DIY DRIED ORANGE GARLAND

December 1, 2021December 2, 2021by sweetsoutherngraces8 Comments

Last Christmas, I wanted to try the diy dried orange garland that was all over Instagram! I couldn’t try it out because we were living in our camper, which had no oven, while we built our barndominium! This year, I knew I would be trying it! Dried orange garland is super easy, plus budget friendly as well! check out my REEL on IG!

Today, I am joining a group of blogging friends for a fun Christmas DIY blog hop, hosted by Terrie, Decorate and More with Tip !

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DRIED ORANGE GARLAND

This garland is perfect for hanging on your Christmas tree, mantel, on a cabinet, gathered around your window or even as trim for your Christmas gifts! It takes a little bit of time, but your house will smell amazing and it is SO worth the effort!

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ITEMS NEEDED

10-12 Oranges
Scissors/knife
Twine
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut off ends of oranges. Slice oranges into about 1/4 inch thick in slices.

2. Place oranges, in single layer, onto baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake for 4-6 hours or uintil completely dry.

4. Make a knot into the end of a piece of twine and thread oranges through.

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TIPS

Pat oranges dry before placing in oven. This helps to take out some of the moisture. I also opened my oven occassionally to let out some of the steam. Oranges are dried when the pulp is see-through. I held mine up to a window and if the pulp was see-though, it was done!

I am so glad that I made dried orange garland this year! I love it’s simplicity during the Christmas season! You could even leave it up as winter decor through February! I may add this to my yearly traditions! Check out a few of my friends as we all have gotten together to share a Christmas DIY! I know you will love what they are sharing with you! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

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Decorate and More with Tip

DIY

DIY CLEAR CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

December 2, 2020April 16, 2021by sweetsoutherngraces17 Comments

CHALLENGE DEETS

Today I am teaming up with several of my blogging friends to share how we each put our own spin on a clear ornament. My friend Terrie from Decorating and More with Tip is our host and always has creative challenges for our group!

I know you will love to see the DIY ornament from my friend Tara!

FAMILY TRADITIONS

I have always enjoyed making Christmas ornaments. I started this tradition with our family, for my husband and I’s first Christmas together. He actually was recovering from major abdominal surgery and I wanted to have something fun for us to do, while he was at home. I have continued this tradition, every year in our family. I have made all types of ornaments from salt dough ornaments to hand painted ornaments!

LETS MAKE ORNAMENTS

Come follow along with me, as I show you, just how easy and budget friendly it can be to make your own ornaments! Plus it is so much fun and it will be memories that you can add on your Christmas tree, year after year!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

*Clear ornament(s)

*Fabric

*Ribbon

*Flocked Garland

*Mini Pine Cones

*Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

*Jute Twine

I grabbed this six count of clear ornaments in the Dollar Section of Target for $3! I wanted some smaller ornaments to put on our mini Christmas tree for our camper. Since our camper is decorated in a rustic, boho type decor, I decided to go with black checkered fabric and burlap ribbon to cover my ornaments, that I purchased from Hobby Lobby.

I also picked up small pine cones and some flocked greenery with red berries.

HOW TO MAKE THE ORNAMENTS

These ornaments are really simple to make. Plus, they make great gifts too!

I tied my jute twine around the ornament top base to my desired length, for the ribbon hanger.

Next, I cut my fabric a few inches wider than the diameter of my ornament, then began lightly adding hot glue to the ornament and wrapping the fabric around the ornament.

I could not find any burlap ribbon at my Hobby Lobby, so I purchased an eighth of a yard of burlap to cut my own “ribbon”.

I cut my ribbon in one inch strips.

Next, I tied my burlap ribbon around the ornament then added a few strands of jute twine by tieing them into the burlap ribbon.

For the greenery, pine cones and berries, I just cut from the greenery and pine cones bunches that I purchased from Hobby Lobby. Add a little dab of hot glue and your good to go! You can also adjust your burlap ribbon to look neater by adding dabs of hot glue to the back of the ribbon, attaching it to the ornament. How simple are these ornaments!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope y’all have enjoyed reading about my DIY Clear Ornamants! I love that these will be a memory on my Christmas tree, year after year! I hope you will check out the other ladies to see what they have come up with for their clear ornaments!

I know you will love to see how this ornament by Jodi turned out!

Love~Shae

Decorate and More with Tip|Purple Hues and Me|Cloches and Lavender|Pallet and Pantry

Patina and Paint|Paula’s Handmade Space|Stilettos and Shiplap|Sweet Southern Grace

The House House|B4 and Afters

DIY

DIY CARDBOARD GINGERBREAD HOUSE and YARN CHRISTMAS TREES

November 13, 2020April 16, 2021by sweetsoutherngraces11 Comments

SURPRISE BOX CHALLENGE

Today I am teaming up with our host, Terrie from Decorating and More with Tip plus several of our blogging buddies to do a Surprise Box Challenge. Rules: Take $10 to buy items that are challenging to make high end home decor. Required to use one item out of the box.

SURPRISE BOX ITEMS RECEIVED

My friend Emily received my name and she sent me the following items: A card board gingerbread house, several styrofoam trees, along with several wood pedestal and mini christmas ornaments.

DIY GINGERBREAD HOUSE

As soon as I saw the cardboard gingerbread house, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! I already had a chalk pen on hand, so I decided to use the chalk pen as my “icing”. I knew I wanted to create a neutral pallete for Christmas decor in our camper.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE ROOF AND CHIMNEY

I just began drawing the “icing” with my chalk pen. For the roof, I used a scalloped design, then decided to fill it in. I also lined all of the edges of the roof with the chalk pen to help define the shape of the roof. I did the same for the chimney!

GINGERBREAD HOUSE WINDOWS

For the windows, I heavily used outlined each window then added scallops to the edges and dots around the windows as well.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DOOR

For the door, I heavily outlined the door, added an arch with a heart and dots. Above the door, I added more dots and a heart.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE TRIM

For the trim, I added scallops around the top with dots. I free handed everything but if you don’t feel comfortable with that, you could always lightly pencil in then go back with your chalk pen.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE BACK AND FLOOR

For the back of the gingerbread house and the floor, I just added scallops, then sort of filled them in, leaving a little of the card board coloring to show through. So easy and fun to do!

YARNS CHRISTMAS TREES

I definitely wanted to make some Christmas trees to go with our little gingerbread house! I decided to make some yarn Christmas trees, as I had the yarn on hand as well! First, I glued the styrofoam trees to the wood pedestal’s, then began adding a small amount of hot glue on the trees and wrapping yarn around twicce. I think they turned out so adorable! My youngest two daughters love playing with them!

FINISHED PRODUCT

I had a blast creating this little christmas scene for our camper Christmas decor!! I would love for ya’ll to see what my other blogging friends have come up with for our Surprise Box Challenge!!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope I have inspired ya’ll to create budget friendly Christmas decor for your home! I always look around my home to see what I can upcycle as well! You never know what you can create with something you already have in your home!! Hop on over to Tara’s blog to see what I sent her in her Surprise Box Challenge! Please check out my other friends to see what they’ve created for their homes with our Surprise Box Challenge!

Love~Shae

Terrie – Decorate and More with Tip

https://decorateandmorewithtip.com/3-christmas-decorations-surprise-box-challenge/

Tammy – Patina and Paint

https://patinaandpaint.com/surprisebox-challenge

Tara – Stilettos and Shiplap

https://stilettosandshiplap.com/surprise-box-challenge-christmas-edition/6497/

Jodi – The House House

https://www.thehousehouse.com/diy/christmas-surprise-box-challenge

Mariah – Worcester Run

https://www.worcesterrun.com/post/surprise-diy-challenge

Shae – Sweet Southern Grace