Category: decorating

Homemade Ornaments – Glittery Acorns

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Glitter acorn ornament in gold.

After several nature walks early this fall Aaron and I had amassed quite a collection of acorns. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do with them so they say for a while.

And as so many things happen these days, I was in Pinterest and saw the cutest decorations made out of them and had to copy them.

Tools needed for acorn ornaments:
-lots of acorns with the tops (cupule) and branch stem attached
– Krazy glue
– Glitter in colors of your choosing
– Parchment paper
– Baking twine or packing string( the more thin the better)
– Small bowl or cup

Step 1: Make sure all acorn tops are attached. Wiggle them a bit to test. If any pop off reattach with Krazy glue.
Step 2: Cut string into three inch length pieces. One for each acorn. Tie the string around the stem and knot it twice. Bring the two halves of string together and knot it at the ends creating a loop to hang on tree branch or to attach to ornament hook.
Step 3: Fill bowl or cup with glitter.
Step 4: Lay large sheet of parchment paper on table next to bowl of glitter.
Step 5: Holding the acorn by the twine cover the nut entirely with Krazy glue. Dip glue covered nut into glitter. Completely cover in glitter. Lay on parchment paper to dry.
Step 6: Repeat steps until all acorns are covered.

This is not a craft for the wee kids as the glue can get messy in less mature hands, but older children will love it.

Happy decorating!

 

 

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Treasured Gems

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The cherry on top of this beautiful weekend was finding this tiny shirt while I was cleaning our garage. It was given to baby Aaron by our friend Shannon and came in a cotton drawstring bag with “Mysterio Predicts…” written on the front of it.

After sorting through old clothes to donate a year ago I was unable to find this funny shirt and thought it was gone for good. Look for me to frame it and hang it somewhere in our home. I think framing kids clothing is a way to capture sweet moments and is a great way to decorate.

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I hope you found or experienced some gems this weekend. Have a great week.

The Post-Holiday Dullards!

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We spent January 2nd taking down holiday decorations. We did this while Aaron was at school and I worried that he would be upset when he returned home. He was only mildly concerned; but it was momma who was really thrown for a loop. When did our home become so big and so empty? Decorating that I thought was so cute before the holidays, now looked dull and bland after the explosion of lights , tensel and Star Trek ornaments that adorned our home.

I asked a few friends and got some great advice on adding sparkle to the home after the lights and trees come down.

20140103-185145.jpgAdd a splash of color! I got this 7.5 x 10 indoor/outdoor rug at Costco for only $99. I have been wanting a new one for a while and this works perfectly. And because it is heavy duty enough to withstand the outdoors; I know that juice and Play-doh will be no problem.

Clean! The whole place looks better without tinsel bits and pine needles all over the place. Are there still boxes and wrapping paper from those presents? Trash (or recycle) them and wash away the holiday grime and any lingering food odors for a fresh start. Have I told you how much I love Mrs. Myers Clean Day products? They come in great scents that aren’t too perfumy.

Buy flowers! It is still so cold here and I am doing all I can to not just wrap up in blankets and stay in bed. I was told that bringing in flowers are a quick way to brighten up a space.

Pink roses

Aaron chose pink roses and we put them on the dining room table

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I chose Hypericum berries for the mantle

flowers on mantle

And had enough for two mini-arrangements

How are you guys cleaning up and making old things new for 2014?

Kids table and chairs

Mommy Gets What She Wants for Christmas and Disguises it as a Gift for the Kid!

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I have a few problems with my mom. Call them first world problems if you must but they are problems nonetheless. They stem from her wanting to decorate our home for our son, her grandson. She does not ask, she just shops.

The first offense was a leather (vinyl) basketball chair and ottoman. The reason it was offensive is that his room is all spaceships, rockets and robots. No sports, no where. Sports are fine; but that is not the look I was trying to mimic from Pinterest thank you very much! There is a theme and as long as he is a wee lad his dad and myself like the look of the galaxy rug and the framed Star Trek posters on the wall.

Luckily he liked to use it as a weapon of mass destruction to get to high up places, turn the light on and empty things from drawers. It is now in the attic. When she came to visit after it was moved I told her how he was using the chair and she totally understood. Whew!

Next up, his second birthday party. She shows up with a baby blue and pink Little Tykes table and chairs. My face is scrunching up just thinking about it. 

View the madness here…..

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Do we have room for that? Sure, room can be made.

Does it match anything in our house? Heck no!!!!!

Initially I went back to trusty Pinterest where I saw step by step instructions on how to paint over those pastel plastic terrors and make them go with your flow. My question is, “Who has time for that!?”I don’t. I do however have time to stare at that ugly table and chairs in our den. And stare. And stare.

I have been lazy and staring for one full year until this past weekend. I decided to look on the web to see if I could find something a little more suitable for mommies taste. I stumbled upon the Hayneedle website and this cutie patootie.

Lipper table and chairs

The Lipper Walnut Table and Chairs from Hayneedle.com

Bask in the glory of its NON-PINK CHAIRS! Love the NON-PLASTIC-NESS of it all!!! It was on sale for $43 with no tax and free shipping. I promptly hit BUY and now this little puppy is on its way to our humble abode.  I am looking forward to a lot this year. Seeing our North Carolina family, giving my husband his awesome presents, seeing Aaron’s face when he meets Santa at the mall next week; but I am most looking forward to this table and chairs. Damn, I really am a mom. One who needs for her house to still look like grownups live there; but a mom for sure!