I can thank Michael's, general Holiday excitement & Pinterest for the sudden urge to craft (mostly Pinterest). I had no idea how motivated I could get just by looking at pictures of other people's DIY talents! If you don't have Pinterest and feel like being inspired (and spending a LOT of time browsing the site), you should sign up! You should also follow me so we can share our Pins:
http://pinterest.com/lindseyhoag/
I have all kinds of plans for upcoming crafts. Some of them are a little bit to intense for my time/skill-level, but I can still hope for one day! The craft I'm going to try tonight is yarn trees. I'll definitely post later if they turn out.
In the meantime, I have a few simple Christmas ideas:
1. Large Vase + Branch elements + Ornaments
It's always great to have a staple vase to match your decor. I bought the vase below on Sale at Pier One about a month ago (I think it was $30), and I plan to trade out the contents of the vase per season.
When I went to Michael's tonight to pick out some Holiday craft supplies, I found some snowy/crystalline branches that I thought would be the perfect height for my vase, but I was wrong. I had to get a bit creative to give the branches some height. I just took an empty wrapping paper roll (pretty abundant around most houses this time of year) and stapled 3 times horizontally down the middle to create two small openings:
Once I inserted the branches, they had a stopping point around the crystal portion, so I was able to give them about a foot of extra height.
To give a bit more holiday flair, I decided to add some small ornaments that I also purchased at Michael's. I didn't use ornament hooks; I just took the loop at the top of each ornament and pulled the branches through:
2. Ornament Stuffing!
My mom always used ornaments as a decorative element in her garland, and I am definitely following in her footsteps! Ornaments add a great dimension to garland. You simply remove the top of the bulb and stuff the garland branch into the opening:
This also works really well with wreaths. Michael's is a great place to find glittery decorations for a custom-wreath. It's much cheaper to make your own, and it's nice to be able to say you did it yourself:
3. Roasted Pecans
Nothing is better than roasted pecans still warm from the oven, especially in the cooler months. I was given some raw pecan halves recently, and I decided to roast them in the oven with the following additions:
Light Butter Spread distributed over all of the pecans (I left a tiny dollop on each half). You could absolutely use regular butter instead. I used the light spread because I had it on hand. If you do use something more solid, it would probably be best to melt and mix the nuts into the melted butter before pouring onto the baking sheet.
Garlic Salt distributed generously
Bake the pecans at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring twice while cooking
It's important to watch the pecans as they can burn easily. Just take a look at them every 5 minutes or so to see how they are browning. Once they are toasted, remove from the oven.
So good!
I'm off to attempt some crafts. Let me know if you have any fun Holiday ideas!
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