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Home Decor

Little Buddy’s Bedroom Decorations

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Since Little Buddy was born (two years ago), I have wanted decorations for his bedroom. You know, cute pictures that make it feel like a young child’s room. When Little Buddy was out of the infant state, I finally decided to do something about the lack of decor.

When I announced a trip to Hobby Lobby, Mr. Handsome’s was horrified. “We can’t decorate our son’s room with decorations from Hobby Lobby!” he exclaimed.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because I can make him something,” Mr. H replied. “And I don’t love the idea of buying mass-produced art that doesn’t support local artisans.”

I admit that I did go to Hobby Lobby and buy a wooden sign that said, “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” just to have something to put on the walls while we waited. And I hung up a couple of Mr. Handsome’s paintings, too. They weren’t very childish, but at least they added a pop of color.

Mr. Handsome got around to building some 3D woodland animals over Christmas. The process took many hours, and his little work station reminded me of Santa’s Workshop. He borrowed a scroll saw and then painted all the little pieces before assembling them. He glued the finished animals onto white plywood and then framed them using wood from an old family barn that was recently demolished.

The decorations are now up on Little Buddy’s walls. Homemade by Mr. Handsome, but they look professional. Our theme is woodland animals.

DIY Frosted Christmas Lanterns

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‘Tis the season for DIY holiday decor! I had a bit of a rough day a few days ago (can anyone relate?) so my sweet Mr. Handsome encouraged me to treat myself. I think he had a latte in mind, but I opted to head to the craft store to buy supplies to make DIY Christmas lanterns. The process was simple, but I am so pleased with the results that I just have to share the tutorial with you.
I followed The Budget Decorator’s DIY Mason Jar Holiday Luminaria tutorial, but I made several tweaks that made the process even simpler.
For jars, I used three leftover Ball canning jars (pint size, from Walmart) that only had ‘Ball’ written in small letters on the bottom back of the jar, rather than in large letters with measuring marks. I purchased the rest of the supplies at Hobby Lobby. These are the spray paints I used:
frosted Christmas lanterns using spray paint
After placing a letter sticker on each jar, I did 3 coats of frosted glass spray paint, waiting 15 minutes between coats. (It is really important to follow the instructions on the spray paint can. If you hold it too close to the jars, the paint won’t be smooth.) The following morning, I did 3 coats of clear sealer spray paint, also waiting 15 minutes between coats.
I used the glitter shimmer spray paint on the rims. I opted to forgo the lids, but of course that’s just personal preference. (I like the simple look without ribbon, but you can feel free to add ribbon.) If you do use the lids, I recommend purchasing tealights that have built-in timers, so you don’t have to unscrew the lids to turn them on and off. The downside of tea lights with timers is that it can be difficult to find ones with a decent battery life.
homemade mason jar Christmas lanterns
I opted for flameless LED tealights without timers. At the recommendation of one of my Facebook followers, I tied fishing line (which Mr. Handsome has plenty of) around the plastic “flame.” I secured the other end under the rims as I screwed them on. To turn the lanterns on and off, I simply reach in and grab the fishing line to pull the tealights out.
DIY mason jar lanterns
DIY mason jar lanterns for holidays
One more tip. Blasting the stickers with a hairdryer for 20-30 seconds before attempting to peel them off is a must. If you pull them off and still see black flecks on the jar, you probably didn’t get both layers of the sticker. (That happened to one of my jars.) Simply blast it with a hairdryer for another 20-30 seconds, and gently use your fingernail to pick at the flecks. You should be able to pull off a full clear layer, and the black flecks should be gone.
If your stickers leave stickiness behind, allow the jars to set for a few days, and gently use a small amount of Goo Gone on a paper towel to wipe it away.
DIY homemade Christmas decorations

Feel free to choose another holiday word, such as Noel, Rejoice, Hope, Advent, Jolly, or Holly. If you’re feeling really crafty (and have a lot of Mason jars lying around), try Merry Christmas or Visions of Sugar Plumbs…Okay, that might be a bit excessive.

If you make these lanterns and want to take a minute to email me your photos, I would love to see them!

St. Patrick’s Day Decor

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Those who have been following Nashville Wife for a while have heard me mention my oldest sister-in-law, Anne, and how she likes to put decorations up for every holiday. Last year, I posted pictures of her Valentine’s Day and fall decor.Yesterday afternoon, Anne sent me photos of her St. Patrick’s Day decor. (She isn’t Irish and doesn’t celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, but she still enjoys decking her house out in green shamrocks.)

She has a few small chalkboards that she writes cute sayings on for each holiday, and she bought me one for Christmas. I hadn’t used it yet, but when she sent the pictures, I was inspired. The first three photos are from Anne, and the last one is mine.

Our Nephew’s Nursery

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Many of you know that Mr. Handsome is the oldest of seven children. So far, he and his sister Anne are the only ones who are married, although Joseph is engaged and will be tying the knot next month.Anne has a two-year-old daughter named Ana, and she just gave birth to a son! She had the nursery ready before the baby was born and was pleasantly surprised to find out that decorating a boy’s room was just as much fun as a girl’s room.

What do you think of the finished product? Anne and her husband moved Ana to a toddler bed so they wouldn’t have to buy a new crib, and the other items are either gifts or thrift store finds.

Happy Fall, Y’all!

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Now that it’s officially fall, it’s the perfect time to share my sister-in-law’s autumn decorations. Anne is incredibly creative and has a knack for making Pinterest ideas come to life.I have previously shared her decoration for my bridal shower, Valentine’s Day, her son’s gender reveal party, and her daughter’s second birthday party. She texted me these pictures of her autumn decor earlier this week, and I knew you all would enjoy them.

Do you decorate the house for fall? Putting pumpkin spice wax squares in my candle warmer is about as far as I go, but I do enjoy looking at autumn decor.

Valentine’s Day Decorations

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When it comes to decorating, my sister-in-law has a knack for making things cute (and for turning Pinterest ideas into reality). Her style is “classy but elegant,” and she does a wonderful job at creating decor that isn’t too simple or too flashy.What do you think of her Valentine’s Day decorations? They’re all made from items she had on hand. (She also has a talent for turning everyday things into festive accent pieces.)

Tree Stump Ornament

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Sometimes I fool myself into thinking I’m super creative. Last night was one of those times

I made this ornament out of a piece of stump from our Christmas tree. We would have loved to cut down our own tree, but my husband has a busy work schedule this month, so we went to Lowe’s. We chose a five-foot tree that was on sale for $20.

The employee who helped us find our tree was a sweet young man, probably in his late teenage years. He trimmed a few branches off the bottom and asked if I wanted to keep them, telling me they would look great as indoor decorations. I regretfully declined, knowing we would have no place to display them in our tiny, newlywed rental home.

He also asked if I wanted to keep the 1/2-inch thick slice of wood that he cut off the bottom of the stump. “Lots of people turn theirs into ornaments to commemorate their first Christmas as a married couple or their child’s first Christmas,” he explained.

“What a great idea!” I thought. So you’ll never guess what I did. I took the piece of stump home and turned it into an ornament.

The credit for this keepsake that we will cherish for years to come goes to the young man at Lowe’s. All I did was sand the edges (using a brick on the side of our house), drill a hole for the ribbon (using a screwdriver), and write “Our 1st Christmas Tree 2015” on both sides of the ornament (using red and green Sharpies). And I drew a Christmas tree.

I think the moral of the story is that the young man at Lowe’s is way more creative than I am.

Displaying our Wedding Vows

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Soon after our March 2015 engagement, we decided to write our own marriage vows. (Click here to read them.) We wrote a rough draft together, and then we each took that draft and made the vows our own.While decorating our rental house after the wedding, I wanted to display our vows in a place where we would see them every day. What better place than above our bed? (I considered hanging them in the living room, but that seemed too public.)

Instead of paying a pretty penny for professional framing, I purchased two pieces of blue cardstock paper at Jo-Ann for $0.20, printed our vows in a fancy cursive font, and placed them in 8×10 picture frames from the Bed Bath and Beyond clearance rack. What do you think of my arrangement?

50-Cent Kitchen Decorations

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During my college years–which I spent living in a house with three dozen other Christian girls–I decorated my dorm room walls with paper flowers from the Michael’s clearance rack. Each flower cost only 50 cents. After graduation, I packed the flowers into a box and forgot about them.

While moving into our rental home after our wedding, I was surprised to find my 50-cent wall decorations. How exciting! Using sticky tack, I carefully placed the flowers throughout our kitchen, which instantly made the room seem brighter and more cheerful.

For those who are wondering, I have not been able to find these flowers for sale online. Perhaps check the clearance rack at your local Michaels. 🙂