Easy Fixes

Do you ever wonder how you can get your entryway or back door organized? 

Well today I am going to share with you some easy fixes.

Shutter Organizer

Wooden shutters can be just as functional and good-looking indoors as out. Refinished a set of shutters and hang them on the wall over a table or over bench storage.

Do you notice that cute little mail organizer above? You can easily make one of these.

Here's How:

 Paint or stain a pre-cut plaque, available at crafts stores. Paint hooks to desired color. Secure the hooks side-by-side with 1/2-inch wood screws. Repeat to form additional rows to separate your mail.

This is the end result

Mudroom Organizer

Now these are just pictures for you to get ideas from. Don't feel that your space has to look like this but just use some of the things you see to add a new touch to your space.

If things that are constantly underfoot in your home, give everybody a separate space. Assign a sturdy metal storage bin to each member of the household. Slide the bins underneath a bench in the front hall, or line them up in a mudroom. Use magnets or a photo to mark who each one belongs too. You can also do this in a closet if you like to hide odds and ends.

This is another choice for storage. Put your storage low and add a bench or sitting area for small spaces.

 Pin Boards

 Keeping clutter at bay starts the moment you walk through the door. Use square fabric covered pin boards, secured with staples on the back, to pin activity dates, a menu, grocery list, mail, etc.

Two Cute Easter Crafts

Easter is just around the corner, actually only a few weeks away. It is never to early to get started on some cute Easter decorations, gifts, cards, menu for dinner, or teaching your children why we really celebrate Easter.
The most important reason for Easter after all is Christ resurrection. 

This week I want to get a head start and share with you two fun crafts that you or your kids can do to get into the Easter spirit.

1. Jelly Bean Carrots

2. Bunny Envelopes 

Jelly Bean Carrots

These make cute favors or gifts to hand out during Easter. 

Steps

Tools and MaterialsPlastic pastry bag
Orange jelly beans
Ribbon of your choice


Jelly Bean Carrot How-To
1. Fill a plastic pastry bag 3/4 of the way with orange jelly beans.
2. Tie bag closed with a green rickrack or ribbon.
3. Include the carrots in an Easter basket or fill a basket with them and set them out as favors for a party.

Easter Bunny Envelopes

 Steps
1. Seal the flap of an envelope, and draw bunny ears on the sealed side, as shown below. You can draw your own or use a template.

2. Cut along the line through both layers of the envelope.
3. Flip the envelope over; the side of the envelope becomes the bottom of your treat holder.
4. Cut pink construction paper to make eyes and insides of ears, and glue them on the front of the envelope. Use colored pencil for mouth; glue on a pom-pom nose. Fill with yummy Easter sweets.

Cake Pops

Can you even imagine biting into one of these adorable, mouth watering pops?

Mmm... Let's just say de-lish!

These are great for any occasion. Some might include: Baby Showers, Birthday Parties, Holiday's, or any Gathering.

Here are some pictures to make you drool....

 

Note: Some of these were found on bakerella

I gave these things a try and I can not stop ranting about them. Although I wouldn't try lemon cake. It doesn't seem to work well with any kind of chocolate but they are fabulous otherwise!

  

  

 

 

Aren't they just the cutest?

Do you want to know how to make them?

Visit me tomorrow at Mommy Buzz and I will show you how!

Ornament Wreath's

To give you an idea of what they look like I am attaching pictures of ornament wreaths to the post. See below for the directions in making this wreath. 

By Eddie Ross (above)

 

 

 

 

 

I recently saw these ornament wreath's and absolutely loved them. I thought it was a creative, and fun way to express your personality and colors through a wreath.

It can be inexpensive and such a neat little project to do on your own or with friends. 

As most of you know, this past Monday we had a guest writer on Mommy Buzz.

Taylor from Perfectly Talor'd

Well on her blog she has a post where she and some friends made these ornament wreath's. I really enjoyed reading and seeing the fun that they had while putting all the work into the wreaths.

So I thought I would share with you all how to make this and let you try it for yourself!

Now, I have to give all the credit for the idea to Eddie Ross .

 He made the wreath at the top of this post last year and it got a ton of talk.  See the picture below for his 1 page article.

But it is easy enough for you (the readers from home) to make....

You don't have to have a huge Christmas Decorating budget to do this either. You can find ornament packages from the Dollar Store, Target, Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, etc. to start this project.

I also think this is a GREAT idea to give as a gift to friends and family, or take as a house warming present during the Christmas season; or give as a hosting gift.

Now, I know you are wondering what supplies do I need for this and how do I do it?

Supplies needed:

Newspaper to spread your work on

A glue gun

A container of ornaments

 (these were my choice-above-the large ornament where in a container behind the small ones, I got them at target)

A wire hanger

Matching ribbon

I will let the expert explain the steps in making this adorable wreath:

Click here for Eddie Ross' tutorial

Also you can see the ornament challenge, for this years wreaths, on his site and choose for yourself which wreath you like.

Ornament Challenge

If you make one of these, please comment and let us know you made one.

Have fun!

{Good Morning Mondays- Guest Writer: Taylor Garrison}

{Good Morning Monday}

This morning we have a guest writer: Taylor Garrison

This morning she is going to show you how you can Decorate for Less in December!

Hope you enjoy!

Decorating For Less In December

 

When I tell people that my husband and I don't decorate much for Christmas they usually gasp in disapproval. They are reacting that way for two reasons, one, because I am in school for interior design (so I should jump at any chance to decorate!) and, two, because it just isn't typical for someone to not fill their home with Christmas/ Holiday decor this time of year. I would say that my reasoning comes from a strong belief that the reason for celebrating December 25th is something that can and should be honored all year. I think all holidays should be held in that perspective. A home should be lovely and inviting year round just as our hearts should be too. That doesn't mean to completely leave out some special decorating though! I decided to purchase one yard of fabric to see what I could do to snazz up the little table in our kitchen.

 

 

Next, I gathered up Christmas cards, a tray, a cute little plate, a tiny Christmas book, paper whites in a pot -all from other areas in my home. I folded and ironed the plaid fabric into a runner and laid it over the table first. You can't beat having a brand-new runner for less than $5! I didn't sew it yet, but even if you want to have a hem and can't sew, you can always use an adhesive iron-on hem.

 

 Then I began to position the other items around it. Most of the decor in my home is blue and white. The fun thing about plaid is that you don't have to get matchy-matchy with it. Have some fun and blend items you already own with any new decor that is specifically seasonal. This will help you keep costs down as well.

Small books are wonderful because they add whimsy. If you have small children that are learning to read, placing a fun story specific to the season on a table can be an easy way to encourage them to read.

 

 

 

As I looked at all the beautiful faces gracing the fronts of the cards, I thought of some pictures I recently had developed that a relative took a long time ago. A lot of the pictures she took included family members that have since passed away. I wanted to somehow include them with the cards so I found an appropriate frame and put it front and center. It is nice to have a special reminder of people I love, even if they are no longer on this earth. You could also showcase your own family's Christmas card in a special way by framing it too.

 

 

As you can see, it doesn't take much to make a holiday table. A little old and a little new can mix together to provide a beautiful showcase of the things you cherish most this Christmas. Decorating isn't hard if it comes from the heart.

 

 

I'll leave you with one more creative idea that I haven't done because I don't have any little ones yet:) You can purchase a big blank canvas (or several smaller ones) at your local craft store (there range from $10-$25) along with some fun paint that matches your Christmas decor. Have (or help) your child(ren) make a "masterpiece" to be hung in your home every December. You could paint the canvas(es) one color all over if you wanted and then ask them to paint shapes of things that remind them of Christmas. If they are too young to come up with shapes, help them use their hands and feet! Make sure it is signed with names and the year. That would be a fun way of keeping track of how big they are each Christmas, and how much they have developed artistically too.

I enjoyed visiting on Mommy Buzz today! You can follow me every day over at Perfectly Taylor'd

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

{Taylor}

 

*How To*

This is a "How To" from Brittany Hedrick

She is planning on sharing a new "How To" with you every couple of weeks.

I hope that you enjoy what she has to share!
 

How to:

Keepsake Children’s Hand-print

Unique Ways to Keepsake Your Child’s Hand print…….

When I had my first son I was kind of obsessed with figuring out different way to put
Carson’s fingerprint on everything. After all, there hand is only small once and I wanted to capture it as many different times and ways as possible.

So I thought up some neat ideas that I would like to share with you..

 *Hanging Fingerprints*

*Hanging Fingerprints*

I went to my local craft store and bought a few canvases (make sure they are the same size.. mine were 5x5 but you can use whatever size works for you!) and then I covered it with fabric I had left over. You staple the fabric (of your choice) to the back of the canvas. Make sure you pull the fabric you are using tight so there aren’t any bubbles and that you use small enough staples so it does not go through the frame. I used thick polka dot paper for my main design and ivory paper for his hand print. Taped them all together and decorated it with two different types of ribbon and added vertical dots on the side. Now you have the foundation for your child’s personalized fingerprints.

Play with it, have fun, and be creative…

Materials Needed For Hanging Fingerprints:

• Two matching canvases
• Fabric
• Staple gun & staples
• 1 sheet of a solid color paper
• 1 sheet of fun styled paper
• Black Ink pad
• Markers (optional)
• 2 different types of ribbon
• Glue or two sided tape (tape works best)

*Clay Plaques*

*Clay Plaques*

With the clay plaques I used molding clay from my local craft store.

**All craft stores do not carry a large supply of clay so you should call around for the exact type you want.**

The shells are wooden and have a dip in the middle. If using a flattened wood your mold will not be flesh with the wood and could possibly fall off when hung on the wall. After painting the wood brown I put the (GRAY) colored clay in the center. I mixed the clay before hand in a bowl then poured it into my mold. You should put the hand or foot in the clay almost immediate before it becomes too hard to press.. This does all depends on the amount of water you used to mix your clay to begin with. If runny, add more clay so it is stiff when you press the imprint in.

Set aside to dry a good 24 hours and that’s it!

Materials Needed For Clay Plaques:

• Gray Clay2 wooden plaques
• Paint (thick paint works best) or Stain
• The hand or foot you will be molding 

                  I hope you enjoy these tips and can benefit from them.

Just remember to have fun with it!

Brittany Hedrick

Fall crafts for your children

Fall Crafts for your children

This can be a fun way to for your children to have craft time for the fall.

  Post includes:

(Pictures and Directions for each Craft included)

• Easy Fall Pudding-that your children can make(if old enough) 
  
• Pumpkin Seed Pumpkin
• Fall Chalkboard
  
• Tissue Paper Fall Leaf
  
• Button Indian Corn