Posts Tagged ‘home decor’

DIY: floral topiary

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Many of you are so over Winter and ready for Spring. Right? Here’s a little DIY project that will keep you cozy indoors and add a little bit of sunshine in your space. It’s a floral topiary and it is E-A-S-Y!

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This was my inspiration. My talented friend Megan made these and they’re the perfect splash of color and texture in her home. Are your wheels spinning with ideas yet? As you can see, the concept is super versatile. Her flowers and my flowers are different. Her arrangements set right in the candlestick things and mine is a tall topiary. Very different bases. Completely different results. And yet the process is pretty much the same.

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Basic supplies needed: styrofoam ball, flowers, hot glue gun (all found at your local craft store).

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You’ll also need a pot or candlestick or some sort of base. I love shops like Home Goods, Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, etc. for great bargains on cool pieces. Target, WalMart, flea markets, yard sales … really, you can find something just about anywhere. You may even have something laying around your house that could use a fresh coat of paint.

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Your silk flowers will likely have stems.

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Step 1: Separate flowers from stems. This usually means just pulling them off.

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Step 2: Put hot glue on the bottom of a flower.

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Step 3: Press that flower into the styrofoam ball and hold it there for a few seconds to ensure it’s secure.

Tip: If your flowers have tips that stick out a little bit like mine did, push that into the styrofoam first so the little dent is already there. Then add the hot glue and press the flower into that indention.

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Step 4: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

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Cover the entire ball except to leave part of the bottom uncovered. If you’re creating a piece like Megan’s, you could leave a larger section open to set in its base. If you’re making a topiary like mine, you’re only leaving a small space to insert a stick.

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Step 5 for a topiary: Shove floral foam in your base.

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Step 6: Insert your stick (I spray-painted mine silver) into the bottom of the ball.

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Step 7: Finish filling in the gaps with your last flowers.

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Step 8: Insert the topiary stick into the floral foam.

Tip: Cut the ends of your stick at an angle so that it’s easier to stick into both the floral foam as well as the styrofoam ball.

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Step 9: Use some mossy grassy stuff … or whatever you want at the base. Hot glue helps keep it all in place.

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Step 10: The finishing touch is to perhaps add a piece of fruit, or a few smaller pieces.

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Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 39 Comments »

weekend inspiration.

Friday, January 7th, 2011

As we head into a weekend I wanted to share some fun ideas with you, curtesy of a few dear readers like yourself.

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{ inspired by her creative paper uses }

Rosie in South Australia didn’t have a hard time thinking of ways to use the bonus designer cardstock in her Amber Edition of Project Life. First of all, she took some “blah” magazine holders and turned them into darling-yet-functional accessories.

She also framed some of the paper. Rosie wrote: “I do this all the time. I have white frames in my hall and rotate regularly with the kids’ artwork, Christmas wrapping paper at Christmas time, quotes and sayings etc. Even fabric looks great. You don’t have to be an artist to create great looking art! And all of this costs next to nothing. I am looking forward to making cards with the rest of the paper too. The cardstock really is a great addition to the kit.”

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{ inspired by her enthusiasm }

I enjoyed a good laugh reading this email from reader Denise in Pennsylvania: “After daily checking the UPS tracking website… And by daily, I mean about ten times a day… IT ARRIVED! I just spent nearly two hours setting it up. It was two hours of bliss!”

She continues: “I was alone in the house & this was my conversation out loud:

12:43 PM: “I hear it! I hear [the UPS truck]!”

12:44 PM: *waves* “Thanks, Mr. UPS man!” (He looked at me like I was absolutely insane).

12:45 PM: Grabbed my camera and started shooting!

1:00 PM: (Started Opening)

1:10 PM: “Hey, Where are my month bookmarks?”

1:11 PM: (Opens another box) “Oh, they’re here!” “THEY’RE HERE! THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL!”

1:12 PM: “I thought I was supposed to have bi-fold journaling cards.”

1:13 PM: “OOH! There they are! Oh my goodness. This is awesome.”

1:14 PM: “This is awesome.”

1:15 PM: “Becky Higgins, I love you.”

1:17 PM: “Seriously, Becky Higgins. Your website doesn’t do this project justice.”

1:20 PM: “If I had a million dollars, I’d buy this for everyone I knew that was getting married, having kids, moving… everyone!”

1:45 PM: “Becky, I heart you & Project Life”

1:50 PM: “I LOVE THIS! I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS!”

3:30 PM: My parents come home as I’m sitting in the middle of Project-Life-land and asks how my day is going. My response? *grins* “Oh, nothing. Just having the best day of my life.”

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{ inspired by her loyalty and awesome project-follow-through }

Karen in Wisconsin wrote: “I just wanted to share with you how much you have inspired me. Your blog is about the only blog I read and I try just about all of your ideas. I’m not one to come up with crafty things on my own BUT I LOVE to copy good ideas! I wanted to show you just SOME of the examples. THANK YOU for all your wonderful ideas!!!”

Photograph inspired by Tracy’s picture in this post (3rd one down). Announcement inspired by this post.

Inspired by this post – making your own custom coasters.

Inspired by all the spray-painting posts. For example, this one.

Inspired by the Gratitude family project in this post.

Inspired by how we organize in our home office, as shown in this post.

Inspired by a photo display in our home office, as shown in this post.

Inspired by this post about making digital invites.

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If you’d like to share your projects with me, particularly if you’ve done something outside-the-box with your Project Life kits or any Becky Higgins products, I’d love to see. Feel free to email your pictures to submissions@beckyhiggins.com.

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Posted in style & design | 7 Comments »

1st Video of Christmas

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Music is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, sung by Colbie Caillat.
And here is a print for you — a festive reminder of simple wisdom.

For the transcript, click HERE for the PDF.

Four sizes available in the Free Stuff section (top of the sidebar). Know what else is in the Free Stuff section? Holiday card templates all ready for you to just drop your picture in — 5 designs to choose from.

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Posted in holidays & seasons | 82 Comments »

recent POTDs.

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

In the world of Project Life, and specifically for those of us who are capturing a slice of life every day, POTD is an everyday term. It stands for Picture of the Day. Our kids have even started having an opinion of what they think should be in the POTD for our family’s yearbook. Love that.

It’s been a while since I’ve shared some POTDs, so here’s a look at some recent shots that help to illustrate our family’s story.

I’m a re-arranger. In our home, I move things around on a regular basis. This is the latest arrangement in the middle of our kitchen table. It’ll likely be different in a couple weeks. This photo illustrates my interest in home decor as well as one of my personality traits (I rearranged my bedroom furniture all the time as a kid.)

Reminder to moms who are creating books for their kids & families: Don’t forget to include yourself, your hobbies, your quirks, your interests. You are just as much part of the story.

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We are so grateful that Porter (7) and Claire (4) have such a special friendship and get along really well. One of their latest “things” is that Porter massages Claire’s ears. I’m serious. Totally random and totally sweet. This photo illustrates Porter’s caring nature and represents their sweet relationship.

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Last night’s dinner: French Dip sandwiches. One of our favorites and the kids’ first time eating them. Click here for the recipe. This photo illustrates an everyday occurrence and basic human function — eating. It’s part of life and therefore, part of our story.

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Our oldest niece has left for college. I’ve been thinking about Kyra a lot and wondering how she’s doing. So excited that she is going to experience life away from home. So excited for what is in store for her — educationally, socially, spiritually. So this was part of our text conversation this past week. This photo illustrates a family relationship, how texting is a part of our world, and how I personally embrace new beginnings in life.

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Speaking of new beginnings … our baby is learning to swim! Crew has had a handful of lessons and I work with him as much as I can. Every day he has had a lesson he is extra snuggly with me. And I dig it. Particularly because David is the main recipient of Crew’s snuggles at home. This photo illustrates how much this sweet boy really does loves his mama and how much I eat it up when he slows down enough to snuggle with me.

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The other night Porter wanted to watch some spy show. I wanted him to hang with me in the office while I did some projects. A few minutes later he handed this to me. I had no idea he was working on it. Honestly, I think the boy knows I’m a sucker for his art. Very manipulative, isn’t he? Of course I fell for it. This photo illustrates how Porter uses art to communicate his deepest desires. (Note: I scanned the art.)

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Every day there is something worth recording. Actually, there are a thousand little things worth recording. But even just taking a picture of one thing, writing one story or anecdote — these all add up to illustrate the story of our life. Even if it’s not every day, I know that so many of you are doing what you can to tell your story. I just love that.

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Posted in photography | 12 Comments »

how to make a fruit topiary

Monday, July 12th, 2010

A little do-it-yourself home decor project to start off the week.  (I’ll be announcing the Project Life winner later today.)

(I know someone’s going to ask about the yellow candlestick and that turquoise vase-pot-container-thing. Got both of them at Home Goods.)

This is what you need:

styrofoam ball (I used a larger size but you have options)

sturdy toothpicks

hot glue gun

small flowers or moss (more on that toward the end of the post)

mini fake fruit ( same or a variety). I picked up a couple of these little variety packages of mini fruit at Target, in the home decor section, but you can find mini fruit at your local craft store too.

So this is what you do to start: Poke a toothpick in the bottom of one of the little fruits:

Then you stick that anywhere on the styrofoam ball. Push it all the way down:

Repeat those first two steps with each little fruit, placing them side by side or clustered, so long as they’re touching one another. Nestle them as close as possible:

Keep adding fruit. Get some water and stay hydrated.  : )

You will eventually have your entire ball covered in fruit. Adorableness:

Okay … notice all those gaps? There are a couple ways to fix this. 1) Cover your ball with crafting moss first so that you see that instead of styrofoam. Or 2) use very small flowers to fill the gaps. I picked up a couple bunches of these flowers. The yellow goes well and they’re little. Perfect.

Trim the little flowers so there is just a short stubby stem:

One by one, hot-glue those little flowers between the fruit, filling in all the gaps:

That’s it! Done. So easy. And there is even something therapeutic about covering a styrofoam ball with fruit or flowers. (I’ll be sharing a flower topiary soon.) Know what? This could be a really fun project to do … on your own, with your friends, with your kids …

And remember: Those big craft stores (Michael’s, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, etc.) — they offer great coupons (like 40% an item) and have sales on florals and stuff ALL the time. There’s no reason to pay full price. Also keep in mind that the bigger your styrofoam ball, the more stuff (fruit, moss, flowers) you’ll have to have to cover it.

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Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 20 Comments »