Yard work > house work any day. I love getting out in my yard, digging in the dirt and feeling the sun on my face. Working in the yard is by far my favorite and IMO, the most satisfying chore. But it can also be expensive and can generate a lot of waste. Over the years I’ve learned how to beautify my yard in some inexpensive and sustainable ways.
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Since this is our first Halloween with Bambi, I wanted to make it special. I had planned to make her three costumes for her first Halloween. I am an unstable dog-mamma, obviously. I didn’t have time to make her three costumes, because, well, mama has a job, but I did manage to make her one costume and find a bunch of super cheap and easy Halloween costumes for dogs.
This year I made a simple Dobby costume. Dobby is a house elf from Harry Potter, in case you aren’t a huge HP geek like me. With her ears, I think she looks just like him! I took an old t-shirt, dyed it with coffee, let it dry, then cut up the neck and sewed up the sides to fit her. Easy peasy.
Here’s my favorite cheap and easy dog costumes from the web-o-sphere! I picked them with the my fellow procrastinators in mind 🙂
Dying over this one– it’s Lamb Chop!
A M&M! Make this one even easier by using hot glue instead of sewing.
This is too damn cute! A chia pet!
Clowns can be creepy or insanely cute.
There’s no bones about it, this dog is adorable (and warm!) as a skeleton!
A bat! This one is great for those dogs who don’t like wearing something on their heads.
Are you dressing up your dog this Halloween? I’d love to hear your costume ideas in the comments!
love,
melanie
When I imagine a wealthy person’s bedroom (I’m a creep) or a fancy hotel, I imagine a room overflowing with pillows. Maybe I watched Elvis’ Harum Scarum too much as a child. (Side note: If you haven’t seen Harum Scarum, find it and watch it immediately. At one point Elvis karate chops a tiger. I kid you not.) What I’m trying to say is pillows are the ultimate luxury and I basically want my bedroom to be a pillow pit.
But alas, my pillow tutorial plans were foiled by the rain. My tutorial photos looked like they were taken in a old folks home. (Sorry, old folks.) I only had the chance to take finished product pics in the sun. But that is ok! Because we live in a magical Internet age where one can find tutorials on anything and everything. I even used the tutorials I’m linking to as a reference in my own magical, pillow-making journey.
1. Closed Pillow: This tutorial from HGTV shows how to create the easiest pillow of the bunch. But like the name says, the cover stays closed, so washing is a no-no.
2. Open-ended Pillow: It’s the closed pillow, but you leave one end open. Do ya’ll really need a tutorial for that? I also sewed a bit of lace on the end to finish it and create that grandmama-look.
3. Envelope Pillow: This beginner DIY from a fellow Melanie shows how to make a beautiful, polished, washable pillow case. I love her precision!
4. Zippered Pillow: I adore this tutorial. It’s in-depth without being overwhelming.
Let’s get crafty, ya’ll!
love,
melanie
It was my beautiful sister’s birthday last week. (Happy Birthday, Kristen!) I wanted to send her cash, but just sending bills in the mail with a card is kind of lame.
Of course, I had to do something creative. That’s how I roll. I knew you could fold dollar bills into origami, but I wanted to take it one step further. So, I used the leftover embroidery floss from my sunglasses DIY to create a mobile!
Supplies
I folded the elephants using an tutorial found here. Then, I braided the embroidery floss and tied one end to the elephant. Next, I broke a stick in half, made an “x” and neatly twisted embroidery floss around the middle of the “x” until I felt that it was secure. I left a little bit of floss at the end and finished it off with a bow. Finally, I tied each elephant to one of the stick ends.
Have you ever given money as a gift in an unusual way? I want to see it or hear about it in the comments!
P.S. I sent my sister more than 4 bucks. I just didn’t want to use large bills in case she didn’t want to take it apart. I’m not that cheap!
love,
melanie
It seems like the ombre trend will never die, huh? Oh well. I love it and I’m not afraid to omber-ize everything– including my sunglasses.
Here’s the how-to:
Supplies:
Step 1 (Optional): (Enlist your husband) to drill small holes into the ends of your sunglasses. This will allow the ombre effect to be carried to the ends of the sunglasses. If you skip this step, you will just have to end the thread earlier on the sunglasses and leave the behind-the-ear-part empty. (Fancy terminology, huh?)
Step 2: Place a piece of tape sticky-side up onto the back of the glasses. This makes the process much easier because the thread won’t slide around.
Step 3: Tie a knot on the end of the of glasses closest to the eye.
Step 5: Begin neatly wrapping the thread around the sunglasses. This is where you can be creative with the process and switch up your colors.
Step 6: End the thread by neatly wrapping through the hole drilled in the end of the sunglasses. Tie a knot and dot the ends with fabric glue for extra strength.
Step 7: Repeat on the other side!
Annnnnd done! We’re ready to hit the beach!
love,
melanie
Having very little money to decorate has forced George and I to get creative when it comes to the home items we need. I’ve shared my secrets to thrifting, so today I’m going to show you a little bit of how we reclaim items.
We desperately needed a coat rack for our tiny entryway. I hate the look of coats thrown over chairs and scarves hanging on doorknobs. We found a piece of old barn wood, a horseshoe and two spigots in (what else?!) an old barn at my in-laws house. All we had to do after that was screw the horseshoe and the spigots onto the piece of wood and instant coat hook!
Kinda looks like something from Pottery Barn, no?
Have you ever used something unconventional to decorate your home? I’d love to see it, so leave the links in the comments!
love,
melanie
During the wedding planning process, DIY projects were not high on my list. I did manage to carve out some time to do a few easy and inexpensive crafts though. And I plan on sharing a few of them with you! I was super pleased with the way my wedding favors turned out. So, I’m sharing the how-to on those first!
For this project all you need is a little photoshop know-how, paper bags and a printer. (I would recommend a top-loading printer. Although it is possible to do with a bottom-loading printer. I have just found the top loading printers work better with the bags.)
First, we designed our logo in Photoshop. We used the image of George and myself on our wedding invites too. Your design doesn’t have to be anything as elaborate as ours, a monogram would look nice too. If you don’t have Photoshop skills, you could even create your design in Word and then change your printer settings to the size of the bag.
Next, we changed the dimensions of the image in Photoshop to the dimensions of the paper bag and did a couple of test prints. After printing each bag, we added a can of RC Cola and a Moon Pie. In the South, an RC Cola and a Moon Pie is known as a working man’s lunch and both George and I have fond memories of eating Moon Pies and drinking RC Colas as kids.
Finally, we punched two holes in the top of the bag, looped a ribbon through and tied a bow. Quick, easy and cheap! Done!
**A helpful hint is to buy more bags than you need and be patient! If the bag has any kind of small tear or inconsistency, the printer may eat it. Just keep calm and carry on!**
Questions? Leave ’em in the comments!
love,
melanie
