Easy As DIY: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

DIY Harry Potter Ornament Series Part 2: Neville's Remembrall & Scuttling Spiders Scene

Welcome to the second installment of my Harry Potter Ornament Series!
To see the first installment with 3 more ornaments, click here!

This week I wanted to recreate Neville's Remembrall.
1. Supplies:
- clear ornament
- red ribbon (mesh is best for the smokey effect)
- gold paint pen/sharpie
-scissors

2. Cut a piece of ribbon that's about 12 inches long.
3. Fold the end of your ribbon to thread it into the ornament. Mine pushed in easily because it was wired ribbon, but you can use a pencil if yours isn't.
4. Use your gold marker to draw details. I drew a gold band around the middle at an angle.
5. Next I drew some gold dots to resemble the real Remembrall.
6. Done!

Scuttling Spiders Scene
I really got the inspiration for this ornament when I saw this pack of little spiders at Dollar Tree. Seriously, people that store is the shiz. You remember in Chamber of Secrets where the spiders run across the hall and out of the window? That's the scene I wanted to recreate. This is a long tutorial so forgive me.

1. Not pictured: cardboard, excato knife, hot glue gun

2. Draw a Hogwarts style window on your cardboard.

3. Cut out with exacto knife.

4. Brace cardboard by glueing on craft sticks.

5. Print picture of Forbidden Forest and cut to size.

6. Paint window with layers and foam to resemble stone.

7. Lay craft sticks in a tight row to form a "floor". Brace by glueing on two support sticks.

8. Flip over and use hot glue gun to draw on a brick/stone pattern.

9. Layer paint colors to resemble a stone floor.

10. Glue your picture to the back of the window.

11. Attach floor to window with hot glue and craft sticks for support. Glue on spiders to look like they're fleeing to the forest. Voila!

I hope you enjoy! Check out the first installment here!

DIY: Christmas Surprise!

In my Mini Binder Christmas Planner post, I promised a small Christmas surprise.

Well, here it is! These are holiday themed gift tags you can print on Avery Shipping Labels in three different color combinations! Simply head over to Walmart and pick up a pack of 10 count Avery Shipping Labels (15513 or 5523), they should be about $4.44. Open the PDF, insert a sheet of labels one sheet at a time, and print out your favorite color or all three! 10 sheets of 10 labels per sheet means 100 large sized, decorate gift tags for the holidays! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

DIY Harry Potter Ornaments Series: Acceptance Letter, Hogwarts Express, Ron's Howler

As you may have noticed in a recent post of mine, I've become preoccupied with making preparations for the holidays! Are you the person who slams their hands over their ears when Christmas songs trickle onto the radio mid-November?! Look no further, this post is not for you (unless you're willing to un-grinch yourself for some Harry Potter)! I'm a carol singing, Christmas in July celebrating, present planning, deck the hall-er who may or may not have a Christmas countdown app on her phone as we speak......

So! Here's to looking ahead just as the crispness of fall begins to cool off this hot Georgia heat. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am obsessed with Harry Potter. Go ahead, ask me anything. I'm in Ravenclaw House, a proud Pottermore member, and have seriously considered enrolling at Hogwarts. (It's a real thing, look it up!) For the holidays I want to make a Harry Potter tree with all the DIY ornaments I can think of to adequately capture my admiration. I'll be chronicling how I make each of these DIY ornaments so that you can make them too! I'll try to do a couple each time because my list of ornament ideas is at about 54. Ha. Ha. Forgive me if some of these end up being a little rudimentary, I'm only striving to live up to my expectations which, with the time and budget crunch, may be a smidge low, ya dig? Here we go.

Harry's Hogwarts Acceptance Letter

This was super easy. When I went to WWoHP (see my trip here!), I received a parcel post with my itinerary inside. It's just a plain Potteresque envelope that I thought would work well as Harry's official acceptance letter. I simply addressed as it is in the book and voila! Easy as that! Seeing as not everyone went to WWoHP, make your own by folding a sheet of paper into an envelope. You can print a tan colored pattern onto printer paper or Hobby Lobby has parchment paper for 79 cents.

The (Wooden) Hogwarts Express
A rudimentary representation at best but it still makes me smile. I picked this wooden train up at the Dollar Tree. I used a gold paint marker to write on the name, number, and small details to make it look somewhat like its real life counterpart. It was already red and black!

Ron's Howler
One of my favorite parts of Chamber of Secrets is when Ron gets his howler. I'm sorry for the lack of instruction because I was really just winging it here. But my lack of expertise means you can totally replicate it! I just cut up a red piece of construction paper until it had the shape I wanted and taped it in place. I wrote out the howler contents on printer paper and used a scrap of red ribbon for the tongue. Teeth are printer paper.

As you can see, a four year old could make these. But that's the beauty of the books as well, they reach an astounding range of ages, young and old. If you want to add a little magic to your holidays with literally no budget, time, effort, or skill, these ornaments will be the easiest way to DIY it!

DIY Stamped Kitchen Towel

I've seen so many cute tutorials on how to hand stamp your own tea towels so I thought I'd give it a shot using my favorite pattern here lately - pineapples! Read on for how to do this super easy diy.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Mini Binder Christmas Planner

100 days.

That's how much time we have before Christmas! To some that's a whole lot, but to a meticulous planner like me, I see a little over three short months to get my act together so I'm not pulling my hair out come the holidays! If you find yourself in the same boat or are one of those brave souls that waits 'til the last minute, use this planner to help share the load! Please note these are for mini-binders, meaning you need 8.5 by 5.5 inch plain paper. See my other post on how to make your own. If you already have one, simply pop this into the back, or make a cute Christmas binder just for this! I have all the free printables you could need from meal planning to party games and more!

Simply click the link below each template to access the PDF!

Use this Black Friday planner to organize what you plan to get from each store, at what price, and for whom!

Black Friday Planner

Use this simple template to plan your gift recipients and what you might get them.

Simple Gift Planner

Use as a generic recipient gift planner.

Generic Recipient Gift Planner

Use as a detailed gift planner for a child.

Child Gift Planner

Use as a gift planner for a significant other.

Significant Other Gift Planner

Use this as a gift planner for parents.

Parent Gift Planner

Use this as a gift planner for the In-Laws.

In-Laws Gift Planner

Use this to plan gifts for a family.

Family Gift Planner

Use this as a gift planner for friends.

Friends Gift Planner

Use this as a gift planner for charity/other.

Charity/Other Gift Planner

A December calendar to mark all your important events!

December Calendar

Use this to create a gift spending budget.

Gifts Budget

A shopping list of all the wrapping supplies you need!

Supplies Shopping List

A page to write down all of your Elf on the Shelf ideas!

Elf on the Shelf Ideas

A meal planner for your Christmas Eve dinner!

Christmas Eve Dinner Planner

A meal planner for your Christmas Day dinner!

Christmas Day Dinner Planner

If you plan on throwing a party, use this page to document your favorite Christmas games! Minute to Win It anyone? You can find my family's favorite game here!