3 Tiered Farmhouse Stand

Is anyone else getting in the mood for Fall?  I’m always in the mood for Fall!  We took a trip to Hobby Lobby earlier this week after getting some inspiration from Pinterest, and I picked up a few new items …

Traditional Italian Housewarming Gift

My husband’s coworker just got married around Christmas and closed on a house a week or so ago.  He wanted to do something special for them and suggested an Italian housewarming gift since his friend’s new wife is Italian.  We …

Homemade Sugar Scrubs

I love making sugar scrub! Usually you already have everything you need already in your kitchen!  It’s quick and easy to mix up and makes a great gift! In fact, we gave some as Christmas gifts this year. When I have …

Baseball team spirit buttons

Super easy way to show your spirit for a sports team!  I made these baseball pins out of wooden circles, but you could easily do a basketball, tennis ball, or soccer ball and you can get the oval shape and make footballs!

•  Start with a small wooden circle.  The ones I used came in a pack of 6 at Michaels for about $3.50 a pack.

• Paint the circle white for a baseball.
• I used Elmer’s Painters pens to draw the red stitching and each player’s name and number.
• Tie a bow with team colors and hot glue at the top of the circle, but don’t cover up the name.
• Glue a pin on the back so you can attach it to a shirt.  The pins I bought in a pack had self-stick backs, so that makes it even easier!

I think these turned out really cute!  In fact, I had to make all the moms on our team one because they liked them so much!  A really quick and easy project.

Burlap Spring Wreath

My poor front door has been needing a wreath makeover badly. My red berry wreath was still up from Christmas until this weekend. I have been wanting to try a wreath using burlap so I picked some up on sale at Hobby Lobby (40% off!) this weekend. So here’s what I came up with…

What you need:
spools of burlap (how many depends on how big your wreath is–I used 4, but my wreath is huge)
wire wreath ring (the kind with 3 wires)
any flowers/decor you want
wire cutters
floral wire

This wreath was surprisingly super easy! I can’t wait to make another one for Fall. You just pull some of the burlap off your spool and push it through one of the opening between the wire circles. Keep poking little bunches of burlap through alternating gaps and sliding the bunches together to make it tight. When I ran out, I just left the end hanging out of the back and started a new roll. Since the burlap is a rough material, it seemed to hold pretty well.

I picked up an ivy garland and just kind wove it in and around some of the burlap bunches.

Finally, I poked some sprigs of yellow flowers and white flowers through the wire rings and secured them down with some floral wire. I was going to add a burlap ribbon bow, but it was really too much burlap. I may go back and find some pretty, colorful ribbon to give it a pop of color.

All in all, this was a really easy wreath that took me probably an hour to do from start to finish, and it was HUGE. I am really happy with the way it turned out, and I can’t wait to do variations for fall and maybe even try one of those mesh wreaths using the same technique.

Letter “H” Costume

So I had to do a random, last-minute craft tonight, and I’m so proud of the way it turned out I just had to share! My daughter is having “Dr. Seuss” week at daycare. Tomorrow is “dress up as your favorite letter” day, and of course I waited until 7:30 the night before to throw something together. She wanted to dress up as a “H” since that’s the letter her name begins with (of course.) I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I was going to dress her up as a “H.” My husband and I were even googling for ideas… and we found absolutely NOTHING. I went upstairs to grab up some cardboard to cut a “H” out of and somehow affix it to a shirt and had an “aha” moment.

I was actually inspired by a project posted on here previously… the duct tape clutch-see this post. I had a practice clutch lying around that I wasn’t using, and I found it in my craft supply box. If you haven’t read the clutch tutorial, it’s just a piece of felt with duct tape stuck to it. I literally just cut a “H” shape out of one of the sides of it and hot glued it onto a shirt and even made a little matching clip. My daughter absolutely loves it and as an added bonus the duct tape design was Hello Kitty so it goes along with the whole “H” theme. YAY for me! Just think of how cute this could be if you actually spent a lot of time and thought on it… what a cute Halloween costume idea or picture outfit! I think I’m onto something here…

Christmas Card Ornaments

I love Christmas and all the fun crafts to make around the holidays.  Every year I make Christmas ornaments out of old Christmas cards.  I have made some every year since the 8^th grade (and I am now 26) which was where I learned how to create these in my art class.

They really are pretty easy to create and always are a huge hit with everyone.  Plus you use old Christmas cards, so the main material is free if you save your cards every year.  Most of my family stockpiles theirs for me so I never have to buy cards.  Here’s the rundown on how to make them.

Materials:

• Christmas cards (or any cards/sturdy paper material you like)
• Scissors or circle cutter
• Glue
• Tube of glitter paint (I use the Tulip brand in silver or gold)
• Small round beads
• Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Cut circles out of the cards. You need 20 circles of the same size for one ornament.

2. Fold the edges of the circle up to make a triangle shape.

3. Glue the edges of 5 triangles together in a circle shape. Make 2 of these –1 for the top and 1 for the bottom of the ornament.

4. Glue the remaining 10 triangles in a chain by alternating one triangle pointing up and the next one pointing down. Connect the 2 ends to make a circle.

5. Thread your ribbon through all 3 pieces making a globe shape and tie the ends to make a loop to hang the ornament. Glue the top, middle, and bottom together along the folded edges.

6. Paint all of the edges with the glitter and put a bead at each intersection. I think gold is the best. It really makes the ornament pop!

7. Finish the ornament by tying a couple of different ribbons at the top of the ornament in a bow.

Make your own laundry detergent

I have been making my own laundry detergent for several months now from a recipe I found online.  It has really worked well and is a big savings when you compare it to buying detergent from the store.  I also read it is really good for those with sensitive skin and it is SO simple.  I would say I have been making it since July, and I’ve only had to make about 3 or 4 batches (at 2 gallons each.)  That adds up to about a batch a month, and I’m still using all the original supplies I purchased, except you have 1 bar of soap for each batch!

So if you want to give it a try, here’s the recipe:

What you need:

• 1 bar of soap (any kind–I’ve been using Dial)
• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup washing soda (Arm & Hammer is the brand I have been using.  You can find it on the laundry aisle at the grocery store.)
• 2 gallons of water (I have been using an old milk jug to measure it out.)
• 1 big pot
• grater (to grate your soap)
• big spoon to mix

Start by grating up your bar of soap in the big pot.  My grater, spoon, pot, and 1/2 measuring cup are all designated for laundry detergent only.  This is what it should look like.

After it’s all grated up, add a gallon of water and turn the stove on.  Cook this little booger until all the soap is dissolved.  It only takes a couple of minutes.  Stir as you go.

Next, add 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda.  Here’s what the boxes look like in case you need to hunt these down in the store.

Bring all these ingredients to a boil while stirring occassionally.  It should start coagulating.

Once it’s boiling, turn the heat off and add 1 gallon of cold water.  Take it off the heat, and let it hang out for a while.

That’s it!!!  So easy, right?  I just keep my soap in the pot, but you can distribute into milk jugs if you want.  It’s just an additional step, so I’d rather save myself the trouble by using it directly out of the pot!  I use 1/2 cup for each load.  Start the water, put your soap in, and then put your clothes in.  I wouldn’t put the detergent over the top of your clothes.

This stuff washes great!  Keep in mind, it won’t produce a lot of suds, but trust me it cleans great!  Just as good as the store bought stuff.  Give it a try!

Fall Raffia Wreath

First let me say, I LOVE FALL!  It is my favorite season, so I have TONS of fall decor, and I seem to always make a new fall wreath every year. A couple of weeks ago, I was on one …

Homecoming mums–a TEXAS tradition

Being a good ole southern, country girl from Texas who moved to Kentucky, I was confused when everyone looked at me like I had a third eye on my head when I mentioned a homecoming mum around here. After explaining to my Kentucky native husband (wondering why he was even asking, like this should be common knowledge, right?) he very kindly explained to me, “We don’t do that here.” After I got over the shock and sadness that Kentucky girls had never experienced the “homecoming mum” tradition, I began to research the history of the “mum.” So, apparently it is a TEXAS tradition that goes along with the whole football and homecoming craze that is the great state of Texas. Me personally, I love football and school pride and homecoming and all the “gaudy” and “tacky” things that go along with it. I guess you just have to be a homegrown Texas girl to appreciate it.

After a little research, I discovered the term homecoming mum is a shortened word for chrysanthemum, a flower that boys would give to their girlfriend or date for the big homecoming football game. Think like a corsage at prom, only on a much bigger scale. I suppose it started with a real flower and eventually evolved into the use of a silk flower. Being silk, it could hold a lot more “décor” so people began adding ribbons, trinkets, charms, bears, and all kinds of goodies onto their mums. As the saying goes “the bigger the better,” and everything is BIGGER in TEXAS. After googling some pictures of “homecoming mums,” I confirmed this is true. Oh and don’t you worry guys…you are not left mum-less for the big homecoming game. You get to sport a smaller version that you wear on your arm called a garter. It’s especially cute to see the little elementary school age kids wearing miniature versions of mums and garters! I’ve also worn a “mum-ring” or 2 in my day–a little homecoming attire for your fingers to sport.

While my mums in school were never as huge as some I saw online, it is definitely a tradition that I hold near and dear to my heart and makes me proud and happy I grew up a Texas girl. Below is a pic of the mum I made myself my senior year of high school. What a great tradition!

How many of you are familiar with the homecoming mum tradition? Did/do you wear mums at your school? Send me a pic of your mum, and I’ll post it!  All my TEXAS friends, dig up your old homecoming pics and send them to me… I need to reminisce!