Marble Magnet Craft

I came home one day in December to find a package at our door from some of our neighbors. In usual fashion, I opened it up to be the first to taste the holiday treat. Shhh...sometimes I don't save any for Rudy!

I was pleasantly surprised to find these adorable magnet marbles of photos from some of our neighborhood get togethers and their wedding.  Rudy was their photographer

How cute!

I found this tutorial online at www.notmartha.org if you want to try your hand in making them.

 

We are loving these magnets!

 

Sarah

Scrapbook Paper Gift Tags

Happy Christmas Eve!  So I have really gotten into using scrapbook paper this year for Christmas.  And the fun didn't end when I started wrapping some of Rudy's presents.  Look how cute these turned out!  And I was reusing the red bags from Reed's birthday party - score!

Happy Christmas Eve!

~ Sarah

Making a Country Metal Tree Whimisical and Current

Do you have any outdated Christmas decorations?  I had this tree that I liked as far as its function but it seemed a little country and not really my style.

 

It is from the Southern Living Home collection and it is a great piece for your dining room table.  The first thing I did was paint it white using basic acryllic paint.

 

Then I sanded it lightly with sand paper to give it some dimension.

 

I was going for a whimsical look that would match my whimsical mantelpiece and wreath I made...

 

 

 

 



 I added some ornaments I had on hand in the color scheme.  Actually these are name card holders from Target about 8 years ago.  I have always loved them!

And cut out scrapbook paper "ornaments" tied on with yarn.

Have you updated any old Christmas decorations?  How did they turn out?

DIY Paper Wreath Tutorial

 

I made this adorable paper Christmas wreath this past weekend and finally have the finished product and full tutorial to show you!

 

Here is the how to:

 

1.  First start with a standard straw or foam wreath form.  Then wrap it with brown paper to create a "canvas" in which your glue will easily stick.  I don't have pictures but to wrap the wreath cut your brown paper into strips and wind it around the wreath like ribbon and secure with hot glue.

 

2.  Next cut 1 inch wide strips of scrap book paper in 3-5 different complimentary patterns.  I used 40-50 strips for this project.

 

3.  Next make loops with your paper by folding the paper over.

Using a hot glue gun, you will want to glue your loops down like this:

rather than this because you will use less paper and less glue.

Following a pattern worked well and looked nice. 

Although all the papers were green - they were muted in tone so the wreath is nice and neutral.

I added a pop of shimmer with the ribbon and attached it to this mirror above our entry table.

Such an easy and pretty decoration!

I love seeing my whimsical mantel in the background!  This is definitely a project to try.  So easy and reasonable.

DIY Paper Wreath Sneak Peek!

I posted some great holiday cocktail recipes over at Quite The Occasion today!  Be sure to check them out!

Have you ever been working on a project and realized half way through that there was a better way to do it but it was too late?  That was how this wreath went down.  However, I am glad that the finished project turned out okay.  I will be posting all about that tomorrow!

First I started with this paper wreath that I made this past fall.

I removed the bow and twine which left me with a nice brown paper "canvas" to work with.  Then I cut 1 inch by 4 inch strips of coordinating red and green (mostly green) scrap book paper.  I probably had 40-50 strips.

I started to glue each loop on one at a time using a glue gun layering them as I went.

About half way through I realized by looping them like this, I was using more paper and more glue.

So then I started placeing them like this which helped my paper go further and allowed me to use less glue.

I am going to show you the finished product tomorrow.  The wreath is hanging on my mirror in my living room and looks just lovely across from my whimsical mantel!  I can't wait to get our tree so I can tie in some of these colors into our tree topper and some ornaments or garland!

Reed's Playroom and Felt Activity Board 1st Try

A few weeks ago, I moved most of Reed's bigger toys downstairs to make a play area for him.  We are not totally finished which is just fine because I think the space will probably grow with him.  But for now, we have his toys under our basement stairs with an open area in the sitting area of our basement.

 

 

I already had these great shelves from IKEA and I placed the bins on the bottom level so he could safely get things in and out.  There is a space on the right that was open until I realized a basket I already had fit.  It is sort of a weird size.  Considering I would like to use this basket for parties like we did for Reed's birthday...

 

 

 

 I am still on the hunt for something else.  But for now it works.

 



I wanted to create a felt activity board for him and made a 1st try last night to see what he thought.  I placed it to the right of the fire place to keep it out of the way.

I purchased 2 yards of green felt for $7.99 from Michael's and then lots of sheets of colored felt.  I was planning on making felt garland for Christmas so I was okay with not using all of it.

I cut a small piece of green and taped it up on the wall.  Next I cut a few shapes out of various colors.  He liked it!  He liked taking the pieces off and tried to get them back on.  I think over time, he will really be able to use it better. 

 

 For a 1st try, I like the concept. Stay tuned for my final version with a larger surface area and more permanent method of attaching it to our wall.

DIY Inspirational Quote Coasters

At my full time job, I focus my time on staff development and training.  I was gathering a group of our staff together and wanted to give them something that was meaningful yet practical.  Considering I had a $0.00 budget, I knew I had to get crafty.  In preparation for the meeting I asked each participant to share their biggest accomplish so far with their time with MDA (the Muscular Dystrophy Association).  I took those accomplishments to hand select a quote for each of them.  I presented their tile to them and shared their story at the beginning of the meeting.  It was really special and they loved it!  Here is the how to:

First I created 4x4 black and white images in publisher, placing the verbiage in the center of the tile as you can see above.

Then I printed them out on white card stock paper and cut them to the edge using a paper cutter.

Next I glued them on with mod podge and a paint brush. 

I really loaded it up to create a nice thick protective layer to withstand condensation from a chilled beverage.

Here is the semi finished tile.  You can see how nicely they dried.

To finish them off and to prevent scratches on a tabletop, I placed 4 of these felt pads on the back of each coaster.

This was a great (and inexpensive) recognition project for our team members.  It can easily be done with Christmas Carol lyrics for the holidays, scrap book paper, in color, different fonts - you name it!

Craft Paper Fall Wreath Tutorial

Fall is here!  It's time to get the front stoop fall ready and a new wreath was just what I needed.  But I didn't want to buy a new one.  Do you remember this wreath from my post last year, Wreath Uncorked?  Well when I pulled it out for this year it needed some love...

 

The corks were all gone and it was just a mess.  So I started over.  This time I simply wrapped it in strips of brown craft paper and twine, glued the bow and hung it on the door.  I love its simplicity!

 



 

Here is my fall stoop!  I don't go too crazy with Halloween so it will last through Thanksgiving.