ENGAGED!

Guys I got engaged! Actually since my last post, I graduated and got a job doing research! So crafts have been put on the backburner :(. But this engagement party was an excuse for Amy and our friend Alix and I to get crafty! We kind of just all brought things and brought ideas and it came together so amazingly, better than I ever could have imagined! We did not have any particular theme in mind, other than we wanted diamonds. Here are some pictures of the details.

ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS TREES

Finallyyy it's after Thanksgiving, and socially acceptable for me to start decorating for Christmas! I'm one of those obnoxious people that loves that they have started playing Christmas music a few days after Halloween. If I start listening to it and decorating only after Thanksgiving, Christmas seems to come to quick and I don't feel like I have sufficient time to enjoy it! It's the build up to Christmas that I love, not necessarily the day itself.  Its just such a nostalgic and fun time, I'm able to relax for a month from school and have Christmas lights all over the house without appearing like a poor college student. ANYWAYS here are some awesome ideas for alternative Christmas trees if you don't have room or the money for a real (or fake) one! Click pictures for links and more information.

 

This tree is simply made using fabric and chalkboard paint!

 Put all those Christmas cards to WORK. I wish I got cards that cute!

 from Almost Makes Perfect, use blueprint printouts from Kinkos to print large photos. 

Gorgeous idea from Free People

This is such an interesting tree! Among the ornaments it's adorned with doileys, buttons, and cute figurines. The key to this one is sticking to a color scheme, as long as you have that you can add pretty much anything!

 I looove this minimalist tree

-Jerica-

AUTUMN CRAFTS

Some more fall decoratingggg! I saw a post on Pinterest where someone taped dried herbs and flowers to the inside of mason jar lids and placed them in windows. If you do it with smaller flowers you can choose to hot glue the stem to the lid, and then store the jar upside down, so that the flower is standing straight up. I don't think you could do that with these leaves but you could try! Once I get some more jars in different sizes I am going to hang up all different shapes and colors of leaves. You could also do this with pine cones when Christmas comes! Super easy and took me all of 2 minutes. You just have to make sure you offset the tape on the string a little bit, so that the leaf is hanging in the center. 

Another tip I saw online was to dip the leaves in wax to preserve their color. I didn't do that here but they have been hanging for a couple weeks!

I also made this really cute acorn garland to go with it, found here!

-Jerica-

HOME DECOR

I have been in the slow process of decorating my room. What has been in the way is the fact I need to clean my room first....but that will all happen in time! I am moving down to a basement room in my house that has these beautiful built in shelves that are perfect for my decanter collection. One of my favorite thrifting activities is to have a mission of finding something in particular- it makes me feel more productive rather than the feeling of me just going on a crazy shopping spree at the thrift store, (random great finds are still exciting though!). For a while in time my mission was decanters, decanters, and more decanters!  It all started with one lil guy- my first decanter that I found. Which I now use as my version of a brandy set, when in truth it holds my amaretto for my drink of choice, amaretto sours!!! The rest I am displaying on these lovely shelves- along with some other bottles and crafts!

  -Amy-

WHITE ON WHITE ON WHITE ON WHITE

I don't know about you, but I am OBSESSED with white spaces. Maybe not obsessed, but I do like em. They're just so clean, light, and airy and you can play around with the decor as much as you want, or keep all the decor white too! Here are some of my favorite white spaces from around something I like to call, the internet.

Sources from L to R
 1, 2, 3, & 4

-Jerica-

FALL DECORATION

Its finally feeling like falllll! We got our first snow this weekend here in Colorado, nothing stuck around but it was still exciting!  Unfortunately it seems to always be way too hot or way too cold and we miss spring and fall. Here's a little craft to help you hold on to the changing and falling leaves!

MATERIALS:
A Branch
Plastic fall leaves (I got mine from Hobby Lobby on a stem and plucked them off)
Hot Glue
Thread

It's pretty self explanatory from here, you simply tie a little knot around the stem of the leaves and tie another knot around the branch. For the other leaves that are directly on the branch, I dabbed hot glued the stem of the leaf and pressed them onto little nubs or slid them onto small twigs still on the branch. Mine also came with a little acorns so I put those on too! You could hang these guys on a wall, over your bed, or even tie it to yourself if you like it that much. You could also add feathers or whatever else you can think of!

-Jerica-