Thoughtful Thursday – Last Minute Ideas To Save the (Holi)Day!

Put on that antler headband, and beat the bah-humbugs with our list of last minute holiday cheer!

Christmas is less than a week away, and yuletide is upon us. If you haven’t made your home festive (or you want to add some extra,) or if you just haven’t been able to come up with gifts for you friends, neighbors, or that relative that’s really hard to shop for, here are some last minute ideas to make your season merry and bright. (Click on the images for more info.)

Easy Decorations:

 

This has to be the prettiest, simplest tree I can imagine. Outline with lights and add paper cutouts of stars (or snowflakes!)

Speaking of snowflakes, here are some beautiful patterns to use!

 

Make an inexpensive outdoor star decoration with yard sticks.

 

Forego the can of fake snow, and break out your glue gun instead!

Free Printables:

Buddy the Elf printable.

 

 

Holiday subway art printable.

“Noel” banner printable.

 

Forget the expensive wrapping supplies. Use magazine or newspaper, plus these cute printable tags.

Quick Gifts:

An adorable gift for the women in your life!

A natural home fragrance that smells like the holidays. A great gift for the neighbors!

 

What tween or teen girl wouldn’t love some pretty lip gloss in their stocking?

 

Whip up a big batch of this manly smelling shaving cream, and divide into small containers for a great gift. Add a straight razor (and print out a good how-to) for a gift the guys will use all year!

Of course, don’t forget our giveaway to enter to win this gift-able handmade necklace:

 

Share the Love,

Chelsea

 

Happy National Earth Month!

Happy Earth Month, everyone! I’m so glad to see that the earth-friendly living “trend” isn’t just a trend anymore, and that people are taking notice how much we affect the earth around us. A large part of our business is reusing and repurposing the old into new items to make a positive ecological impact.

The other day on my other blog, Chelsea, Like England, I wrote a post about easy upcycling projects you can do around the house as you do your spring cleaning.

I received an email today from Michaels with lists of re-useful projects, including fashion, furniture, decor, and even a block party idea to celebrate Earth Day. They’re also teaming up with American Forests to plant trees with just a simple text.

Just a few days ago, I reposted this pledge on our mission’s Facebook page, encouraging our students to pick up ten pieces of trash each Tuesday. This works anywhere, of course, not just on a college campus, and it’s a great way to celebrate Earth Month way beyond April.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Make It Monday – Snafoo!

Well, I’ve run into a few problems with my current 3 DIY projects. I can’t find a broom skirt to make my summery dress, I can’t find little plastic ice cubes to make a cooling necklace, and haven’t found fabric I like for the window treatment project.

Why is it that when you actually want something, something that you see all the time but don’t need at that moment (ahem, broomskirtsandicecubes) you can’t find it?

This is definitely a craft snafoo!

So, I’m going on the hunt today. Thrift and dollar stores, look out!

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Make It Monday – Top 3 Craft Projects

Now that I’ve finished the first 3 of my “top 3” picks, it’s time to move on to the next 3! The whole purpose of this is to break down the massive list of craft and DIY projects I’ve accumulated into make-able chunks of 3. Once I complete 3 of the projects, I’ll move on to the next chunk. The idea is to try to complete all of them within one or two months to keep things moving.

So, without further adeu, I present my next 3 assignments:

The ingenious "Cooling Necklace"

This is, without a doubt, one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. This is so simple and super appropo, considering we’ve had temps over 100 farenheit for the past two weeks!

Incredibly easy shift dress by Martha

I have a shift dress similar to the one in this tutorial, and I love it! It’s so breezy and comfortable, but the one I have is richly dyed with an intense purple, and needs to be hand washed. Let’s face it, if I can’t throw it in the washer, I don’t wear it much. I’m a low-maintenance gal.

A valance or pelmet for each of our humongous, utilitarian windows.

This project hinges on whether or not I can find a fabric that matches our extremely eclectic living area, and whether or not it’s affordable enough to make two of these monsters. The apartment we live in used to be office space, so think giant office windows. Yeah.

Anyway, I can’t wait to get started on these projects! I’m going to have to make a trip to the thrift store for a skirt to use for the dress, and possibly the hosiery for the necklace, and if I’m lucky, fabric for the valances.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

 

Make It Monday – Top 3 Project Picks

My “favorites” list is getting longer and longer because of the “creative projects” folder I’ve created! Since I’ve stumbled on dollarstorecrafts.com, the list has grown rapidly.

So, for the sake of avoiding being overwhelmed by crafts – which is hard to do when you make things for a living! – I decided to pick my top 3 to finish before moving on to other crafts. I should probably come up with a deadline, too, but since I have so many ideas running around in my brain for the new shop, I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have to craft “recreationally,” haha!

Top 3 Crafts I’d Like To Complete (Soon So I Can Move On To Other Crafts!)

1. Braided T-Shirt Necklace.

Click the link to view the picture and tutorial! I’d like to make a version of this necklace with more strands, to make a true statement piece.

2. No-sew recycled t-shirt bag.

This tutorial is awesome, and will probably be the first craft I finish, since it’s so easy. Sensing a theme, here? Yeah, I have some shirts I don’t want to get rid of, but that need a new life, and I can never have enough purses and bags. Actually, I may end up sewing the bottom of these bags; I think it may be just as fast as making a drawstring!

3. A paperclip chandelier.

Here’s the really ambitious project. I bought a bunch of multicolor paperclips to make a more colorful version of this insanely ingenious craft. Really, to me, it’s a piece of art. I can’t wait to make this and put it over the bare bulb hanging in the kitchen. Part of the fun of this project is that I don’t plan to buy the $9 tutorial. Yeah, I was that kid who didn’t like to read the Lego directions. I like to figure things out for myself.

So, there’s my crafting commitment! I hope to get all three of these done within the next month. I’ll post updates on my progress, so you guys can see how the crafts turned out. 🙂

Share the Love,

Chelsea

 

Whatever Weekend – Feeding The Addiction

Ok, I confess, I’m addicted …

to dollar stores.

I don’t have a hard time not shopping at large retailers like Target, Walmart, or big-name clothing stores, but dollar stores? They’re my weak spot. So, coming from a gal who likes to thrift and make things rather than buy them, but obviously has issues when it comes to $1 tags, you can imagine how elated I was when a friend recommended dollarstorecrafts.com!

To be honest, I do try to buy things from the ol’ DS to use for supplies for craft projects, like the Wizard Of Oz trunk or treat decorations, or the halloween wreath I made. It’s nice to finally get some inspiration, though, for those things that I want to buy but can’t justify with a purpose. My friend (and other friends, if they like!) will be crafting it up on the cheap in the very near future, and I can’t wait.

In reference to another obsession of mine, Tom and I visited the Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth, followed by a very hot lunch at the Botanic Gardens down the street. The obsession here is inexpensive and entertaining dates. One of our first dates together involved the Wendy’s dollar menu, a park, and touring the outside of my old elementary school. We’ve been on a roll ever since!

Outside the log cabin where my grandfather was born! It made an extra special date to share some family history with my hubby.We both love it when art and function meet. This butterfly chair was amazing, and luckily there was a kind stranger nearby who offered to take our pic.