I have pretty much used the same Halloween decorations the last couple years, and I'm getting excited to change things up a bit this year. I have been really loving black and white Halloween decor. It's spooky but pretty at the same time. Here are some of my favorite black and white DIY Halloween Decor projects from around the web. (Note to Pinners: Please pin these great projects from the original site, not from my site. Thank you!) Whipperberry Hi Sugarplum Country Living My Fabuless Life Lil Luna Bump Smitten Boxwood Clippings Uncommon Designs Betz White So much good stuff out there! I've definitely Continue Reading
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“Love Us” Gilded Canvas
Guys - I'm pretty excited about this project. I really, really like the way it turned out. I hope you do too! It was inspired by different golden art pieces I have seen out there in blogland (like this one and this one). Most that I have liked use a word or phrase, but I decided I wanted to go with more of an image. I decided on a "i love us" kind of idea that would be represented by a heart and the word "us." I started out by printing off the outline of a heart so that half of the heart filled a page and the word "us." I cut them out to create a stencil. I traced one half of the heart, and then flipped it over to finish the heart. Then, I added "us." I used a brush to paint on the gilding adhesive. Then, following the instructions, I let the adhesive dry for about Continue Reading
Attempting French Macarons
When I was planning my daughter's fancy tea party birthday, I knew that I wanted to make some pretty, colorful treats. Preferably something I hadn't made before. I decided I was going to brave the french macaron. Is there any baked good prettier or more intimidating than a french macaron? I'm really not sure. But. Guys. They are not impossible! Seriously. I still haven't produced a perfect macaron, but I've made some that are pretty nice looking and tasty, in my nonprofessional opinion. I'm sharing my adventures in french macaron experimentation in hopes that it may help other curious newbies like myself. I started off with a little internet research, picked a recipe (one with volume measurements because I don't have a scale), and just jumped right on in. Here's the result of Continue Reading
Washi Tape Teacups
One of the little details that I really liked from my daughter's tea party birthday celebration were the little teacups I embellished. I considered using vintage teacups, but decided that I would rather not worry about the possibility of broken dishes. I found some clear plastic coffee cups on Amazon that had a pretty shape, and I also picked up some small clear plates at the dollar store. So, I was set with three-year-old-safe teacups and saucers, but I still needed a way to make them special. At first I thought I would embellish with gold paint, but I didn't really like the way my first attempts were coming out. Then, I thought about using some washi tape. It was perfect! The translucence of the tape is perfect for the clear cups because you can see the pattern through the Continue Reading
Diamond Baby Quilt
My sweet and talented mother made this lovely quilt for my baby boy. Isn't it great? What I really love about the pattern she created is that it is completely made with half square triangles just like my herringbone quilts. She used the same technique I explain here to make her squares and then just arranged them in a different way. Her pattern is basically made up of four-square units that form an arrow shape: These are then twisted to face opposite directions. My mom chose to quilt a quarter inch around the outside and inside of these arrows to form a diamond shape. She started out with four inch squares that got down to little three inch squares after piecing the whole top. She chose a tonal navy blue fabric for the backing (which matches the nursery) and used a wide Continue Reading
A Fancy Tea Party Birthday Celebration
To celebrate my daughter's third birthday party, we invited her friends over for a fancy tea party. We decorated party hats, took pictures in the photo booth, enjoyed tea (pink lemonade) and treats, and showed off our dance moves. And, man were those kids cute. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Â A few details from the party: (You can read about how I made the invitations here and here.) We started off by letting the guests pick feathers, boas, flowers, and ribbons to adorn their hats. I got plastic black top hats for the boys. The hats also came with gloves, but the girls didn't keep them on for long. I picked up a few inexpensive teapots, plates, and vases at thrift stores for decoration. I chose books that fit in the color scheme from Continue Reading
DIY Lacy Paper Doily Envelopes
This is a project I've made before. In fact, last time I made them for my daughter's first birthday party, and now I'm making them for her third. I must really like these things. Or, I just couldn't think of a better envelope for a fancy tea party or to accompany the embossed invitations I made. The look so fancy to me, but they are really inexpensive and easy to make. I used different doilies this time (the lace pattern looks a little more "spiky" to me), and they give the envelopes a slightly different look. These are 10 inch doilies, and the invitations are 4.5"x6.5" (the 4"x6" invitations I made last time fit a little better). Here's how you make them: Crease the doily around the invitation and cut out the corners. Add glue to the part of the doily that will Continue Reading
Kid-Designed DIY: Make Your Own Play Mat for Cars
There are some problems that come with being a dedicated DIYer. One that I've discovered recently is that my son thinks we can make anything.  ANYTHING.  For instance: "Mom, can we get a swimming pool for the back yard?" "No, honey, not today." "Well, can we make one?" That's a real conversation, folks. And, actually, he did come up with a DIY solution that involved a large cardboard box and a hose. (Don't mind the crazy eyes) It didn't last long, but they had a good time. I'd call it a success, overall. Anyway - the point is, my son enjoys making things (a chip off the old block), and often is begging asking me to tackle a new project with him. (Yesterday, it was a roller coaster. Help!) So, last Sunday at church, when my son saw the boys in front of Continue Reading