[Restyle] Bottle Brush Wreaths

Hey look! The Christmas decorations are coming together.  :)

I decided to add some fun candy-colored decor to our kitchen windows. With some mini ornaments and a hot glue gun, I quickly restyled these bottle brush wreaths this morning. I bought the wreaths at JoAnns earlier this year after they went on Christmas Clearance in January. The bottle brush was good quality but a cosmetic tweak was definitely in order.

Click "Read more" for the details

[Home] Lil' Christmas Tree with Pom-poms

It's official, our first Christmas decoration is up!  A little tree covered with little white yarn pom-poms.  We went down to San Diego for the Thanksgiving weekend and on our way back up, we stopped at Ikea.  I don't get to Ikea often, maybe once a year... if that, so I was like a kid in a candy store.  I didn't buy that much, but my eyes were round like saucers and my mind was swirling.  After I came down from my Ikea-idea-induced high, I had to purchase this cute little Christmas tree.  It's artificial, but it looks pretty darn real!

This morning I made a bunch of mini yarn pom-poms and wrapped the pot in burlap.  Easy!

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[Make] Stamped Burlap Trees

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.  I'm finding that if I like something in ornament form, that I also need to make one in tree form, and vice-versa.  Come Easter I'll probably make one in egg form too. (??!!)  So bear with me....

Click "Read more" for the Tutorial

[Happy Thanksgiving!]

via Oh So Beautiful Paper

This year we are heading over to my aunt and uncle's home for Thanksgiving dinner.  We'll be there with my parents, my cousins and their kids, so it'll be good times. The boys will LOVE hanging out with their older cousins and we will enjoy catching up with our extended family. This past year has certainly flown by quickly, hasn't it?

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

[Make] Thankful Leaves

While most bloggers have moved on to Christmas, I just put up my very simple Thanksgiving decorations.  I like to make things, but actually putting together a pleasing to the eye vignette is not my strong suit.... which is why I usually don't decorate for each season. Some day I'll figure it out!  :)

 Click "Read more" for the details

[Make] Trees, Lots of Trees

Just popping in to say "hello" and also give you a peek of this year's tree collection...

r to l: muslin tree, felt rose tree, ruffle trim tree and crushed shell tree

I like how they are completely different yet complement each other nicely.  Can't wait to see what they look like with the rest of the trees... I'll be taking those out in December.  Soon, very soon.

Hope you're having a good Monday!

sharing with...

[Make] Crushed Shell Tree

I liked this shell ornament so much that I decided to make a tree version to add to the collection.

Click "Read more" for the Tutorial

[Make] Stamped Burlap Ornaments

With the sparkle and glitz of holiday decor, sometimes it's the simple things that really grab my attention.  And what can be more simple than a burlap-covered ball that is stamped with Christmas cheer?

Pretty Card & Thoughtful Gift

I had to share this pretty card that my dear friend Jen made for my birthday...

yes, the card coordinates with the wrapping paper and i love that little flower cabochon!

Jen and I have known each other for over 7 years and she has known the Mister since their college days at UCSB-- according to my hubby, she does an awesome "running man"!  :) We've shared a lot over the years-- We were pregnant at the same time and went to birthing classes together.  In fact our oldest kids were born a mere 3 days apart in the same hospital... She was walking the halls in labor when I was just about ready to check-out!  And our youngest kids are just a few months apart.  We went through all the baby stuff together-- Little Gym, Mommy & Me, as well as many, many play dates and visits to the park.  

Another thing we share is our love of crafts and handmade things!   It's always nice to be able to share "crafty" ideas that our other friends don't quite understand.  Why did you stay up so late?  You do what?  What's a blog?  I'm pretty sure that she's the only person that I know in real life who knows what washi tape is. :)  I always look forward to receiving her beautiful hand-crafted cards. Having tried my hand at card-making back in the day, I know how much effort and creativity goes into each one.

Jen's also one of a handful of friends and family that reads my blog regularly. Remember when I was "complaining" about my parched and neglected hands?  

[Make] Muslin Ornament

This Muslin Ornament is a simple and inexpensive way to upcycle an old, unwanted ornament.  I love the fluffy, deconstructed look and, since I have a ton of old ornaments to upcycle, I plan on covering my tree with a bunch of these.

Click "Read more" for the Tutorial

[Upcycle] Refreshed Fall Leaves

I have a couple of orange-leaved garlands that haven't come out to play for several years. I'm not a big fan of faux bright orange leaves so I decided to "refresh" them with some metallic paints-- copper and rust.

Here's what the leaves looked like before...

Click  "Read more" to see the final project

[Make] Crushed Shell Ornament

I mentioned earlier that I'm adding natural elements to my Christmas decor.  Crushed shells are an easy way to add color and texture while still having a gleam that makes it holiday-worthy.  It's not exactly glitter, but when it catches the light it seems to glow.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Party] Baseball Team Party

Just stopping by to drop off some pictures from Smarty Pant's team baseball party. We kept it simple but had a lot of fun with the details.  Since I'm 99% sure that a baseball-themed birthday party is in our future, I'm glad that I was able to do a little "research" and have a trial run with this mini-party.

[Make] Thanksgiving Stones

Alright, I'm taking a little break from the Christmas stuff to show you a fun Thanksgiving project. Stones and paint... I've been wanting to do this for a while and finally found the perfect opportunity.

I have to work on my hand-lettering skills, but to be honest... this is probably as good as it gets. Try as I might, handwriting is not my strong suit-- But I still had fun!  

Click "Read more" for the details

Hello Birthday

Today is my birthday-- Yay! I'm actually pretty low key and have never been comfortable declaring ownership of the day, but as I get older there is definitely more appreciation for each passing year. Growing older is not popular in our society and we do all kinds of crazy things to prevent the inevitable, but I think it takes age and a little wisdom to truly appreciate life.  Money and material goods are nice, but it certainly doesn't bring anyone genuine happiness or lasting contentment.  So today I'm going to kick back, bask in my "agedness" and enjoy the simple things that sometimes get overlooked-- my children laughing and enjoying each others' company, good health, a close-knit family, caring friends... The stuff that really matters.

I don't often buy jewelry for myself, but I've been ogling these beautiful hand-sculpted copper rings for a while.  I have hard to fit fingers so when this beauty showed up in my size, it felt like kismet.

Hands are so telling, aren't they?  I'm constantly washing mine and need to be better about applying that hand cream.  :)

We have a busy weekend ahead so The Mister and I are heading out to a nice dinner tonight. It's a surprise, but I'm sure good food and wine will be involved.  My stomach is rumbling in anticipation.

Have a wonderful weekend!

[Make] Paper Flower Pin Ornament

Look familiar? I've used this technique before, but for pretty floral Easter Eggs.  This time around I thought I'd make an eye-catching ornament. I decided to use the colors of my Christmas decorations-- silver, white & natural brown, but any combination of colors would be lovely.  I love the outcome, but since this is a time consuming project, next time I'll definitely be making some smaller ornaments!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Ruffle Trim Tree

This Ruffle Trim Tree is similar to the muslin tree that I made the other day... But much more simple to make.  In fact, aside from letting some paint dry, it took less than 5 minutes to put together.

It's easy. It's pretty.  Who's in?

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Muslin Tree

This year I've decided to add some natural elements to my Christmas decor.  I've spent the last couple of years transitioning from a burgundy & gold theme to silver & white.  However, I'm finding that the silver & white is looking a little flat. Since I love natural elements and use a lot of it in my everyday decor, I decided to add some natural tones to my Christmas decorations-- Bring on the muslin, twine, shells, and burlap!

First up is a Muslin Tree--

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Round-Up] Fall Projects

The weather has cooled down, the leaves are turning, and it's finally starting to feel like Autumn here in Southern California.  I love it! For some reason, this is the time of year when I feel the most creative. I was born this month too-- I don't always relish the growing older part, but celebrating a birthday is fun... Maybe that explains my affinity for Fall (??).  Anyhow, I've jumped ahead to Christmas projects, but I didn't want to skip over my favorite season. Here's a round-up of my past and present Fall Projects--

Have a nice weekend!

[Make] Felt Rose Tree

I love Christmas.  Apparently I love Christmas Trees too.  Over the past couple of years, I've made several handmade trees. Here's my collection as of last year--

click here for the details

I really love working with white wool felt. It's easy to work with, has a clean look and the details really stand out. Since I have several 12-inch trees, I decided to make some smaller ones to give a little visual diversity.  That's how this White Felt Rose Tree came about--

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

A Little "Bliss Bloom Blog" in an Ebook!

I've been waiting until Halloween was over before moving on to Christmas projects. Since it's officially November, it's time to dive right in! First off, a big Thank You to All Free Christmas Crafts for featuring my Salt Dough Gift Tags & Ornaments in their "7 Easy Homemade Christmas Ornament for Kids" Ebook.

A peek inside the free "7 Easy Homemade Christmas Ornaments for Kids" Ebook--

The All Free Christmas Crafts website has featured several of my projects as well as many, many more Christmas-inspired projects from creative folks from around the blogosphere.  If you're looking for some Christmas crafts to tackle this year, be sure to check them out.

I will be back later to share a new Christmas project!