Christmas wreath D.I.Y.

Easy, FUN project for the holidays! It's something the whole family can take part in, as well! Without any glue, tape or glitter, there is little for your small ones to get into! (Not to mention, it's practically free to make!) 

So I'll start by saying that although this is virtually a messy supply free project - pine needles will get everywhere - so I opted to make my wreath outside for easier clean up. 

First things first, GO COLLECT THOSE BRANCHES! Now, before you go ripping them off of trees, stop and think about of that is really necisary. I am passionate about nature and the health of our earth, so I do NOT want you guys going out and hurting our beautiful environment. SO - my alternative for you is to search for pre existing pine branches, that have previously been called by Mother Nature to fall. By doing this, you are not only protecting and preserving our earth and all of its inhabitors, but you are recycling! These branches, if not further used, will be passed by. But, by you choosing to use them in your display, their beauty lives on, so as their thriving brothers and sisters.

That being said - collect! I picked from a park in my neighborhood, and counted about 25 different branches. (Some big, some small.) I returned home and laid them out according to size and their fullness, making it slightly easier when filling in my wreath. But we'll get to that later!

I purchased a wicker wreath from the dollar store and began first by fitting my bigger branches in. After I had a solid outline, I sparatically placed my smaller branches where it needed more fullness. 

Once you have achieved your desired fullness and shape of your wreath you can trim any stragglers, like I did, or leave your wreath with a more natural look. 

And that's it! You have a hand made, HAND PICKED wreath worth sharing! 

You can further decorate yours by adding a bow with a twist tye from a loaf of bread or wire. You can add bells or ornaments the same way. :) ENJOY THE SEASON!

Old scarf turned infinity scarf

Want that cozy, fashion-friendly, knit infinity scarf that's BIG this fall? Don't know how to knit or crochet? Don't want to purchase a new scarf? Not a problem! 

I picked out a functional, knit scarf at Goodwill a while back and loved it for cool winter days, but as soon as the infinity scarves blew up, I didn't find it necisary to buy an entirely new scarf that was essentially the same. Sooooo - I made over my current scarf! And easily, I might add.

Literally, you just sew a straight line over the pair of loose ends on your scarf. 

Cut the excess ends, and WAH-LAH! You have an oversized, cozy cowl!

You are welcome.

Dollar store pumpkin make-over

Shabby-sheek pumpkin display, you say? Don't want to pay the rediculous price to achieve it? I have a simple solution to achieve the basics of any adorably festive fall display. 

Ever been to the dollar store? If not, now is your time to go. During the holiday seasons they are STOCKED with cheap, seasonal decor that is so easily transformable with a little bit of elbow grease. 

This project is SO easy, anybody can do it. Pick out a pumpkin at your local dollar tree, or anywhere for that matter, take it home, and - here's the hard part - paint it. THATS IT! Paint it any way you fancy. Modge Podge some fabric to that pumpkin! Throw some glitter, make it rain on that pumpkin. Seriously, the options are endless. 

I chose to simply paint mine white with a brown stem so that I can use smaller, more detailed pieces to be my focus point. 

Thrifted mirror DIY

I purchased an old, gold and gaudy mirror at a thrift shop a couple weeks ago and thought it would make a really cool accent piece if painted a brighter than normal color. It turned out awesome and it was super easy. 

All I needed to do was remove the mirror piece from the frame. Mine used micro nails to secure it, so I simply removed those with the ply of a hammer and then painted the frame with a red clay spray paint. (Colors that I think would be cool for a piece like this would be bright, like red, burnt orange, mint, turquoise or teal, black, plum and maroon.) 

After the paint dried I replaced the mirror, fastened with new nails, and wah-la! A completely modern, refurbished art piece.

DIY wall art

thrifted frame + fabric

Super simple, but beautiful - like most things on this blog :) I was thrifting a few months back in downtown portland and found a really cool table cloth with some hints of colors that I love. So I purchased it without a real inspiration for it, but since then I've used pieces of its fabric to do miscellaneous projects. One of them was this frame I thrifted. I simple stapled a piece of the fabric in the frame and then took some push pins (or you can use upholstery nails) to add detail. SO EASY! Right?!

Simple ice water solution

Quick post today. I just learned about a super easy tip when you want ice water on the go. Everyone has a water bottle, right? Well, that's all you need! 

You simple fill your water bottle 1/4 to 1/2 of the way full with water and put it in the freezer for a couple hours, ON ITS SIDE. That way, in a couple hours or in the morning you don't need to wait for your water to defrost to have a sip. The ice has ony frozen half of your bottle, leaving you with the simple task of filling up your bottle the rest of the way with water.... Or juice, or whatever! POW! You are ready to go. No need to wait for ice to melt. 

This is perfect for early morning work days, or school days. It's a perfect solution for sport athletes, too.

Eucalyptus shower therapy

While reading about how to relieve symptoms of the common cold naturally, I came across an interesting article about sinuses and congestion relief that involved eucalyptus in an easy way. As I researched a little more I discovered that the benifits of eucalyptus are almost infinite. Now, I know coming from someone who loves natural and homeopathic therapys, this isn't saying much, but I promise this is something worth trying.

All you need is eucalyptus and a rubber band or twine. Just tie a few sprigs every couple of weeks on your shower head or rod and let the oils do their magic. 

Some benefits of using eucalyptus are that it helps with respitory health, its a natural anti inflammatory, anti septic and anti viral. It helps relieve sinuses and congestion while also creating mood clarity and stress relief. 

WHO wouldn't want to try this out??