DIY: Moss Topiaries

I have been doing a lot of Spring Sprucing around our house lately.

I get spring fever in the first place, throw nesting in there and you get a dangerous combination.

I love simple topiaries, but when you find them already made they tend to be borderline outrageous.

I stumbled upon these already made topiary forms at Hobby Lobby the other day & thought I would throw some together for our family room.

Here is what you will need:

-Topiary form

-Preserved moss

-Hot glue

-Pot

You can pick up all of the supplies from Hobby Lobby.

All you do is hot glue pieces of the moss onto the topiary form. It melds together really easily. It took me 1 1/2 packs of moss for this particular form. They have smaller ones that I would imagine would only take 1 pack.

I had originally planned on painting the terra cotta pot, but I changed my mind & went with this wood pot that I picked up at Hobby Lobby the same day. Honestly mostly out of laziness. 

Super quick project! I love all that texture.

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A new take on coffee filters.

I had this awesome post planned about shopping at the Farmer's Market & planned on taking amazing pictures today at the market... but then it was pouring rain instead of being beautiful Arizona January weather. 

SO that will have to wait until next market.

Instead, I thought I would share with you a wreath I made using coffee filters.

I really love how it turned out. 

To me it looks like a book page & coffee filter wreath made a baby.

Instead of keeping them their white fluffy selves, I dyed them in tea and laid them out flat to dry.

They took forever to dry, I put my oven on warm and let them hang out in there for a few hours. That seemed to work the best.

When gluing them on, I went in a zig-zag pattern & then would go back and fill it in. I wanted it to look random & ruffly.

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Ruffled Burlap Table Runner.

Yesterday I quickly made this burlap runner for our breakfast nook table. It might just be the table we eat at 99.9% of the time because we're informal like that.

I just cut a strip of burlap to the right length and width that I wanted.

Then I cut smaller strips and ran them through the ruffler on my sewing machine.

I attached the ruffles with hot glue.

Super cute, and it took me probably 15 minutes! I've been a big fan of the quick projects lately, my concentration ability with an 18 month old running around has seriously depreciated.

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Simple burlap wreath.

While I wait for my monogram from Southern Nest, aka the best birthday present ever, to arrive I made a quick little wreath for my front door.

I used some super wide burlap ribbon {about 6" in width} that I picked up  last week at Tai Pan and made large loops and pinned it to the wreath form as I went with some straight pins. I didn't take photos as I made it because I wasn't even sure that I would like the end product. It was a little bit of a whim.

Turns out I love it! Funny how that happens sometimes.

So carefree and perfect and it only took 5 minutes to make! Now my door is pretty until my monogram arrives.

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DIY: Chalkboard Coffee Table.

So, I can't really say that this project was ALL my idea because I have seen chalkboard coffee tables around a lot of places. 

I always thought it was a good idea, so then a few days ago when Grace might have found a pen and decided it was a good idea to draw all over my cute pedestal coffee table in our front room... instead of busting out the magic erasers and making a big deal out of it... I decided to embrace drawing on tables and gave it a coat of chalkboard paint.

The room needed some darker elements to make it more grounded, so I think it's actually PERFECT! I've prepared myself to embrace lots of messy chalky scribbles, but actually I think it adds a load of character and helps our house feel even more lived in. 

So the lesson is, why fight writing on furniture when you can embrace it? 

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Union Jack DIY Art.

Putting together my daughters room has been quite the journey.

I've changed my mind on the direction I wanted to go about a bajillion and a half times.

I knew the general end picture I wanted to arrive at-- classic & vintage yet fun & colorful with absolutely NO pastels that might induce vomit from my pastel-intolerant-self.

So I've gone the handmade unconventional route with her room. Conventional is over rated, boring, and so  not me anyways.

Here is what I came up with for above her crib. [which is pretty grand, so I knew I had to do something on that wall] I absolutely love how it turned out.

Here is the source of my inspiration:

via

I made my version with a canvas, burlap, and some floral fabric that I had lying around. It actually worked out perfect because it has all the right colors from the fabric in the quilt that I am making for her.

& this is what Grace was doing the while I put it up & took pictures. My typically happy little helper was pretty beside herself. She is stuck somewhere between needing 2 naps but kind of really only wanting to take 1 some days... and it makes the afternoons hazy around here.

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DIY: Pallet Chalkboard.

I've mentioned before that I am on a mission to learn to use power tools... here is something I made last week with said power tools.

Dun-da-da. A pallet chalkboard.

This red credenza is easily the most modern piece of furniture in my house. But I still kind of love it. I like the way it plays with the lights and brights all over elsewhere. The ottomans are nice when we need extra seating in  our family room and I'm planning on making some linen slipcovers for them.

Yeah... I really need to get on those slipcovers.

Overall, it was pretty simple, and I only needed minor assistance [ahem, the drill and I were having difficulties seeing eye to eye... I think some of the screws were actually REBELLING against screwing in] I used pallet wood that I white washed with 1 part paint to 2 parts water and backer board from Home Depot for the chalkboard part.

Such a cinch, and I love it!

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DIY: Doily & twine mason jars.

I have moved into an immense spring fever phase.

Projects that have been sitting around are finally getting done, things are getting organized, and there are touches of spring making their way into our home everywhere.

During nap time today I threw together these super cute doily mason jars, and wrapped some natural twine around them for good measure.

I kind of love them.

I used the flat quart sized mason jars from Hobby Lobby, paper doilies, and a little modge podge.

The flat jars are really  nice for decorating because the raised branding on normal mason jars doesn't get in the way.

My entertainment center has BIG shelves and they were looking borderline extremely cluttered to me so I've been restyling them, slowly but surely.  These lovelies now reside there.

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TUTORIAL: Coffee Filter Wreath

I am so excited about the tutorial that I have for you today. 

Who doesn't love a good ruffle? I sure do. 

This project isn't originally mine, I've seen them all over pinterest. But I thought I'd share my take on how to  make one of these pretty things.

This wreath was such a cinch and super cheap to make.

Not to mention that ruffles are so pretty and romantic. Perfect for the Valentine holiday coming up.

Supplies:

10" wreath form

Coffee Filters [from Dollar Tree and I used less than 1 pack]

Hot glue gun & glue

Wide marker

Scissors for trimming

Wrap filter around your wide tip marker and add a dab of hot glue

Position filter on wreath form. I worked my way from inside to outside.

** Be sure that you don't put the filters too close to the edge otherwise it won't sit flat on your door. I had my wreath on the counter the whole time to make sure it still would lay right.

Make your way around the entire form. 

Soon you'll have this. I went back in and filled in holes with more filters to make sure it was super full of ruffly goodness.

You'll have some spots where the filters stick up a little high in some places, so just trim it down with scissors.

This is what the back looks like when you're all finished. Notice that the filters don't go all the way to the edge of the wreath that's what I meant by keeping some room so it lays right on your door.

 And wha-la!

So pretty, it only took me about an hour to make and cost less about $7.

Perfect example of cheap to chic.

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Tips for Holiday Entertaining & a tutorial.

I can not believe that it is the week of Christmas already. I want this week to go by as slow as possible, but with my Christmas baby girl birthday, finishing home made gifts, and a little bit of shopping left to do I know it will fly by.

A lot of us are opening our homes to our out of town family members and friends. Of course it doesn't get better than having a house full of people we love... but then there is the whole entertaining & being the host of so many guests that can be a little daunting. Today I am sharing with you a few ideas to help make the holiday weekend fun & memorable with all those out of towners.

My husband is dying for me to make this cinnamon bun recipe we saw on Pioneer Woman this weekend. 

Yum.

To go along with those you're going to need to serve some Hot Chocolate for sure. This recipe looks to die for using Nutella.

Source: luuux.com via Jenna on Pinterest

Nothing better.

Of course take your guests to some special local fun. This farm is literally down the road from our new house. {Have I told you how much I love living in the country?}

And finally add some of these to all your doors to make your guest rooms and house smell delicious. I shared this tutorial over at The Pepper and Her Pups a few weeks ago as part of her Christmas series, but I thought I'd share it here today. These are so easy so you definitely can throw them together before your guests arrive.

Supplies:

Cinnamon Pinecones

Ribbon

Hot glue gun & glue

Scissors

 Put a dab of hot glue in the center of the bottom of your pinecone. 

Secure your ribbon to the glue. The pinecones tend to have a little point in the center so I just arched my ribbon over it and then added a little bit more hot glue and folded the ribbon back up to the center. This is so it will hang straight.

Cut your ribbon about 14-18 inches. I varied the length of mine to make the bundle. Do those last three steps until you have done this to all your pinecones. I really liked the look of 3 pinecones in a bundle.

To hang on your door make a slip knot the ribbon and then double knot it. I cut the extra ribbon off and secured with hot glue then added a little bow to finish it off. 

That's it! Super simple but just the right finishing touch for your home.

They are just lovely! I have them hanging on door knobs all over my house. When you walk by you get the most delicious dose of cinnamon aroma! So Christmasy! 

If you are having Holiday guests this would be so great to hang on their guest room door knob.

And your guest bath because they are just that darn cute!

 

And there you have it! So simple but still special.

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tutorial: shabby chic ruffle lamp shade

As I was making my ruffle tree skirt this weekend I started thinking about all the ruffle possibilities around my house.

I do love a good ruffle.

I love this project so much and it was simple & relatively quick too.

Supplies:

-Lampshade

-About 1 yard of lightweight fabric. I chose a muslin.

-Scissors

-Hot glue

-Ruler [optional]

Cut your fabric into 1 1/2" strips. I never measure but that is about the width I went with.

Start applying your fabric to the shade about 3/4" from the bottom lip. This gives you a nice overhang on the bottom of the shade.

Work in about 2 or 3 inch sections of hot glue. 

As you lay the fabric down on the glue pinch with your fingers to create ruffles.

Overlap each layer of fabric about 1/4" from the last one.

I alternated 1 strip white with 2 strips of cream. I love the little extra detail.

I thought that this shade wouldn't go well with the more modern base but I really like the juxtaposition.

Here is what it looks like off. Love.

I am not sure where I am going to put it yet because I pretty much think it would go perfect in about every room in my house.

I  might just keep it for myself in my office.

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Deck your halls: Cinnamon Pinecone Bundle.

Hey ya'll. For this weeks edition of deck your halls I'm sharing a fun little craft over at The Pepper and Her Pups.

Go on over & check it out! They are the perfect touch to your holiday home & SO simple.

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