I have mentioned in a previous post that I no longer burn candles in the house, and actually haven’t outside either in years.  I found good quality essential oils to be a much safer alternative and they are actually good for you and help support your immune system. This is the first spring that we have had our backyard done in our new home, and as the weather where I live has already started to get warm during the day, that also means it is bringing more bugs out when we are trying to eat dinner outside and enjoy the patio in the evening.  I knew I didn’t want to buy citronella candles from the store, they are often full of toxic junk, so I had the idea to make my own soy candles using Young Living Citronella oil.  This is a very simple DIY and you can have them done in time for your Mother’s Day BBQ this weekend!

Affiliate links (Amazon) are included for some of the items below for your convenience.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure here.

what you need…..

16 ounce Mason Jars (I love these adorable blue ones)

Soy wax

Candle wicks

A good quality Citronella oil (I only use Young Living)

Double boiler pot

Stick for stirring in oil- I just used a wooden chop stick I had on hand

Masking tape

Candle wick trimmer (optional)

I was able to make 4 (16oz) Mason jar candles from this 2 pound bag of wax and my double boiler pot was already half full of wax that I had to re-melt left over from a homeschool activity.  I would guess to make 4 candles you would need 3 pounds of wax or just make less candles.

I used 8 inch candle wicks to make sure they were plenty long enough and they came with a sticky to make it really easy to attach the wick to the bottom of the jar.  After sticking on the wicks I wrapped the top of the wick around a pencil to hold it in place.  

Next boil a sauce pan on medium heat.  Fill up the double boiler to the top with wax, it will sink way down as it melts.  

Then put the double boiler in the sauce pan to melt the wax.

As the wax started to melt I added more wax until the melted amount was about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the top.  When melted remove the double boiler from the heat and add in about 100 drops of Citronella essential oil and stir.  This amount of wax and oil made 2 mason jar candles.

Carefully pour into 2 of the prepared Mason jars.  Repeat the process of melting more wax and adding more oil until you made the desired amount of candles.  The rest of my wax made 2 more candles.  I also added masking tape to the top to secure the wick better to the pencil.  Then let them dry.  I gave them 24 hours to be safe.

When they are dry cut the wick to about 1/2 inch.

These have burned great just like a regular candle and have helped keep the bugs more manageable!

Due to the quarantine we are having a backyard get together with my mom and sister’s family this Sunday late afternoon/evening for Mother’s Day.  I’m so glad we will be able to use all the candles I made to help with the bugs!

DIY MASON JAR CANDLES

a more natural way to keep the bugs away!!

Because I had so long to think this over we decided to make a few changes from our downstairs chalkboard.  For this one we decided to paint the chalkboard on birch plywood so it could be hung on the wall, verses paint right on the wall like we did downstairs.  We sanded the wall downstairs before painting but it was still hard to get rid of the wall texture.  Also for this one we chose to not use angle cuts on the outside boards and stain them instead of painting them white.  I love the farmhouse rustic feel with this one and it was so much easier than having to match up exact angels and fill in seems.  The color choice for this one was actually something done more last minute.  I had originally assumed we would paint it black, but being in the playroom we decided to go with green to keep it more light and bright!  And my 3 youngest really wanted green!

Affiliate links (Amazon) are included for some of the items below for your convenience.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure here.

DIY Giant Chalkboard

Supplies:

1/4 inch birch plywood (We bought ours at Home Depot)

1×6 pine boards (Home Depot)

Fine grain sand paper if needed

Wood Stain Provincial (Home Depot) Here is similar on Amazon

Chalk Paint – I used 2 cans for this size board

Wood glue

clamps (if needed)

3/4 inch nails

D Ring Hangers (Home Depot)

2 large screws

chalk

Directions

As I mentioned above we chose to paint the chalkboard on 1/4 inch birch plywood.  It comes in a 4ft x 8ft size at Home Depot and because we had such a large wall to fill we did not cut it down.  You can cut it down smaller if needed.

Then we used 1 x 6 pine boards for the border.  They measure 5.5 inches wide.  We found 8 foot boards so we only had to purchase 3 boards.  Two of them we did not have to cut and the third one we cut two 37 inch pieces out of it to fit along the sides.  How did we get 37 inches??  The sides are 4 feet so 48 inches.  Subtract out 5.5 inches for the top board and 5.5 inches for the bottom board and that leaves 37 inches in the middle for the side board.  Hopefully that makes since!

First I lightly sanded the boards and then I stained them with a foam brush.

Then we applied 3 coats of of the chalkboard paint to the plywood letting it dry between each coat.  We did lightly sand the plywood too.

We let it dry overnight and then we took wood glue and glued on the side boards.  Some of the boards were a little warped so my husband used clamps to keep the boards flat on the plywood while it dried.

Then we turned it over, leaving on the clamps, and we nailed in 3/4 inch nails all around.

Then we lugged this upstairs, it took 3 of us!  We centered it to where we wanted and then my husband found where the studs were and we matched that up to where we needed to add the hangers on the back of the board.  We found these D Ring hangers at Home Depot and they worked great.  Then he screwed those in place.

Then we used large screws and my husband just screwed those right into the stud and we hung the hangers right on the screws.

The final step is to season your chalkboard after letting the paint dry for at least 3 days.  Otherwise you will have an image that won’t fully erase and will stay there forever.  This is really simple.  To season your chalkboard you just take the side of a piece of chalk and chalk completely over the board, first going vertically and then horizontally.  Then wipe it all off with a cloth to remove the excess dust.  Just make sure you don’t use low dust chalk as it does not work as well and can scratch the board.

This was a simple project and we already love having this addition to the playroom!

XOXO

JEN

How to….

I found a font on the computer I liked, I used KG The Fighter, and then typed up everyone’s names that will be at the table.  I spaced them out plenty so I would have enough room to cut them out with a 2 inch circle cutter.  Then I printed them on cream card stock.

Cut them out, the circle cutter made it so quick and easy!

Then take a hole puncher and punch a hole in the circles for tying the string.  I punched it about a half inch down so it would not rip through.

Next I took a wood stain marker to darken the edges and make them look a little more rustic to match my table.

Next, I used Jute string to tie around the mason jar glasses.  I tested the length of the string on one of the glasses and then when I had the desired length I quickly cut the rest of the string to match.

This was a quick and inexpensive way to add farmhouse style to my table!

Affiliate links (Amazon) are included for some of the items below for your convenience.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure here.

shop this look….

Mason Jar glasses

cream card stock – Similar

2 inch circle cutter

hole punch

wood stain pen

Jute string – Similar

Here are a few more pictures of this year’s Thanksgiving table!

XOXO

Jen

DIY Target Dollar Spot Pillow

So here is what I started with.  One towel that says October 31, and one buffalo check towel.

First I flipped the towels facing in on each other.  After washing and drying the towels they weren’t exactly even so I did my best to line them up.  I actually wet them with a spray bottle to stretch them back out to their normal shape.  After they dried I pinned it all around except I left about a 6-7 inch gap on one side so that once mostly sewed I could flip it back over.

I just hand stitched it all around as I still have not been able to figure out my sewing machine!  See below the gap I left so I could flip it around.

Then flip it around and you are able to stuff the pillow.

I still had an extra bag of Poly-fil lying around from when I made the Valentine’s pillows.  This was about $3 from Hobby Lobby.  It would be even cheaper with one of their $40% off coupons if not on sale.

Then stuff the pillow, I only used about half the bag, and finish hand stitching it the rest of the way around.  Super easy and affordable Halloween pillow!

It added a great addition, and Halloween transformation, to my fall mantel!

This is about as scary of Halloween decorating that I do around here!!

DIY TARGET DOLLAR SPOT PILLOW

an affordable way to add in halloween decor!!

Originally I was thinking about putting up a stained board with hooks on it but I’m so glad I changed my mind to go with the board and batten.  I love how the white really brightens up the space!  The hooks are really sturdy too so I can even hang my heavy purse on there.  Here is what we used to make the board and batten.

Supplies-

• 3 1/2 inch x 3/4 inch pine boards for the horizontal – purchased at Home Depot
• 2 1/2 inch x 3/4 inch pine boards for the vertical
• table saw or circular saw
• Wood glue
• 2 1/2-3 inch screws
• 2 1/2 inch nails
• Wood putty
• calking
• white paint (we used Dover White semi-gloss)
• hooks (any hardware to hang up your hooks)

This was such a small and perfect space for us to try out our skills with board and batten.  We are by no means experts, but I thought I would share with you what we did in case you want to try tackling this in your own home!

Directions-

First we measured out our space, approximately, and then went to Home Depot to purchase the boards.  We went with Pine so it would be nice and solid.  I wanted to be able to actually hang stuff on these boards.  At home we figured out exactly how high we wanted the board and batten to go and we, my husband , cut one of the 2 1/2 inch boards to that height and we attached it to the left side in the corner. My husband just used a circular saw to make the cuts.  I wanted to use 2 1/2 inch boards to run vertical and 3 1/2 inch boards to run horizontal.  On the back of the boards he added wood glue before putting them on the wall.  Then he used nails to nail it in place.  

Next we measured our top horizontal space and cut the 3 1/2 inch board to size and attached it to the wall with wood glue. To make the horizontal boards extra secure, because these are the boards where the hooks would be attached, he screwed it into the studs in two places.  He did the same thing to the second lower horizontal board.  

Next we measured and cut the remaining 2 1/2 inch vertical boards.  Two shorter ones for the top and two longer pieces for the bottom.  Then my husband glued them on and he nailed them to the wall.

All the nail holes and seams were filled with wood putty and he added caulking around the edges on the parts that touched the wall.

Once the wood putty was dry we sanded it down so it was all smooth and even.  Sorry I don’t have a picture of that step.  

Then we taped off the left side wall, and the top and bottom, and we were ready to paint!  I think we ended up with about 3 coats of paint.

When it was all dry it was time to add the hooks.  I went with ones that had four holes in the front that you could just screw them right into the wood.  They have been very sturdy so far!

This was really a very simple project and the perfect size for a beginner!  Now if I can only convince my husband to do this all around the loft upstairs!!  Ha!

XOXO!!

Jen

Affiliate links are included for some of the items below for your convenience.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

shop this look….

• black wall hooks
• Always Come Home sign
• wood farmhouse bench

Here is a view of the entire area.  The door on the right is the door that leads to the garage, and the other door is under the stairs storage.

I was fortunate to have all the supplies I needed to make these adorable carrots on hand, but if you don’t it just takes a few simple items.

SUPPLIES-

-paper grocery bag(s)

-Jute string (I used 3-PLY and I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby)

-scissors

-glue gun

The beauty of this is that you can make as many or as few carrots as you need.  Start by cutting out a large rectangle from your paper bag.

Cut your rectangle in half again.

You can leave your rectangles this size or cut them in half again….see picture below.  I wanted a few different sizes of carrots so I used some of each size and tried to make them all a little different.

Next start rolling up your paper rectangles into a cone shape.  Keep any writing on the bag to be rolled up on the inside so the color won’t show through the string.

When you have your cone all rolled up glue down the edge with some hot glue.

Continue rolling up as many cones, in whatever sizes, as you need.

Next add some hot glue to the bottom point of your “carrot” and attach the string.

Then just start rolling up the string around your carrot.

Continue rolling your string around the carrot until you reach the top.  My paper was always un-even at the top so just go as high as you can and then put a small amount of hot glue at the top to glue the string down.

Then cut off the string just past where you glued it down.  Next push in the top paper that was still sticking up to the inside of the carrot.  

Finally you need to make the carrot top.  I just took the string and looped it back and forth…however long you are going to want your top to be.  I just went back and forth about 4 or five times and then I cut the string.  

With the end of string you just cut off, wrap it a few times around the center and then secure it together with the hot glue.  It’s like you made a little knot except all you do is wrap it around and glue it.  

Then cut open the loops.

Add some hot glue to the knot in the center and then put that in the top of the carrot.

Super easy and you can make several of them pretty quickly!

I had fun decorating my tiered tray with a few carrots.

Then I used a few to make a cute place setting for my Easter table!

Okay, so Easter is only a few days a way so grab some string and get crafting!!

XOXO

Jen

We found some pallet boards at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, that already had the hanger on the back, and then we looked for some wooden letters that I could paint and fit on the board.  We were also hoping that we would find something that would help tie into the fire truck theme of the bedroom, and we were so excited when we found these cute little painted wooden vehicles.  My boys absolutely loved picking these out, as there were several little wood plaques to choose from, and surprisingly they agreed!  I already had some white paint at home left over from the house, and then I just grabbed a can of red spray paint for the letters. 

First I sanded down some of the rough spots on the pallet boards and then I painted them white.  When they were dry I took fine grain sand paper to distress it a little more around the edges and also on some spots throughout so you could still see some of the wood grain underneath.  It you want more of a contrast you could stain the board first before painting it white.  

For the wooden letters I just took them out back and spray painted them red.  When those were dry it was time to line everything up and glue everything down.  I used Gorilla Super Glue and everything has held really well.  

That’s it!  Simple DIY name signs that cost way less than what I could have bought them for.  And it means so much more to the boys that they got to help!  

Too bad they had to sit in the closet for a few months until we finally finished hanging everything up on the walls in January!  We love the way their room all came together!  

You can see more pictures of the Boy’s bedroom makeover here!  

XOXO

Jen

I like the crates because they are still open enough for the kids to use them, but closed off enough to hide all the shoe mess.  Since the crates come as a light blond wood, my goal was to stain them to match the top of the bench as close as possible.  They turned out slightly darker but I think it is close enough.  Then I thought these cute little numbers were a perfect way to help everyone know which crate is theirs, and to keep all the shoes separate.  

My bench is only 12 inches deep so at first I struggled to find the right size of crate.  Most of the large crates  measure 18 inches wide, which would have stuck out way too far.  Most smaller crates are way too small and about half the height and you would hardly be able to fit any shoes.  I found these perfect ones online as they look like a full size crate from the front but are only 13.5 inches wide!  Here is what you need to make your crates…

Affiliate links are included for your convenience. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Supplies-

• Wooden crates
• Stain– I used Special Walnut
• foam brush
• lint free cloth
• sandpaper
• 3 inch reflective numbers
• 3/4 inch nails
• hammer

Directions-

Smooth out any rough spots on your crates if needed, if not skip this step.  I only had a few spots on the bottom and side planks that needed a little sanding.  Because I had to stain 4 crates it was faster for me to apply some stain with a foam brush in small sections at a time ,and then smooth it out and blend it in with the cloth.  You could also  just use the cloth for the whole thing.  

When your crates are all stained and dry it is time to add your numbers.  I used these Hillman 3 inch reflective numbers in the 01, 02, 03, and 04 pattern.  

Line up your numbers and then hammer in the nails.  The 3/4 inch nails were just wide enough on the nail head to hold on the numbers, and not too long to poke all the way through the back when hammered in.  I was cutting it close but the numbers added a little thickness that when hammered in all the way mine were fine.  Just check the side of your crate with your nails to see if you can hammer in the nails all the way or not.  

And there you have a simple DIY number crate!  

This was such a quick project that adds so much character to my entryway, and a perfect way to store our shoes! 

XOXO!!

Here is my November thankful version….

and I know October has already past but here is my October more Halloween looking version….

For the time of year I thought pumpkins would be perfect hanging from the tree.  I had the idea to paint one side of the pumpkins white, and the other side with black chalk paint so that they could be turned around and used to write stuff we are thankful for on it.  I love getting the kids involved with that!

I used 10 small unfinished wooden pumpkins to hang from the tree.  They measure 4 x 5.5 inches.  For the white side I used spray chalk finish paint.  I just laid them all out on some wax paper outside and sprayed the tops and sides.  It was hot out so they dried pretty fast. 

When those were dry I brought them inside to paint with the black chalk paint. I actually already had some of this left over from painting my chalkboard wall.  

I then carefully painted the black chalk paint on just the tops with a foam brush. 

When those were dry I measured out 10 pieces of black gingham ribbon 6.5 inches long.  Then I glued with the hot glue gun a ribbon on each pumpkin.  

For the top of the tree you can use any cute fall or pumpkin sign or paint a larger wood pumpkin to sit on top.  I found an 11 inch wood pumpkin and I chose to paint my pumpkin orange for the Halloween version of my tree.  

I used a foam brush to paint the pumpkin.  

While my orange paint was still wet I sprinkled some clear glitter on top to give it a little shine and sparkle!

When it was all dry I sealed it with spray Mod Podge so I wouldn’t have glitter everywhere!  

After letting that dry I added a larger size gingham bow on top.  

The top of my wood tree already had a piece of velcro attached to it for sticking on the star when it is a Christmas Advent tree.  I added a piece of velcro to the back of my pumpkin so I could stick it right on.  You can see the details of that from the DIY Wooden Advent tree post.  

For the November Thankful version I decided to switch out the top for this cute Grateful, Thankful, Blessed sign I found at Hobby Lobby.  

Originally I had just planned to have my chalkboard pumpkins hanging from the tree but I found all these cute fall ornaments in the Target dollar spot for $1 each and I couldn’t resist!  I have an initial for each of our names hanging up and some other fun fall shapes too!  Then it’s time to gather the kids and write down some stuff you are all thankful for.  I used a chalk marker.

I love how I was able to convert my advent tree to get more use out of it in the fall!  So tell me, are you a decorate for Thanksgiving type or have you already decked your halls for Christmas??

I have been loving all things buffalo check this season so I thought it would be fun to create a banner out of buffalo check to hang across my front porch for fall and Halloween time.  I decided to go with an oilcloth fabric, as it is waterproof, to withstand the outside elements.  If you are not familiar with oilcloth it is also great for tablecloths or baby bibs etc. because it is waterproof and easy to wipe up and clean.   I remember when my girls were little my mother in law sent me a few full body bibs for them that she had made out of oilcloth.  When making a banner there are so many other options out there besides gingham.  You can customize it with any colors or theme for your decor, just search oilcloth fabric on Google.

When making the banner I originally tried to find a larger size gingham/buffalo check pattern in black and white so it would show up from the street better, but all I could find was the 1/4 inch size.  I think it still turned out super cute!  

I made my pennants 8 inches and I think they are the perfect size.

This project is really pretty simple to make.  It did take some time to trace the pennants and then cut them out, but I broke it into 2 nights and it made for a good evening activity when my husband was working!

Here is how you put it all together.

DIY Buffalo Check Banner

SUPPLIES: (affiliate links included for your convenience!)

Oilcloth

pennant template ( I made my own 8 inches wide)

3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon

hot glue gun (similar)

12 inch ruler

scissors

stapler (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

I ordered 1 yard of oilcloth fabric and it was plenty.  My porch is about 22 feet long but I knew I wanted to have it draped up there, secured on the sides and the center point, and not pulled tight all the way across.  My pennants were 8 inches wide and I used 22 of them.  I placed them about every 12 inches and started the first one about 2 feet in.  When I was done attaching the last pennant I cut my ribbon another 2 feet out on the other side to give me room to tie it off (or my husband for that matter!).   Hopefully that will give you an idea of how much cloth to order.  This is great because you can make the banner as long or as short as you need.

I originally searched for a pennant template on Google but I did not find one I liked so I just traced and made my own.  I took a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper and drew with a ruler one 8 inch horizontal line across the top.  Then I measured straight down 9 inches from the end of both sides of the line.  Then I found the middle point of the two vertical lines and put a dot there.  With my ruler I drew a straight line from the end of each side of the horizontal line to the dot.  

Then I cut out the pennant and it was all ready to use as my template.

Then using my template I traced out 22 triangles on the under side of the oil cloth.  I made the triangles back to back to save as much space as possible.  

Once all the pennants were cut out I was ready to glue them to the grosgrain ribbon. 

I used a 3/8 inch size grosgrain ribbon and I bought a 50 yard spool on Amazon.  I wanted to make sure I had more than enough ribbon to make this all in one piece and it was such a better deal anyway! Give yourself plenty of room at the start of your banner for tying off, and then once you find where you want to start, place a line of hot glue right along the top of the first pennant, then carefully place the grosgrain ribbon down so it meets the top of the oilcloth.  Figure out how far apart you want each pennant, then measure that space and repeat the process.   Mine were about 12 inches apart measured from the start of one pennant to the start of another.

And that’s it!  You have an adorable banner to hang on your porch!

To hang up my banner my husband used 3 nails, one at each point of the roof line over the porch. We first found the middle point of the banner and hung that up first and looped it around once to secure it better.  Then we he tied on the banner to each of the side nails letting it kind of drape a little.  We have had a few storms and wind and it has stayed put!

I love what it adds to my front porch for fall!! 

• Note- I did find that when going to hang up the banner some of the pennants were not holding with the glue  very well.  I was worried that once hung up some might fall off and that would be a big pain to get them secured back on.  So I took a stapler and reinforced each pennant with 2 staples.  This worked fine for me because the pennant was being hung up high and you can’t even see the staples.  So with that being said feel free to just attach with staples, or hot glue will probably be fine if the banner is kept inside and out of the elements.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS TO COMPLETE YOUR FRONT PORCH LOOK:

DIY FALL DOORMAT