 | Salvage those old Christmas balls into German Glass Glitter. Using this simple process pound,pulverize & grind those ornaments into a jar of glittery goodness! DIY German Glitter |
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Try this unique yet simple way to display Christmas cards & photos. Use stray bits of wire to wrap around the tops of little houshold treasures to reinvent their use.
Using a length of wire & needle nose pliers, wrap & twist the wire around the top of each base. Curl a double loop at the top to place photo/card.
We are giving these kitschy, discarded porcelain cats a new identity as vintage Halloween decor. Upcycle your own thrift store find by letting your imagination & piece be your guide. From ugly strays to yays!
 Repurposed- The 2nd life of old cats!
 Inspiration - The vintage style used on our ready made cat! 
We obviously have a thing for crows and love dressing them. This Halloween DIY is a basic crow "makeover" that may inspire you to try some crow creations yourself. Using a replica bird of choice from a craft store, strips cut from vintage book pages, orange highlighter, needle & thread, hot glue, scissors, jewelry & a gathered trim we whipped this together as an inspiration to "dress his nest"! We can't resist showing you the many sides of this Crafty Common Raven. Curious Facts: A grouping of crows is called a murder. Average life span is 17 years. Create your own Velvet Pumpkins & Carved Apples with the HTLYH tutorials. See our original Crow/Poe inspiration.
 We are always up for new Halloween traditions. This years new "to do" is carving apples. In a matter of minutes a sack of apples can be Pumpkin-fied! A bag of apples costs about the same as a single pumpkin. It's a practical solution for Halloween carving. Kids of all ages will enjoy the speed & simplicity of creating a little village of funny faces. Small hands can easily carve an apple with a toothpick. These carved edibles can be baked, drizzled with a caramel sauce or float in a warm, spicy cider. For the ghoulish mixologist, carved apple heads floating in a cocktail will be a unique surprise. We peeled & shaped our apples to create different personalities just as we would a pumpkin.
This post is a we did in April of 2012. It has always been one of our favorites. We hope you can make one of your own. See the links at the end of the post for some other create Easter egg projects. Won't they look great in your paper mache' bowl?  Easter has snuck up on us and we thought we would show you our favorite homemade candy basket!  You will need: Shredded Paper (I shredded my own from about 30 pages from an old book - brown paper sacks work great too! Be creative, don't spend a lot of money) Plastic bowl (I got mine for a $1 at Dollar City - I didn't have anything with a good, round shape - you could use any plastic tub you already have) Plastic to cover the bowl Rubber band to hold plastic in place over the bowl Tacky, white or clear glue - mixed half & half with water Paint brush - wide Begin: Cover your bowl with plastic wrap (I cut a trash bag piece to fit) & apply a rubber band to hold tightly in place Dip your strips of paper into the glue/water mixture and place onto the plastic covered bowl. Cover the bottom and sides completely. I placed 5-7 strips at a time. Once I got the first layer on I brushed it with the glue mixture. You will need to apply multiple layers to make it thick enough to stand on it's own. Press strips loosely on outside of nest to create a more "nest-like' look. I brushed the glue mixture in just a couple spots to hold the strips onto the paper mache' bowl. I pulled the plastic away from the bowl after 30 minutes. I was afraid it would stick too much and damage the paper nest. Having air flow both inside and out, drying time is cut in half...about 6 hours. If you are in a rush blow dry it on a cool setting to give it a good kick start in the drying process. Add candy and enjoy your Easter project! Creative Easter Egg Ideas! Natural Dye Easter Eggs Butterfly Eggs Subway Art Easter Eggs Natural Print Easter Eggs    Now that were are in the post holiday funk, it's time to look forward to spring. OK, I'm going to back up a little bit--that black whole between January & March is going to be filled! I usually kinda dither my time away trying to figure out what to do at this time but somehow waste it away over thinking it. I ping. . . bouncing ideas without direction and no true commitment to finishing anything. This year will be different, I say that every year, but this year will be different. I am creating a . . . "Personal Project Plan." I will pull out my bulging files of magazine cut-outs, small pieces of paper I'd stuffed in books & make a monthly line up of preferred projects. I usually get 40% of my own projects completed, they are usually done on a whim without plan. So, there is an additional 25% sitting in the back of my closet (or in the barn) crying to be re-recognized. You know how you have those ideas, & you think it will be the bomb & it BOMBS? That pesky idea that just doesn't do what you wanted it to? Now, what you say to yourself, "off to another idea & hope it percolates into a full cuppa. This is where my P3 comes into play. I'm going to place my ideas & whims onto a calendar to give myself structure. There is nothing like a completion date--just like projects for my work- I will achieve my goals for myself. Now creative goals are different than work goals, they are further down the food chain of To Do's. This year they are climbing their way up. The only way to do this is with action. I am by no means a lazy person, I do more than most people, but I can do better & I can do more. So, the calendar is coming out, and with pencil in hand (I do need an eraser) as I will plot out my top 10 projects of the year. It's going to be hard picking the top 10 because I want EVERYTHING. The calendar makes the ideas a little bit more of a reality. I go to the dentist, I celebrate other people's birthdays, why can't I do this for myself? And again I think this year will be different.  My Top Ten list includes 20 things. If a project doesn't run, I still have a horse in the stables. So saddle up & let's get ready! Personal Project Plan - P3 20 ideas for 10 projects - a girl can change her mind, even with a list! 1. Create my favorite dog photos into silhouette pillows or prints 2. Make envelopes from old shopping bags or vintage paper 3. Make totes from recycled fabrics 4. Paint a painting of a photographed animal  5. Create a felted, flower pillow 6. Make vintage, sewing notion jewelry 7. Photograph and blowup a picture and frame artwork 8. Make trendy looking, monogrammed or stenciled hand or tea towels 9. Finish enclosing my back porch with screen doors and shutters. **This is a biggy** I have been collecting doors & shutters forever! 10. Get the "baby" dresser from the attic. Clean, repair and find a place for it   11. Tile my back fireplace & hearth (spending allowance only $40 - ReStore Store visit in order!) 12. Paint a fresh coat on my outdoor furniture - it's a massive undertaking 13. Make a Christmas runner with the vintage patterns I scanned from a client's project I created in 2011 14. Make those Christmas cards I have talked about for 15 years! 15. Do something with those GIANT acorns I have stashed for a year 16. Paint a bird on silk again using a light box 17. Finish that neglected trellis (paint it too) 18. Cover all those mismatched fabric boxes with something I like, 19. Finish painting that vintage bed 20. Rewire at least 2 of those hanging lights in the barn and do something with them  Wow, this is a drop in the bucket of my running list of "wanna do's", but is a good beginning. No more pouring through the magazine "tear outs", no more wandering from room to room, gazing at each wall - trying to inspire myself - then going off doing some laundry. Lucky #13- 2013!
P3 has been chosen . . . some are easy, some - well not so simple at all! These are things that have been waiting in the wings for ages. I will see how I can cut through this list. What does your list look like? I go into this year with a full heart, hand full of artistic materials and a true desire to get it done!  Image courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/wholeheartphoto One of my favorite internet investigators, Shop Tart, found some fabulous velvet pumpkins on a website last year. Plush Pumpkins sells incredible pumpkins, but were too pricey for me. Being the “to do guru”, I created an affordable & simple version of my own. My tutorial on YouTube will guide you through a 2 minute pictorial that will make these pumpkins a part of your decor this fall.
If you care to take the shortcut and forego YouTube, Diggin’ It carries these sweet, little pumpkins in her store. Located at 507 North Tennessee, just north of McKinney’s historic square, these pumpkins along with many other fall items are available. No need to go to YouTube. . .click on the link to the right of this post & check it out! If you are a DIY kinda person, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get updates when new tutorials are added. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjqV8oJBhg  Everyone in the McKinney Historic District has their spin on how to decorate for the holidays...we all do it very different and love the wide variety of ideas. There is the traditional and not-so-traditional. We have a neighbor who peaked this year, in the idea department. I just have to share with you. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I approached his house today while walking my dog. From a distance his shiny, holiday balls were hypnotizing. Up close you realize this is not your run of the mill garden décor....these pumpkins gave Halloween and Thanksgiving the slip and made it through to greet Christmas. Yes, they are pumpkins! Painted shiny, gold and silver these Halloween hold-outs are a fun twist to the traditional. Ya get more bang for the buck...  |
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AuthorsWe are all worthy of feeling satisfied about where we are in our homes. Our approach to the adventure is as important as the results. The journey of finding our design ideals shifts with seasons & people passing through our lives. We are more likely to enjoy the creative process when things are made easy and How To Love Your Home's passion for finding & sharing tools, tips, & triumphs is here for simplifying the journey to a commonsense approach to homemaking & design! Archives
March 2019
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