Oh What Fun It Is To... Create!

 

Why, hello there! It's day three of our Oh What Fun It Is To... Link Up 

and I'm thrilled and honored to be hosting the Create portion. Thanks for joining the fun!

I'm really not sure where I got my crafty bone, but I do love me some do-it-yourself projects. 

Don't be daunted by this post... or the idea of hand-making something altogether. 

With so many wonderful blogs, online tutorials and sites like the ever-popular Pinterest-- 

just about anyone can be a little bit crafty with a few instructions and some unlikely materials. 

I'd also like to say that oh so many of the things I attempt to make, copy from Pinterest 

or dream up in my own little head... well, they flop! The good stuff is usually what makes it 

to blog land-- the rest is an ever growing pile of "I can turn that into something else" in my garage. 

Creating things... whether it's an actual thing, an event, or a memory is so much more 

about the people you're doing it for than whatever it is you're creating. I am the mother of two 

(almost three) precious angel boys and much of what I do centers around making their days special.

All that being said, here's a few things I've made over the past few weeks to add some 

Christmas cheer to our casa. These are all quick and easy projects that I know you can tackle.

One of my favorite projects for ANY occasion is taking something you've cast aside 

and turning it into a functional chalkboard! I have created countless DIY chalkboards 

out of mirrors and old framed pictures. Just a couple of weeks ago I decided to repaint a small table 

that used to be my grandparent's with chalkboard paint. It's now "home" to our Christmas card holder

 and boasts a merry little Christmas greeting in chalkboard marker! 

This project took minutes (not counting dry-time) and it's something fun and small 

to have in the kitchen year-round. We can add a little chalk note for any occasion. 

 Inspired by so many beautiful chalkboards on Pinterest, I transformed another piece that used 

to belong to my grandparents into some Christmas chalkboard art. What was once an outdated 

old mirror is now a shiny new decoration with the title of one of my very favorite Christmas songs: 

O Holy Night!

 This week Carson helped me glue magnet strips to the back of Christmas light bulbs 

and they now hold up Santa pictures and our Christmas card on the refrigerator.

Around Thanksgiving I decided to try my hand at the No-Sew Ruffled Tree Skirt originally made 

for HGTV. I decided to go with red fabric instead of the linen... about halfway through 

I didn't love it for my house so I finished it off and gave it to my mom. It's perfect for hers. 

I then got the wild hair to make another one for our tree out of ribbon instead of fabric. 

In some respects, the wire ribbon was great-- I didn't have to cut a zillion pieces 

of fabric into 2" strips... but the wire made it hard to work with when trying to manipulate 

into a ruffle before the hot glue dried. That's right, hot glue my friends. 

I'm telling you-- the project is tedious and time consuming, but armed with a glue gun and scissors

 ANYONE can make these tree skirts. In the end, the wire ribbon DID make for some great ruffles.

 You'll notice that Miss Crafty McCrafterson got burned out and has yet to finish her tree skirt. 

Each of these projects would make great gifts to take to a neighbor, friend, teacher, co-worker, 

gift exchange, or hostess this season. Paint a small frame bright red and write 

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas," let your kids glue magnets to the back of 

unused Christmas bulbs... bag them up and take the to your neighbors for a fun festive 

Christmas delight on their fridge... handmade gifts don't have to be overwhelming- 

they really can be so simple and extra special! 

I could go on and on about projects I've made, wish I could make, have on my agenda to make, 

or tried to make... but instead I would LOVE it if you would link up some of your craftiness 

and inspire me and others to do-it-ourselves! This blogging community is such a great resource 

for bringing inspiration into your home to turn ordinary moments into extraordinary creations. 

Feel free to copy this badge and use it in your post to link up and show your CREATIVITY!

Also... it would be so wonderful if you hopped over to my lovely friend Nina's blog 

and wished her the HAPPIEST birthday today! Love you Nina, hope your day is fabulous!