aunt peaches

Valentine Making Kit

Before we go into this, a couple things…

Thing one: If you are related to me and your name is Luke or Abby, stop reading.

Thing two: Nearly everything Valentine related you see in this post is currently 40% off at Michael’s. And if it isn’t, there is a coupon for that.

What am I making today; A VALENTINE KIT.

It’s a kit of stuff you use to make Valentines. Part of me says I should have just made something Valentiney, but the other part of me is like, NO WAY THIS WILL MAKE YOU THE COOL AUNT. And I’m weirdly competitive like that. So, it’s not really a DIY (but you know I went and had to sample the goods). I’m sending this off to my niece and nephew. Apparently little kids exchange cards and stuff still. Isn’t that the sweetest? I’m really glad some kiddos still do that. Our elementary school stopped letting us exchange valentines with each other in 6th grade because it was too much pressure on some folks. So because it was 1991, we instead sent valentines to soldiers in Iraq for operation Dessert Storm. We called it Operation Valentine. You see what we did there? Yeah. Our school was right to a military base so the patriotic pride factor was pretty strong. I was already weirdly competitive with crafting back then, and whereas most students made five or six valentines, I sent well over 100. Yes, one hundred. All homemade. All with glitter doilies. And I wore a yellow ribbon headband every day for weeks (listen, it was the 90s) and included a photo of me wearing said headband in with the cards. A couple soldiers even wrote back to say thank you. And then one solider wrote back to ask when was I getting out of school and if I had a boyfriend. …So, that was the end of Operation Valentine. (Hashtag: awkward!).

The parable of this story is let your children exchange cards with each other and they won’t be sending them off to lonely grown men in foreign countries. < And if that isn’t a bumper sticker, I don’t know what is. I digress. What were we talking about? Oh yes, the kit!

This is going to get me some brownie points in the Aunt category because I am bad at sending stuff on time for holidays and birthdays. Valentines Day is in the lower bowels of winter when any day that does not require sidewalk salt is considered tropical. Putting together a kit is FUN. And if they don’t use the stuff for cards, their craft cupboard is stocked for the season. Win-Win. Boom!

First of all, let’s talk about the bag situation up in here. It’s like an adult coloring book as a gift bag. Two for $1.50. WUT?! They also carry these cool photo mats. I think I also saw coffee mugs and stuff too. The kiddos (or big kiddos) color them in. Add photo and frame and it’s actually a very cool gift. You better make sure Grandma’s hip is in check because she will flip when you give her one.

But this is my favorite part: The Shinies.

Spellcheck is saying shinies isn’t a real word. It’s wrong. Shinies is a noun used to describe things that sparkle and shine, usually found in small sizes in high volume. It’s like when someone says “potato chips” you visualize a bag or bowl of potato chips. Not three potato chips. Three sequins is “three sequins”, but call them shinies and it’s a whole bag of sequins! Or glitter. Or rhinestones. Or metallic confetti. Have you ever received a valentine covered with metallic confetti? Somebody needs to get on this!

Now let’s talk about stickers. At the risk of sounding like a grouchy old man here, What the Hell happened to stickers? When we were kids, stickers were something you collected in a book like stamps, precious treasures to be saved. You’d get them one or two or maybe three to a sheet down at the stationary store, but you’d spend half your allowance on them. Now these kids these days get A WHOLE STINKIN BOOK OF 376 STICKERS for a dollar. A DOLLAR. I’m telling you, that’s how you raise a glutton. These kids won’t know when to stop. When stickers come this easy next they’ll be expecting job interviews to rain from the sky. It ain’t right. It ain’t right!

So I bought five books. Then some foamy heart shapes because dimension is important.

Then I went down the next aisle and they had more foamy hearts and a BAG FULL OF STARS. Three dimensional glitter front stars. Well, you know they were coming home with me. And they were right next to the feathers, I was thinking how cool it would be to be the only kid in the class who gave out cards with feathers on them? So I got a bunch of them too.

Also: doilies.

This is the important part – the substrate. You gotta get a bunch of basic cards and envelopes and glue. I love Tacky Glue myself but for little ones who use a lot, good old fashioned Elmers is the way to go. If you have a little one who is at that awkward phase where they want things to look nicer than they are able to make themselves just yet, I highly recommend getting a couple of these glitter glue tubes. The glue dries sparkly and makes everything look nice, even if it’s sloppy. Personally, I like a sloppy looking Valentine. Adds charm. But I know what it’s like to want your card to look like the Teacher’s sample and getting frustrated when it looks like cat’s butt instead. Glitter glue is a bridge. Everything looks better with glitter and this kind won’t clog up the vacuum. You’re welcome.

Just to prove my point, I made a couple of samples myself. You know, to be helpful.

So long as there is a doily heart in the background, everything else is frosting.

This one has an Under the Sea theme. Do they celebrate Valentines under the sea? Welp. They do now.

Also! Look at these easels!

They sell these teensy little easels in the art supply section. You can prop up your favorite cards on your nightstand or your mantel and display them as a piece of art.

Valentine kits. It’s a good thing.

Check out Michaels.com for more DIY Valentine’s Day gift ideas! Looking for more inspiration? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the rest of the Michaels Makers’ DIY Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

An InLinkz Link-up

Valentine Swap: It’s On!

by aunt peaches

Update: The Signup is now closed. If you already signed up, look for your email on Feb 2nd. Thank you!

It’s that time of year: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL VALENTINES EXCHANGE.

I’m going to be honest, I nearly backed out this year. But so many folks contacted me saying they wanted something to look forward to – and I feel you on that front, ladies – that I backed off on my backing off. However, sadly, this will probably be the last year for me. I’ll find an alternative swap to recommend next year, but this rodeo takes a way more administrative time than I can handle these days (or afford to hire out). Bummer right? Sorry folks, I don’t like talking down either, I’m just letting you know, in case you wanted to sign up but never have…THIS is it.

For the seventh year in a row (SEVEN?), I am inviting my readers to participate in the biggest, most snazztastic valentine swap of all! Last year more than 1,600 Valentines were exchanged between total strangers. Long story short: Do not bother reading the rest of this post if you not equally enthused about making valentines as you are about receiving them.

Now. Y’all ready for this?

I know what you are thinking….

Gee, I love the sound of this valentine swap. How does it work?

Well friend, I am glad you asked. This is the nitty-gritty: You send three handmade valentines to total strangers = You will receive three handmade valentines from total strangers.

That sounds fun! Where do I sign up? How do I exchange addresses?

Good question. Let me break it down:

-You fill out the signup form before midnight CST on Jan 28.

– You receive an email from me before the end of the day on Feb 2nd with the addresses of three total strangers.

– You send one valentine to each address you receive, no later than Feb 8.

-You receive three valentines sometime before/around Valentines Day.

What sort of Valentines can I send?
Handmade! It could be a simple scrap of paper with a doodle from your kids, or a stitched up and sequined masterpiece. Adding some glitter or a buttons to a pre-existing valentines is OK too. Just as long as it has a handmade touch and can fit in an envelope, it’s game.

I’m in! What else do I need to know?

– This exchange is open to anyone, anywhere, any skill level. No one is expected to buy anything except stamps (heads up: people who read this blog are scattered around the world, so we all might need to double up on stamps).

– You are welcome to include a note inside your valentines with information about yourself, your blog/website/etsy business etc…but it is not required or expected.

– This is not an advertising opportunity. This is just a simple way to exchange random acts of kindness and send some love out into the world. No Debbie Downers, por favor.

– If you feel weird disclosing your name and address, I assure you I will not compile and use this information for any other purpose besides sending you valentines! PS: Please be sure to include your name. Some folks like to omit their name for privacy purposes and then the post office refuses deliver the cards, so just include your initials or nick name if you are uncomfortable with everyone getting up in your business.

HERE ARE SOME MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...

I don’t like filling out forms, can’t I just reply in the comments or send you an email with my info?
Nope.

What happens if I get busy and can’t send a valentine? Can I back out at the last minute?
Good question. If you back out before Jan 28, no problem. Just send me an email (valentines@auntpeaches.com) — no harm, no foul. If you back out after Jan 28, that’s a problem. Your address will already be in circulation to three other people who will be sending cards to you. Those three people would be pretty peeved if they knew they were sending valentines to someone who was not holding up their end of the bargain, as would the three people who will not be getting your cards. So altogether, that’s six people who will be ticked at you. SIX. Do you really want to risk those kinds of karma points?

Is it okay to send my valentines after February 8? Or back out altogether?
No. It’s not okay. There will be 3 people who were assigned to receive your valentines and your lack of participation will ruin the swap for them. I am not okay with that. Also, people are very vocal about complaining to me about missing Valentines, so it is easy for me to figure it out who dropped the ball. And even if the recipient doesn’t know who didn’t send them a valentine, I will. And I’ll have your name and address.

*True story I like to share: There was one woman in Georgia who signed up for valentines two years in row and never sent any in return. Not one. When she didn’t respond to my emails – and there were multiple- I sent her an envelope of hair. Just hair. No return address. Just some trimmings I scooped off my hairdressers floor. I’m not sure if she ever traced it to me but I’m pretty sure that freaked her out. HEY GLORIA!

If you have signed up in the past and did not mail your valentines, the likelihood of me hearing about is around 100%. Your name is on a list. If you don’t get an email from me on Feb 2nd, this is why. Also, if you posted pictures of your valentines on social media and said anything less than stellar compliments about those Valentines, your name is also on a list and will not be receiving an email Feb 2nd.

Can I share pictures of the lovely valentines I made and received?
Yes. I would love that! We would all love that. Please post them on any social media platform using hashtag #auntpeachesvalentineswap. If you aren’t into hashtags, post the picture on my Facebook page. In the past, some folks have even become friends with the person who received their valentines. It’s pretty swell!

Can I request certain countries or areas of folks I want to swap with?
Nope. All assignments are made at random. FYI, in recent years around 70% of participants were located in the United States, 10% Canada, 10% UK, the rest were scattered around the world. One year there were like 40 people in Bulgaria. It was pretty rad.

Can I skip the swap and exchange valentines with you instead?
No. As much as I would love that, you would end up with the short end of the stick because I would not likely send one back (Yeah, I’m a bad person)…and that would just give me something to feel guilty about, which something I would like to avoid. Instead, I suggest sending a Valentine to someone you love who is not expecting one. It will make their day!

Can you tell me if my Valentines were received and what they thought of them?
No. This is a hard one for many people to understand, but I need to ask you to respect this policy. I know we all love feedback on stuff we mad, but this is the nature of anonymous swaps; we rarely hear back from the other person. This is the gift of giving without expectation of return. Also: logistics are hard. With hundreds of participants x3 cards each, I’m not able to act as a go-between. This is another reason why I encourage everyone to post images on social media. But don’t get ticked if you don’t see yours posted – not everyone is so tech savvy.

Okay, I’m in! Let’s get this party started!

~~Click here to fill out the signup form.~~ (SIGNUP IS NOW CLOSED) One signup per person, please. Some folks like to signup for each of their kids – that’s fine, but please use a different name and email each time you fill it out. I will assume if one name appears twice it is an accidental duplicate.

AND JUST BECAUSE THIS POST ISN’T LONG ENOUGH…

A special request from me. And this is a little awkward so I hope my meaning here is clear: Please feel free to invite a friend to join the swap, but please do not share this post on social media or in mail exchange forums. This swap is open to everyone, but I do not want to facilitate one-way valentines for people who found out about it on Facebook or a Reddit forum and couldn’t be bothered to read directions. (Can you tell this has been a repeat problem in the past?). Okay, enough with the Debbie Downer stuff, let’s get cracking on those Valentines! Here are some of the fantastic cards from swaps in the past…

One-Pot Christmas

by aunt peaches

Happy December 1st! Has it hit you yet?

No more “Christmas is coming” because “Christmas is HERE IN YOUR FACE” barreling down the tracks making everyone feel ill-prepared and underdressed. And by underdressed I mean you left your Christmas sweater at the dry cleaners.

Again.

As a blogger, sometimes I find myself ahead of the holiday curve doing yuletide fun in August, only to set it aside in September with plans to take it up after Thanksgiving. But it rarely happens. Stuff comes up and you get busy doing things for other people in other places…anywhere but home. Every year there is a promise to hang fresh garland and wreaths…has never happened. Ever. So, last year when the folks at Jackson & Perkins offered to send me a miniature Christmas tree to review – complete with pots and lights and everything – I was like CHRISTMAS IN A BOX? BRING IT ON.

And they did. And it was awesome.

This year they offered to send me another one, and it was even more gorgeous than last year. Look!

Y’all, this is a real tree. Real smell. Real needles. Real dirt. Real ready to get planted in your garden come springtime. Nifty huh? Makes you feel all nostalgic for the days before the faux trees.

I’m pretty pleased with this little tree. Yes, it looks nice, but more importantly: it’s super easy and I can cool my jets on big hoopla decorations and fresh greens and all that jazz. It’s gloriously uncomplicated. Have you heard of a one-pot dinner? Yeah. This is like a one-pot Christmas. And the pot is cute too!

Bonus: It even comes with a little string of copper lights, twig berries, and a handful of elegant ornaments, so even if you don’t put up a tree this year, you get to scratch the itch of Christmas decorating without taking up a lot of space or time. Or, grab a handful of your family ornaments and hang them up – there is enough surface real estate here to accommodate a few favorite baubles. The whole tree could fit on an end table, or work as a beautiful centerpiece too. Last year I got an email from a reader saying she had bought one and sent it to her daughter’s tiny Manhattan dorm room and they set it on top of the television because she desperately wanted a real tree and that was the only flat surface available. Isn’t that sweet?

Side note: Remember when TVs had flat surfaces on top? Oh man. Now I’m a different kind of nostalgic!

Many Thanks to Jackson and Perkins for sponsoring this post and bringing a little maintenance holiday spirit into the house. This is a treat I will enjoy all year round!

And thank you to YOU for supporting the brands that make this site possible.

Happy Holidays 🙂

Dream Tree Challenge: The Heritage Tree

by aunt peaches

Good morning America, how are you?

I’m here. Still in my pajamas and harboring a post-election hangover and head cold, but what are you going to do? Oh yeah: Christmas. That is what you are going to do.

On this particular occasion I want to thank Michael’s, for not only letting me participate in their Annual Dream Tree Challenge for the third time, but for giving me a deadline and a good excuse to smother myself in tinsel. And you know what? It feels good.

I also have to thank my friends the Hirschs, because they let me set up this year’s tree in their house. Believe me, not a whole lot of people will give you carte blanche freedom to set up a Christmas scene in their house in October, but they are cool like that. I met the Hirschs many years ago via my BFF Lara – her family was going to their house for Christmas dinner and invited me along, and it was the Christmas after my dad died and I was feeling especially sad, but despite the fact they had never even met me, they bent over backwards to make a stranger feel welcome that night and I have held a special spot in my heart ever since. Sixteen years later, we live in the same town, and I was over for dinner in October, admiring their home, and remarked that it must look beautiful when decorated for Christmas…then the cogs in my brain started turning and before you know it I’m asking if I can come over next week and set up a tree. This is why people need to not invite me over for dinner after Labor Day. For real – it’s dangerous.

Normally I would set up a tree at home, but my holiday travel/work plans are up in the air, and I am booked to set up trees for other people in December, and, let’s be honest, I didn’t take my 2015 Christmas decorations down until Easter 2016. So, yeah. I need to be a little more judicious on the home front this year. And if I do one at home, for once, I want it to be a real tree. I have eleven faux trees in my basement but after doing the White House last year where they use nothing but fresh spruce, I sort of want to go back to the OG tannenbaum. But, like I said, plans are up in the air and Michaels asked for a tree on the early side – I was just lucky enough to have some friends to help me out!

Theme this year: a Heritage Tree. The impetus being this beautiful tree skirt made by Mr. Hirsch from neckties from Mrs. Hirsch’s late father. Is this not the most incredible tree skirt you have ever seen?

I asked if they had any leftover ties and sure enough they had a whole box of them, so I took a few and used them to decoupage over some balls from Michaels. They dried darker than expected but the pattern work look lovely with the tree.

I also made these mosaic style ornaments from their collection of old buttons and Mod Podge collage clay. They look like Italian cookies in person and I want to make hundreds more, they are so fun!

And doesn’t everyone have a jar of buttons handed down from Grandma? This is a nifty way to use them up and visit them on the tree each Christmas.

And oh look, here is Grandma now!

Actually, that is an old photo of Mrs. Hirsch’s aunt. Does she look like fun?

We covered the tree in framed photos of family members, new and old, with particular emphasis on scenes of Christmas past. I had never thought of using photo frames as Christmas ornaments, but Michael’s has a huge selection is all sorts of sizes, and some really good sales, so, this turned out terrific. If you were just starting out in your Christmas traditions, filling a tree with a base layer of framed photos would go a long way! This tree looks pretty great as is, or you could add a layer of personalized, collected family ornaments. Layer it up. It’s Christmas. Good things in abundance!

This year’s tree is probably the most tasteful I have shown on the blog in some years. Part of this is because this particular tree was designed to mesh with someone else’s home, part of it is that it’s almost more challenging for me to be traditional. I LOVED last year’s Granny Chic tree, but I love this one too. Isn’t that the fun of decorating for the holidays? Every year you can switch things up a bit and rotate your favorites in and out.

Here is the important part: There is no right way or wrong way to decorate for the holidays. Some people get sniffy about it and say “only white lights” or “only real trees” or “only red and green” or “only after Thanksgiving” or “only this way”…which is pretty humorous when you think about it. I am a grown woman, why on Earth would I allow someone else to tell me when, where, or how to celebrate? Ridiculous. LET YOU FESTIVE FREAK FLAG FLY. Do what you want. Do it. Get funky if you want to. And good news – Michaels has their largest tree assortment this year, including colored and flocked trees. Lord knows I love a flocked tree. So now Are you feeling inspired to start decorating your own tree? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the rest of the Michaels Makers’ dream holiday trees that were created this year.

And Merry Christmas!!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hello From the Other Side

by aunt peaches

Happy Halloween!

Hi there! In the spirit of knocking on the doors of strangers and looking like a fool for candy, I wanted to say a couple things.

1. If you signed up to get emails from me and haven’t been getting them, it’s not you, it’s me. A couple people even told me they weren’t seeing my emails and I thought that was just them being un-tech-savvy or having an extra hungry spam filter on their inbox, but no. It was me. I paused my feed and didn’t even know it. Because that is the sort of genius I am. Hopefully things will be back to normal but feel free to tell me otherwise.

2. If you were wondering why I slowed my posting in recent months and was worried I was going away, rest assured, I’m not. You can’t get rid of me that easy! You can, however, expect that I’m feeling like a dinosaur these days trying to keep up with all the new fangled ways to be a blogger and this ever expanding constellation of internet opportunities. Two years ago the scene was very different and everyone kept their content on their blog and everyone got paid a healthy a mount of ad revenue…but now people pay attention to other stuff. And even for folks with great numbers say the ad networks pay rates are a fraction of what they were, sites are shuttering left and right, and now I get emails everyday from 17 years olds wanting to know if I’ll hire them to snapchat for me. This is what it has come to? I hardly even know what a snapchat is, but it sounds like something you get from sitting around in a wet bathing suit too long, not something I want to pay teenagers to do for me. But you have to admire the Millennial gumption, right? Errr…right.

Like I said, I’m officially a dinosaur.

I keep thinking WHY CAN’T I JUST MAKE STUFF AND POST PRETTY PICTURES…which is equally spoiled and lazy, and why you will find me on Instagram a lot more often. It’s mostly pretty pictures. And people are nice. That has not been my experience across all social media platforms. At all. Especially this week. I don’t know about you, but I find myself dreading Facebook the week before every election. This year is particularly bad. It squeezes all the weird juice and stuff gets ugly. Fast. We are all capable of producing weird juice, but something about Facebook and an election season brings it out in a big way. Suddenly your nice neighbor and your third cousin stop posting about sports and baby pictures and replace it with political rants and conspiracy theories AND NOBODY CAN BE RIGHT ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THEM. Want to see grown men and women get into a fight over something they already agree about? Chances are it’s going on Facebook right now.

Anyway. I digress. This post is sounded like me making up excuses for keeping my head in the sand (<it is totally that) but I wanted to show you around what I have been up to here. Ill tell you: flowers!

Yes indeed, it is all flowers, all the time. A friend of mine was speculating that my compulsion to make flowers is some sort of attempt to offset the ugliness in the world right now, and although it is not intentional, I think she might be sorta right. When you work alone you start feel like the radio is your friend. Nobody complains to me about office politics or what their kid refused to eat for dinner last night…instead the radio tells me that someone got shot, someone got beheaded, and a bunch of folks got crushed in an earthquake. And that was just this morning. Anyway. I’m trying to shift my focus to podcaasts and audiobooks (recommendations welcome!)

Last minute update: Just got this email. If you like podcasts and people talking about elections without crazy pants, listen to the 10/31 epsidoe of Politico highlighting my cousin John being a total data gangster. Hear how the election sausage is made from both sides of the aisle. AND NOBODY CALLED EACH OTHER NAMES OR ANYTHING. Can you even imagine? Go John!

Anyway. Back to my navel gazing….

Most mornings I wake up early and work on stuff for graphic design clients, but then head over to the studio in the afternoon. Painting is a gift and a blessing. As much as I enjoy it, what it does for my mental health is unmeasurable. It untangles my brain. Not only does that help me feel better, I’m more productive with my other non-painting time. Years ago I thought of painting as a luxury that was only allowed after work was done and the house was tidy…now I see painting like I see taking a shower. It’s just something that gets done every day, regardless of what else is going on. It can take very little time, but if it doesn’t happen, I start to feel it. And if I let it go more than a couple days, others around me start to feel it too. I’m not a nice person when I don’t paint!

But, I’m also still crafting. This is my latest. Tassel topped pumpkins.

You won’t see a tutorial because I stole this ice a from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Also, it’s pretty easy to figure on your end – just wrap the stem in yarn and add some tassels. I’m using tassels leftover from last years Granny Christmas tree, but there might be a good tutorial on that somewhere (ahem).

The skeletons are still up. Still looking like pole dancers. Again, one of those things that wasn’t intentional, but I’m okay with it. Don’t ask the neighbors. Speaking of neighbors…story time!

When I was a kid there was this one house in the neighborhood who handed out full size Snickers bars on Halloween. It wasn’t the fanciest house in town, and nobody knew anything much about the people who lived inside, but everyone knew that was “the house with the full size Snickers” and the words were spoken in whispers with reverence. Well, folks. It took me 30 something years to get there, but today is the day I am the house with full size Snickers AND DON’T IT FEEL GOOD.

Hashtag: life goals.

Other stuff going on: Back to painting –I just launched an art sale. Mostly big canvases that have been in the works for months. But also some prints of previously sold work, like this one “Tea for Mrs. Norris” who now lives with Kristin in Canada.

I had to crop in slightly to accommodate standard frame sizes, but you can buy her now as a print called”Cookies for Mrs. Norris.”

Use code LOLA20 for 20% off this week. I also have a real website just for my art. Woot! Look who is adulting now?

Got to run. The Trick-or Treaters around here start mercilessly early. Happy Halloween to you and yours!

Dancing Skeletons – Boo It Yourself

by aunt peaches

Greetings loved ones.

October 1 has come and gone which means it’s full throttle on the Halloween decorations. Amiright?

In years past I have settled for some pumpkins and spider webs but this year I wanted something a little more substantial. Something spooky. Something…skeletal.

Isn’t it weird how he looks like he is dancing and laughing?

If I had come back from the dead as a skeleton and some broad wired me to a column, I would not be laughing. Or dancing.

Like I said – spooky. And it gets better – there are three of them.

This guy is my favorite. I rigged his hand so it looks like he is waving. But sometimes the hand flops over and it looks like he’s asking for money. ]

Leave it to me get a greedy skeleton.

I know you are looking at this and wondering how they stay up. Honestly, they stay up on their own. I added some floral wire to keep them in place through wind and rain, but these skeletons are opposable. The joints move and lock into place. Actually, lock is a strong word – more like click. They click into place. So long as the feet and hips are set up sturdy they hold just about any position.

Also. You like the wreaths?

Confession: The truth is this post was supposed to be about wreaths. I went to Michaels and bought a bunch of fall foliage and gourds and wreath forms and a couple friends and I sat on the porch and made fall wreaths and drank wine and ate dip and I took a ton of photos. I thought a wreath making party was a clever idea, isn’t it? Yeah I know!

But you know what’s not so clever? Dropping your phone in the sink the next day. Photos gone. This sink situation also happened to be the day the new iPhone launched so, getting anyone to repair or replace the phone was nearly impossible. I’m still waiting on delievery. So this is my way of saying, if you have called or texted me in the last two weeks, I probably didn’t get it. This is also my way of saying I cannot show you how to make these wreaths step-by-step, but I promise you can get all the supplies at Michaels. You can also pick up an opposable skeleton while you are there. And that’s the cool part.

What sort of Halloween craftiness are you thinking about this year? If you make anything fun and share it on social media please tag me – I would love to see it! And if you get the supplies at Michaels, tag them too because they love that stuff! Whether you’re into spooky sights, playful pumpkins or giggling ghouls, Michaels is your Boo-It-Yourself Halloween Headquarters and has tons of ideas for DIY costumes and décor.

Be sure to check out all of the other Michaels Makers Boo-It-Yourself Halloween ideas on the Michaels blog!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Easiest Glitter Pumpkins

by aunt peaches

Yesterday marked the first day of fall and so begins the annual PUMPKIN SPECTACULAR. This weekend I’m clearing off a credenza and filling with all the weird and sparkly skulls and gourds I have collected and made over the years. Maybe there will be a spooky movie in the background and a scented candle going and maybe some pie and holy cats it is going to be AMAZING.

Listen, I never said I was cool.

Speaking of cool – glitter pumpkins. I love a seriously sparkled up pumpkin but the Folks at Aeleen’s Tacky Glue asked me to come up with a super simple sparkle pumpkin that was friendly to all ages and skill levels, easy on the wallet, and capitalizes on the wonder that is Tacky Glue. You could do this with regular white glue but it will just drip into a one big mess, and that ain’t cute. You need the original. Pop on over to get the tutorial and make one for yourself.

Happy Weekend!

Chalky Finish Painted Furniture

by aunt peaches

A few years ago I started getting emails from product companies about chalk paint. Chalk paint this, chalk paint that. It was, dare I use the word; trendy. The advantage of chalk paint over other sorts of furniture paint was that, in addition to a soft matte finish, the application process was far more forgiving than regular paint. Minimal prep work, less-noticeable brush strokes, and some nifty self-leveling properties that made any paint job look professional. Neat stuff right? But the price tag for the trendy chalk paint ran around $40 for a quart. And even more if you bought the finishing wax. So, all-in, you were looking at $80 in supplies to paint a $10 thrift store chair? No thanks.

Granted, those emails were from people contacting me to offer free samples, but, when you are a blogger and you take stuff for free there is an expectation that you will post about it, and that puts the blogger in an awkward spot. If I hate the product and I post an honest review, it hurts the company and makes me look bad for whining in public. If I like the stuff and talk about it, people second guess the honesty of the review and/or it looks like I’m pandering for free stuff (which is hilarious because the last thing in the world I need or want is MORE STUFF). So, for the most part, the only time I take a product review or sponsored post is if I have already put my own hard earned money on the line to buy it. Because if I buy it and like it, I can tell you, with all sincerity, that it is worth the money. Which brings us to the product of the day: Deco Art Chalky Finish Paint.

I saw this on an end cap at Michaels earlier this year and grabbed a few pots. I liked the colors – muted and pale but not pastel. I liked the size – at 8oz they are bigger than regular acrylic tubes, smaller than a quart of house paint, large enough to dip a whole brush in the top. I liked the price tag – under $10. Way, way less than the $40 I had seen (and spent) on those other kinds of chalk paint. So I thought, why not give it a wirl? And you know what?

It goes on LIKE A DREAM. It has a sort of creaminess to it that you don’t find in acrylic paint. The color is opaque without being too thick, but dries smooth in a way you usually only get from thin house paint. So yeah, I’m a fan. So when the folks at Deco Art asked if they could sponsor a post wherein I overhaul a piece of furniture with their line of chalky paint I was like UMMM YES PLEASE.

Most people use chalk paint finishes for revamping old furniture – flea market-esque, antiquey looking things with distressed edges, which is AWESOME, but I wanted to see if it could use it for something for modern. Utilitarian. Functional, yet whimsical. And then I rolled over and saw my old Ikea dresser and an idea was born.

Back to the paint. For this project I needed three things;

Deco Art Chalky finish paint (Everlasting white and Artifact Grey)
Deco Art Creme Wax (clear)
Sponge Brush
Flat head paint brush
Soft cloth

First you paint the base. I’m thinking you know how that part goes. However, two things worth noting here. 1. You don’t have to sand furniture before chalk paint but I scuffed up the top because the surface of this piece gets used daily – so not only do I want to make sure it sticks, I want to even out any existing damage (the paint is forgiving, but c’mon, help a sister out!). 2. I like painting flat surface furniture with a flat sponge brush. The wider the better. It’s great for spreading thin, even coats, but is great for cleaning up the corners and edges were drips usually accumulate. For a more rounded or ornate piece I’d use a regular brush.

I let it dry for an hour then added a second coat. One coat probably would have worked on an older piece, but I wanted it to look new-ish. Two coats was best.

Now for the fun part: dashes. Did I also mention I’m nuts about dashes?

Dashes are the new polka dot. Polka dots were the new chevron, and chevron was the new stripe…but that’s all yesterday’s news because dashes are in. Not just dotted line dashes, but imperfect, non-symetracl, floppy dashes. Footprints in the snow kinds of dashes. Dashes with crooked edges and uneven spacing. Dashes are a DIY’ers dream because they require very little skill and look best when slightly sloppy. What?!

I know. Dashes are fantastic!

After everything dried overnight, I went over it with the cream wax. You can use a brush but I just smeared it on with an old rag. Initially it deepens the color slightly, but it dries clear. Not shiny, not matte, just a soft wax finish like you would expect on good quality furniture. An hour later I added the knobs and put the whole piece back my bed where it belongs and BAM. Here it is!

It look the better part of one pot to do the base coat of this dresser, but I saved the rest for other purposes. It’s high quality enough that I used it on some of my flower paintings – you can see the grey here in this one…

And there again are those dashes.

Dashes today, dashes tomorrow, dashes forever!

You’ll find a variety of Deco Art paint pots at your local Michaels store. This project speaks specifically to their chalky finish, but I also like the satin enamels. Haven’t tried their metallic line (yet) but I have plans for it and some Christmas ornaments. They are going to look seriously cute together.

Have you joined the chalk paint parade? Join in the fun. And let me know how it turns out!

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In the spirit of full disclosure, this post is sponsored by Deco Art. All opinions expressed within are my own and my praise for this product is unbiased – the stuff is just that good. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this site possible.

The Unfussy Dinner Party

by aunt peaches

With barbecue season on its way out the door, it’s time to bring entertaining indoors. Welcome your friends. Treat your family. Invite your neighbors. Celebrate the everyday!

Today’s post is brought to you by the folks at Fancy Feast, because if there is one thing you can count on, it’s that cat people love to party.

And by party I mean eat a cozy meal with a small group of friends and be home by 11pm, aka: a dinner party.

Party on cat people!

Here is the thing about dinner parties: As a kid, I had the impression dinner parties were something adults hosted or attend every other day. As an adult, not so much. Dinner parties are less frequent and way more effort than you might think, but, that’s mostly because we put pressure on ourselves to be overly formal.

“That dinner party was nice but they should have tried to impress us more.” -SAID NOBODY EVER

So. Let’s take the sting out. Let’s break down the five keys to a good, festive, low-stress, fabulously unfussy dinner party!

Food: S+3P
Ever been to someone’s house for dinner and the host spends the whole time in the kitchen preparing an overly complicated recipe they saw in a magazine? And then they get frustrated and overwhelmed and you want to tell them IT’S OKAY PAL, LET’S JUST CALL OUT FOR PIZZA AND BEER but the struggle in the kitchen continues for hours, and then the food comes out and you have to pretend you appreciate their grand effort but really you would have preferred pizza and beer? Yeah. That’s not fun. That’s why all dinner party food falls under what is called The S and Three P’s. I’m not sure who made up this rule, but it’s a good one. S is for salad and the three P’s are pizza, pasta, pot roast. Mind you, those are umbrella food groups not literal suggestions. I’m not saying it has to be pasta – you can serve lasagna, or a pork roast, or whatever, but, the point remains, these are foods that can be 90% prepped before the guests get there and everybody likes them and everyone knows how to make one good version of either pizza, pasta, or pot roast. And salad is easy. And if you don’t know how to make salad, buy a couple from take-out and put it in a big bowl before guests arrive and nobody will know you didn’t make it. And you can serve salad at the end of the meal and everyone will think you are French and fancy pants. (Getouttahere!) All of this means the host (YOU) won’t be stressed and the guests will be happy. And if all else fails, get a really good frozen pizza and drizzle it with exotic pickings like truffle oil, or fresh basil, or arugula, or some foofy pink Himalayan sea salt. Unless you are professional chef, people are coming to see you – not your food. So keep it basic. Save the fancy experimental stuff for nights with just you and the cats. Cats love fancy experimental food.

Music: Low Key
Picking the music for a dinner party is a thankless task because if you do it right, nobody will notice it. Ever. Music is the foundation garment of the evening providing a layer of support – nobody needs to notice it. Let it set a baseline atmosphere but never steal the show. So, while it is the thoughtful details that make guests feel appreciated – music isn’t the place to showcase. Don’t worry, and don’t spend too much time on it – hook up a music app and choose something without too many words. Suggestion: search Spotify or Google Music for “dinner party” and you will find plenty to choose from. Plenty.

Place Settings: Paper Napkins are Your Friends
True story: One time, many years ago, I was enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner at a friend’s family home when someone accidently dropped cranberry sauce on the Great Grandma’s lace tablecloth. The guest felt awful and apologized profusely, but not before the hostess made everyone remove their half-eaten plates and put the food in the kitchen so she could strip the tablecloth and set it to soak before the stain set in. And while I can’t blame the hostess for taking care of a family heirloom, it cast a shadow on the rest of the evening and mortified her guest. Had she just kept the lace tablecloth out of the equation, none of this would have happened. I have seen this same scenario with inherited/wedding china more times than I care to admit. This is a personal choice, but, I would never bring out the fancy stuff for a dinner party. Why? Because I want my guests to be comfortable my home, and the surest way to make people uncomfortable is to make them tense about scraping a plate or dropping a glass. It is more important to me that people feel relaxed than impressed by some old china, or flatware, or crystal stemware. Chances are, if you only bring “the good china” out for company, you are nervous about people using it, and that vibe carries over to your guests whether you intend it or not. That’s a sure-fire way to make the evening dull and unnecessarily-formal. So how about this; just serve company on everyday dishes! Make it special and festive by adding flowers or napkins. Paper napkins in unusual colors or prints make everything seem festive. Or better yet, start using the good china everyday! Or accept that some fancy things can be showpieces that live in a glass case or hang on a wall. There is no shame in treating things nicely, just not to the detriment of your guests. People matter more than o.

Treat company like family and treat family like company.

Drinks: The Forgotten Art
Everyone needs a signature cocktail. Cocktail carts have home back into vogue in recent years, which is wonderfully charming but also baffling because hardly anyone (who isn’t a bartender) knows how to mix drinks. What is this about? So, want to impress company? Learn how to mix one really good cocktail. Make it your signature. Make it so good that people invite you to their house and insist you make the martini/sidecar/pinacolada/gimlet because you are so good at it. Get the proportions and the ingredients down so you could make it in your sleep. Be picky about ingredients. Buy one of those jumbo ice cube things. Have a story about where you learned to make this wonderful concoction. Doesn’t matter! People will appreciate your dedication to the art and that will make it taste better, if not The Best.

Company: Always Have Someone (or Something) to Celebrate
Want to make someone feel special in your home? Make them the guest of honor. Find a guest who has a recent occasion worth celebrating. Is it close to their birthday? Is somebody get promoted at work? Did they just complete a race? A personal goal? Come back from a big trip? Going back to school? …You get the idea. There is always something SOMEBODY in the room is doing that is notable, so raise a toast to them! Put some candles on a cake. Or make their favorite food. Not a big whoop – just enough to give them some recognition and the occasion a sense of festiveness. Celebrations mark the passage of time and give people a reason to enjoy themselves and congratulate each other. So enjoy!

And who was the guest of honor at this particular meal? None other than my cat Lolabelle. She is celebrating eight years since she came home from the shelter (and counting!). How does one celebrate feline nobility in a worthy-yet-non-obtrusive fashion? She gets her favorite food: Fancy Feast Medleys.

To be honest, Lola is a less than ideal dinner party guest because she is a first rate picky eater. But she is nuts about this line from Fancy Feast – not just quality meat but real vegetables and cheese. There are four pate varieties to choose from, her favorite being White Meat Chicken Florentine Pate with Cheese & Garden Greens. Even the name sounds elegant enough to be served at the table. I love it because, like a good dinner party, it is fancy, but it also comes in a can.

Elegant + Unfussy = Favorite.

Check out the complete line of Fancy Feast Medleys!

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Thank you for supporting the brands that make this site possible. Thank you to Fancy Feast for sponsoring this post.
Thank you to Lola for allowing me to adopt her and giving me a reason to celebrate everyday!

Painted Pumpkins: Anything But Orange

by aunt peaches

*Whooosh!*

Did you hear that?

That was the sound of summer getting up and leaving. Says she’s only going to get a sandwich and “I’ll be back in a minute.” but you know darn well she ain’t coming back for eight months. Maybe more. We can dwell on this or we can prepare for the festivities of ~~pumpkin latte~~ autumn season. Huzah!

And let’s be honest; is it ever to early for pumpkins?

Duh. No. It’s always time for pumpkins, especially if they look like 1980s rainbow arcade games dressed as gourds.

I know what you are thinking: Why green pumpkins?

Not going to lie: I have no idea. It wasn’t my agenda to make green pumpkins and actually, in person they seem more multi-color than green, but you know, sometimes certain colors want to shine brighter. I’m not going to stand in the way. For me, I have always been nuts about adding a dash of mint and lime and turquoise to counterbalance the typical fall scheme of red and orange. And you don’t see that a whole lot. So I brought my green game up a notch and you know what? I’m digging it.

And nothing wrong a dash of magenta too. Right magenta?

Right.

Want to see their origins in action?

Here we go…

Get yourself a bag of mixed gourds from Michaels. The little ones. You can buy big ones but you get a lot more bang for your buck with the variety pack of little ones. They are 40% off this week, so yeah. You might need to hit that. And while you are over there, grab some acrylic craft paint and some brushes. I also decided to go nuts and use a white paint pen and glitter the stems, but that’s optional y’all. The paint is the key.

1. Dab. Dab on the paint with a brush. Like loose, non symmetrical polka dots.

2. Splursh. Splursh some diluted paint all over. No, splursh is not a real word but it’s more accurate than splatter. Splurshing is when you load the brush then run your finger across the bristles and pray to God it ends up where you want it, maybe, but probably not.

3. Glue. Smother the stem or maybe the whole top of the pumpkin with an extra thick white glue like Tacky Glue.

4. Glitter. Pour glitter all over. Tap off excess.

Not Pictured, step 1.5, wherein I accidently dropped all the newly painted pumpkins in the grass, all the colors mixed up in each other, thought I liked it, then let it dry and decided to go over the ugly spots with a white paint pen. I repeatedly conclude that white paint pens fix everything.

So that’s about it. How about you – are you jumping on the pumpkin train early this year? Will you buck the orange pumpkin tradition for lime and turquoise? Do tell!

Looking for new autumn craft ideas? Check out what the other Michael’s Makers are doing this fall.

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