diy Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Podcast + Valentine Wreath

Happy Celebrate Southern Day! Yup, it’s officially a day on my calendar, so let’s celebrate! First things first, there is a new episode of the Celebrate Southern Podcast LIVE! This week, J and I are discussing MEDIA KITS for bloggers! She is a pro on this topic so I can’t wait for you to listen in! I learned SO MUCH! You can listen along on the righthand side of my blog or right here:

If you want to see the notes for this podcast (or catch up on past podcasts) please click here.

Now how about a fun DIY project, right in time for February 14?

Just in case you haven’t noticed… I absolutely adore wreaths. They add a great touch of southern flair to any naked corner of your home, indoors or out. Yes, I said naked. Giggle giggle. With all of the recent cleaning and packing happening around the house - I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to “decorate” for Valentine’s Day. I decided to just stick with the mantle and then make a cute wreath.

In case you need to check out my wreath resume before proceeding any further into this post, you can see one here, here, and my favorite spring one here!

The best part of this Valentine’s wreath project is that it is really simple and takes very little time. Please don’t feel that just because this lovely, loving Hallmark Holiday is less than a week away that you don’t have time for one last festive project. This project will take you five minutes and really doesn’t even need a tutorial. You just grab your glue gun, your wreath-y supplies, then go crazy!

Supplies:

Grapevine Wreath. The wreath I used was buried in my messy craft closet. I bought about 5 of them last year when they were on sale for $3 each.
Valentine Ornaments (or Clearance Christmas Ornaments in Valentine-y colors!) I found mine at Walmart for $1.24 a piece… not so shabby right?
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon (preferably wired ribbon)

Directions:

Pick your pattern and plan where you want to lay your ornaments. Again, super easy. I’m pretty sure even Chloe could’ve made this wreath if I let her use the glue gun. Once you have your color and pattern plan - start gluing! Keep in mind that you need to leave space for the ribbon. (I used leftover ribbon from a Christmas project… I feel like the addition of the ribbon really helps make it pop. Oh, and it’s sparkly so duh.) I have yet to master the “real wreath bow” making. You know, those super gorgeous, loopy ones? So I stick to the simple bow tie. If anyone has tips on how to make beautiful wreath bows - please help a sister out.

Ta daaaa! Here is my finished, 5 minute Valentine Grapevine Wreath. It cost me a mere $5 and can easily be recreated. So get on that… it’s not to late for one last valentine decoration this year!

2 cats & chloe: valentine burlap banner // DIY Wreath // Grapevine wreath

And because a have a few more cute valentine-y decorations up… heres a little sneak peek of a couple more projects you can easily recreate as well! I love my burlap heart banner and “Love Letters” that are simply covered in scrapbook paper!

What Valentine’s projects did you do this year? Do you have any plans with your significant other this weekend?

As always, thanks for joining stopping by and joining the linkup fun! Let us know what you think about the podcast! Like I said, I found this information extremely helpful and I think you will as well. Now you know the drill - get to it and have a wonderful week!

*I’m linking up here today!

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CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Cotton and Magnolia Thanksgiving Setting

by Susan

Yes, I’m that girl. The girl who has her Thanksgiving tablescape in mind a month or so prior to the holiday. I also had my tables moved and set last week. Yes, LAST WEEK! A week and a half prior to Turkey Day!! You see, I suffer from the occasional bout of anxiety, and having our tables set and ready, put me at ease and allowed me to be a bit more creative and a lot less stressed. So today, while we are Celebrating all things Southern - I want to share my place settings for Thursday with you!

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I “borrowed” a bucket or two of cotton from a Carolina farmer? Remember how I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with the cotton branches? Well… I think they were put to great use! Who knew that Magnolia leaves and Cotton Plants paired so well to form an elegant, festive look?

As you can see, I put some of my golden wedding decorations to use for this table setting too. {I have 200 gold chargers in my closet in case any one needs to rent them!} I also used a few of our left over golden glitter votives, because what’s a celebration without a bit of glitter?? The burlap runner was actually cut off of a humungous spool of burlap from Liz’s wedding {that her mom gifted me at the end of the night! i.e. best gift ever!}

I did swing by World Market this past week and found a great deal on these burgundy cloth napkins, a wine bottle turkey outfit, and these oh so fun gold and white striped candle sticks!

While I LOVE decorations and awesomely creative centerpieces, I feel like the excessive details are not 100% necessary for Thanksgiving. My table, while it looks nice, does look a bit “empty” in the eye of this event planner. But that was done for a reason. We are a “pass-the-green-bean-casserole” kinda family. We try to put as much food on the table as possible, rather than plating up in the kitchen like we do for normal dinners.

I spray painted magnolia leaves {again, “borrowed” from my parents’ front yard} with a metallic gold spray paint, and then used a sharpee to write little notes on them. My favorite being “Gobble Gobble!” My original plan was to write each person’s name on them in a fancy font but as it seems, our guest count keeps changing and I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.

And since I do not like to waste great crafting supplies, I threaded a few more cotton balls and hung them on our wedding wish tree! I absolutely adore the rustic, yet chic look of the cotton plant as a decorative piece. I highly recommend you “borrow” some for your own home next year!

Are you hosting Thanksgiving at your house? Do you have anything special planned for your decor? I’m really excited to bring together both families, lots of food {including gluten free stuffing!!} and tons of pies and sweets. Tis the season y’all!

Now join the Celebrate Southern fun! Share a Southern-Inspired post of any topic! We welcome and love posts about crafts, fashion, home decor, recipes, holiday traditions, pets, and even reviews of great southern restaurants and cities! Grab a button and link up below! Then come back later this week… Olivia Benson is taking over my blog! {Yup, you read that right! See you then!}

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CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: DIY Jewelry Stand

by Susan

Do you ever have those days where you feel like crafting but real life gets in the way? Days when you would give an arm and a leg to just play with some glitter and use a hot glue gun for 30 minutes? Today was one of those days for me. I did not have 5 free minutes to do anything other than work, house chores, and googling things about border collie puppies. Priorities right?!

So today, I am recycling a very old post. And when I say “very old” I mean it dates back to at least 2011 when my only reader was my mother and anyone who googled me from my online dating days. I am not a huge fan of recycling posts, but this is a project that deserves a bit more press. Yes, the pictures are super sucky, but I use this jewelry stand every day, and I think you may love it. So let’s Celebrate all things Southern, with this really fun blast from my past: the anti-jewelry box solution.

{Cue the flash back music to Pre-Taylor-Turns-Pop and Pre-Marriage…}

Yesterday you got to see the inside of my messy bathroom and what I did to help organize my necklaces without using the infamous jewelry box. But what about the pile of ear rings? I like to keep my jewelry out, so I can see it, and decide which item I want to use to accessorize my outfits. I’ve been looking for a decent earring holder to display my collection. I have been searching online and in stores for quite some time, but I can only find ugly and/or expensive holders. And there is just something I don’t like about paying $15 to $20 for a small frame like thing with some wire mesh on it. Just like any thrifty (and crafty) tightwad I decided to make one myself!

2 cats & chloe: Messy Jewelry, Jewelry Box Solution

I found a frame last year at the church yard sale for a mere $1. I had no clue what I was going to do with it, but figured it was such a slick deal I had to get it (along with about 15 other dollar items!)

Again, I didn’t know what I was going to do with this frame, but I really lucked out when I discovered that the backing of the frame was one that was attached to the frame itself. Notice how it pulls out in the picture above (right side). This was exactly what I needed and had no clue when I bought it!

So here’s what you need to do: Take the frame apart by removing the glass and any cardboard that might be in there. Pull out your glue gun, as well as your cat for any kind of assistance you may need. I got some old screening (for windows) from the garage and trimmed it to be a little bit bigger than the piece of glass that I removed from the frame.

Simply run the glue gun along the edge of the frame and press the screen into the glue, making the screen as tight as possible.

And then stand it up and take a look! Ta-daaa! Not too shabby if I do say so myself… But wait, we are not quite done!

I wanted to be sure that my earring stand wouldn’t collapse or fall over so I found some scrap ribbon to use to help secure the backing. Any good crafter keeps a stash of scrap ribbon somewhere in the house. I just so happen to be a JMU Duke so I have purple ribbon just about everywhere!

Glue the ribbon the to edge of the frame and then to the back of the backing. It really doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look pretty. No one is ever going to see this. {A note from the future: seriously, no one will see the back of this piece. They will oooh and ahhh about how cool it is, but don’t waste your time on glueing prettily. No one checks out the back of your stand.}

Now when you stand it up, it cannot slide open or collapse any further than then distance of the ribbon. (Just keep in mind when you are choosing the length of the ribbon, you need to be able to get your hand back there to take the ear ring backs off.) Another note from the future: Here’s a tip - don’t worry about the back too much… if they have the inexpensive clear plastic backing, slide the earring backs as far onto the earring as possible, that way you don’t have to deal with putting them behind the screening.}

So there you have it! The construction of this ear ring stand only cost me $1 for the frame! And I had screen scraps and the ribbon around the house. If you have to go out and buy the screening I’m sure the cost would definitely go up. But ask around before you do that. It’s amazing how many people have old, torn, unusable window screens that are in the attic or garage.

Now, to see the finished product, fulfilling it’s life purpose:

Ah, so there ya have it. A blast from the past, but a good ole classic project that I still use ALL THE TIME. I am in the process of upgrading to a larger frame, so I thought this would be a terrific project to recycle for the Celebrate Southern linkup! Now it’s your turn to join the fun! Grab a blog post… any blog post… well, any blog post that belongs to you! And linkup! No, you do not have to be a Southern Blogger… we just love Southern Inspired projects, fashion, recipes, and life in general!

Southern Bloggers Linkup Celebrate Southern

Grab the button or simply ink back to J from Bless Her Heart Y’all and/or myself — and then have some fun! Holler back at either of us if you have any Q’s about this super fun linkup!

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CELEBRATE SOUTHERN LINKUP: DIY Grapevine Wreath

by Susan

Oh em gee y’all. I am beyond excited that today is the first day of the Celebrate Southern Linkup! Months and months ago J from Bless Her Heart Y’all and I started chatting about how we could team up and collaborate, while networking and appreciating our southern roots all at the same time. At which point, we decided to host this linkup called Celebrate Southern.

We aren’t just celebrating the word “southern.” We are celebrating ALL THINGS SOUTHERN. This is a great chance for all of us to come together and appreciate southern charm! Before I get into my Southern DIY post, I want to tell you a little bit more about this linkup! We are encouraging everyone to join! You don’t even have to use the word “y’all” in your every day vocabulary! You can post and share anything about southern style, southern craft, southern home decor, or southern recipe. Your post could simply be about why you love sweet tea and grits! Or it could even be a post about why you love the Southern city you live in, or a Southern city you have visited! The post you share can be an older post or a current post! We just want to link up and have some fun!

As far as the rules go… we don’t have too many! We want to keep this fun! Here are a few things that we do want to point out though…

1 // You do not have to be a “Southern Blogger” to participate in this linkup! You just have to love Southern Charm!

2 // This is a great networking opportunity for everyone! Please participate in not only adding your link, but by visiting each others’ blogs.

3 // Approved topics to post? Southern anything! You can write about Southern recipes, Southern crafts, Southern style and clothes, Southern home decor, a Southern City you have visited or even the one you live in!

4 // Your posts do not have to be current, meaning you can share an older post! It does not have to be a post your published today!

5 // Just for fun, if you want to use the hashtag #CelebrateSouthern on social platforms, please feel free! This is just another great way to network!

6 // Please put the “Celebrate Southern” button (link below) on your page and/or link to both J and Susan.

Simple as that y’all! Please let either J or myself know if you have any questions! OH! I almost forgot! We have an official Celebrate Southern Pinterest board! We will be pinning off of all the posts who link up with us! Okay, let’s have some fun!

DIY Southern Fall Grapevine Wreath

I am so excited to share this wreath with y’all today. For some reason, fall is my go-to craft and DIY project season. I’m not sure if it is the crisp air or my sugar high from the excessive candy corn intake… either way, this girl definitely gets her craft on during the fall. Last week I decided I wanted to make a new festive, southern, fall wreath for our front door. As a newlywed and a southerner, I feel like monograms are the name of the game lately. I have basically monogramed the crap out of my house and my wardrobe at this point. Why not add a cute wreath to the mix?

I have found that Grapevine Wreaths are one of the easiest wreaths to work with. Between two craft stores, all of these supplies cost me less than $15! You couldn’t buy a wreath like this on Etsy for $15! And to be 100% honest with you, it took me less than 15 minutes to make!

Supplies:

One Grapevine Wreath

Decorations of Choice {I used 2 festive fall stems from A.C. Moore, Burlap Ribbon to tie into a bow, and a G that I spray painted}

Twine to attach decoration and to hang wreath

Directions:

These are going to be the easiest instructions you ever see… basically you just attach all of your decorations!

I love working with Grapevine Wreaths because you can blend and attach things so easily! Rather than cutting the stems off of my floral decor, I simply bent them, and blended the stick into the wreath. Not only does it make this project so much easier and quicker, but it helps to keep the decor attached.

No-Flower DIY Grapevine Wreath

To attach the “G” I used twine to give it a rustic look. Simply loop the twine around your letter and then through a few branches of the wreath. Then tie it tight! Again, it does not get much easier than this!

You also need to remember to save some twine for the top of the wreath… you need a way to hang it! Pick a couple thicker grapevine branches and tie the twine onto them. Again, super easy and no glue gun is necessary!

Once my other decorations were attached to the wreath, I added a festive, burlap bow. I’m not an expert bow makers, and thankfully I didn’t envision anything super fancy for this wreath. A simple bow, made of wired, burlap ribbon added a nice touch. Roll the ribbon ends around a bit to give it a billowing feel. Easy Peasy right??

Burlap Bow on Wreath

So there you go! A fifteen minute DIY project that will help dress up your home a bit this fall! I promise, even the un-craftiest of the uncrafty can handle this project! Give it a shot and let me know what you think! Or feel free to pin it now, and do it later! Since there was no hot glue involved, this would be a really easy wreath to take apart or simply tweak for the Christmas holiday!

Have you done any southern or fall projects lately? Grab a button and link up and share them with us below!

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Easy Crafty Gift for your Man!

by Susan

First and fore most, I want to take a hot minute to thank all of you for your wonderful comments and emails these past couple of days! Your love and support means the world to me. Thank you times a million. Now on to the promised craft project!

So you say you wanna be crafty and make something inexpensively for you dude. Or your dad. Either one. For Valentine’s Day I decided it was time to bust out the glass etching supplies to make a personalize beer mug for Michael. If you have not embraced the craft of glass etching yet, don’t fear. It’s easy peasy! Let me walk you through it…

Here’s what you will need:

A mug. I got mine at the Dollar Store. Hot find!

Glass etching cream. $5 - $15 at the craft store. You want to be sure you get the permanent kind that can be washed.

A paint brush to apply the cream.

Painters tape. (To tape the stencil onto the glass)

A craft knife to cut the stencil out of the tape.

If you don’t have a stencil maker or you don’t want to buy stencils, you can make them like I did. See below.

First I printed out his initials. Then I realized I made a poor decision with the font… the letters had super skinny parts. So I reprinted it with an impact font.

Tape the blue painters tape to some cardboard (or the back of an old notebook like I did). Then tape the printed initials on top of it. Use a craft knife to cut out the letters. Then when you pull off the print, you will have the letters in the blue tape… ie your make-shift stencil! OR if you are cooler than me, you can uses your craft cutter and save some time. This girl would LOVE the Silhouette one day!

Apply the etching cream. Read the directions on the cream to see how long it has to stay put. Mine was only 60 seconds. Then wash it off, per the directions of the cream.

And then… Ta-daaaa! What do you think?! I honestly don’t know if my boyfriend will ever use it, but I thought it was an awesome project! AND - doesn’t he have the coolest initials for someone who loves working on cars? MPG - Miles Per Gallon. I find it humorous. 🙂

Was that simple, and cheap enough for you? Think of the glass etching possibilities! I have done a casserole dish. Ooooh! You could do wine glasses for Mom’s Day along with a bottle of wine? Let me know if you have any questions or awesome ideas of what I should etch next! Have a happy day friends!

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Podcast + Valentine Wreath

Supplies:

Directions:

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Cotton and Magnolia Thanksgiving Setting

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: DIY Jewelry Stand

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN LINKUP: DIY Grapevine Wreath

DIY Southern Fall Grapevine Wreath

Supplies:

Directions:

Easy Crafty Gift for your Man!

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