Cardboard Gingerbread House Christmas Mantel
I don’t want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing I need…to do something with all of our cardboard recycling. So, I hummed myself a little Mariah Carey tune and decked out our dining room fireplace with a cardboard gingerbread house Christmas mantel. My Amazon boxes have never looked better. I’m not joking about those Amazon boxes, I used cardboard boxes and cereal boxes to make the gingerbread houses on my Christmas mantel. I cut out house shapes and then used a white paint pen to decorate the houses. A white colored pencil would have worked too. It was as easy and as tedious as that. It was…
Happy Thanksgiving 2024
My kids spent this year wondering if Thanksgiving week would ever get here. They know Thanksgiving is the kickoff to the Christmas season. That’s when I buy the eggnog and there are multiple days off from school. It might even snow. On the other hand, I can’t believe Thanksgiving is already here. During the pandemic, I let go of the expectations of how I thought a Thanksgiving celebration should look like when it was just our family of four celebrating together. I asked myself what parts of that day do we really enjoy? Pie? Let’s keep the pie then. Multiple flavors. The first puzzle of the holiday season? Clear the…
Denim Christmas Trees – Festive Upcycle Project
It was only a matter of time before I made denim Christmas trees. After all, I’ve made denim pumpkins, denim cord holders, a denim turkey, denim bunting, denim pennants, denim hanging loops for towels, and a denim 4th of July wreath. I’m the Bubba Gump Shrimp of denim projects. You’d think I’d have run out of denim to repurpose for crafts but, between you and me, one pair of my husband’s jeans goes a long way. Now it’s your turn to make denim Christmas trees and today I’m going to show you how. Please note that I love a versatile craft and you can make these denim Christmas trees with…
Festive Metal Christmas Signs
I was searching for Christmas mantel inspiration in October while knee-deep in pumpkins and apple-everything, as one does. I can seasonally multitask with the best of them. During this search, I discovered the most festive metal Christmas signs. Oh, the world of possibility! This banner-style sign from Pottery Barn was the first one to catch my eye. Partly because I thought it was wood and partly because I thought maybe I could pair it with a wood dove sign I have trouble styling. (I’ll show you the dove at the end of this post.) The $109 price tag is more than I normally spend on all of my Christmas decor…
The Halloween Tradition That Is Haunting Me
Of all the things that could be haunting me, particularly since I live in a very old house, I find it is a Halloween tradition of my own creation that haunts me to this day. I can’t shake it. Is it a walk through a spooky cemetery? No. No, it is not. Is it the annual carving of pumpkins that inevitably ends with mom cleaning out the pumpkin guts that no one wants to touch? No. No, it is not. Is it all of the costume drama that inevitably comes with Halloween? Everything from someone wanting to switch their costume at the last minute after we spent a small fortune…
In Praise Of: Group Halloween Shirts
You can thank Handy Husband for this Group Halloween Shirts blog post because he got me so good the other day. I told him I had found the perfect Halloween couple’s costume for us and showed him the below picture of these salt and pepper shirts. (image: Boots Tees via Etsy) He glances at the picture and without missing a beat says, “Are these perfect for us because you’re so salty?” “No, It’s because of how much black pepper I put on everything.” I think we all know who the salty one is around here now! Hahaha! It has been a week and that whole conversation still makes me laugh.…
Boo! Halloween Mantel
It’s a boo-tiful day to share my Halloween mantel with you! That ghost pun was cheekily intended because the boo sign I painted is the centerpiece of this year’s Halloween mantel. It is simple, playful, and won’t take up hardly any space in storage! I enjoy the fun of Halloween and, let’s be honest, the candy too. I don’t do scary though. Nope. Not my thing. I’ll pass on the haunted houses. I don’t even like going into my attic after dark. I’ll stick with a sugar rush and leave the adrenaline rush to the rest of you ghouls. Speaking of ghosts and ghouls, I have heard some stories about…
Denim and Yarn 4th of July Wreath
I was inspired to make a Denim and Yarn 4th of July Wreath this year and it might be my favorite wreath of all time. Don’t tell my other wreaths, okay? Inspiration for this wreath came from a burlap wreath I saw on the Pottery Barn website. My wreath doesn’t use burlap but that’s how inspiration works. It’s a spark and you never know where that spark will land and ignite. For me, it ignited, so to speak, in my craft closet because I wanted to only use items I had on hand to make a wreath. Here’s What You’ll Need to Make a Denim and Yarn 4th of July…
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A Poem For Memorial Day
On this Memorial Day, I want to share a poem by Robert Frost that had me wiping my tears at my desk. Imagining myself as the woman in this poem was – phew – a lot to handle on a Tuesday afternoon. Here’s the poem. Get your tissue ready. Not to Keep by Robert Frost They sent him back to her. The letter came Saying… and she could have him. And before She could be sure there was no hidden ill Under the formal writing, he was in her sight— Living.— They gave him back to her alive— How else? They are not known to send the dead— And not…
May Day Basket Tradition – Did You Do This As A Kid?
Did you participate in the May Day Basket Tradition as a kid? I did! May Day is always May 1st. As a kid, I thought it was the best thing EVER to leave a small bouquet hanging on our neighbor’s door, knock, run away giggling, and try to hide before they answered the door. I can’t tell you what the flowers were but they could have been dandelions. I’m unsure if we always hung the bouquet on the door. My brother and I might have just left flowers on the front porch and then skedaddled out of there. It was the thrill of doing something nice but being sneaky that…
