Yay! It's Christmas Home Tour time! Even though I've been working on Christmas projects and decor since the first part of November, I really just put the final touches on our Christmas house this week. And I LOVE it. I hope you do too! Come on in and check it out! I decided to go for a kind of woodlands look this year with a healthy dose of shiny, glittery gold thrown in. I felt like I needed a bit more color though, so I ended up adding in some green (from pine branches) and pops of pink and red. This Merry & Bright "mantel"scape idea has been in my head for months now. It went through a bit of an evolution, but I just really love where it ended up. What do you think, can I keep it up all year? (You can see how I made the lighted "bright" canvas Continue Reading
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Ho Ho Ho! Free Christmas Printable
Need a little last minute Christmas decor? Here's a little  something I threw together today that you can print off and have on your walls in minutes. I had a stack of cheap-o 5x7 frames that I had picked up for free from a church swap thing. (Friends, here's a little pro tip I learned from Jim Halpert: When someone asks you if you want a free frame, the answer is always, "Absolutely I do.") Anyway, I gave my frames a quick couple of coats of white spray paint and stuck my little HO HO HO printables (okay, it's really just a "HO" printable) in them. If you want to make some for yourself, maybe you have some 5x7 frames laying around too. Or, if not, I'm SURE your closest thrift store does. Or, even better, stick them up on your walls with a little washi tape. UPDATE: Continue Reading
Exciting News!
Soooo... check out what came in the mail the other day. Hey, what's that there? It looks like the beautiful, glossy latest edition of Homespun magazine.Let's give it a little flip-through, shall we? Wait a tick! What have we here? AHHH! Yeah. That's me! And my little ol' blog. I'm not completely sure how I got picked to be a part of this story (including blogs like My Poppet and Dana Made It, among other greats), but I will take it.Isn't that cool?!?!I also wanted to share Liz from Howling at the Moon's African Flower Stocking:It is so fun to see something that someone has made from your pattern or tutorial! I really like the greens that she used in the stocking. Be sure to go check out all of Liz's projects. This crochet turkey caught my eye last month. It's so cute! And if you Continue Reading
Two Free Watercolor Christmas Printables
Confession: I'm still putting up a few last Christmas decorations. Are you there too, or have you been done for weeks now? I really need to get my stuff together because I'm inviting all of you over to check out my Christmas house on Friday as part of Like a Saturday's Christmas Tour of Homes (It started to today! Go look around!) Anywho - If you are looking to add a few last minute touches to your Christmas decor, how about a couple of free printables? The winner of my little Christmas goodies giveaway was selected this morning, and I am packaging up these watercolors to send off as part of the prize, but if you like them, you can download your own free printable versions now. Click on the images below to download and print them off. Happy Holidays! Continue Reading
State-Shaped Christmas Ornaments: Random Crafts of Kindness
This post is part of the Random Crafts of Kindness campaign sponsored by Consumer Crafts.  When I heard about Consumer Craft's Random Crafts of Kindness campaign, I jumped at the chance to be involved. I just love the idea of surprising someone with a little handmade gift. When I began thinking about who could use a little pick-me-up, one person came to mind. I have a new friend who moved into my neighborhood recently, who has not had the easiest time adjusting to her new home. I love living in the desert, but for folks from greener parts, it can be a big change. I knew she has been homesick, and I thought a little reminder of home might bring a smile to her face, and I came up with the idea of a state-shaped ornament to add to her Christmas tree. As I thought about the whole Continue Reading
Lighted Christmas Canvas – Merry and Bright
This little project is one half of a "Merry and Bright" thing I'm working on for our holiday decor, which is turning out kind of awesome, if I do say so myself. I can't wait to share our Christmas house with you (I'll be participating in Like A Saturday's Christmas Tour of Homes). I should probably be done with my Christmas decorating by one week into December, huh? I do have decorations up, but it all just keeps evolving... Ha! Anyway. I really wanted a lit sign for the "bright" half of my "Merry and Bright." There are tons of great lighted projects out there, but I wanted something I could put together pretty quickly and without power tools. Here's what I came up with! If you want to make one for yourself, you will need: A canvas Paint (I used Martha Stewart's yellow Continue Reading
DIY Music Sheet Garland: Guest Post by Rachel from Like a Saturday
Hi y'all! I'm Rachel and you can find me chatting it up over at Like a Saturday. I blog about DIY home decor and crafting on the cheap. I'm so happy to be here at Persia Lou to share a fun and easy Christmas craft with you all! Most of my Christmas decorating this year has a vintage vibe. That means lots of little vintage trinkets and bottle brush trees, tinsel, and sheet music! I created a couple of garlands using vintage sheet music to incorporate into my decor. I already had all of the supplies on hand, so these delicate garlands didn't cost me a thing to make. You could create your own for a few bucks {or even free!}. You will need either an old hymnal or songbook {I found mine on eBay for a couple of bucks a few years ago} or if you'd rather not tear up an old book, you can Continue Reading
African Flower Crochet Stocking: Free Tutorial
I have wanted to make a project using African Flower hexagons for a while, and I finally got to it with this stocking. I am really happy with the way it turned out. Hope you like it too! I'm calling this post a tutorial rather than a pattern because it is not a comprehensive written pattern, but it should give you everything you need to make your own. Materials: Worsted weight yarn in three colors [I used Sugar N Cream cotton in Red (2 balls), Tangerine (2 balls), and White (1 ball)] H hook (5.0 mm) First off, you will need to make 17 African Flower Hexagons. Heidi Bears has a great photo tutorial for the African Flower Hexagons that you should definitely check out. My version is just slightly different. African Flower Hexagon: Rnd 1: Start with magic loop, in loop, ch 3, Continue Reading