Clutter-Free Holiday Season

As you may know, we're going to have a baby this holiday season.

As if that weren't excited and life changing enough, we also decided in the 11th hour to buy a new house. Yes, we're going to move somewhere around my 36th week of pregnancy. I'm trying to look on the bright side-- I won't get the inevitable day-after-moving aches because I won't be able to lift all the much.

With all of this going on, it is no wonder money is top of mind right now. Specifically, not spending all of it.

So I have a plan. I am going to try my hardest to do my holiday decorating and gift wrapping only with things I already have. No trips to Michael's for craft supplies. No picking up new gift wrap impulsively at Target or online (even if it is really beautiful) My goal is to clear out the closet of gift wrapping odds and ends (half rolls of paper, and carefully folded pieces I rescued from gifts I've received), use art supplies I already have on hand (sticky letters, felt, and glitter galore), and get creative with alternative wrapping materials.

I think it will be a fun challenge. Are you with me? I'll be sharing my attempts on Instagram. If you'd like to join in (and provide me with inspiration too!), use the hashtag #clutterfreeholiday when you share your decorating and gift wrapping ideas. Gifts count too! At the end, I'll share some of the ideas we've come up with. Sound good?

Let's do this!

Ombre Heart Wreath

I had an impulse to craft something cute for Valentine's Day (despite the fact we don't really celebrate it) and I didn't want to spend any money (I feel like that is how all of my craft projects begin). I thought a little wreath of some sort might be fun and easy.

First, I rummaged through our recycling bin for some cardboard and packing paper. You could also go the styrofoam wreath route, if dumpster crafting is not for you!

I traced out the largest heart I could fit.

Then I drew a smaller heart inside, and cut it out.

Then I rolled up scrap kraft paper (newspaper would work well too!) and wrapped tape around it. This was to give the wreath some dimension. It looks pretty rough at this stage, but once the yarn is on, it isn't so lumpy and uneven.

I went through the yarn I had on hand and picked some colors that might work well together.

Then I just started wrapped yarn around the wreath, trying to put even amounts of each color on either side.

So simple, and the price is right for a piece of decor which will only be up for a short while.

Also, did you see my Chalkboard Valentine on Instagram?

Linking up to the CSI Project Valentine's Day Linky Party.

Green and Gold Christmas Mantel

When I started thinking about what to put on my mantel this year for Christmas, it was warm and sunny outside. It still felt like fall.

So now that it is nearly at record low temperatures in the Bay Area (there are rumors of snow in San Francisco!), I'm looking at my mantel and wondering if it is really Christmasy enough, despite the ornaments.

Eh, I think it'll do. This coldness can't last forever, right?

 

This was the first wreath I've ever made and I like how it turned out! I trimmed branches from the hedge in our yard, and tied them to the other half of the embroidery hoop I had floating around the house ever since I made the captain's mirror. I'm sure it is even prettier to me since it was essentially free, right? Ha!

And the chalkboard is contact paper on the picture frame. I decided not to use the chalkboard spray on this because a) it's too freaking cold out to spray anything and b) now it won't be permanent!

The ornament garland if leftover from last year's mantel(s) and the three panels on the wall are pieces of wrapping paper (I think?) from World Market.

So that's my Thanksgiving Christmas mantel!

Linking up to Link Party Palooza with Tatertots & Jello, Holiday Cheer in the Blogosphere with Our Fifth House, All Things Christmas with Happy Hands at Home,  Remodelaholics Anonymous with Remodelaholic, Christmas Ideas with Songbird,  Dare to Deck the Halls, and Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Party.

DIY Mini Chalkboard Place Cards

I wanted to share a little more of the process for the chalboard place cards I made for my Thanksgiving tablescape yesterday, in case you'd like to make them too. I know you can purchase little easels pre-made, but doing a little work yourself can make this project way more affordable. I purchase 3 of the 1/4" square basswood sticks (24" long) and one sheet of 1/8" thick x 3" wide x 24" long basswood.

I began by cutting the sheet of basswood into 6 pieces at 4" lengths. I didn't need more than an exacto blade to do this.

Then I cut the sticks into 4" lengths with one straight edge and one angled edge.

This is the way I made all of my cuts for the stick. Not to scale, obviously.

For 1/3 of the sticks, I cut them each about 3/4" shorter than the rest. These would be the legs that allowed the chalkboards to tilt back a bit.

Then I painted all the pieces with gold leaf (or gold spray paint, or whatever floats your boat), not worrying about the front sections of the chalkboard too much, since they'd be covered up soon anyway.

Next, I taped off the edged of the fronts of the chalkboards  and then gave them two light coats of chalkboard paint.

Once they dried, I peeled off the tape and touched up any spots where the black paint bled onto the gold.

Then I hot glued two legs to the back of each chalkboard.

And finally, I wedged the last shorter legs into the space between the two glued pieces. I opted not to glue these into position permanently so that it would be easy to store these away between uses.

And that's it. Pretty simple, right? And such a cute detail for your dining companions!

DIY Leather Strap Hurricane for Fall Console

Happy Halloween, everybody. In case you missed it, I shared our costumes and Halloween mantel previously.

I jumped right into the Halloween decor, but now I'm easing my way into some general autumnal adornment. (I really wanted to say "autumness" but I'm told that's not a real word.)

It is pretty simple, but I was trying to use what I had, for the most part. The leather strap hurricane was a super easy DIY project that cost me $3, plus tax. Not too shabby considering other ones I've seen at Front Gate and One Kings Lane (which inspired this in the first place) were priced at $60 to $469 bucks!

I had a vase on hand and only had to purchase 2 pleather belts at Daiso. If you aren't familiar, Daiso is similar to a dollar store, only everything is $1.50 and Japanese. (Note: the link is not to the exact style belts I bought because they don't appear to be available online.)

I cut each belt so it would fit snugly (the material gives a little, so make it as tight as possible.) and poked a hole with the tip of a knife. The curved the ends, although they aren't really visible. Then I cut the remainder of the belt straps in half, giving me four pieces to tuck in diagonally. I snipped the ends at an angle once I knew how long they needed to be. That's pretty much it. I didn't use glue or special hardware or anything.

I like that I can remove the belt pieces if I choose to use the vase in other ways throughout the year.

Other pieces I used for this display included these shuttles (part of an antique loom) that belonged to my grandfather, who worked in textiles.

I also made this little flower arrangement with some hydrangeas, feathers, and dried seed pods.

Anyone else out there moving onto post-Halloween decorating already?

Sharing at Remodelaholic's Anonymous Party.

Graphic Mosaic Monogram Art

I know, I know, it should be all fall leaves and spiderwebs around here right now. But my cousin's daughter is coming up on her first birthday and I wanted to make her something special.

I began by creating the monogram in Illustrator. I believe you could use the layout program of your choosing, but I think a vector based program would work best. If you're not comfortable with (or don't have access to) these programs, you could use a typeface that achieves a similar result like this one, for a fall leaf effect. Hey, what d'ya know, it brought this project back to Autumn!

1. Find dingbat fonts that include lots of different shapes in the "theme" you like. For baby K, her bedroom has a "forest friends" theme, so I collected a few different sets I could work with. I would also recommend finding solid shapes rather than line drawings, if you choose to transfer the image.

2. Make one large letter in a size that fills your page. I knew my final piece would be 6 x 6, so I made sure my letter was just a bit smaller than that.

3. Type your "alphabets" out, so you have a palette to work with on screen.

4. Mix and match pieces until you come up with a design you like!

5. Once you've designed it the way you'd like, you can print as-is and frame it up! I wanted to create something a little more special, so I continued with these steps:

6. Print it on a laser printer, as a mirror image.

I went back and forth about whether I should try the transfer method I've seen used most commonly on other blogs. It involves gel medium, and a day of drying. I think it was impatience that won out, so I used the method I learned in art school -- the mighty blender pen.

6. Cut it out and tape it into place on the surface you're transferring to. I chose a wooden cradle board.

7. Apply the blender pen quickly to a small area (maybe an inch at a time) and run your fingernail or a tool over that area to transfer to image more completely. Be careful not too wet the paper too much or the image will bleed.

8. Just a few minutes later, and you have a finished piece!

There were a few animals that were probably too small to transfer properly, but overall I think it was a success!

I think it will be a nice additional to baby K's nursery.

What theme would you try?

Printable Halloween Mantel

I'm quickly learning that a blogger must live slightly in the future at all times.

For a born procrastinator like myself, that is a little baffling. I feel like in the past walking into stores with Halloween décor made me roll my eyes and think "ugh, it's too early! It's still September!"

But I suddenly find myself preparing to decorate for Halloween.

In September.

Me, the procrastinator.

And if I'm being perfectly honest, I even started planning three weeks ago. In August.

So without further ado (because by the time you read this I'll probably be pinning Christmas inspiration), here is my Halloween mantel.

I started with the idea of adding a collection of "spooky" prints. I basically searched The Graphic Fairy and the New York Public Library Digital Gallery for anything that included the following:

Skeletons
Skulls
Brains
Rats
Snakes
Spiders
Rats
Bats

I printed my favorites either as-is or after layering them on a parchment paper background which I found here.

I framed them using a bunch of old clip frames from Ikea I had leftover from a project. I was tempted to purchase new black frames, but I decided to work with what I had.

Next, I spray painted some sconces I had on hand a glossy black and then made bleeding candles to go in them. (You've probably seen tutorials using red candles. I used crayons!)

 

I reused some items on the display from last year and purchased a few new pieces for under $10 bucks from the dollar store and a little more for some small white pumpkins and kobucha squash at the grocery store.

Here it is at night.

So, is it spoooky? Have you started decorating for Halloween yet? Too early?

Linking up to the It's Fall, Y'all party with Thrifty Décor Chick and Remodelaholics Anonymous with Remodelaholic.