• Holidays & Seasons

    His & Hers Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

    The big day is quickly approaching and we wanted to share some last minute ideas for his and hers Valentine’s Day gifts. All of items below go above and beyond the typical flowers and candy notion and will hopefully keep you from sleeping on the couch for the rest of February. *wink*

    His/Hers Valentine's 2014

    HisKeychain Multi-Tool, Arber Aftershave Balm, Marine Ribbed Scarf, Icon Whisky Stones, Classic Baseball Cap, Printed Rubber Case for iPhone 5/5s

    HersMust-Have Infinity Scarf, Urban Decay Naked3, Infinity Love Knot Pendant, Angels Heavenly Angel Mist, Leroy Street Glitter Bee Wristlet, Figuier Diptyque Candle

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    Don’t forget to check out our FREE February Printables if you haven’t already! Included are a simple, fill-in calendar and fun Valentine’s Day cards.

    Feb 2014 Printables 1

  • Holidays & Seasons,  Home Decor

    LOVEly Heart Candle Holder

    So, here at EJD, we thought it would be a great idea to do a week of Valentine’s Day type projects. I was racking my brain, trying come up with something to no avail. It was like trying to make “fetch” the new word for cool, and it just wasn’t happening. That’s so fetch. Umm, no. No it’s not.

    Anyway, after perusing the aisles of the dollar store, putting things into my cart that I really don’t need, I found a small glass candle holder and decided to try and make it more lovey dovey.

    Heart Candle Holder 1

    For this simple project, I used my candle holder, blue painter’s tape, scissors, chalkboard paint, and a foam craft brush.

    Heart Candle Holder 2

    Oh, and also a pen (not pictured above.) With the pen, I free handed the shape of a heart onto the sticky back side of two pieces of painter’s tape. I chose the back because I figured my tape might lose a little bit of its tackiness if I put it down on a surface. Generally, it is not fetch cool for people to be tacky, but with tape, it is expected.

    Heart Candle Holder 3

    Next, I used my scissors to cut out the tape heart and attached it to the candle holder.

    Heart Candle Holder 4

    Then I covered the entire glass with several coats of chalkboard paint. You can see in the photo below that there was a little, ahem, leakage under the tape.

    Heart Candle Holder 5

    Luckily, it was easily fixable with my tongue some water and a paper towel. I just wiped it off while it was still wet, but you could totally use a sharp edge to scrape off any excess once it is dry.

    Heart Candle Holder 6

    I think I did a total of 3 coats of paint. I love the contrast of the matte look that the chalkboard paint gives against the shine of the glass. I don’t love that the paint looks so textured, but you could totally fix that by using spray paint instead.

    Heart Candle Holder 7

    This heart candle holder also has a neat little trick up its sleeve. If you face the unpainted section towards the wall, the light from the candle will shine through and make a fabulous heart shaped projection. Pretty fetch cool, right?

    Heart Candle Holder 8

  • Holidays & Seasons,  Printables

    February 2014 Printables

    February is the month of LOVE. Well, at least for me it is. Mushy, gushy amour. Not just romantically (there is plenty of that for the hubs,) but love for friends, family, and of course, my kids. I know some people get all annoyed with the idea of Valentine’s Day and all that jazz, but honestly, why not have an extra special time of year to remind us to share our love with others? Check out these Printable Valentine’s Day Cards!

    Printable Valentine's Day Cards

    For February, I whipped up some fun cards (and a calendar,) but feel free to use them anytime you want to tell someone you think they are special.

    Download yours for FREE in The Gallery!

    Printable Valentine's Day Cards

     

     

    Printable Valentine's Day Cards

     

     

  • Family, Kids, Pets,  Holidays & Seasons,  Sew

    Pocket Hand Warmers

    The weather outside is frightful. Like -35 wind chill. Yikes. And with the blustery weather we’ve had lately, it just seemed like a no brainer that I should whip up some toasty hand warmers to keep our family warm when we step outside.

    IMG_4333

    I’ve seen a bunch of different tutorials and ideas for hand warmers similar to these on Pinterest (love this look from Armommy,) but I wanted to share the way I made them, just in case your hands need a little warming as well.

    Warning: This project requires a sewing machine, that is, unless you have copious amounts of time to hand sew. Unfortunately, my sewing machine hates fabric thicker than tissue paper. (Thanks to my parents for trying to fix it!) After way too much time spent messing with that dinosaur of a machine, I stole my daughter’s brand new one and finished these off.

    To start out, I cut out two 3″x3″ pieces of fabric and placed the wrong sides together, pinning them so they wouldn’t slip apart while I was sewing.

    Hand Warmers 2

    Next, I sewed along each side…

    Hand Warmers 3

    But left a small opening so I could add some rice filler.

    Hand Warmers 4

    Then, with some pinking shears, the edges were trimmed to prevent fraying.

    Hand Warmers 5

    Using a funnel made from paper, I poured 1.5 tablespoons of brown rice into each hand warmer and sewed the opening shut.

    Hand Warmers 6

    Hand Warmers 7

    To warm these little guys up, just pop a pair of them into the microwave for 10-20 seconds (times may vary) and put them in your coat pockets. No more chilly winter hands!

    Hand Warmers 8