DIY Holiday Tea Towel with Reindeer Embroidery Trim

My Mummu loves a good yard sale.  She loves going to them, she loves having them - she's even convinced my Mom and I to help schlep boxes of stuff to indoor community sales in the off season.  At our last yard sale, I noticed my Mummu was downsizing some craft supplies and I scooped up a ton of cute stuff: some beautiful lace appliques, a vintage clutch I have a plan for, and this gold embroidered reindeer trim, which I used to embellish a DIY linen tea towel for the holidays.

Supplies:

• Turquoise linen (this shade of linen is really pretty)
• Embroidered trim (not similar, but just as sparkly)
• Liquid stitch 

Because our local Fabricland was moving, they had some great deals on fabric and I bought some pale turquoise linen for 50% off.  Using our own tutorial for how to sew a mitered corner, my Mom and I quickly hemmed a simple rectangle tea towel - but you can always buy a plain tea towel to embellish.

I didn't want to fuss with sewing on the embroidered reindeer, so I decided to try Liquid Stitch instead.  

I had already washed and dried my linen, prior to sewing, so I was able to quickly get to the fun (and scary) part: gluing on the embroidery!  I hand-stitched the two lengths of embellishment together so they would line up and be easier to manage, then I placed my linen on a flat surface.  I put a plastic cutting board underneath, to protect my kitchen counter from any glue, but this adhesive is water soluble until dry so any drips washed off easily.

Following the directions, I shook the tub of Liquid Stitch well.  I spread the glue on the back of the embellishment, being careful not to bring it too close to the edges because I didn't want it to squish out.  Once I had glued everything, I went over all of the edges and anywhere it didn't seem stuck, I added a smidge more (that's the technical term) glue using a toothpick to carefully apply it.  I quickly pressed the reindeer down with my fingers and let it dry, undisturbed, for 30 minutes.  You can launder this fabric after 24 hours.  I will keep you posted on how well the glue holds over time - I am very curious about this Liquid Stitch.

I love how this turned DIY tea towel out! 

You know I'm not super festive over here, favoring "wintry" to "Christmassy" decor, but I do love the look of this glitzy tea towel in my turquoise kitchen.

If this seems like a heck of a lot of work (I hear ya), here are some cute BIY (buy-it-yourself) holiday tea towels that caught my eye: Black + White Deer Tea Towel | Gin Christmas Teal Towel | Illustrated Holiday Teal Towel  

I actually bought enough linen to make two tea towels - any ideas for the second one?

DIY Mini Potted Plant Holiday Ornament

Even though I don't put up a Christmas tree, I am smitten with Anthropologie's ornaments this year - like this one that looks like my puppers and this very beachy jellyfish ornament.  One in particular caught my eye and even inspired a knock-off DIY: this little potted plant ornament.

Isn't it the cutest gift for someone with a green thumb?  Years ago I thrifted four mini terracotta planters for an abandoned dollhouse project, so I decided to make a set of little potted plant ornaments of my own!

It took a little bit of trial and error - and in the process I accidentally smashed my fourth potted plant (another leafy one, in an unpainted terracotta planter).  But they turned out so cute, it was definitely worth the effort!



Here's What I Needed:

• Mini planters - this version has saucers - or try these mini metal buckets as a non-breakable alternative
• Epoxy or resin
• Faux flowers/leaves
• Thin ribbon or cord
• Hot glue gun
• Black glitter
• Tooth pick

How to Make a Faux Mini Potted Plant:

The first step was easy: I decided to paint two of my terracotta pots with some pale blue chalk paint.

The next step was to try and replicate the look of soil.  I made a lot of failed attempts here, but I'll tell you what worked.  I had a massive bag of black glitter from when I painted my vinyl flooring because I ended up skipping the glittery topcoat I had schemed, so I was looking for an excuse to make a dent in my epic glitter stash and glitter really replicated soil so well.

To contain the glitter, I glued a small circle of cardboard inside my planter to block the hole and keep glitter from escaping.  For the painted planters, I added a dab of paint to hide the cardboard, but that's optional because no one will see the bottom.

Next, I filled the pot with black glitter.

I would have liked to have used resin to secure the glitter and "plants," but it is so expensive!  Instead, I found a two-part epoxy at the dollar store.  It works and smells like the brand name epoxy we often use for projects, but a lot less expensive.  With my pots filled with glitter, I poured the epoxy on top and stirred it around using a toothpick.  While the epoxy was setting, I inserted some small stems clipped from some faux plants my Mummu had in her craft supply.  It required some patience to hold the stems upright while the epoxy dried but eventually the epoxy had thickened enough to keep the  plants upright.  With the epoxy still tacky, I sprinkled on another layer of glitter and set it aside to cure overnight.  In the morning, I poured off the excess glitter and was thrilled with the result!

Another idea could be to stuff the planter with a cork, or really anything you can firmly glue in there, and then just brush on some mod podge or exoxy and dust with black or brown glitter - or maybe stuff it with some air dry clay and paint it black.  There are lots of options but I used what I had on hand to save some $$$.  Plus I love the glitter, especially the way it settled just a bit with the epoxy the way soil does after you water a plant the first time after potting it.       

To hang the plants, I used a hot glue gun to secure some thin ribbon and make little slings.  If I was more patient, I might have made mini knotted macrame plant hangers - that would be really, really adorable.

And that's it!  There are lots of ways to personalize this DIY tree ornament, from painting a design on the pots, to making pots out of found objects.  It's the perfect project for using up craft scraps!

P.S. If you're looking for another easy DIY Christmas Tree ornament idea, take a look at my glittery spider ornaments and read the legend to find out why every tree needs a spider...

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Ghostly Rat Wreath for Halloween - Easy, Last Minute Halloween Decor Idea

I originally bought and spray painted 30 plastic rats for a last minute Halloween costume idea but as soon as I lined them all up to admire my handiwork, I suddenly envisioned a wreath and became so much more excited about this idea instead! 

Yep, it's a little last minute but that's how I roll. 

I spend so long hanging on to summer every year that Thanksgiving and Halloween always sneak up on me - I only just decorated my pumpkins! (Check out my quick and easy marbled pumpkins here if you missed them).  Because Halloween is looming, I'm thrilled that my new Halloween wreath only took about 10 minutes to whip up.  I'm not a huge fan of the classic Halloween palette of orange + black (although I do enjoy Orange is the New Black, lol), so I love this Halloween wreath idea because it's minimal and all-white - perfect with my blue and turquoise decor! - but it still has a ghostly, creepy, (kinda cute), Halloweeny vibe.   

If you're doing this Halloween thing at the last minute like me (or, as Hubby put it, getting ready for Halloween 2018), you'll love this quick and easy Halloween wreath idea.  10 minutes to make - tops!

Supplies:

• Plastic rats (I bought three packages of Les Rats, lol, on Amazon)
• Matte white spray paint (I also used a shimmering white for the wreath)
• Grapevine wreath
• White thread (or strong glue like E6000)
• Scissors (I pine for these)

The first step takes two seconds: lay the mice on their backs and the gravevine wreath face down and blast with a quick drying spray paint.  Let dry, flip everything over and blast with paint again.  The whole process, minus dry time, took me five minutes.

However, you could also save time and skip this step entirely!  Use a natural grapevine wreath and the rats au naturel for an even quicker craft.  Or spray paint to match your decor.  As I'm typing, I'm picturing a mischief of rats sprayed increasingly lighter shades of my favorite hue for a pretty ombre effect.  Hmmmm...

Hello little cuties!  You complement my decor so much better now...

With the rats painted a ghostly white, I quickly affixed them to my grapevine wreath.  

Time for a little confession: as a DIY blogger it's my job to come up with a steady steam of crafts and DIY projects and that's such a sweet gig, but one thing that bothers me is how wasteful the industry can be.  So many bloggers have admitted to disposing of their crafts immediately after pressing "publish" (never mind the perfectly lovely, beautiful rooms scrapped and decorated again and again for content).  I understand that more content is the name of the game, but I try to be mindful of promoting an unreasonable preoccupation with the consumption of goods.  Sometimes the sheer volume of STUFF in this world is really distressing.  Honestly, I can be a little harsh on the environment, with my unnecessarily massive diesel-guzzling truck and hit or miss composting efforts, but I do try to not be wasteful when it comes to DIY and home decor.  When I can, I reduce, re-use and recycle in my home and decorating pursuits - and that applies to my DIY supplies, too.  

So while I recommend you take a dab of E-3000 glue (or any other tough, multi-purpose adhesive designed for plastic) and strongly bond these little rats to their new home, I opted to use string and secure them by their feet and tails for a secure, but not permanent, rat wreath.  This way I can happily hang my wreath for the precious few hours before Halloween, and then re-use the rats and the wreath for another blog project down the road. 

Either method works, but gluing will take two seconds, the thread will take about 5 minutes.  I used a large needle to help me navigate the thread around a suitable piece of grapevine, secured the tail and a foot or two with one loop and tied off the thread and snipped the end before moving on to the next one.  Because the thread is the same color, you really cannot see where the thread has been tied.

I overlapped my rats a bit to create a more spooky vibe of these ghostly cuties crawling all over each other. Spooooookkyyyy.

Easy peasy!  And I love these little faces greeting me when I come home.

Please tell me there's someone else out there who has left their Halloween decorating to the last possible minute too???

I should probably get started on that cute costume idea for next year, shouldn't I... 

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Mini Pom Pom Garland for My Lavender Plant

When I made the cute felted wool ball garland for my mantle - to complement my blue and white, wintry decor - I started dreaming about making a mini version for my sweet tree-shaped lavender plant.  Well, I did it (just under the wire, haha).  And it's every bit adorable as I thought it would be. 

I was at the dollar store when I found a bag of mini pom poms in shades of blue and turquoise - too perfect, right?

I just strung them onto a glittering thread, tied off the ends, and then draped it gently on my lavender plant.   It was an even easier project than my felted wool garland because for those I actually spent the time and hand felted each of the woolen balls. 

I'm still loving my table top case study planter from Modernica, so I'm really rootin' for my lavender plant.  Please live!  It's a finicky little fella, that's for sure.  Hopefully he's not offended by the adornment. 

I hope everyone has a festive and joyous weekend, filled with good food, family and memories to cherish for years to come.  Happy Holidays!

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Carrot Cake with Natural Wreath Decoration | Festive Holiday Baking

One of my favorite things from the turquoise and orange brunch I shared yesterday is this decadent carrot cake.  Not only is the cake itself super moist and delicious, but I really love how the pretty "wreath" decoration on top turned out:

For some reason, I've become really obsessed with beautifully decorated cakes - my Pinterest "Desserts" board is full of them.  I keep waiting for the perfect special occasion to go all out on some artsy homemade cake topped with piles of delicious candy and edible decoration (like this beautifully decorated cake or this one), but I just can't bring myself to do it!  Even though I'm treating myself during the holidays to some sweet treats, cutting back on sugar is always in the back of my mind and topping an already sweet cake with candy seems like a recipe for a stomach ache.  

For this dessert, I decided that I just had to add some holiday flair but, because the carrot cake was rich enough, I turned to the produce aisle in search of some decoration.  After topping my cream cheese icing with generous handfuls of unsweetened, shredded coconut, I used a package of rosemary, orange slices, and blueberries to create this pretty wreath topped cake.

I LOVE how it turned out!

Wondering about the taste?  When it was time to serve the cake I removed the wreath and served the carrot cake plain and there was absolutely NO hint of rosemary flavor, even when the "wreath" sat atop my cake for a good three hours while I fussed with photos.  We even had neighbors over for a slice and they were SO enamored with the moist carrot cake recipe - no one detected even a hint of rosemary.  Unwilling to waste a delicious sprig, I set aside the rosemary for a slow cooker recipe (the coconut prevented any icing from sticking to it).

Have I mentioned this cake is moist?  I snapped that photo of the slice yesterday (Thursday) but I baked it on Sunday!  It tastes so fresh, even after all of these days in the fridge.  Here's the recipe for anyone who is interested (and here's a link to my sugar-free carrot cake, which is also pretty darn tasty).

Carrot Cake Recipe:

This recipe makes the deliciously tall, double-decker carrot cake I made.

• 2 cups sugar (now you know why it's soooo tasty) 
• 2 cups grape seed oil
• 6 eggs
• 6 tbsp sour cream
• 4-6 large carrots, grated
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the oil and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla extract. 

In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients.  Add to the wet ingredient slowly, mixing well.  Stir in the shredded carrots and sour cream.

Pour into two 9" spring form pans and bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe: 

• 2 blocks cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar

Beat the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar together until smooth.  I'm no expert at decorating a cake, but I have learned to wait until the cake has cooled completely before icing.  Place the first cake onto a cake stand or platter and apply a thin layer of icing to the top.  Place the second cake on top and press gently.  Then use a spatula to spread the icing onto the top and side of the cake.

Wintry Wreath Cake Decoration:

• One package fresh rosemary
• One mandarin orange
• Blueberries or other berries
• Handful of shredded coconut 

Sprinkle the top of the carrot cake generously with shredded coconut.  Using kitchen sheers, snip the rosemary into approximately 2" pieces.  Place the small sprigs in a circle shape, angling them ever-so-slightly so some face toward the center and some to the edge, tucking in the ends when possible.  Add orange slices or berries - imagine how pretty cranberries would look!

Store in the refrigerator, covered. 

This was a delicious way to add a little festive, holiday flare to my cake, without adding more sugar!  For a leafier wreath, I recommend fresh peppermint - which was my second choice, but I loved the classic wintry look of "rosemary," which resembles evergreen wreaths.   This edible ivy is pretty cute too.

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