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Complete Gift Guide – On a Budget
You may not be ready to start decorating your home for the holidays, but have you started thinking about holiday shopping yet? I’m sharing my favorite gifts for under $10. Whether your budget is tight or you need a few stocking stuffers, I’ve got you covered. (Keep reading to find out more about the Complete Gift Guide!)
(Affiliate links included for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure.) I’ve joined up with some of my favorite bloggers to bring you the Complete Gift Guide. That’s right! We’re making gift buying for the hard-to-shop-for people on your list easy this year by featuring over 60 gift guide categories from 30+ bloggers. You can get all of your holiday shopping done from home and save yourself a bunch of time by just hopping around the links at the bottom of this post. Now check out the steals and deals we’ve found! Now check out the steals and deals I’ve found!
Prices subject to change.
1. Vivian & Vincent Chevron Sheer Infinity Scarf ($8.99) – Dress up your favorite holiday outfit with this pretty lightweight scarf. So many colors to choose from!
2. Oldshark Wide Angle Camera Lens Clip On Kit for iPhone ($6.99) – Get a perfectly sharp and wide angle photo with this fancy little phone camera clip on.
3. The Time Garden: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book ($8.79) – Remember how you loved to color as a kid? This amazingly detailed and beautiful coloring book will keep kids (and adults) of any age engaged for hours.
4. Eaglewood In-Ear Wired Headphones ($9.99) – Keep the music in your ears, whether running or lounging.
5. essie Nail Color, Ballet Slippers ($9.00) – A subtle and sheer light white/pink nail color that is perfect for almost any occasion.
6. The Veleveteen Rabbit, Hard Cover ($7.99) – This heartwarming childhood classic is one of our favorites.
7. iPhone 6 Case ($7.99) – Sleek and pretty, this case has protected our phones from several nasty falls. Plus, you still have access to all of the speakers and ports.
8. Scented Candles (Vanilla) Soy Wax Aromatherapy Candle ($9.95) – A clean burning candle with a wonderful smell will welcome all of your holiday guests.
9. Wall Mounted Beer Bottle Opener ($6.44) – A vintage bottle opener attached to the wall will save everyone time when trying to crack open those craft beers. No more searching for the misplaced opener.
10. Folkmanis Mini Barn Owl Finger Puppet ($8.49) – My kids love these little puppets from Folkmanis. They are so fun to play with and use for an impromptu puppet show. Plus, there are tons of adorable options to choose from.
Here’s the list of all the other gift guide categories. I can’t wait to see what all of my friends will be offering! Good luck and happy shopping!
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Bed, Blinds, and Beads
Can you believe that it is week four of the One Room Challenge?! That means that there are only two more weeks until we wrap this up. YIKES! We still have so much to do!
This week I’m sharing the Bed, Blinds, and Beads, A.K.A. some bits and pieces of what we’ve been up to. You know, the things that we’ve finished and the stuff that has gone wrong. Oh yes. There is always something that goes wrong. Especially this late in the game. Without further ado…
The Bed (Headboard)
This is one of those items that we were so looking forward to getting! When I first spoke with my daughter about the things she would like to have in her room, her biggest request was a tufted headboard. So we scoured the internet looking for a piece that would fit her liking and also our budget. I found this headboard and we fell in love.
However, I was slow to pull the purchasing trigger and the headboard was sold out the next day. Everywhere. A week passed and even though I looked every day, I could not find it in stock. We were so frustrated because there really wasn’t anything else that fit the bill like the wavy curves of this beauty.
Finally, through some sort of miracle, we found it online at Walmart and it was shipped to our home within a few days. Yay!
The Blinds
Because of the electric baseboard heaters in our daughter’s bedroom, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to use full-length curtains. I absolutely love curtains and how they can easily soften a room, so I was a bit disappointed that they wouldn’t work in here. For now, we opted for white faux wood blinds. They are plain and simple, but totally get the job done.
The Beads (Chandelier)
So pretty, but such a pain in the booty. We thought we would be able to quickly install this lovely chandelier from Ikea, especially since my hubby has replaced plenty of light fixtures before. We were wrong. It came with attached pieces that have been, ahem, interesting to attempt to remove. So, we are mulling over our options, since we don’t want this chandelier hanging almost down to the floor.
Barring any other major setbacks (oh, please let this lighting thing work out!) we are doing ok. Let’s check and see what is still on the to-do list.
Remove old carpet and replace flooringPaint walls, trim, & doorsReplace old electrical plates, outlets, and switches- Add new lighting
Install window coverings- Create a workspace that can also double as clothes storage
- Bring in color and textures with accessories
- Organize craft & art supplies, books, toys, and clothing
We are currently working on an exciting building project that will knock your socks off. I’ll be sharing that next week, so stayed tuned!
Catch up below!
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Book Page Candle Holder
This month, I’m joining up for my first Create & Share Challenge, hosted by Casa Watkins and Pocketful of Posies!
So wait… what is this challenge?
Well, participants are tasked with using their personal decor style to create a project centering around one main item. And this month, we are working with candles! For this project, I chose to share the Book Page Candle Holder that I whipped up a few months ago.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure.
I love candles of all kinds and it is so much fun to decorate with them. Especially when they look pretty and match your existing decor. So many yummy scents, but also tons of styles and colors. Taper, pillar, tealight, oil, soy, square, round. The possibilities are endless. There are even battery powered candles, which is what I chose to work with for this project.
To make these super simple book page candle holders, you will need:
- Clear Glass Candle Holder
- Book Pages
- Mod Podge (or clear tape or glue)
- Paint/Craft Brush
- Scissors
- Battery Powered Candle
I started out by cutting out the book pages and trimming around the text so there were fewer blank spaces. (If you don’t want to cut apart a real book, you can find printable pages online.) Then, after measuring my candle holders, I cut the pages to the correlating height.
I used 3 page pieces for one candle holder, but you may prefer to use more or less.
Using a paint brush, I applied the Mod Podge to the end of two pieces of paper and overlapped the other pieces on top. If you don’t have Mod Podge, you can glue or tape the pieces together. (I already had Mod Podge out, so I just used that.)
Then, I added the book page insert to the inside of candle holder, making a round shape and overlapping the end pieces. Easy Peasy. Feel free to adhere the ends together for a cleaner look.
All that is left is to drop in a little battery powered candle and you are finished. (Please do not use a candle with an open flame. Your book pages may catch fire!)
I love the clean look of these book page candle holders.
They are so simple to whip up and you can add a new look to your decor without commitment if you decide to change things up later. I even experimented with adding some wrapping paper in place of the book pages, which gives you so many more options.
These would look great as a table centerpiece with candle holders of varying heights or lighting a walkway to the front door. Also, since they use battery-powered candles, they are kid and pet safe.
Now, check out the DIY Candle Projects my friends did! These ladies are so talented/creative and came up with some really amazing projects!
DIY Easy Candelabra and Color Blocked Candles – Craft and Tell
DIY Colorful Wooden Candleholder– Casa Watkins Living
Bat Halloween Candles – Pocketful of Posies
DIY Matchstick Holder – Iris Nacole
DIY Squash Fall Candles – Seeking Lavender Lane
Buffalo Snow Frosted Candle Holders – The Kim Six Fix
DIY Glittered Candles – Flourish and Knot
Book Page Candle Holder – Elizabeth Joan Designs
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New Flooring/Paint
Welcome to week three of the One Room Challenge! It has been so much fun to join in as a linking participant. I can’t believe how fast these three weeks have passed and how far we still have to go. However, I’m excited to report that we are finished the new flooring/paint.
If you are just joining in, let me get you caught up! During the first week, I shared the before photos of our daughter’s bedroom. And last week I gave you a glimpse into the design plans with a fun and girly mood board, plus a detailed project list for our tween bedroom makeover.
OK, back to the room…
Originally, the walls in the bedroom were painted with a flat white paint and the floors were covered with stained, rusty/brown carpet. Not necessarily the look we were going for. So we decided to completely gut the room. Paint is always such a cheap and simple way to update a room, and since were are trying to stick to simple updates on our house, for now, we also went with an inexpensive flooring option.
For the walls, we chose the color Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore lightened by 50%. We really liked the color in our powder room at The City House. The color is a warm gray with some yellow undertones, but not greige at all. It is the perfect light and airy color for this space.
I’ve mentioned before that we aren’t sure what the situation will be in a few years with this home since it is a bit smaller than we would like. Build on? Build new? Either way, for now, we opted for an inexpensive peel and stick wood look flooring. It was so easy to install! I loved it in the store, but when we put it in, I was no longer sure. I thought maybe it was too cool. However, after living with it for a week, I’ve changed my mind again. I’m in love!
It was so easy to install! I loved it in the store, but when we put it in, I was no longer sure. I thought maybe it was too cool. However, after living with it for a week, I’ve changed my mind again. I’m in love and I think the accessories and colors we are adding will warm it up.
We also changed out all of the almond colored outlets/switches to match the white trim. However, I have yet to figure out what to do with that ugly electric baseboard heater. I’m not really sure if I can paint it with a high temp paint or not. It’s such a frustrating thing to try to decorate around (no curtains allowed). I would appreciate any advice or knowledge you may have for dealing with these eyesores!
So far, we are extremely happy with the results of this room! The paint color is perfect and the flooring makes the room feel clean. And since everyone loves a good before and after, here is how the room looked when we first moved in (left) and now (right). Huge difference, right? What do you think of our new flooring/paint?
We would love for you to continue following along!