Project Life

Scrapbooking has always been something I enjoy, but lately I just haven't managed to find the time for it.  So I figured I'd give Project Life a try.  It's simple, streamlined and much faster than traditional scrapbooking.  Here's a look at what I've done so far...

I have just a random assortment of pictures, so it's a bit all over the place, but I kind of like that.  I am itching to do more and stock up on more page protectors and accessories.  Looks like I've got the Project Life bug!

A Little Bit of Luck

With St. Patrick's Day coming up soon I wanted to make something in the spirit of luck.

I am lucky that I actually do come from Irish decent, and the boy is 100% pure Irish.  I know he actually finds the way Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day rather offensive, and it is terrible the way we stereotype the culture.

But looking on the bright side, I feel like St. Patrick's Day reminds me to be proud of my heritage and I do feel very lucky to be Irish!  

Plus, it's the only holiday in March and sometimes I just need a holiday.  ;)

I Get a Kick out of Shoes!

Forgive the incredibly corny title.  Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Over the weekend I made a bunch of bow shoe clips, perfect for giving my plain shoes a little kick.  I had such a good time making these I just may put a few in my Etsy shop.  What do you think?

The cool thing about them is that they can double for hair clips too!  Have a great Monday! 

Valentine's Day Candle

Over the weekend, I worked on a quick little Valentine's Day craft with my mom.  She had bought a pair of tall, red, cylinder candles - The kind that are like the religious candles you can find at the super market - And we decided to cover them with some Valentine's embellishments.  

These candles are totally inexpensive and easy to personalize.  All we needed was some scrapbook paper, Valentine's stickers and vintage-style valentines, along with double sided tape and scissors.  Simply cut your paper and embellishments to size and tape to the candle.  The scrapbook border stickers worked especially well, and the whole project took about 10 minutes to complete!  It's a craft that's easy to love!  

DIY Anthropolofication | Holiday Snow Globes

When I saw these beautiful Mason Jar snow Globes at Anthropologie, I knew they had to be mine...Then I checked their price tag and I knew I had to make them myself.  And how easy are they to make?  On a scale of 1 to 10, they are a 1.  These simple crafts can be made with just a few basic items and take all of 5 minutes.  Here's the how-to:

You'll need-

Mason jars with lids

Miniature Christmas Trees (these were bought at Michael's)

Fake Snow (bought at Pottery Barn)

Glue Gun

Start by gluing your trees to the flat saucer like lid by using just a dollop of hot glue.  Be sure to glue it to the side of the lid that goes inside the jar.  Mine were already white colored, but if yours aren't you may want to add a coat of white paint first. 

Next pour just a bit of snow into your mason jar. 

Close the lid onto the mason jar with the tree pointing downwards.  When you lid is securely shut, flip the jar over, letting the snow fall on your tree.  Tap to get the snow in bare patches.

And that's it!  Beautiful homemade Anthropologie-Style snow globes that you can make for well under the $35 dollars I would have paid to buy them.  Fabulous and festive!  

Thanksgiving Lanterns DIY

I know the temptation is to go full on Christmas already...I mean decor is up all over town, stores are already playing Christmas music, yeah I know.  But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's one more autumnal themed craft for you - My third and final variation of the mason jar lantern concept, this time with leaves! 

This craft is so simple.  Literally all you need are some fake leaves (you can buy packages of these at most craft stores)  mason jars, candles and some Modpodge.  

Modpodge the back of your leaves and adhere them to the jar, working your way around and layering them to your liking.  Add a coat of modpodge over the top to help keep the leaves attached.  Add your candle to the jar and your done! 

 I tried one with the leaves totally flat against the jar, and another where I let the tips of the leaves pull away from the jar, giving it a more natural feel.  Not sure which I prefer, but they both would make a festive centerpiece for your thanksgiving dinner table! 

I am so thrilled that we have a short holiday week.  I just love having extra time to spend at home with my family! 

1960's Style Starburst Decor

Good Morning Darlings and here we go another week!  Today I wanted to share a super easy and fun craft for you that adds an unusual and retro vibe to any living room wall.  Essentially, I wanted to create a retro-style 3D wall hanging for my front room.  

I found these plain wood squares at Michael's and knew they'd be perfect for this project.  I bought two small and one larger square to create some contrast when I finally hang them.

The first step is to paint the squares with some wood stain.  I chose a medium colored wood stain, but you could select whatever grain you prefer.  Using a sponge brush, paint the squares with the stain, let sit for desired length (the longer you wait, the darker the color) then wipe off excess stain and let dry in the sun.  

Be sure to properly discard your used rags, as wood stain drenched wool has the potential for spontaneously combustion.  Read this post on Devon's blog for the full details on how to dispose of the used cloths properly.  

Then, after your wood blocks have dried completely it's time to decorate.  I chose a simple starburst design that was easy to draw freehand and recreate on all three blocks.  I practiced my design a few times on paper to be sure I was happy with it, then used metallic Sharpies in silver, gold and copper to draw it on the wood squares.  

And voila!  I used Command Wall strips by 3M to attach these lightweight squares to my wall.  I hung them in sideways, so it looks like a collection of diamonds, and I have to say, I'm pretty smitten with starburst design!  But let me know what you think, and if you try this DIY yourself be sure to send me a link!  

Happy Monday!

Another Mason Jar Halloween Craft - Spiderweb Lanterns

Here's yet another Halloween DIY that takes very little time and uses a mason jar as it's main component.  Here's how to make your very own spider web lanterns....

All you need is a few mason jars, modge podge, white tissue paper and a black sharpie.  Fake spiders are optional, but very much encouraged!  

To start cut your white tissue paper to fit your mason jar.  You want it to wrap around only once so it's sheer, and I actually like to crumple the paper up a bit so you get an imperfect crumpled look when you attach it to the jar.

Next use your Modge Podge to glue the tissue paper to the outside of the jar.  Make sure there are no loose pieces and let dry completely.

The next step requires a somewhat steady hand, but again, imperfections will actually add to the realism of this particular craft.  Taking your black sharpie, draw spiderwebs on the tissue paper.  I find it helps to start with a corner shape web and then work my way around the jar, filling in black spots.  Just remember that spider webs, while not perfect or symmetrical, do follow a pretty simple geometric pattern.  Start by drawing straight lines in a circular or half circle shape, and then connect the lines with little inward-pointing arcs.  

Finally add a candle to the jar and if your feeling extra festive add a fake spider to the top and a black tulle bow around the rim!  Put your lantern in a dim lit room and watch your spiderwebs flicker in the candle light!  

Just another haunting Halloween decoration diy! 

Made this Monday: Mechanical Pumpkin

Hello my lovelies and welcome to a brand new week!  This week I am super excited to share several cool Halloween-inspired crafts that are easy, quick to make, and have all the spooky charm of the season.  I love Halloween and lately, I've been really getting into the haunting Halloween spirit!  I'll be sharing all my Halloween favorites, traditions, crafts and inspirations over the next couple weeks starting with this easy DIY for a modern day mechanical pumpkin!

Ok, well, its actually not mechanical...But it looks like it could be!  This is the first of several crafts I'll be sharing that are made from mason jars.  The boy and I use mason jars for our drinking glasses, for storing sauces and for all kinds of other purposes - Crafting is definitely among the prominent uses!  But in many cases, we don't actually use the lids of the jars, resulting in a kitchen cabinet bursting with tin mason jar lids.  Until now...

To create this pumpkin you will need at least 18 mason jar lids, just the screw top part, and all the same size (I used the wide mouth jar lids.) Along with some basic twine, a cork from your favorite bottle of pinot and newspaper.

Lay out your lids so they are all facing the same way and are layered on top of one another.  Thread a bit of twine through the lids until you have them all hooked on the twine like so...

Next, pull the ends together and tie in a knot.  Trim the access twine and spread out the lids to create your pumpkin shape.

Finally to finish it off, add a regular wine cork to the center and embellish with a couple of "leaves" cut from newspaper. 

I love how this pumpkin is modern and made from basic items you can find around the house.  For some reason, it kind of reminds me of that film Return to Oz and Tick Tock (please tell me some of you other 80's kids out there know what I'm talking about!)  If you wanted to go for a more traditional look, you could spray paint the pumpkin orange and add some spiraled green pipe cleaners to give it a "just off the vine" look.  But personally, I am really kind of digging the utilitarian vibe of the plain silver.  Spooky and simple. 

If you try out this craft, let me know!  I'd love to see how you make it your own! 

Made this Monday: Easy Halloween Framed Pictures

My mother is a huge Halloween fan.  Growing up, our house was always incredible around this time of year.  We were notorious around the neighborhood for having the best decorations, unique costumes and a collection of Halloween movies that would make the biggest Halloweenie jealous!

For me, Halloween was always so much fun!  Even though we're all grown up now, my mom still manages to make the Halloween season fun for us "kids" and I find that even though I don't do quite as much festive decorating around our place as she used to do, I still want to put a few items up that celebrate the season.  And this past weekend, my mother once again delivered with a special Halloween decor craft that's easy, quick and looks great in our place!  

She showed me how to make these cool pictures that are easy to display and totally cool.  They are essentially copies of text, embellished with stickers or die-cuts.  We used the book the Nightmare Before Christmas, embellished with a Jack Skelington sticker, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, embellished with a die-cut of a crow on a fence.  Make your copies in black and white and cut to fit a black picture frame.  

Then, age the paper with distressed ink, as much or as little as you like, put in the frame and you're good to go!  

The possibilities are really endless with what you can do with this method.  How would you craft it?  I've got a bunch of other fun Halloween crafts for the weeks to come so stay tuned!