Follow:
Browsing Category:

Crap I’ve Made

    Crap I've Made

    Stress Relief Balls

    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com

    Are you feeling the stress of all this social distancing?! These DIY Stress Relief Balls just may be what you need!

    If your fun and colorful DIY playdough from above has been all squished together into a not-so-pretty shade of brown like ours, this idea will give you another use for it!

    All you need are a few empty balloons, some yarn and a sharpie marker!

    Fill the balloon with the playdough we made here by stretching the opening with your fingers and having a helper push the playdough into the forced opening. I used about a 1/4 of a cup playdough for each balloon.

    Knot the balloon closed, tie yarn around the knot for fun “hair” and give your stress ball silly faces using the sharpie marker.

    Now go squeeze that stress and anxiety away!

    Crap I've Made

    DIY Lava Lamps

    perfectlydestressed.com

    This Science Experiment is totally groovy! It was fun, educational and simple.

    Gather your supplies:

    Container – I used Downey UnStoppable laundry bottles, but a water bottle, soda bottle, mason jar would work. Really anything as long as it’s tall, clear and clean!

    Effervescent Tablets (AKA Alka-Seltzer), Food Coloring, Vegetable Oil and Water.

    1. Fill your container 3/4 of the way full of vegetable oil (may be simpler to use a funnel here).
    2. Add about 20 drops of food coloring to 1 cup water.
    3. Using the funnel, pour water into container.
    4. Take 1 effervescent tablet and break into 4 pieces. Drop pieces into bottle.
    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com

    The Science Behind It:

    The water is more dense than the oil, so the water sinks. The tablets release carbon dioxide which forms the bubbles that rise through the water and oil, creating the “Lava” effect.

    Crap I've Made

    DIY Playdough

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Simple ingredients make for easy fun!

    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com

    DIY Playdough

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups white flour
    • 2 cups water
    • 1/2 cup salt
    • 2 tbsp coconut oil
    • 3 tbsp cream of tartar

    Instructions
     

    • Combine ingredients in a saucepan on stove top.
    • Over medium heat, stir continuously until a large ball forms.
    • Remove from heat and allow to fully cool.
    • Knead cooled playdough and add food coloring gel to make desired colors.
    • Store in ziplock bags or airtight tupperware.
    Crap I've Made

    DIY Postcards

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Fun Fact: did you know Girl Scout Cookie boxes make perfect postcards? As long as the card height is between 3.5″ & 4.25″ & the length between 5″ & 6″, you are following USPS postcard regulations AND the box also meets regulations for thickness!!!! Say whaaa? Glue on a colorful piece of paper to the front (or plain white printer paper; cut accordingly to match the cardboard) & have your kids draw a fun picture or design.
    Use a black marker to separate the message & address sections on the back (I added the address lines). Fill ’em out & mail ’em out or deliver to neighbor’s doors – if you really love them, I suppose you could maybe consider sharing your cookies, too. But that’s just a maybe… ♥️

    Crap I've Made

    Volcano

    perfectlydestressed.com

    perfectlydestressed.com

    We made a volcano. Like a paper-mache, painted, Science Fair quality (okay, that may have been a bit of an exaggeration) volcano. It was red hot awesome. From start to finish, the kids made it; with a teensy bit of help from me. Of course, my boys made a last minute decision to double the lava recipe. Go BIG or go home, right?! Just kidding – we are ALWAYS at home. This is what – Day 397 of Quarantine? I can’t remember. I lost count.

    The first step was to cut the spout off of a plastic soda bottle. Really any small bucket or container would work – depending on how large you want the end result. Next time, we’ll probably prop the bottle on to an empty upside-down plastic bowl or something to give the volcano more height. We used an old yard sign as our base, but a large piece of wood or cardboard would do the trick!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Next, for the “skeleton” of the volcano, we crumpled old newspaper and placed them around the soda bottle. I used painters tape to hold it in place (duct tape would work as well). There’s not an exact science here – just stop when it looks full.

    For the glue, I poured about 3 cups white craft glue into a cup or so of water and mixed it up. The popcorn bucket was the first thing I saw when I opened the cabinet. It was large, plastic and easy to clean!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Next, take your left over newspaper pieces and tear them into workable strips. Dunk the whole piece in the glue mix, allow it to get soaked and ring it out. Start placing the wet newspaper pieces around the volcano skeleton. Allow to fully dry.

    We chose to paint the volcano in brown and green acrylic paint. Again, allow to fully dry.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Create your Lava – 1 cup white vinegar (use food coloring to tint it red if desired). You will need 4 tablespoons of baking soda.

    Pour the red vinegar into the soda bottle. Dump the baking soda into the vinegar and watch the chemical reaction cause your volcano erupt!

    perfectlydestressed.com
    Crap I've Made

    Germ Paintings

    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com

    We collectively despise the Corona Virus. But, these cute germs are totally welcome around our house anytime! And they are a great addition to our Corona Chronicles!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    We made these adorable Germ Paintings using inexpensive watercolor paints, white paper and paper straws.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Once you’ve brushed your watercolor on your page in a blob (make sure it’s really wet) blow it around with your straw.

    Let dry completely (only takes 10-15 minutes) and then add the eyes. Some of my kiddos drew them straight on the painting with black marker, while others drew the eyes on white printer paper using the black marker, cut them out and glued them onto the painting with a glue stick. You could even use googly eyes if you have them!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    No matter how you add the eyes, you simply cannot mess these guys up. They’re supposed to be wild and crazy. That’s what makes ’em so fun!

    Mom Bonus: Clean-up is incredibly easy!!!!

    Crap I've Made

    Easy Black & White Silhouettes

    perfectlydestressed.com

    These pretty portraits are so “Jane Austen” and also happen to be so easy to make!

    Supplies:

    • Black Card Stock Paper
    • Small, Sharp Scissors
    • Clear Tape or ModPodge
    • Side-Profile Picture
    • Picture Frame or Wood Plaque
    • White Pen, Pencil or Crayon

    Depending on if you are planning on framing these or ModPodging them onto a wood plaque – your supply list will vary. I chose to ModPodge onto painted wooden plaques from the craft store (under $2 a plaque).

    perfectlydestressed.com

    The first step is to take a side-profile picture of your child (or pet). The lighter the background wall, the easier cutting it out will be.

    Next you will print out your picture in black and white on regular printer paper. Make sure you are printing the picture the correct size to fit inside your frame or on your plaque (the pictures seen above are about a 3×5 size).

    perfectlydestressed.com

    There are 2 ways to do this, but the outcome is the same. And in both cases, you will take a pair of small, sharp scissors and carefully cut out the profile picture. Pay attention to the details! You don’t want to accidentally cut off those adorable whisps of hair or those pouty lips – the little things matter most here! Traditional silhouettes typically end right around the shoulders and can be cut straight across or cut in an upside down “u” shape.

    Option #1: Laying your printed picture onto the black card stock paper, trace the profile. I like to use a white pen to trace, but regular pen or pencil would work as well, it’s just harder to see as you cut.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Option #2 (as seen on The Kelly Clarkson Show): Laying your printed picture (picture side up) onto the black card stock paper, tape your papers together. Cut out the outline of the profile picture.

    I ModPodged the card stock onto the plaque and I love the result! Although framing in a mat would definitely be a simpler and quicker option.

    perfectlydestressed.com
    Crap I've Made

    Monarch Butterfly Waystation

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Thanks to all this extra time we’ve had on our hands lately, we moved a few gardens around in our backyard and created a Monarch Butterfly Waystation. To have a recognized Waystation, you simply need to add milkweeds and nectar sources to existing gardens or maintain natural habitats with milkweeds. That’s it! You can register your own Monarch Waystation habitat once you meet all the requirements at Monarch Watch here: https://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

    perfectlydestressed.com

    We decided to add a bit of a Science/Biology Lesson into it all since the kids have been practicing School at Home, by ordering our own Caterpillars and watching them advance through their 4 life stages and then releasing the butterflies into our backyard garden. The kids are truly hoping to see our sweet butterflies again.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    While having our own Butterfly Waystation is certainly a cool and fun addition to our backyard, it’s certainly not necessary to growing your own caterpillars or simply planting plants that butterflies enjoy. There are many companies that help you bring nature indoors. We ordered our caterpillars from Insect Lore and we were very pleased with the caterpillars. There were 5 caterpillars in a cup. We ordered 2 cups and have 10 healthy, happy and alive caterpillars we are observing and learning from!

    Pages: 1 2

    Crap I've Made

    Easter Egg Fun

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Even though quarantine has us stuck at home this Easter, it’s important that we try to practice old traditions and make new memories.

    I decided to stray away from the standard dip-dyed eggs (if I’m being totally honest, I’m not a fan of those lil’ fizzie tabs anyway. They’re so messy, they stain, the smell of vinegar makes me cringe while dramatically gagging and they are in general, a pain in my proverbial hiney. Phew. Feels good to get that Easter Scrooge-ness off my chest.) sooooo, since we have a teensy bit of extra time on our hands lately, we came up with a series of fun and different ways to decorate our hard-boiled eggs!

    Decoupage Easter Eggs

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Taking ModPodge, some Easter napkins and hardboiled eggs, we created decoupaged eggs that are totally adorable. Apply a bit of ModPodge onto the egg, place the napkin cut-outs (or pressed flowers, clovers, newspaper strips, tissue paper squares, pictures – let your imagination run!) on the glue and add another light layer of ModPodge on top. Let fully dry.

    Crayon Melt Eggs

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using a craft heat gun (a hair dryer would do the trick, too!) Just gather up a few broken crayons, remove the wrap & melt the crayon, one color at a time, holding the tip of the crayon on the top of the egg, allowing the wax to drip down the sides of the hard-boiled egg.

    Tip: To hold the egg in place while decorating: 

    Using one disposable bathroom cup per egg, cut out the bottom of the cup.  Place cup upside down. Place egg right side up in bottom of cup. This will not only allow the egg to sit upright will using heat gun, but also collect the melted crayon drips – making for easier clean-up!

    Watercolor Eggs

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I’m not a painter, but these watercolor eggs were fun to make! Using a black sharpie, outline the stems and leaves. Fill in the flowers with pretty watercolor.
    Easy peasy! Or should I say Eggsy Peasy?!

    Bunny Costume Eggs

    perfectlydestressed.com

    These are a bit more detailed, but so fun. They were inspired by the old-school Cadbury Bunny commercials. I mean, Halloween at Easter? I’m in!

    Using felt fabric, cut an approx. 10″x1″ strip for the base that holds the egg. Hot glue (or craft glue) the strip into a ring approx. 2″ wide. The strip should overlap itself in the ring to allow a bit of extra support for the egg. Cut another strip about 6″x1/2″ for the headband. This strip should also overlap a bit in the ring before gluing. Trace and cut bunny ears in same color felt as base and the inside of the ears in white felt fabric.
    After gluing white felt fabric inside ears, attach bunny ears to interior of headband ring with glue. Add bunny nose, eyes and whiskers with black sharpie marker.

    Tip: for “floppier” bunny ears, cut longer ear shapes from felt and bend them over after attaching to headband ring.

    Crap I've Made

    Canning Jar Lid Bird Feeders

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Feed the birdies!

    This will make about a dozen bird feeders. You can halve the recipe to make less or double it to make more. But honestly, given the current situation and the fact that we’re all stuck inside (stinkin’ Corona Virus!) they make adorable gifts. Put ’em in a paper lunch bag – ’cause we’re certainly not using those right now – and place at the doors of your neighbors. Spread the happiness – feed the birds & make a friend smile!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    What you need:

    • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
    • 3 1/2 cups wild bird seed
    • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
    • 1 envelope non-flavored gelatine
    • 1/2 cup water
    • mason jar lids, applesauce jar lids, spaghetti sauce jar lids – you’ll need 12
    • twine, yarn, string, rope, whatever you’ve got!
    • parchment paper

    Mix the first 5 ingredients together thoroughly.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Tie your twine onto your 12 jar lids. Make sure your strings are long enough to tie around wherever they may hang. A little piece of tape on the inside will help hold the twine in place while you’re filling the lids up.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Lay your jar lids on a piece of parchment paper – newspaper will work just fine if your lid is closed in the back (like an applesauce jar lid or spaghetti sauce jar lid). Grab a handful of your birdseed mixture and smash it down with your hands into the lid (it will be sticky, so you may want to spray some cooking oil or rub a bit of coconut oil on your fingers and palm to keep the seeds from sticking too much). Allow the feeder lids to sit a few hours or overnight before hanging.

    perfectlydestressed.com
    Crap I've Made

    Rainbow Table Centerpiece

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I love that there are so many rainbow decorations popping up everywhere. It’s like my childhood dreams of growing up to be Rainbow Bright are finally realized! But, I love a good, cheapo DIY even more than a revisit with my kidhood.

    And the other day while putting away my daughter’s hair ties and accessories (that were scattered all over the sink like they are every.single.night – sigh), I noticed that her headbands were all bunched together in a pretty way. Which led me to thinking how much it resembled a rainbow. Which led me to imagine how cute it would be surrounded by a bunch of round white clouds. Which led me picturing it sitting all pretty on the dining room table. Which then led me to this project. <— I swear, this is actually how my “artsy-crafty” brain works. It’s kinda scary-ridiculous, I know.

    So, I dug out rainbow colored headbands, grabbed a handful of her little teeny tiny black hair ties, a thin wood piece for the base, 2 small corner braces (same ones I used here), my trusty hot glue gun and I got to craftin’!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    First I stacked up the headbands in the order I wanted them to be in (ROY-G-BIV – obvs.)

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Next I attached them together with the little hair ties.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    After attaching the headbands to the corner braces on each side with more hair ties, for additional stability I hot glued each corner brace to the interior bottom of the stack of headbands.

    Using a screw driver and a small screw, I attached the brace bottom to the wood base.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Gently pull the headbands apart so they ascend into an arch. Lastly, using different sized white foam and white felt balls, I hot glued them around the base of the braces to create exaggerated, puffy clouds.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Bonus! It even looks good with dinosaurs!!! And I consider that a Win-Win!!!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Crap I've Made

    5 Stick Plant Stand

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I love plants. I love macrame. I love plants IN macrame. But, I had no place to put these beautiful combo pieces in my home. That is, until I built this beauty. 5 pieces of wood, 2 bolts and a few pieces of scrap leather is all it took! Total price – under $10!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I started with 5 2×2 wood pieces that are about $2 a piece at Home Depot. I cut 4 of them into 5ft length to be used as the end pieces and the last piece approximately 3 ft in length for the top bar. I used my rotary tool to cut my pieces because the weather outside was crummy, but a table saw would work great. Or have them cut the pieces for you before you leave the hardware store!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    It is probably easier to paint or stain at this point in the project – before you put the stand together. I tend to do things the stupid hard way, so in true-to-me form I chose to carry the whole thing, completely put together, outside to spray paint.

    Once my pieces were cut and sanded lightly with a sanding block, I measured 7 inches in from the top, marked the spot, and drilled a pilot hole for the bolts.

    After the bolts were run through the 2 pieces and the hex nut was tightened at each end just enough to hold the “x” shape, I determined how wide I wanted the stand to sit and matched the 2 sets in width so the stand would sit evenly. Then I finished tightening the hex nuts to the bolts until they were super tight.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I knew some of my plants that would hang on it were heavier in size, and also because I have little ones, I reinforced the top bar to each “x” end stand with wood screws to ensure the sturdiness of the piece.

    As a last addition, I took some of my scrap leather pieces left over from past projects, cut them into equal sized strips and used them to accentuate the stand. I attached the leather to the front legs and the top of the posts by screwing them gently into the wood. The 2×2 wood was a bit too wide for the s-hooks I had on hand, so I used the shoestring leather pieces to tie around the top bar of the plant stand to attach the macrame hangers from.

    Fun fact: bags of scrap leather can actually be purchased at the craft store. From shoe string-size pieces, some stained different shades to larger irregular shapes, the bags are actually a great value for a crafter!

    I am so in love with how it turned out. Very simple style yet a great statement piece. Cute and functional – my favorite!

    perfectlydestressed.com
    Crap I've Made

    Bread Box Charging Station

    perfectlydestressed.com

    It drives me nuts when people are like: “Oh my gosh Kristin, you’re totally obsessed with The Pioneer Woman.” And I’m like: “listen Debbie, Karen & Judy. Just because I watch her on TV, follow her on all social media accounts, make her meals religiously, am curious about what she’s up to every day of her life, have written her 60-70 handwritten fan-mail letters, googled her phone number & call her Ree while referring to her, does NOT mean there’s an obsession.” Seriously, jeez. The term “obsessed” is used so loosely nowadays….
    🤣😆🤫
    On an unrelated side note, I’ve been eyeing these Pioneer Woman bread boxes at Walmart for weeks. No, for months! Problem is, we don’t keep bread in the house long enough to warrant a bread box. One loaf only lasts us a day or two, so there’s no worry about the bread going bad or needing a long-term storage solution for it. Until, I decided to utilize it for another purpose! Now a messy, all over the counter, makes-me-crazy-daily problem is now solved! May I present:
    🥁 (drum roll please) 🥁

    The Pioneer Woman Bread Box Turned Charging Station

    Super simple supply list:

    Bread Box, Foam Craft Board, Cute Scrapbook Paper, Clear Tape and a Power Strip.

    Measure the inside of your bread box and cut a piece of foam board to fit snuggly inside.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I chose to cover my foam board with cute – somewhat matchy to the floral design on the front of the box – scrapbook paper I had in my supply. But, wallpaper, wrapping paper, washi tape or even painting the foam board would work!

    Once your foam piece is cut and covered, you will need to drill a hole (or, in my case, 3 holes because I had a 1″ spade drill bit and honestly was too lazy to look for anything else) in the back of the bread box to allow the power strip to be plugged in from behind.

    Once you have all of your charging cords plugged in and pushed back, cut small squares from the bottom of your foam board to allow the cords to easily pop through. I only cut 4 because typically we don’t have more than 4 devices charging at the same time. Next, just push your foam board cover in the front to cover all the messy cord crap in the back!

    It really is such a cute and decorative way to clean up your counter space and downsize the cluttered look of all those charging cords!

    Crap I've Made

    DIY Book Ledges

    perfectlydestressed.com

    The simplest way to DIY a book ledge for any wall!

    Honestly, this project was completed months ago. I made sure to take clear, quality pictures of each step at the time of construction. And then somewhere between then and now, the amazing step-by-step pictures have been lost in the wide world of the interweb.

    Sooooo, I took crappy pictures of an already finished project to try my darndest to explain how the heck I made these things.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Honestly, these DIY Book Ledges are a pretty simple concept. I used 1″ x 2″ furring strips, outside corner moulding and brass corner braces. That’s truly all it took. But, in an attempt to help you better understand the process, I will proceed below with my subpar pictures and most-likely even lower standard of explanation….

    You’re welcome (and I’m sorry!)

    The first step was to measure the length of the wall I wanted the ledges to hang on as well as how many layers of ledges there would be. I also needed to make sure I knew the width of the books I was planning on displaying as I was hoping to use outside corner moulding pieces (these are traditionally about an inch or so in size) and a thicker book wouldn’t fit. These particular vintage books were a find on Facebook Marketplace and were all fairly thin, so my idea was perfect.

    Once I knew the length of the wall and width of the books. Off to Home Depot I went!

    After picking up 4 furring strips and the outdoor corner moulding (that I had found in the clearance section because they had been previously cut and each had a warped edge), I found the braces that were also the correct width to fit the moulding.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I waited in line for quite a while on a Saturday morning to have these bad boys cut for me. I have my own saws at home, but it was rainy and cold and it seemed like an easier option to have Home Depot cut the trim pieces instead. It’s actually a pretty sweet service they offer at no cost to the customer and saves loads of time on your projects! Just make sure you are 100% sure of your desired length – otherwise you’re stuck with a wrong size wood piece that you’ve already purchased and brought home.

    The first step to actually constructing the ledges was to attach the furring strips to the wall. I decided to paint these white first (so they would blend in with the already white wall) and stain the corner moulding pieces to give the ledges a ‘warm’ look. Our walls are stucco and completely thin crap. Seriously. It’s a crazy pain to even find a stud and anything, heavy or not, must be attached to a stud. The function of the furring strips was to allow a foundation for the ledges that could be drilled into a stud and then be fully covered with the corner trim.

    perfectlydestressed.com
    perfectlydestressed.com
    This is a really odd angle of the underside of the moulding trim.

    Next, after waiting for the stain to dry on the wood trim pieces, I attached them to the furring strips using the braces. I used 3 corner braces per ledge – one on each end and one in the middle. Learn from my mistake and be sure to use a drill bit extender or else you will jack-up your wood like I did here.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I personally consider these mess-ups to be a signature of sorts. Like, they say: “handmade slightly imperfectly by Kristin.”

    perfectlydestressed.com
    Crap I've Made

    New Years Eve DIY Fun

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Christmas is over and a brand spankin’ new year is on the horizon. Whether you are entertaining a large crowd to ring in 2020 or just chillin’ at home with your fam, I’ve got a few DIY party ideas to share that are easy on time and the wallet (which is kinda great because personally speaking, the “wallet” is rather empty after Santa comes…am’i’right?!)

    These fun do-it-yourself New Year’s party decorations use up a lot of your Christmas stuff. But, even if you do have to go to the store for supplies, most everything you need will be on clearance! And this is all quick to put together – so if you’ve decided last minute to throw a get together, I’ve got you covered in that department too!

    *You better just put your hands up right now ’cause I’m giving you a virtual double high five, my friends*

    Tinsel Numbers

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!

    Before you pack away the cheap shiny plastic-y tinsel-y stuff, grab an Amazon box (because we all know you’ve got a couple lyin’ around or a few more on the way!) and freehand block numbers 2-0-2-0 with a pen or marker. Make ’em big, make ’em small, make ’em whatever size you want! Cut out the cardboard numbers, hot glue some of that tinsel on top and you just made an awesome photo backdrop or fun table decor!

    Bell Balls

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Grab some clear, plastic ornaments and add a handful of little silver and gold jingle bells to make awesome and festive “Ringers” for the new year! These Bell Balls are perfect for little and big hands alike! Just make sure your ornament opening is large enough for your bells.

    *Oh, and if you’re giving them to really tiny hands, a dab of hot glue on the ornament lid after you fill them up will ensure the bells stay inside the ball!*

    Table Covers

    Why buy plastic table covers when you can use the rest of that roll of wrapping paper to decorate your tables? Make it fun and festive while using up those remaining paper pieces so you don’t have to lug the darn almost-empty things up to the attic for another year!

    Shaker Sticks

    perfectlydestressed.com

    For the big kids, a jumbo popsicle stick (painted or plain) with different sized silver and gold jingle bells hot glued on and adorned with curling ribbon make loud Shaker Sticks that ring in the new year in DIY style!

    Mini Wine Snow Globes

    perfectlydestressed.com

    When entertaining a crowd, sometimes mini bottles of wine are the way to go. These cute bottles satisfy everyone’s palate preference by providing a variety of flavors for your guests. Plus, less wine waste at the end of the night! Put the tiny bottles in a large glass bowl, add some faux snow balls and flakes and watch your guests “oooooh” and “aaaaaaah” over your Mini Wine Snow Globe as you sit back and sip your lil’ miniature drink.

    Wine Glass Stars

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using inexpensive and sparkly plastic ornament stars, you can personalize your glasses in a uniquely different way. Simply remove the string for hanging the ornament and cut the star in half using sharp scissors. You may need to create a small hole in the center of the ornament with your scissors if your glass stem is thick. Slide your stem through the cut section and gently pull the star back in place around the base of the glass.

    Crap I've Made

    Sangria Gift Jar

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Here’s the thing about fruit at Christmas- we already know fruit is good for you. But for a present? I mean, you could give someone the gift of a big ol’ fruit basket. And maybe they would love it – or, you could give them the gift of an awesome Sangria Jar full of delicious fruit and wine. And they would totally crown you the “Best Gift Giver Ever In History”… I mean, I know the type of people I want to be friends with! (wink, wink)

    perfectlydestressed.com

    And FYI – if you come to my home toting an adorable drink dispenser with all the necessary ingredients to make a homemade Sangria, you might as well buckle up buttercup because you’re about to be my Best Friend Forevah!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    All it takes to make this gift of so much friggin’ glad tidings is one trip to the store and about 30 minutes of your time when you get home. Seriously, easy on your wallet and your time!

    • Glass Dispenser Jar – mine were purchased at Walmart
    • Wood Spoon (If there’s no predrilled hole, you will have to drill a hole in the handle or simply place the spoon in jar if you prefer to not drill)
    • Wine (white, red, whatever you or the recipient prefers just make sure the wine bottle fits inside the jar)
    • Fresh Cranberries
    • Oranges, Apples, Lemons and Limes
    • A small jar/can of cranberry juice or orange juice (optional)
    perfectlydestressed.com

    For the tag I used a wood craft slice, a black and white printed recipe on regular printer paper from my computer made on Microsoft Word and a layer of ModPodge under and over the cut paper to adhere the recipe to the wood slice.

    I have attached the recipe in a PDF format below. You may need to adjust the size before printing depending on the size of your wood slice (mine was approx. 3″ round).

    Attach it with a cute ribbon around the mouth of the jar.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Easy Peasy Cranberry Apple Orange Lime Lemon Squeezy. Right?!

    Crap I've Made

    DIY Snowman Cocoa Jars

    DIY Snowman Hot Cocoa Jar

    This DIY Snowman Cocoa Jar makes an adorable and totally unique gift! Seriously, a super awesome Christmas present! Bonus – it’s crazy easy to make and a perfect addition to a festive holiday kitchen ❤️

    https://youtu.be/5srE9YFXQrU

    Gather your supplies, warm up your hot glue gun and buckle up because you’re about to make the sweetest hot cocoa display evah!

    Using 3 different sized glass jars (candy jars, terrarium/air plant jars, etc) black buttons, a strip of cute ribbon and all the hot cocoa fixins, I created this adorably cute Cocoa Snowman in under 30 minutes!

    Crap I've Made

    Lamb’s-Ear Christmas Tree

    perfectlydestressed.com

    These trees are so stinking unique. Unlike anything I’ve seen at the stores and actually very simple to put together! Using a handful of easy-to-find supplies (some even straight from your backyard), you can make these rustic and adorable Lamb’s-Ear Christmas Trees too!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    A wood slice, a stick, some twine, lambs-ear garland (dusty miller or eucalyptus both would look cute as well! I like anything that has a flocked-look), hot glue and floral tape are all the supplies needed.

    *tip*: I have 8 kids. So Mama don’t have money to throw around (I also haven’t slept in over 18 years but that’s a whole ‘nother subject). When making anything faux floral, if possible, buy the garland instead of the separate flower sprigs. It’s less expensive for more of the same thing! This message brought to you by a mother that has perfected the art of penny pinching, dumpster diving and making crap from junk.

    “Any way you want it

    That’s the way you need it

    Any way you want it”

    Make ’em tall, make ’em wide, make ’em any way you want!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I made these for a stage presentation that lasted 30 minutes. I was done each time in about 15 minutes. Seriously. That quick. I wouldn’t lie to you, friends. I mean, who doesn’t love a quick Christmas DIY?!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Start with a wood slice. You can find these at the craft store already dried and clean, or you can find them in your backyard or local park or trail for free (especially if you have a wood-burning fireplace and a husband that is crazy about picking up every downed tree within a 25 mile radius of your home for free burning wood….) Find your stick (again, either from the craft store or from the backyard) and drill a hole into your wood slice the same width as your stick. Add hot glue inside your drilled hole to hold your stick in place – make sure it’s straight-ish.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Your stick height will be your tree height, so keep that in mind when picking out a stick as well as making sure you have enough lamb’s-ear for your project. I’ve made trees as tall as 28 inches high and 1 lambs-ear garland was plenty.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Next, you will want to measure (I use that term loosely. By “measure” I mean hold up your garland and figure out approx. how long each piece needs to be)

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using wire cutters, floral scissors or hedge clippers, cut the garland pieces to size. These pieces will be hanging upside down to create a more “tree” look, so make sure to leave an end piece of a few centimeters on each sprig for attaching to the base stick.

    With a dab of hot glue, adhere each sprig to the stick. I typically use 3-4 sprigs around the stick.

    If you get hot glue on your fingers during this step, I give you full permission to curse like a sailor if it makes you feel better. This here is a judgement-free zone. No one knows the feeling of 3000-friggin’ degree hot glue burning through the skin of your tender digits until they’ve actually had it happen.

    Tip: Some trees I use only one tier of sprigs. Others I layer up 2-3 tiers for a fuller tree.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Once they are all glued on the stick, use the floral tape (in this case I used white floral tape to match the white stick) to secure the sprigs of lamb’s-ear onto the stick.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Cover up the exposed floral tape with a line of twine secured with hot glue.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    This tree was made with a backyard stick and I love how it “leans” a bit. Not perfect, but totally cute. I also used 2 layers of lambs-ear for this one. A shorter layer on top and another longer layer underneath. The floral tape is hidden under the top tier. Both layers were attached in the same method described above, but I didn’t need to cover the second tier’s tape with twine since you couldn’t see it.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I also added a string of twine along 3-4 inches on bottom of some of the taller trees for an added layer of texture. With or without the bottom twine, they are pretty.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    A pinecone hot glued on the top can be a fun addition to the rustic feel of these sweet things.

    Crap I've Made

    Woodland Apple Wreath

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I love projects that are inexpensive to make and help feed our wildlife, too.

    What a perfect wreath to use on the front door in the autumn. Especially if you’re hosting a fall or Thanksgiving dinner. It would be adorable in the kitchen, too. Plus, this is a great use (other than baking) for those bruised apples you don’t want to just throw out but don’t know what the heck to do with!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Apple picking is such a fun fall family activity. But sometimes those cute little hands of those cute little people put apples in the basket that haven’t been inspected and aren’t so “cute”. Here’s a simple use for them that isn’t baking – not that there’s anything wrong with baking. My thighs and I can both assure you that we love to bake. This is just a unique and different idea. And for me, the only cost here was the apples. Everything else I had in the workshop.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using an inexpensive metal wreath form, line the interior with fabric. I used burlap ribbon because it was already the perfect width, but any fabric would work really. (You could also skip this step totally if you are omitting the moss. The fabric adds a base for the moss to lay on.)

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I used green floral wire to attach the burlap ribbon to the wreath form.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Hot glue the moss in clumps onto the fabric. It doesn’t have to be hot glued all over. Just enough to hold it in place. The apples on top will help stabilize the moss as well.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Taking heavy duty wire, push the wire straight through the apples at different angles so the apples lay imperfectly.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Once all the apples are on the wire, twist tie the wire to the back of the wreath. The reason we’re using such heavy wire, is because once it’s outside, this will ensure it stays together as long as possible.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I strategically wrapped grapevine twigs and wired burlap rope around the exposed metal wire to conceal it in the front of the wreath. I used green floral wire to hold the twigs in place.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Once the apples start to turn and bruise, take your wreath outside! Place it somewhere near a window so you can watch all the creatures enjoy it!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    And make sure to save your wire wreath form once the apples are gone. You can always reuse it!

    Crap I've Made

    Upcycled Fall Flannel Decor

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using old ratty flannels and a worn pair of jeans from the closet (thanks to Marie Kondo for making me feel like a hoarder…) I created this one of a kind banner for my fall decor and the cost was practically nothing!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    I started with this plain wood banner from the craft store. They typically come packaged with the twine as well. Pretty sure I bought this one clearanced, but even at full price they are fairly inexpensive.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using a black marker, I traced the outline of the triangular banner on the inside of the flannels and jeans. Inside is important because it will hide your black lines on the finished product.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Grab that Mod Podge! Yes, there’s Mod Podge specifically for fabrics, but I’m a “use what you’ve got” sorta girl and what I had was traditional Matte Mod Podge. Plus, I was still in my PJ’s on this particular fine Saturday morning and my hair was in a not-so-pinterest-approved “messy bun” so I was avoiding a trip to the store at all costs. I mean, seriously. Who wants to get dressed and tame their mane on a Saturday if they don’t have to anyway?!

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Using a foam craft brush, I applied a layer of Mod Podge to the wood, placed the cut fabric on top – black lined and cut side down – and applied another layer of Mod Podge over the fabric. Let fully dry. Using a screw driver or hammer and nail, make holes through the fabric that lines up with the preexisting holes in the wood banner.

    perfectlydestressed.com

    Hang this cute banner thang with the length of twine anywhere that needs a little touch of flannel-y fall y’all!

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.