Quick, Cheap, & Easy DIY Patriotic Decor & Entertaining Tips

Hey all!! So, this year I'll be decorating vicariously through these patriotic photos... our Independence Day decor is all packed in boxes (from our PCS last July!) in the storage unit- boo! Anyways, so here I've gathered up photos from our previous years' celebrations to share with everyone! Included are some tips for decorating & entertaining on the cheap- hope you enjoy!

A few tips & ideas for quick, cheap, and easy patriotic decor...

(1) Medallion stars- 

Just 1-2 pieces of scrapbook paper, some adhesive and string to hang with, and you've got yourself instant big decor pieces! A simple tutorial is: {here} (in between steps 3&4, snip the one end on an angle to get the more "star" appearance instead of smooth circle edge )

(2) Patriotic candle display- 

Just a mason jar, some colored pebbles or rocks, and a patriotic colored candle! This neat huge mason jar even has an eagle on the front, bought at Michael's a few years back. 

(3) Patriotic signage- 

Print out your favorite patriotic phrase onto vellum paper, attach to some patriotic scrapbook paper and frame. Being a military family, this is a common phrase for us, and perfect for a patriotic mantle: "Keep calm and soldier on!"  

(4) Patriotic yarn balls- 

Wrap up some patriotic-colored yarn into balls! Easy to whip up some of these balls whilst watching your favorite show or while chatting with a friend. 

(5) Star dishes- 

Dishes are great not only for serving with (of course!) but also for mantles! After Independence Day, decor goes on sale super cheap- one of the best times to grab next year's decor pieces! 

(6) Framed banner-  

So easy to change up for different seasons! Simply frame a piece of fabric or patriotic scrapbook paper and adhere a cute banner! Check out my tutorial: {here}

(7) Flag collection- 

It doesn't get much easier and cheaper than this! Pick your favorite pretty bowl and pour in a bag of toothpick flags :)

(8) Patriotic decorative branches- 

Easy to change out decor pieces with each season. For Independence Day, I added some flags, tied on bits of patriotic ribbon and added a tiny wooden sign (from Christmas Tree Shoppe). 

(9) Patriotic wreath (not pictured)- 

Create a wreath where you can change out the decor with each season. You can view my free Wreath Tutorial: {here}

A few tips & ideas for quick, cheap, and easy patriotic hosting and entertaining...

(1) Patriotic utensils- 

Easy way to add a little more patriotism to your cutlery- set them out in a patriotic container! Here I'm using a mug from Disney World's "Liberty Tree Tavern" (featuring Mickey and the gang waving Old Glory).

(2) Patriotic buffet decor- 

Fabric placemats or table runners and a few plastic colored stars strewn about add some patriotic color to your buffet. Again, after Independence Day, decor goes on sale super cheap- one of the best times to grab next year's decor bits & pieces! 

(3) Patriotic buffet signage- 

Add some color to your buffet- layer some colored paper, put a patriotic stamp or sticker on the edge, then write out the name of each dish!   

(4) Drink signage- 

Tie the name signage onto the end of  a wooden spoon and put the spoon in drink pitchers. It's also great if you need to stir up the drinks periodically, like homemade lemonade!

(5) Patriotic drinks- 

An cheap alternative to the cute (but expensive!) paper straws- most standard plastic straw packages include red and blue straws. Just cut them down to size of your cups (if need be) and tie on a bit of ribbon. 

(6) Dessert banner-  

Dress up your cake or pies with a simple banner strung between two skewers. For instructions, check out Step #16 in my Wreath Tutorial: {here}

(7) Patriotic dessert- 

Decorate the top of your cakes or other dessert with colored sprinkles or sugar to get in the Independence Day mood! Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries also add the perfect red, white, & blue touch!

(8) Fancy dessert dishes- 

If you don't have fancy dessert dishes, improvise! Wine glasses, mason jars, or just standard clear water glasses work just as well to serve up your yummy parfaits or ice cream. 

(9) Patriotic tiered buffet dishes- 

For a great tiered look to your buffet line, purchase some clear box photo frames, cut some scrapbook paper to size and place inside the frame. Stack the frames to create different layers to set out your dishes on! 

linking up here...

Favorite Projects of 2013 @ The CSI Project

Frugal Fridays @ Life As Mom

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Today is my first mother's day- yay! Little E is almost 4 weeks old. DH has been very sweet today- picked me up some Starbucks (decaf!), some roses, and I have a new waffle iron coming in the mail! Oh yes, and he's currently taking care of E while I relax a bit :) Love our little family!

So here's the spring/summer wreath that I made last week. I added on the little "mom" banner that I whipped up just using some paper scraps, circle punch, alpha stickers, and Twinery twine. Since I like to be able to reuse my wreath bases, the banner (as well as the pinwheels) are attached with pins!

I also spruced up our mantle a bit for the occasion (kinda looks similar to our Easter mantle, I know!)- super simple stuff since I don't have as much time to craft right now with baby and since some of my crafting stuff is already packed since we're moving to our next Army post in the coming week!

I made a super simple banner for the plant using scrap paper, an SU! punch, some Twinery twine, Memento inks, and a stamp from Unity's April KOM.

I also made some little pennants for the decorative branches using again some scrap papers, Twinery twine, circle punch, and stickers.

Well,  that's about it for now... have a fabulous Sunday and Mother's Day everyone :)

DIY St Patty's Day mantel tour

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

May the luck of the Irish be with you today and the whole year through :)

So! Now that we've got that out of the way, hehe, let me introduce you to my festive mantel! A lot of the ideas you'll probably see repeated in my mantels throughout the year because they're easy to change up! I'm all for keeping it simple, DIY, and reusable ;) So let's get going with the tour...

• Fabric Wrapped Balls- I simply cut out 3/4" wide strips of fabric, wrap them around styrofoam balls, and use a straight pin to adhere the fabric to the ball! Repeat until completely covered and bam! Instant decor :) And so easy to change up the fabric for different holidays/seasons.
• Metal Shamrock- well... it's actually a belt buckle I already had! Love using things for unexpected/unintended purposes :)

• more fabric wrapped balls....
• Framed Fabric- another super simple insta-decor piece! I taped the fabric around a 12"x12" piece of thin cardboard and then put it in the frame. So easy! And again, easily changed out for different holidays and seasons :)
• Fabric Trees- another easy piece. I just pinned strips of fabric around the styrofoam trees, ruffling the fabric as I went. Easy to change out the fabric for the next mantel too!
• Fabric Wrapped Candle- yet again, super simple. I took leftover pieces of fabric, twisted them, wrapped them around the candle, and taped them in the back. Easy to change up too! For the record, I'm paranoid and would never actually burn this candle with the fabric on there... it might be fine, but I would NOT risk it!! So it's a purely decorative candle for the moment :)

• Shamrock Banner- another easy decor piece. I cut my The Twinery twine a few inches longer than my mantel, punched out some shamrocks and threaded them onto the twine about every 3 inches or so. Didn't even tie them or adhere them to the twine, they stay all by themselves :)

This area is actually on top of my entertainment center in the living room, but is another festive area I wanted to share ;)

• Tulle Balls- see them peeking out of the basket there? super simple- I just wrapped a bunch of tulle around three of my fingers, tied a piece of twine around the center of the bundle, cut the loops at the top and bottom, then fluffed up the tulle!
• Festive Branches- let's not forget the branches! I punched out a few shamrocks, looped them on some wire, and hung them on the branches (kinda like Christmas ornaments!). And I tied some fabric scraps onto a few branches too. Easy to do and easy to change up!

And of course a few green candles in the fireplace. It's a working wood fireplace, but being in the south, we've not yet had occasion to use it! I hope you enjoyed the tour of my mantel!! :) Have a fabulous weekend!

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baby wreath

Hey all!!
So sorry it's been a while! With hubby away, I've been trying to get a lot of cleaning, organizing, Master's thesis work, and baby projects done! Not to mention getting the house ready for his arrival home again- so soon!! Anyhoo, I've had a lot of projects in the works, but hadn't gotten a chance to put finishing touches on a lot of them (or just haven't photographed them yet!).



But here's a project that I recently finished, and I'm SO excited to share- one of those things that actually turned out better than I imagined it! Hehe, and that rarely happens, so I'm super psyched! So this is a wreath for a baby's nursery :)

the only materials are...

wool yarn, "styrofoam" wreath, felt, scissors, needle, threads, and pretty pins, straight bins, and hot glue (to secure the yarn ends of the "baby" word)

there were really only a few steps to this wreath...

{1} wrap the wreath

{2} wrap the "baby" word

{3} stitch together various flowers

{4} pin everything to the wreath, and hang!

There's a few fun features here too...

• all of the flowers are removable, so the wreath and yarn-wrapped "baby" can be reused for future projects or customized to different genders. The flowers on the wreath part are pinned in place. The flower on the "baby" word is attached with thread, so you can just cut the threads to remove. All flowers are one piece, so if you remove them, they won't fall apart or anything ;) You could also attach the flowers to hair clips for a fashionable baby (or mama!) accessory!
• the "baby" word is not permanently attached to the main wreath, so you can easily remove it and put it elsewhere in the nursery (ie. bookshelf, wall, etc) for added decor :)
• I got the idea for the "baby" word via Pinterest from Family Chic- I deviated from her tutorial a little, since I used a thick gauged floral wire and hot glued the ends
• the flowers are from various tutorials around the web- all are made via cutting out some felt and stitching the petals together, super simple! if you google "felt flowers" you'll find a bunch of tutes :)
• since all the flowers and word are temporarily attached, you could use the same wreath base for all sorts of occasions- switch out the word, switch out the flowers, the possibilities are endless ;)

So that about wraps up this project... hopefully I'll be back here regularly as I {finally} finish up projects and get them photographed! I have so much to share- decor projects, organizing, foodie stuff, and more!!

sharing here...

Handmade gifts :: framed diecuts

So here's a super simple DIY handmade gift! And the best part is, depending on what diecut you use, it could be perfect for any holiday or occasion! Customize the shape for the holiday, season, or maybe what your giftee enjoys- use their favorite colors, if they like dogs you could find a cute doggie cut out, if they like sewing you could use great buttons instead, use umbrellas for a baby shower or wedding shower decor, the sky's the limit!

.: materials :.

• frame
• background paper
• die cut (or other items to frame)
• 3-D pop dots

.: instructions :.

{1} remove glass from frame

{2} cut background paper to the size of your frame

{3} measure your die cut, and approximate how many will comfortably fit in your frame

{4} cut out die cuts, if needed

{5} attach die cuts to background paper using 3-D pop dots **

{6} assemble frame and gift away!

** a few things I found useful during this step...

- I assembled this with the frame around the background paper, not attached in the frame yet, but just resting on the table around the paper. It helped visually space the die cuts.

- I also assembled this with my Olfa sewing cutting mat under my project. I aligned the frame/background paper with the measurements on the mat so I knew I was roughly spacing the die cuts evenly. You could also simply put a ruler along either side to help with spacing too!

linking up here...