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diy initial glass tree ornament

December 23, 2020

DIY monogram ornament

As you may know, as a fun holiday countdown, I am doing the final four days of DIY ornaments countdown!  Today is day three of the four days in a row of posts on how to create an ornament from a plain clear glass ball ornament.

There certainly are an infinite number of ways to decorate homemade ornaments and the best thing about making your own is tailoring them to your own taste and décor.  If you follow my blog, you know I love topography and an initial ornament was pretty much a guarantee on one of the four designs.

So, for ornament DIY number three, I crafted an initial ornament.  I chose a cream and black color scheme.

DIY monogram tree ornament

Since the glass ball was clear, I started by pouring a little bit of cream color acrylic paint inside the ball and swirled it around until the whole inside of the glass surface was covered.  I set it aside to dry.

I sprayed the metal fastener at the top of the ornament in a flat black to complement my design.

Next, I simply drew on an initial with a black permanent marker and added a black velvet ribbon to complete the elegant look of the ornament.

black and cream monogram ornament

That is it for ornament number three DIY!  Tomorrow’s post will be the final ornament DIY – number four!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy golden feather tree ornament

December 22, 2020

golden feather ornament

For a fun holiday countdown, I am posting a final four days of DIY glass ornament design countdown!  Today is day two of the four days of posts on how to create four different ornaments from plain clear glass ball ornaments.

For day two, I have a super simple design!

diy golden feathers

The only requirement is to dip a white feather in some gold acrylic metallic paint!  If you follow this blog, you know I love dipping white feathers in gold paint!  I find a lot of different ways to use them!

Once the feather is dry, it just gets placed inside the ornament.  So simple and elegant!  I love it!

feather ornament on tree

I had spray painted the top piece of metal on the ornament with champagne gold spray paint in advance to give it a more subtle look.  I removed it carefully – it comes off and on easily with care.  I also added some glitter to the metal top before replacing it.

white candy canes and ornament

That’s it!  An easy DIY!

Check back tomorrow for ornament DIY number three!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy snowberry glass tree ornament

December 21, 2020

gold and gray snow berry ornament

There certainly are an infinite number of ways to decorate homemade tree ornaments.  The best thing about making some is tailoring them to individual taste and décor!

I recently saw a box of clear glass ornaments on clearance at the craft store and decorating them to my taste and décor was my exact plan.  Actually, the box of ornaments was the only holiday item left in the whole Christmas section of the store on the day I stopped in!  People definitely were shopping earlier this year!

snowberry ornament gray ribbon

I had to purchase the box because it ended up costing less than $2. after the sale price and with a coupon!  Since a snow storm was predicted for Connecticut, I thought coming up with four ornament designs would be a good indoor project while housebound.

And, as a special fun holiday countdown, I am posting the four DIY ornament designs I came up with as a four- day countdown!  For today and the next three days, I will put up a post each day on how I created one of the four ornaments I designed from the plain glass balls!  Today marks day number one of four.

golden and gray clear snowberry ornament

The first design I created uses a paint marker to decorate one of the clear glass ornaments.  (Remember my pussy willow ornament from years ago?  Click here for easy DIY instructions.  That post also shared how to fill a glass ornament to create a cute book club themed ornament.)

I am calling the design I created for the first ornament ‘snowberries.’  I simply drew some ‘stems’ with a gold paint marker.  Then, I used a white paint marker to add white circles.  To make a suggestion of berries, I used a black permanent marker to add a little bit of definition to each white circle or ‘berry’.

To finish it off, I just put a little bit of ‘snow’ inside the ornament…just a little…keeping the clear look, but suggesting a little iciness with the added snow!

That’s it!  Pretty simple!

white berry ornament
One thing I did in advance was to spray the top of the ornament.  I didn’t like the look of the original silver top so I removed the top and sprayed it a champagne gold and let it dry before replacing it.

I hope you were inspired by ornament number one!  Check back tomorrow for ornament DIY number two!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy holiday cloche

December 11, 2020

holiday cloche with lights

There are so many simple ways to change up your décor for the holidays without buying anything new!

One great way to change up some existing items is with a paint pen.  Using a white, silver, or gold paint pen on anything glass creates an instant holiday boost!  This means any glass container, mirror, or window is fair game!

empty cloche

You can use a holiday word (joy), saying (let it snow), or drawing (stars) to make a glass item more seasonal.

If you don’t want to permanently change an item, don’t worry – you can take anything you create right off again!  Just use a cloth with nail polish remover (acetone) and you can create a clean slate instantly!  So, if you’d like a redo – just wipe!  When the holidays are over, you can remove anything you’ve added to any glass pieces with a simple wipe-off.

cloche decorated

paint pen

As an example, I have written peace on earth on a cloche.  I love cloches.  They make any single item instantly seem special so they are especially fun to use at the holidays!  I could have displayed it simply with the writing but chose to add greens inside the cloche to make my paint pen message stand out.  There is plenty of greenery to cut outdoors, but pinecones or any type of vase filler would also work inside the cloche.  Small twinkling lights are also a nice embellishment.

holiday decorated cloche
For my cloche, I just handwrote the message – nothing fussy – I like the organic look.  If you don’t like your own handwriting, a message can be printed out from your computer and placed under the glass to easily trace.  Of course, if a mistake is made, it can be wiped off with nail polish remover and rewritten!

cloche in neutrals

I hope you are inspired to create a holiday message on a piece of your glass or on a mirror or window this holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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easy holiday tree diy

December 4, 2020

diy in bathroom

It is funny how sometimes the very simplest DIY can have the most satisfying result!

Such is the case with this simple bottle brush tree décor made from a few simple materials!

I just assembled a few things from my craft supplies – 3 bottle brush trees in varying sizes, a slice of wood, a bit of moss, some glitter (glass glitter to make a sparkle in the night time), and my trusty glue gun!

diy supplies for trees

And, because of my preference for neutral holiday décor, the supplies I assembled were all in neutral colors.

diy on top of books

All I needed to do was use the glue gun to secure the moss and trees and then add a little glitter!

added diy to dining room

And just like that, a DIY that cost only pennies to make becomes a favorite!

diy decor

Amazing how this little piece of décor can make a little random spot smile provoking!  Such a simple, yet perfect, piece of holiday!

adding a DIY

I hope you are enjoying filling your home with some holiday fun!  This year it is especially great to have well-loved décor since we are all spending so much time in our homes!  Excess isn’t needed – most times a single highlighted piece is the best!

diy with merry xmas

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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terrain holiday 2020

November 13, 2020

outdoor at Terrain holiday

The holiday decor is out early this year and I think it is a great idea!  I would hope the early start would help eliminate crowds that could contribute to unhealthy shopping experiences.  In the interest of safety, I am sure many people are limiting their shopping to online.  I need to see things up close – I want to use all my senses when I experience holiday shopping!

white holiday at terrain

white bottle brush at Terrain

I have friends in different parts of the country who can not experience one of my favorite stores to visit at the holidays – Terrain.  And, Terrain really needs to be experienced in person to fully appreciate it!  So whether you would rather not visit a store right now, or you just don’t live near a Terrain to visit in person – enjoy today’s photos.  These are some favorite glimpses of holiday from my last Terrain visit.

terrain holiday entrance

wreath towel at Terrain

star spheres Terrain

terrain trees holiday

12 days towels Terrain

bubbly at Terrain Westport

green trees in pots at Terrain

holiday xmas terrain

tree trimming at Terrain

metal trees at Terrain Westport

I hope you are inspired to start on some of your holiday decorating!

Thanks for stopping by!

icy trees at Terrain Westport

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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oranges and reds in nature

October 30, 2020

amazing orange leaves

I don’t know about you, but I still don’t feel safe working out at the gym since Covid-19.     I’ve transitioned to my home and the outdoors for my workouts.

orange leaf

At the gym there are plenty of distractions – televisions set to the news, gym outfits to check out, conversations with the regulars and the trainers, etc.

amazing reds of fall

Outdoor workouts are so peaceful and much less distracting.   The spring and fall each created some interesting spectacles for me to admire – everything blooming in the spring and the changing leaves in the fall.

pretty branch of leaves

Recently, I started documenting the beautiful fall leaves by color.  If you know me, you know how color obsessed I can get!  (You may have seen the ‘study in yellow’ on my Instagram.)

beauty of fall leaves

The photos here are some of my favorite fall leaves in oranges and reds.

orange in the forest

We change the clocks this weekend – a signal that fall is not around for much longer.   I hope you are enjoying the beauty of fall in your surroundings while you still can.

fall red leaves

Thanks for stopping by.

hanging orange leaves

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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christmas is coming

October 23, 2020

pickupfall

If you have been to any stores or shopping online, you already know that holiday merchandise is out for sale extra early this year.  I think this is a good thing.

Hopefully, it will eliminate crowds as people finish their shopping before the traditional rush.

I’ve always been an early shopper anyway and traditionally wrap holiday gifts on Thanksgiving weekend.  So, even if it wasn’t a pandemic, I would be fine with early holiday displays.

pumpkin with succulents

On an ‘out and about’ trip this week, I saw plenty of holiday and that was kind of the intent of a friend and I – to check out some of the displays in our favorite stores.

But I couldn’t help appreciating some fall décor (even if the temps were 74 degrees!) as a farewell – and, to score a few good pumpkins stems (at 25% off!)  to make a few more velvet pumpkins.

fall pickup

I hope you are inspired to appreciate fall one more time before the holiday takes over!  Use the weekend to enjoy some cider donuts…go leaf peeping…visit a farm.

Have a fabulous weekend.

Thanks for stopping by, Jackie

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diy pumpkins with foraged materials

October 13, 2020

book and baby boo

When I was young, I would love to save colorful fall leaves by using a hot iron to preserve them between two pieces of wax paper.  Do children still do this?

baby boo with orange leaves

I used a similar technique recently to save some leaves I admired.  Instead of wax paper, I used Mod Podge as a preservative and added them to mini baby boo pumpkins.

foraged burgandy on baby boo

I had foraged some items that caught my eye on a morning walk and I really wanted to use them in some way.  So, I decided to incorporate the items I found, as well as some small pine cones (I had previously bleached) and acorns (I had previously painted), as ornamentation on white baby boos pumpkins.

fall foraging

This is such an easy DIY that anyone can do.  There are so many possibilities!  All you need are some foraged items from outdoors, a glue gun, Mod Podge and some pumpkins.  Mod Podge isn’t even necessary, but I used it to glue down some of the leaves and also to preserve them.  I brushed the Mod Podge on both sides of each leaf and glued some of the leaves to the surface of the pumpkin.

baby boo with acorn

Using found materials and a 69-cent pumpkin (from Trader Joe’s), this DIY is super affordable!

baby boo with acorns

I hope I have inspired you to create some of your own pumpkin creations from foraged materials!

foraged materials on a baby boo

Thanks for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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dahlias at white flower farm

October 9, 2020

single dahlia in the rain

Garden relatives to the sunflower, chrysanthemum and zinnia, dahlias are really gorgeous perennials!

pink dahlia

They are native to warmer climates – Mexico and Central America.  To keep them blooming here, the tubers need to be dug up in the fall, stored over the winter, and then planted again the following spring.  (If they were in their native warm climate, they would re-sprout from their underground tubers to bloom each year.)

dahlias at white flower farm

The idea of digging up the tubers every year has kept me from planting any in my own garden.  There are just so many beautiful flowers to choose from – why choose one that requires so much work!  I just don’t want to add another thing to my fall garden ‘to do’ list!

orange dahlia

dahila cluster

But, seeing the gorgeous dahlia display at White Flower Farm this year, I have to say I thought twice about changing my mind about planting some dahlias!

drooping dahlia

I visited the flower farm when the blooms were at peak and it was a drizzly day.  I always love a garden on a rainy day – the colors are so much more impactful than on a sunny day!

colorful dahlias in the rain

Maybe a visit each fall to see the display at White Flower Farm can be even to satisfy my dahlia craving!

dahlia in shades of pink

beautiful dahlia

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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