It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite time of year for so many reasons.  One of those many reasons is all the decorating and crafting I get to do!  Throughout this month I would like to share some of the decorations I have done in my home, as well as some craft ideas that you can do too!  The first idea I would like to share is a very simple one.  I'm sure most of you have a cake plate sitting around your house and probably some extra ornaments that won't quite fit on the tree, and that's all you need to make this centerpiece.  I like the simplicity of it and the fact that anyone can do it.  Here is how mine looks:

Empty Frame Idea

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!  I know we sure did!  I just finished up all my holiday decorating and will share some pictures soon.  Here is a quick idea for any extra frames you may have laying around.  I'm sure you have seen these letters all over the place, I found this one at Hobby Lobby for $5.  It was originally gold but I spraypainted it silver to match the room.  The frames are from Goodwill, the large was $4.99 and the smaller was $0.99.  Of course they needed a little painting but other than that they were perfect.

Here is a before picture of the larger frame...

and after, on the wall with the "t" and smaller frame.

Of course you could always just hang the letter up there alone but why not add a couple frames to it and make into some artwork! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I saw this quote on a church sign on my way to work one day and thought it was good, "Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel."  Here is a quick placecard idea with those dollar store leaves I showed you in my first post.  I used a silver sharpee, but I think it would be pretty with a gold sharpee too.  It's kind of hard to read it in the picture, but it shows up better in person. 

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

DIY Picture Board

I'm sure you all have seen these in the store but I decided to make my own to give it a more personal touch.  I did this for a room I am redoing for a young girl.  I already had the fabric for pillows I made for the room and some leftover batting from another project so all I had to purchase was a cork board.  The fabric was actually a remnant from the fabric store and it was 50% off, that's my kind of deal.  Remnants are great for projects like this because it's usually much cheaper and you don't need very much.  I chose to cover a premade cork board ($6 at Target) because it was easy and inexpensive but you could use whatever you want.  Another positive about using the cork board is you can not only slide pictures, cards, etc. under the ribbons but you can also use thumbtacks to hang things on the board.  You could use 1/4 inch plywood instead and batting and make the board any size or shape you want.  Now this has gotten my creative juices flowing, I think the next one I make will have a different shape to it, maybe something kind of ornate?!?  Another neat detail you could add would be covered buttons where the lines intersect.  All you would need to do is drill a hole in the back where you want the button to be, cover the buttons with a coordinating fabric (or use any kind of buttons you want, you could even use all different types of buttons for a more eclectic look) and then thread the buttons through front side where you want them to be, and staple the thread on the back side.  I thought about doing this but ran out of time (and energy :)  I think it would be neat to make this for an office or family room and make it big enough to cover a large portion of the wall.  Then you could use it to hang pictures or cards or anything you want on it.  We have a small one hanging on the inside of our pantry door for coupons, cards, lists, etc.  Here are the steps I followed.

Supplies: Cork board, batting, material, ribbon, staple gun, staples

Step 1:  Cut fabric and batting to size, leaving enough excess to go around the corners

Step 2:  Cover the board and staple fabric and batting on the back side of the board, making sure that fabric is pulled taut and the pattern of the fabric is where you want it to be.

Step 3: Apply the ribbon, stapling it to the back as you go, in any pattern you want.

Then you could drill the holes and add the buttons at this point if you wanted to or you can just leave it like this.  The corkboard I bought came with metal hooks that you attach to the back to hang it with, but you could use whatever you want.  You could always just buy one of these from the store, but where is the fun in that, right?!?!  And this gives you a chance to be creative and custom design it just the way you want!  Now it's time to bake some goodies for Thanksgiving!

Dining Chairs

After I found my $10 Craig's list table, I knew I had to be on the lookout for chairs to go with it.  I came across these at the thrift store for $15 each.  They seemed like they would be relatively easy to recover and paint.  One of my favorite details about the chairs is the buttons on the back, which turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be.  I had an upholsterer cover the buttons for me (they were only $0.50/each and it was well worth it to make sure it was done right).  I got the fabric on sale for about $5/yard and it was originally $25/yard. 

Here is the before...

and after...

and I changed the color of the stripes on the wall, still trying to decide if I like them, but for now they will have to stay because it was way too much work...

Wreaths

I love wreaths, especially this time of year because there is so much you can do with them.  Here is one I made from those spikey balls that fall off the trees and end up all over the yard (I'm sure that's not the technical term for them :)).  I have always thought they were cool and wanted to find a use for them somehow.  I just bought a wreath form and then gathered tons of those spikey things and then hot glued them all over the wreath form and to each other.  Then to top it off I added a bow.  Here's how it turned out...

Here are some more wreaths I'm looking forward to making...

This one is from eddieross.com I love all the colors and it looks like it would be pretty simple and inexpensive to make...

This one is from livingwithlindsay.com.  I love how unique this one is and once again very inexpensive to make, she used a wreath form and a book from the dollar store and that was it!  You could probaby even use sheet music too...Check out her instructions here.

Here are some from marthastewart.com that I might just have to make...

I love all the natural elements in this one...

I even saw one in the December Martha Stewart Living that is similar to the one I made!  I'm sure she got the idea from me ;)  I was going to try to scan it to show you but can't seem to get it to work.
There are tons more at marthastewart.com.  Check them out, and I'm sure you will be inspired to get a little crafty!

more stick art

I am back to spraypainting sticks again!  I found this frame at the thrift store for $5.99.  It had good lines and was in good shape, just needed some paint.  My original plan was to attach the sticks to the frame and then to add small, metal clips (like the ones used on name badges) to the sticks and then use it to display pictures or even Christmas cards.  I've had trouble finding the clips so I didn't do it yet but may end up doing it some day.  All I did was gather some sticks, hot glue them to the back of the frame and to each other where they overlapped and then I sprapainted the whole thing.  You could even do the sticks a different color and would look cool too.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I kind of like it this way too with the sticks just their natural color...

and the final product...

Golden Opportunity

I just knew I would come across another opportunity to use my favorite gold spray paint!  While making one of my frequent trips to the thrift store, I came across this table for $5.99.  Obviously it needed a little work, but nothing a coat of paint and a little sanding wouldn't take care of.  All the other furniture in this room is white ,so I figured a pop of gold might add something interesting to the room. 

Here is the before...

and ta-da!  The after!

I found some other AMAZING deals today that I can't wait to share with you!!

Reinvented Lamp

I have been looking for a lamp to go on an end table in our office for a while now but didn't want to spend a lot, seeing how I get bored with things and I'd rather find something and fix it up anyway.  It's more fun to me that way.  I came across the light at Goodwill and I liked the lines of it but wasn't crazy about the finish on it and it had some scratches.  Nothing a fresh coat of paint couldn't fix and at $3.99 it was the perfect price for me!

As always, here is the before...

...and AFTER!

Shoe Organization

This post really has nothing to do with design or being creative but I was just so excited about this that I had to share it with you!  For the longest time my shoes were a mess in the bottom of my closet.  I recently got on an organization kick and decided to start with one of my favorite things, shoes.  I found these plastic bins at home depot for $0.99 a piece and when I went to print my pictures from CVS they said I had 50 free prints so the pictures were free!  Now every pair of shoes has a home in the top of my closet.  I grabbed a few extra bins too just in case I run across another pair of shoes I can't live without! :)

A touch of Gold

I have found my new favorite spraypaint.  It's gold metallic spraypaint by Rustoleum.  It is amazing!  I usually am drawn to brushed nickel over gold but lately it has been the other way around.  I found this spraypaint at Lowe's and thought I would do a little experimenting with it.  Yesterday, I decided to spray paint some pumpkins to give them a different look, and it worked so well that I went on to paint the mail holder in our office.  So far that's all I've done, but I'm sure I will find many more uses for it especially as the holidays are approaching.  The coverage is great and you don't need a lot of it.  I only did one coat on the pumpkins and one on the mail holder and they look great.  Here are some pictures...

Love at first Light

I was browsing on Lampsplus.com the other day, looking for a chandelier for a friend of mine when I stumbled upon this lampshade.  I was immediately drawn to it.  I just love the clean lines of it and the sharp contrast of the black and white.  I figured it would be pretty simple to make one similar to this, so I thought I would give it a try.  I found the lamp shade at good will for $1.99 and got some ribbon for $3.99 at A.C. Moore.  I used hot glue to hold the ribbon in place and that was pretty much it.  It was so easy to make and I think it definitly makes a statement now, where before it just blended in.  Another thing I did to this lampshade to make it stand out, was to paint the inside of it chocolate brown.  I taped off the outside of the shade (to eliminate getting any paint on it) and then just spraypainted the inside.  It makes the shade more opaque too, which I like because it had a yellowish tint to it before when the light came through. 

Here is the lampsplus.com version...

and here is my DIY version...

and this is the inside of it painted chocolate brown...

 

Sticks

If you haven't noticed from some of my pictures already, I definitly have a fascination with sticks.  I have always loved arrangements that use sticks.  I think it just gives it more dimension and texture.  Lately, I have been collecting sticks from my backyard, spraypainting them, and using them in different vases in my home.  I know there are several stores that sell them, but to me I'd rather find them for FREE and I can handpick exactly the ones I want.  You can also spraypaint the ones you find any color you want or just leave them in their natural state.  I would love to have a tree in my backyard with white, scaly bark.  I think the branches from those trees are so pretty and would look great in a vase, especially at Christmas time.  Maybe I will plant one... :) 

Here is a picture of my most recent "stick arrangement."  I just liked how curvy these are and kind of asymmetrical... 

So, next time you are looking for something to fill up a vase in your home, check your backyard!  Stay tuned, tomorrow I have several projects I'm working on and hopefully will get to share them with you!

DIY Bling

I found these gloves on Anthropology.com and immediatley loved them.  I think every girl has a love for a little sparkle.  However, I didn't fall in love with the price tag of $80.  Thankfuly, that's where my glue gun and a trip to the craft store came in.  I found these gloves for $5 at Ross and the rhinestones were $3 at the craft store.  So for $8, I now have a pair of my own! 

Here is their verson... (which I still love the color and the ribbed detail on the cuff)

and my $8 version...(The rhinestones look yellow in the picture but they are the same color as the anthro ones, just had troulbe getting the lighting right)

I think these would make a great gift for a bride-to-be, or any girl who loves a little bling! :)