Holiday decorating Archives - Page 4 of 21

PVC Pipe Heart Decoration

Who knew PVC pipe could look this good? With some paint and hot glue, you can easily make this heart decoration for Valentine's Day!

PVC Pipe Heart Decoration

Hi there, Pretty Handy Girl readers! I’m Vineta from The Handyman’s Daughter, back with another tutorial! I was in the hardware store the other day, and I was inspired to create something using the many different sizes of PVC pipe. With Valentine’s Day coming up, I must have had hearts on the brain. That’s why I created this cute PVC pipe heart decoration for my mantel!

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

White PVC pipe of various diameters (1/2″, 3/4″, 1″ and 1 ¼” interior diameters)
Acetone
80 grit sandpaper
White spray paint
Pink paint
Flat artist brush
Hot glue and glue gun

Instructions for Making a PVC Heart Decoration:

At the hardware store, look for a rack with 2 foot long precut pipe. It was a relief to not have to haul home 10 foot long pieces for this small project! I grabbed one of each size.

Most PVC pipes have letters and bar codes printed on the side of them. To remove it, just wipe down each piece with acetone.

Once the PVC pipe is clean, mark 2″ sections and cut with a miter saw, jigsaw, or hand saw. You can also use a pipe cutter like Brittany shows in this video:

Cut more than you think you’ll need. You might find you’ll need more of some sizes and less of others to make your heart shape.

Give each end of the cut pipe a brief sanding with the 80 grit sandpaper to remove any rough edges. Wipe the cut pipes down with a damp paper towel to remove any dust.

Set out all the pieces with a little space in between, then give them a few coats of white spray paint.

Once the spray paint is dry, paint the inside of each pipe with bright pink paint using a flat artist brush. Be careful not to get pink paint on the outside edge!

Arrange the pieces until you achieve a symmetrical heart shape. Don’t get frustrated, it took me a few tries to achieve the perfect heart. Make sure each piece is touching at least two other pieces so they can be glued together in the next step.

Apply a bead of hot glue to the sides where the pvc circles touch each other. If you get a big blob of glue, it’s easy to peel off and try again. Remove any strings of glue as you build your heart decoration.

Now your PVC pipe heart decoration is ready to display!

I love the pop of color, especially on these gray, dreary winter days!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Don’t forget to stop by and visit me at The Handyman’s Daughter for lots of woodworking projects, home improvement tips and DIY home decor ideas!

~ view more of Vineta’s projects ~

Want more Valentine’s Day decor ideas? Here are 10 Unique Ways to Decorate for Valentine’s Day:

Or make this beautiful light up Valentine’s Day sign in no time!

February 7, 2018/3 Comments/by Vineta Jackson

Decorating, Holiday decorating, organizational tips, storage

9 Holiday Storage Hacks

Now that Christmas is over, you’re probably in one of these two camps.

Camp #1: Christmas is over, time to pack everything away pronto.
Camp #2: Christmas is over, but I want to enjoy the decorations for a while longer. I’ll put them away in the new year.

Regardless of which camp you belong to, I have several Holiday Storage Hacks to help you store the holiday items for next year!

Plastic and Foam Cups:

There will always be ornaments to pack away after the holidays. Protect them from getting crushed or breaking by storing them inside individual disposable cups. For fragile ornaments, insert a foam cup inside the larger plastic cup before placing the breakable ornament inside. This gives a nice cushion around the ornament and creates a nice even layer in the bottom of your storage bin, which is helpful for the next hack.

Lasagna Method:

Don’t just throw your ornaments in the bin. Start at the bottom of your bin and place a layer of ornaments stored in cups. (Easy to do if you use the first hack above!) Place a piece of foam over the cups and continue with a second layer of ornaments. Again, add another piece of foam, then place ornaments that lay flat or are very thin on top of that last layer of foam. They will be protected and ready to go for decorating next year.

Saran Wrap the Tree:

Artificial trees can be cumbersome and messy when store them away. To neatly pack your artificial trees use a roll of plastic wrap to secure the branches together, making it easier to carry and store. Bonus, you might actually be able to get that tree back in the box you bought it in!

Linen Zipper Pouches:

If you have a collection of small tea lights and candles, use an old linen zippered pouch from your last blanket purchase. These are perfect for storing your tea lights, batteries, and other similar items until next year. The clear bag also lets you see exactly what’s inside.

Cardboard Light Holder:

Do your lights get tangled up by the following year? This year put an end to the frustration by cutting out a large rectangular section of cardboard (shipping boxes or cereal boxes work great.) Make a small slit on one end to hold the end plug of your light strand. Wrap the lights around the cardboard to keep them secure and organized and ready to put up next year. This hack also allows you to store the strands upright to save on space. It may take a bit of extra time now, but will save you time (and curse words) next year!

Store Like Items Together:

I don’t know about you, but in the past my bins were filled with random holiday items. I struggled to find a particular item. To solve this issue, put similar items into one bin. Next year you’ll know exactly where all of the lights are in an instant. Label the outside of each bin to help speed through the decorating process.

Hang Wreaths:

Wreaths are large and take up a lot of bin space. To store your wreaths, put them on hangers in an extra closet. If you don’t have closet space, nail a horizontal board to the rafters in your attic or garage and hang them there.

Gift Wrap Storage:

Gift wrap rolls are long and can be difficult to store. Use a bin or basket in the corner and store your gift wrap upright. This prevents the rolls from getting crushed and they are easy to grab next time you need to wrap a present. Feel free to store birthday and other holiday wraps as well.

Or, create this under the bed gift wrap station like Her Toolbelt made:

Bins for Gift Bags, Ribbons, & Tissue Paper:

Fold your gift bags neatly and place them inside clear storage bins. Organize by size or celebration and you’ll have a great place to go whenever you need to quickly wrap a gift. Use another bin for ribbon spools and yet another for scrap ribbons (never let those scraps go to waste.) The clear bins make it easy to grab the correct bin, no matter how last minute you’re putting the gift together.

There you have it! Holiday clean up doesn’t have to be stressful, just keep it organized and use these hacks to make your holiday decor last for years to come. Do you have any storage hacks for holiday decorations that you would add to this list? Please share them in the comments!

December 26, 2017/4 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Decorating, Holiday decorating, Home Tour

Holiday Home Tour 2017

Happy Holidays! I can’t believe the holidays are here once again. This will be my seventh holiday home tour shared with you. I honestly can not believe I’ve been running this little old blog of mine since 2010. (These are my holiday home tours from 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.) You may have noticed there was a gap, because in 2012 I was up to my ear-plugged ears building our kitchen back after a water leak. But, enough about moldy messes and termite damage, won’t you come in for the annual holiday home tour.

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

In the past I’ve dressed up my faux wreaths (with less than $20 in supplies) for the front doors, but this year a pair of live pine wreaths whispered my name at Lowe’s. Obviously, I caved.

I’m participating in a group tour with several other fabulous home bloggers.

You’ll definitely want to see inside each of their homes:

Just a Girl
Home Stories A to Z
Honey We’re Home
Tatertots and Jello
Hi Sugarplum
A Thoughtful Place
Not Just a Housewife
Centsational Style
The Inspired Room
320 Sycamore
Thrifty Decor Chic

Be sure to go see Sawdust Girl’s holiday home tour tomorrow!

Because I consider you a friend, why don’t you come in through the mudroom entrance. That’s the door we use, only solicitors come to the front door.

Feel free to take your coat off and stay for a while.

I’m brewing some fresh coffee and would love to offer you my own version of a mocha latte. Or you can make your own specialty coffee at the coffee bar I set up.

The table is set for the holidays. This year I chose to decorate with blue Spode plates and pretty blue-green eucalyptus leaves.

In the corner I set up a vintage Flexible Flyer sled under the winter words chalkboard art. If you like my sign, I have a free printable you can download for yourself here.

Now that you have a hot drink in hand, let’s head into the living room.

This year I decorated using rustic accents and neutrals. The camellias and rose hips are picked fresh from the yard. Nothing beats free greenery!

I did purchase some pine bough rope, a package of paperwhites, and eucalyptus leaves on the cheap for the rest of my natural decorations.

The wreath over the mantel is a combination of two wreaths and some eucalyptus leaves tucked into it. I love the natural feel of this casual green wreath.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the paperwhites to bloom. It should be any day now.

Let’s head into the heart of the home, our kitchen.

This room was a labor of love for certain. It took me 13 months to build the kitchen back after a water leak and subsequent mold left us with an empty room down to the studs.

But, the upside of all the damage was I was able to make design changes to the room. One of those changes involved building a built-in window seat bench with storage inside. This freed up room in the kitchen as we can push the table up against the window seat.

I don’t usually add much to the kitchen except some simple touches like a beaded garland on the chandelier. I admit, I like it so much I’ve left it on the light well into late January sometimes. Can you blame me?

Adding the wreaths to the window this year seemed like a fun way to reuse these little faux boxwood wreaths.

And of course, one wreath on the custom range hood I built.

I always enjoy adding some winter decor to the built in desk and wall-mounted hutch in the corner of our kitchen.

Blue Mason jars with epson salt and a votive candles bring a little snow vibe into the house.

The front foyer is where we keep my boys’ advent calendars. I was thinking there will come a day when they are off to college and it won’t seem right not having the advent calendars here. The thought makes me a bit melancholy, especially since our oldest will be a freshman in high school next year. That leaves me with four more years having both boys under my roof. *sniff, sniff*

I hope you are having a wonderful Holiday season and are able to avoid all the rushing around. Thank you so much for visiting my home today.

December 20, 2017/13 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Decorating, Holiday decorating

DIY Stocking Holders from Scrap Wood

Decorate your mantel for Christmas with these DIY stocking holders made of scrap wood!

Hi there, Pretty Handy Girl readers! I’m Vineta from The Handyman’s Daughter, back with another tutorial for you! I have a mountain of wood scraps in my workshop, and the hardest pieces to use up are those pesky 2 x 4 end cuts. Lucky for you, I figured out an adorable way to use them! Feast your eyes on those gorgeous gift-wrapped stocking holders for your mantel!

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Scrap 2 x 4
Router or chisel
Mantel hooks
Wrapping paper and bows
Hot glue gun

Instructions:

Gather up your scrap 2 x 4 pieces, especially those really ugly ones! Mine had paint splatters, stain samples and random pocket holes. Cut all to the same size.

Center the mantel hooks and mark the width on the bottom of the scrap wood.

Cut a channel deep enough for the mantel hook to sit in. (I used a router for this, but you could chip it out with a chisel, use a Dremel, or use a table saw.

Cut a piece of wrapping paper big enough to cover the entire wood block. Fold the bottom edge then line up the cut channel end with the edge of the fold.

Wrap the wrapping paper around the sides of the block and tape it in the back.

Fold the top of the wrapping paper like a present, with the tape on the back side.

Add a festive bow to the front. Cut a notch in the wrapping paper at the front and back of the cut groove and fold it inward.

Apply hot glue to the groove and attach the mantel hook. (I cut my grooves a little too deep, so I filled in the extra space with more hot glue until the metal was flush with the surface of the wood.)

These hooks stretch over the mantel and clamp around the edge securely with its grippy surface. Now you don’t have to worry about little ones or pets pulling heavy stockings down on their heads! Santa can load up them with goodies and they won’t budge!

I love how all these stocking holders look lined up on the mantel. It was totally worth suffering through our fireplace remodel last year for this!

These stockings are all ready for Santa!

Want more ideas for hanging your stocking? I’ve rounded up 14 more stocking holders to buy or DIY, even if you don’t have a fireplace!

Have a wonderful holiday, and I’ll be back with another tutorial in the New Year!

~ view more of Vineta’s projects ~

December 6, 2017/1 Comment/by Vineta Jackson

arts and craft, Decorating, Holiday decorating, Home Decor, wreath

Make an Elegant Holiday Wreath for Less than $20

Have you ever been in a home decor store and fell head over heels in love with a wreath only to gag at the $50 or more price tag? Put your wallet away, because today I want to show you how you can turn an inexpensive wreath into an Elegant Holiday Wreath for Less than $20! Who knows, you might already have one of these cheap wreaths and some of the supplies in storage — making your cost almost FREE!

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions:

Remove anything you don’t want to keep from your store bought wreath. Fluff out the wreath by bending the branches to make it look larger and more full.

Grab your tree picks and decide where you want to place them on the wreath. Use strong wire cutters to cut off some of the length from the stems.

Curve the main branch of the tree pick so it mimics the curve of the wreath. Push the end of the stem under some of the wreath branches then back up so there is tension to hold the pick in place. Wrap some wreath branches around the entire pick to hold it firmly and disguise the stem. (If you are using heavier tree picks, you can secure them using floral wire.)

Repeat the process for the other tree picks. Leave a blank space at the top for the ribbon.

Time to add some color! Make a u-shape with some floral wire and push it through the top of an ornament. Place the ornament on the wreath. Wrap the floral wire around the wreath, twist the wire to secure from the backside of the wreath.

Evenly space the remaining ornaments, then attach with florist wire.

To complete the wreath, take a length of ribbon and loop it around the top of the wreath. You can tie a bow if that is your preference, but I prefer the simple look this year.