Latest Holiday Decor Finds

December 8, 2018January 10, 2019 ~ s.marsh.c ~ 14 Comments

Happy Saturday! I’ve been so busy with school lately and the end of the semester coming up, but I thought I’d do a quick post on some holiday decor I’ve recently boughten online.

As I’ve said in earlier posts, I moved out of my parents only a few years ago and don’t have the greatest collection of holiday decor. Trying to find budget-friendly decorations can be a little tough sometimes, so I’m going to show you these cute decorations I just got from Amazon that are fairly cheap. I was going to buy much more, but decided I’d hold back in order to save for Christmas gifts.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases of the following products.)

Here’s what I got:

I’ve been looking for a set of holiday-themed throw pillow covers for awhile, and finally found some. I love how the red looks with my grey couch!

The set of four 18 x 18″ throw pillow covers can be purchased on Amazon here for $18.99.

Figurines are always my favorite for decorating, and I thought this little light up Santa was so cute.

The little light up Santa Clause is 8″ tall and can be purchased here for $19.18.

I don’t know why but I’m loving reindeers this season, and this little reindeer has the prettiest details.

The reindeer is available in three different sizes. I got the small 8″ tall reindeer, but I think the only size left available is the large reindeer which is about 3″ taller than the small one. It can be purchased here for $12.95.

I know it’s not much, and I definitely wish I got more, but at the same time I’m glad I’ll have saved some extra money for gifts. Thanks for checking out my new decorations! I hope you liked them and hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!

Twine Tabletop Trees

December 2, 2018January 10, 2019 ~ s.marsh.c ~ 28 Comments

I have been seeing these little trees all over the place, and was dying to get some to add to my holiday decor. The only thing is they seem quite expensive in stores, and I’ve seen tons of DIYs on Pinterest, which gave me lots of inspiration for these twine-wrapped tabletop trees. Below I will show you how to make these trees and everything you will need to make them.

They’re actually much easier to make than I expected. I saw some that used cardboard or a cone-shaped piece of foam, but all I had on hand were paper bags. I was thinking a rolled up paper bag might be strong enough to hold the string, and I was right! The string actually makes the whole tree a lot stronger and sturdier when it’s all glued on, almost seems like there’s no way its just a paper bag on the inside!

I added the little red and white buttons to make it seem like ornaments on the trees, but they look just as good without them! Currently thinking of doing a third one without any buttons to mix it up. Also, I think a little star topper would have looked great, but unfortunately I didn’t have any.

What you’ll need:

Paper Bag
Thick String/Twine
Buttons (optional)
Paint Brush
Scissors
Tape
Glue

Most likely you probably already have a paper bag, scissors, and tape on hand. For gluing on objects, I just use an old plastic paint brush that I’ve had laying around.

For these trees, I used a thick natural twine. You can find something similar on Amazon here ($5.79). Another type of thick string or twine would look great as well.

I got a pack of different holiday-themed buttons from Amazon. I used the snowflake and flower buttons from it, but it comes with a few other shapes and colors as well. You can find the holiday-themed variety pack of buttons on Amazon here ($8.99)

The glue I used is the same from my last few posts. It is called Golden Gel Mediums Heavy Gel Gloss, and works great at holding down the string. You can get it on Amazon here ($12.89).

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases of the products linked above.)

Step 1: Start by gently pulling off the handle and cutting out the large side of the paper bag. Then begin tightly rolling the piece of the paper bag with one end pointed, like a cone. The photo below shows what I mean.

Step 2: Once the whole piece is rolled, tape down the edges to hold it together while you glue on the string.

Step 3: Now cut the large bottom end of the cone to make it straight so that it can stand up. I’ve noticed using smaller scissors helps a lot with this part.

Step 4: Now we can start gluing on the twine. Add a good-sized amount of glue to the very top of the cone to get started.

Step 5: Start wrapping the twine around the paper cone at the top, you may have to overlap the twine at the top to get it to hold while the glue is drying.

Continue wrapping the twine around the cone, adding glue as you go before you wrap. Try not to wrap it too tightly, or it will start to warp and add ridges towards the end of the paper cone.

Step 6: Once you get to the end, cut off the twine. You’ll have to overlap it a little in order to keep the bottom even, so add some glue underneath the end, push it down onto the glue, and add some more glue on top to keep it sealed.

Step 7: (optional) Now you can start adding any embellishments if you wish. I added these cute snowflake and flower buttons to make it look like ornaments on the tree. I thought it looked just as good without them too. It’s all personal preference! I just wish I had a little star I could add on top as a little tree-topper.

I’m so happy with how these turned out, and very glad I didn’t end up buying any in stores when I can make them myself so easily. Hope you guys like them as well!

DIY Metallic Painted Pinecones

November 8, 2018January 10, 2019 ~ s.marsh.c ~ 44 Comments

With several pine trees in my backyard I seem to have a constant supply of pinecones, which make great decorative accents! There are also so many crafting possibilities with pinecones. Later on I’d like to try making some Christmas ornaments with pinecones, but for now we’ll stick to them as accents.

For the longest time I’ve had this metallic silver acrylic paint that I’ve never used. I also had a bag filled with pinecones, so I decided to try painting some with the acrylic paint to see how it looked. Honestly, using some spray paint would probably be a lot quicker but this way I could do it inside without making a mess, and I thought I might as well try out this paint that’s been sitting around. Either way, the pinecones turned out great! I currently have them as a vase filler in my guest bathroom.

The exact paint that I used can be purchased from Amazon here. {As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases of this product.}

Painting them was super easy. First, I rinsed off some that had a lot of dirt left on the pinecones from being outside. A little bit of dirt won’t hurt either, I feel like it makes them look a bit more rustic. *Just a reminder that pinecones absorb water and will tighten up, so you’ll have to let them dry for a day or so if you rinse them. Next I started painting!

Working top to bottom, I used a smaller brush to get into the little crevices easier. Also make sure to paint all the undersides.

Once dry they look much more metallic-like and shiny. Some metallic gold paint would have looked great too! I’m thinking I’ll do some red for Christmas. I tried to paint most of them and leave some natural to give some contrast. So quick and easy, I’m happy with how they turned out!

Halloween and Fall Decor Haul 2018 🍂

October 14, 2018January 10, 2019 ~ s.marsh.c ~ 16 Comments

My greatest apologies for being absent for so long. This year has been a little crazy for me, but I am happy and excited for my return!

To get back in the groove of things, I’ve decided to write a blog on some of the new fall and halloween decor I just purchased. As a college student who moved out of my parents home just a few years ago, I did not have the greatest collection of decor for my own home. When looking to purchase new decor, it can be hard to find items that aren’t too expensive. It also helps to get some ideas for inspiration if you’re looking for something new.

I decided to check out Michaels online and found lots of awesome things for fairly cheap! Below I have included the different items and photos showing how I placed them throughout my home. (Each photo has the specific items labelled by letters to make it easier to find them.)

I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves to get the small pumpkins when they come out in the produce department at the grocery store. The only problem is they don’t last very long. Before shopping for decorations, I kept thinking how awesome it would be to find some small fake pumpkins that I could use year after year. I was also thinking how cute it would be to have a big basket full of them!

A. The basket in the photo above can be purchased here ($7.49). I figured it would be a great buy because I can still use it throughout the year.

B. The small pumpkins come in different sets of colors and I bought two different sets to mix up the colors in the basket. The red and orange pumpkins can be purchased here ($3.99), and the cream and orange colored pumpkins here ($3.99).

Pumpkin spice has become so popular, and I thought this sign was so cute!

C. Because it is meant to be a tabletop sign, it does stand on its own and cannot be hung up. It can be purchased here ($5).

In my opinion, you can never have enough pumpkins around the house for fall decor. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I got the spiders in the photo, but I know similar ones can be found at most stores with Halloween decorations.

D. I got two of these tabletop pumpkins for my dining room table, they can be purchased here ($4.99).

I was originally looking for a larger scarecrow to place on the bench on my front porch and thought this would be large enough. Unfortunately, I did not look at the dimensions! I was able to find a good spot in the house for him though.

E. I ended up placing this little sitting scarecrow on the coatrack bench in my entryway. It can be purchased here ($4.99).

I love Halloween decorations that go well in the kitchen! This little poison bottle looks great alongside my salt and pepper shakers on the kitchen counter.

F. The poison bottle can be purchased here ($3.49).

I also found these little candle skulls and decided to place them on the shelf in my guest bathroom. They come in sets of four, and are surprisingly very detailed!

G. The candles can be purchased here ($2.99).

As I said before, I love decorations for the kitchen. I found this little sign to hang on the wall above my kitchen cabinets. The writing is quite bold and can still be seen from far away, which is a plus.

H. The sign can be purchased here ($4.99).

I also found these bat lanterns and pumpkins to place at the sides of my front door. The lanterns come with flameless flickering candles attached on the inside that can be turned on with a switch on the bottom of the lantern. The pumpkins are more of a reddish orange, which is actually really pretty and makes them stand out a lot.

I. The lanterns can be purchased here ($9.99).

J. The pumpkins can be purchased here ($7.99).

Here is my front door all put together. I love how the lanterns look with the pumpkins.

I had an old dried out wreath that was ready to be thrown out, so I decided to upgrade it with some spiders and webs. Both are really easy to find at most Halloween decor stores. I got the doormat at World Market a year or two ago, but I don’t think it is available anymore.

I bought the caution tape from Party City last year and it is still available! It came with a set of three differently-styled caution tapes.

The caution tape can be purchased here ($3.99).

Speaking of caution tape, here is a photo of a different style from the same set above. I used it to decorate the door to my guest bathroom.

It’s nice that the set comes with different styles of caution tapes so you can do different themes around the house.

That’s all so far for my new Halloween decor! If I come up with any new decor projects before Halloween comes I will make sure to write a new post about it. Thanks for reading and wishing you all a happy Halloween! 🎃