holidays
Cross-Stitch American Flag On a Grain Sifter
What happens when you combine cross-stitch, an American flag, and an antique grain sifter? Pure Americana magic. Or, in less flowery terms, you get a cross-stitch American flag on a grain sifter. I’ve always been intrigued by the grid pattern of grain sifters. It lends itself well to all sorts of crafty endeavors, but particularly cross-stitch. Cross-stitch in its most rudimentary sense is a series of x-shaped hand stitches. I won’t even pretend to know much more about cross-stitch beyond that completely lacking description. I do consider it to be an art form and skill that I am continually impressed by when I see what folks have created. If you…
Eight Fun 4th of July Ideas
Before you know it, the USA will be celebrating another birthday. It is turning the ripe old age of 246 in 2022! That calls for a celebration, don’t you think? Here are eight fun 4th of July ideas to make the holiday even more festive. Fun 4th of July Ideas: Make Faux Sparklers or Giant Frill Picks I had so much fun making these last year and plan to reuse them again this year. (Read how I made them here.) You can either use these faux sparklers or giant frill picks in the world’s largest sandwich, or you can do like I did and put them in my front porch…
How a Weed Became A Symbol of Remembrance
Have you ever wondered how a weed became a symbol of remembrance worldwide for fallen soldiers? That weed is the poppy. The first shock to my system was that poppies are weeds. I thought poppies were pretty flowers. Don’t believe me? Go check out my proof here and here and here and here. Weed or not, I still think they are pretty. The origin story of the poppy becoming a worldwide symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers stems from a poem penned by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. McCrae was a Canadian brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit. Not long after the Second Battle of Ypres where 87,000 Allied soldiers were killed, wounded, or…
DIY Your Own Wood-Burned Easter Eggs
Here’s something you never knew you needed to make until now: Wood-Burned Easter Eggs. They are fun to make, will last forever, and you can even use them as place cards at your Easter table. I’m a wood-burning novice. Seriously, these wood-burned Easter eggs are my second wood-burning project ever. If I can try something new, so can you. All you need are wood eggs, a wood-burning kit, and your imagination. I like these 2 1/2-inch wood eggs from Amazon because they are a good natural egg size and don’t have a flat bottom. If you want your eggs to stand up on end, then you need to order eggs…
Easter Egg Embroidered Napkins
Here’s a relatively quick and customizable Easter craft for you – Easter Egg Embroidered Napkins. This is a fun way of adding some Easter flair to otherwise plain cloth napkins. Please note that I casually threw out the words ‘relatively quick’ when describing this project. Some of you have never touched embroidery thread. Some of you are probably hand-stitching pros and could do this project with your eyes closed. (If you can actually do this with your eyes closed, will you make a video for me?) On the embroidery spectrum, I’m a little closer to “never touched embroidery thread” than I am to being a professional. With my limited skills,…
7 Lucky and Unlucky Signs From Irish Folklore
St. Patrick’s Day is almost here and I thought it would be fun to share some things that were considered, way back in the day, to be lucky and unlucky according to Irish folklore. These lucky and unlucky signs are not pulled magically pulled out of thin air by yours truly. Nope! (image: Killarney, County Kerry via the National Library of Ireland) These signs were compiled by students in 1938 at Listowel National School in County Kerry, Ireland. They have since been recorded by Wexford archaeologists Colm Moriarty and Adrienne Corless on the Irish Archaeology site. Here are seven of my favorite lucky and unlucky signs from Irish folklore: If you…
DIY Wood and Brass Hearts for Valentine’s Day
I have a lovely DIY to share with you today – wood and brass hearts! They are perfect when you’re looking for a subtle touch when it comes to Valentine’s Day decor. Although, when it comes to the actual Valentine’s Day and every day, really, don’t be subtle when telling your valentine they are loved. Life is too short! Here’s how to make these wood and brass hearts. Step 1: Unless you want to freehand it, print out a paper heart template. We used a 2-inch and a 3-inch heart. Step 2: Trace your heart shape on a piece of wood and carefully cut the heart out using a jigsaw.…
Merry Christmas 2021
2021. Wow. What do we say about this year? Been there. Done that. Don’t need a repeat. Yeah, that works. 2021 has been like a jar of mixed nuts. The label said, “Now with 20% more!” which you’d think would be a good thing. Unfortunately, that jar is mainly filled with nuts you don’t like and you have to dig hard to find the one type of nut you do enjoy because of course, they short-changed you on that nut to save money. It’s nuts. *sigh* I’m telling you this so that you know my bad attitude feelings regarding 2021 left me befuddled as to how to write a sendoff…
Christmas Trees in Every Bedroom
It feels very self-indulgent to disclose that we have Christmas trees in every bedroom of our house this year. There are only three bedrooms, but still. To borrow a term from my kids, that sounds very extra! My kids have each had a small faux Christmas tree in their bedrooms since they started bringing home those precious popsicle stick ornaments from preschool. That means for the past 10 years during the month of December I have tucked my kids in at night and thought, “Wow. Falling asleep to the warm glow of a Christmas tree is magical.” It’s the best nightlight ever! That also means I have been wanting a…
Snowflake-Themed Christmas Tree
I’m thrilled you are here today to check out my snowflake-themed Christmas tree. How did a snowflake-themed Christmas tree come about? Well, it went a little something like this: No one: Absolutely No One: Me: I have six tiny doilies that could look like snowflakes if I squint. Do you know what that means? Time for a snowstorm to hit this Christmas tree! And that’s how my brain works. I’m not a minimalist, but the majority of the time I skew more minimalist than maximalist in my decorating style. However, you can toss that rule out the window and stomp on it a few times when it comes to me…
