holidays
Easter Egg Embroidered Napkins
Here’s a relatively quick and customizable Easter craft for you – Easter Egg Embroidered Napkins. This is a fun way of adding some Easter flair to otherwise plain cloth napkins. Please note that I casually threw out the words ‘relatively quick’ when describing this project. Some of you have never touched embroidery thread. Some of you are probably hand-stitching pros and could do this project with your eyes closed. (If you can actually do this with your eyes closed, will you make a video for me?) On the embroidery spectrum, I’m a little closer to “never touched embroidery thread” than I am to being a professional. With my limited skills,…
7 Lucky and Unlucky Signs From Irish Folklore
St. Patrick’s Day is almost here and I thought it would be fun to share some things that were considered, way back in the day, to be lucky and unlucky according to Irish folklore. These lucky and unlucky signs are not pulled magically pulled out of thin air by yours truly. Nope! (image: Killarney, County Kerry via the National Library of Ireland) These signs were compiled by students in 1938 at Listowel National School in County Kerry, Ireland. They have since been recorded by Wexford archaeologists Colm Moriarty and Adrienne Corless on the Irish Archaeology site. Here are seven of my favorite lucky and unlucky signs from Irish folklore: If you…
DIY Wood and Brass Hearts for Valentine’s Day
I have a lovely DIY to share with you today – wood and brass hearts! They are perfect when you’re looking for a subtle touch when it comes to Valentine’s Day decor. Although, when it comes to the actual Valentine’s Day and every day, really, don’t be subtle when telling your valentine they are loved. Life is too short! Here’s how to make these wood and brass hearts. Step 1: Unless you want to freehand it, print out a paper heart template. We used a 2-inch and a 3-inch heart. Step 2: Trace your heart shape on a piece of wood and carefully cut the heart out using a jigsaw.…
Merry Christmas 2021
2021. Wow. What do we say about this year? Been there. Done that. Don’t need a repeat. Yeah, that works. 2021 has been like a jar of mixed nuts. The label said, “Now with 20% more!” which you’d think would be a good thing. Unfortunately, that jar is mainly filled with nuts you don’t like and you have to dig hard to find the one type of nut you do enjoy because of course, they short-changed you on that nut to save money. It’s nuts. *sigh* I’m telling you this so that you know my bad attitude feelings regarding 2021 left me befuddled as to how to write a sendoff…
Christmas Trees in Every Bedroom
It feels very self-indulgent to disclose that we have Christmas trees in every bedroom of our house this year. There are only three bedrooms, but still. To borrow a term from my kids, that sounds very extra! My kids have each had a small faux Christmas tree in their bedrooms since they started bringing home those precious popsicle stick ornaments from preschool. That means for the past 10 years during the month of December I have tucked my kids in at night and thought, “Wow. Falling asleep to the warm glow of a Christmas tree is magical.” It’s the best nightlight ever! That also means I have been wanting a…
Snowflake-Themed Christmas Tree
I’m thrilled you are here today to check out my snowflake-themed Christmas tree. How did a snowflake-themed Christmas tree come about? Well, it went a little something like this: No one: Absolutely No One: Me: I have six tiny doilies that could look like snowflakes if I squint. Do you know what that means? Time for a snowstorm to hit this Christmas tree! And that’s how my brain works. I’m not a minimalist, but the majority of the time I skew more minimalist than maximalist in my decorating style. However, you can toss that rule out the window and stomp on it a few times when it comes to me…
Christmas Mantel with Copper Accents
Another day and a new Christmas mantel to show you! One old house perk is having multiple fireplaces to decorate for the holidays. Today’s Christmas mantel with copper accents is in our primary bedroom. It feels so indulgent having a bedroom with a fireplace, even a non-working fireplace like this one. It especially feels indulgent having this bedroom fireplace knowing that I’m not reliant on it to heat this part of the house. Although, I do think about the 100 plus years where someone had to shlep firewood up and down the stairs to fuel this fireplace. Can you imagine all the dirt that would track in? I’m sure putting…
12 Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas
I hear supply chains are constricted, so here are 12 handmade holiday gift ideas to consider making for your friends and family this year. The best part is some of these gift ideas are DIY cheats meaning not totally handmade from scratch. They just have a handmade, personal touch. That totally counts! Ready? Let the inspiration flow: Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas: Game Boards Board games are often popular gifts. How about making a handmade checkers board or chessboard? You could keep it a little easier and make a Tic Tac Toe board too. If you’re interested in vintage wood checkers to go with your game board, you can find them on…
Kraft Paper Snowflake Mantel for the Holidays
I hope you’re sitting in a warm, cozy place while you check out my Kraft Paper Snowflake Mantel! I had a jolly good time making all 33 snowflakes on this Kraft Paper Snowflake Mantel. Yes, I counted. “Jolly good time” makes it sound like it was a party. I haven’t been to one of those in…well, we don’t need to count everything in this blog post. That would be depressing. Perhaps it is better to say I was in the mood to create something with my hands, so spending several hours making 33 kraft paper snowflakes was satisfying. Plus, I enjoy making something that looks way more complicated than it…
Proud To Be Part of a Scandi-cool Halloween Trend
Last week I learned Living Etc. featured one of my photos in an article titled “These 5 Scandi-cool Halloween Trends Maintain Your Home’s Style This Spooky Season.” I’m not exactly sure what Scandi-cool means, but if you want to group me in with anything cool, I’m pretty sure I’m down with that. Maybe? I’m not sure. This coolness thing is an uncomfortable feeling. How do all of you cool people handle the pressure? This photo of my witch’s broom leaning next to my dining room mantel is the photo that was featured in the article along with photos from other contributors, including Studio McGee! Yep, THE Studio McGee with a decorating…
