DIY: Christmas Clothespins

Glitter and Christmas just go hand in hand. And, like any girl, I am obsessed with glitter. My friend Jenny and I decided to make clothespins go glitz. The plan is for the clothespins to help display our Christmas cards. With a big thick ribbon hung from a pantry door or over cabinet doors, these clothespins will add a bit of glamour to the Christmas cards. I cannot wait. Start sending me your Christmas cards now 🙂

What we bought:

1. Standard size clothespins

2. Craft glue or Modge Podge

3. Glitter in red, green, silver and gold

4. Protecting/sealing spray paint (in gloss)

5. Foam brush to apply glue

How to make:

1. Paint glue onto the top of the clothespins

2. Pour glitter onto a plate. Press the clothespins into the glitter to coat. Touch up any areas that may have missed the glitter

3. Repeat with all other clothespins alternating between colors.*

*Side Note:  We found that they turn out really cute if you combine all of the left over glitter colors into one big pile to get a multi color look. Super cute!

4. Let dry, then spray with protecting spray. This will keep the glitter from falling off during use. We did two coats.

That’s it! So simple but so festive! What do you think!?

Once the Christmas Cards start rolling in, I will show you how they look in action! Stay tuned!

xo

Amy

DIY: Stock the Bar Bridal Shower

My friend and co-worker, Jenny, is getting married in November, and last week my co-workers and I hosted a bridal shower for her. This was no ordinary bridal shower. This was a ‘Stock the Bar” shower. Each person was asked to bring a bar related gift. And needless to say, we have the best admin team in the history of accounting firms’ admin teams and the shower was a roaring success!

Me and the beautiful bride!

Of course, I had to do a few DIY decorating projects for the shower that were perfect compliments to a stock the bar shower.

First up was a banner that said “Stock the bar”. Inventive, I know.

Items needed:

–        Die cut letters (or a stencil to trace letters)

–        4×6 card stock

–        Glitter pens

–        Mini clothespins

–        Skinny ribbon or twine

All I did was glue the letters to the card stock and then decorated with glitter. Boom. To assemble, I clipped the letters to the skinny ribbon with the clothespins. You could glitter your own clothespins, like I did here, or you can buy already glittered ones at Michael’s. The end result was cheerful and a great eye catcher at the party.

Up next were glittered wine bottles. These were the perfect decoration for a stock the bar party. So festive.

Items needed:

–        Wine bottles

–        Spray paint in color of your choice

–        Glitter spray paint in a coordinating color

First, remove the labels on the bottle by soaking in warm/hot water with a bit of dish detergent for 20 minutes or longer. Then scrap off the label and sticky goop. Once the bottles are dry, spray with the spray paint until fully covered. I think I ended up with about 2 coats. Once dry (and this only takes about 5-10 minutes) apply glitter spray paint until desired glitter level is achieved. I used 1 can of silver spray paint and 1 can of glitter spray and covered 7 bottles easily, and didn’t even use all of the paint. At the shower we put a candle in each bottle. The light from the candle made the glitter twinkle.

And last but not least, cupcake picks.

Items needed:

–        Toothpicks

–        Label paper

I cannot take credit for this project. My friend Kirsten made these for my bridal shower way back when. I asked her for the template (which she was sweet enough to hand over) and I updated it for Jenny (W will be her new last name initial). You can do this with any design and any colors with a little basic MS Word knowledge. I used a variety of different fonts for the w’s and then printed the labels. Then, I folded the label in half around the toothpick to decorate my cupcakes…which were champagne cupcakes. Let’s just say when we pick a theme, we stick to it!

We had the shower at a historic house in Raleigh called the Pullen House. It is a sweet little 200 year old house with lots of character. We were so cozy in the sitting room and it was the perfect setting for our small shower.

 Jenny got lots of great new bar things for her and Randy to enjoy and we had the best time celebrating her!

If you are hosting a Stock the Bar shower soon, try out some of these decorations! They were super easy and added the perfect amount to pizazz!

xo

Amy

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

This year I am 100% in the Christmas spirit. I am loving all of the twinkle lights, the decorations, the music, the baking, buying presents for friends and family, the whole 9 yards. Our apartment has been decked out for Christmas since the weekend after Thanksgiving and wanted to (finally) share the decor with you. You might even say,  “It’s beginning to look alot like Christams”! Last month I posted about DIY glitter clothespins and my plan to use them to display Christmas Cards. Well, the cards have started arriving, so I thought it would be a good time to share the “finished” product. I hope you enjoy a little bit of Chistmas cheer!

First, let’s start with the glittery clothespins and Christmas cards!

      

Basically, I just looped the ribbon over the top of our pantry, taped on the inside of the door and let the ribbon hang down the front of the door. It was so easy and I think it turned out to be a fun and festive way to display and enjoy our christmas cards.

 To ensure it wouldnt fall off, I weighted it with a binder clip to help keep the ribbon from slipping through the tape.

During one of my MANY trips to Michael’s this season, I found this cute little basket that was the perfect size for the clothespins AND 50% off!! This is a great way to keep those clothespins on hand for the daily delivery of cards! Well, now that you have learned a quick and easy way to display your holiday cards, let me share some of our Christmas decorations with you!!

    

This is the center piece on our table. The reindeer are actually plastic and came from Cracker Barrel!! Such a great find! The snowflake with the rhinestones is from Pier One and the ornaments are from Michaels. The green table runner was purchased at Target and the glass bowl came from Home Goods. The candle I glittered myself by painting modge podge onto the candle and spooning glitter all over. Turned out nice and sparkly!

  

More merriment! Can you tell I was inspired by red and silver this year?

Our sweet tree. We have collected ornaments on lots of our trips and adventures together and a few were passed down from our families, so our tree is full of wonderful memories.

This nativity scene has been mine since I was a little girl. My Grandpa actually made the manger for me one Christmas. Little Joseph has lost his halo, but this manger scene has been part of my Christmas decorating since I was about 3.

Merry Christmas to you! I hope your holiday season is filled with lots of love, good cheer, family and fun!

 xo

Amy