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Bees are buzzing, flowers are blooming, and the temperature is high. It’s summer, and gardening season is in full swing. Why not add a special touch to a flowerpot for use in your home or yard? This craft would make a great gift with a pair of garden gloves, clippers, seeds and sunscreen tucked inside the pot.

Supplies

• Flowerpot and saucer
• Paint and brush
• Paper towels
• Printable graphic
• Tissue paper
• Tape
• Scissors
• Mod Podge
• Clear spray sealer

Procedure

1.  Put a small amount of paint on the paintbrush, and dab the brush on paper towels to remove most of the paint. Brush paint on the pot and saucer to create an aged, weathered effect.

2.  Tape a piece of tissue paper to a sheet of printer paper, and print a graphic from your computer on the tissue paper.

3.  Peel tissue from printer paper, and cut closely around the graphic.

4.  Brush a small amount of Mod Podge on the pot where the graphic will be applied. Apply image using your finger to smooth out any wrinkles. Brush Mod Podge over the graphic.

5.  After the Mod Podge dries, spray clear sealer on both the inside and outside of the pot to protect the image and paint.

Get Creative with Other Ideas

• Decorated pots filled with pretty flowers would make a great centerpiece for a bridal or baby shower.
• This craft is perfect for kids! Let them pick out their graphic, print it out, and have fun making their own pot to keep in their room.
• Decorate pots with a school logo, and use them for decorating a tailgate table at games.
• Paint pots in a seasonal color, apply a seasonal graphic and fill with treats for a perfect hostess or neighbor gift.

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Today we are all about recycling and utilizing tossable items in new and exciting ways, and here is one great example for the holiday season! These toilet paper tube ornaments are shaped into cute stars and painted… no one (except the crafters themselves, maybe!) would know that they are simply made from discarded paper tubes. This idea is simple and makes for a beautiful ornament for any Christmas tree. Enjoy!

Materials

• empty toilet paper rolls (one per star)
• ruler
• scissors
• liquid school glue
• clothes pins
• gold craft paint
• small brushes
• craft glitter

Instructions

1. Slightly flatten the toilet paper rolls and cut into 3/4 inch rings. You should be able to get six to eight rings from each tube.
2. Dab some glue on the tip of the ring and adhere to another ring. Use a clothes pin to help them stay together while drying.
3. Adhere rings together all the way around until you have the desired shaped. Allow to dry completely.
4. Paint the stars. Either use craft paint and small brushes or place them in a paper bag in a well ventilated area and use spray paint to get the job done quickly.
5. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the surface with glitter. Dry completely before adding these adorable DIY stars to your holiday decor.

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Tis the season for fun, easy DIY projects, and we have a great one for you by our “DI-Why Not” writer, Paula Skulina of Virginia Sweet Pea. There is a lot of time to save up corks (or buy them from a local craft store!) to make this lovely cork snowflake on your own. Use them as place card tags, favors, decorations or ornaments… you can even get the kids involved. 

Here are the instructions as per Paula. Enjoy!!

A snowflake made from wine corks is a decoration that can be enjoyed for Christmas and throughout the winter season. This simple craft is inexpensive and can be made in an afternoon.

Supplies:

• nine wine corks cut in half
• drill
• glue gun
• liquid glue
• glitter
• ribbon
• thin cord
• needle

How to:

1. Drill a hole in one cork half.
2. Use a glue gun to glue corks together to make a snowflake pattern (see steps 1-6 in the photographs below).
3. Apply liquid glue to the top of the snowflake. Generously cover the glue with glitter.
4. Glue ribbon to the edge of the snowflake using a glue gun.
5. Thread cord through hole with a needle and tie a secure knot.

Here are a few ways to personalize your cork snowflakes:

• Add variety with different ribbon and glitter colors.
• Paint the snowflake a festive color before applying glitter.
• Make a set of wine cork snowflakes to hang in a window.
• If you don’t drink, ask a friend to save corks for you.

We used these snowflakes in our lovely gold & silver winter shoot as you will see below. The photos above were by Paula, and the photos below are by Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography… we will be featuring more of this shoot throughout the holiday season. We can’t wait to share more! 

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As an update to our 30 Days of Thank You, I am humbled and overwhelmed by the response! We have over 300 ladies participating, which I would have never imagined. If you would like to join our Facebook group page for our 30 Days event just click here. Happy writing!!

November is almost upon us, and of course our thoughts turn to one of my favorite holidays … Thanksgiving! It’s a fabulous time with family and friends centered around food, reminiscing and of course, thankfulness. Recently I have seen ideas on Instagram and other places about taking photos of what you are thankful for, which I think is a wonderful idea, but when I really thought about it, all that does is encourage your Instagram followers … I am all for that, but for me this year, I want to really express gratitude.

Lately I feel that I have been selfish in so many ways. I LOVE what I do with my businesses, but frankly, starting up a new venture is daunting … it’s on my mind almost constantly with the pressure of deadlines, coming up with new stories, connecting with advertisers, making sure we have a great distribution … etc. All of that is great, but in a way I feel like I am investing a lot of time and energy into something that has caused me to be a lot more “me” focused than I want to be or am even used to being.

During the month of November, I want to be more others-focused, and yet in the busy scheme of life (yes, with deadlines and holidays and life in general), I wanted to keep it simple yet relevant. So, what I have decided to do is have 30 days of Thank You, and I want to know if you will join me.

30 Days of Thank You is simple … grab a pen, some stationary (archaic, I know!) and some stamps (I believe they are 45 cents each now?), and get ready to write and express yourself to those you are thankful for. I know we do live in a day where we send emails and texts, but I know that I get VERY excited when I go to the mailbox and find a letter or a card … it can truly brighten my day in an instant that someone thought about me enough to thank me for a gift, send a funny card or just take the time to say “hi”. 

For each of the 30 days in November, I will be sending a card to those to whom I would like to express thankfulness or just say “thank you” in general, and basically for no other reason besides the fact that they are in my life and to praise them for who they are.

Here are some ideas of who you can send your notes to:

• Parents and grandparents (even aunts and uncles) and other relatives who have shaped you to be who you are today
• Spouse … I think they would fall over if you send them a wonderful note to their work address!
• Siblings (yes, siblings … I am an only child, and I would certainly write to ten siblings if I could, so please write your siblings)
• Children … they will squeal with delight when they receive a letter from you (unless they’re an adult, and then it will just be VERY meaningful for them!).
• That teacher from long ago who really had an influence on you and choices you made
• Neighbors … have they cared for your pet, kept an eye on your house while you were gone, or been a listening ear over coffee?
• Co-worker (imagine their surprise when you tell them that you are thankful for what they do!)
• Friends … we all need them in our lives, and they make us laugh and even help us think through life’s circumstances.
• Service people – the UPS man who takes the extra time to thoughtfully place your package in a hiding spot when you are not home or others that go the extra mile, or those who protect us … firefighters, policemen/women, those in the military
• Those in authority … maybe this is your boss, your pastor or another that you are thankful for in their leadership and guidance

Well, those are just a few that I can think of for now. How about you? Will you take this challenge with me? I would really love for you, too. Frankly, I am excited to break out my stash of stationary that has sat dormant for so long besides the occasional thank you note over the years.

I really am looking forward to encouraging those that I am thankful for and letting them know how grateful I am during this month of thankfulness. Feel free to post other ideas below because it may be tough by day 20 to keep coming up with people to write notes to … I would love to think creatively on this.

Love to you all!

~ Jennifer 

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