{ monster birthday }

We celebrated my son's 2nd birthday yesterday! We

do birthdays pretty simple out here! We love

having BBQ's and inviting all of our friends as well

as our neighborhood kids over. There's never 

a lot of decorating involved... just cakes! :)

I have been excited to make monster 

themed cakes for Tyke's birthday! 

( one is never enough )

And although I had planned on taking pictures

while I made them.... I didn't! So this

is strictly for inspiration! :)

Here they are! Fun and not scary! But still monsters!

Here are a few of my favorite monsters! lol

Making a wish!

The birthday boy!

I added some coconut flakes and slivered almonds

to the batter of one cake! It turned out so 

yummy!

He got a bike and some cars and trucks; his 

favorite things!

Happy Birthday to my little Tyke! 

{ frame wreath } Christmas

Can you believe it's already December? 

This is such a busy month for my family! We will

be celebrating my son's 2nd birthday, my

husbands birthday, our anniversary

 and obviously Christmas! 

And don't forget all the shopping that has

to be done for all of these occasions!

(So don't be surprised when I am posting 

birthday stuff instead of Christmas stuff! :)

Hopefully I find time to post all that I want to this

month in between all the chaos!

I made a "wreath" over the weekend and I

am so happy about how it turned out! 

Best part is that it was easy! :)

Enjoy!

What you'll need:

- Thrift store frame and paint

-Burlap

-Assorted ornaments

-ribbon, tulle, and jute twine

Start by removing the glass and backing board

from your frame. It doesn't matter what size

frame you have! 

Spray paint your frame whatever color you choose.

I chose red. 

While your frame dries, cut out a piece of 

burlap to fit inside your frame. I used the 

backer board like a pattern. I just 

laid it down on the burlap and cut around it.

Set this aside.

Now take your assorted ornaments and

tie ribbon, jute, or tulle through the

loops. I used one red ornament, one ornament 

that I paper machetted book pages to, a 

twig ball, and a star ornament. 

Make sure you leave the ends long so you can

arrange the ornaments how you like.

Once you've arranged them, tie the end of the 

ribbon, etc. in a knot so that they stay

staggered. 

Now, to put everything together, you start by

threading the knot through the frame before putting

everything else in their obvious order; Glass, 

burlap, then backer board.  So.... your ornaments should

be in front of your glass and the knot should be 

on the back.

Pull the knot through until your arrangement is 

centered, then tape it down to the backer board.

I made a bow for the top using all of my materials; 

burlap, ribbon, tulle, and jute. 

I also used a dry erase board marker to write

"Believe" on the glass. The dry erase marker

wipes easily off of the glass. 

Now hang it up!

{ easy lace garland } Christmas

I just put up my Christmas tree!
My little nephew

was over playing with my daughter today. He 

stopped what he was doing all of a sudden

and turned to me with wide eyes and said, 

"Auntie, there's no Christmas here!" So

I sent him and baby girl to pull the tree

out from under the bed! And boy was he right! 

Now that it's up, it just feels like Christmas! 

I am actually going to go wrap a few gifts

to throw under there when I'm done 

posting today! :)

After I got all my ornaments on, I felt like

I wanted a little more this year! I want some

more white/cream in my decorating this year. So 

I made a super easy garland to wrap around it to 

start. I plan on spending the week making 

some cute ornaments, both for my tree and

for my Etsy shop! I want to bring

more of that vintage/shabby chic feel to my

tree! 

What you'll need:

* Lace cut into 1/2 to 3/4 in strips

OK... so you can buy lace ribbon and it would

save you some cutting. I had a bunch of lace

fabric from some other projects I've done 

this year. I just cut about 8 or 9 strips. Each strip

is about 4-5 feet long.

Next, I just tied them together, end to end, until

I had one long strip. Make sure you use a square knot

so it doesn't come untied and also because the small

ends of the knots sit nicer that way (in my opinion)!

Tie it right over left and left over right!

That's it! Just wrap it around your tree! I'm
excited to add layers of muslin and burlap! 

 Our first year here in Hawaii, my sister-in-law
sent "snow". We hang the snowflakes on our
tree every year! :)

 My next project is a tree skirt! I've never had
one because I've never seen one I actually like!
But this year I found one! And I'm going to
recreate it!

{ noel blocks } Christmas

I spent my weekend crafting and cleaning! Since I'm a little

too late on thanksgiving decor, I started in on 

Christmas! This project really got me in the 

spirit! I can hardly wait to get the tree out and start

setting it up! 

What you'll need:

- Wooden blocks made from a 2X4

- Paint and paint brush

- Sandpaper or course nail file

- Coordinating paper

- Mod Podge

- Lace, ribbon, and/or jute 

I went to Home Depot a while ago and was searching through

their scrap wood pile ( because I do that in my spare time).

I notice, next to the big saw they have, some small pieces of 

2x4. These are just the ends cut off! But they were perfect

for this project! I didn't have to cut the pieces and 

I didn't have to pay for them either! They just gave them to me!

Score!

I only sanded them down a bit.

Paint your blocks.

Once they've dried, use some sand paper or a course 

nail file and rough up the edges.

I just ripped out my pieces of paper to fit each

of my blocks. You can use any type of paper! I used a

piece of newspaper, a page from a book, lace, 

paper bag, and scrapbook paper!

Now paint a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the back

of your paper.

Center it onto your wood block and press it down. Make

sure you get all the 'bubbles' out. 

Repeat with your other blocks. Feel free to add layers

like I did with the lace.

I used vinyl for my letters. I just cut them out with

my Cricut. You can use paper and just glue

them on if you don't have vinyl or even stamp

or write your letters.

Stick your letters to your blocks.

Now you can embellish any way you like! I added a

bow of lace and jute to my smallest block.

That's it! 

{ jute cone tree } Christmas

I'm a little bummed that I never really got around to making

much fall decor. I used to have so much cute

decor for fall and Thanksgiving. But when

 you move as far away from home as I

did, you don't get to take very

much with you! So even though I intended

on starting up a "fall decor" bin, It'll have to

wait til next year!

So... I have started Christmas!!! I love Christmas!

I'm excited to make some fun stuff!

I'm starting out small though because I want

Thanksgiving to come before I get

too crazy with Christmas! Only a few days away!

Here is a little something I threw together today

after I finally cleared my Halloween stuff

off the shelf!

What you'll need:

-  Card stock

- Elmer's glue ( or whatever kind you have)

- Hot glue

- Jute twine

Get your paper

Now roll it up into a funnel/cone.

 Leave a tiny hole in the top.

Use your Elmer's and glue

the flap shut so that your paper stays

this shape.

Now take the end of your jute and thread

it through the hole in the tip of your cone.

Pull it down through the bottom and

tie it into a knot.

Pull it tight so the knot is at the tip of your

funnel but not pulling through.

Add a small amount of hot glue onto

the tip of the funnel.

Now start wrapping your jute around, making

sure you are covering the paper.

Continue wrapping the jute around the cone

adding hot glue every few wraps.

Be sure to push the jute tight against itself so the

paper doesn't show through ( especially if you

use bright paper like me! I didn't have the right

color)!

When you get to the bottom, cut the jute off leaving

about a 1 inch tail.

Cut the excess paper off to make it flat and able

to stand.

Now add hot glue to the inside and attach your

tail there.

That's it!

 

Add them to your decor!