. Better late than never. There are so many fabulous ones out there. That's right, I whipped out a 'fabulous' on your.  Enjoy!

Photo from Style Me Pretty

Very cute and thoughtful bridesmaid survival kits.


Pretty wedding banner and topiary.


I kinda wish we would have had bubbles at our wedding.


How about this beautiful doily lamp? I'd use this right now!


And a whole lotta pretty wedding crafts.

DIY Friday

Happy-almost-Halloween! I've got a couple of great Halloween DIY's for this week, as well as some not so Halloween ideas!

In honor of Halloween 40 pumpkin decorating ideas.


How about walking gingerdead?


And some cutesy cuteness with this owl lantern.


I saw this cool Sharpie lampshade on Chelsea's great blog two twenty one.


I had some DIY's this week too: manzanita centerpiece, fabric flower bouquet, part 1 and part 2 of the rest of my wedding crafting.