Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Easy {DIY} Ornaments


Merry Christmas Eve! 
 I made these ornaments a few weeks ago, but am just now getting around to posting about them. They were super easy and simple so simple that I'm almost embarrassed to post about them,  but I was happy with the way they turned out. 


The glass ornaments are from Michaels. You can find the gold leafing pen here. I also painted the caps with the paint pen. I had originally tried taping of the ornament to get straight lines, (stripes!) but it wasn't working well. So, I gave up decided just to free hand it for a more natural feel.



They're not perfect, but
 they kind of remind me of these from Crate and Barrel.

I hung them on branches in a vase (HomeGoods) on my desk.










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Merry Christmas from our family to yours!






xo,

                                                            

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

15 Free Christmas Printables


Today I thought I would round up of some of my favorite Christmas prints that are free! Yes, an easy and free way to decorate your home!

Here you go:
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xo,

Friday, December 6, 2013

Our Christmas Decor {Industrial Chic}



Christmastime is here! This year I had planned on being finished with Christmas decorating and shopping by Thanksgiving, but it just didn't happen! My plan was to bust it all out the week of Thanksgiving break, so we can sit back and enjoy it all. Well, Thanksgiving break came and went super fast.  So, this last week I've been working like one of Santa's elves trying to get everything done.

In years past we've put our Christmas tree in our living room, but this year we decided to put it in our family room. Since this is where we spend most of our time anyway.

This year I wanted our Christmas decor to have more of an industrial feel and look of mixed metals to go along with the lockers that are in our family room. 



The "JOY" sign is from Target. I wasn't in love with the original finish of it, (it looked more rustic than the vintage description of it) so I painted it Rustoleum's Safety Red. The same red as our entry table.

 I normally wouldn't buy something new and then paint it, but in this case it was only $20 and I knew I couldn't DIY a light box for less. I'm happy with the way it turned out! I feel like the bright red is more JOYful than the original color! Sorry Target. 


I removed the plastic bulbs, taped off the light bulbs and cord, then spray painted it.



So much more bright and cheery, right?!?


Our stocking holders are old, but did get a paint job this year. I was wanting new stocking holders, but wasn't too sure of what kind I wanted anyway, so I decided to try painting them first. I used Craft Smart metallic paint in Silver to give them a faux zinc finish. I'm happy with the way they turned out! They fit right in with the industrial feel that I'm going for.

Before and After




The tea light candle covers were an easy DIY that I made last year using this tutorial.


The garland on the tree was made by using gold, white and silver scrapbook paper , twine and a circle punch. It's similar to the one I made here




Instead of using a tree skirt this year, I opted for a galvanized bucket to go along with our industrial theme. To add a little modern twist to it, I striped it using painters tape and gold rub n buff.

 Stripes and polka dots make this girl happy!




The glittered reindeer canvas was made last year. I don't remember what tutorial I used, but you can find a similar tutorial here.






I made the faux metal ornaments using the products below.

This is a simple DIY but if you're like me and you like details... here you go:

Remove the cap from ornament. Pour a small amount of paint into the ornament. Move the ornament around so paint covers the inside completely. Let the paint drip dry out of the ornament into a paper cup.  I used the small Dixie cups and let them dry over night.
Use the gold leaf pen to paint cap.
I would have used rub n buff for the caps, but I ran out after striping the galvanized bucket. And apparently I'm not the only one who considers Rub n Buff a DIYer's BFF , both local craft stores were sold out of it!


I'll be adding a few more touches to our holiday decor over the weekend and I'll be sharing them next week!

Have a great weekend!


xo,


                                                                                                                

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!



I know I've been MIA this week, but I wanted to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! This year my SIL is hosting,  (hallelujah!) so I've spent this week catching my breath, relaxing with my little men and even went on a day date (Christmas shopping) with my main man!


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And to all the momma's who are setting tables, baking pies, cleaning house....remember even though we all like to make things look our best, (I'm including myself in this)  it's not really about how pretty the table setting looks, how clean the house is, and whether or not your pies are homemade...it's about who is sitting around the table with you!

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Hope you enjoy this precious time with your loved ones! 

                                                         

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

gift giving and wrapping


I can hardly believe that Christmas is next month!?!? Usually by this time I already have most of my shopping done. Not this year. We're trying something different with our boys this year. Have you heard of this:
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We'll see how it goes?? I'm going to really try and stick to it this year. Between Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, they end up receiving way too many gifts and it's just too much. That's not what Christmas is about anyway, right!? So, the four gift rule is really making me put a lot of thought into our gifts for our boys. Do you follow any gift giving rules for Christmas?

Speaking of gifts...last year kraft paper and washi tape were on trend for Christmas gift wrapping and I have to admit it's a trend that I fell for and LOVE! 


Instead of using gift tags, I must have had some extra time on my hands made personalized ornaments for the gift recipient using a photo I took of them from the year. 


These were a hit, especially for the parents. They were very happy to have a picture ornament of their child.


I also made them for the Grandparents using a picture of them with the grandkids.



I made some for our tree, too.





Photo Gift Tag/Ornament

Here's what you'll need to make them:

Wood cutout pieces (Michaels)
old book
twine
drill
photos
scissors
I bought the wood cutout pieces at Michaels, but these are similar. I had the pictures printed in black and white. 
I then traced the shape of the wood piece onto a book page, cut it out and then mod podged the book page to the wood piece.
 Then mod podged the photo (cut a little smaller than the book page) to the book page. I brushed on the mod podge to the front, back and sides of the wood piece. You'll want to do several coats of mod podge (drying in between)

 Once it was completely dry, my husband drilled a hole through the top. 


How about making one using your families Christmas card photo and making one every year? Or using a picture of your tree on Christmas morning??

 I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break to catch up on some Christmas shopping and crafting!

xoxo,