Burlap Trees

 Burlap is such an interesting material... one minute it's holding a bunch of dirty potatoes and the next it's all the rage in home decor.  I can't even begin to explain it but I absolutely will jump on the Burlap Bandwagon!  I decided to try to make some free standing burlap trees using a classic crafting tool.... fabric stiffener!  I loved how they turned out. 

Here is how you make them:

Supplies Needed:

• Styrofoam cones, various sizes, LEAVE THE PLASTIC ON! If plastic is already off then wrap your cone in saran wrap or similar material.
• Strips of burlap
• Fabric Stiffener (I used Aleene's brand)
• Something to protect your work surface

Step ONE:  Wrap a burlap strip around cone to measure how long you will need.  The fabric stiffener shrinks the burlap significantly so cut them longer than you think.  Trim them to size (your hands will be messy so it's best to cut them before you get started!)

Step TWO:  Pour fabric stiffener into old bowl and add some water to dilute.  The added water makes it much easier to work with.  Soak first burlap strip and remove excess stiffener by flattening strip with your fingers from top to the bottom and allowing it to drip back into bowl.   This keeps your strip nice and neat.

Step THREE:  Wrap strip around base of tree.  Repeat with the remaining strips until tree is covered smoothing and arranging as you go.  It's like paper mache!

Secure with pins where necessary to get the look you want.  Allow to dry completely (may take overnight depending on how much stiffener you used).

Step FOUR: (not pictured) After tree is dry, use a butter knife or other long, thin object to separate the burlap from the cone form.  It should come off fairly easy but be patient and remember to remove any pins first!

As I was doing my trees I decided to create a little frayed edge along the bottom of my strips by removing some of the cross fibers and "fluffing" the fibers as I went and allowing them to dry that way.  I thought it was a cute little detail if I do say so myself!

Step FIVE:  Arrange your burlap trees anywhere for a pretty, natural touch to your Christmas decor!  

I also thought these would be nice with some Christmas lights shining out from the inside!  Battery operated tea lights would also work.  I love how it looks!

What I love about these trees is they are simple and classic.  You can add embellishments or leave them as is.  You could even spray paint them!  I also love that you can keep reusing the styrofoam cones to make as many as you like.  And it doesn't get much cheaper than burlap so you could make a lot of them with very little money.  Wouldn't they be pretty down the center of your Christmas dining table or along your mantle?  Lots of possibilities!

Have you done any Christmas Crafting yet? I'm just getting started but loving it!

SCENT-sational Neighbor Gift Idea

As a creative blogger I am always on the look out for fun ideas to share.  Last Christmas, a friend of mine gave me a neighbor gift that I absolutely loved!   It was such a neat alternative to the sometimes overwhelming amount of goodies and treats we usually receive (Dear Friends and Neighbors Who Might Be Reading This, Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT stop overwhelming me with goodies and treats.  Thank you.  Love, Landee). 

The gift was all the ingredients I needed to create a simmering potpourri and fill my house with the smells of Christmas!  All I needed to do was add a pot with some water in it.  Like I said, I loved it and so I'm sharing it with you today!  It's very inexpensive and who doesn't love the smell of Christmas?  No one, that's who.

Here is what you need {per package}:

1 orange

1/2 C. cranberries

1 T. whole cloves

3 cinnamon sticks

a smidge of grated nutmeg

There are so many cute ways you could package this up but I decided to just use a cellophane gift bag since the orange and cranberries are naturally so pretty.   

I then created a tag with instructions which I am also sharing today!

Download file HERE.

It can be used for a good two weeks or so if you refrigerate between uses and always make sure there is plenty of water in your sauce pan.  

Couldn't be easier, right?  And it smells so so so good.

So package some of these up and check "Neighbor Gifts" off your ever-expanding Christmas To Do list!

Happy Holidays!

Black Friday Sale!! Landee On Etsy

I am so excited to announce our First Annual Landee On Etsy Black Friday Sale!

From NOW (Friday, November 23rd) until midnight on Sunday (November 25th), we are offering a 25% off discount on every item in our shop!   Simply put LANDEE25 in the coupon code field at checkout. (**does not apply to our vinyl backsplash product**)

To help you out with your Christmas shopping this year, I thought I'd compile a little list of our most popular gifts... (click on the photo to go straight to the listings)

This was one of our best selling items this year around Mother's Day!  It would also make a fantastic Christmas present!  The wording can be changed slightly if your kids call your Mom something other than Grandma too!  Shown in brown with beige lettering but can be done in any color combination.

I think everyone knows someone (or is someone!) who is a lover of Diet Coke. This is a fun little gift that will make your friend/sister/mother/mother-in-law/aunt/etc. smile.  

Do you know anyone who has a missionary out right now?  Or anyone who will have one out soon?  Yes, it might make them teary at first but then they will find comfort in it... promise.  :)

This Custom Family Board is a popular gift item as well.  People love receiving gifts with their names on them... this can be customized with the last name, established date and state!  

A fun & quirky decorative board that anyone would love to put in their bathroom.  Can be done in any color combination.  You can also get it with the chevron background pattern or without.

Do you have a big reader on your Christmas list this year?  We love this quote from JK Rowling and your reader friend will too!

If you'd like to give something Christmas themed, we also have several Christmas boards available for order as well.  Or just order one for your own house!  

This chalkboard menu board can be painted any color!  Who wouldn't want to get one of these, right?  Perfect for anyone who attempts to organize the crazy life we all lead. :)

 Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank every single one of you for the support I feel here on my teeny tiny piece of the internet.  I truly appreciate every comment, pageview, download, share and "like" that I receive.   It keeps my creative side going which, in turn, makes me a happier person, mother, wife and friend!

I am thankful for YOU.

Hope you have a wonderful Thankgiving!



PS Check back tomorrow for my first Black Friday Event in my Etsy shop!

Simple Thanksgiving Mantel

I got my Thanksgiving mantel all figured out with a whole week to spare before one of my favorite holidays!  Yay me!  I kept it simple this time, folks.  Real simple.  Like, you might think it took me about 10 minutes to get it all set, simple.  Well, you'd be wrong.  It took me about 12 minutes. :)

I started out by creating the "Thankful For You" printable and went from there. 

I gathered (and dusted) some of my glassware, and filled them with popcorn kernels and pinecones.

Then I added some brown grosgrain ribbon bows to some smallish pumpkins I had and I was done!

I think Thanksgiving lends itself to simplicity so I am happy with how it turned out.  And glad for the opportunity to show my family how thankful I am for them!  I might redo the color scheme a little and hang it in our upstairs hallway... why only express my gratitude at Thanksgiving, right?

Have a wonderful day!

Thankful For You Printable

I am working on my Thanksgiving mantel (I know I'm running out of time here!) and I wanted it to be simple.  Basically I wanted to express to my family how grateful I am for them with very little "fluff."  I'll hopefully have my mantel done in the next couple of days but I thought I'd share the printable I created for it first since that part is done! 

I printed mine as a 16x20 but I also created it in a 5x7 and an 8x10.  You can download all sizes HERE.   It has a nice canvas-y background which I always love.

Enjoy!

Fall of Yesteryear

Welcome to any new visitors from the Favorite Things Blog Hop Giveaway!  I am so thrilled that you decided to stick around and see what I've got going on around here.  PS To Everyone Else: Have you entered yet??  I'm giving away a few of my favorite things and there are 24 other blogs doing the same!  Go HERE to enter... it ends Monday at midnight!


Anyway, today I am posting a couple of projects from last year as I am currently busy working on this year.  I know many of you didn't see these so here you go!

1) My Fall Mantel.  I love my old cabinet door I got out of a friend's garbage (pride?  What pride?) and my fun subway art (for sale HERE!).  I'm going in a bit of a different direction this year and I can't wait to see how it all comes together.  I do so love my last year's mantle though.  It has a sort of bountiful feel, no?  ::sigh::  See entire post here.

2) With a Grateful Heart Printable.  Simple and sweet.  I might just use this again this year for the kitchen table.  I still love it.  See post and download it here.  

I can't believe I only posted these two things last year for Thanksgiving!  I hurried and jumped to my Festival of Trees series for Christmas.  I am determined to give Thanksgiving it's fair shake this year!  We'll see how that goes.  Christmas decor is a temptress.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Favorite Things Giveaway!

Guess what?  

Something FUN is happening starting today and going through this entire week!

This is a chance for you to see what TWENTY-FIVE of your favorite creative bloggers consider to be their very favorite everyday items... AND you have a chance to win them!  Our hope is that you discover some new products that might help you in your Christmas shopping this season!  Sometimes a little basket full of small & thoughtful items can be better than one big thing, right?  That's what we thought. :)  Plus maybe you'll discover some new favorite bloggers along the way!

• Take a look at all of these fabulous baskets up for you to WIN!
• Scroll to the bottom to see a detailed look at my basket with details and links where to purchase the items if you'd like!
• Enter to win my gift basket using the Rafflecopter appliation (easiest thing EVER)!
• HOP to all the other sites to look around (so many amazing bloggers) and enter to win THEIR baskets too!
• Ignore all my exclamation points... I'm just excited!  <--- see?

1. All Things Thrifty

2. Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke

3. Chef in Training

4. Click it Up a Notch

5. Eighteen25

6. I Heart Nap Time

7. kojodesigns

8. Landee See, Landee Do

9. Lil' Luna

10. Lolly Jane

11. Love the Day

12. My Sister's Suitcase

13. Or So She Says

14. sew.craft.create.

15. Six Sisters' Stuff

16. Tatertots and Jello

17.The Dating Divas

18.The Diary of DavesWife

19. The Girl Who Ate Everything

20. The Idea Room

21. The Pleated Poppy

22. The Savvy Photographer

23. TidyMom

24. Vintage Revivals

25.Your Homebased Mom

Ready for WHY these things are my favorite?  Good, 'cuz here you go.... :)

1. Suave Dry Shampoo: What a life time saver this stuff has been since I discovered it!  I am not one of those people who can jump out of bed, run a comb through my hair and run out the door.  I wake up and it looks like I combed my hair with butter.  And I wish I were kidding here, people.  But now, if my style semi-survived the night I can spray some of this on and let it work it's magic (aka disguise the fact that I didn't shower)!

2. Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance:  I received a sample of this stuff a couple of years ago at a Sephora.  The cashier just dropped it in my bag so casually as if she weren't changing my life at that very moment.  Yes... Life. Changing.  It used to be that I would put on my eye shadow in the morning and then by the end of the day it would be almost entirely gone... and what was left was all gathered in the creases.  Disgusting.  Now I apply the teensiest amount of this stuff before putting on my eye make up and it stays put ALL DAY.  It's a wonderful thing.

3.  Wash Your Hands Decorative Board:  Now obviously this is a bit of self-promotion here but this is one of my favorite things I've ever designed for my Etsy shop.  It's fun, trendy, functional and a little bit funny.  All good things for your powder room experience. :)

4. Orbit Gum:  My favorite gum.  I like the flavor (Wintermint).  I like the shape (short little fat pieces rather than long thin ones... I know it all gets chewed in about .05 seconds anyway but it matters for some reason).  I can buy it in bulk at Costco.  The flavor lasts a lot longer than most other gums I've tried.  I'm a fan!

5. Washi Tape:  What's not to love about washi tape?  It's a relatively new crafting product but that hasn't stopped many a brilliant crafters from coming up with 1 million different ways to use it!  The only thing that baffles me is how are they just coming up with this stuff now??

6. US Weekly:  My little guilty pleasure.  Sometimes all I need is a little chocolate and a good celebrity gossip magazine and all the wrongs in the world are suddenly right.  I won't send you the issue pictured here, it will be the most recent issue out on the news stands.  I don't even want to TALK about what is going on with Jef and Emily because it sends me into a deep depression.  I really thought they would make it.  I really did.  Did you SEE his proposal?  I got chills watching it.  Dang, now I'm talking about it.  ::sigh::  Moving on before I cry...

7. SHARPIES!!!: What would I do without my beloved Sharpies??  These pens are indispensable as far as I'm concerned.  And the colors they are available in these days are amazing!  I'm so glad they finally got a clue and started to broaden their color choices from black and royal blue.  The winner will receive this awesome collection of 24 Sharpies called "80's GLAM" with colors like "Leg Warmer Orange," "Jellie Pink" and "Banana Clip Yellow." Yes, it will be radical.

8.  Set of 8 Vinyl Canister Labels:  Again, this is a product from my Etsy shop but I am SOOO in love with them!  They are one of our top sellers.  I love organization and cute organization really puts me over the top.  This set is BLACK and includes labels for flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, corn starch, oats and nuts.

9.  Flipz Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels:  My favorite flavor combination is salty and sweet.  So yeah, I can't go wrong with some chocolate covered pretzels.  And these are delicious and readily available everywhere!  Plus pretzels seem semi-healthy so I can pop a few of these babies without feeling like I need to go run 10 miles afterward (Full Disclosure: I've never run 10 miles at one time.  Ever.).  

10.  PLAID Extreme Glitter Acrylic Paint:  I love glitter.  But I don't LOVE glitter, you know?  I think someone once called it the herpes of crafting because once you get it on you/in your house you can never really get rid of it all.  It's such a pain to work with!  But this paint makes adding some glittery shimmer to anything so easy and mess free.  I love it!  I used it on my Pretty Pumpkins last fall and it gave them the sparkle that no other product coule have.  Love it!

11. Mod Podge:  I would be remiss if I didn't include some of this insanely awesome stuff in my favorite things basket.  So many uses.  So easy to work with.  Such a staple in any crafter's supplies.  So enjoy a bottle of this modern-day miracle on me!

12.  5x7 Picture Frame from Hobby Lobby:  I love having lots of photos around my home as well as creating printables to go with every season.  So, it stands to reason I have a lot of picture frames going on around here.  I picked up this one at Hobby Lobby (which I love because they are all 50% off a lot of the time!) for my Halloween printable this year and then went back and picked up another one for you!  I love that it's ornate but all white.  One can never have enough white picture frames.

Entering couldn't be easier!  Lots of ways to enter.... do one or all!  Just a few clicks and you're done.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway