'Christmas in July': SanTIKI mug

the summer heat must be getting to me,

because i'm jumping on the 'Christmas in July' theme. 

👀 WHAT???!!!! 

truth is i've been dealing with some.... stuff... and my creativity is ebbing.

i've run out of time and frankly the energy to complete the diy projects i started.

but as i was perusing photos of past projects,

i found one that i created + photographed back in late fall 2019, but never shared it.

since it just happens to fit the 'Christmas in July' theme that we're seeing everywhere,

i've decided that NOW is the time!

(granted, it's got a summer vibe,

 but it's made out of something decidedly Christmassy... so it works!)

 

...continue reading to see how Santa became a tiki!

tropical tiki transformation

our backyard in Southern California underwent a transformation back in 2020....

when the pandemic shutdown happened and we had to cancel our trip to Kauai, Hawaii,

we decided to bring Hawaii to us!

i shared some of those backyard diy projects here on the blog back then

(the bamboo tiki bar, the tiki totem pole, and others - all linked below this post).

the project i'm sharing today wasn't a planned one - 

i saw something in a store and thought 'hmnn. that COULD look really good if i....'

and so i bought the item, brought it home, and worked some magic on it with paint.

it couldn't have been easier to transform a really cheap looking tiki mask

into something with much more of our own tropical style.

continue reading to see how it started... and how it's going now!

tropical front porch decor

i always tell people 'i see things differently'... 
that means i use elements & materials in ways they weren't intended to be used.
and i RE-use things i've created before in new ways.

this tropical look on our front porch is a perfect example!

in past posts, i've shared how i raided the garden shed for fall porch decor,
using items meant for the garden to decorate with. 
here i've used paper & bamboo party decorations...

continue reading to see what i used 'differently' to get this summer vibe...

easy tropical-style light cover

the summer heat arrived here on June 30th,
so i've been busy completing some fun new EASY projects around our home

(which has a tropical, tiki vibe going on all year long!)

since these projects work perfectly well as 'summer' season decor content,

 i thought i'd share them here on the blog this month!

so... let's get tropical!

first up, a ridiculously EASY way to make a builder-grade light fixture

look a lot more fun for summer... in just two steps!

continue reading to see what i did!