four-dollar pine cone garland

 I was so excited to find these tiny gold pine cone ornaments at the dollar store last weekend.  I scooped up three packs (four cones on each) and a spool of twine from the kitchen section.  This little garland is the first of my holiday decorations so far this year but it is starting to get me in the spirit for more...

easiest party decor ever

When we decided last Monday night to have a small get together for the mister's birthday I thought I'd have plenty of time during the week to set up a menu and nail down some decorations. So when I woke up on Saturday from a really busy week with absolutely nothing done (read- not even thought about) I was a little panicked. After a morning of errands and a small but efficient shopping list I was ready to cook and set up the decorations. I knew the decor had to be simple so I had the idea of lining the wall behind the table with crepe paper strips and really wanted to try the wooden shapes garland that Jenny had shown here. A long strip of double-sided tape was all I needed to adhere about 60 long strips of basic streamer paper to the top of the wall. I painted thin sheets of balsa wood in matching colors with craft paint and cut into geometric shapes with an x-acto. I then used a multi-sized hole punch to (carefully) punch into those and strung them onto waxed cord left over from the Christmas bracelets I made for my girlfriends. It all came together pretty quickly, cost less than $13, and made a simple yet colorful impact. Sometimes a time crunch and last minute ideas are the best.

open me

Today I wanted to share some quick invitations I put together for our little birthday shin dig this weekend, in honor of the mister. We had a snow day off from school/work on Monday so I had time to put together these invitations and figure out how to mail them with a metal brad and string around the outside. After designing, printing, cutting and assembling them I was happy to find out that with just a 20-cents extra stamp (making them non-machine-runnable) I could mail them out.

I am so looking forward to our little celebration! Now I just need to clean the house and figure out a menu...

confetti card diy and a printable

Lastly today I wanted to share a confetti valentine's day card I designed and sent to my sweet little sister. I created the banner design and simply printed onto a glassine bag. Then I cut out a simple heart-shaped card from silver card stock and added a message.

Next I filled the the bag with festive confetti,
folded down the top flap and secure with heart stickers,added a stamp and address to the back of the bag and voila- a valentine ready to mail!
Best of all, if you are in a last minute rush on this busy holiday, I created a card template of the same banner design and you can download it here. Simply download the template below, print this baby out, cut and fold and you are ready to share the love with someone in your life. Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!!

valentine's day diy at Hank & Hunt

Hello loves! I hope this Valentine's Day is full of sweet treats, kisses, and wonderful moments for you. I am so thankful to Jenny over at the ever-inspiring Hank & Hunt for sharing my diy secret message in a glass and ice cream sandwiches today. Hop on over there to read all of the details. Thanks Jenny!

I'll be back later to share some of the valentines I created to send out today and will have a free printable for anyone in need of a last minute love note!

valentines DIY: love catcher

Hello loves! Today I'm super excited to share a little craft I came up with last night. Inspired by a beautiful photo of a dream catcher I decided to modify the idea for Valentine's Day. I used a few things around my studio to create this little guy that will be a gift for someone who it made me think of. It was simple and quick and best of all- I didn't even have to plug in the hot glue gun. Read on for all of the instructions.

The supplies are simple, here's what you'll need: some sort of twig or bendable vine (mine was from the craft store), a couple embroidery floss or string color options, scissors, paper hearts (I used my heart punch but you could cut them by hand, a few feathers, and a hole punch. (I didn't end up using the lace pictured.)
Start by bending your vine around itself to form a circle shape, then secure that with a bit of your string.
Start with that same color and begin wrapping across the middle of the circle to create a spider web sort of shape. Wrap around the outside circle a couple of times on each pass to secure the string in place. Finish that string off with a knot. If you want add a second or third color across the circle, just until it seems full enough to you. I used two colors for mine. Add a little extra string at the top for hanging the hole thing up.Then make your pieces to hang from the love catcher. I used the same string, cut to different lengths, and tied on a couple of feathers and a few of the paper hearts I had punched a small hole into. Secure those to the bottom of the circle (opposite side from your hanger string).
That's really it- now hang up your love catcher and enjoy!

new years eve diy's

I've been busy crafting over the last couple of days to help a friend get ready for her new years eve bash. I came up with a few different party hat styles that I wanted to share with you here.
The first was quick and easy and used dollar store cardboard party hats, vinyl stickers, silver spray paint, and colorful wire garland- all of which I already had at home. I simply placed the stickers "2012" on the center of the hat, painted silver, and hot glued some garland around the bottom. How easy is that? Initially I had wanted to take off the stickers and let the colorful hat pattern show through but after painted I loved how the silver numbers looked so much that I kept them.

The second hat style took a bit longer but was equally easy. For this one you'll need card stock, scissors or an x-acto knife, spray adhesive, glitter, hot glue gun, tape, elastic string and some sparkly tinsel. I took one of the leftover pre-bought hats and took it apart to make a template (I will add it here later for your use!) Here's what I did next (click photo for a larger view):

1. Trace your pre-bought part hat onto the card stock of your choice. If you are using a 2-sided paper make sure to trace on the back- mine was shimmery on one side. OR you can download my pdf and print the party hat image directly onto the back of your cardstock.
2. Cut out hat shape. The "x's" are where you will tape your elastic onto the inside of the hat so don't cut those.
   
3. Fold (roll) the hat into shape and slide the tabs on the left side into the opening on the right. I then applied some tape to the inside to hold it together and then added a few dots of hot glue under the seams.
4. Apply spray mount to the very top of your hat for an ombre glitter look or all over for more sparkle- should probably do this outside.
5. Sprinkle on your glitter and shake excess off onto a piece of paper.
   
6. Use your hot glue gun to add tinsel around the bottom of your hat.
7. Party and enjoy!

I also made some sparkly drink stirs (seen at top) with the leftover tinsel by simply wrapping small sections of it to bamboo skewers and securing with a dot of hot glue. I hope your New Years Eve is full of fun and sparkle!

gift diy: monogrammed ipad sleeve

I wanted to share with you guys one of the diy gifts I made for some friends and family. I adjusted the ipad measurements to also fit a kindle for each of my sisters- super easy and everyone loved them! I somewhat followed the instructions from this tutorial but simplified materials and added the initial stencil for each of the recipients. Here's what you'll need:

• Adhesive-backed felt sheets (mine were 9"x12" packs from Wal-Mart)
• Lightweight material for inside lining
• Rotary cutter or scissors
• Cutting mat and ruler
• Matching thread
• Letter stencils
• Gold (or any color) paint and stencil brush
• Sewing machine
  

Here's what you do (following the photos clockwise):

• Cut all of your pieces to size (leaving the inside lining material slightly smaller). Your felt and lining should be cut to about two inches larger (length and width) than the device you are planning to fit into it. I simply googled the dimensions for each of mine.
• Pull the adhesive paper off the back of the felt BUT it works best for sewing if you leave a small strip of paper on the two sides and bottom. This way the adhesive won't stick to your sewing machine- unfortunately I learned this the hard way.
  
• Place lining fabric face up on the back of the felt and smooth down to the adhesive. Leave about an inch of room at the top for folding over for a seam. Now fold that seam over.
• Repeat this with your other piece of felt and lining to create the back of your sleeve.
  

I didn't get photos of the actual sewing process, which is probably best due to my severe lack of skills in sewing anything except paper garlands. Here is what you'll do for the sewing portion:

• Sew each of the top seams over.
  
• Place your front and back pieces together FELT to FELT side. This will make your bag inside out. Sew the two sides and bottom together.
• Flip this inside out and viola- your sleeve is made! Pull the corners out square, cut any loose strings, and flatten (or iron if your patient).

Lastly I added a stencil monogram onto the front of each for a personalized touch. I used a gold paint that is supposed to mimic gold foil but you could really use any craft or fabric paint. (The photos below are from a different set of bags so the colors/fabric are different)

• Tape your stencil down so it won't move.
  
• Use your stencil brush to apply paint and allow to dry before trying to move the stencil.
• Admire your work!
  

You can easily make one of these in under an hour or quite a few in an afternoon. My loved ones really liked theirs so I will probably be making more in the future. Have fun crafting!

tis the season to sparkle!

As New Years Eve gets closer I am getting excited for the sequins, glitter, and sparkly decorations to come! I have already started on some of my own shimmery diy's and here are a few of my favorite inspirations for the occasion:shimmery garlands from martha stewart
a classic top hat in glittery gold.
cone party favors from you are my fave.tinsel numbers also from m.s.

top image: confetti invitations, also from you are my fave.

sneak peak: gifts

I have the best family and this year they really outdid themselves on gift giving. About half of the gifts given and received at my parents house this year were handmade and that really made my heart smile. I'll share some of the diy gifts I did later this week but for now here is a little peak at some of the goodies I got to take home.
1. an amazing set of packaging and crafting supplies from my mr. that I mentioned here, 2. handmade feather arrows by my lovely older sister, 3. handmade amazing nc art by my lovely little sister and parents, 4. a cookbook that I can't wait to use- it follows the best local foods by season!

Thank you so much to my family for the sweet gifts, but even more for the time we got to share this Christmas!!

winter white: diy holiday round up

Here a some of my absolute favorite holiday inspired, winter-white themed craft tutorials from around the blog world this week. I am finding constant inspiration these days and I hope you are getting psyched for holiday decorating too! We are hanging icicle lights, crafting a glitter wreath, and getting started on some diy gifts this weekend. Have a good one!
Above: shimmery swizzle sticks from Odessa May.
Modern Perforated Trees from Babble.
Festive topped jars from You Are My Fave.
Paper whites from A Subtle Revelry.A gold dipped bowl on Curbly.

impromptu costumes

So the mister and I planned our costumes this year (Mary Poppins and Bert) and were really happy with how they turned out- and then forgot to take any photos while we were dressed up on Saturday night. That seems to be a trend around here, right?
Last night we got a last minute invitation to dinner and passing out candy at my sisters house and headed over sans costumes. When we got there she had crafted the loveliest rag-doll costume and I had to come up with something quick because I can't not be a part of a diy party! So, inspired by the ever-incredible Kathleen, I threw on some dia de los muertos inspired facepaint. It was easy and once draped in my sisters shawl I felt completely in character. Sometimes those last minute ideas are the best.

a birthday board

So I totally failed on taking photos at my sisters birthday. That's why it is a week later and I am just getting some sort of excuse for a post up. After all of the crafting, planning, baking, and partying we did I am pretty disappointed by my lack of photo documentation. That's how it always seems to go though- the more you plan the less you remember to take the camera out!

Here is what I could scrounge up to share with you- believe me though- this party was much more epic than what you see here.
Above: the birthday girl in all her hippie glory, the most incredible salted caramel cupcakes by my other talented sister (read about them here), the sisters in our crafted head gear, and the pinata I put together.

**Not pictured: facepainting, whiskey drinking, donut eating contest, pinata busting, tarot card reading in an sheet-tent, crafting with feathers, buttons, herbs, and twine, beautiful flowers, golden pumpkins, a mantle adorned with branches, and lots and lots of food.

The night was wonderful and the smile on my sisters face (for 6 hours straight) made all the work worth it. Love you rabbit.

party pins

It seems like we are in full party/wedding season around here and we are excited to now be planning and creating for my sisters upcoming birthday party. Since we have yet to coin an appropriate name for the event (our pinterest board is named hippie vintage fall-fest dead people party, if that gives you any idea), here are some of our inspiration pins. I am so excited to see how it all comes together this weekend.
outfit inspiration via contributor magazine.
snacks like roasted pumpkin seeds.
hair crafts.
games.
and the scene that might just pull it all together.

see the entire board here. first image.