Holiday | Design Happens

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Our Favorite Easter Decorating Ideas

by H. Camille Smith March 13, 2013 13 Comments

Easter celebrations are right around the corner — time to banish winter blahs and freshen up indoors and out with a few springy touches. We’ve gathered 25 of our favorite Easter decorating ideas to inspire you. From quick-and-easy centerpiece ideas to a clever way to glam up your Easter eggs to a free, printable Easter banner — we’ve got you covered.

All 25 ideas have the official Easter Bunny stamp of approval (seriously!) but here are my 5 favorites:

Delight Easter guests with this creative place setting idea featuring cute (and oh-so-fluffy!) feathered chicks and candy eggs: Set your Easter table with a creative place card like these cute (and oh-so-fluffy!) chicks and candy eggs

Weather permitting, bring your dining table and chairs outside and enjoy Easter dinner al fresco surrounded by Mother Nature’s changing scenery.

Chic & Easy Doily Gift Wrap + How to Make a Yarn Pom-Pom

by H. Camille Smith December 19, 2012 6 Comments

As the holidays inch ever closer, I bet you’re ready for another crafty gift wrap idea, right? Well, I’ve got you covered with two (easy!) ideas for doily gift wrap that are oh-so-feminine to complement the dude-tastic gift wrap I shared last week.

BTW, if you haven’t already jumped on the brown-Kraft-paper-as-gift-wrap train, I recommend you hop on at the next station. Simply put, it is the bomb. Inexpensive and available year-round (I buy mine at the dollar store), the thick paper makes crisp corners and the neutral color works with any embellishments. For me, it’s the perfect year-round gift wrap and I always keep a few rolls on hand.

What are the holidays without a little sparkle? After wrapping the gift in Kraft paper, I glammed-up a paper doily by coating it with spray adhesive (like Super 77), then dusting the still-wet glue with glitter. Once the glue had dried, I attached the doily to the package with glue dots to prevent it from shifting when I added the ribbon. As a final touch, I tied on one of the glittery pinecones I made for my salvaged molding/evergreen bough and added a few self-adhesive rhinestones for extra glitz. Doily Holiday Gift Wrap

Or, you can skip the Kraft paper and just wrap a paper doily around a pretty box. I used glue dots to secure the doily’s edges then wrapped the box with yarn and tied on a pom-pom. These are soo cute and soo easy to make, learn how to craft one yourself below. Handmade Holiday Gift Wrap Idea

Step 1: Wrap yarn around your fingers a dozen or so times. The more times you wrap it, the fuller the pom-pom will be.
How to Make a Yarn Pom-Pom Step 1
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Weekday Crafternoon: Last Minute DIY Gifts

by Marianne Canada December 18, 2012 5 Comments

I don’t know how to break this to you, but…Christmas is officially less than one week away. I KNOW. Are you ready yet? Because I am not. Suddenly my free time is booked solid and the remaining handmade gifts I was hoping to tackle? Not happening, people. But it’s not too late to give something handmade from the heart, thanks to A Hip Handmade Holiday. Check out these excellent last minute gifts using the most adorable printables:

Cute, am I right? A Hip Handmade Holiday is a sweet ebook from the ladies at The Craft Pack, and it’s chock full of adorable handmade gifts for anyone on your list, all ringing in at under $10. Pretty great stuff.

Last Minute DIY Gift Ideas

Don’t forget, you can always find even more handmade gift ideas right here on HGTV.com. Are you guys giving handmade gifts this year? Are you all finished or elbow deep in glitter, glue and spray paint?

Missed a past episode of Weekday Crafternoon? Check them all out HERE.

Designer MacGyver: 5 Card Crafts to Make Now

by Briana Mowrey December 17, 2012 3 Comments

If you’re sentimental like I am, it can be tempting to save every holiday card you’ve ever received. Until you catch an episode of Hoarders and want to throw everything away. But there’s another way! Take Liz’s lead and recycle the cards you just can’t bear to part with into pretty holiday decor. They say what goes around comes around — these Christmas card crafts are examples of how that can actually be a good thing!

Menswear-Inspired Gift Wrap + How to Make a Ribbon Rose

by H. Camille Smith December 12, 2012 13 Comments

The holidays are sneaking up on us fast! Hanukkah began this weekend and Christmas will be here in less than 2 weeks. If you’re like me, you’re in gift wrapping crunch mode.

Honestly, wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things about the holidays but wrapping guys’ gifts can be tough — the trick is to keep them seasonal and masculine. For my mens’ gifts this year, that means this awesome blue plaid ribbon (love!) and handy-dandy, works-with-anything Kraft paper.

Another Kraft paper bonus: Thanks to its thickness, you can paint it without rippling the paper. So for Grant’s gift, I painted on a chalkboard gift tag then topped it with a blue plaid ribbon rose (in honor of his bowtie obsession) and a sparkly snowflake ornament. Chalkboard Gift Wrap With Handmade Ribbon Rose

Step 1: I planned to add the ribbon rose on one side and have the chalkboard tag take up most of the remaining space so I first taped on a band of ribbon to determine the tag’s placement. Next I used a ruler to mark out a rectangle, leaving the corners unmarked. To round the tag’s corners, I sketched around a small tin then erased any pencil marks that wouldn’t be covered by the chalkboard paint. chalkboard gift wrap

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Weekday Crafternoon: Handmade Felt Ombre Trees

by Marianne Canada December 11, 2012 5 Comments

Today’s craft comes straight from the ever-inspiring Handmade section right here on HGTV.com. I couldn’t resist these Ombre Tabletop Christmas Trees and decided to recreate them in neutral colors. I love how they look a little bit like snow-capped mountains!

These make a great centerpiece, but I paired them with some oversized ornaments and created a charming tableau for my mantel. I can’t wait to use these year after year!

Handmade Ombre Felt Trees

Missed any episodes of Weekday Crafternoon? You can find them all here!

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Countdown to Christmas: Make Your Own Ornaments

by Liz Gray December 7, 2012 7 Comments

We’re counting down to Christmas with a new holiday party tip, decorating idea or DIY project every day until December 25. Miss a day? See all the posts here.

The best Christmas ornament is one with a story behind it. A great tree is full of family memories: Your daughter’s 6th grade class trip, your grandmother’s heritage, your first Christmas in a new home. Create new holiday keepsakes by making your own handmade ornaments this year.

Make Your Own Ornaments

Most of these ornaments are simple to make and require just a few materials from the craft store — you can make these beautiful origami butterflies with paper, scissors, glue and string. It’s the perfect thing to do as you watch a favorite holiday movie (White Christmas is my pick) and sip some hot cider (spiked or not.)

Or, host a casual ornament-making party so friends can join in on the fun. What Christmas ornaments are you making this year?

MORE HANDMADE ORNAMENT IDEAS:

DIY Garden Gifts for the Holidays

by Marianne Canada December 6, 2012 5 Comments

The first part of this series can be found here.

Just as I was inspired by my summer garden when planning my Thanksgiving menu, I look to my autumn harvest with garden gifts for the holidays in mind. First up, these beautiful hand printed gift bags packed with homemade dried red pepper flakes. My co-worker Kelly had a bumper crop of cayenne peppers this summer, and she’s turned her surplus into these spicy treasures.

RELATED: How to Dry Hot Peppers

DIY Garden Gift: Dried Hot Peppers

More DIY Garden Gifts

Adventures in Antiquing: Salvaged Molding As Holiday Decor

by H. Camille Smith December 5, 2012 13 Comments

As you guys know, I love a good estate sale. One of my favorite places to search for treasures is the garage — but I’m not looking for tools. I’m on a quest to find broken bits with potential — like drawers, keys or old knobs that have been separated from their original piece of furniture or vintage harps, finials or other electrical hardware — essentially anything with character that I think I can repurpose.

A few months ago, I discovered a 4-foot board with a carved detail along the top and beautiful raised acanthus leaves at either end. The seller found it in a barn and had no idea how old it was or whether it once framed an elaborate doorway or was part of a long piece of furniture, like a buffet. The white paint was crazed and chipping – just how I like it. The seller seemed shocked that I even wanted a beat-up old board so he priced it low – 2 whole dollars. Originally, my plan was to strip all the paint and stain it but once I had removed the chipped paint and sanded it smooth, I decided to leave it as-is.

Topped with glittered pinecones, blue Spruce and holly boughs, my found molding makes a beautiful, rustic swag above the entry to my kitchen:

Here you can see the acanthus leaf detail on the ends — pretty, right?! Totally worth a dusty, dirty scavenger hunt in the wood pile.

Weekday Crafternoon: DIY Holiday Pompom Wreath + GIVEAWAY!

by Marianne Canada December 4, 2012 25 Comments

Congratulations, Saly!

Good afternoon, Design Happens readers! Or should that be good crafternoon? Hmmm. Anyway, I digress. You guys made some excellent suggestions in last week’s episode, and several of you wanted holiday wreath ideas. Well, today is your lucky day! Also, since the ornament giveaway was such a hit (Were you the winner? Check your email!), I’m giving away this wreath as well! Scroll down for details.

I love how inexpensive and easy to customize this project is. In fact, I went home and made a big version for my own front door!

DIY Pompom Wreath

Want to win the wreath featured in today’s episode? You are in luck! To win? All you need to do is leave a comment below answering this question: are you finished decorating for the holidays? Or are you just getting started?

You may only comment once to be considered, and you don’t have to purchase anything to win; a purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Odds depend on total number of entries. Void where prohibited by law. Only open to legal residents of 50 U.S., D.C. or Puerto Rico, and you must be at least 18 years of age to win. All entries (comments) must be entered between 12:00 p.m. ET on December 4, 2012 and 12:00 p.m. ET on December 10, 2012. Subject to full official rules. By leaving a comment on the blog, you acknowledge your acceptance to the Official Rules. ARV of prize: $30. Sponsor: Scripps Networks, LLC, d/b/a HGTV, 9721 Sherrill Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37932.