Christmas Wreath Tutorial

We had such a nice Thanksgiving yesterday. It is such a great day to reflect on God's many blessings and cherish those we love. And I did not, I repeat, DID NOT go out shopping on that day. We have so many few sacred things left that have not been commercialized that I'm not about to give up any portion of that day to save a few bucks. I didn't even go out on this black friday. Too crazy for me! I am loving on line shopping though, p.j.'s, tea in hand, ahhhhhhh!

I digress. Today is about finishing up the Christmas decor and lounging with my kiddos. 

First off, finish the wreath for the front door.

There is no excuse to not make your own wreath this year. It is so easy!

SO easy! And I'm going to show you how.

Because I'm all about saving money, I recycled last years wreath. First I took all of the ornaments and lights off. {If you look close enough you can even see a few cobwebs!} You can buy these plain wreaths cheap enough especially if you print out a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby.

I liked this wreath but it needed some sprucing up, and I wanted a change anyways.

For this years wreath I was inspired by some ornaments I found at Target. I also picked up this champagne colored tinsel garland.

{I included those dollar store little bulbs because I thought I would include a few but once it came together I decided I preferred it without.}

After fluffing up my base wreath, I cut my tinsel garland into 4 inch pieces.

These little guys were hot glued on with a dab of glue on one end and spaced throughout the wreath. Then I clipped on my ornaments.

{They have clips on the back which make them super easy to attach}

Once I got this far I realized that the bulbs would be too much and it needed a rustic touch. Pine cones were perfect and these were easy to hot glue on as well.

Command hooks work really well for most wreaths and are easy to use. Now I just need to clear out the Thanksgiving items yet on the porch and get out the Christmas stuff! Cant wait!

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Suburbs Mama
Between naps on the porch
Thrifty Decor Chick
Link Party Palooza

The $1.00 Gift

I'm not cheap, I promise! But when it comes to needing 57 Christmas gifts for those outside the family one has to get creative! There are so many great ideas out there but none of them struck me. I was in my local 'Dollar Tree' store and came across these clipboards. Plain Jane clip boards. I bought one. Then I went home.

I bought this lonely one because my kids are always taking mine and I need one from time to time. Plus I use one at work quite a bit. Then the idea struck me! Why not decorate these babies and give them to everyone! By everyone I mean teachers, co-workers and maybe even my kids. {Act surprised if you get one from me please if you find yourself in one of these categories and you know me!}

I rushed back to the Dollar Tree and bought up about a dozen more. Don't worry, I left a few.

This was an easy craft. If you want to make some you will need:

Clip boards

Painters tape

Craft Paint

Paint brushes

Spray sealer

This really requires no tutorial. Just tape em off and paint however you want! For the sparkly ones I painted my design first then painted over everything with an ultra fine glitter paint. {DecoArt makes the ones I have in 'ice crystal' and 'silver bling'}

To help create a smoother writing surface and protect your clipboard I sprayed them with a clear gloss after taping off my silver clippy thing at the top.

Don't forget to paint the backs!

 I also painted the edge all the way around in a contrasting color.

I love how they turned out! Now I just have to decide who gets what and paint half a dozen or so more.

I'm sharing this here:

Too Much Time
Between naps on the porch

Christmas in the Kitchen

I still haven't been given the green light to put the Christmas tree up if you know what I mean! ;) And after decorating the bathroom, I wanted to keep going. The kitchen was next!

I always try to rework what I have to decorate around the house. We don't really have Christmas decor in the holiday budget when buying for a large family. So I went with what I had. {Sometimes this can actually make you think more creatively!}

Of course I stuck with my decor color, aqua, but added some sparkle. I won't bore you with my words.

If you're observant you'll note that I haven't changed out my Thanksgiving chalkboard yet. Lets get past that holiday first!

To keep things simple I usually leave my above cabinet decor the same and just add greens and some bling.

I shared this snowflake, super easy your grandma could do it, craft earlier this week.

 I love this little silver Christmas tree that I found at Goodwill this week. {My only purchase for this kitchen}

If you are a bit OCD, I realize the stools aren't in numerical order. So sorry!

This little sparkly wreath is a twin the the one I hung in my bathroom. Did you see how that got sparkled out for Christmas?

I hope a certain someone will let me put the tree up soon, or every other room in this house is going to get some sparkle! {And yes, that is a threat!} ;)
I am sure it will go up this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm sharing this here:

Link Party Palooza
Too Much Time
Between naps on the porch
The Nester
Thrifty Decor Chick

Easy Giant Snowflake Ornaments

This project is so easy, I hesitate to even share it. But after the week I've had {basement flooding, my oldest breaking off his front tooth when it embedded in his knee ripping it open, furnace going out, sick kiddo....} I needed something easy! And sometimes its nice to do a project that the kids can participate in.

This is another one of those projects that will result in glitter everywhere.

And who doesn't like to feel like they live in a fairy land. It might help if you've had a week like mine, actually. :)

Let me digress a moment though and tell you that there's nothing like a trial in your life to make you thankful for the little things!

I was shopping in my local grocery store {Meijers}, and came across these wooden snowflake ornaments for a dollar. Oh yes, $1.00. I snatched all four of them up. Sorry local shoppers! (They did have ornament shaped ones too, but weren't as cute).

For this project all I did was water down some Elmer's glue a bit and brush it onto the ornaments. {I used a ratio of 1:3, one part water to three parts glue} We used foam brushes and dabbed it on so that we got more glue on the surface and less over the edges.

Then sprinkle on your glitter. I like the fine glitter for a project like this, it keeps it less 'kid craft' looking, if you know what I mean. {For sure use paper or wax paper underneath because about 90% of your glitter can go back into your container.}

You could also hit them with some clear gloss spray just to seal them in and keep the glitter from spreading its cheer where ever it goes.:)

For now, I hung them up on the face of my kitchen cabinets. Once the tree is up we may transfer them there. To hang them I just used a push pin in the inside of my cabinet, but command hooks would save your finish if you're concerned about that!

So, no excuses this year! This is so simple anyone could do it!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Bathroom Christmas Ideas

I've been banned from putting up the Christmas tree yet. Even my kids think its too soon.

I'm not one to want to take away from the Thanksgiving season, but I love the sparkle and just can't wait! So while home with a sickie today I decorated the bathroom. Its out of the way right? I mean, no one should mind a little pre-Christmas sparkle especially since its in an out of the way place, right? The jury isn't home from work yet.......but the bathroom sure is cute! :)

I wanted to share with you some ideas that you could use not just in your bathroom but anywhere in your home. Its time to think outside of the box and create a little holiday sparkle!

Big Idea #1

Layers!

They aren't just for your outfit. And layers help to make any space feel homey. Here are some layering ideas from the bathroom.

This wooden plaque is my everyday decor in this space. For Christmas I added this small wreath and added two ornaments.

This charger from the dining room adds more texture. I added some sparkly wide ribbon and hung over it an over~sized ornament from Target.

Big Idea #2

Ornaments aren't just for trees!

This is probably common knowledge but sometimes we just need a reminder. Use ornaments in unexpected places; in a bowl, hanging from a lamp, grouped together on a tray or tucked throughout your decor.

Big Idea #3

Sparkle

Its not just for the tree or outdoor decor. I love to added touches of it everywhere! And sparkle can carry you beyond Christmas and throughout the winter. Many of these items will stay until spring like the sparkly wreath and the star. To transition away from Christmas and into winter I will remove the traditional ornaments, and the Christmas trees. In its place I may add more pine cones and some candles.

Big Idea #4

Kitchen items aren't just for the kitchen!

Case in point, the charger on the shelf and the kitchen towels layered over the bath towels. 

Big Idea #5

Use traditional items in an un~traditional way

As an example, that sparkly wreath is actually meant to be put on a table with a fat candle in the middle. I don't know what they're called {obviously} but they make great mini wreaths! :)

I would also like to think that decorating your bathroom is a bit un~traditional as well! ;)

I hope you will think outside of the box when you decorate this year. And seriously decorate your bathroom for pete's sake. It makes going into the bathroom to do your business a lot more festive!

And by the way, the jury returned before I finished putting this post together. He just rolled his eyes but said he loved it! Now, that I've warmed him up maybe we can put the tree up this weekend! :)

If you are interested in some of the other projects shown check out the links here:

Striped bathroom ceiling

Felt garland

Sparkly Christmas Trees

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm sharing this here:

Link Party Palooza
Suburbs Mama
Between Naps on the Porch
Too Much Time
The Nester
Thrifty Decor Chick