This magic crystal ball really GLOWS! And guess what, it only requires three things and takes just about five minutes to make! Get ready to be the belle of the Halloween ball with this fortune teller crystal ball – no one will ever believe you made it yourself!
Oh man, oh man, oh man! Am I excited about this new little piece of Halloween decor I’ve added to the collection this year!
I love for my Halloween decorations to look as real as possible. Real as in super spooky, authentic looking pieces that’d you see if you rolled up into the Sanderson sisters house.
And this one, well this one fits all that criteria.
It’s a glowing crystal ball.
Folks, it really glows! And it is probably one of the easiest Halloween decorations I’ve ever made!
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How fun is that? I just keep expecting to see a spirit’s face emerge within the ball any moment now. 😉
How to Make a Crystal Ball
Materials Needed:
White Globe Glass Light Shade – like the one found here; you can buy the globe separately in-store.
Battery Powered LED String Lights in Purple – I used these.
Batteries for String Lights – the ones I used needed two AA batteries.
Holder / Platform for the Globe – I used a pillar candle holder I found at a thrift store.
Steps
Step 1
Remove the LED lights from the package and insert the batteries.
Wind the string lights into a circle.
Step 2
Turn on the string lights. Place the string lights and battery pack through the opening on the bottom of the glass globe. The lights should go more into the globe and the battery pack should be at the base opening of the globe.
While holding the battery pack still inside the globe, lower and tilt the globe onto whatever you are using for your globe holder. As you’re putting the globe down, you can carefully let go of the battery pack. It will sit just fine on the holder; you just don’t want it banging around in the globe while you’re putting it on it’s holder.
That’s it! So easy, right?
I love the purple glow this fortune teller ball gives off. It’s just perfect for Halloween and looks great beside my spell book (grab that printable spell book cover here if you haven’t already!)
Will you being gazing into a DIY crystal ball this Halloween?
Ready to up your Halloween game this year? Take a look at these then…
DIY Witch Brooms – sparkly, spooky and made with items from your backyard and the Dollar Tree!
Ready to cast spells in style this Halloween? That’s exactly what you’ll be doing in this DIY witch costume! You’ll need a couple of thrift store finds, some tulle and a few other basic materials to whip up this homemade witch costume!
The Circus and I were chatting about our Halloween costumes the other day. When I showed Grunt a picture in the direction I was thinking about going, his response was, “Oh yea, I forgot how extra you are at Halloween.”
Halloween is mine and the kid’s jam. Go big or go home.
Last year, the Circus had three different Halloween costumes and I did two different variations of a witch costume – one more fancied up for our Halloween party and one more laid back for trick or treating.
In my opinion, a good witch costume is always a winner at Halloween. And while there are some great store bought Halloween costumes out there, I feel like a DIY costume always kicks things up a notch or two.
I put together this halloween costume with a couple of thrift store finds, an easy-to-make tulle skirt and a few other fanciful accessories.
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
DIY Witch Costume for Adults
I’m going to break this down by top, skirt, makeup and accessories.
For the Witch’s Top
You’ll Need:
The top portion of a halter-style top two piece formal dress or another black fancy-ish top. (See below for more details and ideas.)
For the top I found a black formal two piece dress with a halter style top.
I see these kind of dresses at thrift stores all the time. If you can’t find one though, just keep your eyes open for a fancier style black top.
To embellish the top, wrap the feather boa around the halter neck securing with safety pins. If there’s excess boa, then you can snip it off or tuck it into your skirt.
If you can’t find a halter style top, you could still easily embellish the neckline with a feather boa, just follow along the neckline and secure with safety pins.
For the Witch’s Skirt
Folks, I’m not a seamstress. That being said, if I can make this skirt, anyone can.
You’ll Need:
Tulle – lots of it. 😀 I used green and black strips. I had a total of 20 strips that were 48″ long and 58″ wide. You can adjust as needed – more details below.
2 inch Wide Elastic Band that will fit snugly around your waist when sewn together – more details below. You can buy this by the yard at fabric stores.
Sew your elastic band together, end to end, to create the waist of your skirt. Hold the band around your waist to determine how big to make it. This isn’t rocket science, you want the band to fit snugly around your waist so your skirt doesn’t fall, but not too tight that your uncomfortable.
Step 2
Cut your tulle into strips. I left the width of the tulle alone, I just cut strips that were 48″ long. You can cut these strips longer or shorter depending on your height. For reference, I’m about 5′ 3″. Again, I did twenty strips total – more black than green. I wanted the green to pop against the black, thus why I did fewer of those.
Step 3
Turn your sewn-together elastic band inside out.
Take a tulle strip and gather it together at the top, then sew it to the band.
This doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be pretty. When you’re done sewing all the strips to the inside of the band, you’re going to flip it right side out and no one is ever going to see your elementary sewing skills.
Continue sewing tulle strips to the skirt until your satisfied with how it looks.
Step 4
This really isn’t a step, but it’s an important part of the outfit, unless you’re planning to moon someone.
When you go to wear the skirt, be sure to wear a black slip under it. Obviously, the tulle strips don’t form a solid covering around your rear end, so the slip takes care of this.
For the Witch’s Makeup
I opted to go with greens and black for my makeup to keep with the green and black in my skirt. You can of course go with whatever colors you’d like. For my more casual take on this costume, I did purples and greens.
Full disclosure: I am not a makeup guru, folks. I’m not even that good with it. I have no idea how to contour and all that other shit. So trust me, this is not complicated. I just played around with mine and added/blended/wiped away, etc., until it looked good. I did find that more is definitely more with this look though – it is Halloween, right?
Green Cream Lipstick – I used this one in Out of This World.
Step 1
Apply your primers, concealers and foundation as usual.
Step 2
Apply eyeshadow primer and let dry. Apply black eyeshadow on your eyelid. Come back with green eyeshadow around the edges of your eyelid and onto your brow bone blending out. Add more black or green to create more depth/color or to however you like it.
Line your eyes, top and bottom, with heavy black eyeliner. Lightly smudge out the eyeliner using the black eyeshadow, then go lightly over the eyeliner again with a little of the green eyeshadow.
Apply eyebrow mascara. Apply a couple coats of lash mascara. You’ve got lots of eyeshadow going on here, so don’t skimp on the layers of eyebrow and eyelash mascara, folks.
Step 3
Apply blush
Step 4
Apply highlighter along the bridge of your nose, above your Cupid’s bow, the center of your forehead, your cheekbones and chin. I just used my finger to do this as it made it a bit more defined than using a brush.
Step 5
Apply black lipliner heavily around your lips.
Apply black lipstick all over your lips, but more heavily along the edges.
In the center of your lips, apply the green lipstick. Blend as needed. You’re going for a fading of black to green look here.
For the Witch’s Accessories
You’ll need:
A witch’s hat of course!
A broom
I just went with a classic witch hat for this costume. You can find these all over the place during Halloween.
For my broom, I used one of the DIY witch’s brooms I made, which honestly, I love more than any other store bought witch brooms I’ve found.
That’s it! Pretty basic stuff, but packs a serious punch when put together!
And what’s on tap for this Halloween? You’ll just have to wait and see….it does include a fur coat though, and black and white hair. 😉
Have you made your own witch costume before?
Ready to get in the Halloween spirit? Be sure to see these then…
If you saw yesterday’s holiday home tour, fair warning that this one is a complete 180 from that one. Yesterday, I shared our 70’s Landing Pad decked out for Christmas and today, I’m sharing our family’s farmhouse all done up for the holidays. It’s two very different decor styles!
Before I go any further though, a big thanks to Marty from A Stroll thru Life for gathering all the forces and organizing this tour every year. Marty has gorgeous style, so if you haven’t checked out her holiday home tour, be sure to.
If you’re following the tour line-up today and hopping over from Monica Wants It and this is your first time here, hello! Monica is absolutely killer at mixing chic, glam and classic styles to create gorgeous spaces! My tour probably won’t hold a candle to her’s!
For the holiday decor at the farmhouse, I stick with more traditional / cozy / vintage decorations. So really, it’s a mish-mash of different styles I guess, but I think it works together and we like it. The farmhouse was my grandparent’s home so I also pull out a lot of things that were their’s to decorate with.
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My absolute favorite thing in the living room this season is this little corner. The saddle stand just shines when it’s all done up for the holidays. I’m planning to paint the corner cabinet at some point, but for the holidays I hung my grandmother’s plastic popcorn Christmas tree over one door.
Grunt made the saddle stand for me for Mother’s Day this year. Hands down, it’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.
This is probably the fourth year I’ve jacked my kid’s little red wagon to use in my Christmas decor. I make no apologies and have every intention to do it for many Christmases to come.
The saddle stand holds my great-grandfather’s saddle on it that my dad gave me and my Pap’s cowboy hat. I added a little holiday color to the setup with the plaid blanket under the saddle and the greenery over the saddle. It’s my favorite thing in the whole space.
My father-in-law gave us his sleigh from his childhood a few years back. For the holidays, it became a side table of sorts beside the wingback chairs. I love how perfectly it fits in here.
I bought this Christmas tree for the farm last year. I wanted one that looked like we had just went out in the woods and chopped it down. This one fit the bill perfectly and I love it just as much this year.
It’s meant to be more of a sparse tree and so the ornaments all really shine on it. I have rarely ever found a tree skirt that I just love so I often improvise and use blankets as tree skirts. I used a cowboy blanket that used to be in my dad and uncle’s room growing up for the tree skirt this year.
To dress up the wall sconces, I put an ornament cluster around each. The larger vase holds ornaments that were Grunt’s grandmother’s. They are super fragile so I prefer to put them in the vase, rather that on the tree where they might fall and shatter. I also love how all the colors look together in the vase.
This little girl was a yard sale find. She had the perfect vintage vibe that goes well with the rest of the farmhouse so I knew she was meant to be here. She reminds me of my little circus too. 🙂
That’s it for me! Up next on today’s Christmas home tours is Clean and Scentsible – Jenn always has absolutely beautiful holiday decorations!
Catch any homes you missed with the full Christmas home tour lineup below…
Unintentionally, camels became the theme of my holiday home tour this year.
I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did. I looked around my living and dining room after all the decorations were up and realized I had multiple camels varying in heights of nine inches to two feet looking back at me.
We’re just going with it, ya’ll. Embrace the camel this season. When Christmas camels become a trend, just remember you saw it here first.
Before you see the camels in all their holiday glory, let me first welcome any new folks here hopping over from Haneen’s Haven as part of the It’s a Colorful Life Christmas Home Tour. If you hadn’t already determined from my camel spill, I’m not all there. We just go with that too around here. Embrace it.
Let’s get on with the tour, shall we?
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
I never really mean to change out and switch up my holiday decor, but it never fails that I end up doing exactly that. And spend waaaay too long debating whether or not Santa should go on the table or Mrs. Claus. Or both. But then what would go where the other was supposed to go?
Yea, it doesn’t make sense to me either. Again, just go with it.
This little table and quite a few of the things on it are new additions. I scored the table at a yard sale as a package deal with a matching bamboo bar cart for $10. I know, crazy, right? And there’s camel #1 is taking up residence on the bottom shelf here. I’m lucky to have a group of friends who are always on the lookout for each other when it comes to holiday and general home decor. One of those friends, Ashley, found me that pretty camel at a thrift store. I had a great urge to put a holiday attired Barbie on top of him. I abstained. I won’t say it won’t happen before the holidays are over though.
And here’s where Mrs. Claus ended up! She was a yard sale find and the sleigh she’s in was a thrift store find. Marilyn made the sleigh in 1985 and I know this because she signed it on the bottom along with the date. Marilyn, wherever you are, I love your sleigh and will take good care of it. That’s why Mrs. Claus is in it and not Santa. Sometimes you just can’t trust a man.
See that little drum? It was not that pretty when I found it at the Goodwill. In fact, it was downright hideous. The fabric on it was atrocious. But I deconstructed it, re-wrapped it in pretty wrapping paper and for $0.99 ended up having a damn pretty drum. You can too – don’t pass up the hideous ones at thrift stores. Unless I get to them first, then there won’t be any for you. I’m feeling a drum themed Christmas coming on for next year.
If you are new around here, I’m sorry-not-sorry if you were expecting a beautifully themed color-coordinated Christmas tree. We don’t do that. Our tree sports special ornaments, stuffed animals and even a shoe or two.
This little vignette is a favorite of mine this year. The Staffordshire dog was a Goodwill find from the summer and obviously, it’s not a Christmas specific decoration, but I dare you to find a Staffordshire dog that’s prettier than when surrounded by holiday decor. Also, I’m sure it’s not one of the real Staffordshire dogs, but I’ve never shook at my head at a faux fur before and I’m not going to start shaking it now at fake Staffordshire dogs.
Those jeweled coasters are a new favorite of mine as well. I bought a set as a gift this year and loved them so much that I bought myself a set too. They are absolutely the most gorgeous coasters I’ve ever seen. The dog agrees.
Sidenote: If you tie pretty satin ribbon on anything non-holiday-esque, it automatically becomes authentic holiday decor.
There’s the dog arrangement again. Because everyone should see it twice. From different angles. Did I mention I’m not even particularly fond of dogs? #gofigure
The teal poinsettias are at Michael’s this year. I’m usually not a fan of faux flowers, they tend to be the only faux thing I shake my head at, but these oversized beauties stole my heart the minute I saw them. We’re faux-ever friends. I tied an ornament cluster (find out how to make those here) around the vase for an extra pop of color. And because there had to be something else substantial there to even out that oversized poinsettia.
I also adorned just about every piece of oversized art in my house with hanging ornament clusters. Because you can never have enough colorful ornament clusters around your house for the holidays. Tell me I’m wrong.
Introducing camel #2. I spotted him on Facebook one day when someone from my hometown posted pictures of their yard sale and he was in it. My dear Judy, our group mom and also direct line to Jesus, went to pick it up for me. We don’t just call her a saint because she keeps us on her prayer list, it’s also because she’ll also do anything to help us even if it means picking up a stray camel from a yard sale.
The teal poinsettias struck again in this vase flanked by a vintage Santa and bottlebrush trees. I also bought some extra poinsettias to stash away for future Christmases. You never know when you might need an oversized faux teal poinsettia. It’s always best to be on the safe side.
I always cheat and use wrapped gifts as decor around the house too. I mean, what’s the use in going to all that trouble wrapping gifts and making them pretty to just stick them under the tree barely seen all season? Again, tell me I’m wrong.
This space is really dark and so I tried to lighten it up with the white garland, lots of colorful ornaments and candles. Of course, the candles also illuminate the Studio54 jeans art print. And that ain’t a bad thing. Everyone needs to see how great quality those jeans were. 😉
There’s more drums – see I’m already priming for next year’s holiday theme.
The dining room is pretty low key, compared to the living room. We use our dining room table for meals every night I cook, so I don’t like to clutter it up too much with holiday decor that I just have to move every night. I’m lazy. I admit it.
I added a tree in here this year. I mean, a friend was selling a silver tinsel tree and I had this big box of vintage ornaments I’d bought at a yard sale with no tree for them to go on. I needed the tree. I really didn’t have much of a choice, right?
Also, photographing a silver tinsel Christmas tree that has multi-colored lights on it that’s right beside red velvet curtains is like the hardest thing ever. You’re guaranteed to get a redish overcast that may make you question whether or not there are a few demons around trying to steal our holiday joy and take over the souls of the nutcrackers to wreak havoc upon your home.
I found these glorious souls a couple of years ago. They don’t get stored away with regular Christmas decor; they have their own special cabinet they go in to make sure they are safe and protected throughout the year. We treat our camels right around here.
The lamp tassel is something that stays on all year long, but just so happens to work well with holiday decor. Again, it’s really just another way for me to be lazy. See how to make the lamp tassels here.
And of course, I added on an ornament cluster to the edge of the cart for good measure and all.
The little golden nutcracker is actually a corkscrew – another thrift store find.
You can find the tutorial for those mini Christmas ornament drink stirrers right here. it will take you all of 10 minutes to make them and your holiday guests will think you’re totally the hostess with the mostess and not the hot mess that you really are. Or at least, that’s the case with me.
To summarize this post, hand-to-God, I was legit sober during the writing of this post. This is the normal me. And that folks, is terrifying.
Decorating for the holidays can get stressful and expensive! These Christmas decoration ideas though are easy to make and affordable! And don’t worry – all of these simple Christmas decoration ideas are still gorgeous!
Christmastime is officially here, y’all! I put the finishing touches on our holiday decorations a little over a week ago and this week, I’ll be sharing the holiday decor at both the farmhouse and the 70’s landing pad!
I was going through my archives last week though and had forgotten about some of the decorations I’ve done in the past and used to do at our old house. I pulled a few of them together and came up with some favorites that are simple to make and easy on the wallet!
Christmas House Decoration Ideas
Sprinkle ornaments anywhere you can.
Personally, I’m a sucker for just about any vintage glass ornament. Anytime I see them at yard sales or thrift stores, I snatch them up! I use them to make beautiful ornament clusters to decorate with, but I also just sprinkle them all around the house on trays, in vases and more. The colored ornaments in the tall vase on the right are actually ornaments from Grunt’s grandmother. I like them best in the vase because all the colors together are so pretty and they are a bit safer there than on the tree.
Buy good wrapping paper (on the cheap!), pretty bows, then use the wrapped gifts as holiday decorations.
This one isn’t ground breaking, but it’s definitley one worth mentioning. First off, get yourself some beautiful gift wrapping paper. You don’t have to spend a fortune on it though. My go-to spot for great, pretty and thick wrapping paper is Home Goods. It’s usually $3- $4 a roll and they have a great selection. Then, buy yourself pretty ribbons to coordinate with the paper. I wait till it goes on sale at Hobby Lobby for half-off then I buy the satin rolls of ribbon there. Finally, once you’ve got the presents wrapped, stick a few under the tree of course, but also sprinkle the gifts around the house to act as decor!
Whip up holiday drink stirrers for your parties.
I just shared the super simple DIY tutorial for this the other day. You can make these Christmas ornament topped drink stirrers in under 10 minutes. They are sure to spread holiday cheer while adorning cocktails!
Create a garland for your tree from vintage Christmas storybooks.
I made this vintage storybook garland quite a few years back and it’s still one of my favorite Christmas decor pieces I’ve done. This one is of course a kiddo favorite too! Find out how to make it here!
Decorate your tree for you!
I am a huge proponent of decorating your tree for you! While I do think color-coordinated themed Christmas trees are gorgeous, I think you should have at least one tree in your home that is full of your kid’s ornaments, relics of your childhood, and just special objects that are priceless to you and not just all store bought fancy ornaments.
Make the cabinets pretty.
Give the kitchen a little holiday love by decorating the fronts of the cabinets. I made the cabinet decor on the left by buying one thing of garland at Michael’s, then cutting it into pieces, adding a leaf pick, ornament and ribbon to it. The reindeer one was made similarly with greenery that I cut up. The bottom ones have a more traditional red and green Christmas feel and are just little sprigs of boxwood I cut from my front yard, hot glued together, then used more hot glue to attach a ribbon and tie over the cabinets. I think clustering a few of any of these together would also make a gorgeous alternative to a wreath on your front door.
Throw (not literally) an ornament cluster anywhere you can.
Ornaments clusters are another one of my favorite holiday decorations. I always make mine with glass ornaments because I like the shine, but you can make these with shatter proof ornaments as well. They are so simple to make – find out how here. I put them on corners of tables, my mantel, around lamps and just about anywhere else I can.
Get creative with your Christmas card displays.
I think I end up doing a new type of card display just about every year. A few years ago, I made this raffle ticket Christmas card holder. When we moved though, I didn’t have a place to hang it. Last year, I made this ribbon tiny tree to display holiday cards.
Have fun with your stocking holders.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, we are all about having fun with our holiday decor around here! Our stocking holders reflect that for sure! Mine is topped with Barbie, Grunt’s with G.I. Joe and the Circus’ with a horse. It took all of 10 minutes to make them – get the tutorial for them here.
No mantel? No problem. Hang the stockings in the windows.
At our old house, we didn’t have a fireplace or mantel. I used ribbon to hang our stockings from the curtain rod above the windows. I loved the look and we got compliments from multiple neighbors about how pretty they looked as they passed by our house.
Stick greenery and shimmery things anywhere you can.
I really don’t like to completely take all my regular decor down and put it away during the holidays. Instead, I try to work it into the holiday decor as much has I can. One way I do this is by putting greenery and shimmery picks in anything that will hold something – like these cowboy boots.
Get out vintage items with Christmas colors.
At the farmhouse last year, I pulled out lots of vintage pieces that had red and green Christmas colors like this old canteen and used them with the holiday decor. I filled this one with greenery and picks and topped it off with a printed off vintage style holiday Christmas card.
Decorate the lampshades and pull out the old Christmas cards.
I used more of those printable holiday cards to adorn lampshades at the farm as well last year. And that tray is holding a couple of holiday cards that my grandparents had sent out years and years ago!
Create a musical tree skirt.
It doesn’t actually play music, but this record tree skirt was so simple to make and definitely gives off a musical vibe. You won’t need much more than thrift store records and spray paint to bring this idea to life.
Make simple, but eye-catching wreaths.
I love beautiful wreaths for the holidays, but I don’t have time to make elaborate ones. And funny enough, when I’ve tried to make elaborate ones, they always end up hideous! ha! One of my favorites I’ve ever made and that I still use every Christmas is this simple tinsel wrapped one with a vintage Santa in the middle.
That star evergreen might look hard to make, but it’s actually really easy! All you’ll need is loose greenery and some paint sticks! Find out how to do it here!
Hang wreaths in unexpected places.
I don’t know quite why, but I love the way a wreath looks when it’s hung over a mirror – especially when the mirror is reflecting the Christmas tree lights. Really, I just love wreaths hung anywhere and not just on the front door. Look for spots in your living room, kitchen and even bathroom to tuck small little wreaths and add a little Christmas cheer.
Jack your kid’s toys.
If your kid has a wagon, tell them you’re taking possession of it for the holiday season. Pay them rent if you have to. 😉 My daughter has this adorable little Radio Flyer and I adore the way it looks filled with a few small gifts. These little wagons also make great centerpieces on you holiday table! You could even fill a larger wagon with faux snow and miniature villages to create a small winter wonderland!
Turn meaningful items into tree ornaments.
I’ve already touched on this when I talked about decorating your Christmas tree for you; here’s some examples of those meaningful ornaments – old car keys, baby toys, your kid’s first pair of tennis shoes, and your grandmother’s glasses. 🙂
What affordable Christmas decor do you just love?
Want more holiday decorating inspiration?
Christmas at the Farm – our family’s farmhouse decked out for the holidays in traditional colors and touches of vintage holiday decor!
If you’re looking for a festive touch to your holiday party this year, make these Christmas ornament drink stirrers. It’s a simple DIY that will take about 10 minutes and costs around $10-$15.
You might remember these fun little drink stirrers from last year’s Christmas home tour when they made their debut appearance. I love them just as much this year as I did last and maybe even more!
These will add a fun touch to any holiday party you might be hosting or just for casual drinks with friends one evening. Either way, everyone will think you’re the hostess with the mostess. 😉
You can customize these with colors and patterns that reflect your holiday decor too!
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
DIY Christmas Drink Stirrers
Supplies Needed:
Festive Paper Straws – I opted for gold ones, but you could go with any color that fits with your holiday decorations.
Mini Ornaments – Mine came from Target. I believe you can find them at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby as well. Again, go with whichever colors/patterns you prefer.
Using the X-Acto knife, cut a small hole in the bottom of each mini-ornament. You want the hole to be a little smaller than the end of the straw so that the ornament will fit snugly on the top of the straw.
Step 2
Place an ornament on one end of each straw. If you made your holes the right size, then you shouldn’t need anything else to hold the ornament onto the straw. If the ornaments are loose on the top of the straw, put a drop of hot glue either inside the ornament or just around the base of the ornament where it meets the straw to keep it in place.
That’s it! Easy peasy, super simple.
Have a designated spot for guests to drop their stirrers when they are finished with them. After the party, pull the ornament off the top of the straw and throw the straw away. This way, to create more stirrers, all you’ll have to do is just pop the ornaments on new straws!
I love that these also double as decor leading up the holidays.
Cheers (complete with festive drink stirrers), friends!
Want more great Christmas decorations that are easy to make?
While every grandparent loves those beautiful works of art they often get from the grandkids, maybe you want to step it up a notch this Christmastime. Of course, still let your little ones give them that artwork, but maybe add one of these Christmas gifts for grandparents to go along with it!
Let’s talk holiday gifts for grandparents today!
These gift ideas for grandparents are more geared as gifts from the grandkids. If you’re looking for gifts for grandparents that aren’t all about the grandkids, then check out these gifts for people who have everything. There are lots of ideas there for those hard-to-buy-for people like grandparents.
Some brands provided products and/or compensation for inclusion in this gift guide. However, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
If you’re on my gift ideas email list, I’ve already been talking about this gift idea for a week or two now – custom wall calendars. Every year, I make a Circus themed calendar (and not pictures of an actual circus, but my own little six year old Circus) and give them to grandparents, aunts and uncles. Every year, it’s one of everybody’s most favorite gifts – even the year I unknowingly included a photo that had the f-bomb in it. I go through pictures from the previous year and pull lots of favorites, then plug them into one the calendars at Photobook. It makes the perfect gift for grandparents! It does take 1-2 hours for me to go through the pictures, pull my favorites and then create the calendar, but I’m also knocking out about six or seven gifts in the process. If you’re thinking about doing these, then I suggest going ahead and doing it now before all the holiday hoopla really goes full force and you’re short on time. 🙂
This little game set includes 20 different activities that grandparents can play with their grandkids. They range from silly and playful to scientific. These cards will create hours of fun and special bonding time between grandparents
Just how many times will the grandparents let the grandkids win? With this scoreboard, you can keep track of it. You can have this scoreboard personalized with whatever type of wording you want.
Give a joint gift to both the grandparents and kids this holiday season with matching slippers! You’ll be treating the grandparents to a pair of great slippers and the kids will be overjoyed to have slippers just like Grandma and Grandpa. At Minnetonka, there are colors available in both the Kid’s Charley and Cassie Slippers that match colors on multiple different styles of women’s slippers and men’s slippers.
I can’t imagine a world without photo ornaments for your Christmas tree; they are always my favorite ornaments to put on the tree! Adorn Grandma and Grandpa’s Christmas tree with a new ornament this year and maybe even start a tradition of getting them a new one every year! You could go with a favorite picture of the littles or you could let the littles choose a favorite picture of them and the grandparents for the ornament. Find these custom photo ornaments here. You could even have fun with these and have ones made with an old family photo from when the grandparents were kids!
This little clip display for artwork is perfect for grandparents as they can change out and display more than one piece of artwork from their grandkids all the time. You can choose from different fonts and colors on this display sign as well!
I love, love, love silhouettes. I think they capture a different kind of beauty in a child that you don’t always get in an ordinary photo. I think grandparents can appreciate that as well. It’s really simple to get a custom silhouette of your child made with Minted. You just take a side profile picture of your child, select which color and size you want the silhouette to be, then just upload the picture.
Let both grandparents and the grandkids show off their mad skills while decorating this gingerbread house together. The house is already pre-assembled, so they can immediately start decorating (or eating)! This gingerbread house from Dylan’s Candy Bar comes with icing and all sorts of candies to decorate with.
This one will take a little more time than the custom calendars, but it might be a little more special too. Create a custom photobook either full of the grandkids, grandkids and grandparents or a special trip or adventures they’ve went on together! Bring the kids in on the fun and let them pick out the pictures and wording for these photobooks!
Can you add any Christmas gift ideas for grandparents to this list?
Have some wanna-be DIYers on your gift list? Or maybe you’re wanting to start doing DIY projects yourself? Find great gifts for DIYers here or add some of these to your own holiday wish list!
I often get comments on my DIY projects about people saying how they wish they could do DIY, but they just can’t. Or they don’t have the right tools. Or they don’t know where to start.
Well, you can learn to do your own DIY projects, friends. If I can, anyone can. I know, I know, I know. You’ve heard that line a million times before.
I’m being serious though. Yes, it takes time. I wasn’t born with a drill in my hand. And I’m still learning. My DIY skills are still very much in that intermediate skill level when it comes to some projects.
This gift guide for beginning DIYers was another request this year. I think some of you might be adding these items to your wish list, rather than buying for others though. 😉 It’s all good. I see you. I do it all the time myself. My Christmas wish list gets added to as I’m searching for gifts for all these guides and everyone on my list. 🙂
Whether you are buying for others or adding items to your own list, I don’t think there’s a single item in this list of gifts for DIYers that any DIYer wouldn’t appreciate.
Some brands provided products and/or compensation for inclusion in this gift guide. However, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Gifts for Beginning DIYers
The Basics
Let’s start with the basics first. These are basic tools that every DIYer should have in their arsenal.
Sidenote: I’m assuming that the beginning DIYer already has a set of screwdrivers, hammer, measuring tapes, etc. in their arsenal. If they don’t, then most definitely get those for them first.
I am the safety nerd when it comes to DIY projects. If I’m doing any sort of project that requires me to cut wood, you can bet that I have on my safety glasses. I harp on Grunt Labor for not wearing them when he’s cutting wood. Anyone who does any sort of DIY projects with wood needs safety glasses!
Help them get started by letting them decide what they need.
There isn’t a DIYer on this planet who wouldn’t appreciate a gift card to Lowe’s or Home Depot. They can use it for a new tool they’ve been eyeing or to get started on a project they’ve been wanting to tackle. If you’re not sure what exactly they could use in way of tools, get them a gift card. If they’ve been talking about building a coffee table (or whatever else- you get the idea!), get them a gift card. You can purchase actual plastic gift cards or e-gift cards from GiftCards.com and have them delivered straight to your gift recipient or to you so you can wrap it up all pretty.
Every DIYer needs a good level. Personally, I think they need a couple of levels – a small one that is really handy for smaller projects and a larger one for, obviously, bigger projects. I probably use both my small and big levels equally. Besides checking to make sure things are level during your projects, the longer level especially is also great for drawing straight lines across a sheet of plywood to guide you as you cut it.
A speed square is great for smaller jobs where you’re working with lumber such as 2″ x 4″s, 1″ x 4″s, etc. It has a lip that you place against the edge of the wood and then you can draw perfectly straight perpendicular or 45 degree angle lines for cutting.
A framing square is similar to a speed square, but obviously much larger. You can use this on larger pieces of wood, such as plywood, to check for squareness of wood, to draw straight lines for cutting, etc.
I use clamps all the time. Of course, these are most often used when you’re gluing a couple or more pieces of wood together, but I also use my clamps to clamp together pieces of wood that I’m screwing together, cutting, etc. I recommend having two different kinds – smaller spring clamps and larger bar clamps as well. And in my personal opinion, you can never have too many bar clamps.
This is perfect for that DIYer who doesn’t always have an extra set of hands to help out. This clamp will hold two pieces of wood together so that you aren’t trying to hold them yourself while also trying to screw them together.
Having a good pair of sawhorses is a necessity when you’re doing DIY projects. You don’t want a flimsy pair that will move around every time you move the piece of plywood around. You want a good, sturdy pair that will stay put. This pair of sawhorses also come with attached clamps, which is pretty handy.
Having a good cordless drill is like DIY 101. This is the drill we have and it’s never failed us. In fact, we bought another just like it to leave at the farm for when we need it there. Personally, we really like just about all of the Ryobi cordless tools. They do a good job and are really handy since the batteries are all interchangeable. There’s a guide here for using a drill and what all it can do if you need it.
If they’re just starting out, they are going to need plenty of drill bits that will both drill holes and drive screws. This is a great set to get started out with. We have it as well.
If they don’t have any sort of power saw, then get them a circular saw. This is the most basic power saw you can get and it will cut just about anything. We have this circular saw too and I also wrote a guide about using it here.
While circular saws cut straight, jigsaws can cut out all kinds of shapes. You can do straight cuts with it as well, but it’s made specifically for curved cuts. Again, this is the jigsaw we have and use all the time.
For beginning DIYers, I suggest going with a battery powered nail gun. This nail gun will shoot brad nails and work for basic DIY projects. It’s easy to use as well, since it’s battery powered.
Gifts for Furniture Painting DIYers
If you’ve got a person on your list (or yourself!) who is ready to dive into the world of DIY furniture painting, these are some of the tools I recommend for them.
With furniture painting, you’re going to have to sand pieces every now and then. I’ve had this palm sander for nearly 10 years and it hasn’t failed me yet. It’s easy to use and works great. There’s a guide to using this sander here.
Heat guns aren’t a must when it comes to furniture painting, but they can come in really handy sometimes. Heat guns can do a myriad of things (see my post here about that), but they are really great for stripping furniture without a big ol’ mess. You can see how I did that here with this heat gun.
You can use all kinds of different paints on furniture, but one of the easiest to use and get started with is Velvet Finishes paint. Their Ready primer is also a great product because it will often eliminate the need for sanding a piece of furniture before painting. You could give your gift recipient a couple of these to play around with, along with a good paintbrush. Use code JENNA20 to get 20% off anything at Velvet Finishes this holiday season!
If they’ve already dabbled a bit in furniture painting, then a paint sprayer made for furniture painting would be a great gift. This paint sprayer is the one I have and love – it sprays a very fine finish, which gives your furniture a professional look. It’s extremely easy to use as well – tutorial on how to use it here.
I can’t tell you how much easier this tool has made my life. If you or your gift recipient plans to do any upholstery work, this power stapler is a life and time saver! There’s no beating in staples with a hammer because the staple gun didn’t push them in all the way. This one puts staples in flush in record time.
Any gifts for DIYers you’ll be getting from this list or adding to your own wish list?
Looking for more great gift ideas? Click any of the links below!
Have a music lover on your holiday gift list? Someone who lives and breathes music? Being that kind of person myself, I can say with confidence that one of these music gifts is going to be the perfect gift for that person. Whether they love rock, country, or something else, this list of music gift ideas will help you check off at least a name or two on your list.
I did a gift guide for people who love music a couple years back and it was one of my favorite ones to do. When a couple of you wanted to see another one this year, I was more than happy to oblige!
As you know, I love music and my musical tastes are all over the place – my playlists just might the only place where Tom Petty is often followed by Reba McEntire and preceded by Frank Sinatra.
Needless to say, this list of music themed gifts is not limited to one single genre.
Some brands provided products and/or compensation for inclusion in this gift guide. However, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Music Gift Ideas
Dolly Parton (or other artist of your choice) Devotional Prayer Candle
I think it’s only right to start with the queen, don’t you agree? I fell in love with this candle earlier this year when Kari from A Graceful Life shared it with me. Grunt got it for me for my birthday and I’ve been praying to Saint Dolly ever since. So far, so good.Find the Dolly candle here. If Dolly wouldn’t be to your gift recipient’s liking, then you need to ditch that person. Kidding.
Help them set the tone for their crib with a new music themed doormat that reflects their musical tastes. A fan of rap? Let them create their own Gangsta’s Paradise at home. Forever a Conway and country music fan? Why, Hello Darlin’.
All of the notebooks from upcycleVinyl are made using album covers. I know, right? Super cool. I still love vinyl and I have to say, part of the reason is because of the amazing album art. My dad had this Eagles album as I was growing up and I remember always thinking this one was interesting. There are notebooks from every kind of genre in this shop. If you see one that someone on your list would love, snag it fast! These things are unique and there is usually just one of each in the shop!
If you know a guitar player, this is both a handy little gift and a meaningful one. It can hold their guitar, picks and you can have it inscribed with a message of your choice. Find it here.
I absolutely love this art print because of just how true it is. If you have one of those devout musical people on your list, like where music can take them to a whole other level, transport them to someplace else completely, then this art print is a great gift for them and something they will really appreciate.
Ok, so this speaker is a total game changer. Grunt and I recently received one of these as a gift and we fell in love the moment we got it hooked up. The FABRIQ Chorus is a bluetooth speaker, so it can connect to your phone or iPod and stream music through that, but it is also WiFi enabled and can connect to Amazon Alexa so it can play music that way too as well as do all the other stuff Alexa does. Plus, you can connect up to ten speakers and place them all around your home to create a whole house sound system. And did I also mention that the sound quality is great? The one pictured above is the larger Chorus. There is also a smaller version available as well here. We love this so much we are actually planning on adding one to our wish list to start our own whole house sound system – something we have always wanted!
I think quite a few of us girls, and a few guys as well, wish we could just cozy on up with George Strait. These earrings though might be as close as we’ll ever get. The Circus received the Dolly ones for her birthday from a friend and since she let her holes grow up, I took ownership of them. I love them. I pretend that Dolly just whispers her words of wisdom into my ear throughout the day. You can get all sorts of folks on earrings from this shop.
This cassette card case is the absolute perfect gift for the musician on your list or someone who loves 90’s music and still longs for the mixtapes they created by recording songs on the radio. The icing on the cake is that they can carry it in their pocket or display it on their desk.
There was one thing I desperately wanted the most for Christmas last year and this book was it. Country Music Hair. The higher the hair, the closer to God, y’all and the ladies of country music most definitely knew how to get just as close to the Almighty as they could. This is a great coffee table book, but I also read the whole thing and enjoyed every bit of it. It doesn’t just talk about hair, but it tells stories about the women behind the hair – Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell, my girl Reba and many more. It doesn’t leave out the boys either – it covers Waylon and Willie and the boys. See what I did there.
Another thing you can never ever go wrong with (or have too many of, in my opinion) is a great t-shirt rocking one of your gift recipient’s favorite singers or bands. I have always found the most affordable and best selection of vintage style music t-shirts here. I have a few of these myself and not only do they look great, but they are also those soft and cozy t-shirts. Technically, these are classified as “Men’s”, but I’ve always bought them for myself and they fit me just fine – not too tight, not too big. Browse through all the t-shirts here – most all of them are $20 or less, with many being $15 or less!
As I’ve already stated, I love old record covers. 1000 Record Covers goes through albums from the 60’s to the 90’s detailing the best record covers of rock. This book is a gift that a Rock n’ Roll fan will truly appreciate.
I don’t have a shower head speaker, but we do have a bluetooth speaker built into our ceiling light in the bathroom. Just let me tell you that getting ready has never before been so enjoyable. I used to always play music from my phone while getting ready, but for me, it was just never loud enough. Now, I connect the bluetooth and let that bad boy play loud. The speaker above is here, and there’s another option here.
When Bill went away to college, Nick bought him a bluetooth speaker like this one. As he said, “You’ve always gotta be able to have the music.” We have a couple of bluetooth speakers around here and use them all the time. You won’t find us on the deck or me cooking without having music going on one. There are many things I could live without. A bluetooth speaker is not one of them.
I got my Dad and stepmom the personalized vinyl record doormat for Christmas last year and they absolutely loved it! I had it personalized with their last name and “Spinning Since 2005,” which was the year they got married. My dad is a big music lover, so this was a perfect gift for him especially. You can also have the mixtape and amp doormat personalized as well. I want the mixtape one for our house.
Some think coffee table books are just for decoration. I would have to strongly disagree with them. I think coffee table books should be about the things you find interesting and I think you should read them. I have ones in my living room about Mick Jagger, Elvis, etc. and I love every single one of them. Music themed coffee table books are great gifts for people who love music – they’ll enjoy them, they’ll be proud to display them and they make great conversation pieces.
I’m sure I’m breaking a few rules here. Yes, you did read the title of this post correctly – Let the gift giving begin.
I know, I know, I know – October isn’t over yet, and here’s the crazy lady already talking about holiday gifts.
You’re damn straight.
If this is your first holiday season with me here at Rain on a Tin Roof, then you should probably know that I absolutely love gift giving.
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Picking out the perfect gift for each and every single person on my list just makes me all kinds of giddy. And if a person isn’t on my list, but I run across something just perfectly meant for them, then I’m probably gonna get it for them anyway, because I just love giving people presents they will find either incredibly useful, meaningful, absolutely love, but wouldn’t buy for themselves or all of the above.
I’m getting giddy just thinking about it all right now.
A month or so back, I asked all of you what kind of gifts you would be looking for this holiday season, needed help with, etc. – and you answered.
So for the past month, I’ve been gathering gift ideas for both everyone on my list and y’all’s lists. 🙂 We’re going to talk gifts for music lovers, readers, cooks, drinkers, grandparents and much more. After all my gift guides are published, if you still have people that you have no clue what to buy for, then you’ve just got very difficult friends and family. I am going to have ideas for everyone on your list, folks – and for every budget.
Tomorrow, I’ll be back with the first of many holiday gift guides of the season!
In the meantime, to make sure you get every gift idea, every special discount I’m going to get you, and to make sure you know when a gift you’ve been eyeing goes on sale, be sure to sign up for my Holiday Gift Guide emails.
When you sign up, from now throughout the holiday season, you’ll get roughly 1-3 emails from me per week packed with great gift ideas, discount codes, sales and more. It is absolutely free, y’all! Sign up using the box above or through this link.
After you sign up, you’ll be directed to our gift ideas page. You should also receive an email with a link to confirm your subscription – make sure you confirm so you can get the emails!
And if you just absolutely can’t wait to get started on your gift hunting, here are a few favorites I’ve found…
Are these not some of the most gorgeous coasters you’ve ever seen? They are from The MET Store (yep, I didn’t know the MET had an online store either, but I’m so glad I discovered it!) and they are only $28 for the set. They have rims that will keep any condensation that builds up inside the coaster and not on the table. This is such a unique gift that is also useful. I’ve got three people on my list that are getting a set of these! Find them here.
Hands down, this is the gift that every single grandparent, aunt and uncle on my list, look forward to the most. The annual calendar of the Circus. Every year, I make a custom calendar filled with pictures of the kid. My family absolutely loves them. These are super affordable and something that grandparents, aunts and uncles enjoy the whole year through. Right now, they are even 60% off using code OCT18!
4. Coordinated Cocktail Napkins
For either the hostess or the cocktail lover on your list, these coordinated cocktail napkins are sure to be a winner. And they are just $30 for a set of 8! If you’re on a really tight budget, break the set into two sets of four for two people on your list!
5. Cozy Sheepskin Slippers
You can never ever ever go wrong with a great pair of good, cozy slippers. These are lined with sheepskin, so they are sure to keep your gift recipient’s feet nice and toasty during the cold winter months. They are from Minnetonka, so you know they are going to last forever too! If a person is buying slippers just for themselves, then they usually just buy a cheap pair that will last a little while, they never splurge on something for themselves this cozy – do the splurging for them! Find these slippers here!
6. Pig Ottoman
This one is perfect for those kiddos on your list. An adorable ottoman where they can sit to tie their shoes, but then also hop on and pretend to ride that pig! I can just see the Circus on this one!
7. Notebooks made from Record Covers
If you’ve got a music lover on the list, then head to this Etsy store for loads of notebooks all made from album covers. This Michael Jackson one is just the tip of the iceberg – there are loads of different artists and genres to choose from! Shop them all here.
8. Monogrammed Turkish Towel
I love Turkish towels – they are beautiful and can fit with just about any home decor and have so many different uses. This one is perfect for those on your list that love a good monogram! You can choose from multiple different styles and colors!
It’s looked like Halloween around here for quite a while now (since early-mid September-ish!), and now the weather is actually starting to feel like Halloween as well! It was still crazy hot here in the South up until about last week. When we got back from fall break, we were so excited to find that fall had actually arrived to our neck of the woods!
Besides regular Halloween festivities, this year we are also hosting a Halloween party at our house. I love decorating for Halloween anyway, but with the party, I wanted this year’s decorations to be a little “extra.” Our Halloween home definitely has spooky touches to it, but there’s also a bit of glitter and shine to make all the decor a little more fun than typical Halloween decorations…
Glam and Spooky Halloween Home Tour
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The Dollar Tree and I were BFFs this Halloween season. They have these fantastic orange feather boas, which I ran along the handrails in the main entryway of my house.
I also placed Dollar Tree skulls on every corner and end of the handrails. I just hot-glued some ribbon to the bottom of the skulls, then tied them on the handrails. Creepy + Glam, right?
While I love the look of the faux spiderwebs that you can get and spread out all around your house and then to the moon and back, I don’t love the mess they make. Instead of the spiderwebs, I just throw creepy cloths everywhere and then add in spiders.
I always bring out my mohawk lollipop holder for Halloween too and fill it with red or orange suckers. I think it adds a touch of funny/creepy to everything.
I think the colors I have in my living room also lend themselves well to Halloween decor. Funny enough, they also seem to work well when Christmastime rolls around. 🙂
I filled my gold snake bowl with plastic eyeballs and mini skulls. I found the glittery black mirror at Goodwill. I spent no less than 1,263 hours mulling over where to hang it on the wall and then finally decided it was best as a tray of sorts on the coffee table. Go figure.
I don’t even think you’ve seen this console table since I’ve had it – and I’ve had it since earlier this year! I knew I wanted a console table for this space, but could never find one that was quite right. I happened upon these console table plans and thought it might just be perfect for the space. I knew building this was too far above my skill level though. I handed it (and a case of beer) off to my two “resident builders,” Wayne and Ron and they took care of it, doing an impeccable job as always. I’m so lucky to have those two guys to bounce my ideas off of and then build them for me if I can’t do it – especially when they take beer as payment!
I glittered the stems on some white pumpkins and arranged them with another one of those orange feather boas on a pedestal tray.
Don’t they go nicely with the Studio54 jeans advertisement? 😉
I’ve had those Halloween head candles for years. I usually just scatter them around, but this year, I popped them on top of candlestick holders and I think I like them much better that way.
I made the skull floral arrangement by cutting out the back of a styrofoam skull then gluing a vase to it. It’s one of my favorite pieces this year.
This guy is one of my just for fun decorations. I bought a skeleton, then propped him up in front of the window, complete with a sombrero. As you can tell from the looks of him and the empty tequila bottle, he had one too many margaritas.
I left the dining room table clear except for the skull candleholder. We eat in here most every night so I didn’t want to have to clear decorations off of it all the time.
The Circus is all about lighting these candles while we’re eating. 🙂
Learn how to make a witches broom using items from the Dollar Tree and your own yard! It’s so simple to make this sparkly DIY witch broom that you’ll only be sorry you didn’t make one sooner!
This year for Halloween, I’m going to be a (not-so-basic) witch! Personally, I don’t think dressing up as a witch for Halloween ever goes out of style and I’m really excited to put my own personal spin on it this year. The Circus says she’s going to be my black cat, but then some days, she says she’ll be a witch with me and then some days, she’s just going to be a dog. So who knows what she will actually end up being?
Every witch of course, needs a broom. If you ask me or the Circus, we’ll tell you that we prefer brooms of the glittery and sparkly variety.
And glittery brooms, we have! I made these using supplies from my own backyard and The Dollar Tree. And you know what – I think these actually look better than a store bought glittery broom I bought a couple years back! Grunt agrees, so I’ll just go ahead and say it’s fact. 😉
Here’s how you can whip up your own glittery, sparkly DIY witch broom this Halloween!
How to Make a Witches Broom
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Supplies & Tools Needed Per Broom:
1 tree branch from your yard roughly four feet long and about 1 inch in diameter
Remove all the smaller twigs and leaves from your large tree branch. Cut to size if needed. Spray paint the tree branch black.
Step 2
After the branch has dried, run a bead of hot glue on one glittery branch stem and glue it onto your tree branch near the bottom.
Place the glittery branch so that where it breaks off into smaller branches and fans out is right near where the real tree branch ends. Hold the glittery branch in place until the glue dries.
Step 3
Wrap twine tightly around where the two branches are glued together a few times.
Step 4
Repeat steps 2-3 until you have covered your tree branch end with enough glittery branches for your liking. I used about 5-7 glittery branches per actual tree branch.
Step 5
Once you have put all the glittery branches you want on your tree branch, wrap more twine around where the tree branch and glittery branches meet. Cover any spots of glitter or black that may be coming through where the glittery branches are glued.
Cut the twine when you are finishing wrapping and hot glue the end tightly in place.
Fair warning – these do shed glitter, especially as you are putting them together. A little glitter never hurt anyone though. 😉
The Circus has already staked claim on the pinky-purple one if she’s a witch, so I’ll be flying on the black or orange one. 😉
If you’ve got 15 minutes to spare, you can easily whip up this DIY skull sconce to add to your Halloween decor! It lends a touch of spook for not a lot of money!
Halloween is in full force at my house. The decorations are out and the costumes are being planned! Grunt Labor has actually said he thinks this is one of the best Halloween decorating years at our house – and I’m not even finished yet! *insert witch’s cackle here*
I have whipped up a few new pieces of Halloween decor this year – this DIY Skull Sconce being one of them.
I made him using items from the Dollar Tree and Michael’s, so it doesn’t cost much at all and it took me about 15 minutes to make – not including paint dry time. P.S. Paint dry times are perfect for beer breaks. 😉
How to Make a Skull Sconce
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Spray paint the wood plaque. You can do any color you wish, but since mine was for Halloween decor, I opted for black. Let it dry. After the plaque is dry, attach hanging hardware to the back of it.
Step 2
Brush Mod Podge on the candlestick. While the Mod Podge is still wet, sprinkle orange glitter on it and let it dry.
Again, you can do any color, but orange was my pick. I do think it would also look cool with purple glitter against the black wood plaque.
Step 3
Remove the tag and small round hook from the top of the skull. Lay the skull on the cutting board and cut off a small portion of the back of the skull head as shown below.
This is to make him lay flat against the wood plaque.
Step 4
Once the candlestick is dry, place it on top of the skull’s head and trace around its base onto the skull with a pen or pencil.
Use the X-Acto knife to cut out the circle and remove about 1/4″ to 1/2″ of the styrofoam below.
Step 5
Place a good amount of hot glue on the back of the skull. Place him in the lower middle portion of the wood plaque and press him firmly in place.
Once dry, place the candlestick in the hole on top of the skull and hang it on the wall.
The candlestick is battery operated, but does not have a switch to turn on and off. I just leave the candlestick partially untwisted at the bottom where the battery connection is to keep it off and twist it closed when I want to turn it on. You’ll see what I mean when you get the candlestick.
Happy Halloween Crafting and Decorating, Friends Witches! Will you be making a skull sconce?
Need more Halloween decorating ideas? I’m your girl!
Easy DIY Halloween Decorations– my favorite Halloween decorations that don’t cost a fortune to make and are easy to complete too!
DIY Witch Broom – of the sparkly variety. 😉 Made using stuff from your yard and the Dollar Tree!
DIY Skull Drink Stirrers – so easy, you won’t believe it! Perfect for parties, as well as decor!
Want to come back to the instructions later? Just pin the image below!
These easy DIY Halloween decorations will add a touch of Halloween splendor to your home in no time! These spooky decorations are simple to make and each costs under $10 for supplies! Here’s to Halloween – DIY style!
It’s September! In my world, that means I’m busting out the skulls, spell book and witch’s hat among other things.
I’m definitely not one to rush time, it already goes by far too fast for my liking, but I am excited about the upcoming holiday season and am ready to kick it off with Halloween.
And if we’re being honest, I’ve had a full size fake skeleton sitting at my dining room table for three weeks now.
Had to take advantage of that 50% off coupon at Michael’s while I could – those skeletons aren’t cheap! The Circus hooked him up with her Tilly Witch book.
Also, he rode home right beside me. In the passenger seat. Strapped in.
Honestly, I just wanted to freak people out on my way home and think about how much I would be talked about by complete strangers as the crazy lady driving with the skeleton in the passenger seat. I tried real hard to make it to where he was looking right out the passenger window with his hand up waving at people, but while he’s posable, he just wasn’t that posable. Bummer.
Anywho, Halloween, Christmas and the 4th of July are my top three holidays. There’s magic in each (of different varieties) and when each one rolls around, I always say, “This one is my favorite.” But then the next rolls around and I say the same damn thing, so I guess all three are tied for favorite holiday in my book.
I have quite a few new halloween decor ideas I’m working on this week, but to kick off this most wonderful time of the year (no, I don’t care that that song technically refers to Christmas), here are some of my favorite easy Halloween DIY projects I’ve done in the past.
Let’s get our spook on, y’all, or as my Circus told me just this morning, “It’s almost Double Double Toil and Trouble time!”
P.S. None of these should set you back more than $10 and most of them are less than $5! You’re welcome.
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Such an easy halloween decoration to make, but that packs a serious punch! This crystal ball really glows! You’ll need just three things to make this bad boy and about five minutes!
If you’ve got five minutes to spare, then you can whip up this fantastically spooky Halloween decoration! Add a witchy touch to your decor with this tutorial for a glowing cauldron!
I love hitting up dollar stores for their cheap Halloween decor and then adding to it or manipulating it in some way to make it awesome. That’s exactly what I did here. I bought three skulls at the Dollar Tree, then made them into a candleholder. One of the easiest and cheapest pieces of DIY halloween decor I’ve ever done and damn it, one of my favorites. The tutorial for it is here.
I made these brooms for Halloween decor using items from my yard and the Dollar Tree! Super easy to make and I love the shimmery, glittery look of these witches brooms. See how to make them here.
This skull sconce was made using a combination of items from the Dollar Tree and Michael’s. The candlestick is battery operated, so no having to worry about flames with this one. The tutorial for this sconce is here.
Obviously, this printable combined with what I told you my daughter said to me this morning lets you know that “Double Double Toil and Trouble” is one of our favorite Halloween sayings. The Circus is also a big fan of the Double Double Toil and Trouble movie from the 90’s with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen in it. Ok fine, I’m a big fan too. Freaking loved it when I was little. Me and Amanda Henry had that shit on repeat all through the Halloween season. Anyway, I felt that needed to be commemorated in our Halloween decor, so I made this printable. You can download it for free as well. Your welcome.More details on it here.
Also, I made that green ampersand pumpkin too. Tutorial for it is here. I love it because it can work well with basic fall decor like regular pumpkins and leaves, but then it can also look creepy when paired with Halloween decorations.
The little black pumpkins are also finds from the Dollar Tree. They always have these little orange styrofoam pumpkins every year and I just bought some one year, painted them black and glittered their stem to make them creepy.
These little things are probably one of the easiest things you could ever make. Seriously, you’d have them done in less than five minutes. The tutorial for them is here. Obviously, they do work great for drink stirrers, but for us, they double as decor until the Halloween party comes around!
Last year, the Circus and I created our own “potions” to use as Halloween decor. You can’t make potions without a spell book, so I whipped us up one of those too. You can get the printable files for these here.
This isn’t one of my Halloween projects, but I love it so much, I wanted to share it. My friend Kellie made this fun Halloween sign – love this for parties! See how she made it here!
This is an old project, thus the bad photography, but still a goodie. Again, I love those skulls from the Dollar Tree! I bought a few, spray painted them and then attached them atop thrift store candlestick holders. See more about them here.
Eat, Drink and Be Scary Sign
No tutorial for this one, but you don’t really need one! I spray painted some wood plaques, then Mod-Podged on a Halloween sticker I found at Hobby Lobby. To top it off, I added a glittery spider to the edge. This is perfect on top of our bar.
These are more cutesy DIY halloween decor. I used Frogtape to paint some patterns on pumpkins, then my Silhouette to cut out the letters and polka dots. The full how-to is here.
The little witch’s hat on the corner of the bar cart is another favorite Halloween decoration of mine. It adds a touch of sparkle wherever I put it. See how I made it here.
Will you be adding any easy Halloween decorations to your home this Halloween?
Looking for a simple valentine door wreath to make? This valentines wreath DIY will take you only 30 minutes to less to make – and it’s beautiful!
I never knew Grunt Labor’s grandfather, but after the many stories I’ve heard about him, I feel that we would have gotten along quite fabulously.
Although, he would have never used the term fabulously.
Among other things, we both liked to hang onto things. Some might call it hoarding. I, and maybe Grandpa, though would perhaps call it collecting. You never know when you might need something for a rainy day.
Also before I came along, a dumpster was rented and Mama and one of Grunt’s uncles, Vic, cleared out one of the rooms in the house from the “junk” Grandpa had accrued.
Apparently, Grandpa was sitting in his chair in the den while all this was going on talking about all the great stuff they were throwing away.
If I had been there, I’m sure I would have agreed with him.
And then probably sneaked out around to the back of the dumpster and climbed in to rescue some of the treasures.
So, this past fall when it was time to clean out Grunt’s grandparents’ entire house, there was another dumpster rented.
This time I was there though, so as you can imagine not quite everything handed to me to go to the dumpster actually made it to the dumpster. 😉
One of those things being a handful of little Valentine cards Grandpa had received in the 1930s.
I just wouldn’t have been able to live with myself had I tossed them into that dumpster. You’d be the same way, right?
And so, I brought them home and last week, the Circus and I made this simple little diy valentine wreath using a couple of the valentines.
This wreath took all of about 10 minutes – not including paint drying time of the ring, but that is totally optional.
Don’t have your own vintage valentines to use? No problem! I’ve got you covered with a link below where you can print off vintage valentines to use!
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How to Make a Valentine Wreath
Tools and Supplies Needed:
19″ Metal Hoop (You could use any size you want to.)
Spring Flowers or Bouquet – We opted to buy one of the small spring bouquets from Michael’s that was already put together. There was no trying to coordinate flowers or greenery, everything was right there that we needed.
Assorted “Skinny” Ribbons to coordinate with your valentines and flowers – obviously pink and red ribbon would work with valentines decor!
Clothespins (optional, but I found that mini size works best.)
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors
Little Blonde Hair Girl to Assist (optional, but highly recommended.) 😉
Steps
Step 1
I opted to spray paint my metal hoop gold. This is totally optional, but if you’re doing this, do it first.
Note: You could also tweak this wreath and use a heart wreath form to give it more Valentine zing!
Step 2
Disassemble the bouquet. Start wrapping the greenery and florals on the ring.
If you go with the kind of bouquet or a similar one like we got, then the flowers already have wire in them, so they just wrap right around that ring, no extra wire needed.
They stay where you put them, but then you can also move them around the ring if needed as well. So much nicer than having to mess with that bare wire and poking yourself.
Leave some space between the flowers for where you think you want your valentines to go. Put as many or as few flowers on your ring. We covered about 1/4 of the ring or so.
Step 3
Now you can attach your vintage valentines. Now, being as how the valentines I was using were special to us, I didn’t want to permanently put them on this wreath or damage them by putting hot glue directly on them and then onto the wreath. So, I opted to use mini-clothespins to attach my valentines.
I just stuck a clothespin on the valentine, then hot-glued the clothespin onto the metal ring or flower stem wherever I wanted it to go. Of course, if you aren’t attached to your valentines, you can just hot glue them right onto the wreath.
You can add in as many or as few valentines as you like. We opted for two of our favorites – a boy and girl and angled them to where they were kind of looking at one another.
Step 4
Take some of the skinny ribbons and wrap them around the metal ring and between the flowers and valentines, filling in as much or as little as you like. If you want to add a little more somethin-somethin to the wreath, then you could also embellish with a pom pom or two.
Step 5
Hang it up! We just used a wide peach colored ribbon to do this. You can drape the wreath over your front door and secure it on the other side or simply hang it from a nail or command hook on the wall somewhere.
I do love how the clothespins makes the valentines pop out from the flowers a little more than they might otherwise do.
I just adore the sweetness of vintage valentine decorations, don’t you? They truly don’t make ’em like that anymore.
Here’s to one handful of “junk” that didn’t get away, Grandpa!. 😉
What kind of valentine day wreaths have you made before?
Yesterday, I shared a home tour of our farmhouse all decked out with its Christmas decor. Today, I’ve got a holiday home tour of the 70’s Landing Pad and it’s pretty different from the farmhouse…
While both are filled with decorations full of memories and many vintage, this one is quite a bit more colorful. I love both equally.
If you’re coming over from Carmel at Our Fifth House, welcome! Carmel has been of my favorite bloggers for a while now. I’ve always admired her knack for creating such beautiful spaces that echo her and her family’s personalities. And also, a big thanks to Marti from A Stroll Thru Life for hosting this home tour blog hop – be sure to take a peek at her holiday home tour filled with some gorgeous touches of gold.
Like I said in my post yesterday, stress and I were BFFs when it came to Christmas decorating this year – until I finally realized how stupid being stressed about decorating for the holidays was. After that, I decided to go simple. For the most part, I used all the decorations I already had and just threw ’em around. 😉 I hope you enjoy my take on Christmas decorating this year…
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A Colorful Christmas Home Tour
The Living Room
Last year was our first year in the 70’s Landing Pad and while I love, love, love my black walls, I was worried that the Christmas decorations wouldn’t mesh too well with them. Well, I was wrong – they were perfect, in my opinion anyway. I loved how all the colors just bounced off the walls and this year was no exception.
Elvis always has to make an appearance in my Christmas home tour every year. This little bust is one of my favorite finds ever. This year, he is nestled beside some vintage glass ornaments and my DIY glass ornament tree.
I used a few of my ornament clusters together in the middle of the bar. You’ll also see lots of wrapped gifts popping up everywhere. Around here, our gifts also double as decor!
I created the ornament drink stirrers just like I did with the skull drink stirrers from Halloween – I love the added pop of color from them and the fun they add to this area.
Last year, I had hung little wrapped gifts over each of the cabinet doors. I wasn’t super crazy about them, so this year I cut up some faux greenery, added in glittery faux leaves, a ribbon and ornament and used those for the cabinet doors.
I also added in a few more touches of a light pink color around the house in our Christmas decor. The color had that vintage pink look I see on lots of vintage glass ornaments and those are always my favorite color there, so I thought why not incorporate it in more. Who says pink can’t be used during Christmastime?
I kept the dining room table super super simple by just using a gold table runner, filling a silver platter with ornaments and flanking it with greenery.
I did come up with a quick idea for displaying Christmas cards this year…
I used some ribbon to string up a Christmas tree on the wall and then used paper clips to put on the cards. I’m not 100% sold on it yet – what do you think?
Last year, we didn’t have a Christmas tree in the den. That is where Santa comes though and I really wanted to get one in there this year. The budget wouldn’t allow for spending too much on one though. I went with this white one that was only $40 (now on sale for $26!) and I was so pleasantly surprised at how good it looked!
The Circus really wanted colored lights on this tree and I was totally on board with that. To maximize that fun, colorful effect even more, we pulled lots of our more colorful ornaments to use for this tree.
I think this room has an overall playful Christmas feel and I think that’s perfect for this space since the Circus spends so much time here.
I’m sure that part of it was due to the fact that I was decorating both the 70’s Landing Pad and the farmhouse, but there were some serious moments of wanting to huddle myself in a corner and cry it out.
And maybe I did.
Here’s the thing though.
Decorating for Christmas shouldn’t be like that.
It should be fun and bring a smile to your face and only a good tear or two to your eye.
What it all came down to for me this year was that I was trying too hard.
I was trying to make things better than they were last year. Prettier than they were. More elaborate than they were and on and on and on.
And that was just stupid.
And with the farmhouse, I really just wanted my entire family to walk in there and see their faces light up and remember all the wonderful Christmases past that were spent there. If you’re new here and hopping over from The Turquoise Home or another stop on the Seasonal Simplicity Home Tour, the farmhouse was my late grandparent’s home and we’ve been remodeling/updating it since May. Read more about it here.
And that’s kind of when it hit me.
My grannie didn’t have that house elaborately decorated each Christmas. She didn’t spend countless hours each year meticulously hanging decorations in every room.
And you know what?
Those Christmases were still the best.
So instead of trying to outdo myself at the farm for Christmas, I instead turned on some good country music by way of the still-going-strong-after-30-years-under-the-cabinet radio and just scattered some holiday decor around.
There are still more decorations than she ever would have put up, but I think she’d be ok with that. While there are more, they’re simple. And special. And many are filled with memories of Christmases past.
Affiliate links may be included in this post, which means if you purchase something through one of those links, I may earn a small commission, but you won’t pay a dime more.
Let’s start outside…
The only exterior decorating we did was this little set-up which is right at the end of the driveway. I put the Oliver planter together for the fall and just switched things up around it for the holidays.
The Kitchen
Because at the farmhouse, friends always come through the back door where the kitchen is, let’s go there next. Please keep in mind that this remodel is still in progress! The kitchen floors are pretty rough at the moment, the cabinets need to be sanded and re-polyed and when I took these photos, we didn’t yet have our stove and dishwasher in!
One thing that I did know for certain when I started thinking about Christmas decorations for the farm was that I wanted to drape some sort of greenery over the cabinet doors because they would pop off those knotty pine cabinets and I wanted to scour the basement for some of the old thermoses and lanterns you’ll see to use for decor.
I love how this little thermos turned out. I just popped some greenery and an accent pick in it, then wrapped a vintage Christmas image around it. There are a slew of vintage Christmas images that you can print online for free. Just google them. That’s where I found this one and all the other ones you’ll see in this tour. To make them pop just a little more, I gave the edges a touch of glitter.
I hung a couple of faux boxwood wreaths in the windows for the season. The twig deer head that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas one year also fit perfectly in here. The old lantern was in the basement. I also love how the buffalo check pattern fits in so nicely here – I think we might have to incorporate some of that in here long term!
Of all the things I found/used for decorating this Christmas, this lantern below is my favorite.
I had no idea, but as I cleaned it up, I found my Pap’s name etched into the top of it there. I literally squealed when I saw that. I think it might have to find a more permanent home rather than the dark basement to be displayed after the holidays as well.
Isn’t it funny how a fancy silver tray also works perfectly in such a country type kitchen?
For the cabinet decorations, I just cut up a garland I purchased at Michael’s, attached ribbon, tied on glass ornaments and hung them over the cabinet doors. For the middle ones, I had these vintage deers that added a bit more to the mix.
They’re another favorite little vintage Christmas piece of mine.
Inside, I only decorated in the kitchen and living room – keeping it simple – so the living room is next….
Unfortunately, because of allergies, we can’t do real Christmas trees. However, I still wanted a Christmas tree for the farm that looked like I had just went out in the woods and chopped it down. I was so excited when I found this one. While it did look exactly like what I wanted online, I was worried about what it would actually look like when I got it out of the box and up. It turned out to be perfect though! And it didn’t cost an arm and a leg!
While I generally stick to only vintage Santas for holiday decor, this one really won me over. He had a vintage, jolly look to him that I couldn’t pass up.
When we cleaned out the basement here, I found another one of those cowboy blankets that I love so much. There used to be three total and one is still MIA, but it was another squealing moment when I found this one. Instead of a traditional tree skirt, I used it to wrap around the base of the Christmas tree.
If you’ve seen one of my Christmas home tours before, then you might remember that we don’t do designer-worthy, color-coordinated Christmas trees around here. We only put ornaments or decorations on our trees that have a special meaning or that we just absolutely love for some reason. With having a whole new tree to decorate at the farm and having added another one to our 70’s Landing Pad this year, I wasn’t sure we would have enough ornaments to cover all three trees.
I was totally wrong though. We had plenty. I did buy a few new ones for here like a vintage looking reindeer that the Circus loved and we also made that bunting garland out of vintage Christmas images we found online, but other than that, this Christmas tree is sporting special ornaments collected over the years. We’ve got the Ninja Turtles from back in the day, plastic toy keys that my dad, uncle and myself all played with when we were kids, real car keys, and of course – small stuffed animals that my Grannie put on her tree for me every year.
The wooden sled was my father-in-law’s when he was a child. It worked perfectly with that other beloved cowboy blanket that was my dad and uncle’s when they were kids. Both the Santa and stocking are vintage finds from over the years. The little vintage melted plastic popcorn Christmas tree peeking out was my Grannie’s. Radio Flyer is on loan from the Circus.
The larger vase is filled with vintage glass ornaments from Grunt’s grandparent’s home that we recently cleaned out. His grandmother just died last week, so they are even more special now. My father-in-law says these are ones that were with them when they lived in Okinawa where his dad was stationed at the time.
One thing my Grannie always put out every Christmas was her ceramic Christmas tree. This one isn’t hers, but one very similar that I bought years ago because it made me think of her. Putting it at the farm was fitting. I also found a couple of old Christmas cards of theirs that I put in a tray to display during the holidays. I’m on the hunt for more! And to jazz up the lamps a little more, I draped some of those vintage Christmas images over the shades as well.
That’s it for the farm; I’ll have our 70’s Landing Pad Christmas tour up tomorrow. Hope to see you back then!
Up next on the Seasonal Simplicity home tour is Maison de Pax. I guarantee you that Rachel and her holiday decorating will take your breath away! You can also see the full list of tour participants below and hop around to them!
One of my favorite types of gifts to buy are gifts for new homeowners. I love selecting something for them that they will find incredibly useful for their new place or something that is more meaningful and decorative for their new home. These gift ideas for new homeowners that you’ll find below range from useful to meaningful – and there’s something here for every budget.
I love it when someone on my holiday gift list has purchased a new house within the year. One of my favorite things to do is buy them something I think would be perfect for them and their new place. Ya know, home stuff is kind of my thing. 😉
Sometimes I go more decorative, sometimes I go more functional and sometimes I go more meaningful. Either way, I always try to put a lot of thought into what they might need/want for their new home. These gift ideas for new homeowners vary – some are pretty, some are handy and some, maybe a little sappy. And I just bet there’s something here for that new homeowner on your list!
Some brands provided products and/or compensation for inclusion in this gift guide. However, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
As you may know, I’m big on meaningful Christmas tree ornaments. I’m not a fan of color coordinated ornaments that look pretty, but there’s no meaning behind them. I love getting new homeowners ornaments that note the year they moved into their home. Both this door ornament and key ornament from Personalized Planet can be customized with the year and person’s name.
You might have read my post on Tuesday about our new wireless, zero monthly fee, syncs to our phone security system. We absolutely love it. The whole time I was setting up our Blink system all I could think was I wish these had been around when I first started living on my own! It would have saved this girl many sleepless nights. There’s no doubt in my mind that a new homeowner (or even a new renter since this system is portable!) would love to receive one of these simple install security systems for Christmas. You can read more about our experience with this system here.
Last year, one of my dear friends bought her first home. God love her, she doesn’t know much about tools and didn’t have any to her name. For Christmas, I bought her a pretty gold basket and then filled it with different “home” items that would be useful to her. This idea is great for any budget as you can customize it with however much you can spend. I didn’t get her the drill pictured above, I love her, but not that much. 😉 haha, but if you did have the budget to include one power tool in the basket, I’d go with the drill for sure. Some of my favorite things to include in these baskets are my favorite wall anchors, a good paintbrush, a small jar of a pretty color of paint to kick start their creativity, a trusty hammer with a variety sized nail pack, Frogtape and a good screwdriver set.
Give them a head start on proper home maintenance…
This one will take a little bit of undercover work and probably require you to have a spare key to the new homeowner’s place, but they will thank you for your sleuthing when these filters come every few months to remind them to change their air filters out. If this is their first home, there’s a chance there isn’t going to be much extra money to cover a new AC/heating unit if it breaks down. Help them prolong the life of their current unit by regularly switching out those air filters. That’s where the sleuthing comes in – you’ll need to figure out what size filters they need! We use FilterEasy ourselves and love it. If you’ve never tried it before and want to before you gift it to someone, you can use this link to get a free trial plus free shipping!
If they are just starting out in a new home, then they might have a whole lot of blank wall space and not a lot of money in the budget for art. Fix that problem for them by buying them a special piece of art that’s just perfect for them. The two pieces above came from Society6 – one of my favorite places for art. They have a huge selection. When you’re deciding what kind of art to get them, think about their personality, likes, favorite bands, musicians, places they’ve been, etc. The Springsteen Street Sign art is for the Man of Questionable Honor this Christmas. He has two major loves in his life – his wife and Bruce. When I saw that Springsteen art, I knew Brandon had to have it.
As for the leopard art, well I personally don’t think you can ever go wrong with a great animal print for a gift. Think about the recipient’s characteristics and then find a gorgeous piece of animal art that coincides with that. You can see all the art that Society6 has here.
This wreath can be displayed more than just at Christmas time. The greenery just sets off that monogram beautifully. They’ll appreciate having something that makes their home look more welcoming and that gives it a touch more of personalization.
This home base binder is the ultimate way to manage every aspect of your household. It contains spots for family emergency information, business cards, home projects, meal and spending planning. It’s a great way to get those new homeowners off on the right foot.
This one is most definitely going to be more for the new homeowners who are ladies, but isn’t this pom pom throw blanket just adorable? Not only does it look soft and cozy, but I think it would add a great touch of homey-ness to a space that’s new to someone. This one is from The Apollo Box.
Help them decorate their home with a great throw pillow. Just like with the art, I suggest going with something that will be meaningful to them – a reminder of a trip, their childhood home, a special memory between the two of you. I went with this cow watercolor pillow because it reminds me of my Pap. (I’m sure some of you had already guessed that one!) This beauty is also from Society6 and you can see all of their pillow options here.
In my opinion, every house needs a good doormat. It’s most likely going to be one of the first things that guests see when they enter the house. This doormat can be personalized with both the homeowners name and state.
This basket could have so many uses. First off, it’s pretty. 🙂 But also, it could be used as a mail or other miscellaneous items catch-all when you walk through the door, it could be a magazine holder or you could hang it on your front door. It’s one of those gifts that’s both pretty and functional.
If they are just starting out on their own, they may need a few good, easy recipes to keep them from spending all their money on eating out or frozen pizzas. I have a friend who is in desperate need of a few easy-get-me-in-the-right-direction-recipes and she’ll be getting this favorite recipes book filled with a few good recipes to get her going.
Something they can take with them when they have to leave that first home…
Your blunt friend. The one who tells it like it is – and usually in an inappropriate manner. Where would we be without them? Here’s a list of great gifts for sarcastic friends that they are sure to appreciate.
Want more great gift ideas that are both thoughtful and affordable this holiday season? Then be sure to sign up for my holiday gift idea emails! Sign up here!
This is always one of my favorite gift idea lists to write. Probably because I’m blunt myself. And snarky. And sarcastic. And those all just go wonderfully together, no?
I’m willing to bet you’re one of those people too since you hang out around here with me. And that probably means you’ve got friends on your Christmas gift list that are like that too. Same here.
I’ve searched the internets high and low and here are some of the best gift ideas for our blunt friends that I’ve found. Cheers to the blunt, sarcastic beast in us all!
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I went down a Golden Girls rabbit hole last week. One search on Amazon had me rolling! My Great Uncle and I used to watch the Golden Girls and I forgot just how much I liked their sassiness. I love both this t-shirt and the mug. You can also get a Dorothy in the Streets. Blanche in the Sheets. t-shirt. These are especially great gifts for your sassy friend!
This whole Etsy store is full of hilarious doormats. I had a hard time picking just four. I think I want the Hope You Brought Beer one for my house. I mean just because I drink cheap beer doesn’t mean I share it. 😉
I’m sure you’ve heard of Anne Taintor or seen her products before, but to me they just never get old. She pairs vintage style photos with sarcastic comments to make for fantastic little gift items. These are more good gifts for that sassy friend of yours!
Now who wouldn’t appreciate a good WTF (Why that’s fantastic! 😉 ) pillow? And have you ever seen a more classier one than that greek key version? It’s also reversible. One side has WTF and the other has XOX. When the preacher stops by for a visit, you can just flip that bad boy around.
Last year, I included the Cards Against Humanity game as one of the gift ideas for sarcastic people. Hands down, it’s one of the funniest and most inappropriate games to play. I just discovered this new game, WTF Did You Say?!?, and it promises to be “bigger & bolder” than Cards Against Humanity. If that’s the case, even I can’t imagine how unmoral it’ll be. 😉 Of course, I’ve already ordered it for our next game night here.
For all your blunt and sarcastic friends who really want to make sure they can always one-up you, get them The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm. Just be prepared with comebacks, folks.
The Cards Against Humanity Game. Have you played it? You should. However, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. If they’ve already got the game, check to see if they have the expansion packs. Those make great gifts as well.
Don’t forget to sign up for the holiday gift ideas email subscription as well! You’ll only get 1-3 emails a week (usually no more than two unless there’s like a super awesome sale somewhere) with gift ideas and great sales so that we aren’t all in debt out the wazoo after the holidays. 😉 Use the form below to sign up or sign up here!
It’s, for the most part, socially acceptable to bring out the Christmas decorations.
It’s time to kick off the holiday gift-giving season. Ok, I’ve already bought a few gifts.
Now. Before you start throwing tomatoes at me, let’s get a few things straight.
I’m not discounting Thanksgiving. I’m not forgetting Thanksgiving. I’m not saying it’s any less important than Christmas. In fact, I love Thanksgiving. Every year after I’ve stuffed my face full of ham and dressing and pecan pie, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.
And no, it’s not due to all the food I just ate.
Well, maybe partially.
It’s because I look around, take it all in, and think about just how truly blessed I am. And then I’ll probably toast to that fact and Mom and I will polish off that bottle of wine.
I really don’t know that I have a favorite holiday because I love them all, but I do have a favorite practice –
Gift Giving.
It’s my thing. It’s my jam. And believe it or not, it’s not all the pretty decorations at Christmas that gets me all giddy inside, but all the gift giving. While I love for my house to look on point for the holiday season, I am even more passionate about finding a thoughtful and perfect gift for everyone on my holiday gift list. I absolutely love seeing faces light up when they open gifts from the LaFevor clan.
When Grunt and the Circus got their matching Carhartts.
When we gave Mom and Dad a custom drawing of their previous home.
Anyone with me?
If you’ve been around here during past holiday seasons, you know I always try to come up with unique holiday gift ideas for every kind of person and every kind of budget on my and your lists and share them with you…
This year won’t be any different. I’ve got gift ideas to share with you for the usual suspects – her, him, the person who has everything already, but I’ve also got gift ideas to share with you for the adventurers, the smarty pants, new homeowners and more. There is something to fit into every budget size – unless you’re dropping $1K on each person on your list. In that case, can I get added to your gift list? 😉
I’ll be sharing all of the gift ideas throughout November.
If you sign up, then from now throughout the holiday season, you’ll get 1-3 emails from me per week, typically just one or two, unless there is a really great sale somewhere, filled with gift ideas, special offers and discount codes to shops I’ve partnered with this holiday season and more. It’s completely free! You can sign up using the box above or through this link.
After you sign up, you’ll be directed to our gift ideas page. You should also receive an email with a link to confirm your subscription – make sure you confirm so you can get the emails!
I’ll be back next week with lots of unique gift ideas, until then, you can take a gander at holiday gift ideas from previous years here – most all of the items are still available!
Affiliate links may be included in this post, which means if you purchase something through one of those links, I may earn a small commission, but you won’t pay a dime more.
To round out this week of all things Halloween, I thought I’d give you a tour of our Halloween decorated home in all it’s spooky goodness.
I haven’t had a chance to decorate the exterior entry yet (it’s still so hot here!), but here’s where we are inside….
I think it’s safe to say we are ready for Halloween here!
I’ll be taking the next week off to spend time with Grunt Labor and the Circus over their fall breaks. Keep up with our fall break adventure on my Instagram stories! See ya back here after that!
Get instant easy Halloween decor by snagging this free printable Double Double Toil and Trouble quote art!
As I’ve already said this week, I’ve been enthralled with ghosts and witches since I can remember. I started watching scary movies at a far younger age than I probably ever should have. But I turned out alright. 😉
One of my favorite Halloween movies as a small child was Double Double Toil and Trouble, with yes, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Now, I’m not a Mary Kate and Ashley fan really, but the whole storyline of that movie with Sophia being trapped by her evil twin, Agatha in the mirror just reeled me.
And while it was William Shakespeare thru his witches that first coined the Double Double Toil and Trouble line, it was first introduced to me by that movie.
And every Halloween when I take out my witch’s hat to hand out candy in, it’s that line that I say over and over again.
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So I decided it was finally time to hang it on the wall.
How to Get the Double Double Toil and Trouble Free Printable
If you’re one of my email subscribers, then you can snag the Double Double Toil and Trouble printable for free in my printable library! Remember, the password is going to be at the bottom of the last email you received from me, which was probably about this post!
If you aren’t already a Rain on a Tin Roof subscriber, you can subscribe here now or click the image below to signup.
Once you sign up and confirm your subscription, you’ll get a confirmation email. In that email are instructions for accessing the printable library to get this free printable and all my other free printables.
Tips for Printing and Hanging the Double Double Toil and Trouble Printable
This piece is made to be printed out on a piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper. I suggest using card stock.
You will probably have a small amount of white around the edges of the print. Just cut that off if you don’t like it. I left mine because it was going on a white mat and frame anyway, so you can’t tell too much and also, I don’t have the ability to cut a straight line.
I opted to tape my printable to the outside of a frame that already had a piece of art in it. Since it’s for Halloween, it’s only going to be out for a month, so I didn’t see a reason to totally frame it behind glass for that month. If you do want to frame it in an 8×10 frame, then just scale the print down to where it is centered on your sheet of paper before centering it. This will leave more white space.
This is also the year the Circus will be introduced to Double Double Toil and Trouble. So far, she’s loved all the other classics I’ve made her watch, so I have high hopes for this one too. 😉
Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble!
Looking for more great halloween decorating ideas? I’ve got ya…
Time to cook up some spells this Halloween! We can’t do that without our spell book and potions, right? Use this free printable spell book cover and potion labels to complete your Halloween decorating – and cast a spell or two!
Grunt Labor is totally weirded out by my love for witches, ghosts and such. If I’m reading a book about any sort of spooky thing like that, I usually catch him rolling his eyes a time or two.
Luckily, he’s let me drag him through ghost tours in Savannah and Marie Laveau’s grave in New Orleans.
I have loved witches and ghosts ever since I can remember, even as a little kid. They’ve never scared me, only intrigued me.
This Halloween with my decorations, I really went for more authentic-like spooky decor, rather than cutesy stuff. I have a few cute things here and there, but I really upped the legit spooky factor this year – this spell book and potion vignette being one of those things…
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P.S. I had a really bad lighting situation going on when I photographed this, so just overlook the graininess of some of these photos!
I took a little corner in our entryway and created this little Halloween nook. I bought “potion bottles” and then created the labels. I’m offering these labels as a free printable if you’re one of my email subscribers.
Why yes, that is real bat blood. Not Karo syrup mixed with red food coloring.
And powdered werewolf bone. It doesn’t taste like flour at all.
That monster mash….oh my. It tastes slightly familiar though – maybe water mixed with green food coloring?
The snake venom. Very syrupy…perhaps with a little yellow coloring.
And the grave dirt. Who knew we had a grave right in our front flower bed?
You can also snag the Spells, Enchantments and Curses printable spell book cover for free as an email subscriber as well.
A girl who loves witches and spells as much as I do, needs a proper spell book, right? 😉
How to Get the Printable Potion Labels + Spell Book Cover
To get access to my Printable Library, which contains both the potion labels and the spell book cover, you’ll need to be a subscriber of Rain on a Tin Roof. If you aren’t already a subscriber, you can subscribe here now.
Once you sign up and confirm your subscription, you’ll get a confirmation email. In that email are instructions for accessing the printable library to get these free printables and other free printables.
Already a subscriber? Look at the bottom of the last email you received from me. There, you should find instructions for accessing the printable library.
Tips for Printing the Potion Labels
There are actually three more surprise potion labels included on the printable that I didn’t use on my potion bottles, so there ya go!
I suggest printing the labels out on a piece of card stock, then just cut out around the labels.
I took a piece of jute twine, positioned it in a half circle behind the label, then hot-glued both ends to the back of the label to make it where I could hang the labels on the bottles.
Tips for Printing the Spell Book Cover
The spell book cover is designed to be printed out on a piece of 8 1/2″ x 14″ legal size paper. Also, mine printed out lighter than what the design shows, so just be aware of that.
The trick to the spell book cover is finding a book that it best fits around. Cut the cover out after you print it, then grab a few books and see which one fits the cover best. The book I used still shows some of the front cover’s edges and didn’t wrap entirely around the back of the book, but that didn’t matter since it doesn’t show. To hold the cover in place, I just put tape on the back of the cover and taped it to the book.
I will be formally declaring this week as the week of all things Halloween.
Well, I’ll be formally declaring that here on this blog because ya know, that’s all I really have control over, although technically I feel I deserve much more say-so in this world. 😉 Don’t you think so too?
With the exception of Tuesday (which is when I’m planning to share the farmhouse’s bathroom remodel!), I’ll have a new, easy and cheap Halloween craft and/or printable for ya here on the blog each day!
So, happy all things Halloween week minus one day!
As I said last week, in the post about my DIY creepy skull candleholder, I have finally regained my creative surge for fall – it just doesn’t include orange pumpkins and leaves.
It includes skulls, ghosts, witches and other wonderful things of that nature.
Like these skull drink stirrers…
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I love these little guys! They are freaky and spooky and creepy and that just makes my Halloween heart happy!
It literally took about five minutes to make these little gems for Halloween.
Insert a straw into each of the holes you made with the X-Acto knife.
That’s it!
Your skull heads should fit on the straws pretty snug as long as you didn’t make your holes too big. If you did make some too big, then put a bead of hot glue around where the skull and straw meet.
Next year, you can either make them all over again, or ask people who use the stirrers to simply pop the skull head off before tossing the stirrer, then you can wash them and use them to make more stirrers next year.
