Copycat Crate & Barrel Ho Ho Ho Letters

I just love this time of year!  Everything is so festive and happy.  Of course there is the flip side of that too which means this time of year is exhausting, stressful, hectic, and more!  But mostly I love it.

I was perusing Crate & Barrel recently and saw these metal Ho Ho Ho letters and just loved them.  I am always looking for a project so I immediately thought about how I could remake them myself on the cheap.  I remembered I had a few paper mache letters at home and decided to try spray painting them to see if they would hold up.  It worked like a charm so I got more letters and sprayed them all with high gloss red paint and then did a final coat of red glitter spray paint over the letters.  Easy as can be right!?

 You will need:

H's and O's in wood or paper mache 

High Gloss red spray paint

Red Glitter spray paint

If you want your O tipped like mine then you will need E6000 adhesive

Ribbon

Sprig of berries or something similar 

  I sprayed all my letters on all sides letting them dry entirely before adding a coat of glitter spray paint in red.  I used a very light coat of the glitter just so it had a tiny bit of sparkle. 

 Once they were dry I angled the O in the direction I wanted it to be and added E6000 glue to the spot where the O touches the H and then added a piece of wire around the two letters to hold them together until they dried. 

 After the glue dried I then cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon and added a little sprig of berries and pine cones.  

I also remade this centerpiece from Target by adding quite a few pine cones and sprigs of pine and berries to spruce it up.  I got it on clearance last year but it looked sparse to me so it was an easy fix!

 I probably should have Ho Ho Ho out but I just used 2 sets on either side of my centerpiece and I'm very happy with them.

An easy and inexpensive craft to make which is my favorite kind!

DIY Christmas Ski Decoration

I know I'm not the only crafter that stalks the Dollar Spot at Target!  You will probably know all about these awesome skis they have right now in their bins and maybe even have some at your house. 

I actually passed these skis up numerous times because I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them even though I loved them.  I debated on painting them white and adding them to a pine wreath but I wasn't convinced that I loved that idea so I just kept walking by them.  Then I needed something to hang on my wall that wasn't too large but looked Christmasy so off I went back to the Dollar Spot to see what I could come up with.  The skis were added to my cart and I came right home to get a set made for my wall.  I loved them so much I made a second set and then made a bunch for gifts.  After getting about 12 extras done I'm all set for teacher gifts, neighbor gifts, family gifts etc.  You can never beat an inexpensive gift that looks like a million bucks!

 You will need:

Set of Skis from Target or anywhere you can find skis

Pine 

Berry picks like above or just berry garland you can cut into small pieces

Floral wire or floral tape

Ribbon 

 To make the skis a little dressier you will need to "clump" your berry pieces and pine pieces together and arrange them in the layout you want and wrap the "stems" with floral wire or tape so they stay together fairly well.  Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around the center of the skis and lay your berry arrangement on top of the skis and then tie a pretty knot around the skis and berries with your ribbon.  I never cut my ribbon from the spool until after I've tied it off so I don't waste any but once you do one you'll know about how much you need.

When you cut your ribbon be sure to cut it with sharp scissors and cut at an angle so it doesn't fray at all.  I used 2 inch wide Grosgrain but you could use wired ribbon or satin ribbon or twine etc.  I chose to skip a bow but you could certainly do a bow instead of the knotted ribbon.

I want to mention how amazing these Berry Picks are that are available from Target in their Christmas Section.  They work so well for wreathes or other diy projects.  They come in a box and you get a bunch!

My mom is planning a set of these using a poinsettia and a few bells along with some ribbon.  You could use most any pretty arrangement in the center of the skis.

 These skis come ready to hang but since I didn't want to make holes in my wall for just the holiday season I used 3M picture hanging removable tabs to hang mine and they are staying put perfectly without ruining my walls.  

 Easy gift for just about everyone and it doesn't break the bank!

Reupholstered Leopard Print Dining Room Chairs

So, things have been getting a little "wild" up in here recently!  I love love love leopard print in the right design and hate it in other designs so it has taken me a long time to find the fabric I really want.  I have known for awhile now that I wanted to add a leopard print to my dining room chairs but it has meant a lot of searching for the right print and the right price because darn, some of these upholstery fabrics are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e!  Finally, my mom spotted this particular fabric at Hobby Lobby and the price was amazing so I jumped at the chance to buy yards and yards of it so I could have several things made out of it!  It was just $9.99 a yard and of course it was on sale so it came down to $7.00 a yard!  Oh be still my little leopard loving heart!

 I have reuhpolstered my dining room chairs before and it is so simple but does take time and patience to get them just right.  Don't let the task scare you because really it's simple!

You will need to measure your seat cushions allowing for the fabric to wrap around all edges.  The measuring is the most important part of the prep work because the wrong size will ruin your project and waste a lot of fabric.  I needed my cuts to be 24 inches by 27 inches and that still allowed me some extra fabric to cut off once I was finished stapling. 

You will need a heavy duty stapler and the right size staples.  I used 5/8 inch heavy duty staples and they were perfect.  I always go a little staple crazy when I reupholster something but I would say space the staples evenly around the entire perimeter of the chair not being afraid to keep them fairly close so the fabric stays in place with regular use. 

 You will need:

Plenty of fabric so it's important to measure and calculate how much you will need prior to purchasing

Heavy duty staple gun

Heavy duty staples

Dining room chairs or something of the like

Screw driver to remove the seat cushions

Possibly plyers to remove old upholstery

PATIENCE!

Believe it or not this seat cushion fabric used to be a bold sage green but after about 8 years it has faded to the point of looking grayish.  As you can see it was time to change them out!

I didn't do any pictures during the process which was a total "duh" moment on my part.  I really don't know what I was thinking because I usually try to post pictures of the process.  The only tricky part is the corners of each cushion if they aren't perfectly square.  You are golden if they are square but if they are rounded corners as mine are then you will just need to play with the corners until you are happy with the way they look.  I had to take out several staples as I was doing the corners so I had a little more wiggle room with the fabric and I wouldn't start with the corners but one of the flat sides.  You can do it!

And the AFTER....

 I am absolutely crazy about how these turned out!

A much needed update is done on the cheap!