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Tag: diy


diy holiday cloche

11
December

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

4
December

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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diy holiday paperwhites

20
November

bulbs in pretty jars

Paperwhites are great for the holidays!  All that white flower goodness and it just requires a simple procedure of putting the bulbs in some water and waiting for them to bloom!  It takes 4-6 weeks for them to burst into flower, so planting some now will probably provide a Christmas week bloom!

A few stones in the bottom of a container help keep the bulb from laying directly on the water and rotting.

bulbs in jars with ribbons

Here, I have included some of the bulb plantings created by Terrain in Westport.  I hope it serves as some inspiration for you to design some plantings of your own!  Choosing a pretty container for the holidays is certainly half the fun!  With the cost of a paperwhite bulb under $2. a piece, you can have plenty of creative fun for very little cost.

The one annoyance of paperwhites is that they grow quite tall and all their weight is on the top.  To avoid this, you can stunt the growth of the paperwhites height by using alcohol!

paperwhite bulbs

By using this method, the bulb will only grow 1/3 to 1/2 its normal height, but the flowers remain normal size!

dishes of bulbs

After planting your paperwhites, the same as you usually would, you make a watering switch after the roots begin growing and the green shoot is 1-2 inches tall.  At this time, pour off the existing water and replace it with a solution of water and alcohol.  You can either use vodka and water (7 parts water to one-part vodka) or rubbing alcohol and water (13 parts water to one-part 70% rubbing alcohol).  Then, just use whichever solution you have made to water the bulb for the remaining time.

pots of bulbs

I hope you are inspired to plant some paperwhites this week!  Check your local garden store for some individual bulbs for sale.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy pumpkins with foraged materials

13
October

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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fall chair planting diy

2
October

chair plantings

Today I am hoping to inspire you to plant a chair.  Yes, you read that correctly!  An old chair is the perfect vehicle to create a beautiful fall planting.

empty chair

First, find an old chair.  I mean old!  The older, the better – more character.  It should be a chair that has (or once had) a caned seat or an upholstered seat.  The reason for this is because you will remove that part to add plants.

empty chair

The perfect candidate for a chair planting!

Once the cane or upholstery is removed, screening is stapled in its place using a staple gun.  After the screening is in place, planting can happen!  Just like any other outdoor container would be used, the screening serves as your container, providing drainage.  So easy!

chair with screen

screen closeup

Before planting, decide if the chair you plan to use will be left vintage looking or if you will paint it in advance.  A bright color, a color to match the flowers used, or a color to match your house or garden are all great choices.

purple chair planting

I was inspired to start this project based on the photos here.  I have plenty of colors of Annie Sloan paint and plan use that to paint a chair in advance of planting.  I am keeping my fingers crossed I can find an appropriate discarded chair in the next week!

blue chair planting

I hope I have inspired you to start a chair planting of your own!

yellow chair planting

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy tank top pumpkins

4
September

gray teeshirt pumpkin

Every year it is sad for me to sew my first pumpkin because I love summer so much and pumpkins, of course, are a sign of a coming season that is not summer!

Each year, in addition to the velvet ones I make, I like to create some pumpkins from a unique material.  This year, I decided to use some repurposed clothing.

round gray topIsolation provided for some time to organize everything in my home, and I went through my collection of clothing many times since the pandemic started – fine-tuning all my closets.  Because I tried my best to hold on to only those items I truly love, I ended up with a large donation pile of unwanted clothes.

pumpkin made from gray teeshirt

When I started to think of this year’s pumpkins, I immediately thought of the unwanted clothes pile – the perfect place to find some new material!  To start, I chose two J. Crew tank tops.  Both in colors I love and both with embellishments that could be added to the finished pumpkins.

pumpkins from pink tees

round pink topThe pink one has the added appeal of being perfect to make pumpkins to display for breast cancer awareness month!

So…the pumpkins begin!

pink tank top pumpkin

pumpkin sewn from pink tee

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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easy garden diy

5
June

pretty bird and diy

Some years back, I blogged about some easy DIY garden stakes based on some I had seen.  On a recent visit to my friend Wendy’s garden, I noticed she had added a bird to one of these stakes in an arrangement she created for her side door.  It is SO adorable, I need to share!

bucket of white flowers

You can read the original post/tutorial by clicking here if you’d like to create your own.  Just add a cute bird like Wendy did!

pretty bird and diy

Thanks for stopping by!

white clematis

Note:  The other photos in this post are also from Wendy’s gardens.  (Of course, I had to find a way to add some white flowers to the post!)

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

 

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decoupaged oyster shell magnets

26
May

flower oyster shell

A great use for smaller decoupaged oyster shells is as refrigerator magnets.  All that is required is to use a glue gun to add a strong magnet to the back of the completed shell!  For complete instructions on making the decoupaged oyster shells, click here.

decoupage oyster shell fridge magnet

While they were offering a site-wide discount during the quarantine, I ordered some super strong small, round magnets (as well as some ribbon for a future project) online from Joann Stores.  You should be able to find small magnets at this or any craft store.

oyster shell magnets

Decoupage the shells in a pattern/color that coordinates with your décor!  Even if you decide to use shells that are all decoupaged in the same pattern – each is unique in shape, providing plenty of visual interest on the fridge!

fridge magnets oyster shells

I hope you are inspired to DIY some decoupaged oyster shell fridge magnets!

shell magnets from oyster shells

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Using decoupaged shells to make a pendant necklace, click here.

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decoupaged oyster shell pendant necklace

19
May

oyster shell sweater combo

How many oyster shell trinket dishes can one person use?  After making quite a few of these beauties during quarantine, I started coming up with some other ways to use these decorative pieces.

Living in a spot where oyster shells are readily available makes it easy to go a little overboard when using them in a craft!  I love the way the shells come out when decoupaged, so I needed to start coming up with some additional uses for them other then what I’ve done in the past.

There are plenty of ways to use masses of shells – in a wreath…or, even as I have shown you in the past – as ground cover in place of mulch – but this time, I am utilizing shells in a way that highlights each one individually.  Because, once decoupaged, each oyster shell is so unique and beautiful, a great way to highlight an individual one is to make it into a necklace, using the shell as a pendant.

decoupaged oyster shell pendantAfter the shell is decoupaged (full tutorial here), simply add it to a chain or a piece of leather.  Here, I have added beads to a chain.  Wooden beads are also a great choice – some natural colored wood beads highlighted with a few painted gold would have set off this shell nicely!

The only real challenge with creating a necklace is to add a hole to the shell.  I say challenge because of the shape and texture of the shell.  Caution is required so that the tool you are using does not slip.  And, because of the texture of the shell, caution is also required so as not to split the shell while drilling.

ootd necklace oyster shell decoupage

I made this necklace to go with one of my favorite sweaters…just need to add some gold sandals and white jeans and I have a super OOTD!

Probably the best and safest way to make a hole in a shell is with a Dremel using water.  Because of quarantine, the only tool I had available for my project was a regular drill.  I used a masonry bit and held the shell with some pliers so that if the drill slipped, it wouldn’t drill through my hand!  Like I said, caution is required!

If you plan on making a habit of putting holes in shells, I suggest you purchase a Dremel and follow the instructions very carefully!

Decoupage shells in colors/patterns that coordinate with your wardrobe and create some great statement necklaces!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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a purple pop of flowers

15
May

purple pansies

We just had some snow here in Connecticut – not typical weather for May.  The cold snaps have made all the flower gardeners hesitant to get started with putting out annuals this year.

I usually use Mother’s Day as my ‘safe to plant’ indicator, but I know some of the experts say not to plant until after the new moon.

entrance purple flowers

With all the hesitation to get plants in the ground, it was so refreshing to see my friend Phyllis has started working on her garden décor.  The plantings she had put around her side entrance really look fabulous.  She changes things up each season and for spring she has incorporated a splash of purple into her creations.

porch topiary

purple with pussywillows

I hope seeing these flowers make you smile as much as I did when I saw them!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!

 

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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