DIY Archives - Page 5 of 13 - A Golden Afternoon: Simplified Home Living

Let’s Throw a Party: How to make a banner for a cake

I love to throw parties.

I love the planning, the shopping, the excitement on everyone’s faces, the DIY creating, and the cooking. My husband has become very patient with me throughout the process in which I plan a party and I might even say he gets a little excited…a little. Maybe he’s just become really good at pretending to be excited. In any case, I love the whole process.

Most parties I throw, I never end up having pictures from because I’m usually putting it all together. I’m trying to be better at catching little snapshots here and there to share like this DIY birthday banner.

This banner is super-easy and very fast to make. My littlest, Dean, wanted a meerkat party (incredibly common) so I threw together these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, crumbled graham crackers for dirt, and a little meerkat on top with some rosemary shrubbery.

It was a hit!

Banner materials:

twine or string

washi or paper tape

skewers or twigs

scissors

Start by measuring the amount of twine you want to hang across your cake or cupcake. I like mine to hang out to the side for a more whimsical look.

Next, pick the repeating color order you want the tape to appear in and start tearing 1 1/2 inch pieces off. Put the twine in the middle of the sticky side and fold over, meeting the ends of the tape.

(Also, those are totally my 29 year-old hands and not my Grandma’s…I blame the gardening.)

Next, snip a triangle on the end, making a cute little flag. You could also keep them square or make them into triangles.

Now, get your cake. My sister turned me on to Thomas Keller’s chocolate cake and frosting recipe a few years ago like I used in these owl cupcakes. You can find it in his Ad Hoc cookbook. So good and the only recipe I’ve ever tried that is moist like boxed cakes!

Lastly, tie the ends of the twine onto the sticks/skewers and place at an angle in the cake for a cute DIY birthday banner! Twigs are my favorite trick for making easy and FREE touches to any cake. You can also use paper and just glue the pieces over the twine for the banner. These are fun because you can add words or names!

Now, if you ever have to throw a meerkat party, you will have at least one things to make! haha.

Anyone planning a party? :)

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Last Minute Valentines: DIY Garland

This year, I got to participate in a handmade valentine swap. Super fun, right? It’s nice to know handmade is still alive and well in the world!

For my valentine, I really didn’t have very much time. I know that is said a lot, but things changed for us a few weeks ago. We took our very first older child placement in a few weeks ago. She is 4. It has been a pretty rough few weeks for all 5 of us. This valentine would not have been on my radar had I not already signed up to send them to people before we got placed with this little girl. I didn’t want to leave the ladies hanging who had signed up to swap with me. That’s all to say, most of us probably have things going on right now that keep us from following our hearts desire of making handmade valentines.

So….I created this DIY Valentine’s garland to fill that last-minute-need-to-create void!

First, print the Valentine’s garland from last year right HERE. Cut out all of the hearts and even some white ones if you desire to make a longer one. I used 4 hearts, but you can include as many hearts as you want as long as you remember to increase the postage.

I cut out a few pieces of cardboard, in haste. However, small pieces of wood would be perfect. I wrapped some long pieces of tape around the cardboard so the person could take off whatever they need to hang up the garland and also to adhere the string to the back of the garland. Cut a 1 yard long piece of twine, fold it up, and hold it together with a piece of washi tape. Write a little handmade note and put it in an envelope! A cute little printed paper bag like you can find in my friend Ana’s shop would be perfect, along with some of her heart stickers and mini clothespins!

DONE!

Print, Assemble, and Give!

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Handmade Holiday: Valentine’s Day

We all have our own love language. Mine is acts of service…from what I’m told. If I had to pick my own category, it would be thoughtfulness. I know, that’s not one of the given categories, but I’m not really a fan of categorizing myself like that so I’m making my own. I just really love thoughtfulness.

I loved it recently when my friend made a kit of lovely things to help me during a cold.

I love it when my husband does the dishes when I’m least expecting it.

I love it when my mom pulls out a vintage treasure from her “stash” right when I need it.

I love it when my kids ask if there’s anything they can do to help.

I love it when my sister bring down cookies when she visits.

I love it when someone spends time making something with their hands.

SO….

I put together a little collection of things I feel would be thoughtful gifts for your love ones on Valentine’s day from things I’ve made in the past.

//Cook a nice dinner with roasted red beets as a side dish. They will add gorgeous color to your table.//

//Make a fabric flower using the wrappings from your store-bought bouquet.//

//Make a heart “LOVE” banner for a loved one or teacher.//

//Bring a nice cup of tea and some Grapefruit Tea Cookies to that special someone in need of a few moments of peace.//

//Create a hanging heart mobile on a branch to spread some smiles//

What fun things are you making for Valentine’s?

Make: A Succulent Teacup Planter

Last year after Christmas, I told myself to find something simple yet wonderful to make for my friends the next year. I get caught up in so many projects and commitments, sometimes I end up leaving less room for the fun handmade Christmas presents I love so much. My schedule has changed a lot the last two Christmas seasons with my attention turning towards homeschooling. I am enjoying this school year so much but when vacations comes around, I am in much need of rest and time to finish projects…and go to seemingly endless rehearsals and performances for the Nutcracker. I wanted a gift that would be easy, fun, inexpensive (although, good friends are always deserving of the best!), and beautiful.

I feel really good about these succulent planters.

Succulents are perfect for everyone because they look great and SUPER EASY to take care of as they need minimal care and water once established. Perfect for friends, your mother-in-law or mom, the neighbors, or the UPS driver.

I started looking around estate sales and thrift stores for good English china to plant succulents in a few months ago. I noticed that the Japanese and Chinese tea cups were always more. How nice that the one I was looking for was actually less. Yay, for me! I got mine ranging from $.25 to $6. If I was in love with the cup, I would buy it for $6, but usually not. You could buy new ones as well. A special monogram mug from Anthropologie is always a good idea for $8.

Required materials:

tea cup

glue

soil

succulents

Basically, I took the teacup, glued the bottom of the cup to the saucer (optional), filled it with soil, and added succulent clippings. They survive for long periods of time with limited water, but make sure to keep the soil moist while they are developing roots. If you have time, place the clippings in water, wait for the roots to form, then add them to the soil. I’ve been propagating them for a few months now from my own yard. It would be super easy for you to find a neighbor with overgrown neighborhoods (think retro 70’s neighborhoods where they will be prevalent, like mine). I saw some down the street from me and will definitely ask them in the future since it’s a variety I don’t have.

That means they’d be FREE!

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I Could Totally Make That: 2012 Version

Last year, I threw together a group of products that I thought were inspirational for the handmade artist. Well that list went CA-RAZY last year. I couldn’t even tell you how many people have stopped by to check that guy out. I was/am shocked.

I love and purchase from all of the stores that provide these decorations, but sometimes it’s fun to be inspired by them for our own crafting at home, right? Right.

Here was the 2011 round-up:

I did end up making a Nutcracker last year:

You can find my tutorial here.

I did manage to get a manzanita branch a few weeks ago on a hike so maybe I can pull off the branch candelabra. That would be awesome.

This year, I thought I’d round-up some new ones for us to play around with. Who knows? Some of you might find something to buy while others might run to the craft store to get supplies. It’s fun to look at dreamy holiday decorations either way.

1. Succulent Wreath found on redenvelope.com, $80

I have seen many tutorials for this kind of wreath, but Martha has a very clear one here that would be easy to follow!

2. Cloth advent bags from landofnod.com, $49

I bought these same bags from amazon earlier this year for PENNIES compared to this price tag. You can find them here at $6.99 for 25 drawstring bags. From there, you would only need to apply an iron on transfer for the numbers and you are golden!

3. Charlie Brown Christmas tree from target.com, $14.99

For such a cute tree, that price is not that bad. However, imagine of you could make it for free? Oh, yes! If you go to your local Christmas tree farm, chances are they will let you take discarded Christmas tree branches home for FREE. You could either drill a hole into the base of a tree-stump cast-off and glue a branch into it, or find some scrap wood to make and “x” with and drill a hole through both of those and the bind them together with glue. Then, you need only find a very inexpensive red ornament and you have a sweet little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Be sure to hunt down a piece of light blue cloth for Linus’s blanket while you’re at it.

4. Felt Charger from target.com, $19.99/for 4

I happen to have a few yards of red felt in my craft closet from a project I never completed, but if you don’t have that stashed away, you can find it at any fabric store. If you add a coupon, you are really in business. You will most likely have to spray it down with a glue or fabric stiffener so you are not constantly straightening it out. Ideally, you would be best off using a thicker felt but you’d probably have to order it online and it would be harder to cut. After you have your felt, download a snowflake image from google images (I go for the copyright free ones) and blow it up to the size you want it to be. cut out the template, place it over the felt, and cut away!

5. Gilded pine cones from westelm.com, $2

Again, these are a pretty good price, but for $2, you could buy almost a whole can of gold paint and be able to make a LOT of them. Plus, it’s always fun to collect the memories along with the pine cones and you could even tag them with those memories when you hang them.

6. Woodland Snow Globes from redenvelope.com, $29.95

Snow globes have been very popular the last 2 Christmas seasons. DIY’s are popping up everywhere! We all have our favorite techniques and glues to share. You could totally pull these off with a few bottle-brush trees from the craft store and some jars out of your pantry (after you eat the food in them of course). Last year I put LEGO guys in our and the boys loved it. I love the look of these ones. There are a few different looks which are fun and new (beyond your basic baby food jar), including putting jewelry in the snow globe. How lovely, right?

7. Branch Christmas tree from anthropologie.com, $

This DIY could be a little trickier but totally worth it. The tree would require strategic placement of branches starting with a wire base, most likely. You have to be pruning constantly but the result could stay in your holiday decor for years to come.

Have you seen any other decorations that have inspired you?

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