Amazing Home Fragrance Idea

Ok I am not totally sure where I got this little tip...a friend, facebook or Pintrest but it is AMAZING and I had to share it with you all:)

The rumor is that this is what they do at William Sonoma,, which is one of my all time favorite shops, and it does always smell so good in there! This mixture of lemon, rosemary and a splash of vanilla is magical!  It really does make your home smell WONDERFUL!

This is perfect--seriously you have got to try it!  Rosemary plants are super cheap right now so pick one up.  Not only will you love it for this home fragrance, but then you can make this yummy Macaroni Grill Bread too! Trust me, your family will thank you!

Perfect Home Fragrance

1 sprig of fresh Rosemary

1 Lemon, sliced
Water

A Splash of  Pure Vanilla Extract

Allow to simmer gently on your stovetop.  Put additional water in as necessary.

DIY: Halloween "BOO" Banner

Here is what you need to create a 'BOO' Halloween Banner:

*Cardboard letters (Purchased for $1.50 each at Craft Store)

*1-2 rolls of Black Tulle (Craft Store $3.00--I used a little more than one)

*Various orange and black ribbon (Craft store from $1-$3 each--they are often on sale for 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby)

*A drill (3/4 inch--I think:)

*Glue--I used a glue gun--but forgot to add it to the items for the picture

Directions:
1.  Drill two holes in each letter, big enough for threading your ribbon through.
2.  Thread your ribbon through the holes.
3.  Using a dap of glue (I used a glue gun) to attach tulle, wrap letters until the are completely black and you can not longer see the cardboard.
4.  Cut pieces of ribbon and tulle and tie onto ends of banner for added decoration.
5.  Hang on mantel or wherever you choose

**FYI the letters are kind of heavy and I did not want to put a big nail in my mantel, so I used these 3M hooks.  I found them at Home Depot for $2.99 and they don't damage the surface!  When you want to remove them you simply pull a tab and they release!  Cool, huh!

See--pretty easy, huh?!

Happy Halloween my friends!

Well I am off to pack!  Next week is fall break, so we are taking the boys to South Carolina for a few days on the beach!  We had so much fun last year at Hilton Head that I think we are making it a fall break tradition!  This year though we are going to Edisto--have you ever heard of it?  We decided to give it a try because we own some weeks each year in a time share and they have a resort there.

I hope it is as great as Hilton Head (I LOVED that place)!  We'll see:)

Hope you all have a happy weekend! 

Welcome February with a DIY Valentine Banner

I get so excited for this time of year! I think Valentines is one of my favorite holidays! I know that may sound silly but I adore all the love letters, sweetness and of course the chocolate involved! We have lots of family Valentine traditions and I have some new ideas to add to this year's celebrations--can't wait! Last year I had several emails asking where I purchased the' Love' sign gracing my mantel. I am happy to say--that I made it and it was pretty easy to do. It is the first thing I whip out after I box up all the Christmas stuff. I know I jump the gun a little with the Valentines decor, but I don't care--I love it! Anyway, I made the banner a few years ago while my babies napped. If you are in the crafting mood, give it a try--just be sure to use a sharp exacto knife (that was my only frustration)! Makes a huge difference! Enjoy!

You will need:
Stryofoam board from a craft store
Exacto knife
A can of spray adhesive
Decorative scrapbook paper
Ribbon

1-First print of the letters L O V E as big as you want from your computer (make sure to bold them--one per page). I used a simple font with straight lines, because I am not too skilled with an exacto knife:)
2- Carefully cut out your printed letters and two matching heart shapes (I just freehanded those hearts)
3-Trace the letters onto the decorative scrapbook paper that you want to use and cut them out.
4- Trace the letters onto the styrofoam board and using a SHARP exacto knife carefully cut them out.
5-Use the can of spray adhesive (found at a scrapbook store) and attach the decorative patterned letters onto the styrofoam board. I did this outside so I wouldn't spray glue all over my house.
6-I have a scrapbook tool that pokes holes and that is what I used to create holes in the tops of the hearts and letters. I then threaded some red ribbon throughm, tying little bows on either end. The bows hide the push pins I use to attach it to the top of the mantel.

Happy happy Valentines Day Month--let the Lovin' begin!

How do you celebrate Valentines Day/ Month?

DIY: The Easiest Pillow You Will Ever Make!

I LOVE the holiday pillows in the Potterybarn catalogue, but I don't want to spend the $39-$49 price tag, you know? Although, I have to admit that I do splurge on Potterybarn pillows sometimes, but ones that I can leave out for longer than a month.

BUT, I am happy to report that thanks to Whitney's brilliant idea, I have found a way to have holiday pillows at a fraction of the cost! AND you will not believe how easy this is!

First: You need a place mat. I got this one at Target for $3.99.

Make sure the place mat is double sided like this:

Next grab a seam ripper and pull out a couple of inches of the hem on one of the sides. Just enough room to get the stuffing in.

I bought this polyester fiberfill at the fabric store for $4 and only used about a third of it. So I guess I can make some more pillows:)

After you have filled it up, carefully pin the open hem. Then simply sew a straight line with your machine (or you could do it by hand) on the very edge to match the rest of the hem.

AND....viola you have a cute holiday pillow!

A beautiful Christmas pillow that no one would ever guess was a place mat in a former life! Super easy, inexpensive and cute! My kind of craft!

Merry Christmas and happy sewing:)

DIY: Vintage Inspired Flower Headbands

While I was in Utah I bought this headband at a little boutique. It was defintely overpriced, but I bought it anyway, because I loved it and I thought I could use it as a pattern to make more. Being the Mother of 5 boys, I am not sure why I thought I needed to make more ...but o well, I did:) Sometimes I just get in the mood to make somthing and not just paper airplanes, you know?!

It was fun figuring out what I needed at the craft store and one evening when the boys were all tucked in bed, I made a bunch of red ones.

I kept one and then gave the others away to my Young Women at church, and sent some off to my sisters and nieces who had birthdays.
I need to make more for the rest of the birthdays now:)
This is what I did:
1. Picked up supplies at the Hobby Lobby (craft store).
*Suede material in red and green
*Wire hair bands (set of 3 for $1.99)
*Hemstich
*Pearls (for center--found in the beading dept)

2. Gather supplies at home:
*glue gun
*BBQ/candle lighter
*Needle and thread
*Cardstock for pattern

3. Cut the cardstock to make a pattern of 2 small pointed leaves and 6 little circles going down in size starting at about 2.5 inches across. You can see my "pattern" in the top left corner of the picture.

4. Using the patterns trace the circles and leaves on the smooth side of your suede fabric and cut out.

5. With the BBQ/candle lighter, lightly "burn" the edges of the fabric circles so they slightly curl up all the way around.

6. Next carefully wrap the wire headbands with hemstich tape and secure on the ends with a dab of hot glue from your glue gun.

7. Thread your needle with a light cream color thread and sew the pearl on top of all 6 circles laying on top of each other from largest to smallest.

8. Attach the petals to the bottom of the flower and then attach the flower onto the middle- lower side of the prepared headband with your hot glue gun.

and...Viola, you are done!!

Now does anybody know of some good craft ideas that my boys would enjoy??

Home made Strawberry Jam and FREE printable labels

In the morning I am making a triple batch of this :

Using my favorite, LOW sugar, no cook, super easy and seriously DELISH "recipe":

Then I am printing off these darling FREE labels:

To make a strawberry version of this for the ladies I visit teach and my sweet neighbor who watered my flower pots for me while I was off in Utah.

(image via how about orange blog)
To get the labels click here.

Thank you so much Ms Jessica at How about Orange...

DIY: Pottery Barn/ Martha inspired Christmas Wreath

My favorite place in the house is my sun room/office. It is a bright and cheery little spot for me. We found a pair of cozy chairs, and a Shaw rug (of course) and Brad surprised me and ordered a wonderful (I thought overpriced) table from Pottery Barn. But let me tell you that I LOVE it and now think it was worth every penny! It is pretty, and large and just perfect for projects. The first one was a Christmas Wreath.

Above the table is my inspiration clipped from the recent Pottery Barn catalogue and my Martha Stewart magazine from last December (somehow with the move I let my subscription expire:( I have taken care of that but it may be too late to get the December issue this year)

Anyway I present the idea board:

The Supplies purchased at the local Hobby Lobby craft store (all on sale for 50% off):

Notice the bags of balls were quite inexpensive!

One night when the boys were all tucked in bed, I put on some Christmas tunes and started twisting on the little balls in a bit of a crafting frenzy. Sometimes when I start a project I get an overwhelming desire to finish it at all costs. Luckily this one was very easy to do and did not take long, so no one had to suffer with lack of meals and the house looking like there was no Mother etc:)

And I am done--In less that an hour, phew! By the time I hung it up on my Sun Room door I had added those 2 little clip-on birds that I had from last year. Remember they were nestled into my basement mantle? I really wanted to find super thick and beautiful ribbon--but this was thickest that Hobby Lobby had. Next time I will have to order some online or find a cool ribbon shop in my area. But I am happy to report that this whole wreath cost me less than $10. That is crazy! Although that is perfect since I am pretty sure that next year I will get some creative craze come over me and change it completely! I had so much fun making this one, that a couple days later I made another one that is now hanging in my room from our canopy. It has brown sequined little birds--I guess I have a thing for birds this year. Anyway, I will post a picture tomorrow. I am off to bed!

So in the words from a classic I read tonight to a couple of little boys:

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

*Can you name the story?