A Handmade Christmas

Don’t get too excited, people in my real life.  I’d love to say that you’re all getting really neat gifts I made with my own two hands out of love… But gift certificates are nice too!

Just in case I get a wild hair or extra hours in the day, I have found some pretty neat DIY for Christmas.

Candy Cane body scrub, anyone?

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I actually did do this one year, and it makes for quite a refreshing bath.

Socks and wine.  SOCKS AND WINE!

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Genius.  Pure genius.

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My mom made Junior his own tree for his room.  Didn’t she make the cutest little ornaments?

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 Smelly goods.

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And I just had to add this after Michelle posted it.  This could be yours for $2, people!

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 There you have it.  Fantastic, inexpensive, homemade gifts you won’t be getting from me but might want to make for someone else.  ;)

Happy Friday!

 

 

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I Made Lip Balm

Seriously.  The easiest, cheapest, tastiest lip balm of all time.  Not that I was eating it…

I’ve been seeing variations of this floating around Pinterest for a while, so I finally just decided to go for the simplest formula I could think of.  I’m a lazy DIY-er.

That’s it, folks.  Vaseline and Crystal Lite.  I got the raspberry lemonade because I thought the color would be the prettiest.

Random martini swizzle sticks that you found in your junk drawer work perfectly for the stirring.

  I just kept adding the Crystal Lite until I was happy with the color.

And it worked great!  Smells fruity, tastes good when you accidentally lick your lips a lot, and it feels nice and soft, not sticky like a lot of lip balms I’ve tried.  For literal pennies, this is a winner.

I figured you’d want to see how it turned out, so I took a baseless duck face pose picture.  That’s the kind of picture all the cool girls take, right?  Kissy duck faces?

Sorry about that.  I want to punch myself in my own bill.

Normal face – or as normal as my face can look.

Ohhh luscious vaseline lips….  Whaddya think?  Worth a try, eh?

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Hi

I was off most of last week, galavanting around with my little guy swimming, shopping, napping… enjoying.

I was going to get back in the swing of things today with a real nail biter of a post about how we finally installed shower doors in our master bathroom.

But I’m feeling far too inspired of late to talk about boring ol shower doors.

D has the wood all laid out to start building our dining room table, for which I cannot wait, and I think I’d like to make it this runner as a welcome home gift.

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So simple, so pretty, so homey.

Also needed for the three adjectives above:

A wire cloche.  Don’t know what a cloche is?  Neither did I.  Keep scrolling. 

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That’s a cloche.  Made of wire.  And I need one.

PS – She made that for $1.04!  She’s got some other really great projects and tips, too.  Dig around her blog when you get a minute.

I told you all that I’m involved in this Blogging without Borders thing, yes?  My focus is our master suite and I thought I had some solid ideas all wrapped up and ready to go, Amy style.  But they keep falling apart and my terror grows daily.  My curtains are on the to-do list, but isn’t this a cute little idea?

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Vintage door knobs as tie-backs.  Duh!

Now we’ve been in the house for about 6 weeks already, and we really are loving it, but it’s taking a while to really feel settled in.  It still has construction dust around the edges, and this interesting new-car-smell.  It’s not a bad smell… It is just an odd mix of sheet rock, freshly cut cedar, and newly installed carpet.  You know the one.  I have a habit of keeping candles lit, but I think I might need to step it up a notch for that extra kick of cozy.

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Lemon, rosemary, and vanilla.  Mmmm…

Speaking of vanilla.. Did you know you can DIY that?

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Neat.

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Vintage KC Magazine

I have this friend.

You might remember her from a guest post she wrote here a few months back.  You know the one with the hair pin leg coffee table?

She and her sweet family came to visit us this weekend, and she didn’t come empty handed.

Oh no, she didn’t.

In one arm she carried a cooler full of ingredients to make us the most delicious pizza I’ve ever put in my mouth, and in the other, a veritable cache of treasures all for me!  I’ve as of yet not recovered well enough from the shock of so many goodies to write about them (yet).  And besides, this post isn’t about me.

It’s about Erin.  Erin, who has a husband and son to care for, who works a full time job, who runs a very cool Etsy shop, and who also blogs… up and decided to start her own magazine.

And she knocked it out of the park.

Vintage KC is a magazine about home, fashion, and of course DIY.  It is right up your alley, dear readers… believe you me.

You want to learn how to make this adorable doily bowl? 

Or a neat felt streamer?

Then be sure to check out the DIY section!

You’ll love it.

PS – you can even subscribe online!

PPS – I’m not sure how all this works, but in case I need to say it – my opinion that this is the coolest magazine of all time ever, is my own.  Erin didn’t coerce or threaten me into saying so.  ;)

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Favorite Things Friday!

Good morning, friends!  I woke up this morning to the sounds of thunder booming and rain hitting my window.  A spring like thunderstorm was absolute bliss to lay in bed and listen to on the third of February!  I hope your day started just as wonderfully!

I’m doing a little something new here at Buffalo Roam – sponsor swapping!  I’m so excited to have both these girls, and so therefore, they are my first favorite thing on this Friday!

Ashley over at Attempts at Domestication is one of my favorite reads.  She and her husband just bought their first house, so you’ll want to head over and see all the fabulous things she has planned! 

Attempts At Domestication

I’m a newlywed housewife from Richmond, VA. My husband and I met as kids and dated all through college before getting married in April 2011. We love traveling, watching movies, hanging out with our friends, cooking and Star Wars. My blog, Attempts At Domestication, started as a way to keep my college friends who are scattered all over up to date on my life, but I’ve really gotten into the whole DIY blog thing. It keeps me motivated to try new things and to actually make the things I pin on Pinterest. I do posts about my attempts at DIY, crafts, throw in a lot of random stuff about my life and share recipes from time to time too. My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home (we close on Feb. 15!) so the blog will definitely shift focus to mainly home decor and DIY after the big move.

You can also follow her on Twitter and Pinterest!

My second is also an Ashley, and she blogs over at First Home Dreams.  I stumbled across her blog one day, and was immediately hooked by her beautiful historic home, and all her fabulous projects.

Hi there! I’m Ashley, the rambling author of First Home Dreams, a blog dedicated to the restoration, renovation, and decoration of our brick farmhouse built in 1899. We’re located in Minesing, Ontario, Canada. We’re trying to do as much as we can ourselves, learning as we go. I hope you’ll pop on over!

 Here are links to her Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

 If you’re interested in sponsoring, advertising, or swapping, shoot me an email – I’d love to work with you!

My second favorite thing today – white ink!

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I know that may seem a little weird, but as a gal with several tattoos already, I feel I should warn you that they are, in fact, addicting.  I think my spring fever is adding to my itch.  The only problem is placement.  I’m running out of space to put them that will allow me to remain gainfully employed and also not cast me into the social pariah circle.  It’s a fine line to balance.

Third, antler and antler related things.

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I accidentally stumbled into Hobby Lobby the other day, and they have all sorts of antler stuff now.  Even fake mounts to hang on your wall.  One of them was price-reduced down to $12.37, oddly enough.  But I refrained.  I decided I needed to save that $12.37 and put it in the “Buy a Real Antler Chandelier” fund for the living room.  I’m on the hunt.  (Pun intended.)

Fourth favorite thing – You!  I like you.  :)

So tell me, what’s up this weekend?  Is it raining in your neck of the woods?  Who else has/loves ink??

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Glass Insulator Pendant Lights

See these?

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I want them in my kitchen!

As luck would have it, we’ve already gotten our paws on some glass insulators.  We just don’t really know how to proceed from here.  So over the weekend, we took a trip to Home Depot to scope out what kind of pendant wiring, lightbulbs, drill bits, etc., are available.

Quick sidenote: When we were trying to decide on baby names, D wanted to name him Sparta, so that when he introduced his family to people, he could be all “This is my wife, Amy, and THIS. IS. SPARTAAAAAA!!!!”  I nixed that for obvious reasons, but Junior must have heard us talking about it en utero, because he gets really worked up sometimes and channels King Leonidas.

 ”THIS. IS. PENDANT LIGHTIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGG”

 Anyway, we bought a drill bit to see if we’re even smooth enough to drill a hole in the glass without shattering it before we spend the money on the rest of the fixture.  That’s our next project, followed by D cutting down some massive trees in my parents back yard for yet a different DIY light fixture.  More on that later.

Have you ever drilled glass?  Made your own lights?  Severed any digits in the process?

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Scatter Girls

Hey guys! 

Today, you can find me guest posting over at Scatter Girls!  They have a really fun blog full of tips, tutorials, DIY, crafts and link up parties.  I love them, and so was thrilled when asked me to do a guest post.  If you haven’t already, check them out!

My post is about re-finishing the church pew I picked up a couple months back at a flea market.  Hope you enjoy! 

 

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Look at Me Being Versatile!

This morning, during my usual perusal of the blogs I follow, I received a very nice surprise – “The Versatile Blogger” Award! 

John and Lisa over at Our Home From Scratch picked my little bloggy bloggerton.  A big THANK YOU to them!  Check them out soon.  They’ve got a great blog about their home, some how-to’s, DIY, and they even reference Anchorman and Family Guy.  Now that’s my kind of blog!

So how this works is threefold.

First, I gladly link back to the wonderful Our Home From Scratch.

Second, I tell you seven things about myself.

1) I love my family more than anything in this world, and am so proud of them!  My hubby and son make every day amazing, and I’m blessed beyond belief by my parents, brother, in-laws, and extended family.

2) I’m an animal lover – especially the furry, four-legged variety.

3) I believe you can never own too many pairs of boots. 

4) I’m a terrible singer.  (But I don’t let that stop me from serenading D.) (He loves it.)

5) I’ve never met a bottle of wine I didn’t get along with. 

6) I want to become a better cook/baker.

7) Whenever I have free time, I spend it with my nose in a book my kindle.

And third, I pass the award along to three other bloggy bloggertons!

Following the Drum

Grandma Great’s Treasures

Let’s Just Build a House!

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