DIY Paper Lantern Hot Air Balloons

I just love seeing hot air balloons floating up in the sky.  They are so beautiful!  I wanted to recreate that beauty at home, and made some gorgeous colorful hot air balloons out of paper lanterns.  They really are very easy to put together, and look great in a nursery, child's room, or as party decor!

I'm sharing my fun tutorial today over on the Darice blog Live. Craft. Love.  I'd love for you to check it out and leave a comment.

Have a great day!

xo, Laura

DIY Lighted Marquee Letters

I just love the look of those large beautiful marquee letters with round lights inside each letter.  I love them so much in fact, I made my own mini set!

These letters look great as a decoration for a party, or even just to add a little something to your decor at home!  You can check out the full tutorial on my first design team post on Darice's blog, Live. Craft. Love.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

xo, Laura

DIY Candy Dish {Made for Just $2}

I love throwing parties and entertaining family and friends, and today I'm sharing with you a great way I came up with to serve candy (or anything else) in a pretty pedestal bowl with a stand that can be customized in any color! 

Want to know the best part?  Each candy bowl on a stand can be made for only $2!  Cool, right?  These little dishes are the perfect holders for serving candy at parties, entertaining, decoration, or just for snacking on at home!  You can fill it with anything, too, it doesn't have to be just candy…. there's endless possibilities!  My friends at Krylon sent me a big box of free paint to play with, so I have been doing lots of painting this week, and can't wait to share more fun crafts with you!

Here are the easy directions!  These dishes do come with a warning- "Highly Addictive," because once you make one, you're going to want to keep going and making more!  You have been warned.

Supplies: 

• Small- medium-glass bowl (Check your local dollar store- my bowl was only $1)
• Candlestick (Also from the dollar store for just $1)
• Spray paint in your preferred color (I used Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze, one of my favorite Krylon colors!)
• E6000 adhesive, or another strong adhesive or glue

1.  Spray paint the top, bottom, and sides of the candlestick.  Be sure to spray in multiple thin coats, which will allow for better coverage.  

2.  Once the paint is dry, use some E600 to trace a thin ring of adhesive around the top of the candlestick.  Don't use too much glue- you don't want it oozing out from the candlestick.

Let dry according to the directions on the glue that you use, and voila, a beautiful little glass candy dish that matches your home or party decor!  And for only $2?  As Martha would say, "It's a good thing." ;)

Happy crafting!

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

xo, Laura

Creative Christmas Ornament Storage

I love buying Christmas ornaments every year, and think I have enough ornaments to cover at least five trees!  As I was throwing out a plastic container from Costco that our apples came in, I realized that it would make the perfect storage container for some of my Christmas ornaments!

I was so excited to try it out...

and sure enough, when I placed the round ornament balls into the plastic apple container, they fit perfectly!

These containers were FREE and were a great way to recycle what would have otherwise have gone in the trash.

Plus, the apple packaging took up a lot less space than the three boxes did that the 12 ornaments came in (four ornaments per box).  It's a win-win!

So while I was putting the apples in the fridge, I saw an egg carton, which got me thinking again...  I pulled out my smaller ball ornaments, and they were the perfect fit too!

Each little round ornament was nestled safely inside each hole in the egg carton, and the egg containers stack so nicely on top of each other.  You could also wrap each ornament inside of the carton for an extra layer of safety.

Hopefully this helps you with putting away all those Christmas decorations.  It's an easy way to save money, save the earth, and save your ornaments from getting broken!

If you're trying to get organized this new year, here are a few of my favorite orgainizing solutions that have ehlped me organize my life that you might be interested in...

I love to rip out the best recipes and tips from my favorite magazines, and this system is how I like to organize and store them so that I can find them again in only a few seconds.

Are you are drowning in piles of your kids' artwork and school work and can't figure out how to store it all but feel guilty throwing it away?  Yeah, so was I!  Here is my favorite method of saving and organizing my kids' artwork that is so easy!

Those silica gel packets that you get inside your shoes, purses, vitamins, etc. are great to save!  In this post I tell you why, and TONS of readers have commented with some great ideas on how they use them, too.

Happy organizing!  DO you have a great tip that you use to keep organized?  I'd love to hear it!

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

xo, Laura

DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Snow Globes

Last year I posted a Christmas project tutorial that was very popular.  It was inspired by an Anthropologie version of a snow globe that was pretty, but was soooo overpriced.

I don't mind paying for some items at that amazing store, but when it's something that I know I can DIY at home for so much cheaper, then you can bet I'm going to do it!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen that my version was just featured in Mother Earth Living Magazine, a wonderful magazine that is sold in Barnes & Nobel, Walmart, and many other places.  It's my first time having my work featured in print, and I can't describe how cool it is to flip through the pages of the magazine and see my project!

In honor of it being published, I thought I'd bring back this tutorial and share it with you today... enjoy!

Don't get me wrong, I love Anthropologie as much as the next person, but seriously, $28 for a small and $40 for a large mason jar snow globe?  These snow globes are adorable, but I knew that I could make them for a LOT cheaper using some mason jars from my collection and some bottle brush trees.

I've been wanting to make these for weeks, but those darn trees have been so elusive!  The only place I could find them in stock (finally) was at Home Depot, of all places, for around $7.50 for a whole bag of 21 trees. Great deal!

So here's my Anthropologie Inspired Snow Globes, with a much more reasonable price tag. And they can be made in under 5 minutes each!

And just for fun, let's compare versions and prices:

I think Anthropologie has some serious competition with my DIY version, don't you agree? Especially when mine costs 1/20th and 1/14th of their price!!  Here's how to make your own beautiful snow globes...

Supplies:

• Mason Jars (any shape and size you would like to use)
• Bottle Brush Trees (from Home Depot, Michaels, Joannes, etc...)
• Fake Snow or Epsom Salt (I used fake snow because I wanted it fluffier than Anthro's version)
• Glue Gun
• Clear Glitter (optional)
• Small Rocks or Clear Pebbles (optional)

Step #1-  Glue a tree onto the inside of a mason jar lid.  If you want your tree to sit higher, so that you can add more snow, then glue your tree to a small rock or pebble like I did.

Step #2-  Add as much snow and glitter as you would like to the jar, with the opening up top. Screw on the lid, turn the jar upside down, and be amazed at how easy and beautiful your new snow globe is!

These snow globes are so pretty to decorate with, and would make a great gift with a cute tag and ribbon wrapped around the base!  I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did.  Cheap, fast, and easy, the best kind of DIY project, right?!

P.S.  If you were thinking about adding water and glycerin to this version, DON'T, unless you want to have a "blue Christmas" ;)  Not that I would ever try such a silly thing.

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

XO, Laura

DIY Gold & Bronze Painted Acorns

Today I wanted to share with you one of my very first posts from when I started my blog a year ago.  Most of you have probably not seen my DIY gold and bronze painted acorns yet, since my blog was just a newborn when I made them!

I LOVE gold, especially during fall and Thanksgiving time, and painting a light thin layer of gold and bronze takes a handful of plain, ordinary acornsand turns them into into exquisite and chic decor.  You can use them display them in a bowl, as a vase filler, or even turn them into tiny ornaments and hang from a Thanksgiving thankful tree or even your Christmas tree!  Without further ado, here's my original post... enjoy!

I was taking a walk through the park recently with my kids, when they started picking up and collecting acorns that they found on the ground.  Acorns are like little magnets that draw you in and make you want to pick them up.  They're so cute, and each of them has its' own unique shape, size, and color.

Soon I was down on the ground with my kids collecting acorns!  We brought them home, and I thought they would make a great decoration, but they needed just a little something.  I got out my Martha Stewart metallic paints, got to work, and ended up with these little jewels.  Aren't they beautiful?

The metallic bronze and gold paint gave them just the sparkle they needed, while still maintaining the beautiful browns of the acorn itself.  Want to make some to?  Your home will thank you.

You will need some Martha Stewart metallic paint in bronze and gold, a paintbrush, acorns, and a glue gun.  That's it!  I bought my paint at Michael's, used two coupons, and paid under $3.50 with tax.  

The first and most important step is to bake your acorns!  They could have little critters in them, and baking them for an hour at 200 degrees will kill them, so better safe than sorry.  After they have baked and cooled, all you need to do is to paint the acorns with the bronze paint, and the little acorn tops with the gold paint.  Let them dry, then glue the tops onto the acorns.  That's it! 

 I love the way they look in my Pottery Barn leaf bowl.

Or on my rustic wood stands.  (See how else I used these stands at the Very Hungry Caterpillar baby shower I created for my friend)

They also make a great vase filler.

There are so many fun ways that you can decorate with these golden acorns.  Get creative, try making these, and then have fun finding the perfect way to display them in your home! Let me know what you think of these little cuties by leaving a comment below.

You might also like my Easy DIY Fall Thanksgiving Wreath, this cute Boy's Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat, and this Easy DIY Fall Headband (for boys or girls).

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

Happy crafting!

XO, Laura

Spooky Halloween Tree Decoration + Free Printable

As I pulled out my Halloween decorations about a month ago (yes, I know, super early), I noticed that most of my decorations were from Pottery Barn.  I didn't have much of anything that I made myself, so I set out to change that!  Not that there's anything wrong with Pottery Barn... my whole entire house is either from there or World Market ;) But sometimes you just need a little homemade in your life!

So I came up with... A spooky Halloween tree!  

It was perfect!  It literally cost me $3 to make, and gave some height and width to my Halloween decorations.  I went outside to some of our trees, and cut off a few gnarly, twisted branches, gave them a coat of spray paint, put them in my urns, and added some cute homemade Halloween medallions, and I had a quick, easy, homemade decoration that I love.

I also included a free printable that I designed for the centers of the medallions.  All you need is for the outside of the medallions is Halloween scrapbook paper or orange and black card stock.

Supplies:

• Tree branch (or branches)
• Black matte spray paint
• Floral foam
• Moss
• Newspaper
• Container (to hold the tree)
• 12 x 12" scrapbook paper or card stock (in Halloween patterns or colors)
• Glue gun
• Ribbon or string
• Free Printable Halloween Medallions

Directions:

1.  Find a couple great branches that fit well with the container you are using.  Spray paint them black.  Place floral foam in the container, then stick the branches in the foam.  Add crumpled newspaper to the top if needed to add to the height. 

Cover the newspaper (or foam) with moss.  

2.  Print out the free printable medallion centers here, and cut them out.  To make each medallion, cut 4 strips of patterned paper or card stock into 1 x 12" strips.  Accordion fold each of the strips, and then hot glue them together to make one long circular strip.  Flatten out the strip, so that the bottom of the medallion is flat on the table and the printed side of the paper is facing up.  Apply hot glue to the center of the medallion, and carefully stick it onto the folded outside piece.  Carefully hold in place for a minute to allow the glue to dry and stay in place.  Cut a short piece of ribbon or string to hang the medallion, and glue it onto the top of the medallion.

3.  Hang the medallions onto the tree.

I also hung some cut black silhouettes up in a smaller Halloween tree that I made, to go right next to the bigger tree.  I traced some of my Martha Stewart holiday stencils and cut them out, and then drew some other Halloween shapes as well.

Easy, right?  Now doesn't it feel good to have a homemade decoration in the middle of all your store-bought spookiness?  You can keep the medallions from year to year, but if you don't have the space to keep tree branches (who does, right?), then there's no worries, because next year you just get yourself a new branch!

I love my spooky tree, and the medallions are the perfect touch to give it a little something extra.  A realistic black crow would look great, too, I just haven't found the perfect one yet...

Now I can punch "Make a fall craft" off of my fall activities bucket list punch card.  Have you printed yours out yet?  Punch a hole in the pumpkins each time you complete a fall activity with your family!

This make at home Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice drink tastes just like fall, and is a great treat to have after making a craft or doing a fun fall activity ;)

And for a fun family Halloween meal, check out this Spooky Spaghetti with Eyeballs!

To decorate your home this fall, you can see how to make this cinnamon-scented nature wreath,

or this fall wreath made out of paper!

Can you believe there are only 17 days left until Halloween?  Time to get making my family's costumes!!  Do you know what you're going to be for Halloween this year?  Do you make your costumes or buy them?  Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear!

If you liked this, I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

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