Create Your Decor Archives - Page 134 of 137

The weather in my neck of the woods has already gotten quite warm. The temperature actually reached 87 degrees last week! March has only just arrived, but in Austin, Spring has already sprung.

I wanted to bring some of that beautiful Spring green into my home after a dreary winter. I ran across some sheets of preserved sheet moss at Hobby Lobby and thought they would be a good choice for me, as I was not born with a green thumb. I can pretty much kill any live plant that comes into my house.

I’d never heard of preserved moss, but I thought it would make beautiful moss spheres like the ones that I’ve been seeing everywhere. The preserved moss is fresh looking real moss on a sheet of earth, as opposed to the fake or dried moss you can buy in bags. I think it cost me $3.99 a sheet, which is about the same price as the not-as-pretty dried stuff.

The moss does make a a pretty big mess, so you’ll probably want to work on a plate or a tray for easy clean up. It would probably also help you if you didn’t have a 3-year old to assist you, because they can make any mess even bigger.The original idea was that I was going to use spray adhesive on the ball and attach the sheet moss that way. Well, one sticky hand and a lot of frustration later, I opted for straight dress makers pins. I simply tore off a large piece of moss wrapped it around a Styrofoam ball, and secured it all around with the straight pins.

You can see a straight pin here if you look closely.

I just kept wrapping and piecing the moss together around the ball, securing with straight pins. There ended up being a lot of straight pins, but you can’t see them on the finished product.

In the end, each ball looked like this. I love how you can see dirt, twigs, and moss on this ball…just like it came straight out of nature!

I purchased this really great chippy urn at Goodwill a few weeks ago and hadn’t found a use for it. I decided that the moss balls would look awesome in here. They do, don’t ya think?

Just an FYI – when determining the number of moss balls you want in your vessel, remember that the Styrofoam balls will be larger in diameter once the moss is attached. I originally thought I wanted to use 2 large balls and 2 medium balls, but after the moss was attached, I only had room for 1 large ball and 3 medium balls.

I am really pleased with the way this turned out. It adds a nice Spring-y touch to my dresser display.

Check out The Inspired Room for more ideas on decorating for Spring!

This year, I set out to make the cutest Valentine’s treats ever for Zack’s preschool class. You may remember that last year didn’t go so well. I think I more than made up for it this year.

While I was browsing the dollar store, I ran across some tiny little flower pots that were 3 for $1 and an idea “bloomed.” Didn’t the pots make adorable little treats?

These little flower pot treats are very simple to create. I didn’t post a tutorial before Valentine’s Day because ~~I’m lazy~~ I didn’t want any of the other preschool mother’s to try to out do me. I’m just kidding. It’s really the lazy thing and the fact that I waited until the absolute last minute to put these together for Zack’s classmates.

Anyway, I think these would be equally as adorable with a flower shape instead of a heart. Can you imagine them as little treats at a little girl’s tea party or garden party? You could even do a few different flower shapes – daisy, tulip, etc – and make a little bouquet. Swoon!

Let me show you how. I gathered a few supplies from the dollar store, some from the grocery store, and a few more from around the house.

Zack and I made a pan of “Marshmallow Crispy Squares” using this recipe, but I used Fruity Pebbles instead of Rice Krispies so that the hearts would be colorful. I cut the squares so that they were slightly larger than my heart-shaped cookie cutter (which was actually part of the favors from our wedding…let’s have a collective, “Awwwwww!”).

I lined a cutting board with foil and sprayed it with cooking spray so the treats wouldn’t stick to the foil. I then cut out the heart shapes and inserted a lollipop sticks into them.

Next, you need to put plastic coverings over the treats so they will stay fresh. You can be all fancy and buy clear lollipop bags at the craft store, or you can be like me and cut the zipper part off of a Ziploc bag. I used the snack size baggies for mine since my hearts were small, but you may need to use a sandwich size if your shapes are larger. I gathered the excess plastic at the bottom of the heart and tied it closed with a little piece of curling ribbon.

With some craft gift tags I already had on hand, I made little “Grown with Love” tags to add to the treats. If I needed to buy some at the store, I would have bought some that were smaller than this, but I didn’t really see the need to buy more since I already had these. On the back of the tags, I wrote each child’s name and Zack drew a little picture…of a straight line, which he said was a jump rope. He cracks me up.

I tied the tags onto the sticks with some curling ribbon. In hindsight, I think it would have been super cute to use green pipe cleaners to make little leaves instead. If I ever do this with flower shapes, I think that is what I will do. The ribbon was fun, though, and I don’t think you can ever have too much curling ribbon on hand. I think I have some in every color.

Next, cut a piece of floral foam to fit inside the little pot. Yes, I am the mother who uses floral foam in a craft project for 3 year olds. I am a little over the top. Just part of Living with Lindsay.

After sticking the lollipop stick into the floral foam, I added some chocolate hearts around the foam to hide it as best I could. I wasn’t able to completely hide it, but I think I hid it well enough.

That’s all there is to it! So sweet and simple. And they trump foil Lightening McQueen valentines any day of the week. Yay me!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours! I hope you get to spend the day with the people you love. Make every day count.

DIY Moss Balls

May Love Bloom