Nature-Inspired Christmas

I love to change up my Christmas decorations every year, and usually make most of them myself. This year I've had a lot of fun playing around with my sewing machine, and I made some paper circle garland that I sewed together in greens, whites and painted some paper in metallics. I draped them on my mantel and piano for bright pops of color. I took a walk in a local park to collect the large sticks to make the star that I put above my mantel. I simply wired each connecting point together and I was done. The pine cone door decorations were a Pinspiration. They were incredibly easy to make too. I just used ribbon with drop of hot glue on the end to tie on the pine cones. The green one was made by cutting strips of burlap, gluing and tying in the same way.

Seems like we always get the itch to paint something this time of year, so this year it was the bay window wall. We painted it a dramatic charcoal called "Evening Hush" by Behr. I love how dramatic it looks, especially with light curtains and wall art. I drew the "Mistletoe" sign with chalk on my framed chalkboard on the same wall. This year we cut down a huge tree as tall as our 8 1/2 foot ceilings and placed it in a galvanized tub like last year. Merry Christmas!

Fabric Acorns (No-Sew!)

Well, after a busy and fun summer filled with big, big painting projects I worked on a teeny, tiny fall project that I love and was so easy to make--adorable fabric acorns. The best part is the ones I made are no-sew! (and no worm...real acorns are filled with them!)

I first saw this idea in BHG from Sweet Paul. The ones he made were velvetey fabric, which looked amazing...but a weird fact about me is I can't stand the feel of it...so I made mine with soft, silky touchable  fabric scraps in some of my favorite colors, finishing them off with a tiny bead on the end. These are so easy a kid could make them! So, if you want to get started...

Simple Greenery Display

Who loves Hostas? I know we do! My husband is the big landscaper around here while I pretty much take care of the inside, but while he was transplanting some Hostas, a few branches fell off. Because the leaves were so pretty I didn't want to just leave them laying outside, so I grabbed a jar, tied some lace around it, filled it with water and added the Hosta branches. 

I love having fresh plants around the house and they look just as pretty as a bunch of flowers to me and cost nothing. Wouldn't these be an easy and frugal table decoration for a summer party? Ferns would be another easy and pretty plant to add to water-filled jars. 

 By the way, if you noticed my chalkboard framed sign in the picture and want to know how I made this interchangeable photo/chalkboard frame,  click HERE for the tutorial. 

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! I hope you enjoyed your time here and come back on Friday for the reveal of my Martha Stewart Mother's Day Campaign project! 

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Framed Sticks Welcome Sign

Happy Spring! Want to change things up a little bit around the house? Why not try making a framed welcome sign like this one?  It's easy if you have an old frame laying around that you could revamp with a fresh coat of paint.

And who says welcome signs have to be on the outside of the house? I made this one that works either way because I love breaking "decorating rules". And, for those of you reading that don't really do crafts-I promise this one is one of the quickest and easiest so far-no excuses. So, what are you waiting for? Go make yourself something pretty!

Here's what I used to make my welcome sign: 

• wooden frame with glass and backing removed
• acrylic paints
• paint brushes-one thick one thin for writing
• sticks 
• glue gun
• sandpaper

After gathering a few  sticks and twigs outside of different shapes and sizes,  I broke them into lengths that would fit my frame.

Then, I painted the inside of my frame-(I used a rustic wooden one) with yellow acrylic paint.

After it was dry, I distressed the yellow with sandpaper.

Then, I hot glued my sticks onto the back of the frame.

To finish, I painted my welcome message freehand-if you're scared to do that-stencils or stamped letters would work just fine.

I love the pop of yellow against the gray-one of my favorite color combos lately. What do you think? I want to make another one with a bigger frame for my patio area outside.

Well, thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! And please come back again in the next few weeks--I am excited a part of a big Mother's Day campaign and I'm getting ready to reveal the fun project I've been dreaming up...

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Creating Anthropologie Style in Your Home for Less!

Hello everyone! It's another bright sunny February day here in the midwest--

and I'm loving it! It has been so nice to let my boys go out and play this winter

with our mild temperatures--the best winter I can remember! 

So, if you're been following along, you might know that I've been working 

on a few projects inspired by that gorgeous store, Anthropologie. 

(Did you see my table revamp? )

 It's not within my budget to buy things there, but I love

making a good knock-off decoration! 

Something I really like to do this time of year when I'm antsy for

 spring to arrive is buy a few new houseplants to bring 

something fresh and living inside.

And today I'm going to show you how I took a thrift store milk glass vase

and repurposed it into a pretty planter to create my Anthro style for less! 

On the left, you see what I created. And on the right, my inspiration:

This is so easy, you barely need a tutorial, but pictures are always fun, so here goes: 

Here's what you'll need:

 I used wine corks as a drainage and filler. 

I bought my milk glass vase at a thrift store earlier for only $1

(which I don't think is genuine milk glass, but I like the look).

Next, I added my organic potting mix from the greenhouse. (Do you like my action shot?)

Then, I carefully added my succulent plant.
(these are nice because they are low-maintenance plants)

And, was done! Easy, right? 

I hope you enjoyed this post! I've been really overwhelmed by all the great comments I've been getting on my projects-I am so thankful for all of my followers and support by fellow bloggers and friends.

Please bear with me as I work on responding and visiting all of you too-
I am also a full-time mommy of 2 active boys learning how to juggle my responsibilities and hobbies! (But I'm having a lot of fun! )

Thanks for visiting today! And don't forget, you have only one more day to enter the $100 Ramsign giveaway-click on the button on the sidebar to the right to enter!

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Sparkly Holly Leaves

So, we moved into our new home last January and I noticed a holly bush growing in our side yard. I thought about how convenient it would be to clip the pretty leaves and decorate with them for Christmas. Well, Christmas time came this year and I thought about how I could  preserve the leaves so they lasted through the winter.

 I had just won some sparkle Mod Podge from Mod Podge Rocks and wanted to experiment with it. So, I painted my holly leaves, poking myself occasionally-ouch! The leaves are sharp! 

I allowed them to dry and placed them in a blue vintage Ball jar I got at a garage sale. I really like the result! I plan on keeping them up through the winter.

Later, I was browsing through the Pottery Barn online catalog and noticed that this idea flowed along with their theme of putting sparkly natural objects in jars-so I think my idea was Pottery Barn style without realizing it. How cool am I? ha ha...

Hope you enjoyed!
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Simple Winter Display Ideas

Here is a photo stream of one of my display areas this Christmas. I love decorating with nature so I clipped a few pine branches and placed them in little glass vases. I have some handmade cards on display that I have saved through the years.
(I will never get rid of something someone took the time to make for me! Sentimental, for sure! )

a beautiful handmade card by my paper expert friend, Teresa.

Katie Brown birds and candle sitting on Christmas tree stumps and some painted pinecones.

A print of a painting my grandfather did. My grandmother sends a new print every year of one of his nature paintings. I can remember he would paint a design for all of the grandkids on an envelope filled with money for us. Hope you enjoyed my simple display!

Linking up with these parties and this party.