Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts

5 Alternatives for Carving Pumpkins {Fun Kids Crafts}


Having small children can sometimes make pumpkin carving a bit difficult. So this year we went with something a little different and let the kids make a few varieties of pumpkins. Grab some glue, your potato head pieces, and even the paint and see what your kids do to create their Fall masterpieces!

If you're in the same boat and are looking for great alternatives to carving your pumpkins this year, here are a few ideas:

1. Painting your Pumpkins

Instead of carving out a design, simply use a paper cut out to block out a design on your pumpkin and paint around it! Head on over to FormulaMom.com to see how we painted the castle pumpkin above.

Add Cinderella's carriage by simply cutting out a few felt pieces and gluing them onto a fairytale pumpkin to complete the storybook tale. 


2. Mrs Pumpkin Head
See how easy it is to create a Mrs. Pumpkin Head (Mr. Potato Head's lady friend) with this easy and fun idea from Fabulous Finds by Tiffany.


3. Spider Web Pumpkins
With a little bit of spray paint and some puffy paint, you can create just about any design on your pumpkin with a great look! I created this Spider Web Pumpkin for our Amazing Spider-Man party that I'll be hosting on Halloween this year. I can't wait to see what my guests think.


4. Foam Sticker Pumpkins
When we went up to Mammoth Mountain a few weeks ago we got to decorate pumpkins at  Oktoberfest. Instead of letting the kids carve pumpkins, they had these awesome foam sticker kits they got from the craft store. Our kids made this pirate pumpkin and loved applying the stickers to the pumpkin.


5. Crayon Dripped Pumpkin
Now this has got to be the coolest looking pumpkin ever! Taylor Made Mama did it right when she made this Crayon Dripped Pumpkin. It reminds me of the drippings of a candle.

It's definitely Halloweenesque and would go great for any decor. Plus I love that you could easily use all one color or be selective in the colors you use to go with a theme or style.

How are you decorating your pumpkin this year?

Re-Creating a Relaxing Bedroom with @BreatheBedding #CBias


Recently my husband and I upgraded our bedroom furniture and the size of our bed from a queen to a king to accommodate our growing family (and the fact that our kids had all but kicked us out of our own bed!). It's been a slow process but I am finally starting to love the results. Especially with our latest addition of Breathe Performance Bedding.

I can finally relax and enjoy our bedroom now that we've completed the last step in re-decorating. I've finally tackled the wall space above our bed and have purchased the comfortable sheets our family has been aching for.

Now typically we purchase bedding at discount and department stores (think Tuesday Mornings or Macys). We look for name brands at discounted prices and hardly ever pay full price for a set of sheets. We almost always wait for sales and try to stick with higher thread count cotton sheets since that's what we've known to work in the past.

But we've always had an issue with sweat at night and needed a solution.


Learning More about Breathe Bedding
In order to accomplish this feat, the kids and I headed to our local Wal-mart to check out Breathe Bedding. Not only had we not heard of Breathe Bedding before, we had also never seen it at Wal-Mart. So I was very interested in learning more.

Breathe Performance Bedding isn't your typical bedding. It is made with technology to help transfer body heat and moisture to keep you cooler, drier, and more comfortable. With a daughter who sweats quite a lot, I can tell you that moisture wicking sheets are not only helpful, but essential to a good night's sleep!

I loved the selection and color of the bedding and found a set of King sheets in a tan color that would be perfect for  our master bedroom. Not only did it look perfect for my sweaty family, it also looked stylish as well. The packaging drew my eye and intrigued me. Especially with a photo of Mia Hamm on the cover.

To read about my experience in purchasing Breathe Performance Bedding, check out my Breathe G+ Album.


Why Not Cotton? 
Your probably asking me why are Breathe sheets not made out of cotton. Well, cotton does not allow heat to be released. It traps heat in when you fall asleep and throughout the night leaving some sleepers to wake up in a full sweat. There have been many a morning that I've woken up to a puddle next to me from the amount of sweating my daughter does during the night.

Inspired by athletic performance fabrics, Breathe Performance Bedding works while you sleep to regulate body temperature throughout the night and allows an increase of ventilation. This leads to a more peaceful, comfortable sleep without the worry of over heating through the night.


Gaining Inspiration from Others
Once I had my bedding figured out, it was time to get crafty and do something with these bare walls. Taking inspiration from a few pins I had recently added to my Master Bedroom Ideas Pinterest board, and rummaging through the house for odds and ends, along with taking into consideration the colors of our new bedding, I created a few pieces to add to the blank space.

With the help of some spray paint, plenty of leftover frames, my fabric stash, and a glue gun I was able to transform a few pieces into something new that fit well together. I started with the burlap I purchased at Wal-Mart and the largest picture frame.


By simply painting the frame white, hot gluing in the burlap and adding some fabric flowers and a felt S I created a personalized piece of art for our bedroom (tutorial coming soon!). I quickly followed suite with framed fabric and an embroidery hoop but was still missing something.

That's when I decided to paint the canvas I had on hand. I was going to go with a chevron pattern but it just didn't work out with the amount of tape I had so I went with stripes. This is the only piece I am not happy with and I've since decided that I'm going to find a mirror to take it's place. Unless I repaint it completely.


Putting the Pieces Together
Once I had all of the craft projects finished it was time to put together my new room decor. I stared by making the bed and grabbing the bedspread. I needed to visualize exactly what the artwork would look like on the wall so I layed it out on the bed and checked out the positioning.

Then I did what I normally wouldn't have done... I started blindly leveling and hammering to put everything up on the wall. Now normally I leave the measuring, leveling, and hammering to my husband. I've been known to just blindly go in and make holes everywhere until its to my liking and my husband doesn't quite appreciate my approach. But since I knew this would never get done if I waited I moved on by myself.


I have to say that I really like the end result. The combination of the new sheets and the added artwork to the walls makes the room feel complete and makes me feel accomplished! Finally our master bedroom is finished and I cannot wait to lie down and enjoy it.

Good thing it's naptime!

How have you spruced up your home lately? 

To find out more about Breathe Performance bedding, head on over to their website. You can purchase their bedding sets online or in select Wal-Mart stores. You can also find Breathe Bedding on Facebook and follow them on twitter at @BreatheBedding.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. All opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric

Smarties Are The Perfect Halloween Sweet Treat #IAmASmartie

One of my favorite parts of my childhood Halloween experience was racing home from trick or treating to sort out all of the Halloween candy I received. I was obsessed with finding my favorites (Smarties were at the top of the list along with chocolate). And one of my favorite parts of Halloween now are the decorations we put up each year. I absolutely love how festive and creative we get each year.

My husband is quite the Halloween decor enthusiast. Each year he purchases foam pumpkins from the store and creates a new face. And in an effort to keep up with him, I try to get creative as well in the decor inside our home.

Smarties Halloween candies #IAmASmartie

Gluten-Free and Allergen Free
This year I headed to Target to pick up some decorating supplies and candy to pass out. Since there are so many allergies and special diets these days, we went simple. Smarties all around! And I planned on decorating with Smarties as well.

Smarties are not only gluten-free, but they also contain no peanuts and are fat free! They're the worry-free, one-size-fits-all candy this holiday and are the perfect choice for passing out. I was able to pick up a large bag of Smarties and another bag of Smarties and Dum-Dums mixed together. My daugther was absolutely elated to put these bags into the cart to take home.

Love is in the Air {Holiday Home Decor}


In an effort to keep the holiday momentum going in our home after Christmas I've attempted to decorate the house for Valentine's Day. How could I not with all of the pins I've posted onto my Valentine's Day board on Pinterest? I printed out this ABC I Love You printable you see above from Formula Mom's Valentines Day Printables post and framed it in a picture frame that wasn't being used. I plan on updating it with a printable for each season and have it hanging in my hallway/entry way.

I also decorated the mantle with things I had around the house as well. I just left up the fabric pendant banner I made for Molly's birthday and layered it with a paper banner I purchased a few years back on clearance. I love the reds, pinks and aquas!

I had a hanging heart that I used last year as a wreath for the front door and just added it to the mantel. And I found these adorable wooden LOVE blocks in the dollar section of my local Target. I added a few silk roses I purchased at The Dollar Tree in a tea cup paperweight I had left over from Molly's party and the mantel was done! Simple and perfect for our home. I can't wait to start thinking up ideas for the next month!


Do you decorate for the holidays? Do you stick to the big ones like Halloween and Christmas or do you decorate throughout the year? I'd love to see what you've done!



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