DIY Cinnamon Scented Fall Nature Wreath

Happy Monday, friends!

This past weekend there was a BIG college football game that my family and I had to watch, and when things started going downhill for my Alma mater, it was time to bust out a craft project I could work on while the game was on.  That way I was still watching and listening, but could be a little bit distracted at the same time ;)

Here's what I came up with....

A cinnamon scented fall nature wreath!

Yes, you read that right.  This beauty not only looks amazing and colorful, but smells just like fall!

The crazy thing about it is that I only spent $4 on this wreath.  True story.  I bought a plain grapevine wreath at Michael's on sale for $4, and then glued down nature materials that I already had on hand, and this wreath was born!

And, it smells like CINNAMON!

Cinnamon is one of my top favorite scents in this world (I like to shop at Albertsons in the fall just so I can smell those cinnamon brooms they always have out... heavenly!), so I wanted to figure out a way to get this wreath to smell like cinnamon.  I'll show you how I made this beautiful wreath, and then how I was able to give it a warm, inviting cinnamon scent.

I have tons of natural, colorful, and chunky potpourri that I've collected over the years from Pottery Barn.  Like, TONS.  I took a second look at it the other day and the thought struck me to turn some of my extra potpourri into a wreath!

You might not have extra bags of potpourri around the house, but you can still make a beautiful wreath following these directions.  You can use this as an excuse to go on  a nice nature walk and pick up things like leaves, pods, bark, nuts, acorns, pine cones, berries, etc., or you could even buy artificial versions of these as well.

Want to make your own?

DIY Cinnamon Scented 

Fall Nature Wreath

Supplies:

• Grapevine wreath form (or any other wreath form you would like)
• Natural looking potpourri, leaves, pods, nuts, acorns, pine cones, berries- anything you'd like on your wreath!
• Glue gun & glue
• Cinnamon oil 

Directions:

1.  Gather all of your items that you would like to go on your wreath.  Start by placing items a section at a time on your wreath.  Once everything is lined up and layered the way that you would like it, start gluing.  My glue gun worked great!  The key to making this wreath is layering.  Lots and lots of layers, and different colors and textures will make your wreath interesting and lovely to look at.

2.  Keep layering and gluing, section by section, until your wreath is complete.  Look for any empty holes or bare spots that you might have missed, and be sure to fill them in.

3.  If you would like your wreath to smell like cinnamon, then you'll need cinnamon oil.  Not a cinnamon scented potpourri, but 100% cinnamon oil.  I bought mine at a local health food store.  There is cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon leaf oil.  I bought them both, but preferred the cinnamon leaf scent.  

Drop a few drops of cinnamon oil onto your wreath.  If you really want the smell to last longer, then you can place your wreath into a garbage bag after you have added the oil to it, tie it up, and leave it tied for a week or two.  I was too excited to keep mine in a bag- I had to hang it immediately!

I love the way it looks on my red patio door, but I think I'll be hanging it on my front door this year to welcome guests... hopefully they will be able to smell the cinnamon as they come in!

Happy crafting!  Have you made any wreaths that you're proud of?  Leave me a comment and tell me about it... I'd love to hear!!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here: Whipperberry, Tidy Mom, 30 Handmade Days, SNAP!,  Ginger Snap Crafts, Tatertots and Jello

DIY Flower Crown

Over the weekend I took my kids to an annual local fairy festival.  My girls went dressed as beautiful fairies, and to add to their outfits I made them each a pretty flower crown to wear.

These flower crowns were so easy to make, but really added to their overall fairy look.  You could wear these with a costume, or even for a fun, spring or summer bohemian look, and can be made in any size and colors you want.  

My youngest daughter loved hers, and when we tried it on her for the first time, she said, "Mom, are these what hippies wear?" So perceptive for a four-year-old.

Here's the easy tutorial for making your own DIY flower crown or wreath... your little fairy princess will love you forever if you make her one!

The better quality flowers that you use, the better your flower wreath will look.  I recommend getting at least one type of flowers that are small and have multiple flowers on a medium to long length strand (see the second photo under directions), because you will be using this to wrap inside the twine as a base for your crown.

Directions:

Step 1: Wrap a piece of twine around your head (or the person who you're making the crown for) where you would like the crown to go, and add an extra two inches to that (you'll see why later).  Tie a tight knot in the twine, wrap the twine around a second time, and tie a knot again in the same place.

This will be the base for your crown.  I like to use twine over wire because the twine is much more comfortable than wearing wire, looks more natural, and much easier to use!

Step 2: Wrap the twine crown in around the strand of small flowers multipe times.  I used two strands for my crowns, and left the very back plain.  You could fill yours in if you like.  

By wrapping the twine around the flower stem you are creating the base for the crown, and the first layer to which we will add on the other flowers.  Use your glue gun to glue the twine to the stem in just a few places.

Step 3: Cut a flower from your other flower stems that you would like to use. Leave about an inch of the stem on the flower.  Weave the stem of the flower into the twine of the crown, and use a small amount of glue to glue in place.  Repeat with multiple colors and sizes of flowers until the crown looks the way you like.  You can add as many or as few flowers as you want!

This flower crown only takes a few minutes to make, and the finished product is so pretty!

The best part is putting it on your daughter (or yourself, or your niece, granddaughter, etc.).  I loved seeing my daughters' reactions at seeing their reflections in the mirror!  They felt so pretty, and looked like little angels. Seriously, look at these pictures!

Here are a few from the Fairy Festival... many of the Disney princesses were there, too, which was a fun surprise!

I hope you give these pretty flower crowns a try! 

xo, Laura

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Linking Up Here: Lolly Jane, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Someday Crafts, A to Zebra Celebrations, SNAP!, House of Hepworths, 36th Avenue, Whipperberry, Tidy Mom, See Vanessa Craft, Tatertots & Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, I Heart Naptime, Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to My Lou

Easy Father's Day Bouqet Centerpieces

Looking for an easy and fun way to decorate the table for Father's Day?  Look no further than these cute reused Dad's root beer bottle bouquet centerpieces!

After our family drank the Dad's root beer I blogged about with my coconut macadamia mango crusted mahi mahi, I just couldn't throw the bottles away with their bright, graphic labels.  So I turned them into beautiful centerpieces!

This really couldn't be easier.  I just rinsed out the insides of the empty root beer bottles, filled them back up with water, and added a small bunch of matching flowers to the bottles.  

Instant cute centerpieces, with Dad's name right on the bottle! It doesn't get much easier than this.

You can display your lovely new centerpiece with the bottles inside the cardboard case that they came in, or display each bottle separately and spread out on the table or inside the house for decoration.

So easy, right?  How do you celebrate your husband and/or dad on Father's Day?

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here: I Heart Naptime, Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Sugar Bee Crafts, Lolly Jane, A to Zebra Celebrations, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Someday Crafts, Snap Creativity, House of Hepworths, 36th Avenue

Planter from a Dollar Galvanized Pail

With the weather so nice and warm the last few days here in California, I have really been wanting to bring the outdoors inside my home!

So far my husband and I have made a cool planter and candle holder out of baby food jars and a piece of wood, a two-foot long planter box full of daffodils, and I planted a bunch of wheat grass today (more on that next week!).  I usually let my husband do the gardening because he has a major green thumb, but this warm sunny weather has gotten me in the spirit!

I love the look of galvanized metal, and fell in love with these little pails when I saw them at Target.  They were in the dollar spot, but were on clearance for only 30 cents!  I bought up every single one at about 3 different Targets ;)  I thought they would make adorable little planters for inside my house!

I then bought these pretty flowers at Home Depot, which were on sale for only 50 cents! That makes the cost of a pail plus a plant only $1.50, which is fabulous (80 cents for me since I found some on clearance!).  

I talked to the "plant expert" at Home Depot, and he assured me that the flowers I bought, begonias, would be fine in my pail without a drainage hole in the bottom, as long as I didn't over water.  

If you wanted to use plants that require a lot of drainage, you could always just drill a hole in the bottom of your pail.  Make sure that you have the right amount of sunlight in your home that is required for the plant(s) that you buy.

All I did was remove my plants from their plastic container, add a little soil to the bottom of each pail, loosen the soil and the roots a little bit from the bottom of the plant,  and place them in their new galvanized home!  

This really couldn't be easier, but is a nice addition to any home, and a great way to welcome in spring!

Think you'll give these pretty planters a try?  Does it feel like spring where you are?

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Please share and pin!

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here: Somewhat Simple, The 36th Avenue, Tatertots and Jello, Sugar Bee Crafts, Lil' Luna, Someday Crafts

DIY Rustic Wood Planter Box

I am so excited to share this easy and beautiful project!  It is probably one of my very favorite projects I've shared with you.  My husband and I both came up with the idea, and he helped me build it.

It is a lovely distressed planter box that is made out of some old wood that we had that was just waiting to be used!  We used some of this wood on our Baby Food Jar Wood Vase & Candleholder, and we had just enough left to make this planter box.  The wood was already old and distressed, so I was lucky that we didn't have to do anything extra to it.

If you don't have any old wood lying around, don't be discouraged, you can still make this!  You can use new wood, and it will look great as is. You can distress it by sanding, or adding some stain or brown paint over the top of some watered down white paint.  There are many tutorials out there to distress wood that you could follow.

Supplies:

• Wood- We used three long pieces that were about 2 feet long (one for each side and one for the base), and then two shorter pieces (for the ends).  
• L brackets and screws 
• Drill
• Saw
• Hammer
• Dried coconut husks (Walmart- comes in a bowl shape in the garden section)
• Soil
• Flowers or plants

Directions:

Cut the three long pieces of wood for the sides and the base to your desired length, making sure the length is even for all three pieces.  Cut the two end pieces of wood so that they fit in between the bottom and sides of the box. 

The great thing about using old, distressed wood, is that your measurements don't have to be too exact or perfect. The imperfections of the wood make this project very forgiving!

Screw in the L brackets to hold the wood together with your drill.  We used 14 brackets for this planter box, but ours is very long (about 2 feet long), so you may not need that many.

Since this planter box will be going inside the house, we added some dried coconut husks that my husband bought from Walmart.  They come in a bowl shape as a replacement bowl for the hanging baskets in the garden section, and are super cheap.  Pull apart the bowl shape of the husks, and lay them all along the bottom of the planter box to help absorb the water so the box won't leak.

Now add your soil and plants, and admire your work!  I chose pretty little daffodils so I could bring a little spring into our home.  And they were only 82 cents each at Walmart.  Score!!

Now to find a spot for my lovely new box.  It looks great on the coffee table.  But I know my little guy would dig his fingers in that box any chance he'd get...

Looks great on the console table too...

But my favorite place was on our metallic dining room table.  It fits perfectly in the middle of our table, and makes the room look so fresh and Spring-y!

And if you're worried about the planter box leaking water, don't be!  The coconut husks I used really did the job, and after watering, not a drop of water leaked through the bottom of the planter.  Just use a reasonable amount of water, being careful not to overwater, and it will be fine.

I hope you try making one of these lovely planter boxes.  If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to ask by leaving a comment below.  I love reading your coments!

Be sure to check my Baby Food Jar Planters and Candleholder for another great way to use an old (or new!) piece of wood.

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram. 

Please share and pin!

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here: Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, The 36th Avenue, Whipperberry,Tatertots and Jello, Lily White Designs, At Home with Bobi, Skip To My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Sugar Bee Crafts

Upcycled Baby Food Jars: Wood Vase & Candleholder

I love the versatility of this decoration I am about to show you!

It can be a vase, planter, candle holder, or a combination of these!  It is totally up to you. You can hang it inside, outside, and change up the size according to your preference.  It is so easy to personalize to fit your needs and space limitations...

Have I got you curious yet?! 

My husband and I used an old piece of distressed wood we already had, and attached nine baby food jars to the wood with clamps, then added two hooks to the top to hang it on our shed.

And I LOVE it!!

It is such a unique look, and I love that I am reusing an old piece of wood and baby food jars that would have gone into the trash!

The flowers give such a pretty pop of color to our shed, and the flowers can easily be changed out to include new cut flowers, planted flowers, soil and seeds, candles, etc. I'll show you some of these varieties later in the post.   Endless possibilities!!

Wanna' make your own?  Here are the easy directions...

Supplies:

• Baby food jars (any size and amount that you want- I used five large and four medium jars)
• Clamps (one per jar- I bought a bag of 10 at Home Depot in the plumbing section for around $10)
• Screws
• Drill
• Hammer
• Metal punch (or screwdriver)
• 2 Hooks (optional)
• Jute, twine, etc. (optional- to hang the wood)

Directions:

1.  Brush the wood off with a wire brush to remove any dust and dirt.  With a hammer and a metal punch (or a screwdriver, if you don't have a punch), punch a hole in the metal clamp to make it easier for the screw to go through (you will be drilling it in step 3).  Make sure you place a piece of wood underneath the metal, and punch the opening on the opposite side of where the clamp tightens. This will be the spot where the clamp is screwed into the wood.

2.  Measure and mark where you would like the baby food jars to be placed on the wood.  Place a clamp on your marking, with the part that you punched touching the wood.  Drill the screw into the opening.  Repeat with all of the jars.  

3.  Place the jars inside each clamp, and tighten again so that the jars are nice and snug.

4.  To hang the decoration, you will need to mark where you want the two hooks to go on the top of the wood.  Drill a hole on each side that is deep enough for the hook to go through.  Twist each hook into the hole until it is tight.  String a piece of jute, twine, etc. through the hooks, knot each end, and hang with a nail wherever you would like.  

We hung ours outside to spruce up an old shed.  This would also look great on a patio, or inside the house. 

So now that you have made this little beauty, it's time for the fun part- filling the jars!!

So many options!  Here's what I came up with: 

Cut Fresh Flowers in Water on Top,
Potted Plants Growing on Bottom

We cut some geraniums and flowers from our yard and placed them in water on the top. Geraniums are great to put in the jars filled with water because the cuttings root in water.  Once they have grown some roots, you can plant them in the jars on the bottom in soil.  Once they grow even bigger, you can transfer them to bigger pots, cut some more trimmings, put them in the water, and keep the cycle going!!

The petunias we planted on the bottom fit in the larger baby food jars, but just barely.  The jars with soil in them are perfect for growing plants from seeds, or little seedlings.  Again, once they outgrow their containers, you just transfer them over into a bigger container.

Tea Light Candles on Top, 

Cut Fresh Flowers in Water on Bottom

I love the look of these tea lights in the jars, especially at night.  Make sure that you do not leave the candles lit unattended, and keep them out of the reach of children!!

Tea Light Candles on the Top and the Bottom

I also filled all of the jars with tea lights, and the effect was so pretty!  This would be a great decoration for a backyard barbecue or evening fire, or even for a little ambiance in your home.

As you can see, there are so many fun things you can do with this.  Get creative, and save those baby food jars!

Here are some other creative ideas I came up with for reusing baby food jars...

Rainbow Cakes in a Baby Food Jar

Baby Food Jar Party Favors

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Please share and pin!

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Tatertots & Jello,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, A to Zebra Celebrations, House of Hepworths, What's Cooking With Ruthie, Oasie Moats, The 36th Avenue, Whipperberry