Simple Valentine Burlap Vase

Feels like we just put away all of our Christmas decorations and I'm already talking about Valentine's Day!

Oh wait... we did just put away all of our Christmas decorations.

Valentines Day tends to sneak up on me because in January, I'm not quite ready to re-decorate the house for another holiday. So I tend to wait. And then... BAM!...it's February and Valentines is in two weeks!

I'm trying to plan ahead a little this time and I got down our bin of decorations from the attic last weekend. After sifting through them and deciding what I want to display again this year and what needs to take a trip to Goodwill, I realized I don't have a lot of Valentines decor that I really, really like.

Thus, it was time for a little project.

I've been drawn to a more "rustic" look lately decorating with muted tones, more shades of white and grey and definitely burlap. It adds an easy natural element to any decor, which is always pleasing to the eye.

I wanted to create a simple Valentine's vase that incorporated burlap as well, and this is what I came up with:

Cute, right?

This project was so easy and cheap, you can make it in just a few minutes with whatever craft materials you have lying around the house.

I happened to have some leftover burlap from a wreath that I made, plus some pink polka dot grosgrain ribbon. All I needed was a "vase" and this leftover spaghetti sauce jar was just what I was looking for (am I the only one who saves glass jars?? They're quite versatile in crafting situations.).

I used double-sided tape to adhere the burlap to the side of the jar:

Then wrapped the burlap around the jar a couple of times:

Tied the pink ribbon into a bow, and voila!

Took me about 5 minutes to make it, and zero dollars. My kinda craft!

And doesn't it look super cute next to my "Bee Mine" artwork? You can print one off for yourself here.

I'd love to know any cute Valentines crafts you'll be doing this year. Leave me a comment and let me know. Happy "love day" everyone!

Simple Burlap Wreath Tutorial

I've been in love with the wrapped burlap wreath look for quite some time.

Problem is...they're expensive!

For example, this adorable wreath is $50 on Etsy, plus tax and $15 in shipping.

I decided that I could definitely figure out how to make one, so I searched YouTube and there are in fact, several tutorials on how to make this exact wreath.

Problem #2... I didn't have the right kind of metal 3-tired wire wreath form that you need in order to make this type of "bunched" burlap wreath. All I had was my grapevine wreath that I've used for several years now:

So I decided to just make due with what I had and see how it turned out.

Fortunately, I think it turned out really cute!

Here's what you need:

• A wreath form of any kind
• (1) 10-yard roll of 6" burlap
• Floral wire
• 1 roll of thick wire ribbon
• Optional: an MDF letter spray-painted any color of your choice

1. First, simply take the burlap and wrap it around the wreath. I did a twist on top each time I wrapped it to give it more bulk.

 2. Once you've wrapped it completely around the wreath, cut the end and use the floral wire to secure it inside the wrapped burlap (use the wire almost like a needle & thread).

 3. I used this YouTube tutorial on "How to Make Wreath Bows" which was very simple and helpful.


4. Then, again, I used my floral wire to secure the bow to the wreath poking the wire through both the ribbon and burlap and securing it with tight twists.

5. I think the wreath looks great just like this, but if you choose to add a letter, place the letter wherever you like, and secure it with the floral wire. I didn't want to be able to see the floral wire (which is green) so I painted over the wire with white paint.
In this close-up picture, you can still kind of see the wire on the middle right-side of the H and the bottom left of the H.

Voila! You've got a beautiful new wreath that can be changed out with the seasons that cost a LOT less than the store-bought version.

Here's my breakdown of costs:

• Wreath (free - already had it)
• Burlap $7 (on sale at JoAnn's)
• Ribbon $1.59 (on seasonal clearance at JoAnn's)
• MDF letter $2 (on sale at JoAnn's)

For a Grand Total of: $10.59!

I hope you'll give this simple craft a try next time you want to spruce up your front door.

4th of July {Ideas, Recipes & Free Printables}

I can hardly believe 4th of July is one week away! Where did June go!?!

I made the mistake of hopping on Pinterest to find an easy 4th of July craft to do with the kiddos and man did I hit the mutha-load of good ideas!

I mean, how great is this:

 

SUCH a smart idea for the tiny tots who want to participate in the sparkler fun, but are a bit freaked out to actually hold one themselves. I will definitely be trying this with Parker.

And if you're hosting a party or going to one, and need to bring something, check out these simple ideas:

Photo credit

Photo credit

 Photo credit.

Or maybe you're looking for some fun house or party decor? Here ya go...

Available here.

Available here.

How great is this FREE 4th of July banner and artwork available here along with many other party printables.

 And one of my favorite bloggers, TomKat Studios, has some beautiful cupcake toppers that you can download for free. These would also be cute during the World Cup USA games!

 

And of course, my original purpose of going on Pinterest in the first place...some cute kids crafts! Check these out:

Instructions available here.

Photo credit.

And if I had a girl...this is the kind of t-shirt I would be making...

 

And if you're willing to get a little messy (I'm thinking bathing suits...outside...with washable paints), you could let the kids loose with this super fun idea:

 Straw "Fireworks"

 The child dips the end of a straw into red, white & blue paint and then blows on the straw to make "fireworks" on the paper.

 

 

I hope these give you some fun 4th ideas. Be safe and have a fabulous time celebrating our awesome nation...the land of the free and home of the brave!

Easter Roundup {FREE printables, crafts, recipes & more!}

Easter is just around the corner, and besides being one of the most important holidays on the Christian calendar, I love everything that Easter stands for: Renewal, rebirth, resurrection...it's a time for clearing out the cobwebs of life and starting fresh.

Whether that means something deep like asking for forgiveness (or forgiving someone else); or changing a bad habit like gossip or negative self-talk.; or something as simple as buying all new underwear and tossing the holey stuff taking up room in your drawer. Okay, maybe that's not so much "renewal or rebirth" but sometimes freshening up a space in your house or adding a few new "Spring-y" items to your wardrobe can really usher in the new season.

Today, I wanted to share with you some easy, realistic, Easter crafts, projects and recipes that I am planning to do in the coming weeks. I hope you'll join me in one or all of them and let me know how they turned out.

First up on the agenda, are some simple crafts for kids.

Grow Your Own Easter Grass

 

I know this is something that many schools do around this time of year, but I've never attempted it at home. I found this great blog post on "How Does She?" about it recently that gave links to the specific grass seed you need in order to do this. (P.S. I asked at least 5 people at Lowe's yesterday and no one had any clue what I was talking about, so I ordered it from Amazon instead).

I think it will be a great science experiment for the boys, but I am also planning to use it as a centerpiece for my Easter brunch table. BAM! Two-things-in-one. Love it.

Next up, how cute are these free Easter gift printables from Lil Luna?!

They have them for neighbors, teachers, friends and more. They come in a variety of colors, and really...who doesn't love Reese's eggs???
I've already made a batch of these for our beloved neighbors, and plan to make more for the boys' teachers as well.

And how about this adorable - EASY - craft for the kiddos...



All you do is paint your child's palm and 4 fingers (leaving the thumb clean) with white paint. Stamp their hand on a pastel piece of paper (or in this case, a canvas) and then paint or draw the bunny details on when the hand print is dry. Super simple, and so cute!
I am going to make these for the grandparents and write "Some Bunny Loves You" at the top of the page.

This craft idea is more for the toddler crowd, although the big kids may have fun making more intricate designs with the Q-tips:

You can get all the details here at the fun blog titled, "No Time for Flashcards." 

Okay, let's move into the Easter brunch category...

Centerpiece Ideas

This one uses dyed eggs to hold the flowers in place.

And this one uses jellybeans. Adorbs!

 Easter Recipes

How mouth-watering does this ham asparagus strata recipe look? Mmmmm...

 These mini cinnamon rolls look so heavenly. I'm just worried that I'd eat 20 of them.

What I love about this recipe is that it uses store-bought dough. Can you say, time saver!?!

 

 This cheesy, bacon, potato casserole is popping up all over Pinterest. I wonder if I should test it out...

  

I hope I've given you some fun, yet not complicated, ideas for Easter. But most importantly, let's not forget what we're celebrating on this special holiday. This beautifully designed printable is available for free here from the talented folks at AKA Designs. I think it would make a wonderful statement piece framed with a simple candle lit in front of it.

Happy Easter everyone!
Have a fabulous weekend.

Fall Pennant Banner {A Tutorial}

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a sucker for the "mbers." Ya know, September, October, November and December.

So the minute September hits, I start decorating.

Thus far, I've had a 9-year old ask me why I had my Halloween decorations out already, and I've had an adult male ask me why I had my "Thanksgiving stuff" out. Har...har... it's neither, thank you very much. It's just my stash of fall decorations. The jack-o-lanterns and ghosts don't come out until October first.

Now that my little guy is in preschool, I have a few more hours to myself during the week, which has allowed me to get back to some fun crafting. My first project, is this easy fall pennant banner.

I promise you, if you have a computer, a pair of scissors, some scrapbook paper, and ribbon, you can make this banner.

Here's how ya do it...

Step one:
Decide what you want your banner to say. "Happy Fall Y'all," "Autumn," "Happy Harvest," or just simply "Fall" which is what I chose. If you're going to hang your banner across a doorway or a wide window, you may want a longer word than just "Fall" so that it looks balanced.

Step two:
Print off the letters you are going to use.
I used these free monogram letters from the Martha Stewart web site. They print off 6 letters to a page and each letter has a fun little border around them, which I thought would add some character to the banner. Here is the link to the Martha Stewart free alphabet printables.
I would recommend using cardstock instead of regular computer paper for the letters if you have some.Of course, you could just print off letters using Microsoft Word or any other computer program you have.

Here are the letters I chose.

Now, because I'm totally and completely anal, I wanted the letters to be uniform, I used a compass to draw circles around each letter so that I would know where to cut.

 Which resulted in fairly uniform letters.

Step 3:
Now it's time to move to the pennant pieces. You can either measure them with a ruler, or download this free Pennant banner printable from the blog, Martin Family Living.Then use it to trace the pennant pieces on scrapbook paper.

Clearly I had used this scrapbook previously for another project.

Step 4:
Then, using an X-acto knife, cut small slits into the corner of each pennant piece so you can string a ribbon through them.

Then I used good ol double-sided tape to stick the letters on to the pennant pieces. And then strung a grosgrain ribbon through the slits.

I decided I wanted a little bit more color, so I also added an orange grosgrain ribbon to the ends and then strung it across my entertainment center.

And now that I have a banner that clearly states that these are "Fall" decorations, maybe it will help clear up any further confusion about which holiday I'm celebrating. :)

Last-Minute Father's Day Ideas {Free Printables}

Okay hubby... if you're reading this post, please hit the "close" button and then delete it. I would hate to ruin your cute Father's Day surprises from the kiddos.

Now that that's out of the way...

I thought I'd share some super easy, super cute Father's Day printables with you in case you're still looking for a last-minute gift for your Man.

Here's one that I printed off for Payton to give to Brian.

I love it because he could use his own words and his own thoughts to express why he loves his Dad so much.

 

You can print it off here.

Another one that I love is this adorable pennant banner.

How fun would it be to hang this the night before and surprise your hubs in the morning?

You can download it here.

If you don't feel like making anything, but have enough kiddos to do this pose, how cute would it be to frame this picture for your husband's office?

And if you'd rather not shell out $6 or more at Hallmark, you can download these awesomely designed cards from TomKat Studios for free!

Here is the link to the cards.

And if you wanted to dress up your Father's Day brunch table, how about this adorable sign you could print off and frame?

Just click here to download the 8x10 image and many other matching Father's Day decorations.

Okay, that should get you well on your way for some fun Father's Day projects.

Hope everyone has fun celebrating their special Men on Father's Day!