My house has caught the Halloween fever, and yesterday I found my kids pulling out all the Halloween decorations, eager to put them up. The costume catalogs are taking over my daily mail (I don’t mind), and pumpkin porch decorations are popping up all over the neighborhood. If you’ve read my blog, Darling Darleen, you’d know I like to put a personal twist on my kids’ Halloween with homemade costumes. With four kids, I do my best to get creative and make their costumes thrifty and adorably “home” made. But being honest too, they are getting older and do have an opinion in their costumes, what it is and how it looks (boo-hoo, no more family-themed homemade Halloween costumes).
Thanksgiving Wreath Centerpiece (she: Darleen)
The classic Thanksgiving table uses colors of orange, red, yellow and browns for centerpiece decorations. Take a new approach to your Thanksgiving table and pair modern colors with traditional table settings.
This is Darleen from Darling Darleen , and I really feel that your table setting should work for you, for your style and even for your room color scheme. I have a lot of blues and grays in my dining room, so I am naturally drawn to those colors. One way to bring your color scheme in is by creating wreath centerpieces with flowers, berries and leaves. You may have seen Thanksgiving wreath centerpiece idea on wedding tables, but why not do it for your Thanksgiving table?
These wreaths are simple to create and perfect to adorn with colors you prefer through botanical decorations. Tuck Spanish moss into a grapevine wreath. Add dried flowers, berries, leaves, twigs, thistles to your liking. Come on over and see what I did today!
The Best Use For Apples (she: Darleen)
Apple picking, just like other fruit picking, comes early in Georgia–as early as the beginning of August and will last until October. Since I recently used my last canned homemade applesauce, I knew apple picking would have to be a summer activity instead of our traditional fall activity. If you have had a chance to check out my blog, Darling Darleen, you will know we take apple picking very seriously!
I came home with a large variety of apples. We picked about 6 of the 8 varieties. I know I needed to make my picking more precise for the baking and canning I plan to do. So I put together an apple guide of some of the most popular varieties for the next time you go pick. This “Best Use for Apples” chart is a combined guide gathered from Pick Your Own and US Apple Association. It’s easy to print, so take it on your next apple picking adventure! Some helpful recommendations: for baking pies, choose apples that hold their shape and combine varieties of sweet and tart. For juicing, choose an apple that has a balance of sweet and tart like honey crisp. And for sauce–choose a sweeter apple if you prefer a low-sugar applesauce.
Fourth of July Bike Parade (she: Darleen)
Happy Fourth of July! Do you have any exciting plans tomorrow? There is something extra special about festivities that happen around the Fourth of July. Well, this is Darleen from Darling Darleen, and at our house we go all out on this patriotic holiday. I make sure we are all donned in red, white and blue outfits…of course! When we lived in the Northeast we spent many 4th of July holidays in Boston and on the beaches in Cape Cod, attending the parade and fireworks show. Since living in the South, we’ve picked up a tradition that many of the neighborhoods do, which are bike parades! This was new to us, but we love the idea.
We love this because you can take your party on the go–whether hitting up your town’s annual parade or having a festive picnic at the park. Visit the dollar store or your local craft store just a few days prior to the 4th or better yet TODAY. They usually mark down holiday party items a couple days before the actual day. Pick up paper pinwheels, streamers, garland, flag picks and the inexpensive what-is-this-used-for items. Chances are most of it will look pretty darn good on an 8-year-old’s bike.
Sequin Monogram Letter Tutorial (she: Darleen)
Hello! This is Darleen from Darling Darleen, and I am sharing another easy letter craft project. If you’ve read some of my other posts, I have a slight obsession with monograms. I just love how they can personalize a space or make a gift more sentimental. This is a fun, easy project making a sequin monogram letter. These sequin letters can be used as a decorative object for your home or office shelf or used for wedding decorations or a bridal shower. Or any party that needs a little bling! I chose gold, but of course you can do it in any other color or metallic.
May Day Flower Tradition (she: Darleen)
Happy May Day! This is Darleen from Darling Darleen, and I am loving all the spring flower blossoms that I see around my town. My post this month is in celebration of May Day. Traditionally, May Day is celebrated on the 1st of May (which is today!), and it’s about all things spring–planting seeds, new life, dancing around the maypole and wearing flower crowns. My favorite, which most people are familiar with, is the giving of “May baskets” or small baskets of sweets and flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors’ doorsteps. I have previously posted about the May baskets we do as a family on my blog (free printable included) that we go around and give out to neighbors and friends that need a little cheering up. It’s such a positive experience! And guess what? Shhh…we never do it on the 1st of May. Actually I give myself the entire month of May to deliver my neighbor/friends’ May flower baskets.
Personalized Initial Letter Art (she: Darleen)
I love anything with a personalized touch, and you can see that in many of the jewelry pieces I design. We recently moved, and I have slowly been decorating my youngest daughter’s bedroom–making the transition from crib to bed. I have wanted to add a little something to personalize her room. Usually for wall decor in my other children’s bedrooms, I have displayed a piece of their artwork in their room. So, since my youngest daughter is at that toddler’s age and she loves to make “messy” artwork, I thought it would be a fun project to create an abstract piece together using a large canvas initial letter.
This is just your basic painting project–paint brush, acrylic paint and canvas painting board. But the one who is making the personalized initial letter art is your child.
Leprechaun Hat Place Card Holder (she: Darleen)
I am one of those people who loves to celebrate each holiday to its full capacity! While I don’t go too crazy decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, I do like to wear green and make the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner on the Irish holiday. I thought it would be fun this year to set the dinner table for our St. Patrick’s Day feast with these simple darling leprechaun hat place card holders. Add some green potted plants for centerpieces and place the leprechaun hats on the plate and you will be good to go.
Valentine Spin Wheel Game (she: Darleen)
Hello, hello! My name is Darleen, and I am one of the new contributors here. I stay busy over at Darling Darleen and with my shop Darleen Meier Jewelry. I’m one of those people who likes to go all out for each holiday and birthday. I tell myself I’m doing it for my children, but I’m realizing it might really be for me! So, I’m excited to share with you a Valentine craft, or more specifically, a Valentine Spin Wheel game that your child can hand out in the classroom or as a favor for a V-day party. It’s an adorable Valentine, and it’s interactive! I’ve been wanting to create a spin wheel game for a while. And Valentine’s Day couldn’t be better for it! It brings back childhood memories from spin wheels I used to cut out off the back of cereal boxes. We tested this game out with a little neighborhood valentine party, and all the kids had a good laugh.