I have been looking for something cute to hang above the girls beds for a while now & decided to make something for them myself. These DIY, no-sew dream catchers were so easy & fun to make! Plus, the girls love them!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Vintage Sheet(s) or other scrap fabric
• Lace curtain or scrap lace
• Hot glue gun
• Embroidery hoops

Start by cutting strips of sheet or fabric and wrap it around the hoop. Then glue the end of the fabric to the hoop.

Doesn't it look so pretty when you are done?

• Then lay the finished hoop on top of the lace & cut out a circle of lace to fit. 
• Start gluing the lace to the back of the hoop - stopping before you finish it.
• Now tie the strips of fabric & lace to the bottom of the hoop.
• When you are done with the strips, finish gluing the lace to the hoop.

Easy DIY Wooden Bead Necklaces

My girl's favorite thing is craft time. They love making anything with mommy! They also love jewelry and are always trying to wear mine, so I figured necklaces were the perfect thing to make for them to wear for back to school!

I am not sure who was more excited when our beads arrived, them or me! The colorful box of beads made me so happy! We quickly got to work making necklaces for ourselves and for gifts! The girls each made some "friendship necklaces" for their best friends.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Variety of Wood Beads in various colors and sizes- there are so many styles available on Etsy.
• Jersey fabric of your choice- cut in strips.
• Scissors.

MAKING YOUR NECKLACE:

• Start by cutting a strip of jersey fabric thin enough to thread through the hole in your beads. 
• Lay out the beads in the pattern you want. Mix colors and sizes for a great look!
• Thread the beads on the fabric.
• Tie knots at the end of the necklace against the last beads.
• Tie the necklace in a bow at the ends.
• Slip over your head! Ta da!!

That's it, so easy!

The girls had so much fun picking out the beads to design their own necklaces! 

We had some left over so we made some bracelets too using the same method. When we tied the knot in the back, we snipped off the excess fabric. 

Happy making friends!! 

DIY: Vintage Coffee Can Succulent Planters

I, like most people not living under a rock, have an obsession with succulents...and coffee. So this DIY was a match made in heaven! These Vintage coffee cans have so much character and they will look great in my studio! 

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Vintage Coffee Cans (I got mine for a few dollars at antique shops)
• Potting Soil
• Succulents of your choice
• Large wood Skewers
• Washi Tape
• Scissors

DIRECTIONS:

Take your large skewers and wrap your washi tape around the tops & cut them in the shape of little flags.

The washi tape flags add a little pop of extra whimsy to the platers! 

Fill your coffee cans with potting soil & arrange your succulents, leaving room for growth. My studio has a ton of natural light, so my succulents grow well in there! 

I am so happy with how these turned out! The perfect accents to my studio, which is fueled by caffeine!! 

Festive DIY Applesauce & Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

I love making ornaments for our Christmas tree. I think the best ornaments are the rustic ones with special meaning.  I am making it a new tradition to make some kind of ornament each year with my kids! This year I chose to make cinnamon applesauce ornaments like I remember making as a kid.

Here is what you will need:

1 cup of applesauce
1 1/2 cups cinnamon (I ended up adding more until a stiff dough formed)

Various mini cookie cutters - I used a star, heart, tree & gingerbread man.

Tooth pick

Diamond tip reamer (for making holes bigger when they come out of the oven)

Twine

Mix the cinnamon & applesauce in a large bowl. Keep mixing until there are no wet spots- really use your hands. Add additional cinnamon if needed until you have a really stiff mix.

Sprinkle some cinnamon on your counter top and roll your dough to approximately 1/4″ thick. Make sure to use enough cinnamon so you don't have a sticky mess on your hands, and counter, and rolling pin!

Use your cookie cutters and cut out the shapes & place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Use a tooth pick to make holes in the tops for hanging.

Bake at 200 degrees F for 1.5-2 hours until they are hardened. Let them cool overnight.

When mine were dry, I could not get the twine through the hole, so I used my diamond tip reamer to carefully make the holes a little bigger. 

 I chose to use my solid red twine to hang my little guys from!

I love how these turned out! And they smell wonderful!! I am going to be hanging them on my little "kitchen tree" along with all my spoon ornaments!

Do you make your own Christmas ornaments? Leave a comment, I would love more ideas!

DIY Window Flower Boxes.

I love the look of window boxes & have always wanted some hanging in my windows! They can be rather expensive though, so I opted for the DIY route! 

Materials:

4- 1" x 8" x 8' Cedar Boards (Cedar does not rot like other woods when wet)

2 1/2" wood screws (for outdoor use) 

Drill

Saw

4- L brackets (mine were from Lowes)

Potting Soil

Pretty Flowers

When I decided to start them, the hubby was not home & I had never used a power saw before.  But I put my big girl pants on & went to town! I have to say, I was pretty darn proud of myself! 

I measured the windows to see how long I wanted to make my window boxes, you will want to do the same.  My boxes were 35" long.  

Then I cut out all 4 sides and drilled them together at each corner.  I was not worried about them being perfect or square...I love rustic!  

I made sure my box was the same width as my 8" board (which I found out the hard way is not exactly 8"?!) so I did not have to "rip" the board, I could just cut the bottom to size and screw it to my frame.

I then drilled 3 holes in the bottom of each box for drainage so the plants don't get flooded & die.  Now they are ready for flowers! 

I chose petunias because they are my hubby's favorite and they do so well this time of year!  I picked a variety and added some wave petunias so they would grow out over the box and give it a nice, full look. 

Since I didn't want to ruin the siding, I enlisted my brother in law, Ian, to help us drill into our siding and hang the boxes. (I don't love the L brackets I got, but they did not have the nice wrought iron ones I wanted...I am still looking for some to replace these ones.)

The window boxes really add some much needed curb appeal! It was an easy way to dress up the boring front of the garage! 

They make me smile each time I drive up to our house! I look forward to planing something in them each season!