Top 5 Holiday DIYs of Christmas Past

November 30, 2018 No Comments A Well Crafted Party

“Just hear those sleigh bells jinglin’, ring ting tinglin’ to…” Tis the season for catchy, classic tunes, hot cocoa by the fire, and holiday DIYs! It is my favorite time of the year and to celebrate it, I’ve created some fresh new content for a new batch of 12 Days of Christmas DIYs that will begin tomorrow, December 1st.

In beginning new DIY cocktails, entertainment, and crafts for the blog I first had to go back through my hundreds of posts to see what I’ve done before. That got me all nostalgic and I had to share some of my favorite Holiday DIYs from Christmas Past.

DIY Branch Holiday Card Holder

Christmas cards are coming to town and often, I struggle with where to display them! I love opening the mail and seeing bright and shiny faces of my loved ones and messages of holiday cheer. I don’t want them sitting in a pile along with my bills! For a rustic holiday touch, you can easily create a holiday card holder utilizing a fallen or trimmed branch.

DIY Holiday Neighbor Gift + Free Printable

Finding holiday gifts that are affordable, but nice for neighbors or coworkers is always something that I struggle with each holiday season. One of my favorite solutions was this Healthy and Happy Holiday gift that included an orange, tea, and honey! The free printable tags could really work for a variety of holiday gift ideas that include healthful treats.

Holiday Wine Gift Tags – Free Printables

Every year I attend at least one or two holiday events where I inevitably want to bring a bottle of wine as a hostess gift or addition to the holiday cheer. Printing off these holiday wine bottle tags makes the gift of wine look intentional and festive!

Holiday Recipe Cards

Have you ever gone to a holiday potluck and fallen in love with one of the dishes to be disappointed that you have no way to recreate it? I have! These holiday recipe cards make for awesome favors or additions to a holiday potluck so friends can share their favorite recipes.

Easy DIY Holiday Recipes

Speaking of holiday party recipes… This final favorite DIY is actually a series of easy recipe solutions for holiday parties. My segment on Portland Today shared three easy holiday party food DIYs.

More Holiday Party Tips

Want some more simple holiday DIYs? Check out my segment on Afternoon Live where I share some really easy holiday party tips and DIY projects.

bright colored party

Easy Party Backdrop

February 4, 2018 1 Comment bright colored party

A stunning party backdrop does not have to be complicated to make nor expensive. One of my favorite party secrets is using simple square paper plates taped directly on the wall to create an easy party backdrop for a food table or perhaps a photo booth backdrop.

This post is created in partnership with Oriental Trading. All opinions are my own. I’ve been a customer of Oriental Trading for years! It is one of my go-to resources for party goods. The party color scheme was inspired by Oriental Trading plates. Scroll below for links to each of the products that I used within this party, or gather even more inspiration from Oriental Trading’s Galentine’s Day Party Supplies. This post contains affiliate links (marked at each link) which help provide income for this blog with each purchase at no cost to my readers.

Easy & Inexpensive DIY Backdrop

Creating this backdrop only requires a couple of inexpensive supplies and less than 10 minutes (depending on its size). This particular backdrop was approximately 5 feet wide and 5.5 feet tall.

DIY Backdrop Supplies

The amount of plates that you need will vary depending on how large of a wall you are making. The easiest way to estimate how many plates you will need is to measure your wall and measure your plates. A standard dinner size square plate measures 9.25 inches. For an approximately six foot wide and six foot tall backdrop you’ll need about 64 plates. My project, which was a bit smaller, took 42 plates.

Square paper plates (affiliate link)
Painter’s tape (affiliate link)

DIY Backdrop Directions

There are only two steps to putting this backdrop together. You simply have to double up your painters tape, attach to plate, and then attach the plate to the wall! I used four pieces of tape per plate to keep the plate up. The best part of using this as a decoration is that after the party you can simply take down the plates, remove the tape, and use them again for future parties as either a decoration or as a plate!

What is you party secret? Let me know in the comments below!

Freebies

Build Your Own Succulent Terrarium Party Activity

August 28, 2017 4 Comments Freebies

Creating a Build Your Own Succulent Terrarium activity for your next shower will surely delight guests that are bored of the normal baby shower activities. I’ve said it before, but I am NOT a fan of traditional baby shower games and activities. Don’t get me wrong… I will play along like a champ at a baby shower and there is no judgement from me when other people enjoy drinking from a bottle or trying to guess which candy bar has melted into a diaper. Way back in the past I even planned a party with a few of those traditional games.

Nowadays though, I tend to opt for a different style of baby shower activity including activities that create items for the guest of honor like decorating onesies or creating cool crafts that double as party favors.

How to Create a Build Your Own Succulent Terrarium Party Activity

I recently co-hosted a baby shower for a friend with a love for natural elements. As we were planning out ideas for the event my co-host, Lisa from This Beautiful Day, came up with a great idea to have a Build Your Own Succulent Terrarium activity. I instantly loved the idea because the activity could be a triple-threat for the party providing a decor element, activity, and favor all in one.

When putting together the activity I wanted to find supplies as affordably as possible while still making them true terrariums. I was lucky to find a great little terrarium kits that included all of the supplies other than potting soil, succulents, and the vases. I purchased two of the kits to cover around 12 guests, 1 bag of potting soil specifically for use with cactuses, and 12 round glass vases. I found the vases at the Dollar Tree for $1 each!

Instructions for use for printable instructions:

When complete these tall and skinny instructions can be set in a mini glass container, propped up next to your activity table, or added to a favor bag with supplies for creating a mini terrarium.

Click the above image to download the free printable Make Your Own Terrarium Instructions sheet. Save to your computer.
Print on white cardstock in full color
Cut along the sides of the set of instructions. There are three sets of instructions per page.

Instructions for setting up a succulent terrarium activity:

First Step: Place the following items out in bowls and platters:

sand
gravel
sphagnum moss
soil
succulent plants
sea glass
reindeer moss

Second Step: Put instructions in each glass vase.

Let guests enjoy making their own mini-terrariums.

More from this party:

A Succulent Themed Baby Shower (Running with Tongs)
How to Create a Delicious Vegan Cheese Board (This Beautiful Day Blog)
How to Create a Brunch DIY Avocado Toast Bar (This Beautiful Day Blog)

Party DIYs

DIY Branch Holiday Card Holder

DIY Holiday Neighbor Gift + Free Printable

Holiday Wine Gift Tags – Free Printables

Holiday Recipe Cards

Easy DIY Holiday Recipes

More Holiday Party Tips

Easy & Inexpensive DIY Backdrop

DIY Backdrop Supplies

DIY Backdrop Directions

What is you party secret? Let me know in the comments below!

How to Create a Build Your Own Succulent Terrarium Party Activity