I wanted a fun (and useful!) DIY Valentine gift for all the teachers in my son’s Parents Day Out program. This simple crayon-themed Gift Basket also works as a Pencil Holder once all the candy is gone! Since most of the supplies come from the Dollar Store, it’s affordable… only $3 apiece to make. This is a great gift basket idea for ANYONE with a desk job (not just a teacher) — if the gift is intended to come from a kid. See the steps to make your own super simple teacher gift baskets!
Hobbies & Crafts
DIY Dog Bed Ideas: See How I Made XL Orthopedic Dog Beds For Our 2 Large Dogs & Created A Simple Dog Mudroom Space
Thinking of getting an orthopedic dog bed for your furbaby? I made my own no-sew cheap dog beds from memory foam for about half the price of buying new extra large dog beds. See how we created a separate dog mudroom area in our house (to keep the dirt and mud to a minimum inside) and how we made DIY dog beds ourselves to keep them comfortable in their new space.
Do’s & Don’ts When Making A Rain Barrel For Rainwater Collection
Tired of paying high water bills? Have you heard of the ways you can use a rain catcher to lower those bills? You probably also didn’t know that 623 gallons of water can be harvested from 1 inch of rain on a 1,000-square-foot roof and as far as rain barrels are concerned, a typical 1/2-inch rainfall will fill a 50- to 55-gallon barrel. I’m sharing everything I know about making rainwater collection an efficient way to lower your bills and help the environment.
DIY Outdoor Curtain Rods For Porch Curtains: Here’s How To Make PVC Pipe Curtain Rods For $15
See how I made some really inexpensive PVC pipe curtain rods to hold long, sheer porch curtains for around $15. After getting all the supplies at Lowe’s, I was able to measure, cut, and install the outdoor curtain rods and hang the curtain panels on my front porch in about 1 hour myself. They are holding up perfectly (even after storms and heavy gusts of wind). And they look great!
DIY Tree Swing Tutorial: See How I Made This Trampoline Swing (aka Saucer Swing)
My toddler son and I love to spend time outside. I decided to make a saucer swing from a small trampoline. Here’s my DIY tree swing tutorial… with lots of photos! (Bonus: This nest swing is portable — you can take it down and set it up on any tree… anywhere!)
DIY Repurposed Drum Set: See How I Turned A 4-Piece Drum Set Into A Cool Piece Of Home Decor With LED Lights!
Got any used drum sets sitting around? See how I turned a 4-piece drum set into a fun light fixture! (Much better than standard LED drum lights.) My repurposed drum set tutorial…
DIY Spice Drawer Organizer: See How To Make A Spice Drawer Insert For Just $4 Using Paint Stir Sticks!
Have a lot of spices, packets, and jars in your spice cupboard right now? Here are some DIY spice rack ideas to organize your kitchen! See how I used paint stir sticks to make my own spice drawer inserts. Yep, a $4 DIY spice drawer organizer! Then, with the extra space inside my spice cabinet, I was able to better organize the shelves for baking goods and food storage containers.
DIY Solar Lanterns: See How To Make Colorful Glass Jar Luminaries That Are Weatherproof
DIY Lantern Tutorial – see how I glued Dollar Store glass gems to the outside of jars & inexpensive solar path lights to jar lids to make solar lanterns that are weatherproof!
DIY Outdoor Hanging Basket Ideas For The Holidays: A Super Simple Tutorial For Christmas Hanging Baskets
After a trip to Hobby Lobby, I realized that I could easily replicate some of their hanging basket ideas using real greenery from my own backyard without having to spend a dime! These outdoor hanging baskets take less than 10 minutes to make. See the steps I used to make these super simple outdoor Christmas arrangements.
Need DIY Winter Wreath Ideas? Here’s How To Make A Grapevine Wreath For Your Front Door
I try to make new a door wreath each month. For most of my front door wreaths, I use wild grapevines from my yard as a base. Here’s how to make a grapevine wreath for the winter months.
DIY Christmas Tree Tutorial: Here’s How To Make A Simple Lighted Window Christmas Tree
I love the concept of a window Christmas tree. So much that I have a DIY Christmas tree in 2 different windows! For our kitchen window, I made a tree out of PVC pipes. For our front window, I wanted a really bright silhouette of a Christmas tree – so I made this lighted window tree. See how I did it…
PVC Christmas Tree Tutorial: A Fun Way To Put A Classy, Colorful Christmas Tree In Your Window!
I came across this fun idea for a Christmas tree made out of PVC pipe from one of Martha Stewart’s projects. My PVC Christmas tree fits perfectly in the window in our dining room. And who doesn’t love a window Christmas tree??? I even added colorful lights shining from the outside in — to add more color to the PVC tree at night.
My Tips For Making DIY Dryer Lint Fire Starters For Your Fireplace Or Campfire
I like to repurpose things whenever I can, and I’m always wanting a fast easy way to start a fire in our fire pit — so I came up with this simple idea for DIY fire starters using dryer lint, tealight candles, and toilet paper tubes. It’s a good way to repurpose dryer lint and cardboard tubes from paper towels & toilet paper. Plus, these dryer lint fire starters work really well! Here’s how I make them…
DIY Wooden Alphabet Letters Wall Decor: How To Mod Podge Paper To Wood To Make Decorative Alphabet Letters For A Toddler’s Room
Here’s how to Mod Podge cute, no-nail alphabet letters to the wall of a child’s room. See how I used adult coloring book pages & Mod Podge glue to turn cardboard and wooden alphabet letters into fun wall decor for my toddler’s room.
How To Make Pine Cone Fire Starters… For Your Fireplace, A Campfire, Or As Gifts
I thought I would get a jumpstart on some fun handmade gifts and make pine cone fire starters this year. For my first batch, I used a large red cinnamon-scented candle and a spool of candle wick. Next, I’m excited to experiment with different colors and different scents of wax — it will be a good way for me to get rid of all my candles and Scentsy wax which I no longer use, since I’ve become a fan of diffusing essential oils.
Personalized Graduation Cards: A DIY Grad Card In School Colors With Grad Caps & Tassels
With graduation season upon up, I thought I’d share how to make a DIY grad card yourself. See how to make DIY personalized graduation cards like this one — with the grad’s name, school colors, and graduation year. Plus a matching DIY envelope!
11 Kid-Friendly Fourth Of July Crafts… DIY Fun for All Ages!
Engage the kids this summer with Independence Day themed crafts to get them excited for the Fourth of July holiday. From DIY tote bags to homemade sparklers, patriotic face painting, and more… here are 11 ways to add sparkle to kids craft time on the 4th of July!
My Cricut Review: Cricut Expression vs Original Cricut Machine
Whether you’re a teacher, homeschooling mom, or just an avid crafter, the Cricut machine is a tool that you will use over and over again. I use mine for papercrafting. Here’s my review of the Cricut Expression compared to the Original Cricut machine.
How To Make Envelopes For Your Handmade Cards: A Tutorial For Making Envelopes Step By Step
Want to know how to make an envelope for a card? Here are my step by step instructions for making envelopes that will match your handmade cards. See how to make an envelope step by step!
Handmade St. Patrick’s Day Cards: Here’s A Very Lucky Card You Can Make For Friends!
Follow my step-by-step instructions to make your own lucky cards this year. Celebrate your special friends with these handmade St Patricks Day cards – because nothing says ‘lucky’ quite like a 4-leaf clover and a ladybug!
DIY Hearts Cards: 3 Ideas For Homemade Valentine Cards & LOVE Cards Featuring Hearts
A card I saw on Pinterest inspired me to make my own version as homemade Valentine cards. I created these 3 hearts cards which are great for sharing sentiments of love for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Weddings, and Get Well cards.
8 Clever Ideas For Making Thanksgiving Scrapbook Pages
The decorations, the family that arrives to help celebrate, the food – all of these are reasons to take pictures then make fun Thanksgiving scrapbook pages!
Halloween Card Sayings, Poems & Quotes For DIY Greeting Cards And Scrapbook Journaling
Looking for cute sayings, witty quotes & fun poems for Scrapbook journaling or handmade cards? Use these Halloween card sayings in your crafty Halloween projects
Making A Burlap Wreath: Here’s How To Make A Beachy Wreath With Burlap, Shells, And Pearls
I make a lot of wreaths. See my best tips for making a burlap wreath yourself. I made this wreath with burlap as a thank you gift for friends who let me stay at their beach house.
Tutorial For Handmade Graduation Cards That Prominently Feature The Year
It’s easy to make Graduation cards yourself. For this tutorial, we make a card that showcases the graduate’s special year on a handmade ‘tag’ shape.
