DIY Holiday Gift Idea: Mason Jar Matches

December 11, 2016

During the holidays I always keep a couple of candles on hand for last-minute gift giving. Candles are one of my favorite gifts to give but sometimes I want a little something extra to go along with the candle.

As I’ve been out and about Christmas shopping, I’ve seen lots of cute jars filled matches. I immediately thought about what a great gift matches would be paired with a candle. And then, like all crafters and DIYers the thought of making my own Mason jar matches popped into my head.

A quick trip to the store to gather supplies and in no time flat I had created this sweet candle gift set.

Here’s what you’ll need to create your own DIY Mason Jar Matches…

Supplies

Mason jar (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)
sandpaper (this will make lighting candles even more convenient)
strike-anywhere matches
hot glue gun
candle (one of my favorite holiday scents)
gift tag or sticker
twine or ribbon

Instructions

Take the lid off of your Mason jar, and use it to trace a circle on the sheet of sandpaper.
Using your hot glue gun, glue the sandpaper to the lid of the Mason jar.
Fill your jar with the matches, trimming down to size if necessary. Tip: It is important that the matches you use are labeled strike anywhere, or they will not ignite on the sandpaper.
Tie a bow on the Mason jar and add a decorative sticker or gift tag.

Merry Christmas Sticker

Since I like to stock up on hostess gifts to take me through the holiday season, I made a batch of these at one time. They’re adorable, inexpensive, and didn’t take much time at all.

What do you think? Are you going to give this DIY a try?

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DIY Holly Leaf Swizzle Sticks

December 4, 2016

I promised I’d give you the low down on how I made these cute Holly Leaf Swizzle Sticks so today I’m sharing the tutorial so you can whip out a few of these for yourself.

First let’s talk supplies.

You’ll need wood cocktail stir sticks with a holiday sentiment on them. I found my cocktail sticks at HomeGoods but found similar ones at TJMaxx and on Etsy. If you’re shopping HomeGoods/TJMaxx look for the sticks in near the checkout line or back with the gift tags and holiday ribbon. I spotted them in both spots in my local stores.

tip: you could also use monogram stir sticks which you can find here.

Merry Christmas Stir Sticks via Tulle and Twig on Etsy

Next you’ll need holly leaf embellishments to add to your swizzle sticks. I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby but these exact ones don’t seem to be available online. These 3-D holly leaf stickers are similar. Or you could use these cute gift package stickers for another look.

The last thing you’ll need is temporary glue dots. If you’re not familiar with glue dots, they are like adhesive tape but come in individual dots instead of one long strip like regular tape.

tip: the best part about using dots is the fact that they aren’t permanent. After your holiday party you can remove the holly leaf embellishment and use them again.

Now the hard work begins.

Step 1: Hold a swizzle stick in one hand and attach a glue dot to the front of the stick under the circular topper.

Step 2: Attach a holly leaf embellishment on top of the glue dot to hold it in place. **the holly leaf embellishment I used had a small stem so after I attached it to the glue dot I wrapped the stem around the stick.

Voila! You’ve got yourself really Christmas Swizzle Sticks in no time flat.

tip: Swizzle sticks also make a great hostess gifts add-on with a bottle of wine.

Making these swizzle sticks is hard work so I recommend you sit back and enjoy a holiday cocktail after you make a couple of set. Enjoy!

Holiday Hostess Gift–DIY Gift Tag Jar

November 20, 2016

Is your holiday party calendar is already booked up? If so, I know you’re on the hunt for creative hostess gift ideas. I’ll be sharing my Holiday Gift Guides starting Monday but today I have a fun and easy DIY hostess gift idea to share.

No matter what type of holiday party we attend, my criteria for a hostess gift is that it needs to be creative, fun AND useful. This year I came up with the idea of creating a Holiday Gift Tag Jar filled with an assortment of gift tags and ribbon. What I love about this gift is that it only take a few minutes to pull together and you can find all of the supplies you need for less than $12! Everything you see here came from TJMaxx.

I used a glass jar for this hostess gift but you could use jsut about any decorative container that you want. The jar is purchased has a pretty embossed snowflake pattern on the outside but you could add a sticker to a plain jar to get the same effect. And I purchased boxed sets of ribbon and gift tags which included enough of each that I am able tome two jars.

Lay out all your ribbon and tags and mix and match so that you jar includes a variety. Fill the jar so that you can see everything inside and then tie a bow around the lid as a finishing touch. It’s that easy!

In addition to being a great hostess gift, a Holiday Gift Tag jar would make a fun gift for a girlfriend, co-worker or someone in your posse like your hair stylist or manicurist.

p.s. A Holiday Gift Tag Jar isn’t just for Christmas. You can make a year round version filled with all occasion tags and ribbon.

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To make your own handcrafted gift tags, check out this post. And you and get tips on building your own gift tag collection here.

Preparing For The Holidays (and reducing holiday stress)

November 14, 2016

Can you believe that there are only 41 days until Christmas? This weekend the magnitude of my holiday to-do list set in and I began to panic about everything I need to get done. When that panic set in I knew I need to sit down and strategize my holiday season. With pen and paper in hand, I outlined a strategy to take the stress out of the holidays and put the joy back in.

I know many of you can relate so today I’m sharing my tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season.

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PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Planning is key to getting things done this holiday and finding time to enjoy the season. The first thing to do is pull out your calendar and jot down all the activities you want and need to participate in. Plan time to enjoy holiday traditions with family and friends and block out time to just relax.

tip: pull out your favorite board games and put them in a basket where they are accessible and will encourage play time.

CREATE A DETAILED GIFT LIST

If you haven’t started your gift list yet , it’s time to sit down and create one. Spend time online looking for the perfect gift and do some price comparisons. Plan to shop on Small Business Saturday (Sat., Nov. 26th) to support your favorite local businesses. When planning your gift lists, gather store coupons so they will be handy when you head out to shop.

tip: many stores have already started offering Black Friday Deals so shopping early can reduce stress and save you some money.

And to make things even easier, I created a fun Gift List printable below for you to use.

Download Christmas Gift List

GET THE GUEST ROOM READY

Hosting guests during the holidays doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you plan ahead. Stock up on petite size toiletries and snack food for your guest to use and enjoy. Wash sheets and towels and placed them in a linen closet or accessible storage area. Create an essential list for your guest including phone numbers, house alarm code, wi-fi password and local points of interest.

tip: place a basket in your guest bedroom to hold extra blankets and pillows so guest don’t have to come asking for them.

STOCK UP ON NECESSARY COOKING SUPPLIES/FOOD ITEMS

Don’t take the chance that your grocery store will have everything you need days before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plan your holiday menus and shop now for all the necessary supplies. Stock up on items like beverages, frozen food and spices so you have enough to last through the season.

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DECORATE YOUR OWN WAY

Decorating during the holidays can sometimes feel like a challenge–who can make their home the merriest. One way to take the stress out of the season is to decorate your way. Decorate as little or as much as you want and don’t feel bad if you don’t get it all done. This is the time of year when the focus should be on spending time with family and friends and remembering all that we have to be grateful for.

tip: if the idea of decorating a tree has you cringing, don’t do it. Hang a few garlands and wreaths, put out a few Christmas pillows and call it a day.

PLAY MUSIC

Music is proven to have a calming effect so during the busy holiday season turn on some tunes and enjoy the season through music. Create a holiday playlist in iTunes that includes your favorite Christmas songs and make it a point to enjoy at least 30 minutes of music each day.

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KEEP YOU HOME CLUTTER FREE AND ORGANIZED

It’s easy to let clutter and chaos take over during the holidays. Create storage areas of holiday wrapping paper, supplies and cards so you have a designated place to store things. And spend 10 minutes every day walking through the house so that task of doing major cleaning is more manageable.

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Preparing For The Holidays…RELAX & ENJOY

The most important tip I can share for reducing stress this holiday is to relax and enjoy the season.

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Organizing Envy–Ideas to Inspire and Try

November 4, 2016

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I’ve been at my mom’s house that last few days helping her deal with the aftermath of a pipe bursting and ruining all of her floors. All of the furniture has been moved out and new flooring is being installed throughout the house. It’s a big mess but things are getting done and I’m grateful that she is ok and that the damage wasn’t any worse.

Starting tomorrow, the hubs and I will be working on getting everything back in place and doing a little organizing while we are at it. When something like this happens, it makes you look at everything in a new light and take stock of what really matters and what things you no long need or value. My mom is ready to let some things go.

With a big organizing task ahead of me, I thought I’d share some organizing inspiration with you today.

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A TJMaxx just opened in my moms hometown so while they finish up the flooring I’m off to do some shopping for baskets, bins and other goodies. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new Favorites of The Week post so stop by and check it out. And happy Thursday!

Handcrafted Home–A Creative DIY Blog Hop

October 27, 2016

Today I’m joining a few bloggers for the Handcrafted Home DIY Blog Hop hosted by Jamala from Viva LaVintage For Your Home. And because this is a creative + diy themed blog hop, Jamala tasked each of us to transform an item using gold leaf.

Well, what’s a girl to do when the only craft projects on my mind are holiday related? Transform Christmas ornaments of course.

I dove into my holiday stash and found these two unfinished wood ornaments that I purchased from Hobby Lobby last year. They were the perfect candidates for a little DIY UpStyle.

After applying my gold leaf and adding a few vintage ornaments to the top of each wood piece, my ornaments went from plain to pizzazz!

This was a quick an easy DIY project and I love the way my ornaments turned out.

Tips for working with Gold Leaf:

Gold Leaf is easier to work with on surfaced that don’t have a lot of nooks and crannies. If you’re working with ornaments similar to mine, you’ll have to spend a little time smoothing the gold leaf on all the edges.
Wear latex gloves or put a few drops of talcum powder on your hands to make handling the gold leaf easier. This stuff is really clingy.
Use a soft bristle brush to smooth the gold leaf down. Smooth bristle will ensure you don’t tear the gold leaf.
Buy a high quality gold leaf paper and adhesive. I used the Gold Leaf Kit below (affiliate link) and think its one of the best out there.

Now it’s time to see the other fabulous DIY projects. Hop over and see how creative they got with their Gold Leaf.

Viva LaVintage For Your Home

M. Jones Style

Linda G. Loving Home

Fox and Finch Antiques

Gift Wrap Inspiration: Floral Paper Wrapped Boxes

October 24, 2016

I’m back with another Gift Wrap Inspiration post and this one is sure to go down as one of the easiest gift wrap ideas ever.

The idea was inspired by a box I spotted at HomeGoods. It was a simple idea–a paper mache’ kraft box wrapped with pretty paper. The minute I saw it, I recognized what a great concept it was for people who don’t like to wrap gifts, have a ton of gifts to wrap or need to wrap a gift in a hurry. Or in other words, it’s a wrapping project that anyone can do.

Here’s what you’ll need to recreate these pretty floral wrapped boxes…

Paper Mache Kraft Boxes come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and can be purchased at any of the big craft stores. You’ll find the widest range of shapes from Amazon and they offer the best pricing is you are buying in bulk. I’ve also spotted these boxes at Goodwill from time to time so be on the look out there too!

Next you’ll need wrapping paper. Since I have somewhat of a paper obsession, I’m always looking for pretty paper when out shopping. The animal print floral and the black and white stripe paper came from Hobby Lobby (currently on sale for $2.00/pk of 6). This paper is actually decoupage paper but the weight makes it suitable for wrapping gifts. The other two floral papers are from Papyrus (similar here and here).

tip: this is a great project to use those wrapping paper scraps you might have lying around

(black and white chevron // fuchsia two-tone // green textured lines)

And of course a beautifully wrapped gift wouldn’t be complete without pretty ribbon. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that MayArts is one of my go-to sources for ribbon. They have hundreds of styles, patterns and materials to choose from so you’ll easily find the perfect ribbon for your gift wrapping projects.

fyi: MayArts used to be a wholesale supplier only but now anyone can purchase from their site

Now comes the easy part…measure, cut and wrap the bottom of each box with wrapping paper, using double-sided tape to secure the ends and edges. To create the ribbon ties, tape two pieces of ribbon on opposite sides inside the lid of the box. Place the lid on the box and tie a bow.

note: You can also cover the lids of the boxes like I did with one of my boxes.

Just think of all the paper and ribbon possibilities you have with this wrapping idea. And with the busy holiday season fast approaching, you’ll want to stock up on paper, ribbon and boxes now so you’ll have everything you’ll need for holiday gift giving.

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Want more creative gift wrapping tips and inspiration, join me for The Art of Gifting gift wrap workshop which I’m conducting at Steve McKenzie’s, a beautiful decor and gift store here in Atlanta. The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 12th from 9:30-11:00 am. You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.

Happy wrapping!

What Would You Do? A Thrift Store Swap! #swapitlikeitshot

October 18, 2016

I bet when you read the title of this blog post you had no idea what I was talking about, right? Well it’s time for another round of Swap It Like It’s Hot, where a group of crafty and creative bloggers get together, swap cast off thrift store pieces and breath new life into them using their DIY skills.

I was so excited when Charlotte from Ciburbanity asked me to participate in the swap again but was a little nervous about what I was going to receive in the mail from my swap partner. This time around my items came from Kimm at Reinvented and when I opened my box of goodie, I was giddy. Kimm sent me some great pieces to work with.

Like all craft and DIY projects I undertake, I spent some time bonding with the pieces before I decided how I was going to transform them. I decided to makeover a couple of the pieces now and the others will make their debut as part of my Christmas decor in November. #moregoodnesstocome

So before I jump into what I did with a couple of these items, let me first tell you that I had a hard time letting go of the leaf bowl the way it was. It was perfect and I could totally see if on my coffee table filled with fall nuts. But alas, I had to let it go and give it a new look (or in this case, a new purpose).

Since I loved the bowl so much, I didn’t go too crazy with the transformation. I decided to pare the leaf and one of the snack bowls and turn it into flower vase AND candleholder. You read that right… this little piece has two personalities.

Now it’s a candleholder…

And now it’s a flower vase.

How did I do that you ask? I attached the bowl (with the writing facing the back) to the leaf using a screw so the bowl could be turned upside down. When the bowl is facing down, a candle sits on the bottom. Then when the bowl is turned upright, I add a glass bowl and use it to hold flowers. Just like magic!

Oh, and did I mention that I added a hanger to the back of the leaf so it can also hang on the wall too!

The other piece I transformed was this art piece. I knew immediately that I was going to make a clock with this piece and decided on a black and white theme.

It went from a cozy cottage piece of art…

to a chic black and white buffalo check clock with a gold edge.

Pretty snazzy don’t you think? I’m thrilled with the way my swap items turned out and had so much fun transforming these pieces. Now it’s time to go check out all the other bloggers projects.

And speaking of other’s bloggers projects, I was so busy getting crafty with my items that I totally forgot to take photo of the items I sent my swap partner Christy. So, hop on over to Christy’s blog, Confessions of a Serial DIYer and see what goodies I sent her and how she worked her DIY magic on them.

And be sure to stop by each of the participating blogs throughout the week to see all of the fabulous swap transformations.