Christmas Craft Roundup

It's that time of year again... the time where you realize that you didn't get everything done that you wanted to do before Christmas (okay, I did get one project done). So in true fatalistic spirit here is a round up of the Christmas crafts I wish I would have done a month ago. Perhaps next year?

Glitter Origami Cranes by Zakka Life. You had me at origami, little ornaments. I've been obsessed with paper cranes since we read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes in fourth grade. So, paper cranes + glitter = the best thing ever. Tutorial here.

Glitter bulb ornaments by Sweet Paul Magazine. Mostly, I just love these old style light bulbs and the addition of glitter and a string makes them extra adorable. Tutorial here.

Felt Ball Wreath by Pickles. I've been obsessed with this wreath for over a year. I just really like how colorful it is. Also, it isn't super Christmasy which I nice. I haven't done this project yet because it looks like it would take forever and I'm not sure the payoff would be worth it. Tutorial for making the wreath here and how to make the felt balls here.

Polka Dot Wreath by The Paper Mama. A friend send me this link a few weeks ago and I love it. Moss is so beautiful already that adding it to a wreath form plus miniatures is like totally my jam. Tutorial here.

Miniatures in a jar by Salt Tree. Seriously, need I say more? It's no secret that I'm obsessed with miniatures and Christmas minis are like my own personal brand of heroine (I am so ashamed I just quoted that book). There are many variations of the 'Christmas snow globe in a mason jar' idea and I think it would fun to do any of them. Tutorial here.

Thumbtack wreath by Canadian Family Magazine. Apparently, I am now obsessed with wreaths. But I think you could do this treatment to other things as well. Basically it is just hundreds of flat metal thumbtacks pushed into styrofoam. Easy and cheap! Tutorial here.

Did you get to do any Christmas crafts this year? Or maybe you are satisfied with just looking and not attempting?

DIY Stovetop Scent

This weekend I hosted 1/5th of a progressive dinner. It was a lot of fun and since I was going to four other houses I decided to make hostess gifts. A few weeks ago I pinned a DIY jarred stovetop scent recipe (here's the link) and it's been in my brain since, so I decided to give it a go.

I think they turned out great! It was a super easy project and it only cost me about $5 per jar. I chose to do a citrus and cinnamon flavored one, but the link above has recipes for other non-Christmasy scents as well. 

Here is what I did:

1) Materials: 

Mason Jars (although you could reuse any jar and spray paint the lid)

Oranges (I used just under 1 per jar)

Whole cloves (I bought a small package that I split evenly between the jars)

Cinnamon sticks (I put about 2-3 in each jar)

Allspice (I did about 3 teaspoons in each jar)

Optional: Star anise (I couldn't find this for the life of me so I left it out)

2) Put it in a jar. 

3) Add water.

That's it!

It was super easy and everyone seemed to really love it.

Here are the instructions for use:

1) Keep refrigerated

2) Pour into pot and simmer (I added a little more water but that's optional)

2) Let cool and pour back into jar. It should last for about two weeks or 3-4 uses. 

Not a super interior-designy post but it does make your home smell good so close enough.

Organizing for Lazy People

I apologize for my blog being down the past few days... Trust me I was working hard to get it back online! Thanks for coming back!

I have this credenza in my dining room that serves as a sort of faux-buffet. If I had a lot of serveware or party supplies I would put them in there but I don't, so I use it for craft stuff. It looks decent on the outside (especially for something I got at IKEA's clearance section for $40). 

But it was not so nice on the inside. 

My Mission: To organize it enough that stuff doesn't fall out every time I open the doors. Nothing more, nothing less.

Let me be clear, I'm not trying to attempt this:

(source)

Because let's be honest that looks like it took a lot of work and money.

So, here are my personal steps for organizing stuff to make it look less bad:

1) Take it all out: That's right, empty that sucker out. Don't try shuffling things around because it won't work you have to start with a blank slate.

2) Put like with like. Separate everything into piles. For this project my piles were: fabric, stickers, ribbon, paint, and I also had one pile which I English-ly called 'bits and bobs' because you are going to have a pile of random stuff that just doesn't fit in a pile.

3) Once everything is in a pile you can decide what containers will fit what stuff. Be creative! You don't have to go out and buy matching storage containers. Here are some of the uncommon things I used to help me get organized:

 Zippered mattress pouch

 Shoe boxes

This used to hold bullion cubes, but you could use any of the food tubs that you are done using. Think parmesan cheese, margarine, or spices. They all come in nice plastic (or even glass) containers that after you take the sticker off and wash the container they are perfectly reusable. 

4) Label it, but don't feel like it has to be fancy. I have this funny old Label Buddy from about 10 years ago (yes, I was the 17 year old that asked for a label maker). It does these little punched labels that are silly, but they serve their purpose. The white label stickers you can print or write on work just as well.

That's it! You gotta love the fast version of organizing  The long version involves deciding whether you need to keep all this crap but for this project my mission was simple.

Not a major improvement but when you set your goal low it's easy to be happy with the outcome!

Mini Yarn Wrapped Wreath Ornaments

I am not super crafty. I enjoy doing crafts but it is a lot of work to gather all the right materials and then to make the whole craft come together. But last Christmas I actually did a craft that was easy, attractive, and affordable - yay!

 I made mini yarn wrapped wreath ornaments. You know why I love them? Because they are miniature of course! There is literally no skill involved in making these so that makes them even better. Here is what I bought:

1) 3" Styrofoam Wreaths - I bought a pack of 20 for $15.00 from here.

2) Yarn. I got four colors: red, green, cream, and dark grey. I still have a lot of yarn left over since these ornaments are so small, but I wanted a variety of colors. This is a great project if you already have yarn sitting around.  I wrapped the yarn around them, tied it off, and cut it very close. This one below has lots of knots because I did it color blocked. If you're picky you could tuck the knots under the yarn but clearly I'm not so I just left it like this. It will eventually be hanging on a tree so only one side will be visible anyway.

3) I also bought a pack of mini trees and mini bells to add to a few of them. 

Here is a sampling of the finished products. 

I made 18 out of 20 ornaments last year. The 19th is below. Apparently I just couldn't take it another second so I left this one half finished all year. That's extreme laziness for ya, I could finish a one minute craft haha.

I loved this craft so much I decided to do a bigger wreath. I got a 12" styrofoam at Michael's for about $12.99 and wrapped it in the same way I did the little ones (why are styrofoam wreaths so expensive??? Seriously, it is like 4 oz of styrofoam, it can't cost that much to make).

I love this wreath! I think I left it at my parent's house so I need to get it so I can put it on my front door.

So that is my craftiness of last year. I don't think I'll be doing any Christmas crafts this year. I think I'm more of an every other year kind of Christmas crafty gal.

You should totally do this craft because it is easy, cute, and cheap (about $1.50 per ornament, $15 for the bigger wreath).

Happy crafting!

DIY Gold Leaf Projects

Yesterday, I shared my DIY gold leaf tray. It was such a fun easy project that I thought I would share other easy projects that utilize the beautiful gold leaf look.

My favorite DIY ever! This DIY gold leaf tray didn't cost me anything and it only took about 45 minutes to do.

A few months ago I gold leafed some plastic clearance frames. It was a very easy project and I love the look (especially against those deep blue walls!). The gold pen I got cost $7.99 but I was able to do all five of these frames plus the project above.

Martha Stewart has a great tutorial on how to gild a lampshade. Such a good way to update an old or simple shade. In her tutorial she uses gold leaf sheets as opposed to the gold leaf pen that I used.

Gold leaf dipped table legs. I love this look! You may have to use gold colored paint for this look instead of a gold leaf pen, but the overall look is the same.

I love this DIY gold leafed map art from The Ugly Duckling House! Such a cool project. This would definitely take more than an hour to do but the pay off would be great.

This project from A Beautiful Mess combines two of my favorite things: recycling and gold leaf. These honey bear jars are just the regular ones from the grocery store but after they have been gold leafed they look like they cost $20 each! This would be so adorable to have sitting out at a party. Next time you run out of honey don't throw away the bear!

This faux gold corner frame treatment is awesome. If you click through to A Thoughtful Place's tutorial you'll see that she spray painted masking tape gold to get the look but you could also just use the gold leaf pen to do the same thing.

There is no tutorial for this image... it is just a link to someone's Instagram feed but the concept is simple. They spray painted the brackets from IKEA shelves gold. They look so classy and expensive now.

Mason jars are all the rage so why not combine two trends with these gold leafed animals on mason jar lids? Adorable. Tutorial here.

Happy gold-leafing!