Project Holiday - Getting the house ready...

I love when October finally hits...it means I am no longer hiding my addiction to holiday decor. I love making the house look festive, and my son for days has been toddling around the house squealing at all the lights and other things that are coming out for the season. This year I decided that I would bring out the old fake Christmas tree early and make it work for three months instead of just one. I also LOVE the fake tea lights...with a little one they are a blessing..and are used liberally throughout my house. Most of my decorations have been collected from over the years, but the dollar store, and sale items from my favorite craft store helped tie my theme together. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have great looking decorations! Here is a peek into my October deco...

I wanted to use my fall decorations differently, therefore I decided that putting the tree up and using it as a backdrop for my autumn decorations was the best bet for me this year. I just used some dried corn cobs, fake tea lights, wrapped some burlap around it, stuck some fake pumpkins in, drizzled some leaves here and there, and then used some "old" family decorations for added charm ( a turkey and a cornucopia). I also brought out my Christmas lamp post and just wrapped it with leaves...

 

At night the tea lights look so lovely. My son sits and looks at them and smiles.

I always decorate my table. This year I have opted for a more minimal decor, because I have a toddler that can reach anything that is near the sides of the table. I bought a white owl pitcher, found a tractor, used my old girl and boy farmer statues, a lantern from my wedding, some fake leaves and fruits, and then carved a jackolantern (from a fake pumpkin of course). I hung the jack o lantern from my chandelier ( to create the mood from the Harry Potter Halloween feast scene). I used fishing line to hang it and stuck a fake tea light inside. My son LOVES this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least are the huge bookshelves in my family room. I adore books, especially old hardbacks. Most of the year these books are stacked neatly, but I decided to add some whimsy to them this year - again giving it the look of the bookstore from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. All I used were my own books, the fake tea lights, and some odds and ends from around the house. I think it looks fun...neat freaks might stroke out on this one :-)

 

 

 

 

I am still working on a few things in my house and outside for my door, but I have to say it feels like fall INSIDE my house even though outside it is still 80 degrees. Happy Fall!

Project Holiday...Cereal box books

After several failed attempts at making these cereal box books for my harry potter theme, I finally found a working formula...here is what you will need.

Materials:

• cereal boxes or cake mix boxes ( anything will do)
• scissors
• tape
• hot glue or Elmer's glue
• tissue paper or construction
• white paper towels
• sharpie
• toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls

Assembly:

1. Cut your cereal boxes along one side. You should then be able to open up the box and lay it flat.
   

   

   Make sure you just cut along the seam...you want all the edges!

2. Now reassemble the box with the plan cardboard facing out. Tape the edges back together.

   

   Tape tape!

3. Cut the toilet paper roll or paper towel roll in half lengthwise. Attach( with hot glue or Elmer's ) this to one side of your box - this is the spine of the book.
   

   

   Tape the cut roll on one side.

4. Tape (or glue) white paper towels on the other 3 sides of the box- these are the pages.
   
5. Take the tissue paper and wrap around the book leaving a small edge. Glue these down. You can also tear up bits of paper and glue down to create a mosaic look.
   
   
6. Draw lines on the paper towels - the pages
7. Title your book - on the spine
8. Viola cheap decorations!
   
   

You can use these books for book report projects or as decoration for you classroom or library. Cheap and easy.

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I also decided that I would add some whimsy to my bookcases this fall. I wanted the shelves to look like the bookstore in Harry Potter, so here is the result. Artful mess!

 

 Happy Decorating!