Simple Solutions to Update Your Seasonal Decor (Part 2)

 
 Find Part 1 to this series here!
     I'm excited to share some more ideas on updating your seasonal decorations! These are pretty photo-heavy posts, but I think the concepts are easier to understand when you can see what I'm saying. Seasonal decorating doesn't have to be expensive, time-consuming or clutter-y. I'm eager to show you how adding one or two things to what you already have in your home will help to create a festive atmosphere without making you crazy!

4. Add one or two things that are distinctively seasonal.

     My kitchen colors are red, and I keep a red felt wreath in there and when it matches my holiday colors I just find something to stick on it that pulls it all together. For Christmas, I add an ornament or two in turquoise, usually a snowflake or Christmas tree. For 4th of July, I added this little bunting and anchor (Dollar Spot at Target) to make it go with my theme.

    Look again at the photo from my Easter decorations this year.

  The only item in this picture that I have to store is the eggs. (I'll tell you more about my system for printables in a minute.) I often use candy as one of my elements because it is consumable, so I don't have to store it! The Peeps never get eaten, but at around $1 (I get them on sale at Target) I don't feel guilty about tossing them at the end of the month. They shouldn't be eaten anyway, in my mind!
 I chose plain white eggs. The eggs are meant to be dye-able, but I leave them plain white because then they go with any color scheme!

5. Go "disposable"!
   If you have every paid any attention to my posts about decorating I use two things fairly frequently: candy and fresh flowers. In the Easter photo above, those are a $4 bouquet from Trader Joe's. They will most likely last the week and a half until Easter, so definitely worth the money, in my opinion. And I don't have to store them!

    This is a great example of using candy. I bought a dollar's worth of red and white gummy bears from Winco, picked all the red Sour Patch kids out of a clearance bag of Christmas ones, and bought Sixlets at the Dollar Tree. I shamelessly pulled the skull sketch my cousin did for me because I loved the funky vibe it gave this vignette. Candy is also "disposable"-as in, if my family doesn't eat it (Over the span of time that I usually have decor up they will munch on it, and then once I pull everything down I put it in a designated spot where they know they can go whole-hog!) I have no problem tossing it-although I can often find friends who are willing to take it off my hands. 

   People will ask about the temptation of having all that candy around, and I have a few things that help in that department: I will often buy candy I personally won't eat (Sixlets? Peeps? GROSS!). I also use really small quantities (the Sour Patch kids, for example) so I'm not tempted because I don't want to ruin my display. Also, constantly having candy available actually encourages me personally *not* to eat it, as I know I can always have some later. I can usually keep putting it off so "later" never comes! Ha! 

6. Change up your chalkboards and frames!

 If you haven't noticed yet, I get my money's worth from this little chalkboard. It gets a makeover for every season. I paid $3 for it from Target's Dollar Spot. Best decorating purchase-EVER! I look up ideas on Pinterest and do my best "third grader imitating professional" art on them. The handmade look is in, right? Scripture is always my go-to choice for what to write on them. 

 I spent a little bit of time (a couple of hours on Pinterest looking at tutorials) and realized the easiest thing to making your chalk art look better is to emphasize the "down" strokes of your letter. Just that simple thing makes all your work look more artistic! Two tips: first ALWAYS season your new chalkboards by completely covering them with plain white chalk-actual chalk, not chalk markers or pencils! This will keep them from being ruined by having whatever you first write on them permanently stuck on them. I made that mistake with this one and I had to buy chalk paint to cover it and fix that. Now that I have seasoned it, I don't have that problem. Second recommendation: use real chalk on actual chalkboards. It gives it the most authentic look and erases better. I have a multi-colored pack of chalk from Target that was less than $2 and I use that all the time. If you have a metal chalkboard like the tiny one in the photo with the green books chalk markers are a better pick for that type. Also, if you don't plan on erasing it, chalk markers are more precise and long-lasting. I used those on the hanging chalkboard in the Valentine set-up. 

  The frame above is the equivalent of the chalkboard. It gets a new printable or something each season. That costs almost nothing-just the cost of ink. If you aren't into creating your own, I have lots available here on the blog (search "printable") or Pinterest has tons! The two sizes I use most frequently are 8x10 and 5x7. Here is my best tip for frames: keep your prints stored in them! I keep the cardboard insert that comes with most frames, or even just the stock photo that comes in them, and I file whatever isn't being "presented" behind that. In some frames I have as many as 4 or 5 different photos or printables in there at any given time.

Side note: The set-up above was a great example of using what I had on hand. I wanted a "back-to-school" theme so I just arranged my kids' school supplies in a cute way! If you are looking for that printable, find it here. 

7. Use paper or washi tape to get your desired effect. 

       The garland above (from "The Grinch Christmas Party") is one of my favorites, but it was also one of the easiest. I simply used strips of paper, cut in a matter of minutes with my tiny little paper cutter, and chopped them to different lengths and then I hot glued them to the back of a ribbon. The whole thing took maybe 15 minutes but was so gratifying! No talent necessary. I have a whole post on how to whip up easy paper garlands you should check out if you need more ideas. 

    This entire wreath was made out of paper. I hope to one day share the tutorial, but suffice it to say it was practically free, as I backed it with cardboard I cut from a box, and used a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some hot glue to put it together. Paper is one of the least expensive things, but it makes a big impact! (Side note: here are some more books, but this time they are contributing to a "back-to-school" theme! "Free" decor! And what is more appropriate for that then my old-fashioned school bell?) 

      I limit myself to the amount of paper that will fit in a 12x12 storage container from Michael's that is about 4 inches deep. It holds all my paper and felt, and I usually can dig through to find what I want. Otherwise, it is a good excuse to run to Hobby Lobby and buy a dollar's worth of paper to match! I try to stick with paper that is one or two colors and patterned, but not specifically holiday. The ones above were from a pack and I had them leftover from a wreath I made, so they are kind of an exception. 

   

   Washi tape is another easy way to make seasonal decorations. The piece above was all washi. (Find the tutorial here.)I don't keep 500 rolls, but I do keep a small shoebox full and trust me, it's totally worth it.

 I made the shamrock in the photo with the succulent out of washi, too. I did that one a little differently, I laid strips on cardstock and then cut them out with a paper punch. And see, the washi helped me out here, too. 

  This "tree" is a great example of how handy washi can be! This is actually decorator masking tape, but same idea. This was so cheap, but made such great impact!

8. When in doubt go with white (or glass).
    I've shared this tip in regards to party-planning, but it bears repeating here, too. When you are purchasing decorative elements or dishware, you can't really go wrong with buying classic white or glass. I don't have a huge amount of space to store things, but I get my money's worth out of a small collection of items. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of my most used pieces. Amusingly, many of them are in the photo above!

They are:
-2 olive trays, one small and one larger
-several assorted (one cup volume or less) plastic and ceramic white dishes. I have a square one I am particularly fond of.
-cylindrical glass vases. Two sizes. I bought the 7 inch one at the dollar store. That's the one in the photo above filled with the eggs. I also have a larger one for bigger arrangements.
-small white cake plate. Mine is actually plastic and it is hilariously from the Halloween decor at Target. It was on mega clearance and I only paid like $0.50 for it. Pick one up at a yard sale or in the Dollar Spot for $3-$5.
-larger white cake plate. Having two coordinating cake plates allows me to stack them onto each other for a tiered effect. They don't have to match perfectly! My big one is square and ceramic, the smaller one round and plastic.
-various jars. I keep mason jars in both pint and quart sizes. I use these for food storage when they aren't serving decorative purposes. The container in the photo above with the silver lid is a favorite. You can get that style at Hobby Lobby for around $3. Choose things you can use for storage year-round so you aren't making space for empty containers for months! That defeats the purpose. Most of mine live in my pantry filled with boring things like fruit snacks and granola bars. When I want them for decorating, I unceremoniously dump them in a bowl or basket, wash them out and they are ready to go!

   Obviously, you can adjust these to suit your own decor style and colors. You could easily substitute metals (silver, gold, etc.) as those will go with most any color scheme. You can be a little more flexible with frames-I have a variety in both metal and black. I also have a couple of colored ones.

   This is such a tiny amount of stuff that if you *had* to store it it would all fit in a small storage container. However, find a place for it in your everyday decorating and you've made it work double duty!

    So that pretty much finishes up my broad-stroke tips for the best ways to decorate seasonally without spending a ton of time or money, or having a garage full of decorations. However, sometimes it is still hard to figure out to put those things into practice, so I have one final post in this series where I will break down the steps and show you a mock set-up. It may seem like I have the "right" colors or items to make these tips work, and you have different colors and you don't collect weird things like glass skulls, hand-held school bells and garden gnomes. But my tips will still work! I promise-you can do it.
 
Looking for the last post in this series? Find it here:
Part 3

Simple Solutions To Update Your Seasonal Decor (Part 1)

     I love to change up my decorations around the house. If you know me, or have followed my blog for any length of time, you have seen some of the parties I have planned. To me, decorating for the changing seasons is a smaller scale version, but one I get to enjoy for longer than the few hours a party lasts.

    However, if I fell into the trap that I needed to buy new things for every holiday and season, that can get expensive. Even just storing stuff for the six or so times a year that I change things can be overwhelming. Can you imagine if I had a separate storage tote for all that stuff in addition to the several I have just for Christmas? I wouldn't have room for anything else! So, I had to come up with a better way. The system I have now works so well, I thought I would share it with you, in case you are looking for ideas for your own home!

      First, I thought I would show you this year's Easter decorations. I went with a yellow and purple theme (I'll tell you why in just a few minutes). I always decorate the top of my microwave (weird, I know, but that's just how it works out) so that space doesn't have any "permanent" decorations. That makes it easy to switch things around without having to store anything. So, I guess that is really my first tip!

1. Keep a (or several) small area(s) clutter-free so you have an easy space to decorate for any holiday.

      The other area that I always keep pretty clear for seasonal decorations is a small bookcase in my living room. Same concept-it has nothing that lives there so it is easy to move things around. When I know which spaces I routinely decorate it makes it easy to form my plan based on my needs. I never need anything too large, I have a nail above each space for hanging items, since I have kids I never choose anything too precious!

    These are the decorations from last year. Do you spy any of the same things? Yet, it is still different because I used some different pieces and this color scheme also had turquoise in it.

   Sometimes I decide to go a step further and I decorate my Expedit bookshelf. With the exception of Christmas, I almost always limit my seasonal decorating areas to the living room. They get the greatest amount of exposure there, but yet it helps me have some boundaries so I don't go overboard.

     And finally, these are decorations for the same season from 2015. Obviously, this color scheme was purple and turquoise. Now that you have viewed three years' worth of my Easter decorations, are you starting to see some patterns? Yet, every year there are some things that are different, too.

 2.Use colors that are already present in your year-round decor.
 Let me share with you what I have figured out. One of the biggest keys to making my seasonal decorations more frugal, and less craziness inducing, is to choose a color that is already part of my permanent decor scheme! My primary living room colors are turquoise, yellow and lime green. So in 2015, I chose turquoise. In 2016, I went with two of the three, yellow and turquoise again. In 2017, I went with yellow.

     This may seem complicated, but it really isn't. Here is another example:

  This is my Christmas decor from 2016, I think. (I can't exactly remember, those colors stay the same each year). Even for Christmas I made my colors work for me, choosing red to go with the turquoise blue that was already there.

    For St. Patrick's Day I pull out the lime green things I own. For Valentine's Day, it is the red I have in my kitchen. For 4th of July, I can do turquoise or again, red. But by making sure I use at least one color I already have in my home, I can re-purpose, instead of purchasing things to store 10 months out of 12.

3. Pick items from your year-round decor and use them in your seasonal groupings.
    See on the shelf in the Christmas photo above, on the right hand, the blue gnome? Not surprisingly, he also makes an appearance in 2015's Easter vignette. Except now, instead of appearing "elf"-like, as in the Christmas picture, he looks more garden gnome, right? Same object, but different placement.

      For St. Patrick's Day I decided to host a last-minute gathering and I only had about an hour to put together something cute. I gathered all my books that had green bindings and stacked them together with a green frame on top in one spot in the house. I didn't use a single store-bought "holiday" item, but having like items grouped together in a festive color conveyed the same idea. I also grabbed that "Trust in the Lord" sign to add to the grouping. I am not an artist, so please excuse my pitiful humble artwork.

     This little succulent got dressed up with a little washi tape. I keep the plant year-round, but for St. Patrick's Day it got a place of honor as the "centerpiece" for the table. Nobody would say a succulent is specific to that holiday, but with a little seasonally-coordinated tape it definitely adds to the vibe, right?

   This Valentine set-up is a favorite example of pulling from your own decor. The Fu Dog is a piece I keep out year-round, as is the silver school bell. A few "gold" (brown) books prop up a kissing photo-so "Valentine" but another thing I keep out all year! And see the "Trust in the Lord" sign? All these things look fresh and festive when I put them with a heart-shaped banner that declares, "Look at me! I've decorated for Valentine's Day!".  I didn't use any "traditional" Valentine colors, but I still think it looks appropriate.


    Wow! This post kind of took on a life of its own! I wasn't planning on turning this into a series, but it seems to be appropriate. I'm so excited to share more of my thoughts and ideas. So, has anything made you consider how you can use what you already have to make your house dressed up for the season?

Looking for the rest of the series? Find them here:
Part 2
Part 3



 

Green Velvet Cupcakes (and a Big Announcement!)

So, I know you were all wondering if I fell off the face of the earth. Not really, but I have been out-of-the-ordinary busy. To cut to the chase- our family is moving! We are leaving beautiful Colorado (which has been my home for far longer than any other state I've ever lived in) to move to Washington! I am sad to leave our wonderful friends and church here, not to mention the gorgeous mountains, but we will be living close to so much family in Washington that I am also very excited. For the first time ever in my married life I will live closer than a two-days drive to my parents, five of my siblings, my (favorite) aunt and my grandparents. For a girl who absolutely adores her family, it is kind of a dream come true.

    However that has led to more of this:

than I have done in a very long time! Our last move was seven years ago, and we had an 15 month old and a *lot* less stuff! We also took a vacation in the beginning of March to visit my oldest sister (the only one I won't be living near, *tear*). All of that has combined with a million other things to make a hectic month indeed! Needless to say, I haven't been doing much cooking or crafting.

   But I am trying to use up all the food in the house, and when I saw this recipe, and knew I had all the ingredients, well, it was providential! Green Velvet Cupcakes had to be made!  They were so easy, I'm glad I made time for them.

The basic recipe is super simple. You prepare a boxed white cake mix according to the package directions, and simply add 1 tbsp. green food coloring and 2 oz. melted semi-sweet baking chocolate. You finish baking the cupcakes using the directions on the box. That's it! You could really make any color "velvet" you wanted, but I loved the dark green color. In case you were wondering, 1 tbsp. of food coloring is almost two little bottles! I ran out of regular green, so I ended up concocting a mixture of neon green, blue and yellow to get the same results. Just remember, your batter will get darker as it bakes, so don't make it too deep or you will have black cupcakes! I also used a vanilla cake mix, instead of white, so obviously this recipe is very forgiving.

   I didn't care for their frosting recipe, so I ended up adding 1 and 1/2 blocks of cream cheese, tons of powdered sugar, and a little more vanilla to the Cool Whip. These were even more yummy after they had been refrigerated. I didn't have any green sprinkles (I hate those anyway, and remember, moving!) so I used some decorator icing and mint M&Ms to make little shamrocks. I got the adorable chevron cupcake liners at Micheal's last year for a $0.25! Love!

These were so simple, but just adding that little bit of chocolate made them delicious! I personally believe the food coloring adds to the flavor...;)  I know this is late but I couldn't resist posting them, they turned out so cute! Definitely try it- I'm already imaging all the other colors I can make... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Linked to:
"Turn It Up Tuesday" at Home on Deranged

St. Patty's Paper Garland

 I was admiring my heart punch the other day when I realized it would make great shamrocks! So, I took some paper, some scrapbooking brads and a little bit 'o twine (like that Irish accent?) and put together a little garland.

 

You'll need:

-large heart punch (mine is 2 and1/2 inches, from Micheal's, around $10 after 40% off coupon)

-jute twine (just in case you didn't know, and I didn't, this is with the jewelry making stuff at HL)

-decorative scrapbooking brads (called "Spare Parts" at Hobby Lobby. I bought 1/2 inch ones. $1.50 at half off.)

-paper  ( I bought five different ones, and only ended up using four. You will only need one sheet of each to make an approximately 5 foot garland.)

-standard hole punch

I decided I preferred the way three leaf clovers looked over four leaf ones. Clovers still represent St. Patrick's Day, and I don't believe in luck anyway! So, I punched out three hearts for each clover, and then free handed a little stem pattern. Your stem will need to be longer than you think, since part of it will be covered by the leaves. 

Then I stacked three hearts together and pushed a thumbtack through them close to the bottom of the heart. The brads I bought weren't sharp enough to go through that much paper on their own, so this helped to get them started. 

Then, thread the brad through, and before separating the prongs on the back, arrange your hearts to form a clover. When you like the arrangement, add your stem, and open the prongs to stabilize the brad.

And you have a clover! Repeat for as many clovers as you need. I bought 12 brads and only ended up using 10. Then punch holes with a standard notebook punch in the two horizontal hearts, and thread them on your twine. I tied knots in between the clovers to add some visual interest.

And then hang your garland wherever you like! I thought this was a great way to re-purpose my heart hole punch. I was also happy that I could use more muted greens, rather than being stuck with the bright Kelly green that most store bought St. Patty's decorations use.

I know Easter is early this year, but I didn't want to overlook poor, forlorn St. Patty's! I think my garland brings a little bit 'o cheer... okay, I will stop with the accent!:)