DIY Advent Calendar

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The thought of the upcoming holidays brings us a sense of panic with all there is to do, but also great joy. It’s our favorite time of year, so bring on the cheer. We’ve been known to not put up our Advent calendar until mid-December, which may or may not defeat the purpose, so this post is our attempt to have our DIY Advent calendar up by December 1. Other than our usual tardiness, the other con to our past Advent calendar was the size…how are we supposed to fit one thing larger than a candy cane in each tiny opening? This year, we went long and tall, and got creative with ice cream pint containers!

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May we just say that had we known blogging would have been in our future, we would have an all-white wall with light floors. Since that’s not feasible with any of our homes, and we needed a well-lit area to show you our Advent Calendar, a ‘rustic Colorado ‘ rock wall was our second best option. Our 5-year-old model had a ‘make-it-work’ moment, which she didn’t seem to mind.

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diy-advent-calendar-red-green-christmas-girl-ladder-holiday

You’ll Need:

Directions:

Make or print number labels. You can use a Silhouette like we did, or buy number stickers. For number 25, we used a red star ornament since that’s the magical day. Glue the labels on the container lids.

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Drill the pint containers to the long piece of wood {totally doable, even with do drill experience}, and then fill the pint containers with goodies.

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Place lids on the pint containers.

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Set up the colorful Advent calendar. You can make it a horizontal Advent calendar, or a vertical one like we did. Because ours is vertical and tall, we couldn’t resist a set up with a ladder – it makes for a fun adventure everyday for the kids and with a good lean, no nails or holes in the wall.

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diy-advent-calendar-red-green-christmas-girl-ladder-holiday

Someone special wants it to be Christmas now.

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We teamed up with Sillhouette America to give away 1 Silhouette CAMEO on Instagram. Nov. 25 the giveaway ends, and all you have to do is follow us on Instagram and tag 3 friends. Go here now.

#colorize #silhouetterocks #adventcalendar

How to Make a DIY Cinnamon Bear Drink Stirrer

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Our grandma, also known as Nani to 14 grandkids and Great Nani to 16 great-grandchildren, is one amazing woman. Since we were toddlers, we made monthly trips to grandma and grandpa’s house for sleepovers, homemade biscuits and gravy, hair cuts in Louise’s Beauty Salon {her basement salon}…and artificially-flavored treats.

One thing we could always count on, in addition to all the hugs and kisses, was a full pot of coffee brewing {she loved to spoon-feed us coffee in the mornings}, a bag of Twizzlers in the upstairs cabinet, and a glass jar filled with cinnamon bears in her salon.

To this day, she keeps her treats in the same spot, and everyone makes a beeline straight to the cabinet and glass jar for a sugar fix.

As silly as it may be, we have a special history with cinnamon bears. Even if the memories did not exist, we could not resist the chewy, spicy and sweet goodness of cinnamon bears.

This July 4th, after half the bag makes its way into our bellies, the other half will make its way into our party decor.

First, we made them into place cards. Success!

Now, we transformed them into a DIY edible drink stirrer. We think we can mark this one as a success, too.

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Materials:

  • Cinnamon bears
  • Red, white or blue card stock
  • Mini red pom poms
  • Toothpicks
  • Drink Stir Sticks
  • Sharpie marker
  • Hot glue gun

Directions: 

  1. Cut out mini flags and punch 2 small holes at the top.
  2. Write a name {for a drink tag}, or fun words on the flag, such as cheers! and yay!
  3. Break a toothpick in half, and then insert the toothpick through the two flag holes.
  4. Cut a mini ‘rolled out cone’ shape from the card stock.
  5. Roll the paper into a cone, and use a hot glue gun to glue the seam together.
  6. Glue a pom-pom on top.
  7. Gently push the hat into the cinnamon bears head until it’s stable.
  8. Push the toothpick with the flag into the hands of the cinnamon bear.
  9. Push the cinnamon bear onto a drink stirrer.

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cinnamon-bears-july-4th-diy-drink-stirrer-red-party

 

DIY Paper Stars and Fans to Decorate for the 4th of July

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We had a blast at our #Colorize picnic with ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers, and really want you to have some red, white and blue fun under a willow tree, too, so here’s a couple DIY tutorials from the July 4th picnic. They are big impact, little effort, which means you have to do it.

Thanks to our friend and photographer, Meredith Moran Photography, for playing with us, and capturing great moments.

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DIY 3D Paper Stars

Materials Needed:

Directions:

  1. Cut out 4 stars the same size.
  2. Fold each star in half.
  3. Add glue dots or dabs of glue to one folded side on the top, middle and bottom.
  4. Stack another folded star on top, and press to secure.
  5. Repeat step 4 until all stars form one, large 3D star.
  6. Punch a small hole on top of the star.
  7. Push red and white striped twine through the hole and make a hoop, then hang.

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july-4th-red-white-blue-kid-family-picnic-astrobrights-paper-hanging-stars-diy

DIY Paper Fan

Materials Needed:

  • Double-sided tape
  • Hot glue gun
  • Paper
  • Cut out shape of U.S.A

Directions:

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  1. Cut out all your paper squares. For the large fan, we used 6, 8×8 inch paper squares. For the smaller ones, we cut 4, 6×6 and 3, 4×4 squares. Fold the paper like a paper fan.
  2. Use double-sided tape to tape the edges of the fans together.
  3. Once all the squares are glued you will have a long stretch of ‘fanned’ or accordion paper.
  4. Glue the first and last piece of the paper together so it forms a circle.
  5. Press the circle down so it creates a fan. Add a large dab of hot glue to the middle of the fan, and press down for several minutes until it dries. Make sure the glue touches all parts of the paper.
  6. Use your Silhouette or print and hand-cut a cut out of the U.S.A. Use your hot glue gun to glue the U.S.A. outline in the middle of the fan.

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Instagram media links to follow from this post:
@jsorelle3
@astrobrights
@meredithmoranphoto

Easter Watercolor Bunny Tail Cups

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One of our favorite Easter memories from childhood is the year the Easter bunny brought us chicks. Yes, real live chicks. And, they were green and pink. Sounds totally inhumane, and honestly we have no idea how they did it, or whether it was permanent or not. But, all we know is that the Easter bunny brought us colorful chicks, and we got to feed, pet and care for them for a whole week before we had to bring them back home to a local farm.

Besides our brief stint with chicks, the only real pet we had throughout our childhood was a rabbit. Sweet Thumper.

Painting these DIY bunny tail paper cups brought back memories of our pet rabbit, and the fun memories chasing him all over the yard.

These would make for a cheap and easy addition to your Easter table setting, or a lovely gift filled with candy or small gifts…so let’s hop to it.

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You’ll Need:

  • paper cups {.97 cents for 10}
  • watercolor paints {quality brand like Windsor and Newton, brush and cup of water}
  • cotton balls
  • hot glue gun

How To:

  • Print and cut an outline of a rabbit you find online.
  • Place the rabbit on the cup and lightly trace around it with a pencil.
  • Dip your brush into watercolor paint, and a touch of water and paint within and just on the pencil outline {so you don’t see it} of the rabbit.
  • Let dry.
  • Glue the cotton ball on the tail of the bunny.

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Hoppy Easter!

{images via j. sorelle}

DIY Beach Ball Easter Eggs

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It’s spring break week, so we’re dreaming of spring and the beach…and the sand between our toes. Since snow is still in our forecast, we settled for DIY beach ball Easter eggs. Next year, our goal is to play with the real thing.

beach balls-diy-easter-eggs-red-yellow-blue

You’ll Need:

  • Eggs {real white eggs or plastic fake eggs from Hobby Lobby or Amazon}
  • Red, yellow and blue acrylic paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Pencil

How To:

  • If you’re using real eggs, boil them and let cool.
  • Use a pencil to draw semi-curved lines that resemble a beach ball.
  • Paint the ‘lines’ red, yellow and blue.

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{photos via j. sorelle}