holiday

DIY: glitter garland

November 13, 2012

WHO LOVES A PROJECT?!

Well, goodness, I think everyone loves a good project every now and again.

But the real question for this post is WHO LOVES A GLITTER PROJECT?

I DO.

And ultimately, I think you do too.

A necessary precaution: Before you start this insanity of a project that is glitter garland you must come to terms with the fact that once you commit to a glitter project, you will ultimately be committing to a lifelong marriage with glitter. Or, at least, a week-long marriage. Which is just as serious in my humble opinion.

And so, lest you forget, you must remind yourself that glitter is amazing. When you’re elbow deep in glitter, just keep telling yourself that.

Anyways, onward!

HOW TO MAKE GLITTER GARLAND >>

You will need:

cardstock
scissors
modge podge glue
foam brush
glitter (!!)
measuring tape
fishing line (or clear craft string)
glue gun

Instructions:

Step 1: Get cardstock paper.

Step 2: Figure out what size you want your circles to be. I basically just found a candle lid that I thought was an appropriate size (4 inches across) and traced it on the cardstock.

Step 3: Decide how many garland strands you want to make. I made 8 because I made the craaaazy decision to dress up my entire dining room (it looks awesome P.S.). For my project, each single strand of garland had 5 glitter circles.

Step 4: Once you decide how many glitter circles you want on your garland, cut out double that many circles. So, for me, one garland had five glitter circles, so I cut out 10 circles of cardstock. Understood?

side note: Since I made 8 strands of garland, the math tells me I cut a total of 80 circles. Which is insanity. TGFDC. (Thank God For Dawson’s Creek. Netflix, people. DO IT.)

Step 5: Take one piece of circle cardstock and paint one side of it with modge podge (only one side– and don’t skimp on the edges!), then press the cardstock to the glitter. I put the glue and the glitter into paper plates (see below) to make it easy. I also had an extra paper plate for spreading the glue onto the cardstock. Once you’ve painted one side and doused it with glitter, put it to the side to dry.

Step 6: After you paint and glitter-up all your cardstock you should have a bunch of circles that have glitter on one side. THIS IS GOOD. I got better and better with applying the glitter the more I did this. By the end, there we no white spots on my circles at all. HUZZAH.

Step 7: Decide how long you want your garland to be and cut a piece of fishing line accordingly. Mine was approx 100 inches long, or so. Maybe a little longer.

Step 8: Use a glue gun to glue two of the cardstocks together (with the fishing line in the middle!), obviously, with the glitter side facing out. Putting two cardstocks together will keep the paper from curling at the sides and keep your circles nice and straight.

Step 9: Figure out how much space should go in between each glitter circle. I put approx 15 inches between each of mine.

Step 10: Once you have all your circles glued together and spaced out accordingly, hang that sucker up! It will look awesome!

I kept going to make a total of 8 garland. It was a LOT of work and a LOT of glitter, but ultimately it was worth it.

Check it:

Tada! And the picture doesn’t even do it justice. Seriously. I should have you all over for a glass of wine just to show it off. December hasn’t even arrived and it’s getting to be so Christmas up in here it’s CRAZY. When it comes to the holidays, I don’t mess around.

Three cheers for glitter + HAPPY DECORATING!

(A note on this project. I saw this picture on Pinterest, which led me to this etsy shop, which was all sold out of this particular type of garland. And so, this DIY was born.)

24 Comments · Filed Under: handmade, holiday, tutorials ·

good thoughts for a friday in november.

November 9, 2012

Friends! HEY!

I feel like it’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other. Seen? Heard? Read? Hmmm….

I’m going to have to sit on that one for a bit. This whole blogging thing totally boggles my mind sometimes. AND I LOVE IT.

So… what have I been up to this week…good thoughts, good thoughts. Let’s see…

Last weekend I spent another weekend in Boston (evidence above!). I met up with Clair and Mackenzie for coffee, which is my favorite, and strolled Newbury Street and the Public Garden with my holiday spirit in full force. This coming weekend will bring yet another Saturday and Sunday at home. There is sleeping in to do! And crafts to be done! And Netflix to watch! It’s all so exciting. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever spend another weekend away again or if I will just be in Boston FOREVER. Just kidding! I know I will travel again! But this might be the longest streak ever in the state of Massachusetts, or so it feels. And it feels pretty good.

On Monday and Wednesday I participated in the most incredible workshop at school, Family Stories in Picture and Writing. I worked on collage art and spent my time writing down and telling my dad’s story. It was such a wonderful experience and incredibly important for me to record and write down. The artwork aspect of the story telling is amazing, and I’m considering sharing some of the artwork I did here on this ‘ol blog. I think you guys will be impressed! It’s also amazing and wonderful to me how everyone can be successful while doing this artwork and writing– and I’m so excited to try this literature project with my own first graders.

On Tuesday morning we exercised our right to vote, and on Tuesday night we cheered and cheered and danced along to Stevie Wonder’s soul single with a smile in our eyes and pride our hearts. You go, Mr. President, YOU GO!

I’ve been making handmade decorations for the holidays and even had to break out my hat and gloves on Thursday morning because of the SNOW! I don’t like cold, but I’m having a hard time doing too much complaining with this stuff in my kitchen. Y.U.M. With enough hot chocolate and six full seasons of Dawson’s Creek to dig into on Netflix, I think I’m officially all set for winter. BRING IT.

Other things I’m loving?

This Hip Handmade Holiday E-book. So fun!

This dry shampoo. I wash my hair twice a week now! Not even kidding!

This She & Him Christmas record. Our turn table always gets the most use around the holidays.

These killer leopard print boots. Target! $14.50 on sale! Gleee!

This best-selling book. Wow. I finished it last week and I cannot stop thinking about it. It’s truly an incredible story.

And, last but not least, the new instagram profile pages and pinterest secret boards! I, for one, think they’re both pretty rad.

Any good thoughts you want to tell about?

♥

Happy Friday, friends! And, as always, HAPPY WEEKEND!

16 Comments · Filed Under: boston, boston photography, fall, gifts, handmade, holiday, life ·

a handmade holiday.

November 1, 2012

Today is November! And because it’s November two very important things are happening in my life:

1. Christmas music is playing throughout my days morning, noon, and night from here until January 1. I’m so excited. It’s just glorious.

2. I have officially starting my holiday shopping! Eeeeeee! If there’s one thing I love more than anything else it’s shopping for Christmas. There is something so satisfying about buying gifts for other people. Don’t you think?

This year, I’ve decided to do something different. I’m declaring this year a “Handmade Holiday”. Not in the “I’m making all my gifts kind of way” (I may try my hand at a few gifts, although DIY projects and I only go so far), but instead in the “I will only buy gifts for my family and friends from handmade shops” kind of way. And I’m really pumped about it. I think it’s going to be so, so good.

Here’s where I could use a little help…

I’m not the biggest online shopper. I’ve bought from etsy a couple of times– shops that I mostly heard about from word of mouth. Since starting my holiday present search, I’ve basically found myself just clicking, clicking, clicking through the pages and paaaages on Etsy which can be pretty tedious. There are a lot of great shops out there, but for every really good shop I find there are at least two mediocre shops (if not more, sadly).

Here are some of the good ones I’ve found:

One Canoe Two Letterpress

Firebird and Body

Gritty City Goods

Velle Handmade Leather Goods

Pauliszka Knits

And the following shops are those that I’ve bought from in the past– I can only say good things about all of these places and will definitely be going back for more this holiday season:

Lady Lee and Drew Jones

Letter Girl

Emme Purses

Gussy Sews

Anyways, help a friend out! I need to start my shopping now so that my gifts will arrive in time for CHRISTMAS! It would be awesome if you have a favorite handmade shop you could guide me to. Or do you have a friend with a shop? Or even better, maybe you have a shop yourself?! Let me know so I can take a look around!

Happy November, everyone! ‘TIS THE SEASON!!

**UPDATE: THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who linked to shops in the comments! Be sure to take a look– there are some AMAZING suggestions and I am so excited about them all! Happy handmade shopping, everyone!

34 Comments · Filed Under: gifts, handmade, holiday ·

christmas cheer.

December 29, 2011

If I had to sum up this year’s Christmas in a sentence it would be this:

A happy, simple and relaxing time filled with love and food and family.

What could be better than that?

Christmas Eve we sung our favorite hymns at church, and lit candles during silent night. There is something about Christmas hymns that always brings tears to my eyes. I get all choked up and emotional and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of my very favorites:

Angels we have on heard high
Sweetly singing ore the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

See him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise

Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

And one more, because this one gives me the chills:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

We had Christmas Eve dinner in my grandmother’s apartment, which is in the lower level of my aunt and uncle’s house. When we’re spending time in Greenwich we really don’t have to leave the house if we don’t want to. Everyone’s under the same roof and it’s just the way I like it. It’s the ultimate opportunity for being lazy and I relish in it.

We had a quiet Christmas Eve, but a special one nonetheless.

We had chicken noodle soup and bylosh (Czechoslovakian cheesy bread that is yum, yum, YUMMMM).

We had holy bread and honey.

And we finished the night off with pecan pie.

Christmas day was filled with presents and smiles and we all enjoyed being with baby Hope on her very first Christmas. Oh, that little girl is so sweet I could squeeze her. And squeeze her a million times I did.

There were sparking lights.

And coffee and cookies.

And wrapping paper that covered the floor.

There was family.

And memories.

And prayers.

And thankfulness.

We really did have the most relaxing weekend (and it’s continuing throughout the week), which is exactly what I’ve needed. Christmas vacation is the most wonderful break for a teacher. It comes at a time when all is crazy in the classroom and everyone (kids and adults included) just needs some time off.

I’ve been wearing my slippers from sun up til sun down, watching movies, catching up on reading, and have spent a fair amount of time looking at lovely things on Pinterest.

It’s been nothing short of peaceful.