christmas tree tutorial

This tutorial may be a little belated for this Christmas season but is it ever too early to get some inspiration for next year? 

The husband and I moved into a smaller loft apartment in September and as Christmas approached we faced the reality that we had no space for a real Christmas tree. Don't get me wrong, I adore the smell of fresh pine but it just wasn't practical for us this year. As we debated and considered our options, we finally let go of our losses and got creative with our small space. 

As much as I love real Christmas trees, I absolutely fell in love with our wall tree. It's still up and I don't want to take it down...like ever. It lights up our home. It's cozy. It's pretty. It adds sparkle. I just love it. I don't know how I'm going to part with it. Our wall will be so bare and lonely without it. Who knew I'd get so attached? Our little wall Christmas tree might just be a yearly tradition even if that means two trees - one real and one wall. That is, once we have the space for both!

Most supplies you should have laying around the house. If you don't have scrap wood, do like I do, scavenge the scrap wood section at Home Depot. I liked the knots in the wood so I picked extra knotty pieces. The husband probably didn't love that decision because it made drilling harder. He's a champ!

Use painter's tape to approximate the size of each wood piece and the spacing you'd like. This isn't an exact science. You can visually approximate, or if you're type A like me and the husband, you can measure each piece exactly. The fallen piece of tape on the ground, the huge gaping space, and the sloping line do not properly indicate our perfectionist tendencies but I guess we all fall short.

We didn't have the tools necessary to do the cutting ourselves so the nice gentleman at Home Depot helped us cut our pieces to the measurements we wanted.

The husband tackled the drilling which turned out to be a bigger task than expected. Each piece of wood gets drilled four times -- two holes on each side. The picture below will give you a better visual. The holes on the wood pieces need to be lined up with the wood piece directly above and below to guarantee level hanging. While the husband drilled, I cut pieces of twine (and took pictures). I know, I had it easy on this project!

Just because all the pictures are of the husband does not mean I didn't participate... I swear! I worked hard... he just worked harder. 

Most of our walls are concrete and therefore almost impossible to drill into so our sweet little tree is balanced on one screw.

Aww, yay. Pretty lights! My favorite part. 

Once the tree was up, it was finally time to decorate it. After nailing in a ton of little nails to each wood piece, we hung the ornaments and stockings. Our normal tree topper is a beautiful gold angel but there was no way we could get that to work so I used the resources of our front lawn. A few twigs later, I had a glorious star to finish off our tree. So there you have it, ten steps to a creative Christmas tree. Hope this gets you inspired for next year and Merry Belated Christmas. 

craft night - love it or hate it?

What do you do when you invite 20+ high school girls over to “hang out”? My idea was a craft night. Despite my love for crafting now, I wasn’t always that way. In fact, when I was a high school girl, I’m pretty sure I despised crafty stuff. I was too much of a perfectionist back then to be satisfied with my attempted craft. So if these 20(ish) girls I invited were anything like me in high school, we were in a world of hurt. I had to create an idea that was easy enough for everyone to enjoy and affordable. Not an easy task.

With the help of the massive blog world and pinterest, I found a number of websites featuring different projects you can do with an old t-shirt, scissors, and a hot glue gun.

Here are some of the resources I used:

DIY Accessories From A T-Shirt over at Tripping Over Joy

Tshirt Crafts and Headband Tutorials over at Sugar Bee Crafts

Explaining how to do these projects to 20+ giggling and talkative high school girls was not an easy feat. My type A, perfectionist self, quickly had to let go and let the girls have fun. The projects weren’t glamorous but the night was perfect. 

count the memories, not the years

Today is a special day. Do you know why? 

Yes, it's Friday, but it gets more special than that. Today is a special day because it is my momma's birthday! I've told you a little bit about my mom already, but let me tell you a little more. My mom has a heart of gold - she is compassionate, considerate, and caring. She is truly beautiful on the inside and out. My mom is intelligent, loyal, and passionate. I'm so blessed to have a mom like her! I may not have learned how to sew or bake from her, but she taught me how to chase my dreams, work hard, and live with love. 

My mom has some favorite sayings - one of them is "love 'em, leave 'em, and forget about 'em". I know, it sounds kind of harsh, but as a teenage girl, this was a life saver. My mom helped me navigate through the roller coaster of emotions regarding boys and helped me get back up on my feet after the numerous junior high and high school heartbreaks.

Another saying my mom lives by is "Live, Laugh, Love". She obviously didn't create this one but it's been a favorite of hers since I can remember.

For my mom's birthday, I decided to put my developing DIY skills to use by making her something that will be a daily reminder of her favorite quote.

For this project you will need canvases (any size or shape you want), wood or cardboard letters (I chose whole words because it was less expensive), measuring tape or ruler (not pictured), glue and spray paint.

Step 1: Measure and line up where you want your letters or words to be placed on the canvas.

Step 2: Glue your letters or words onto the canvas. I used a super glue because it was the first glue I found in my house but I'm sure other glues would work fine. Just be sure to press down while supporting from the back.

Step 3: Spray paint your canvas and letters in the color of your choosing. I used an ivory type color. Once the paint dries, you're ready to hang your canvas!

Note: The wood or cardboard letters don't end up being quite as bright as the canvas. I liked this look because it helped the letters pop more, but if you want a cleaner/crisper look, I suggest spray painting the letters FIRST, before you glue them to the canvas. Then, do another spray paint coat to the entire thing. 

Maybe I can convince my mom to hang her new present, take a picture and send it to me so I can show you all the finished outcome. Cross your fingers for that one though! 

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you so much and I'm so thankful for you. I hope you like your gift! 

Not a picture in a frame?

Frames are incredibly versatile. They are used for much more than just pictures. I used empty frames as centerpieces at my wedding. Frames of all shapes, sizes, and colors are above my fireplace mantle.  I've seen frames used as jewelry organization. The possibilities are endless. But I'm a sucker for a new frame idea and this one was just up my alley!

My ideas are not always original, in fact, most of my creativity is borrowed from others' ability to be creative. This is a case and point scenario. Please don't judge me. 

Warning: this is a very tardy post - it is no longer anywhere near Mother's Day, but yes, that is what I will be talking about. Again, please don't judge me.

Here's the scene: mother's day is quickly approaching and I have no clue what to buy/make for my mom or my mother-in-law. See, the tricky thing is that my mom doesn't really fit the mold for the typical, cliche mother's day gift ideas. My mom does not bake, cook, sew, craft, garden, etc. There's nothing wrong with this and in fact, I'm very use to our differences in this way. I like that my mom is unique but sometimes it makes things tough when I approach these "hallmark holidays". The few "cliche" things my mom likes are wine and jewelry. I've used the wine idea probably 9 out of the last 10 gifts and she likes expensive, real jewelry which does not agree with my budget. Hence, my dilemma. 

Here's the solution: my mom is a sucker for anything that has to do with her children. So, instead of playing off of her material interests, I played off the sentimental note. I bought a nice frame and inside is a piece of paper listing the most important dates of her life. My mom's framed art included the date her and my dad met, the date they got married, and then the birth dates of each of her three kids. 

My mom's reaction: tears, gratitude, and shock that it wasn't a picture in the frame. Apparently, she's still learning the versatility of the frame!

I adapted this frame idea for a number of gifts. I made one for my mom and one for my mother-in-law. I also made one for two close friends, one for a birthday gift and another for an anniversary gift. Lastly, I made one for myself! :) I know, it's like going out Christmas shopping and you come back with nothing but something for yourself. Shame on me but I couldn't help it!

Feel free to try making your own. If kids aren't in the picture yet, here are some ideas for important dates: first met, first kiss, first date, first time saying "I love you", proposal, and wedding date. And maybe you have a special date of your own, if so, include it! The more personal it is, the better!

Note: be sure to do appropriate research to make sure all of your dates are accurate. I must admit that the below photos include an inaccurate date for the husband and me (and no, it's not our wedding date). Oops! 

*Please ignore the dust on our dresser and the ugly lamp pole*

Tick, Tock

I hate moving.

We might move...again. But these are just thoughts. There's absolutely NOTHING concrete about this. Don't tell the husband that I told you. It will be our little secret.

Sometimes I need a pro/con list to make decisions. This is one of those times where a pro/con list is just too long to even bother making. But one major con about moving is the fact that you always spend money on new decorations or furniture. There's always a new space, a new angle, or a new idea that you have to accommodate in a new home.

When Jon and I made our last move, I had a lot of these new spaces. The layout was completely different and nothing we had seemed to work like it did in the old place. This forced me to get creative and reinvent our already purchased goods. Our clock was one of them.

Our clock was a fairly cheap clock off of Amazon.com and it was really only meant to be "hung" once due to its sticky adhesive backing. Did I let that stop me? Heck no! There was no way I was buying a new clock even though we had to pull and scrape it off of our old wall.

The clock had separate numbers and hash marks (all adhesively stuck on the wall) and then the center piece included the battery operated hands. The center was the easy part but without the numbers or hashes, the hands just floated in space. I decided I could do without the hash marks, but I definitely needed the numbers (3, 6, 9 and 12). 

Here's my "tutorial" on how I reinvented our clock:

Step 1: Attempt to remove as much old paint and dry wall from back of numbers as possible

Step 2: Without the hash marks, the numbers needed a little extra pop! Wrap the letters in wire, yarn, thread, ribbon, etc. 

Step 3: Apply a better, more flexible version of adhesive backing that won't peel off the paint of our new wall

Step 4: Measure (as accurately as possible) where to place the numbers

Step 5: Hang center piece and adjust hands to show appropriate time

And voila! An old, torn up clock becomes a new clock. I wonder if it can handle another move though... but until then, check out my current clock:

This looks more red in the picture but it's more of a fuchsia type color.

The background is silver so it's a little hard to see the wire, but it adds a little texture. Next time I might go with some thicker wire.

Do you have any thrifty reinventions? Tell me about them!

-ariel

DIY necklaces

Do you get antsy when you have down time? I do. 

Don't get me wrong, I love a cozy day of reading on the couch or snuggling up with a movie and a bowl of ice cream. But, I can't do that for multiple days in a row. I get lethargic, irritated, and just plain blah! It's like the productive muscle in my body really needs a work out - hence, the necklaces.

With some friends' birthdays around the corner, spare time on my hands, and an itching to get out of the house, I made my way to the craft store to pick up supplies for my new little project. I made two different kinds of necklaces - one was a bit more whimsical and the other a bit more bold and chunky.

Sadly, {I hate to admit this} I'm in the process of developing my creative side which means I'm not shy about borrowing the creative juices of others. I picked up the ideas for my two necklaces from the two blogs, Sarah Ortega and Frugal Upstate {check them out for the tutorial}.

The first necklace I made was the bird nest necklace.

 

To make this necklace you'll need:

- Jewelry wire (I used 24 gage)

- Beads, pearls, etc

- Necklace chain

- Jump ring and clasp

::thrifty note:: if you don't already have the materials for this, I suggest grabbing a friend or two to split the price for materials. you won't use all the beads and if you get a bigger assortment, you can mix and match.

Check out my bird nest necklaces:

 

The next necklace I made required a trip the hardware store because all you need for this necklace are washers and ribbon. Easy, right? I used a smaller washer size than the one mentioned on the Frugal Upstate blog but the size is really up to you and depends on what type of look you're desiring. Here's how mine turned out:

I really liked both styles of necklaces and I even had fun crafting a few of my own designs. Both necklaces can be made with chains or ribbon at various lengths depending on how you want it.

And here's another happy birthday shout out to my friends, the lucky recipients of my first handmade jewelry attempt!