Something Old - A Bridal Shower Gift

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

One of my favorite gifts to give for bridal showers a hand embroidered vintage handkerchief {something old and something new-ish}.

Select the thread color you want to use {I opted for her wedding colors, navy blue and burnt orange}.  I used a stem stitch, which is a basic embroidery stitch, to create the monogram and the flower stems. 

I created the flowers using a lazy daisy, outlining the middle with a lighter orange.  The flower was finished with a french knot center.

On the opposite corner, I continued using a stem stitch for the wedding date.  I separated the numbers using a lazy daisy and french knot stitches. 

 My only hope is that this handkerchief...

Only catches tears of joy.

Off to deliver this to the bride to be...

wrapped in blue ribbon and vintage lace.

Pottery Barn Candle Knockoff

This Christmas, why not wow with a gift that looks like it came straight from Pottery Barn?

Where else would you go to create your Pottery Barn inspired gift?  The Dollar Store or Goodwill, of course.

Load up your basket with a glass candle stick, a tall glass vase, a pillar wax candle {which is becoming harder to find these days}, some white tissue paper, and a bag of cranberries (okay, you might have to go to the grocery store to buy the cranberries).

To create your hurricane, you’ll need some Gorilla Glue. Apply some Gorilla Glue to the top of your candle stick. Be warned: a little goes a long way. Put the candle stick on top of the vase and allow plenty of time for it to dry and adhere.

Now to give your pillar candle some Christmas cheer. The possibilities are endless, you could add a black and white picture or a poem to your candle. I decided to add some Christmas music to my candle.
Whatever you decide to add to your candle, you’ll need to print it onto your tissue paper. First, grab a piece of card stock (the color does not matter), some tissue paper, and some tape.

Tape your tissue paper onto the card stock.  To prevent printer jams, make sure you tape all edges of the tissue paper onto the card stock.

Make sure to load the tissue paper into your printer in the direction that will result in the tissue paper side being printed on and not the card stock. Then print your design. You may also want to guide the card stock/tissue paper by gently pushing down on it as the printer is pulling it through.

When it comes out of the printer, it should look something like this:

Cut the edges to free your printed tissue paper. This is far easier then trying to remove the pieces of tape.

Wrap the tissue paper around your pillar candle. I secured my tissue paper into place using a few push pins.

Grab your hair dryer. Set it on high or hot and begin to apply heat to the tissue paper.  You will start to see the candle wax grabbing ahold of the tissue paper.

Continue working your way around the candle, heating every part of the tissue paper to the pillar candle.The last step, putting it all together. Put some of those cranberries into the bottom of the hurricane vase.

Then add your pillar candle.

What’s better than a Pottery Barn gift? A gift made from the heart on a Dollar Store budget.


*I shared this post, last year, on Money Savings Mom, when it seemed like the wax candles were easier to find and my photography skills were obviously lacking :)


And be sure to check out my other Christmas inspired posts:

Star Wars Ornaments

DIY Advent Calendar

DIY Santa Beard

Timeless Clock Tutorial

It could be the location of your first date, your wedding, your honeymoon or where your child was born, let those memories remain 'timeless' forever.

First you need a clock.  Mine came from Goodwill {shocking, I know}.  It had great shape and weight and was begging for an updated look. For $6.99, I decided she had to be mine.

Give your clock a pep talk, preparing her for what's to come.  You do not want to 'tick' her off.

Carefully take your clock apart.  You'll need to raid your tool box for things like a wrench and screwdriver.

Do you remember the Vintage World Maps Calendar I got for half off the beginning of the year?  I decided to use one of those maps.  I traced the clock front to the size I needed and cut it out.

Sorry for the lack of pictures for the next few steps.  You'll want to cut out a circle in the center, for the clock hands to fit back into.  Replace the clock front with your map and seal it with Mod Podge or you could even glue it into place.

Take it a step further and add a bead or a pin to the exact location you want to remain timeless.

Put your clock back together and enjoy.

No matter how much time has passed, cherish all your memories.


 

Paint Your Own Pottery

I've always been intrigued by paint your own pottery places. They seem like such fun, whimsical places where creative possibilities are endless. After finding a local studio, I decided it was time to finally try it out.

The only problem, when I am confronted with a completely blank slate, I almost start to panic. I get lost in the possibilities and can't seem to pinpoint a direction I want to follow. I realize, this is ridiculous. This should be a fun experience.

I finally decided I would do Grace's hand print on a decorative plate. Easy enough. Then came deciding on colors (ugh, another decision). My 'go to' colors tend to be white and red so that's what I selected. With paintbrush in hand, Grace begin to paint the plate.

I helped her add her chubby little hand print to the center of the plate and passed it along to be fired. We waited a week and anxiously went to retrieve our treasure. Though, I should have been excited about our creation, I couldn't get the image of Wilson from Cast Away out of my head. Do you see what I mean.

Lesson learned, probably not a good decision to do either a hand print or fingerprints in red paint. So, I decided to give it to a grandma. Grandmas have to love this sort of personalized gift, right? I was right, she loved it!

Disappointed my masterpiece didn't quite turn out as I had hoped, I decided to give it another try. I selected a square tile, with the intention of adding some felt to the back and using it as a trivet when finished. I still wanted to incorporate Grace in some way so, I painted a tree trunk and had Grace dip her fingertip in varying colors of green to make the leaves. Quick and simple.

This one, I'm keeping!