decorating
Christmas Tree 2017
I was gung-ho to decorate for Christmas this year. Then I opened the Christmas boxes stuffed with holiday decor. I looked at all the glitz and glitter and did not feel that burst of fa-la-la-magic. Instead, I felt like a tall, curly-haired grinch. Minus the green complexion. However, the kids were excited to douse the house in Christmas everything! Even though I FELT like a grinch, I didn’t want to BE a grinch. So we blasted Christmas music and got to work spreading holiday cheer around the house. I set the Christmas tree up in the living room in front of the big window. Then I just looked at it…
Turn Building Blocks Into Christmas Ornaments
Some people do crossword puzzles to keep their brain sharp. I constantly thinking of ways to repurpose items in our home. Totally the same, right? Hmm. The latest idea was to turn my kids’ natural wood building blocks into Christmas ornaments. Why?? Let me explain… One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the artwork my kids bring home from school. I’ve saved some of it and every year when I open the holiday boxes and see something they made with their cute little toddler (now big kid) hands, I melt into a pile of mom goo. This is one of my favorite pieces of foot-made handmade artwork. If…
Sharing a Bed, But Not the Bedding
Editor’s Note: Hurricane Ophelia is expected to hit Ireland today. A ‘red weather warning’ has been issued for the entire country as this could be the worst storm to hit the island in 50 years. The west coast of Ireland is expected to take the brunt of the storm. The Dublin area, on the east coast where we live, will be impacted as well. As of 11 a.m. local time there is no rain, but wind gusts have started and it is unusually warm. Buses and trains are running this morning in the city, but schools and government offices are closed and people are advised to stay home. Thanks to…
5 Easy, (mostly) Recyclable Halloween Decorating Ideas
My interest in holiday decorating comes and goes. I’m not sure why. Different seasons of life, perhaps? My interest or lack thereof in storing A TON of holiday decor is more steady. I like to keep some Christmas and autumn decor, but I don’t have space or the desire to store items for all the other holidays. If I can make it and recycle the decor when I’m finished, I consider that a holiday decorating win. Here are 5 easy Halloween decorating projects that are low-on-cost, high-on-impact and (mostly) recyclable. I should note that after I wrote this post, I was doing a little fact checking. Yes, I do aim…
MultiTasking Fail and a Rope Planter
Moms of the world, I hope I’m not the only one think you can relate to this scenario. One simple thing you have to do. That’s it. One. simple. thing. And you pick a time to sneak away to do the one simple thing when both kids are entertaining themselves. They are old enough to do that now – thank goodness. My one simple thing was to do something with this planter. It was pink and I started to paint it, which I realized was not going to help. This needed to be a complete cover up job if I wanted to keep the planter. But the project goes sideways…
Pom Pom Initial Gift Bag
I confess. I’m a gift bag re-user. I’m sure you are all SO shocked to hear this news. Reusing gift bags has its limits though. Especially when your kid notices Santa uses the same gift bags that mom uses for birthdays. EEK! That’s just one of the reasons why I keep a stash of plain gift bags on hand. White or brown paper bags work for every occasion. Girl birthday, boy birthday, teacher gift, special gift from the jolly man in a red suit, etc. The other and perhaps larger part of why I like having plain gift bags on hand is that I have fun decorating them. No surprise there.…
Striped and Flower Petal Denim Pumpkins
Bet you were hoping I was done with the denim projects, huh? Nope! Hahahaha! I’m 97.328% sure this is the last post about denim pumpkins though, you lucky ducks! You already know all about the braided denim pumpkin. I don’t like to play favorites, but there is a reason I shared its textured gorgeousness first. It wasn’t my first trip to the denim pumpkin patch though! On my first trip I created a striped denim pumpkin made out of strips of cut-up jeans. I didn’t measure. I didn’t worry about straight lines. In other words, a project right up my alley! The only thing you’ll need to make this pumpkin…
Horseshoe Pumpkins Go Mainstream
Questions have come up recently about my DIY horseshoe pumpkin. This is, in part, because my braided denim pumpkin and the horseshoe pumpkin by extension were honored with a Salvaged Junk feature on Funky Junk Interiors last week. You know how much I love salvaged junk, so this really made my day! When I told my 7-year-old son about this good news, I thought he’d say, “cool.” Instead, he reached over, patted my shoulder and with all sincerity said, “I’m happy for you.” This might not seem like a big deal to you, but I’m living through a very long season of fart jokes. In that moment, hope sprang eternal…
DIY Geometric Mirror Using Children’s Blocks
A friend and I were discussing DIY fails the other day. Always a cheery topic. The reality of my life is that some projects turn out and others…not so much. She mentioned that IF I have flops, I don’t share them on the ol’ blog. Well, duh! I don’t share pictures of the gravity-defying things my hair does when I wake up in the morning either. But maybe I should. It would certainly shock and awe. I do try to share the foibles that inevitably come with most of my projects though. Today I’m sharing a project FILLED with foibles. It’s cup runneth over with what NOT to do. But…
Braided Denim Pumpkin
I have these illusions that I’m an unique, one-of-a-kind, broke-the-mold sort of person. But I’m really just like most people. In fact, I’m just like the MILLIONS of other crafty people in the world who have fallen down the rabbit hole known as The Dollar Store and emerged with a styrofoam pumpkin. Okay, okay. I have six Dollar Store pumpkins. Six. But that’s all, I swear. And you can’t just buy a Dollar Store pumpkin and be done with it. Nooo. No way. That’s against the code. Something crafty must be done with those Dollar Store pumpkins or you develop an eye twitch and bad luck for 7 years. Or so…
