Spring has sprung (just not in Utah)

Each spring I manage to put out a few simple, but colorful decorations. I'm not into fluffy bunnies or chicks so my "theme" has revolved around this bright green grassy stuff I found at the craft store :)
For a piano-top decoration I simply painted some miniature flower pots on fun spring colors, filling them with my grass.
I use the same grass as fillers on my candle holders that sit on each side of the T.V. Usually the containers have stones in them with the candles, but I always switch it up at the holidays. Usually I fill them with holiday candy (orange and black jellybeans at Halloween or red and green gumdrops at christmas), but pastel M&M's have proved too tempting of a decoration :)

The rest of my decorations are some simple miniature baskets with ... you guessed it, the grass :) I scatter some mini eggs and call it good :) Simple, but cheerful enough -- especially when I look out my window and see snow :(

Randomness...

Roundup time :) Here is a random sampling of some new fun crafts ....


I'm really enjoying this photograph wall calendar from Photojojo. I think it would such a fun date night with my hubby to go around town and take pictures of the numbers together. Perhaps we could make it a family outing and help my kiddos learn their numbers. Either way it looks like fun. Here is the LINK with some instructions.

I saw this wedding sign-in book on a wedding photography website. Sadly I have no clue which site it was :( If the photographer ever comes across this blog then I would like to publicly apologize for not giving them due credit!! The cover of the book essentially says "Choose a card and write your wish for the bride and groom" Those cute colored/shaped cards in the background are what you write your wish on. Then you put it in an envelope and seal it for the bride and groom.
I think this is the best idea ever! Much better than a book of signatures (whoopdidoo). We will definetly be doing this for whichever of my sisters gets married next! (Just think I can use my cricut to cut the cards and the envelopes! Sweet)


I realize this advent countdown is for Christmas .... but it has been sitting on my desktop for months. Time to just share it! Plus, you could customize this countdown for any fun celebration -- a family vacation, a birthday ect. This LINK has fabulous instructions and pictures.


And now for one of my favorite Martha ideas of ALL time. .. the pom pom decorations and gorgeous table luminaras. I am dying to make these (in this color scheme of course! it's my favorite!). Now I just need a baby shower/wedding shower excuse ... or perhaps my 3 year old will be having a very classy birthday party this year :D
Here is the link.

I LOVE

I am loving this inspiration book right now! So full of ideas on every single page! Well except for the part about the clown room. That was just scary.
It sells at Home Depot for $20 but you can get it used for $5 INCLUDING shipping through Amazon.com. Or you could just beg your sister to buy it for you. That worked for me.

quiet bag

My neighbor Nycole showed me this CUTE quiet bag she made for her son. She bought the bag at Roberts for $1.50 (go her!) and it is made of felt. She used clip art as the template for her letters and cute little scripture-reading boy. The bag isn't very wide and is perfect for holding little books, crayons and other items for church.

Homemade crayons

So I finally tried out that homemade crayon tutorial that I posted on here months ago. It was a fun project though I definitely got sick of peeling the wrappers off of crayons!

Here is the before picture:
Notice my crayons did not cover the whole pan. This turned out to be a problem because the edges were too thin, so make sure you have enough crayons to cover the pan.

This is after they baked in the oven at 350 for a few minutes:
It was so liquidy all of the colors were shifting and swirling like crazy when I jiggled the pan as I pulled it out of the oven.

I let it cool for a bit until it was soft but pliable. I used my cookie cutter to make the shapes:

Once it was completely cool I used a spatula to start popping them out. As you can see I have a lot of left over crayon. I wonder how it will work to just remelt them and make some more?

Finished product:
I think I'm going to keep these in my church bag. Crayons are much more novel this way :)

Mod Podge time

So I'm pretty sure I blogged these frames before:They were those simple wood frames, covered with scrapbook paper and paint. I made them last year in hopes of bringing more color to my home. After putting away the Christmas decorations this January I was sad to see so much color gone again, so I decided to start on another colorful project. Using those same three sheets of paper from the frames above I made two sets of word blocks:
You'll notice these "LOVE" blocks still need some finishing touches ... I wonder how many months it will be before I actually do that :)

My favorite part? Using some scrap wood, paint I had on hand and three sheets of paper I was able to make three separate projects for my home :)

homemade hairbow holder

My niece celebrated her 2-year birthday this weekend. Rather than try to figure out what toy she didn't already have, or what outfit her mom would like, I decided to make something useful:) I have been meaning to make a cutesy hairbow holder for awhile so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I simply bought two pre-painted wood pieces (in this case I found the butterflies at the craft section at Walmart), a yard of ribbon and some hot glue. I glued the ribbon to the back of one of the butterflies and fashioned a nail-hanger from some extra ribbon, which I then glued to the back top of the butterfly. Then I simply glued the butterflies together, back to back. Throw on some cute hairbows and you're set! Easy huh?