Holiday Lights

This post is quite late in the month to be much help for this year, but I know I'll be pinning if for next years outdoor decorations.  Jenna of Hey Homeslice had a really original lighting idea and put together a great tutorial for you.
-----
Hi everyone! Thanks for having me again, Natalie. Today I'm going to show you a project we worked on this month. I know it's close to Christmas- but this is a really simple job. You can knock it out in a few hours and have your own holiday lights star ready just in time for the big day!

Materials:

1 x 2" strips of mdf

Screws

Drill

Handsaw

Measuring tape

Paint/ stain

Christmas lights (we used 5 or 6 100 light strands)
Extension cord (optional)

Lay out your boards until you have a star shape, don't forget to measure to make sure your sides really are even. Nothing worse than finishing a project just to notice it's a little lopsided!

Mark your boards so you can realign them if things get a little wonky. Things always get a little wonky.

Next just drill some screws in where the boards meet, we did two at every intersection just to make sure it was really strong.

Now saw off any excess wood at each star point and in the middle so you're left with something like this:

We liked the wood raw, but I think it would be really beautiful painted in an extra trim/front door paint, or even stained! Now all you need to do is wrap a zillion lights around it, and it will be gorgeous!

So romantic and beautiful, and full of holiday spirit all at the same time. So, what do you think? Do you have a spot on your house/garage/barn/loft/apartment building/igloo for a giant star? It looks beautiful outside, but I think it could also be a fabulous statement indoors. It also makes a perfect last-minute gift for those who are hard to buy for!

Don't you just love holiday lights??

Happy Weekend!

How time flies!  Just over a week until Christmas!  I've received a few kind emails this week wondering if I was alright (thank you) and I am.  I don't feel great yet, but I'm definitely better.  I'm moving around a lot more now and have actually spent a few hours painting in the garage.  I couldn't believe how much I'd missed the sounds of my compressor and the zip of my air tools!

At this point, I haven't been working much because I have quite a bit of makeup time to put in with my kids before I allow my work schedule to get hectic again.  They held on so long and did so well for about two months and then they all started acting out at the same time and it was obvious this pregnancy has been just as hard for them as it has for me.  

On a positive note, we should find out the sex of the baby next week and we're all so excited.  Though, I'll be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do if it's a girl.  Charlotte (the 2 year old) and I are the only ones that don't have incredibly strong feelings on the subject.  Isabelle (the 4 year old), told me last night as she rubbed my belly, "I love your baby.  But what if it's a girl?"  Ha!  I couldn't help but laugh.  Four girls and one boy would probably make for a lot of drama around here.

I don't know about most of you, but I sure wish my tree looked like this one.

image

My grandma always decorated her tree with colorful vintage ornaments just like this and I'm now wishing I had a few of them to hang on mine.  I'll be scouring the after-Christmas sales for a white tree just like this one!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

The Girls with Glasses Show

A few weeks ago I had this great opportunity to do a video with The Girls with Glasses.  Summer Bellessa and Brooke White were so fun to work with!  If you click over and watch the show, keep in mind it's my first real video attempt beyond my 10th grade Spanish video report….which was a total bomb, by the way. So be nice.  I, myself, can't watch the interview with both eyes open.