diy — pleasure in simple things

Tag: diy

diy wire gift tags

November

I adore holiday decorating and baking. Gift wrapping, in particular, is a passion of mine and I always start thinking about design details for my packages as soon as I establish a holiday theme – months before the holiday season approaches.

I assembled some of the materials I knew I would need for my woodland gift wrapping ideas quite some time ago…hoping to squeeze in some of my planned projects in free moments.

Working 15 hour days isn’t particularly conducive to fitting in creative activities, but I did use a couple of late night hours recently to work on some gift tags I had envisioned a while back.

Using wire from the craft store, I very simply bent the wire to form words to use as gift tags on my gifts…choosing fun holiday words or the name of the gift recipient. I chose an antique bronze colored wire and picked the strongest gauge that I could still shape using my hands. (Pliers are an option if you would rather use a tool or don’t have significant hand strength.) I formed a loop on either end of the word shape to use as a ribbon loop and cut the end of the wire with pliers being sure to check for sharp edges and using a file or sandpaper to smooth any rough spots…

I shaped the words freehand, but you can certainly use a handwritten word on paper or print out a word from your computer to use as a pattern.

These packages will coordinate nicely with the others I have planned for my woodland theme. ;) Wire is available in a wide choice of colors in the craft store, so you can choose one to match your own holiday theme.

These word creations have so many uses – they can be used as ornaments, to identify a Christmas stocking, or as a wine bottle gift tag. It is an especially great idea to use one on a gift for someone that can never find anything printed with their unique name!

I hope you will try your hand at some of these fun wire word gift tags for holiday packages and create some to coordinate with your own holiday decorating.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on diy wire gift tags | diy, gift ideas, holiday

repurposing clothespins

November

I guess being born a Virgo and a firstborn explains how the simplest of organizing ideas can get me excited.

Using extra clothespins as an organizing tool is a perfect example…yes, I find this exciting!

Who hasn’t used a clothespin to hold a chip bag closed?

But, by adding a few stamped letters and a freebie refrigerator magnet, I gave a few clothespins some more specific daily assignments. Days of the week clothespins are a great way to help organize the week’s menu by clipping recipe cards onto the appropriate day that you will need them… an easy way to have some clothespins doing double-duty in your kitchen. Also a great way to remember a coupon you may need to use on a specific day during the week.

You can also add a little character to some old style clothespins by adding a coat of whitewash and then using a little sandpaper to give a worn appearance. I like to use these as ‘clips’ for markers on my appetizer trays…here for a dessert tray, I also added a splash of gold to go with a gold theme.

I am also incorporating some clothespins into my woodland holiday theme table decor…using a glue gun to add some pheasant feathers and some scrap velvet to some clothespins, they will stand in for more traditional napkin rings. I always have plenty of feathers on hand, but if you don’t have access to game bird feathers, you can certainly pick some up at the craft store.

Another use for wooden clothespins to tie into my woodland theme is to use them with mini brown bags to create a natural element Advent calendar…stamp the days on the clothespins and clip natural materials to bags you have filled with surprises.

A jar full of leaves from the backyard serves as a ‘jar of thanks’ …a slip of paper from each guest on Thanksgiving Day, giving a message of thanks, is folded and included in the jar to be read later in the day.

Do you have any great uses for wooden clothespins?

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on repurposing clothespins | diy, food & festivities, holiday

dreaming of a white halloween

October

Who says Halloween decorating has to be black and orange? I prefer white…think ghosts, tangles of spider webs, fangs…all white! So, why not decorate with white?

Of course decorating with treats is a requirement…and there are some great white options. Because I love white decorating, I often create white dessert tables at the holidays. White is a fun option for Halloween treats also!

For visiting adults on Halloween, champagne bubbles are the perfect sweet!

Decorating a white Halloween. Create a white on white polka dot pumpkin by creating white dots with acrylic paint, white nail polish, or white felt and glue. Champagne bubbles in treat sacks continue the dot theme.

These “yum” sacks are better suited to the young ones. Fill with white jelly beans, mini marshmallows, or white gum drops to appeal to younger tastes.

I made these ghosts from a traditional meringue recipe. Flavoring them with root beer makes them a fun and different sweet for Halloween. The color from the root beer extract also gives them a vintage color. Eyes are easy to create with a toothpick and some black paste food coloring.

If you would rather purchase your ghosts, the traditional ‘Peeps’ come in ghost form…

I hope you are inspired to create some white Halloween of your own!

Homemade caramel apples dipped in white chocolate and coated in sliced almonds still to be made ;)

Some easy-to-make votives to spread your Halloween message…wrap votives in white linen stamped with appropriate letters.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Craftberry Bush, A Pinch of Joy, and The Well Crafted Home.

1 comment » | diy, food & festivities, holiday

velvet acorns

October

This year I am making velvet acorns. And, since I am going for a woodland theme holiday, I am also making some velvet acorn ornaments to use for my holiday decorating. You may remember my velvet pumpkins from last year…I had so much fun picking out velvet fabrics, sewing up the pumpkins, and adding real pumpkin stems.

I even posted some easy diy instructions on how to make the velvet pumpkins. Acorns are easy to make using the same method as the pumpkins…using real acorn caps. Aren’t they adorable! To make your own, just cut the diameter of the velvet (acorn) circle twice the diameter of the acorn cap you will be using with it.

To make the ornament, be sure to put a hole in the acorn cap and add a thread for hanging before you glue the cap to the velvet. For a little added holiday glitz, I also added some sparkle to the acorn cap with some glitter.

Why not take a walk in the woods this week and collect some acorns to make some velvet acorns?

They are easy to make and add a beautiful woodland touch to your fall decor.

You may also want to start on some holiday ornaments!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Craftberry Bush, Common Ground, and The Shabby Nest.

11 comments » | diy

pine straw bale planting

October

How many times have you seen hay bales and corn stalks used to decorate the outside of a home at this time of year? Pretty standard, right? When I saw a workshop scheduled at Terrain for planting pine straw bales, I was intrigued…what exactly would be done with the bales?

It turned out that Terrain designer Angela actually planted right inside the bale! I thought it was so cool that I wanted to share this week on Friday field trip.

A really great idea that can be tailored to any color scheme or taste. Start with a pine straw bale and some plants that you like or that will coordinate with the outside colors of your house…

Using scissors or something sharp, cut out spots to plant inside the bales – adding soil as your planting medium.

Looking down on a finished pine straw bale planting created by designer Angela at Terrain in Westport, Connecticut.

After Angela planted the selection of plants she had chosen, she added some green moss around the plants and a few white pumpkins (I wonder if that was for my benefit lol!) to complete the look.

Great idea, right?

Just be sure to place your pine straw bale in it’s spot before you start planting…Angela had hers on a cart so she didn’t have to worry about lifting it after it was completed. It looks great from every angle! I love the contrast between the plants and the pine straw.

I hope this will inspire you to try creating one of your own bale plantings…something a little different for your seasonal decor…thanks Angela!

If you don’t have a Terrain near you, you can easily find pine straw bales at Home Depot.

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Sharing at Craftberry Bush and The Tablescaper.

1 comment » | diy, field trips, garden

better in threes

September

Doesn’t putting any photo into a frame make it look better? In the same way, I think putting a painting on canvas immediately ‘legitimizes’ it. For this reason, I decided to create a quick ‘work of art’ on canvas for my daughter’s new apartment.

While helping her move in, I noticed that there was an empty spot on the bathroom wall – a long, tall shape. The bathroom was done in white and beige and had a hint of blue, so I thought a painting using beige and blue could tie everything together nicely.

What would fit the unusual space? A triptych! This is a painting divided into three sections. I would choose three canvases that would fill the space appropriately…I decided an anchor would be my subject matter since the painting was going in a bathroom space and my daughter has a love for anchors.

I put three canvases together and drew a very rough sketch of an anchor with pencil. I didn’t want to get too serious with it…just a very quick painting using the basic shapes and whatever acrylic craft paint I had left from previous projects…mixing beiges and blues.

Any basic pattern will work. Just be sure the picture hits all three canvases. If you don’t feel comfortable working with a pencil sketch, you can easily find something online to copy and trace. You can even use your computer or a copier to adjust the size of the picture. If that still seems intimidating to you, you can decoupage a picture onto the canvases – requiring no drawing or painting at all!

The painting took about 10 minutes since I just did a ‘messy’ impressionistic view of an anchor and added very little detail.

I was able to create a painting that used the appropriate color scheme and a favorite motif to add to my daughter’s newly decorated bathroom…fun! I’m hoping my daughter will send me a photo of this new creation when she hangs it on the wall. If so, I will share it with you on my Facebook page.

I hope this has inspired you to create your own triptych! Send me an email if you need some help or ideas.

Thanks so much for stopping by and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing on Shabby Nest.

2 comments » | diy, inspiration, sand & sea

embracing the season

August

The best flowers for decorating are the ones that embrace the season. Here in New England, hydrangeas are a favorite. While putting together some arrangements for a wedding rehearsal dinner, I knew this seasonal flower was the best choice. Wanting to personalize the arrangement in some way, I decided to add the future bride and groom’s initials by creating monogrammed tie-ons crafted from natural elements.

I used some cocoa colored stamp pad ink and stamps to stamp on pieces of wood. If you aren’t into cutting and sanding wood, you can easily find something similar at a craft store or on Etsy.

An easy and wonderful way to help the spacing stay consistent when stamping is to simply use an elastic to hold the two letters and ampersand stamps together while applying the monogram.

Once your tie-ons are completed, you can save them to add to your completed centerpieces. Harvest (or purchase) the seasonal favorites you plan on using. If you are truly embracing the season, it is best to use something that is presently in bloom…such a great way to evoke feelings of gardens and the season. :)

Hydrangeas are really great all on their own. These were being placed on a chocolate colored table cloth so I just added a couple curly sticks as accents and tied twine around clear vases. Perfect!

In appreciating every last bit of summer, try to find some of your own ways to embrace the season…bringing some of your garden (or a friend’s garden…thanks Phyllis!) indoors is certainly one great way!

Enjoy your week. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Mona’s Picturesque and Craftberry Bush.

Comments Off on embracing the season | diy, food & festivities, garden

its always half full

August

Talk about pleasure in simple things…I can‘t believe how excited I got recently about a piece of garbage that ended up in my yard!

When pieces of a neighbor’s rickety fence started falling into my backyard, I got a little irritated…until…one day, I went out to cut the lawn and found the most beautiful piece of old fence out in the grass. It was one of the pickets from the old fence and it looked like a wonderful old weathered piece of driftwood.

Such a simple thing…but repurposing that piece of fence gave me so much pleasure :)

I put that lovely piece of fence into my freezer for a few days…I always figure if there are any bugs or insect eggs inside the wood, they would not be able to survive the freezer! Hope that is a correct assumption!

When I was sufficiently satisfied the piece of fence was bug free, I wrote “beach” on it with a white Sharpie oil based paint pen. I had planned on sanding it after that to make the writing look worn. But, as it turned out, the pen soaked into the wood in spots and created something of a worn look all on its own.

I love my beach sign!

I think I was meant to learn a lesson from that old piece of fence.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | diy, sand & sea

summer napkin fun

August

It is that time of year…the time when we all wonder how the summer could be flying by so fast…and a time to try and pack as much summer fun into the remaining days as possible!

Today, I want to show you some DIY ways that I am making my summer entertaining more fun. With meals that can include lobster, corn on the cob, and watermelon; summer fun can be messy! I love to use dish towels as an inexpensive and practical napkin for summer meals. IKEA is a great spot to pick up some dish towels (for less than $1. a piece!) that can easily be embellished to fit a summer party theme.

In a previous post, I made wrapping paper using an anchor shaped sponge. Now, I am using it to add an anchor motif to a set of dish towels that I will use as napkins for a summer meal. These are easy to create by simply dipping a patterned sponge into acrylic paint and applying to a dish towel. Print the pattern a couple of times on a piece of scrap paper before painting the fabric…this removes some of the paint from the sponge and creates more of a ‘worn’ look to the anchor when it is painted; rather than a solid pattern of paint.

Be sure to put a piece of cardboard under the spot where you paint your design to protect your work table. After letting the paint dry for 24 hours, use a hot iron or your dryer to set the paint. You may want to use a paint specifically for fabric…I use acrylic paint that I already have – it has always worked well for me. I find washing, drying, and ironing the fabric before painting it gives the best results.

Another way to add a motif to a dish towel is by stenciling. I always make my own stencil from a piece of cardboard or baking parchment paper. One of my favorite designs for summer is a watermelon…I love the graphic quality and the colors. Another great summer napkin!

I can never resist adding a playful scattering of plastic ants when I am creating a watermelon designed item. :)

For something a little more formal than a dish towel, a linen napkin with a napkin ring is a great summer entertaining choice. Like the dish towels, these napkins were purchased at IKEA. I created a napkin ring by using a piece of rope and some Plasti Dip. In the same way that I used Plasti Dip to create a set of seafood forks, I used it on some rope to create a really great napkin ring! You can purchase a jump rope from the dollar store or use any scrap piece of rope you have hanging around the garage to make your napkin rings. After tying a knot in each napkin ring, I just dipped it in some Plasti Dip that I had tinted pink. I love the way pale pink looks with linen and Plasti Dip is easy to tint any color…I dipped each napkin ring into the Plasti Dip three times (waiting between coats as listed on the instructions) to achieve this look.

I decided to coordinate the napkins by adding some painted pink polka dots along the hem.

After looking around the house to find something to create the size polka dot I wanted, I decided a carrot was perfect! I mixed the color pink paint I wanted and used a freshly sliced carrot to paint the polka dots along the hem of each napkin.

I hope you enjoyed these summer napkins ideas and are inspired to create some fun summer napkins of your own!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at City Farmhouse and Craftberry Bush.

5 comments » | diy, food & festivities

diy nautical necklace

July

I have never made any jewelry. When I see some of the beautiful beads in the craft store, I am tempted to make something. The thing is, it seems when you add the price of all the items needed to make a piece, it can be much less expensive to buy something already made! Some day I plan on experimenting with jewelry making with my sea glass collection, but today I want to tell you about a necklace I created for less than $5!

A while back, I ripped a photo of a necklace I really liked from a magazine…it had a nautical feel to it since it was made from rope. But, at $215., it was way beyond my accessories budget…actually, I don’t even have an accessories budget! So, $215. more than my budget!

I was able to create the same look as the necklace in the magazine with a piece of rope from the marine store (less than $2.) and some Plasti Dip I had left over from my seafood fork project. I got a little fancy and bought a bracelet clasp and some wire to use as an attachment and the total for supplies still came out under $5.

The best part is that I love the necklace! I thought I would wear it with t-shirts, but I really like the way it looks with my gray and white striped long t-shirt dress…so perfect! All I did was to knot the rope and dip it in Plasti Dip. The necklace I saw had a red accent, but I decided to use blue since I had some blue Plasti Dip on hand. I liked the look of two coats of Plasti Dip, but you can easily add more coats if you want the colored area to have a thicker look.

When you buy the rope at the marine store, it is best to get the exact length you want, because they will burn the edges for you to prevent it from unraveling. There are plenty of different rope options to choose from and the cost is calculated per yard. I thought the craft store would have some type of clamp to use as a fastener, but I couldn’t find one large enough to fit the diameter of the rope so I crafted a fastener out of a bracelet fastener. Maybe a jewelry supply store would have something different or, another fastening option would be to tie or fuse the two ends together – slipping the necklace over your head.

So, that is a simple way to create a nautical feel necklace! I think knotted napkin rings dipped in Plasti Dip would be another great variation on this project. Plasti Dip can be tinted any color, so there are plenty of color options…have fun with it!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Elizabeth & Co. and Silver Pennies.

1 comment » | diy, sand & sea, swag

↑ Back to top

pleasure in simple things

search

categories

recent posts

archives

my friends & favs

Tag: diy

diy wire gift tags

repurposing clothespins

dreaming of a white halloween

velvet acorns

pine straw bale planting

better in threes

embracing the season

its always half full

summer napkin fun

diy nautical necklace