decorating Archives - Page 18 of 22

Valentine Cupcake Decor

January 19, 2011 10 Comments

Being on a budget, when it comes time to decorate for a holiday or change up our everyday home decor, I often find myself using things that I already have in new ways.

This year for Valentine’s Day I created this cute display for the kitchen counter.

The display includes 2 Valentine’s Day mugs and 2 wine glass, both filled with pink and green Christmas balls. And in the center I have my Valentine cupcake plate that my husband got me at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago. In front of that I have three cupcake ornaments that I got this Christmas. And in the very front, I just used some Valentine’s Day napkins to add a border and some extra color to the display.

Got any cheap decor ideas for Valentine’s Day?

Do you like to use old things in new ways for your decor?

I’m linking this post up to these linky parties.

Filed Under: decorating, Valentine's Day

Berry Heart Wreath

January 12, 2011 10 Comments

With Valentine’s Day only a month away, (Wow, this month is going fast!) I thought it would great to share this really cute wreath I have on my door. No, sadly, I didn’t make this. I actually ordered it a few years back. I was shopping around and I found a few things similar to it at Shop Wiki if you’d like to take a look.

Anyway, when we moved I packed it up, and I just got it out of our outbuilding this past fall. So this is our first time to use it. I really love using bright colors like red in the winter time, even after Christmas. It really brightens things up and adds a lot of warmth.

What do you guys think?

Looking the wreath over, I see that it actually wouldn’t be hard to make one like this either. You could easily purchase a round twig wreath at Hobby Lobby. Then purchase a piece of berry garland, and then weave it through the wreath. Then add just a little hot glue to hold the garland in place and fluff it out as desired.

I attempted to take some pictures of how the pieces of garland are woven through the wreath. I’m not really sure how good you can see it though.

I also bought a piece of garland to match this wreath, and last week I actually used it on a few projects which I’m really excited to share with you in the coming weeks. So stay tuned!

I’m linking up to these fun craft and decor parties!

Filed Under: crafts, decorating, Home/Garden

SSH’s Best in 2010: Projects

December 29, 2010 4 Comments

At the end of each year I like to revisit my posts from the year and highlight some of my favorites. I’ve never been a really crafty person, but this year I began trying my hand at Mod Podge and some other craft projects. Today we take a look at some of the things that I made throughout the year.

Kitty Cat Treat Canister

Easy Scarf Project

Book Page Initial Wreath

Flower Arrangment w/ Vase Revamp

Valentine Gift Baskets

Next week I’ll be sharing Best in 2010: Food, so please come back and check it out!

I’m linking up this week to these linky parties.

Filed Under: Best Posts, crafts, decorating, Home/Garden

Christmas Wreath Ideas

December 20, 2010 3 Comments

Hope you enjoy these wreaths from last week’s events. Wreaths are one of my favorite decor items, so it’s been a real treat to see everyone’s ideas. They’re all so unique and creative!

Pretty Paper Wreath from Whipper Berry

Fabric Ball Wreath from My House of L

Embroidery Hoop Wreath from Silly Precious Piggies

Winter Wreath from Life with Liane

Christmas Ribbon Wreath from Calico and Cupcakes

Poinsetta Wreath from Fast Daze

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Wreaths

Christmas Kitchen Tour {Holly Bloggy Decor Party}

December 14, 2010 10 Comments

Here’s the continuation of my home tour for the Decor Party at Shabby Chic Cottage.

By the way, don’t forget to stop back by my blog tomorrow for a Christmas Recipe Party!

For this part of the tour, we start with the fridge, which is topped off by my little kitchen tree. Last year it seemed to be everyone’s favorite thing in my home tour (and my fave too), so it makes a return this year!

I added some cards to the fridge just to give it some color. And I bought the Christmas Countdown Sign at the Dollar Tree last year for 50% off. I added some magnets with a little hot glue, and it was perfect for the fridge.

This is one of my favorite displays for this year. I had the cake place and the balls in cups last year. Then I got the rainbow at the Dollar Tree (again for 50% off). I had no idea what I’d do with the rainbow tree, until I found these adorable cupcake ornaments at K-Mart a couple of weeks ago.

I used this rainbow garland above all the cabinets in the kitchen.

A bunch of different plates, figurines, etc. always seem to find there way on the counter this time of year.

The Christmas Tree Plate is one of my favorite pieces. Hubby bought it for me from Cracker Barrel.

The tour wouldn’t be complete without a picture of my Mouse Tree!

And here’s the dining rom table. It’s the same tablecloth from last year, but the I added a bunch of stuff to the center.

More balls in cups and cone trees! And if you check out my Christmas Craft post from yesterday you can see how I created the sign.

And that’s it for the kitchen. If you haven’t seen the living room tour, please check that out too. And don’t forget to come back here tomorrow for the Christmas Recipe Party!

Also, linking up at these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Christmas Living Room Tour {Holly Bloggy Decor Party}

December 14, 2010 3 Comments

Wednesday is Day 3 of the Holly Bloggy Event, and we’re sharing decorations and Home Tours. Be sure to go over to The Shabby Chic Cottage to share yours! Also, come back here to Simply Sweet Home tomorrow for a Christmas Recipe Party!

I had a lot of stuff I wanted to share for this year, so I’ve actually decided to divide my tour up into two posts. There will be one for the living room and one for the kitchen/dining room.

First I wanted to share this cute Teddy Bear set. I got these at Hallmark a few years ago but I’ve never actually gotten them out till now. They were made to commemorate the100th birthday of the teddy bear.

These are more Hallmark creations. I put these near our front door so they can give our guests a warm welcome.

Cone trees and a Christmas Flower Arrangement! (Try to ignore the stereo. It doesn’t really go with anything in the room, let alone with the Christmas stuff, but it’s kind of hard to hide. lol.)

If you visit regularly, you’ve already seen this wreath. I have it hanging on the door of our coat closet.

I always hang our stockings on my “treasure cabinet.”

Happily I got 2 new cat stockings on sale last year after Christmas at Cracker Barrel. I also got the candy canes for half price at Dollar Tree!

One of my favorite things as of late is the fabric I used to cover the coffee table.

Back to the “treasure cabinet.” I decided to share my Rudolph figurines. This is my third year to do a home tour on my blog, and I don’t think I’ve ever shared them. My best friend from elementary to high school bought me these several years ago because it was always one of my favorite movies!

Last in this room is the snow buddies and snowman candle set.

I especially love this candle set. I always love blue and silver together!

Please check out my Kitchen Tour—coming up next!

Don’t forget to link up your decor at The Shabby Chic Cottage. I’m also linking up at parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Christmas Wall Art {Holly Bloggy Christmas Crafts}

December 14, 2010 7 Comments

Today we are sharing Christmas Crafts for the Holly Bloggy Christmas. You can link up your project with Nicholette and Vanessa at Craft Envy.

I think you’ll find my project very interesting. I had created this really cute Christmas display in my kitchen, but unfortunately it was set right in front of this apple sign, which as cute as it is, has nothing to do with Christmas. I didn’t really want to take it down, and I didn’t have anything I could replace it with either. So I got to thinking of ways that I could cover it up temporarily during the Christmas season. (After all, how can I share my cute Christmas display with my bloggy friends if there’s a picture behind it that doesn’t even match. Haha!)

So after going through a few ideas in my head, I came up with this idea that resulted in the piece of art that you see here. In my tutorial, you’ll see how I created this temporary piece of art with my favorite office supply (tape), but I’ll also give you some instructions to help you create a more permanent (and I would also say, a bit more conventional) piece of Christmas art!

What You Need:

Wall Art, Sign, or Picture Frame

Fabric or scrapbook paper

Ribbon

Christmas Balls

Garland

Scissors

Glue, tape, and/or hot glue

Wire & wire cutters (optional)

Step 1 – Find a piece of art to cover. This may be something that’s already in your house, which you will cover temporarily. Or you can find something to cover permanently. A picture frame or old piece of art that you don’t want would be great. And you can always find something cheap to use from the thrift store. It doesn’t matter what it looks like because you are going to cover it anyway.

Step 2 – Measure your fabric or scrapbook paper to fit the center of your frame or piece of art. Then attach it to the piece of art. Use mod podge or glue stick to create a permanent piece of art or use tape to create something temporary.

Step 3 – Next add your garland. For my particular piece, I put the garland around the brown vine on my sign. To attach it to the vine, it used little pieces of wire and tied it around the garland and the vine. But more than likely you’re piece will not have this vine. So your best option would be to use hot glue to bond the garland to the frame itself. (But if you’re like me and don’t want to permanently alter your piece of art, I’d suggest skipping this)

Step 4 – Cut out some ribbon. This will be used to hang the balls on your piece of art. You’ll need to cut them in varying lengths. You’ll want some of the balls to hang near the middle, while some will be higher, and others will be lower. Use your piece of art to get a good idea of what sizes you need.

Step 5 – Now loop the ribbons through the balls. To attach them you can either tie a small knot or you can use hot glue or tape to affix the ribbon to itself once it is looped through.

Step 6 – Attach the balls to your piece of art. Again for my temporary piece, I simply used tape to attach the ribbon to the frame. And I was able to place it in such a way that you can’t even tell that it’s taped. But if you want something permanent, you should attach the ribbons with hot glue.

Now you should have a fun piece of Christmas wall art that you can use year after year (or just for this year)!

I’m also linking up to these weekly parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, crafts, decorating, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Christmas Wreath Upcycle

December 1, 2010 9 Comments

Wreath’s may very well be my favorite year round decor. Today I’m sharing this wreath that I put together a few days ago. This wreath has actually been seen here before in different forms. Originally my mom made the wreath with a bar theme for the restaurant where she worked, but when they downsized on their Christmas decor, she gave it to me, so I transformed it into a Mouse themed tree (because I collect mouse ornaments). But last year instead of the ornaments, I decided to just add some gold elements.

Then this year when I got the wreath out (with the gold stuff still attached), I just felt that it looked so plain, so I added some poinsettas that I just happened to have, and we now have a beautiful, new wreath, without me having to spend any additional money!

I could hardly believe my own eyes when I looked back at the old wreaths. Check out the tranformations:

The Bar Wreath:

Mouse Wreath – For 2008:

Gold Wreath – For 2009:

And finally Red & Gold Wreath – For 2010:

Wreath Tutorial

To make your own wreath like this, simple by some simple gold ornaments. The ones I used are gold balls, pine cones and leaves. I got these off of a predecorated tree that I bought at Walgreens a few years ago. But I’m sure you can find something simple like this at Hobby Lobby or even the dollar store.

To add the ornaments, use ornament hooks or bead wire, and loop it through the ornament. Twist the wire a few times to make sure the wire is secure on the ornament. Then weave the wires through the wreath, and twist the two ends of the wire together to secure the ornament in place.

For the flowers, I simply took two bunches of poinsettas that I got for 94 cents each at Walmart. Cut the flowers from the bunch and then just stick them through the wreath.

No glueing involved, so there’s no mess, and you can always change the wreath up later!

I’m linking up at this week’s parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Wreaths

Christmas Traditions Event

November 17, 2010 1 Comment

I was honored when Elizabeth at Twelve Crafts Till Christmas asked me to be a guest contributor for her Twelve (plus) Days of Christmas Traditions event!

For this event, I’ll be sharing a tree trimming tradition called “The Christmas Keys.” It’s a very fun and meaningful tradition that we’ve started since we got married, and I think you will enjoy it.

Please head over to Elizabeth’s blog to check out my guest post. And keep visiting throughout the month, as there will be lots of guest recipes and tutorials through December 3!

Big Thanks to Elizabeth for hosting this!

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Guest Post

Pink Party for Cancer Awareness

November 8, 2010 3 Comments

I was very excited about the opportunity to host a get together from Pssst and General Mills. As you all know, October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there were many promotions on television and online to help raise awareness and raise money for Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

A lot of great companies were also involved, including General Mills and Yoplait Yogurt. For every pink lid you send by December 31, 2010, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, now up to $1.6 million. And they guarantee a donation of at least $500,000. For more information, please visit Save Lids to Save Lives.

I was invited to host a get together where I would serve Yoplait yogurt, collect pink lids to send in for the Save Lids to Save Lives campaign, and raise everyone’s awareness of breast cancer and breast health.

I haven’t personally had any close family members diagnosed with breast cancer, but I have had family members and friends, including my late grandmother, who were diagnosed with other types of cancers. And I also became aware of just how prevalant cancer is when my husband was working for an insurance company that specialized in cancer policies. Everyone that he talked to had at least one person in their immediate family who had been affected by cancer. So it’s a cause that I feel very strongly about.

For the get together, I was given a hostess kit which included the following items:

-a $15 Visa giftcard, to purchase Yoplait Yogurt for the party.

-a stack of coupons for Yoplait Yogurt

-a stack of breast health information sheets

-a self-exam shower hanger

-a pink bookmark

-and a copy of Promise Me by Nancy G. Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure

For the party decor, I mostly used items I already had on hand, including some pink Christmas balls, which I placed inside of some cloudy pink glasses. I also had some pink and red heart napkins left from Valentine’s Day, and I placed the spoons inside a Valentine’s mug. Additionally I used some white plates featuring pink flowers. And I had some pink trim on hand, so I just cut out several pieces to make ribbons for the table. (I also had some pink silk flowers which I meant to add to the table, but I completely forgot about them….oops!)

And keeping with the pink theme, I served some pink creamy salsa dip, pink candies, and some pink cookies from Pillsbury, along side the pink Yoplait yogurt (of course!).

Today in addition to sharing my party with you, I’m also sharing some of the information that was provided by Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the party.

-All women are at risk of breast cancer. Being a women is the number one risk factor, and your breast cancer risk increases as you get older. Most women who get cancer have no other risk factors. Men can also get breast cancer, but it is 100 times more common in women. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women today.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Recommend that You:

Talk to your family to learn about your family helath history.
Talk to your provided about your personal riks of breast cancer.
Ask your doctor which screening tests are right for you if you are at a higher risk.
Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk.
Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at 20, and every year starting at 40.
Know how your breasts look and feel and report any changes to your health care provider right away.
Make healthy lifestyle choices that may reduce your risk of breast cancer.

I’m linking up this week at linky parties.

Disclosure: Host kit, including information and a $15 gift card were provided by Yoplait and General Mills through Pssst & MyGetTogether.

Filed Under: decorating, party ideas