home decor

Hanging with My Gnomes Wreath • Video Tutorial

27 · Dec 3, 2018 · 1 Comment

Yo, yo, yo… I’m hanging with my Gnomes this Holiday season! LOL!! This is actually a fun Christmas tradition that comes from our favorite Nordic friends up in Sweden & Norway. Gnomes have always been a big part of their Holiday traditions and I thought it would be a fun one to add to our family’s Christmas this year. These cute gnomes are so easy to make and to add them to a yarn wrapped wreath form is a quick and easy way to introduce some new friends to your home. I grabbed all of my supplies at Michaels, my favorite creating store and set to work. Here’s how I made them.

+ This post brought to you by my favorite friends at Michaels +

This wreath couldn’t be easier! You could even get the kiddos involved as long as you’re in charge of the hot glue part. We don’t want any burned little fingers. They can cut out felt, make beards & even wrap the wreath with the yarn. It’s a great Holiday project for the family. Here is what you’ll need to make one.

Hanging with my Gnomes Wreath Supply List

Video Tutorial

Here is a fun, quick video tutorial to show you how to make these little guys…

Ok, had to create something fun when working with gnomes, right?

Here’s a quick list of instructions for the hanging with my gnomes wreath as well.

Hot glue the wood heart onto the bottom of the peg person. The top of the heart will be the top of his feet.
Measure the height of the peg person’s body and cut a strip of felt that is large enough to wrap around the peg person. I can’t really give exact measurements for this because all peg people are a little different.
Hot glue the felt onto the body of the peg person.
Tear a 2.5 inch section of wool roving and gently pull it apart a bit to create your gnomes beard.
Carefully hot glue the beard onto the peg person.
Cut a tall triangle out of felt for the gnomes hat. Make sure the base is wide enough to wrap around the peg person’s head.
Hot glue a section of floral wire onto the inside part of the felt triangle.
Hot glue the trangle together to create the gnome hat like in the video.
Hot glue the hat onto your gnome’s head.
Cut the stick off of the rock candy stick and then hot glue the wood ball onto the peg person for the nose.
To start the wreath, tie a knot into the chunky yarn and secure it with the greening pins onto the wreath form.
Wrap the form with the yarn until completely covered. It’s easier to work with smaller sections of yarn so cut lengths that are about 2 yards long and continue wrapping the wreath form until covered.
Hot glue your new little gnome friends onto the center of the wreath.

Scandinavian Style Blanket Storage Box

5 · Oct 16, 2018 · Leave a Comment

The weather is getting chilly and we are all working on bringing out our warm and cozy home decor items as we dress our homes for the season. Our family loves to have cozy blankets close at hand when we are hanging out watching TV or playing games. The problem is that they end up making the room look like trash as they are left strewn about the room. I thought it would be fun to create a blanket & throw pillow storage box that could add a little design to the room as well. I’ve always loved Norwegian & Scandinavian design especially when it comes to winter designs and that was my inspiration for my new Scandinavian Style Blanket Storage Box created using Americana Decor Texture & the Americana Decor Stencils from DecoArt.

+ This post is brought to you by the lovely folks at DecoArt +

Have you guys heard of this Americana Decor Texture? This stuff is really cool. It’s basically thick paint that you apply like you are frosting a cookie. Fun! Right? What’s really cool is that is works really well with stencils and creates a fun raised effect on your surface.

Isn’t that fun? I would have to say, I really love the way it looks. You can take something simple like a box crate and turn it into some extra special. Let me show you how to make one of your own.

Scandinavian Style Blanket Storage Box Supply List

wood crate
America Decor Matte Metallics – Ivory Pearl
paint brush
Americana Decor Stencils – Patchwork & Quilt Star
Americana Decor Texture – Cream & Deep Plum
paint knife or offset spatula
painters tape

Instructions

First, I painted my wood crate with the Matte Metallic paint. I loved the little extra something that this color gives to the box. The wood grain still peaks through a bit but it has this nice soft metallic sheen to it. It’s really quite nice.

When I paint stuff like this, I use some canning jar lids to raise my piece off of my table.

You’d be amazed how handy this come in sometimes and not just for canning!

I painted on two coats and then let it dry for about an hour.

Then I tackled the fun part of the project, adding fun textured designs to the box. However, before we get started, here are a few things NOT to do. We learn from DOING and what I learned is really important when working with a high-viscosity, heavy-bodied type of paint.

Do NOT try and apply the texture paint vertically.

You want to have the area that you are working on a flat surface facing up at you.

DO NOT press down hard when applying the Americana Decor Texture using a stencil.

Just like with any stencil and paint project, a slower, lighter hand makes for a much better stencil experience. You don’t want your project to end up looking like my first attempt in the photo above. Also, when working with Texture, you want to work in light short strokes like you are frosting a cookie, not like the longer strokes that you use when frosting a cake.

DO NOT let the Americana Decor Texture sit and dry before removing your stencil.

Yep, learned that the hard way. I have been stenciling for years and sometimes, depending on the type of paint, it’s better to let the paint dry a bit before you remove the stencil. So… I tested that technique out and it did not work at all. With this type of paint, you need to gently and carefully lift up your stencil as soon as you are finished applying the paint making sure not to let it slide around at all.

Now that we have those items of what “not to do” out of the way, let’s get busy with what to do!

It’s a really good idea to tape down your stencil and to press down each section as you are applying the Texture paint as you go. This will help avoid the paint going underneath the stencil and creating issues. Again, use light shorter strokes like you are frosting a cookie. You can make it as thick or as thin as you would like. You can also play around with the texture, keep it smooth, add peaks, run a comb through it to create stripes or make swirls with your spatula. This stuff is super fun to play with.

Speaking of that, I would play around with it a bit before you start a project on a surface that you really care about. Test out your design and style. That way you get your method down before the real deal project.

Once you have applied the Americana Texture paint and have pulled the stencil, move onto the next section. You may find that you will need to cut your stencil so that you can continue to work and that’s totally fine. Just make sure to press down the stencil as you apply the Texture paint. Typically the weight of the paint will hold down the stencil as you apply it and because it’s so heavy bodied, unless you are pressing down and overworking, you shouldn’t have issues with the paint seeping under the stencil.

Now that you’ve finished applying the Texture paint and you’ve removed the stencil, it’s time to let it dry completely.

I set-up a fan to help speed up the process but, you really should let it sit overnight and let it dry completely.

Now you can use your new Scandinavian style blanket box to corral all of the cozy blankets when you are finished with them AND add a little style to your room!

A Boy and His New Beddy’s Bed

11 · Aug 2, 2018 · 1 Comment

We’re getting ready for school here in these parts. With that comes the resurrection of old routines whether good or bad. Some routines stand the test of time like brushing your teeth, getting dressed and such. Others like making the bed could stand for a little improvement! Let’s be real here… How many of our kiddos or, us even, regularly make our beds? When the back-to-school routines truly kick-in, how many of our kiddos are skipping this one task because it’s just a pain and they would rather move on to bigger and better things? I have one little guy that generally skips this task or takes FOREVER making his bed thus making us late for school each morning. Anyone else in this boat? Yea, I thought so! That’s when I was introduced to Beddy’s Beds by a good friend of mine and my little guy has been using his new bedding all summer and we are super in love with this whole system!!! Come learn all about Beddy’s along with this fun room makeover for Gage.

+ This post brought to you by Beddy’s Beds +

Boys Room Makeover

SEVERAL months ago we embarked on a room makeover for our little guy. He had been living in a pink and purple room since our move last year and it was high time to make some changes. An eight-year-old boy will put up with a pink room for only so long. We don’t even know Ashley & Alexa and why they even had an attic!

We settled on an Explorer room packed full with all kinds of great inspiration to explore our world. We found an old discarded library book that was filled with copies of the maps from the Lewis & Clark expedition. The library was just throwing it out! We pulled it apart and Decoupaged the pages onto Gage’s wall.

The very last step that needed to be completed was, new bedding! Like I said before… His bed NEVER looks like the photo above. If it is made, it looks like Salvador Dalí made the bed rather than Martha Stewart. Granted, I know… It’s a little boys room but, there has to be something smarter & easier. Check out this video to see the genius of what we found!

The Genius of Beddy’s Bedding

Did you see that? How easy it was for Gage to just zip-up his bed when he got up? This bedding is brilliant! Here are my top 5 reasons why I love Beddy’s bedding…

1. First off, it’s dang cute! I love the fabric that we selected for Gage’s room. We picked the Checked Out bedding and it looks great in his explorer room. They have all kinds of styles that are perfect for toddlers on up to Mom & Dad, both boys, and girls, along with college-age kiddos. Plus, the options keep expanding each year.
2. His bed is so easy to make! The bedding is somewhat like a sleeping bag that has a fitted sheet element sewn on the bottom. The whole system fits right onto the bed and grips nicely to the mattress. Now, if you have hot sleepers like Gage is, don’t worry, the top blanket unzips at the bottom if you’d like and down each side, you can even remove the whole top blanket for washing. Gage is a hot sleeper and he likes to keep the side unzipped and then zips it right back up in the morning.
3. I love that this is a product created by Moms for Moms! You know how Beddy’s came to be? It was out of the frustration of trying to make bunk beds. Have you ever tried to make a bunk bed? It’s impossible even for adults let alone kids. Beddy’s are handmade with fabulous fabric. The top fabric is 100% cotton and the inside is a scrumptious Minky fabric that all kiddos love. Gage has been using his bedding for a few months now and I’m thrilled with the quality of the materials & workmanship.
4. Beddy’s bedding is easy to wash! I’ll be honest, when I first saw a Beddy’s system I thought it looked like a bear to wash. I was so wrong! Gage who struggled to gather all of his bedding on wash days in the past now has no problem stripping his bed and loading it into the washer all by himself.
5. I love that his product empowers everyone to start their day on the right foot! When I was a kiddo, I received a pillowcase that said, “Start each day in a happy way.” It was actually a Strawberry Shortcake pillowcase. The first morning I used it, I was 6 or 7, I read the quote and it really hit me. I did need to start each day in a happy way! That morning I felt empowered to make my bed (the old fashioned way) starting my day on the right foot and then moving forward with confidence that I could handle whatever came my way that day. It sounds silly, right? Can making your bed empower you, of course it can. If you aren’t a bed maker, give it a go. Commit to making your bed for a week and see how that little change will change your day. We need to give that gift to our kiddos. A good breakfast and a made bed, that’s a good recipe for a great start to the day!

What are you going to do this new school year to help your kiddos to feel successful right from the start? I highly recommend investing in some Beddy’s bedding for the kiddos. I’m thrilled with how Gage loves his new bedding and how his room looks with the bedding.

+ Disclaimer – This post has been sponsored by Beddy’s Beds. They sent product for my family to review however, I was not paid for my review or for this post. Remeber, I only share what I love and truly use in my everyday life. +

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Boho Spring Wreath • Say Hello with Style

6 · Apr 26, 2018 · Leave a Comment

I have always been a wreath girl at heart. After years of watching Martha Stewart on her old shows in the 1990’s (the best ones, if you ask me) I have always wanted to push myself to either find or create the best wreaths for my front door. For me, it’s a must… You MUST always greet every visitor at your door with a cheerful hello in the form of a beautiful wreath. With the beginning of the new season, I thought a DIY Boho Spring Wreath was definitely in order. Come learn how to make one of your own!

+ This Boho Spring Wreath post brought to you by the folks at Michaels +

What is a Boho Spring Wreath

Spring is all about new beginnings. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays and getting gifts for everyone else, it’s time to treat yourself (and your space!) With bright florals and fresh projects, Michaels helps you MAKE all things spring!

What is Boho really? Short for “bohemian,” boho as a style is most closely associated with the hippies of the ‘60s and ‘70s, but the truth is it borrows from so many fashion subcultures and time periods that almost any outfit or decor can be “boho” if you style it right. To me, this wreath is a little mother earth paired with a hint of glam and that’s why it qualifies as Boho to me. I love the elements of nature, the sticks tied together with jute and then dressed with greenery that will last throughout the whole year. All topped with a cheerful HELLO in gold that adds that hint of glam like the cherry on top.

Supplies

The supplies are rather simple which goes along with the theme of simplicity for this wreath. I found everything at Michaels which makes gathering supplies super easy.

Birch Twigs
Spring Greenery at Michaels
hot glue gun
hot glue sticks
22 gauge floral wire
gold aluminum decorative wire
natural wired twine
scissors
wire cutters
hello – This isn’t the exact hello that I used for mine. They unfortunatley, don’t have that one listed online. If you can’t find the metal one at Michaels, you can use this one and it will look GREAT too. It’s larger scale which will also look fabulous with this wreath. Plus, you can paint it whatever color you would like.

Boho Spring Wreath Instructions

Here is a quick video tutorial showing you how to make this easy spring wreath…

Trim the twigs to your desired length.
Place in a triangle and wire all three sides together. Trim ends if needed.
Cut the fern leaves from the stem and wire them to the twigs in the left-hand corner.
Cut the Zebra Bush leaves from the stem and hot glue them to the fern leaves.
Cut the air plants from the stem and glue them in place.
Wrap the two bottom corners with wired twine.
Create hanger with wired twine at the top of the triangle then, wrap the tip of the triangle with the wired twine to hold the hanger in place.
Use the gold wire to wire the hello to the wreath.
Hang your wreath on your door or wall and test to see if any adjustments need to be made.
Enjoy!

+ Disclaimer • This is a post that has been sponsored by Michaels. I am a Michaels Maker for 2018 and will receive product and payment to share my creative ideas with you all. Please remember, I will only share those things that I truly find exeptional and something that I will use in my every day life +