Adorning the fireplace for the Christmas season

Dear Friends,

 Rejoice for the Christmas season is here! 

Another year to celebrate the birth of Christ!

I love the preparation that comes with the holiday season. This year I am really into keeping our decor simple and warm. I have been intentional in saving money this year for our household and pushing myself to tap into my love for crafts and creativity. 

I visited a couple of local Goodwill and Savers stores a couple months back and found some beautiful handmade pieces that would work for the holiday season. 

I wanted to mix old with thrifted and handmade to give our home nostalgia and rustic warm touches. 

The stocking tree holders were found at Savers for $.99 each and I painted one white and the other stained it attached a hook and they are now our new stocking holders. 

The garland I found at Marshalls this year and its the only new piece that I added to home. It faux but the quality is amazing for the price. 

The bells were found at Savers and the gingerbread house garland I handmade myself. Some black card stock, chalk pen and some creativity and you have this fun and whimsical garland for your home. 

 

 I must share that the reason that I chose simpler ways to decorate is to keep my heart simple. This season is wrapped with so much hope, joy and peace however the world clouds it with buy more, chaos and stress in our lives. 

In order to keep my focus linear I keep traditions simple and find beauty and joy in it. I stay the course keeping my eyes on Jesus and celebrating Him. 

Thank you all for your time and I wish you all a very blessed and merry Christmas season 🎄

 

Toddler Christmas Room Tour

 

I envisioned for a long time what Christmases would be like and feel like once I had a child of my own. My son is two this year and I wanted to decorate his room with color and sprinkle of nostalgia with old pieces. 

 

I have been thrifting for a few months older pieces that I could use in our home for the holidays and it was fun to finally put them up. Since he is young I didn't want to buy anything new or go out of hand so everything in his room is already owned, thrifted or handmade. He honestly only gravitates towards the tree when it is light up in the evening. But everything can be used again and again for years to come as memories. So I am excited to share his room with you guys this year as an inspiration to use what you have, thrifted or as a gentle nudge of encouragement to try a DIY project. 

Sources:

Small house: Found at a local Savers store and painted white accents

Large House: Found at local Goodwill 

Garland: Handmade by me (Dm on my Instagram if interested in ordering) 

Numbered houses: Target Dollar Section (found this year) 

Reindeer: Target (old)

Tree: Target (old)(similar one) (love this one)

 

Hope do you guys incorporate Christmas into your child's or your own rooms?!!! I would love to know. 

If you want to see more pictures and decor reels on my holiday this year check out my Instagram. 

Thank you guys for stopping by the blog today and for your support. God bless

 

Holiday Shopping Stress Free with Walmart+ membership!

 

Thank you so much to Walmart+ for sponsoring today's post, and as always amigas all opinions here are 100% my own.

Being a stay at home mom getting out of the house with the little guy can be ALOT! I have adjusted to shopping online, ordering groceries and our everyday necessities with delivery services. I have been enjoying and taking full advantage of our Walmart+ membership and this holiday season I am ordering holiday groceries, baking must-haves, decorations and any last minute items to have delivered right to my front door for free ($35 order min. Restrictions apply). What's better than getting all your holiday needs checked off your list and not dealing with TRAFFIC! 

Baking must haves:

 

Decorations:

 

 

 One of the best parts???? The Walmart+ membership includes unlimited free delivery from your local Walmart stores ($35 order min. Restrictions apply). This helps us all save time and money and makes our hectic lives a little easier. It's a simple process that can be done from your phone or computer, then have items delivered for free from your store with a $35 purchase minimum (restrictions apply).

Walmart+ also includes free shipping so members can receive next-day or two-day shipping on items from Walmart.com - no order minimum (Excludes most Marketplace items, location, & freight surcharges)! Whether you're grabbing gifts for all the family or everyday household items, or something you forgot during latest holiday shopping (I always forgot something), this new benefit has you covered - and saves you money since you don't have to meet shipping minimum to free shipping. I love this option because sometimes our stores may not have the item in stock.

Gift idea: This would be the gift that keeps on giving (all year long) this holiday season, a year long Walmart+ membership! 

 

 

If you're shopping in-store this season, a Walmart+ membership allows for easy, contactless checkout with the mobile scan & go option. Simply open the Walmart app while in store and scan your items as you shop, then go into self checkout at the end to pay. This is a life saver when you have toddlers mommas!

On top of the already listed benefits, the membership also offers price savings on fuel. Save five cents per gallon at Walmart and Murphy stations, as well as member pricing at Sam's Club fuel centers. 

Amigas if you are interested check out the Walmart+ membership - it truly has saved me from having to leave the house with my toddler. You can join for $98 annually or $12.95/month.

Check out walmartplus.com to see which benefits are available in your area and Start your 15-Day Free Trial. 

 

 

Christmas tree tassel Tutorial

 

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy."🎄

Matthew 2:10 

 

 

Hello friends! Happy December! 

I wanted to share on here some fun festive crafts that I have been creating this Christmas season for not only just my home but making some to share with others. Lately I really been into the neutral and nostalgic look of Christmas decor. I love dainty items that feel warm and cozy. 

These little Christmas tree garlands are just the cutest. They are unique and would love great in your kiddo's room or any area in your home. 

I hope you enjoy this quick tutorial to make these at home for your family. If you aren't into making them but would like to purchase them follow me on my Instagram and send me a dm. I am selling a couple for those interested this holiday season. 

Hoping to open an ETSY shop soon! AHHHH! I am so nervous even typing it! 

Alright let's get to the tutorial!

Supplies:

• green yarn (can be found at Hobby Lobby/Michael's/Walmart)
• Leftover cardboard
• fabric scissors
• needle
• hot glue gun / glue sticks
• white pom poms (found mine at Hobby Lobby)
• wooden stars (found a big pack via Amazon)
• jute twine or any string of choice to hang your garland

 

Note: It takes 3 parts to make 1 tree. So before you start cut your twine to your desired length and decide how many Christmas tree you want and then multiply that number by 3. This will tell you how many tassels you will need to make for your garland. 

 

For example: I decided to make my garland with 7 Christmas trees so I had to make 21 tassels.

 

Warning when you see this number you first reaction might be to freak and not even attempt to do this project! I speak this from experience! HA! However it happens so quickly that you don't even notice how many you made until you finish. It is a easy and quick process. 

 

Tassel Instructions:

 

1.  With your leftover cardboard, you are going to cut out a 2x2 inch square. It doesn't have to be perfect but cut it around that measurement. If you want longer Christmas trees then you would make the cut size larger. 

2. At one end of the cardboard you want to make two small slits. This will help you keep in place your yarn as you are wrapping it around the cardboard.

3. Cut two 3-4 inch pieces of yarn. Take one of the pieces and line it up along the top edge of the square (the opposite end of where you made your slits).

 

4. Take your yarn and secure the end into your left cardboard slot. 

 

5. Hold the 4 inch piece of yarn long the top edge of the cardboard and start wrapping the rest of the yarn around the back and front of the cardboard. I wrapped mine around 15 times. You can do it 10,15, or even 20 times. It depends on your desired thickness and your yarn of choice. 

 

6. Use this first attempt as your test to see how many times you want to wrap around your cardboard and write it down if needed.

 

7. When you are done wrapping the secure the yarn in the right cardboard slit and cut. 

 

8. Double knot the 4 inch piece of yarn on top very tightly.

 

9. Cut the wrapped strings on the opposite side and then remove the secured ends from their slits. 

 

10. To hide your knot you will flip the tassel so that the top bends in the opposite direction and with your last piece of yarn. use it to tie a double knot to create what will look like a little head. 

 

11. Turn the tassel over and trim the ends for a clean look. 

 

Note: For the top head of my tassels I leave the top knot showing. But you dont have to do that. Its just a look that I prefer. 

 

Repeat these steps and you will have completed your trees. 

Garland Instructions:

 

1. Separate all your tassels into sets of threes. 

2. Fill your middle tassel upside down and flatten the yarn. Add some hot glue to the center of the inside and attach it the head of the bottom tassel. Adjust the yarn so that it hides the head of the bottom tassel.

3. Then do the same step to the top tassel to the middle tassel's head.

4. Once all your trees are glued together now is the fun decorating part. I like to add white pom poms to my trees. Each one I added about 7-8 pom poms. Use your hot glue to add each pom pom to your tree.

5. Then to top the tree I used wooden stars that you can find in Hobby Lobby (10 pack) or you can buy a larger pack via Amazon.

6. Once your done decorating, take your needle and thread your twine through it. 

 

Note: You can add wood beads in between each tree if you like that look. 

7. Use your needle and put it through the top head of your Christmas tree and thread it to your desired spot on your twine. 

Repeat this step until your garland is complete.

Viola! I hope you love the garland! 

If you want to see this tutorial check out my Pinterest page for a quick video. 

 

 

 

HOW TO DECORATE YOUR FIREPLACE FOR FALL // RUSTIC AND MINIMAL DECOR

Hello friends! 

Fall season has kicked off and I am so happy! Fall is my favorite season and I have been working on decorating the house.

This year I am adding warm tones and rustic pieces throughout the house to make our space feel cozy and relaxing. I have been DIYing a lot of pieces that are up and I cant wait to share them with you guys. I like to thrift a lot of home decor pieces and it saves us a lot of money. Seasonal items I try to not invest in because I know that next year my style can change.

Of all the rooms in our home that we have renovated, the fireplace in our living room has been my favorite. I still look at it and I cant believe we did this! 

The rustic barn beam mantel is stunning and we spent less than $100 on it. We found it a local thrift store here in Rochester called Rehouse Architectural Salvage. Check them out if you are local!

Almost everything on the fireplace is thrifted! The vase, bowl and candlestick were found at a local Savers store and I painted over them. I am working on editing a Youtube video on the transformation process and will post here when it is live!

All products will be listed below for anyone interested. The bats are so fun! I thought it would be a funny touch to add them to our fireplace as if they were coming out from our chimney. They were affordable and have a 3D element which looks really cool!

Let me know if fall is your favorite season and what are your favorite fall activities! 

DIY Fire pit String Light Planter

Hello friends!

I am so excited to share a new DIY project with you guys! My husband and I have been doing on our own so much landscaping and gardening projects in our home and this one is one of my favorites so far. It really adds a welcoming vibe and cozy look to our fire pit area. 

It was an easy project to do and pretty affordable per what we bought. The biggest cost saving item was the plant buckets. We chose to go with a resin material as oppose to the whiskey barrel look. 

The whiskey barrels are more pricier but they look nice as well. 

 

Here is what it looked like before this project:

 

I hope you guys enjoy this post and please tag me on social media if you make it or you already have one. I would love to see it. 

MATERIALS:

(4) 4x4 posts

(4) resin barrels via Home Depot

(8) bags of fast setting concrete (quickrete) (2 50 lbs bag for each one)

(4) scraps of 4x4 

water (for concrete)

plants 

string lights

(4) hooks

wood stain (dark walnut) 

drill 

potting soil

bracket

leveler

Total time: approximately 3 hours

 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

 

 STEP 1:

 

Place your buckets in the spot that you want them. Then add your scrap 4x4 pieces of wood into the bottom of your bucket. This will be used as an anchor and as a balance for the 4x4 posts. 

 

 

STEP 2: 

Next we toke our brackets and attached the scrap wood to the posts. This will help keep it in place as we place the concrete. We ensured to center the posts to the scrap wood and used screws to secure them together.

 

STEP 3:

Now the barrel with concrete and water. Follow the instructions on your concrete bag when it comes to water/concrete ratio. This stuff is filled with small rocks so I suggest mixing it. We used whatever we could find on hand and mixed it until it felt smooth and there was no dry patches. 

We filled the planter about halfway with the concrete mix. 

 

 

STEP 4: 

Before it begins to set, ensure that your post is leveled. This is where you will use your leveler and adjust your posts accordingly. 

 

 

STEP 5:

Drill drainage holes so plants can have adequate drainage. Drill several holes above the concrete going all the way around your barrels. 

 

 

OPTIONAL: At this step I didn't like the color of the original color of the posts so I decided to stain them using Minwax dark walnut.  

STEP 6:

Now you add your planting materials. I first added a layer of rocks to ensure more drainage. On top of that was potting soil. I went to a local garden nursery to pick up some flowers. To keep it simple I picked up some white and red impatiens and some herbs for touches of green. 

STEP  7:

Now we add our hooks to our posts. You can place them anywhere you need to depending on your location. Drill a hole into your posts and twist them by hand into the posts. 

STEP 8:

Attach your string lights! We haven't figured out how we want to add electricity to our lights. My husband has a couple ideas and once we are successful I will update this posts with the explanation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! 

 

I hope it inspires you to do projects at your home! 

God bless and have a blessed day!

 

 

My Simple and Minimal Cleaning Routine + Products

  *This post has been sponsored by ®Art of Green. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 

 I like to keep my lifestyle minimal and simple and the same goes for my cleaning supplies. Like I mentioned in my previous post, my kitchen is small so I have to preserve cabinet space and it will not go to an overflow of cleaning supplies. 

 

 In this post I want to share some of my cleaning supplies and how I incorporate them to my daily cleaning routine. 

 

 Here are some of supplies: 

• Art of Green multipurpose cleaning spray - I truly do love an all purpose cleaner. I like to be able to use one product if possible in as many areas as I can. I can use this spray on my kitchen countertop, my stove top, sink area, floor, and refrigerator. It makes the process of cleaning so easy because all I do is grab my spray, my cleaning cloths, and start cleaning. It also smells nice! The spray is infused with a plant based scent of citrus and white flowers. Art of Green cleaning wipes - I love these wipes for really getting into nooks and small places. I like to use these for cleaning inside of drawers, fridge trays and drawers, shelves, floors, surface areas and more. They are great for a quick wipe down. 
  

• Cleaning towels - I am frugal at the moment okay! So I love Dollar Tree microfiber cleaning towels. I use these towels for everything; windows, counters, tables, floors,toilets, glass you name it! I use separate towels for each room so I am not passing dirt and grime around to other areas! 
  

• Rubber gloves - Due to the amount of washing my hands and sanitizing hands and surface areas because of the pandemic my hands have taken a beating and they feel rough and dry. I now incorporate rubber gloves into my routine to keep my hands protected. I like to buy them from the Dollar Tree as well! 
  

• Vacuum - With a one year old running around crumbs are inevitable I have learned. I vacuum every other day in our living room rug because it's a light color and crumbs are very visible on it. I also use this to clean baseboards, couch, and our floors. 

 

 I try to stay on top of cleaning our home but also keeping it simple and quick. I don't want to spend too much time doing it but I like to get it done. My advice is to find multi purpose cleaning products to make your routine simple and efficient. 

 

Check out and learn more about The Art of Green products here: https://artofgreen.com/ 

You can also use the following link as a store locator: CLICK HERE