Christmas DIYs and Decor

The day after Thanksgiving I pulled out our Christmas decorations and realized how few decorations I had! And even of the few I had there were a lot that I didn't like anymore. (You know those, $2 decorations that you get for like 90% off after Christmas? I bought them because they were so cheap, not so necessarily because I liked them.)

So any who, I went to Hobby Lobby that night-- after the crazy crowds were gone for the day-- to get a few more decorations. I swear to you, it seems like they are clearing out Christmas decorations already! I went a couple of weeks ago and they had WAY more than they have now. That really bugs me. 

Anyway, anyway, so I didn't see much I liked so I decided to make a few decorations myself. I started with some styrofoam things, spray painted them red, and added some fake berries. 

The ball is done! Took a few hours. Not really cost effective after I added it all up, but I like it :)

Here it is in place. (Sorry for the terrible phone shots.)

I haven't finished decking out the entertainment center yet, but this is a start.

And here is the styrofoam tree after the berries were added. I LOVED the berries on the stems, they were so pretty. They don't look as amazing on the tree, but I still like it so I'll keep it. No, I'll definitely keep it because this thing was a pain in the butt to make! With the smaller ball there were wires that I just stuck into the foam. These balls didn't have wire so I had to glue them on and it took hours for the glue to dry. I had to do it section by section waiting hours in between. 

Here it is in place on the entry table-

I have never blogged about the wreath on my door before but I should. That's how much I love it. I use the same basic boxwood wreath all year round. Most of the year it is just plain - which I like, I'm a simple girl-- but during holidays I change out the berries and decor. I really love it. I wish I would have gotten a shot of the fall version before I switched it out. 

Here is the Christmas-y version of my wreath. 

Just for comparison, here is the Halloween version of my wreath-

Here's the front porch. I hate the wires!! But I don't know what to do with them?? I've got to do something.

By the way, I got these two potted Christmas trees for $43 dollars at Lowes online on black Friday. I got them BOTH for $43. Killer deal!!  ( Trust me, I looked around A LOT!)

I also did one more DIY Christmas tree. This one was MUCH easier and MUCH cheaper than the other two projects. I bought this Christmas tree form at Hobby Lobby for $4 and just Modge Podged scrapbook paper onto it. 

Here it is in place on top of the book shelf.

I have a lot more decorating to do but our house has been plagued with illness so it will just have to wait.

Merry Christmas and happy decorating! :)

Myth Buster

I'm sure you've all seen this image a hundred times on Pinterest right?

I had. And I had heard before of a ceramic pen that you could draw on plates with and bake to customize your own dishes. So when I saw these posts about using basic sharpies I thought, "No way!! Regular sharpies won't do that. You have to have a ceramic pen!" But the post was EVERYWHERE! Multiple posts, multiple people. Everyone was doing it, so I started believing it. (Classic case of peer pressure!)

Still very skeptical, I decided to try it. I really wanted a birthday plate and after looking around on etsy, and not wanting to pay $47.00, I decided to give the sharpie method a try.

I looked on etsy for some inspiration.... 

bought my dollar store white plate and colored sharpies and got to work....

I was really happy with my plate! I SO wanted this whole thing to work. I did my research on many different tutorials. They differed a little in time and temperature but were mostly the same. Bake at 300 for 40 min. (Or something close to that.) I did it. This is the plate before baking.

Here it is after baking-

 You can see the colors faded a little bit and looked more streaky (is that a word?) But still not bad if this was indeed, permanent. 

I didn't want to face the fact that my cute plate might wash away so I didn't even use or wash it for months. But today I was feeling much less attached to it and gave it a try. 

This was a few seconds after LIGHT scrubbing. 

And this was after a minute of good scrubbing. 

MYTH BUSTED. I was a fool to believe.

Lots of Posts

I have been really terrible at updating our blog. Even if no one else reads it, I want to record the memories for us. I hate scrapbooking, and I'm terrible at journal keeping, so this is a great alternative for me. One day I want to have a photo book made from our blog. If you are reading our blog, I've just done a lot of catch up posts so keep scrolling! :)

Temple Open House

Random Stuff

Here are some random pictures from the last few months. I can't believe how big Graham and Campbell are getting. I know people always say that, but I really can't believe it. Life is flying by. I need to start taking more pictures so I will always remember them like this. 

One day Graham was yelling "Help! Help!" and this is how I found him.

He loves to sleep with his toys.

I love that they love each other.

Baths together are so convenient. I'll be sad when they're too old for it. 

New helmet from Uncle Ricky.

Playing at the park

Too much stuff, not enough hands.

We've had many great afternoons enjoying the warm weather on a blanket in the front yard. 

Zach and I had a night away in Reno. It was fun. Even though it was followed by horrible gall stone attack and surgery for Zach. :(

Campbell is so obsessed with walking around holding our hands. It's been KILLING my back. I saw this and it's the best $5 I've ever spent. Back saved.

I love the street we live on. There are so many kids Graham's age and he loves them all. Here are some of them at the dinosaur museum.

Graham tried to hide chocolate under his shirt.

 Look at this beauty.

She's a poser.