Ornament Wreath

Another fun & EASY Holiday craft! I have seen this idea online in many ways -Styrofoam, hangers, etc. But after looking at the prices for a boring, old Styrofoam wreath, I decided to reuse a hanger in my closet. I also thought using hot glue to secure the ornaments seemed dangerous-for me at least (haha). This craft was SO easy! I was so surprised actually.








All you need is THREE things for this craft! A hanger (I used one that seemed easy to unwind-it was made out of plastic, not metal), ornaments (about 60-70 for a regular sized hanger), and some tape to secure (if desired).

Here is the hanger I used. The first step is to unwind the hanger-you may have to use pliers, but since mine was made out of plastic, I could easily unravel the two ends. Then I tried to make it into a circle the best I could. :) It will all come together at the end so it doesn't need to be perfect.

These are the ornaments I used. I'm a college, job-less girl on a budget, so I made a trip to Wal-Mart and found all of these ornaments (I had about 20 leftover) for $2.50 for a box of 18! I thought this was a great deal- even places like Hobby Lobby is quite expensive to find ball ornaments.

For 4 of the ornaments I bought (cute purple, glitter ones) the hook at the top was too small to fit on the hanger. My solution=twist ties. I actually found two large, white twist ties in a drawer of office supplies at home-so I lucked out. Just make sure when your buying the ornaments, they are large enough to fit over the hanger--or but twistie's! :)

Next step, one-by-one put each ornament on. I did random colors-not a specific pattern, because they kind of all get moved around once its finished. A tip I can give- make sure throughout doing this project to push the ornaments to the top of the hanger, they will slide down and once its done you will have to go back and move them one-by-one to fill out the wreath. Once you finish adding the ornaments, re-wrapped the hanger where the two ends meet. I used some string tape (its a little bit stronger) to secure the two ends just in case. But it seems like it would be fine without it either way.

And here is the finished product! I tied a white ribbon around the top of the hanger and put it on a door holder :)

 

Fashion fun

I had to go to a wedding shower the other day and had to find a last minute outfit --without spending any of my Christmas gift money!

I have to admit, I don't have much winter clothes at ALL! I honestly hate the cold weather and usually end up wearing sweatshirts everyday :)

Anyways, I had a cute spaghetti strap dress, and decided to pair it with leggings, a cardigan, and my boots. I've seen people pair a cardigan with a skinny belt over the waist and could never figure out how to make it look right! I figured out the best way to layer the two is to leave the cardigan open--not buttoned.

I've seen people button their sweater or cardigan and it looks so cute! But it just wasn't working for me, so I brought it like halfway to the center and secured it there with the belt.

I also paired the outfit with my brown riding boots, instead of black boots-I hate feeling like I'm wearing TOO much black (even though I love wearing black).

DIY headboard

I've seen some blogs about making your own headboard that are labeled "easy", but it involved sewing, sawing,etc.

 I made my own headboard using wood cut from Home Depot, plywood, foam, and fabric.

The wood was used for the base of the headboard to hold the whole thing together. The plywood was put on top of the frame using a few nails to make sure it was stable.

Then to make the headboard soft, I recommend using foam to lay on top of the plywood. I actually ended up using an old twin mattress pad from my old dorm room! But any thickness of foam will work. Then I laid and wrapped the fabric around the foam part. Make sure you have enough fabric to wrap around to the back. I also recommend using a fabric thick enough and dark enough to cover the foam. Then, I used a staple gun to secure the fabric.

I've had it for almost two years now and it's still in perfect shape!

Candle Dress up!

I decided to reuse some old jars my dad has had stored in the basement for years as candle holders. (Sorry for the bad lighting in this picture-my phone isn't the best). They are each decorated differently-but all affordable and cute!

I bought some white lace at Michaels and hot glued it around two of the jars. It was pretty easy, just make sure to dot a small amount of glue when you are securing the ends. For the other two jars, I wrapped them in a thin ribbon and spray painted with white paint, removing the ribbon after it dried. I found this to be a little difficult because the ribbon wouldn't stay in place without being secured by tape or something. After completing this, I saw someone else use rubber bands--genius! That would have been much easier and just as affordable.

I think using stuff you find around the house is a great way to save money and have some crafting fun :)

Wine bottle DIY decor

Spray painted wine bottles  with silver/glitter twists to spruce up dining room centerpiece!

I love white and silver for the winter time. It reminds me of snow! I also don't like to over-do the red and green throughout the house. It's simple and elegant next to the candle sitting on red,green, and white stones.

Make sure to soak the bottles in hot water for easy removal of bottle stickers. Then allow to dry completely and spray paint! Make sure to keep the same distance while spraying to avoid drip marks. You will have to go over it several times if the bottles are a dark color, like mine were.

I found the silver and glitter twists at Hobby Lobby for $3! Cheap and easy way to reuse wine bottles! You can use the same or different shaped wine bottles- whichever you prefer.