Christmas Elves

I did a little Christmas crafting this weekend, inspired by these pinecone elves. It was really fun and kind of brought out the child in me. These cute little guys are now hanging out in our living room and I smile each time I see them--jolly lil ones!

I followed these directions and changed them up a bit for my preference. Instead of bells I made felted poms and I used extra pipe cleaners for accents. I also improvised a fun collar on one elf. I made sure to use a pipe cleaner inside of their hats, shoes and mittens for bendability (is that a word) and easy posing.

These cuties were easy + fun and the supplies are inexpensive. They'd make a cute decoration for gifts and a fun activity to do with your children too. Enjoy!

Summer Memories

Now that summer is winding down and all that is left of your beach vacation is a handful of shells and the sand in your suitcase, it is a perfect time to have a little decorative reminder of your travels. I love these DIY beachy bottles. What a inexpensive way to transform your souvenirs into pricey looking pieces.

Smellobration!

As a child of the 80s I was fascinated and easily amused with simple toys. My friends and I had sticker books that were filled, treasured, and traded amongst us. The highly coveted stickers were of course the scented variety. Imagine my childlike delight when I found this tutorial on making your own scratch and sniff. The possibilities are only as endless as the Kool-aid flavors + your imagination. The reminiscing continues.

My Little Piece of Paradise

We've been working hard on our backyard lately. You can read more about our progress here and here. This weekend we tediously hung a giant (I mean giant! This sucker weighs about 30 pounds and is 4 feet in diameter) fern from one of our oak trees. It didn't take us long to realize it looked like an au natural chandelier. So we strung some solar powered mini lights throughout the plant and made it official. After adding our old fashioned picnic table beneath it we were ready to dine al fresco. Check back for night time shots of our "chandelier" in action. What fun outdoor projects have you guys worked on?