Living La Vida Holoka


How to Make a Rustic Mason Jar Fall Bouquet

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Celebrate all things fall with a charming, rustic mason jar fall bouquet made with scarecrows, corn, sunflowers, and more! 


It’s crazy to think that my both of my baby sisters are now engaged to be married. People keep asking me if that makes me feel old.  Not yet.  Ask me again the first time one of them has a baby!  It’s so exciting to see them experience this period in their lives.  Our wedding was planned in what seemed like only a matter of months, but that time of planning and just basking in our engagement was so much fun!  So this weekend, I get to help them celebrate this special time with an engagement party being thrown by our parents.

When the discussion of throwing a joint engagement party for my sisters first came up, we agreed that I would be in charge of decorations.  Being so close to fall, we decided that we would have a fall-inspired celebration.  The backyard is going to have tents and tables set up, so we needed some nice centerpieces.  I have a ton of quart sized mason jars leftover from canning, so I got the idea to turn them into bouquets.  Last weekend, my sisters and I headed to Michael’s together to pick out fall florals to use inside of the jars.




The three of us together in Michael’s turned out to be a dangerous thing!  Our trip didn’t start off so well.  I mean that our cart started filling up with things that weren’t on our list for the party!  But we eventually got it together and found some really great florals and picks for our bouquets.  We decided to wrap the jars with a burlap style ribbon.  Then, glue a flower in the center.  

We used a vase filler in smaller jars for flameless tealights, but I had a lot of Spanish moss leftover from terrarium projects.  So I used the moss to fill the bottom of the mason jar bouquets and hide the stems.  We toned down the tradition fall colors with creamy neutrals.  Then, we added in fun, little picks like pumpkins, scarecrows, and ears of corn. My mom had some lighted branches from another party, so I ended up using some of those, as well. 

SUPPLIES

STEPS

    1. Measure the ribbon around the mason jar.  Cut the strip.
    2. Heat a hot glue gun and glue the ribbon around the mason jar.
    3. Add a flower to the center of the ribbon, if desired.
    4. Next, add Spanish moss in the bottom of the mason jar, filling about halfway.
    5. Snip the flowers with wire cutters to fit the jar and begin arranging them.  Start with the flowers.  Then, add in the picks and leaves.
    6. If making multiple bouquets alternate colors and picks. Then, display on wood slices with artificial pumpkins for a pretty rustic, fall centerpiece!


I was really pleased with how these turned out and so were my sisters!  I can’t wait to set these up on wood slices with artificial pumpkins and the tealight candle jars.  Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! I’ll be sharing pics from the party!  If you missed my Instagram Live tutorial, watch how I put one of these bouquets together below!


 

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Fun Fall DIY Ideas for Your Home

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Get ready for fall with these 20 fun fall DIY ideas for your home featuring lots of pumpkin projects and a whole lot more!


Fall is officially less than a month away and I’ve basically been counting down the days since our first summer heatwave!  I might be a July baby, but I definitely love the cooler weather a lot more!  This time of year gets me excited for that transition from summer into fall.  We trade days at the beach for afternoons at the pumpkin patch.  Instead of flowers in the garden, we’ll soon be graced with fall foliage on the trees.  In my opinion, it’s the best time of year!

I’m definitely looking forward to sharing more fall crafts and DIY projects this coming season.  In the meantime, get inspired with these 20 fun fall crafts, including a ton of pumpkin projects!  Don’t worry, guys.  If you’re already in pumpkin overload, there are a bunch of other fun fall projects to make, too! 

  1. Mason Jar Lid Pumpkins – Crafts by Amanda
  2. Cinnamon Stick Candles – Home Stories A to Z
  3. DIY No-Sew Fabric Pumpkins – Down Redbud Drive
  4. Book Page Pumpkin – Family Maven
  5. Easy Metallic Patterned Painted Pumpkins – Small Stuff Counts
  6. Thankful Grateful Blessed Pallet Wood Sign With Leather Straps – Making Manzanita
  7. “Fall is in the Air” Farmhouse Pillow – Busy Being Jennifer
  8. Painted Acorns – Crafts By Amanda
  9. Fall Rustic Mason Jars – Sincerely Jean
  10. A Neutral DIY Fall Ribbon Wreath – Small Stuff Counts
  11. Rustic DIY Reclaimed Wood Pumpkins – The Summery Umbrella
  12. Fence Post Pumpkins – Chicken Scratch NY
  13. Easy Ombre Pumpkin Button Craft – A Cultivated Nest
  14. DIY Sisal Twine Pumpkins – The Navage Patch
  15. Rustic Wood Pumpkins – Thrifty Northwest Mom
  16. Easy Wine Cork Pumpkin Craft – The Furgal Navy Wife
  17. DIY Rustic Fence Board Pumpkins – Martys Musings
  18. Farmhouse Fall Decor Pillow – Oh My Creative
  19. Rustic Fall Burlap Wreath DIY – Anns Entitled Life
  20. Crochet Acorn Cap – Julie Measures

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Which one of these fall projects will you be making first?

How to Make a Modern Pastel Fall Wreath

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Whether you’re anticipating all things fall or not ready to say good-bye to summer, this DIY Modern Pastel Fall Wreath will make that seasonal transition a little easier with its unconventional fall colors and florals!


Recently, I got to thinking about the first craft I ever made.  I think it was a wreath.  My mom used to make them all the time! I loved all of the little details she used to add into them like ribbons and fun, floral picks, so I used to get involved when she made a new one.  Since then, I’ve made plenty of wreaths for all sorts of occasions! Back in June, I made a Simple Floral Summer Wreath for our door.  So I figured I should probably make one for the Fall, too!  Okay, okay.  Maybe I just really wanted to get my hands on some of the gorgeous florals Michael’s has out right now! 

If you’ve taken a trip to Michael’s recently, then you’ve seen that there are such pretty pastels out for the fall season.  It’s not your typical rust oranges or mustard yellows.  We’re talking pretty corals, lavenders, and cream colors.  I even managed to find a few pastels in the Halloween aisle, like the purple hydrangea in this wreath!

So I thought it might be fun to go away from the normal fall color scheme and make a pretty pastel wreath for the door.  I spent way too much money on floral bunches (some ended up being unused and have since been returned – yeah, that many!).  But if you’ve been through those floral aisles, then you know they’ve been hard to resist!  I even managed to find some of last year’s fall florals in my craft stash to use for this project!


Now, I know that some people are still hanging onto summer as long as they can, but I’ve been dreaming of PSLs and sweaters ever since our first heatwave! So you’re lucky that this wreath isn’t still hanging up on our front door willing the cooler weather to come!  I’m basically over summer at this point.  This isn’t anything new, guys.  My anticipation for cooler temps always seems to kick in this time of year! 

While I’m still wrapping up a few summer posts this month (it ain’t over til it’s over, after all), I thought I would sneak an easy Fall DIY in-between – just in case I’m not the only one dreaming about all things Fall right now!  Then again, the pastel colors in this wreath might make it a little easier to make that seasonal transition when the first leaf drops.

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Heat your hot glue gun.  While the glue gun is heating, plan your wreath.  Lay out all of your florals and decide where everything will go.
  2. Trim down the stem of the eucalyptus branches until there’s about an inch left.  Glue the stems down onto one side of the wreath, tucking the bottom of the stem into the grapevine branches.
  3.  Next, cut the ranunculus flowers off of the stems.  Glue them onto the wreath.
  4. Finally, add the air plants to fill in any gaps on the wreath.
  5. Allow the glue to dry completely, give the flowers a little fluff, and hang on your front door!


Even though I do love those golden yellows and rusty red and orange colors found in all of that breathtaking fall foliage, I like to break a rule or two every now and then.  This definitely isn’t your conventional fall wreath, but the pastel theme will be a nice, modern touch to your front door!

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Do you like to play around with color in the Fall?

How to Make Tropical Drink Stirrers for Your Summer Sips

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Summer officially starts tomorrow!  In my family, we have lots of reasons to celebrate during the summer.  We’re talking loads of birthdays, a graduation, and our wedding anniversary.  And honestly, I’m probably forgetting something because there’s always so much going on! I feel like the summer itself is just one, big celebration. Forget the birthdays, anniversaries, and everything else that’s happening during the next couple months.  We made it through a cold, snowy winter and summer is like our prize for patiently waiting for its return!

Or not-so-patiently waiting.

The entire summer season seems reason enough to gather with friends and family and pour a few cocktails or a tall glass of lemonade or sun tea!  So I thought it would be fun to make some tropical drink stirrers to have on hand for our summer celebrations!


These simple drink stirrers start with clear swizzle sticks.  I made little, tropical shapes out of oven-bake clay to glue on top of the sticks.  I found a cute pineapple mold at Michael’s. Then, I found a set of tropical molds on Amazon to use to make palm trees.  

I would suggest sticking to shapes that have a sturdy base.  While the palm trees definitely worked out in the end, I had a little patching up to do on the tree trunk when I glued it onto the swizzle stick.  The pineapples, on the other hand, came out ready to party!  

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Start making your pineapples and palm trees.  Press yellow clay into the pineapple mold leaving room at the top for green clay.  Then, press green clay into the top of the palm tree mold leaving room for brown clay at the bottom.
  2. Carefully remove the clay shapes from the mold.  Smooth any edges, if necessary.
  3. Gently push a clear swizzle stick into the bottom of the clay shape.  Remove the swizzle stick and set aside.
  4. Place parchment paper on a small baking sheet.  Bake the clay according to package.
  5. Remove the clay shapes from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  6. Once the shapes are cool, add a little super glue into the opening and, once again, gently push the swizzle stick into the bottom.
  7. Set the stirrers aside until the glue has completely dried.  Then, whip up a batch of cocktails and get your stir on!



So even if you’re just serving up lemonade and tea to the kiddos this summer, these tropical drink stirrers will make those summer sips all the more fun!  Want to designate drink cups?  Make a bunch of different shapes for everyone to choose from!  

These drink stirrers took just minutes to make!  Even though I used mine in simple glasses of lemonade, imagine how fun they’ll look in your favorite mocktail or cocktail!  Cheers to summer!

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Looking for some drink inspiration for your tropical drink stirrers?  Check out these posts:


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