Easy Pine Cone Garland Craft

This project is perfect for the fall season!  It will dress up your home for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  With just some pine cones and yarn you can swag this pine cone garland from a fireplace mantel, mirror, wall shelf, or any where else you can think of! 

What You Need:

1. Yarn (buy from a craft store)

2. Pine Cones (pick up fallen cones at a park, your back yard, or craft store)

3. Scissors 

1. Cut three pieces of yarn as long as you want.

2. Every six inches wrap all three yarn pieces half way around the bottom of the pine cone (the yarn works well for this project because it can get into the grooves of the cone and stay) and make a knot.

3. Make another knot one inch above that knot (so it hangs like a tassel).

4. Keep doing this until you get it the length you want it to go

You can add glitter to your pine cones, or change it up any way you want.  It will cheer to any room!

Watch this video

DIY Pine Cone Tassels

Add natural warmth to your home this fall season by making some Pine Cone Tassels.  Use them to tie back your drapes, and hang them from door knobs or cabinet pulls.  They are fun, and inexpensive to make!

All you need for this project is yarn and pine cones!  

I used Lion Band Yarn in 216 Ozarka Forest color for this tassel

STEPS

1. Cut 3 pieces of yarn two feet long to use as a door or cabinet pull tassel, or cut three feet long to use as a drapery tie back.  Lay them down side by side flat on a table. 

2. Find the center of the yarns with your finger.  At the center, wrap all the yarn pieces together around the tip of the pine cone.  The natural grooves in the pine cone will hold the yarn in place.


Then wrap the yarn around again half way and tie a knot at the top of the pine cone like this.  The reason you wrap it around again half way is to keep the pine cone balanced.   

3. Make another knot one inch above the knot you just did.  

You are done!  

Now you can use it as a drapery hold back or hang it from a door knob or cabinet door pull.

Extra Credit-Add Beads

You can add beads for a glitzier look!  You want to use large beads.  I bought a pack of table scatter beads at the Dollar Store.  You can find these beads at craft stores also.

You will need the following:

-Large beads

-Green wire used for crafts

STEPS

1. Cut a piece of wire four inches long and bend in half.

2. Take each side of the tassel (all three yarn pieces) and bend the wire around all of them.  

3.  Twist the wire like below (so it will fit in the hole of the bead).

4. Push the threaded wire through the bead like below.  Then follow the same steps on the other side.

Add one or more beads!  Then hang!

Watch this video!

DIY Branch Sculpture For Your Table Top

An easy, cost free centerpiece you can add to any table top is by working with branches!

Decorate a buffet or bar top with this naturally sculptural craft!

For this project you need: 

-gather a few medium branches to work with (from your backyard or local park-look for branches laying on the ground)

-yarn (buy from craft store, Wal-mart)

-a bunch or two of fake leaves, feathers, tall grass  (buy from craft store, the Dollar Store, Wal-mart)

I walked through my local park and collected fallen branches in a garbage bag.

STEP 1

On a clean flat surface, sculpt your branches in various arrangements until you like the look of it.  

STEP 2

To keep your branch sculpture in place, use the yarn to wrap around places where your branches meet. 

Start by cutting a piece of yarn a foot long, tie one end of it around a few branches and make a knot.

Then wrap the rest around and around, and knot the end.

STEP 3

Add a few real or faux leaves, feathers, grasses....whatever you like!  Simply push the ends of each into the wrapped yarn areas.

Dress up your Thanksgiving Day buffet or dining table with a long  Branch Sculpture!  It will add an authentic natural touch to your celebration!

Watch this video!

5 Minute DIY Projects To Create A Fall Front Porch

Here are a few 5 minute projects that will add instant festive fall appeal to your outdoor space!

'No glue, no fuss, no mess is included in these quickie DIY crafts'

I gave my front porch some quick cozy appeal by adding some fake nature!  I love these ideas because they are easy, inexpensive, and can last all winter!

THE WINDOW BOX

The flowers in my window box were beginning to die out, so I added some real and fake little pumpkins and gourds.  Now my window box is full of fall color!

THE FRONT DOOR

I quickly crafted a wreath using a natural twig grapevine wreath I purchased from Wal-Mart for a few bucks and added fake grasses and leaves from the Dollar Store.  I did not use any glue; I just pushed the ends of each stem into the wreath.  I then wrapped twine around the top of wreath and looped it around my door knocker.  Took 5 minutes!

Here's all you need:

One natural twig grapevine wreath (craft store, wal-mart)

A few bunches of your favorite fake grasses, leaves, or flowers (craft store, dollar store)

PLANTERS

The flowers I had in my planters died, so I replaced them with a fake pumpkin and surrounded it with fake leaves and grasses! 

The fake pumpkins I used were made of foam so I placed a wooden dowel in the bottom of the pumpkin halfway and pushed the rest of the dowel into the soil in my planters to keep it from moving.  

Here is what a wooden dowel looks like.

You can pick up the pumpkin, fake grasses, leaves, and dowels at a craft store or Wal-mart.  This is another quick DIY project!

These 5 minute projects can be done in one evening, and your kids can help you out too!

Watch this video!

Seven Tips For A Great Guest Bedroom

This topic is so timely because the holidays are just around the corner.  If you will have out of town guests traveling to your place to stay over, then this is the perfect short list of hot tips to make their stay fabulous! 

First, before we go any further, close your eyes and envision walking into your favorite hotel room.  This will be your inspiration for your guest room.

REMEMBER-These tips work whether you have a designated room for out of town guests, or a space that doubles as a spare bedroom.

Seven Top Tips: 

1.Paint Palette - Stick to soft creams, grays, or soothing shades of gray blues and greens to keep the room light and airy.  I love Benjamin Moore's Harbor Gray (AC 25) and Sherwin William's Comfort Gray (SW 6205)

2.Lighting - Take your lighting seriously.  Lack of it leads to a lot of stumbling around in the dark, and poor lighting can make a room look unwelcoming.  Be a good host by placing a lamp near the bedroom door if you do not have overhead lighting, AND set a lamp next to the bed that is easy to reach, and easy to use. 

3.Bedding - An easy way to create a luxurious looking bed is to think white! White is crisp, bright, and easy color to replace! Start with a cotton 250+ thread count matching sheet set.  Next, lay a coverlet or quilt down.  Finally add color through a duvet or comforter.  This last layer should be laid out from the foot of the bed to about mid way then folded over, like this:

Designed by Cardea Building Co. 

From Coastal Living

4.Essential furniture Pieces -  A bedside table and chair are essential pieces.  The chair need not be large with arms.  Try an upholstered parsons chair, or an ottoman!  Another great piece of furniture is a desk.

TIP for small spaces-use a desk as the night stand.  This gives your guests more table top space and allows you to do work on it when no guest stays over.

Designed by JMA Interior Decoration

5.Space For Hanging Clothes - If there is a closet in the room, leave hanging space for guest clothing.  If no closet, no problem! Use a large double hook on the back of the room's door, or place a hook on the closet door.

6.'Mirror Mirror On The Wall' - ALWAYS have a mirror in the room to allow guests to check their appearance.

7.Pamper Guests With 'Must Haves' -

-place extra pillow and blanket close by bed in a closet, or in plain site in a basket.  I have been doing this ever since friends who stayed over told me the room gets cold at night.

-On your bedside table place a book and magazines to read.  This will bring so much pleasure to your guests if there is no television in the room.

-Place a bottle of water, fruit, and snack in the room.  So they won't go roaming around your kitchen at midnight in their skimpy PJs.  Also important for any one who needs to take a pill.

-Place a few essential toiletries in a small tray, bowl, or cute box.  I collect the free mini bottles of hair and body soaps, lotions and even shower caps from each of my hotel stays.  I recycle them by giving them to my overnight guests.  I always get compliments about this!

Just stick to this list and your out of town guests will have a memorable stay at your home!

Check out Shosh share her best guest bedroom ideas and tips with viewers on 69 News 

Bombay Company Is Back Online

Remember the Bombay Company? Their stores used to be everywhere, full of world traveled looking items. Then they shut their doors.  Well they are back and will begin selling a full line of home décor online at www.bombaycompany.com starting in mid-September. The initial launch will include more than 200 new designs as well as best-selling Bombay archival pieces in furniture, decorative accessories, gifts, textiles, seasonal and holiday items. The collection will range in price from $20 for accessories to $1,500 for furniture pieces. 

I am so happy to see this new increase in online presence from some of my favorite decor stores!  First Pier 1, and now Bombay Company!  

Last Minute Decorating Tips

Quick Fix Decorating Favorites From Shosh of Love Your Room

Need a plan of attack for last minute decorating?  We all run into this situation-Last minute guests will be coming in a few hours or a day.  The Love Your Room design team, made up of Shosh, Sara Jane and Jenna, have listed our personal favorites RIGHT HERE!  So watch the video above for some fun talk and visual, and then print out these 12 fave decorating fixes for emergency situations!

Pier 1 Online is Back!

New look and new features

You may already know this, but Pier 1 is now offering their furnishings online again.  Yeah!  I like their products and now I can buy them from home again.  They call it 'Pier 1 To You'.  Just add your items to your basket, pay online, and your new stuff is delivered directly to you.  They also have 'Pier 1 To Go' that will send your new stuff to your local Pier 1 store so you do not have to pay the shipping.  Another great feature they offer is that you can return anything to your local store instead of mailing it back, and that is such a convenience.

This is not a plug for Pier 1, just want to give them 'props' for their great features.  I, for one, appreciate any money saving and convenient advantages retailers can offer.

Happy shopping friends!
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p.s. CHECK OUT MY RECENTLY COMPLETED RESIDENTIAL DESIGN PROJECTS
-Designed Open Concept Family Room and Living Room
-Infuse Bold Yellow And Red Into Your Backyard
-Allentown Family Room Gets An Updated Look

A Wall Of All That Makes You Happy

My adorable smilin', chicken raising, open minded client, allowed me put holes in her walls!  We recently worked on her family room, addressing the furniture, the window treatments, and now it was time to think about the finer details-creating interest on the walls.  To keep the warm cozy feel we envisioned, we raided her basement and found sentimental artwork.  Why buy art when you have a variety right in your own place!!

I love the eclectic feel of bunching together art pieces that wouldn't necessarily 'strike up a conversation at a dinner party'.   Works that don't just look pretty, but have meaningful history behind them.  You may have some pieces in your own home you can use.  Maybe you just have to look past the current frame and/or matting.  We reframed a few prints, and it made a huge difference!!  It's as easy as 1,2,3,4!!!

This is how we did our wall gallery.........

STEP 1

First we played around with the pieces on the floor until we found a combination that made us smile.  

STEP TWO

We began by finding the center of the wall and sticking a piece of painters tape there.  

STEP THREE

We hung the largest piece of artwork first, right where the center mark was.

STEP FOUR

After that, balanced the smaller pieces on either side.  Add drama and color by adding plates, plaques-any fun 'out of box thinking' decor to spice up your wall gallery!  We used paper mache animal heads from West Elm.

I celebrated the new look and our hard work with iced coffee from Wawa.  

This room will be done soon (still waiting for our end tables and one more picture that is at the framers').