Yarn Balls (DIY)

Why would you want to make yarn balls? Because they are adorable of course! 

Go to any craft or fabric store that carries yarn. Pick out 2-3 colors (or as many as you want really) that go with the color scheme you're looking for. One by one, wrap yarn around your fingers until you've started to make a small ball of yarn. When the ball/knot is about the size of a marble, take off your fingers and continue wrapping yarn in a circle (going both ways) until it's the size of the golf ball (or however big you want it to be). You can make them in any size, color, or pattern. You can put them in any size vase, jar, or bowl. You can even glue them to a Styrofoam tree as a centerpiece like my roomie is in the process of. **

**Please excuse my dirty dishes. I'm trying to enjoy Christmas :) 

Christmas Simple (and a DIY Tree Topper)

It's December 5th [take a breath]. It's December 5th and already Christmas has taken over the mall, the grocery store, and in a perfect world-our homes. We all love this time of year (the sweet treats, time with family, giving great gifts, homes decorated with great care smelling of cinnamon and hot cocoa) and we all hate this time of year (holiday pounds, homes littered with remnants of poorly wrapped packages, burnt cookies just out of the oven, running, running, running). I wish I mean actual running-then at least the holiday pounds would stay at bay as well as my stress level, but you know what I mean.

With the type of work I do I come in contact with a lot of different people at their best, worst, and everything in between. It can be a lot to take in at times, but I see the value in people having a safe place to let down and open up. We want to celebrate with them at their best and comfort them at their worst. You'd think I was talking about group therapy or something, but no-I'm talking about a team of volunteers and the people they serve.

Just yesterday, as I caught up with everyone as they entered, I couldn't help but notice how a) diverse everyone is, b) how MUCH everyone has going on and most of all...how burned out everyone already is! Everyone is coming off of something big, be it their kids sports season, keeping up with the holidays, volunteering, sickness, allergies...you name it and people are doing it. As busy as the Christmas season is, really I feel like the problem is not the holiday season ahead of us but what we're already burned out on, and then trying to make the most of the holidays when we are sick, tired, burned out, exhausted, and simply trying too hard. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's only come once a year and we put all of this pressure on ourselves, every year, to make THIS the best year. Usually "best" ends up meaning more of this, adding in a little of that, spicing things up a little, then baking til burnt and cooling until CRISP. That's right-burnout.

At some point we all decide to "simplify" and spend less, eat less, stay at home more, and enjoy what we already have. But in the consumer, fast world we live in, that usually lasts about all of the 7 hours between going to bed full of turkey and waking up to do the Black Friday thing. "Black Friday" seems only fitting, not because of the supposedly AWESOME deals we get (doubtful) but because at that very moment we camp out in front of Wal-Mart or stay up 'til 12am to hit up Target, we're already mourning the loss of the Christmas we'll never have and the stress we already feel.

I wish these people I came in contact with were not the norm, but in reality they are a perfect representation of the rest of society. Just this weekend there was stress from picking up a tree (alone) before coming in to serve, a 5-week cold requiring antibiotics, a cold turned into major allergy attack, coming bak tired from a vacation that ended just hours before, fundraisers, holiday plans, lost jobs, family illness, custody battles, computers that don't work and headaches that cripple. Not to mention sending someone home for a panic attack induced by...life. Is this the norm our society lives in? Yes, yes it is. No wonder people don't know how to drive or wait in line anymore.

So this year--Christmas Simple. I will not worry about finding the PERFECT gift. I will not stress about the dirty dishes in my sink. I will not let my unmade bed annoy the crap out of me, I won't even try to decorate every bare inch of my house. Instead, I will love my mini-tree; I will appreciate this homemade tree-topper because it reminds me of my best friend and the muppets. I will enjoy homemade baked goods only if I get to them, and I refuse to schedule every spare second of my life (already having to fight this one).

Credit goes to D :)

I wish the same for you too. Find some time to make your own playful tree topper or Christmas cards, or homemade bread or yarn balls. Or don't do any of that. Watch movies, go on a walk, stay in your Jammie's all day and do whatever it is that makes your heart pitter patter. Whatever you do and however you spend this season, make sure at the end of it all you can say, in all honesty, "I love my life!"

Pom Pom Tree Topper (DIY) 

Love you some pom poms? Start by making a BUNCH of these pom poms.  

Credit to D & I

Glue pom poms, fuzzy-side down, to an old plastic ornament, using a glue gun. Make sure to take the hook piece out and glue the pom poms onto the ornament so that the opening is facing down. 

We're kind of awesome

Cover the whole front of the ornament with pom poms until it looks rounded and fully covered from the front. OR, if you have all the time in the world, go ahead and cover the whole thing. When complete, attach to tree by putting tree top into ornament opening (it may be difficult but do your best).

How will YOU spend the holiday season?

Tie-Dye Flowers (DIY)

I mentioned in this birthday post how my co-workers decorated my desk with a few birthday surprises. This has kind of become a tradition for us. With each person's birthday we all contribute a little something to their birthday desk to make the day (or whichever day we celebrate) extra special. Birthdays are the best, and EVERYONE deserves to feel extra special on their day. 

Last spring when collaborating on someone else's birthday we decided to go with a color theme, knowing the person we were celebrating is a huge dodger fan (blue). Usually our contributions include a card, flowers, balloons, a gift card, small gift, a special treat, or anything else that seems fitting for that person. At some point long ago I offered to do the flowers for someone's birthday, and I've continued to do them ever since. I've become the flower girl (no pun intended) and I couldn't be more smitten with my job title. 

Considering the theme and my job as flower girl, I decided to channel my inner 5th grade science teacher and attempt to dye flowers blue. I bought white daisies (carnations or other white flowers will also do), put them in a jar of water mixed with lots of blue dye, and let nature run it's course! As the flowers soak up the dyed water, all the color starts to go to the white petals of the flowers. The longer the flowers sit in the water the more saturated them become. In my experience they don't usually end up a solid color, more like a tie-dye version of the color with highlights at the edges and streaks or spots through some of the petals. 

To my surprise, the blue flowers were a total hit! They were fun to look at, but I think it was the extra time and attention to detail that made it so special. I am all about the details, which in my experience means the world to (most) people. 

So, for my birthday I got the favor returned! My birthday theme was green (fav), and from my Dodger Fan co-worker, I got green flowers! I love details, and I loved this. She couldn't have picked a more fitting thing to do for me. Cute vase too :) 

Napkin Throw Pillow (DIY)

For a girl who loves Anthropologie, I sure can't afford to buy much of it! Instead of walking right through the front door and picking up the first thing I see that I love to try on, I'm the girl who walks in with blinders that direct me straight to the sale rack. Then, once I get there, I scour the racks, focusing my time not on the clothing items but instead on the price tags. I know what I can afford, so I only pick up items in that range. Eventually I make it to a fitting room, then it's time to see if I like anything.

You'd be surprised what items you'll want to leave with that you never would have thought to try on. I think this system all started for me back when my roommate and I would make each other try on the ugliest thing we could find for the other person. To my surprise, those were the items I started taking home with me.

Since I can't afford a majority of the store, I started finding little things here and there that were affordable to add a little Anthro love to my life. For example, a few weeks back, as I sifted through the "Home" sale section I found simple cloth napkins in a fun, bright pattern. Cost? $3.95. About the price of a latte but something that would last me a little longer. I bought two napkins in slightly different patterns with the intent to use them for something beyond their original purpose. This is often how I look at their sale items.

What would these napkins become? Well, a pillow of course!

Cloth Napkin Throw Pillow 
(MYO-Make Your Own)

What you need:

• 2 square shaped cloth napkins
• sharp scissors
• thread
• sewing machine and/or needle (I hand sewed mine)
• buttons only if you want to add something fun at the end (I decided not to)

1. Put fabrics together, right sides together so 

you see the backsides of both napkins.

2. Safety pins edges together on three sides. 

3. Beginning at edge of opening, sew all three sides together 

with sewing machine or hand stitch. Remove safety pins as you go. 

4. Insert pillow (I used one already covered).  

5. Fold edges in toward pillow and pin together. 

Sides should be even and not bunched anywhere. 

Pull from ends (corners) to make sure everything is even.  

6. Make sure to tuck all corners in. 

7. Begin at one corner of pillow and sew final seam. 

Get as close to the edge as possible (you may want to do by hand) 

so the seem is not immediately noticeable.  

8. Continue stitching until entire side is sewn shut. 

9. Add buttons around edges if you want to 

add a final touch of detail. I chose to keep mine simple.