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4.03.2020

NEW! Sweet Sweater Bunny Tails!

crafting, crafting with kids, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, spring decorating, Easter, original designs, re-purposing, seasonal, sweaters, Sweet Sweater Bunny Tails, up-cycling, tutorial, trash to treasure, Easter decorating, sweater decor
just when you thought i had made everything possible with upcycled sweaters...
introducing the springtime creation that has evaded me for years:
Sweet Sweater Bunny Tails! 

this happy spring project made use of some sweater remnants found in a bin in the garage -
including a pink sweater Santa hat!
using the same method as my famous Sweet Sweater Pumpkins, it all came together fast.
i actually spent more time snapping photos and editing them than making the bunny tails!

continue reading to see just how quickly you can make these for Easter...

4.01.2020

easter eggs on parade


it's April first - and rather than share a joke or a prank, 
i hope you'll enjoy this slideshow of Easter egg decorating ideas
pulled from my past homewardFOUND blog posts!

for more inspiration, 

3.31.2020

upcycled wine bottle plant markers

DIY, garden, outdoors, re-purposing, seasonal, spring, summer, tomato cage crafts, up-cycling, trash to treasure, garden art, victory garden, spring garden, plant markers, wine bottle crafts
i finished planting our backyard 'Victory Garden' on Sunday afternoon.
then realized i wanted some plant markers...
after half an hour of poking around in the garage workbench and shelves,
to find something interesting to make about a dozen markers out of,
i came up empty handed.

the muses, they are kind, though!
as i walked back into the house, my Mom was standing at our wine bar popping a cork
and held up the bottle as she asked 'is it time for wine?'...
and little bells started ringing in my head.

why not use wine bottles to make plant markers? WINE not, indeed!!!

continue reading to see how ridiculously easy this is - and how fun they look!

3.27.2020

painted easter eggs

art class, color, color palettes, crafting, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, Easter, painting, spring, up-cycling, makeover, Easter eggs, gingham, paint chip decor, spring decorating, Easter decorating
while employing this mandatory time at home to accomplish some long-overdue tasks,
i've unearthed some goodies that i completely forgot that i still had!
(tell me i'm not alone. please. i can not be the only decor/craft-supply hoarder out here!)
.
seven ceramic eggs that i bought at a thrift shop years ago turned up in a box,
and as soon as i saw them, i decided to give them a makeover with paint -
and pictured them just as you see them in the image above.
because it's all about making do with what we have at home right now, yes? yes!

continue reading to see the before & after!

3.24.2020

paint chip easter eggs - over easy!

art class, color, color palettes, crafting, crafting with kids, painting, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, Easter, fast cheap and easy, on the porch, original designs, paper crafts, paper, re-purposing, spring, tutorial, Easter decorating, Easter eggs, Easter egg decor
if you've been around here any length of time, 
you know that i like my decorating projects 'fast, cheap, & easy'TM. my trademark phrase.
in this case, the project is 'over easy'! 
yeah, it's a pun, but it's also true - because this is a super-fast craft idea for spring & Easter.
.
continue reading for the easy how-to and how i've used them...

3.20.2020

painting the daffies yellow!

art class, color, color palettes, crafting, crafting with kids, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, Easter, flowers, paper crafts, paper, painting, re-purposing, spring, up-cycling, tutorial, spring decorating, crafts for kids, daffodils, paper daffodils
spring 2020 sure is coming in like a... not lion. more like a T-Rex!
as we all adjust to this 'new normal' (and no, it's not normal),
we're all looking for activities that calm us, entertain the kids, make home a bit more... home-y.
.
using my recent 'paint your own paint chips' technique,
i've been happily painting away and then making new decor elements with the results...
this time 'round, i came up with flowers.
i'm not painting the roses red... i'm painting the daffodils yellow!

continue reading for my easy tutorial for this sweet spring project...

3.16.2020

the art of nesting

boho style, color, crafting, decorating, DIY, diy decorating, Easter, farmhouse style, garden, nests, neutrals, original designs, re-purposing, rustic style, salvaged, seasonal, spring, up-cycling, thrifted, vintage, handmade, spring vignettes
'nesting' is kind of the mood of the moment, isn't it?
as part of our newly-required 'social distancing' practices, 

we're all spending more time at home right now.
the organizing & purging that we began with gusto in January 
has become a flurry of cleaning & disinfecting in March.

confession: i am not a person who loves cleaning. i DO it, of course, 
but my main motivation has always been that i clean the house so i can decorate the house.
 restyling. refreshing. we sometimes call this 'nesting'.
mama's about to have babies do this. newlyweds do this. 
and sometimes, angry/frustrated people do this. 
(deb raises her hand).
yeah, i'm one o' THOSE people. i clean like a banshee when i am mad or feel out of control. 
the physical activity - and the loud music i play as i engage in it - really can help re-set my mood.
plus it accomplishes something good (a clean house), so it isn't wasted energy.

i think this applies when we are a bit scared and uncertain, too...
cleaning, conquering clutter, completing a project, expressing some creativity
are positive things we can do with the pent-up energy that threatens to overwhelm us.
in times of stress (like we're all experiencing right now), it can be helpful
to set ourselves to the task of gaining some control over a part of our lives, like our homes.

and yes, that includes crafting and creating and decorating -
all facets of 'the art of nesting'.
these pursuits can re-set our mindset and give us a respite in the midst of chaos.
it can help us engage our brains in a positive thought pattern -
and if you have littles at home, you can teach them how to focus on what is possible
rather than on limitations.

in light of that, i've been puttering around the house as i clean,
and decided to update & refresh a few projects from the past.

since my whole 'thing' here at homewardFOUND is 'use what you already have'
i looked around at my stash and found a way to freshen up an original project
that i created over a decade ago. it needed a facelift. and so did i!
the creative process made me smile (the best kind of facelift) as i was working on this,
and now the finished product makes our home smile with its presence...
a good reminder that old can be made new, new approaches can be taken,
new things can be accomplished. at any time.

i think NOW is a good time to put those principles into practice, don't you?

 continue reading for a colorful re-furb and a link to my nest-making tutorial...