diy: Christmas gift wrapping

hi everyone! happy thursday! we almost made it to the end of the week and i am excited!! i am sure you all are in the Christmas spirit with wrapping gifts, christmas shopping, and making your favorite treats and i wanted to take a minute to share my gift wrapping for this year. 

i love sharing gift wrapping ideas with you and last year i went with the solid craft paper packaging with different ideas for gift toppers such as candy bars, ornaments, and monograms but this year i went with plaids, trees, and color! i handmade the gift tags on my circuit machine and purchased the nice thick paper from tjmaxx and marshals! enjoy the pictures and if you ever need help wrapping, i am your gal :) i love wrapping gifts for others. i hope you all enjoy your weekend and i will be sharing our holiday decor with you next week. can't wait! xo

handmade Christmas tags, will give your gifts a personal touch

it's all about the bows!!

exposed gifts on top of packages are always fun and make for a cute gift wrapping idea! :) 

diy: dr bronner's & making your own all-purpose cleaner

what an easy and safe way to make your own home cleaner, huh? first, i need to talk about how this summer has been a life-changing one. with the amount of toxic and harmful chemicals that we all use every single day in our foods, home products, cosmetics, the list goes on; it is more important now than ever to start making smart choices to rid the amount of harmful chemicals in your homes. not

 only have i transformed my beauty product regimen by adding safe products to my routine instead of harmful ones with beautycounter, i have also transformed our cleaners and home products as well. i will be doing another post soon on beautycounter (i could talk about BC for days ha) but wanted to start with introducing you to dr. bronners. 

have you heard of or do you use dr. bronners? if you haven't, i must say i am a little obsessed with it and you definitely need to learn more about this wonderful brand.  Go here to learn more: http://www.drbronner.com

what do we use it for? at our house, we use this for an all-purpose cleaner as shown above, hand soap (our favorite is the peppermint), and reed loves their bar of soap for the shower (eucalyptus) has a manly smell ha! there are so many more uses for dr. bronner's but these are just a few ways we use them. they are safe, smell amazing, and work great! oh, and another favorite is my lavender spray germ-x that i use a ton of! love it!

now, that i have shared a little of information, lets get to how i made the all-purpose cleaner. i made several of these for family members and they have all enjoyed them as well.

ingredients & details: 

-grab a bpa free spray bottle from your local whole foods, target, etc

-use or purchase your favorite essential oil (my favorite is peppermint and this is what i use for everything)

-grab a bottle of pure castille soap from dr. bronners or another brand if you prefer (you can get unscented like i did or you can get scented- they have citrus, peppermint, lavender etc)

-then, you mix 1/4 c of soap in a quart of water in your spray bottle

-add 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite essential oil

-then shake well, and shake before using it each time

-thats it! easy and safe!

-i labeled mine with my blog name sticker and you can do the same or just write with a sharpie what it is :)

here is a little bit of specific information on dr. bronners castille soap: 

With no added fragrance and double the olive oil, our Unscented Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is good for sensitive skin – babies too (though not tear-free!). Dr. Bronner’s soap is concentrated, biodegradable, versatile and effective. Made with organic and certified fair trade ingredients, packaged in a 100% post-consumer recycled bottle. All-One!  info found on http://www.drbronner.com 

where can i purchase this stuff???

regular castille soap, essential oils, and dr. bronners can all be found at your local whole foods, fresh market, sprouts, etc. i hope you have enjoyed this important diy project, thanks for stopping by! :)

diy: gift wrapping for any occasion

as you already know, gift wrapping is my favvvvorite! ribbon, paper, twine, tissue paper, yarn, gift tags, etc etc etc. i could go on for days! if you were to ask me what my dream job would be, it would definitely be to have my own stationery and paper goods line. whoa! okay, i wanted to share a few easy and affordable ways to wrap your gifts that take no time at all and will definitely make a presentation. 

between graduation gifts, baby shower gifts, birthday, wedding, etc. there is always a gift to give and a present to wrap. why not make the most of your gift and go the extra mile with cute packaging. i know some of you may say, i don't have time or i am not creative, but thats no excuse!! you can definitely create a great package in no time with no creative skills haha! maybe a little creativity, but you know what i mean.

in the pictures above, i chose just a few of the many ways i like to wrap my gifts. here are some quick ideas for you:

-use craft paper and twine

-create a monogram package, by purchasing a letter sticker 

-add fresh flowers to your gift and make it extra personal

-wrap your gift with pom pom ribbon (easy to wrap around a gift and tape in the back)

-make your own pom poms (super easy) or purchase them and also wrap them around your box

-add a simple ribbon with a gift tag

-use tissue paper as your gift topper

-expose your gift, (depending on how cute it is ha!) and just use a ribbon or twine

-place candy or a decorative item on top of your gift as a topper 

-use washi tape to wrap your gift for extra pizzaz and color

-use stencils for an initial or the recipients name on your gift

as you can see, this is just a few of the special ways to make your gift package go the extra mile. what are some ways that you like to wrap your gifts? its always great to have new ideas and things to inspire us :) i hope you are all having a great week!!

thank you for stopping by!

diy: my inspiration board

happy thursday! i am so excited to share my inspiration board with you today. i have always had an inspiration board (whether large or small) in each place that i have lived. i have always enjoyed collages and pulling all of my ideas/ inspirations into one. i had multiple inspiration boards in high school, college, my apartments, and now my home. i think it's important to have daily inspiration to see and get ideas from! 

just like my craft room, my inspiration board is also crafted with pieces that are symbolic. i like keeping and having pieces that are special to me throughout the house and in places where i spend a lot of time (like my craft room). inspiration boards are easy to make and fun to create. i purchased this cork board with my parents at a yard sale for $2 and then painted it white with white acrylic paint.

after applying the white paint, i purchase a large piece of polka dot construction paper from hobby lobby and glued it to the cork board. i wanted a fun pattern in the back instead of a regular cork look. after i applied the construction paper, i began gathering items that are symbolic to me and go along great with the theme of my craft room. i have put together a description of each item on my inspiration board and why i chose each piece:

-san francisco map: this brand of paper is one of my favorites called "mapnote." this brand creates  maps of different cities in the shape of a large gift tag (which i am obsessed with). this specific map represents my first trip to california to visit my best friend jordan. not only do i love spending time with jordan, and maps and paper, but this also represents my love of traveling. 

-fashion illustration: this fashion illustration is one of the many  illustrations i have in my craft room. the designer of this illustration is "brittany fuson paper." i have always loved her work and have also mentioned her in my previous posts as well. this represents my love for what i went to school for: fashion. 

positive quotes: the black and white card as well as the yellow card "do more of what makes you happy" are positive quotes to remind myself to always stay positive no matter the situation because God has a plan and will always bring you through anything and everything. also pictured is a teal quote from my favorite daily planner designer "erin condren."

cards: the black and white card as well as the small white polka dot cards resemble my love for stationery and paper products. they resemble my loved ones. the small white card was a written letter from my grandmother and the black and white card was written by one of my best friends ariel. they are daily reminders that my loved ones are extremely important to me.

craft paper: the mini heart in the left corner and also the brown polka dot bag at the other right corner of my board represent my love of craft paper. i know it sounds simple and easy but it reminds me of the simple things in life and how i treasure simplicity (and craft paper) :) i use craft paper a lot to wrap gifts and other projects with. 

postcard: the "welcome ya'll" postcard i got from a local southern boutique here in franklin and i absolutely love postcards. this one was exciting because it had an old time feel. postcards have always meant a lot to me because i collected them in my study abroad travels to europe and also when i was younger. i still have all of them to this day but this one is special to me because it reminds me of my time in tennesee and in the south and how much i have enjoyed living here. 

monogram "T": being a yankee, i always made fun of southern monograms. i remember telling my mom and grandmother when i was moving to nashville from indianapolis that i will not come home with anything monogrammed ha! that didn't last long, now i have been "southernized" i know my in-laws appreciate this and now i have multiple "t's" and "d's" everywhere! its a simple reminder to not forget who you are :)

ribbon & gift tag: the last two pieces of my board are the pink ribbon on the left corner and also the yellow gift tag on the top center of the board. these two pieces resemble gift wrapping. if you know me, you know my obsession with packaging and gift wrapping. there is just something about a good gift with a great presentation. it's all about the presentation folks! 

i hope you have enjoyed your time reading about my inspiration board. just a small piece of my daily inspiration. i am sure you all have something that inspires you (maybe it's a book or picture) whatever it is, i would love to see it! send me an e-mail or post in the comments section. thank you all for reading and stopping by. i hope you enjoy your day!

craft: confetti eggs

a new craft for Easter! easy & fun confetti eggs. i love crafts and using tissue paper is especially fun. i wanted to create a colorful basket of eggs for the kitchen and these turned out great! to make them you will start by dying your own eggs with homemade dye or a pre-packaged dye kit. you can also purchase these colorful egg shells now to, whichever you prefer. then, you would pick several colors of tissue paper and cut into squares to make larger pieces of confetti.

next, for making the circle confetti the only thing you need is tissue paper and a tiny hole punch. you can create confetti with all sizes depending on which hole punch you have. making fun shapes of confetti is also a great idea. 

i hope you enjoy this craft and make your own confetti eggs at home for Easter. this is a great craft for kids as well! i hope you all had a wonderful weekend. it was a little chilly here in nashville but we had a great weekend. my family was in town and we did a lot of exploring, shopping, eating, and relaxing :) we loved spending time with them.

i hope you enjoy this post and i hope you all have a great week. see you real soon for more Easter treats. 

diy: word pillows

i was feeling crafty today and wanted to try and make my own "word" pillows. these were obviously so easy to make as you can see. with a trip to hobby lobby for supplies and reed and paw napping, i was ready to start my project. 

i purchased large stencils from hobby lobby as well as white fabric paint and two regular sized pillow covers. i used two older pillows i had from my old apartment that i wasn't using in the house and covered those with the two pillow covers. you can obviously choose any color of pillow cover or fabric if you want to make your own. i chose two linen covers because i wanted the natural color to blend in with my other existing  pillows in our house. the teal pillow i already had and decided to use that for the decorative stencil. hobby lobby has all kinds of stencils to choose from. 

next, after i had my supplies i placed the stencils on the pillows and used a small paint brush to paint with. the key to holding down the stencils to the fabric is using tape. be sure to tape down all sides of the stencil and then begin to paint. after the stenciling is done, set the pillows aside for the paint to dry and then you can decorate! again, this is super easy and a great craft to work on. i placed the two word pillows in our living room and the teal pillow was placed in my chair in my craft room.

as always, thank you for visiting and taking a look at my blog. i hope you enjoy reading and following along. i hope you enjoy this diy project and hope you all have a wonderful week. almost the weekend, woo hoo!

craft: Christmas stovetop potpourri

orange, cranberries, rosemary

my house smells so good because of the pictures above!! this was my first time trying stovetop potpourri and i am in love! this was so easy and simple to make (as you can see above) and this is the perfect smell for your house for the holidays! i want to research and make up my own recipes that i can use the entire year. 

ingredients:

-4 cups of water

-1 cup of cranberries

-1 orange sliced

-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
-3 cinnamon sticks
-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

details:
-mix all of your ingredients in a pot and bring this to a boil
-allow this to simmer uncovered as long as you would like 
-i put my burner on low and let this simmer for 3-4 hours
-once you turn the heat off you can let it sit for a day or two to enjoy the wonderful smells!
-this can last up to several days, you can simply add water and stir to make it last
-you can also use this in a crock pot as well

you will love the smell of your home and this is such a great aroma to walk into when you have guests coming over for the holidays.

i hope you enjoy your new potpourri recipe and hope you are enjoying the Christmas week,i know i sure am.

our home: Christmas home tour

yay, its finally here! here is a look at our Christmas home tour! our Christmas tree is up, stockings hung, and decor is in place. you already know how much i love this time of year and i couldn't be more excited to spend our first Christmas as a married couple in our new home. 

we have had a wonderful weekend full of Christmas fun and finishing our shopping for others. as you can see from the pictures above, we have been busy with a Christmas tree and decorating. i almost have all of my packages wrapped and i will show you the full effect of the tree but for now this is what we have accomplished ha!

as you can see from the pictures, i posted a few pictures of our decor outside on the porch and the rest inside. our foyer, mantel, living rom, and kitchen is full of Christmas details. with our house in general, i don't like to over do it and i used the same technique for our Christmas decor as well. i like simple, rustic, and modern all mixed together. 

i was so happy with our first tree. we purchased it at hobby lobby and it was unlit with pinecones placed throughout the tree. as you have noticed, i am all about pinecones in my decor. it was the perfect tree for us! i found a tree inspiration on pinterest and it had a rustic look with black & white striped ribbon. well, after a long search we were only able to find one roll; therefore, we created our own with the white and burlap ribbon. i love how it turned out!

i hope you all have enjoyed your weekend as much as we have. today, marks a fun memory for reed and i; two years ago today was our first date and we have talked about it all day. we ate mexican food for our first date at local taco in brentwood and we decided to re-live the date and go for mexican food today! also, tomorrow marks our 9 months of being married! i am so blessed each and every day to be able to do life with reed. i can't wait for our first Christmas and our one year anniversary soon. crazy how time flies!

this week consists of christmas music, wrapping gifts, making cookies, and counting down the days for family festivities. 

enjoy your week everyone and thank you for stopping by!