All posts tagged: decorate

yarn wrap.

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A cozy yarn craft for Fall! Materials: Wood ornament wreath – You can also wrap letter ornaments. Assorted yarn – Try a variety of colors and textures. Scissors Craft needle I removed the hanging string so I could wrap the entire ornament. Begin by tying a double knot. Trim the tail to less than an inch. Begin wrapping, keeping the wraps close together. I wrapped over the yarn tail to hide it. Overlap yarn to completely cover the ornament. Once you’re ready to switch colors, tie the first and second yarn ends to each other with an overhand knot. Continue wrapping, again wrapping over the yarn tails. You can “go back” and overlap the wraps to cover any gaps. Shortcut/style choice: double up the yarn and wrap two strands at the same time. Once you’ve wrapped the entire ornament (you can also partially wrap the ornament – it’s up to you!) use a craft needle to assist with tying a double knot. Then sew in the loose tail into a few of the yarn wraps …

the tissue issue.

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I recently refreshed my memory on how to make tissue paper flowers. It’s so easy and the results are so pretty I had to share! These would pair nicely with some piñata crafts, too. Here are a few: burro, piña, hearts. Materials: tissue paper, string or staples, scissors Layer 6-8 pieces of tissue paper. If starting with a large piece of tissue paper, fold into sixths or eighths. Cut all the folds. For larger-in-diameter flowers, use more layers of tissue paper. Accordion fold the stacked tissue paper. Snip two small triangles out from the middle. Secure with cord or staple. Cut the ends with your desired flower petal shape (e.g., curved, pointed). Gently separate the tissue layers and fluff. If you rip the tissue, no worries; just fluff a little more to hide the tears. Attach to a piñata with cord or hot glue, or secure to walls for a fun backdrop. Oh! These would make cute Christmas tree decorations, too. Try it out with different colors or sizes of tissue paper, or attach two …

did you get the memo?

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I taught another felt succulent workshop at Rare Bird, but this time we designed memo boards. I had leftover wire pieces from some shelving and was thinking about how I could use them for an art project. And then it dawned on me – put a felt succulent on it! And a memo board workshop was born. It had been a few months since my last workshop at Rare Bird, and since then, they’ve consolidated their space. It’s half as big as before but still packed with lots of creative magic. My set up for class — For my succulent workshops I usually bring a set color palette, but this time I brought a rainbow of felt and let workshop goers pick their favorite colors. It’s so fun to watch people create and see them get excited when they complete a project. I had three people sign up for memo boards, but we had a no-show, so I ended up teaching a private class to a mom and daughter duo. They created such beautiful work. …

galaxy grandma.

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My friends and I threw a grandma shower for our soon-to-be-grandma friend Sahskkia! The theme: Galaxy Grandma (because her grandson’s name was inspired by a constellation). We reserved a table at Riggers Loft in Richmond. They have a large space next to the water. The table we reserved was already beautiful (solid wood!) so we only decorated with a few additions – golden faux candles and twinkle lights, some fun signs that my friend printed out, gold star table scatter, and a plate of cupcakes for the centerpiece (more on the cupcakes in a later post!). We had wine for the table, but some also tried other beverages. Plus, there was a taco truck. Instead of typical party games, we had our own watercolor paint night. The idea was to create galaxy cacti, inspired by Aima Kessy of Dainty Rebel, to continue with the galaxy grandma theme. Clearly, I was most excited for the crafty portion of the evening (so many photos!). Beautiful! What a fun place to host a celebration! In addition to awesome staff, …

craft lady reporting for duty.

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A friend of a friend got married and I was craft summoned! I helped with day-of decor set up. It felt like a craft challenge. It was pretty exciting. The reception was held at Hillside Community Church in El Cerrito just a mile from my home. When I arrived the bride had a whole squad of decor helpers setting up all of the guest tables. The decor themes included elephants and travel so they had postcards and elephant figurines on display. My mission: pie bar set up and assorted sign making! I brought some of my craft lady display boxes and decor, and was given doilies, fabrics, and chalkboards to play with. My friend Laura was on map duty, as well as signs, making sure everything was pretty, and then tending bar at the wedding – she did it all! Before/During:  Display hack: tape boxes together for varied height! Font inspo: the wedding invites! After:  Pie bar close ups! I’m really into these crocheted doilies and golden elephants! And I couldn’t help but take so …

fruit party.

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Another coworker leaving means another fun party to throw! 😦 and 🙂 We made it a summer theme and asked people to bring fruits and veggies to share. We dubbed this all the “Hello Summer, Bye Bye Melissa.” party! One coworker made a watermelon basket! We also had cucumber-blueberry water and some pan dulce (in case fruits and veggies were too healthy… 😉 ). For decor, I raided my honeycomb and paper stash. I picked a few honeycombs in summery colors – I thought they would pair nicely with all the fresh fruits and veggies. I also made tiny honeycomb fruits on sticks by adding a paper leaf on top. Placing them in jars with floral sand added some nice height to the tablescape. I also made food picks with washi tape, and I found one paper fan in my party decor stash so I made a kiwi wedge – thanks Oh Happy Day! Plus, for added tablescape fun (or chaos!) I cut fruity scrapbook paper into scatterable sizes – kind of like large, easy-to-clean-up confetti. And what …

chocolate party.

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My sister and I threw a chocolate themed party for Father’s Day this year. We had a chocolate tasting, a chocolate inspired menu, and a chocolate activity. This could be a fun party idea for any occasion! Chocolate Tasting I searched for locally made chocolate bars and found Nohmad Snack co based in Torrance. We tried four of their single origin bars. Chocolate Menu It was a fun challenge to come up with a chocolate menu that wasn’t all sweet. I made chicken mole, cauliflower and peppers with picada sauce, and chocolate bread pudding. For the mole, I used Oaktown Spice Shop‘s Mole Poblano blend – a nice shortcut! For the veggie dish, oh my gosh, make double the picada sauce – it is so good. For the bread pudding, I was super impressed that I made a custard and not egg drop soup! Chocolate Activity What’s a family hang out day without an activity! My sister put together a design-your-own chocolate dessert topping. My niece got really into it. She made a double-sided piece! …