On Journaling: Some Diary DIYs

In the spirit of starting your own journal journey , I thought I'd share a few of my favorite diary do it yourselveses, err, DIYs.

Click on the links below for the original tutorials

Mini Memo Books

I'm going to make one bazillion of these.

Spiral Bound Journal

Kids Art Journals

Composition Book Cover

Fabric-Covered Journals

Matchbook Mini Albums

Fabric-Covered Moleskins

Eco-Friendly Notebooks

Gahh! So many cute books just waiting to be made!

Don't forget about the journal giveaway- ends tomorrow.

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Check out the other entries in the On Journaling series.

Ashley's Story

How to Pick a Journal

Meredith's Story

My Story

A Little Nostalgia: Fall Rosette Wreath Tutorial

In the spirit of the season, I'm reposting my favorite [and most popular] project. Enjoy!

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If you're like me, then you love all things fall. You love hot apple cider, cozy sweaters, and chilly nights perfect for snuggling.

Here's a super easy fall wreath tutorial that will get you in the autumn spirit!

First, gather your supplies.

You will need a wreath form (dollar store!), two colors of fall fabric, glue gun, glue sticks, scissors, and acorns (or any kind of natural elements...pine cones would be pretty, too).

Choose one color to wrap around the wreath form, cut out strips of fabric (mine were about 3 inches wide) and go to town. Use hot glue to attach the fabric strips.

Set your wreath base aside and start making rosettes. There's lots of ways to do this, so feel free to customize. This is what I did.

I wanted most of my rosettes to be orange with a few baby yellow ones. I cut out long, thick strips (about 2-3 inches) of orange fabric and a couple little strips of yellow fabric.

To make rosettes, tie a knot at the end of the strip, start wrapping and twisting the fabric around the knot, and glue as you go along. It's very simple once you get the hang out it. 

So make a rosette. And then make lots more.

I made large orange rosettes, small orange rosettes, and baby yellow rosettes. The size depends more on the thickness of your fabric than on the length.

Now that you have your acorns and rosettes, it's time to assemble your wreath. There is no real science here. I just arranged things so it looked pretty. I'm a fan of off-set flowers, but you could fill the entire wreath with rosettes if you wanted, or you could just use a few. I used hot glue to secure all my elements.

I used stamps and a simple key tag to add a little something special.

Happy fall!!

Day 13: Homemade Laundry Detergent

You might think me nutty for wanting to make laundry detergent, but it was seriously easy, and quite cheap I might add.

There are tons of ways to make laundry detergent, with mostly the same "ingredients." The "recipe" I finally decided on came from one of my new favorite blogs, Yellow Brick Home.

Three simple steps go into making your own laundry detergent.

Grate a bar of Fels Naptha soap. Mind your knuckles, ladies

 [Since finding out about my lactose intolerance-ness, the cheese grater has not been a very used kitchen item. In fact, it took me 10 minutes to find it.]

Add 1 cup of borax. Add another cup of Arm and Hammer SUPER washing soda.

Use a pretty jar. That's a must.

I stuck a coffee scoop in, the decaf color, because decaf does not get used around my house...ever.

That's it! Throw in a tablespoon to your laundry and you're all set.

I made two batches (using two bar of soap) and I still have tons of borax and washing soda left.

Guest Post: Uncommon

Today I'm over at Uncommon sharing a tutorial for their Tuesday Trade-Off

In return, Trish and Bonnie are sharing a fabulous idea for fall, Halloween Pumpkin Topiaries!

Trish and I just love decorating our homes for Halloween!

Today we would like to show you a trio of pumpkin topiaries and first up is Trish's Halloween  Pumpkin Topiary...

This adorable project was based on this inspiring photo...

source

This topiary really makes quite a statement on your front porch both in the daytime hours and night as well. The light that shines through is just stunning! Wanna make your own? Here are a few hints and tips to help you out....

• Make sure you buy your faux pumpkins with a coupon, they can be really pricey!
• Match up your pumpkins in the store to make sure they are going to fit together well!
• Make sure you are outside when you cut the bottoms out and drill the holes in the pumpkins, as all that faux pumpkin stuff can be very messy!
• Wire, glue, or some other way, attach the pumpkins together to ensure that a child  storm does not knock it over!
• Trish simply used a black sharpie to draw her tree!
• Lastly, get creative! Trish added a spooky black crow to hers, to tie in her other porch decor!

Here are two other fabulous topiaries we love, to stir your creativity....

 

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The possibilities are truly endless for creating your own, unique little pumpkins! We hope we have inspired you to create your own!!



Puffy Paint Pictures: A Tutorial(ish)

Our second bathroom is really big and it currently houses the litter box and not much else.

It was a sad space.

We have a few hand towels in there- one's plain blue and one is white with bright green leaves.

I used this as an inspiration for a few pieces of art to liven up the place.

I present to you puffy paint pictures and a semi-tutorial. I didn't take pictures of the process but it's super easy to explain.

- I bought a two-pack of canvas at Hobby Lobby and went to town.

- I had my hubby draw some leaves in each corner similar to the leaves on the hand towel.

- I used puffy paint to trace the lines of the leaves and let it dry overnight.

- I painted each canvas with three coats of acrylic paint. Make sure you let each coat dry well before you apply the second. That's how you make sure you will cover up the white puffy paint.

I love the way they turned out!!

Canvases: $4 (half off)

Puffy Paint: $2 (I bought 2)

Acrylic Paint: $4 (I bought two of each color)

Hubby's Art Skills: paid him in kisses

Not bad for a $10 project and a little jaunt to Hobby Lobby (I was already there anyway!)

I'm linking up to the parties here.

Storing Christmas Garland

Well friends, I think I'm scratching the bottom of the crafty barrel. I've been so busy working on items for my shop/local shop that doing other crafty things has kinda fallen by the wayside.

So here's all I could come up with.

Last year Kyle and made button garland for our tiny toothpick tree. I have quite the collection of vintage buttons so it seemed fitting.

Last year I just wrapped it up around an empty toilet paper roll and threw it in the storage box. Big mistake.

This year we didn't have button garland. We had a giant garbled button mess.

There was lots of this

and this

and this.

This year Kyle had the great idea of using pvc pipe (thin-walled 4-inch pvc to be exact...my hubby used to work at a hardware store) to store our treasured garland.

There are very few supplies involved. Just pipe, snips, and a very fierce looking husband.

Cut a notch.

Cut another notch to make a little triangle.

It looks like this (but much less blurry).

There you have it! Button garland ready for happy, carefree storing.

 

Homemade Bath Salts

For the past two years, my friend Anna and I have gone to our local hippie shop to make free Christmas gifts. My favorite is the bath salts.

You will need:

1 cup epsom salts

1/2 sea salt (finely ground)

3 tablespoons milk powder (makes your skin smooth)

essential oils (I used clove and it pretty much smells like Christmas)

something to put it in

I put my bath salts in a small milk jug. I used mod-podge to attach some pretty tissue paper and to make the jar opaque. Add a little twine and it's very Anthro if I do say so myself.

[Check out my party page for a list of the blogs I post to]

 

Festive Fall Garland

I've been slowly putting up a few decorations to celebrate fall. A few pumpkins here, a wreath there. I made a simple fall garland out of supplies I already had (the best kind of handmade!). 

1. I cut out a bunch of circles from scrapbook paper. I traced a drinking glass and cut out as many circles that would fit on a standard piece of scrapbook paper. I used double sided paper for even more prettiness!

2. I punched two holes in each circle to make big paper buttons.

3. I then strung them on my favorite crafty item, cotton string.

(we found this chair in the garbage already painted the perfect shade of red...who does that?)

How pretty, just in time for my favorite season!