DIY Star Advent

Hello Lovelies!

I have had this DIY on my "to post about" for over 2 years (made this advent in 2016!) and just kept getting the timing wrong! Finally, it's BEFORE Decemeber and I am writing this blog post! :) Yay!! 

For those of you not aware of what Advent is, it means "coming" in Latin and it's a period of time (4 weeks) before Christmas where Christians await the coming of the Messiah (in our case, the second coming!)  

We remember the longing of the Jews for a Messiah.. 
We realize our own longing for and need of forgiveness, and a Savior. 
We look back and celebrate the birth of Jesus but we also look forward, anticipating the second coming of Christ, as the fulfillment of all that was promised! 

Advent is not something I grew up with and it's relatively new to our little family as well. I have only done it a few times! It is a beautiful way to draw our hearts and attention back to the real reason for Christmas, every single day in December, building up to the birth of Christ!! I enjoy thinking of new ways to incorporate Advent into our Christmas decor and love to DIY it! 

You may also wish to include a fun activity to do that day!
Things like:
Drive to see the Christmas lights
Watch a Christmas movie
Make a Christmas card to mail for someone

See this list for more ideas!! 

What you will need to make the Advent Stars: 

-Brown Paper or pretty paper? (I bought a LARGE roll of thick brown paper from Home Depot or Lowes- it'll be in the painting section- also great for gift wrapping!!)
-Sewing machine or needle & thread if you're adventurous!
-Star template : I included a good starter size star! Too little and it'll be hard to fit anything in there besides the paper slip!
-Markers (to decorate or write numbers on the stars)
-Hole punch
-Pretty twine
-A metal hoop or circular form (I ordered gold metal hoops from Amazon!)
-Little gifts & special candies (optional)
-Print-outs of Bible verses:  I used something similar to these!

1. First, print off a few star templates from the computer and cut out for tracing onto the brown paper..

2. Trace & cut out paper stars. If you are doing all the days of Advent, you will need 25 X 2 (each star needs two sides- front and back) so total of 50 stars. The beauty of this part is the stars don't have to be perfect. Each one will vary a little.. makes it more unique!

3. Start to sew up and down the angles of the star.. leaving a little gap for filling! Again, they might not 100% line up but that little imperfection makes it more rustic!

4. Fill the star with a verse in each (and a fun activity too!) and a special treat, mini toy, etc!
Some examples could be:
Kinder Eggs
a mini ornament for each child
a cute pencil/ gel pen
stickers
a scavenger hunt to find the hidden gift!

If you chose to just include the slip of paper, consider stuffing it with shredded paper filler to make the star have more shape!

5. Sew the hole closed (this is a little tricky if you really filled the star but it can be done!)

6. Write the number on the star for the day it coordinates with!

7. Hole punch a hole on the top corner. Make sure it's not too close to the edge or it may tear away from the star. Loop the twine in and tie to the metal hoop (or whatever you have prepared - even a rustic stick to tie all the stars to!)

I added a branch of evergreen for some color and texture. It was so simple yet makes a big visual impact!

8. Using thicker twine, tie around the circle and knot in the middle. (pictured below) Make sure it's balanced correctly and will hang evenly. I think eventually the weight wasn't even after cutting off random stars and it slide down vertically (See first photo) but still looks just as cute!

9. Hang on a hook in the ceiling (hope your husband doesn't question said hook) ;)

10. You're done! Cut off the star for each number day for the days of December, and tear open to expose the surprise!

I hope your kids and family will love it as much as ours did! They ran to it first thing every morning and took turns cutting the next number loose! They also liked to try and guess what it could be inside!

I hope you will consider starting this new tradition with your family! You never know what tradition your kiddos will remember the most when they grow up but I hope it this will be one of them! 

Have a joyful and peaceful holiday season!!

With Love, 

Viktoria 

P.S. One really fun filler I did for one of the stars was a large quantity of M&M's. When they tore it open, the M&Ms scattered everywhere.. haha that was funny :)

P.P.S. After the stars came off one by one, I added Christmas Cards to the empty strings with cute mini clothespins! I wish I snapped a photo! It's a neat idea for when the stars start dwindling down.

Modern Floral Unicorn Birthday Party

I am so happy I can finally post this! This draft has been waiting to be finished for so long!

Since both my girl's birthday's are in  the same month and a week apart, we decided to celebrate their birthday together. My older girl was thrilled to share the birthday party with her baby sister! (Who turned ONE!) It was a perfect solution. Em's birthday is closer to the end of the month and usually right about when it turns very cold here in Virginia. It was def a win-win for us. We were blessed with 50 degree weather and I had less stress trying to plan two parties.

Em, my oldest girl, had one request: UNICORN PARTY. I saw this imagine on Pinterest and it went from there. (SEE my inspiration board HERE) I didn't go all out with this party, like I dreamed in my mind (always) but I did want to share the dessert table and some ideas if you want to do something similar!

I scoured the web for a horse/unicorn head wall mount because I had no confidence in myself that I could DIY that. After finally finding this decent priced one (on Etsy) I realized the shipping would take too long. Grr. So at that point it became another Do-It-Yourself.

I found this step-by-step paper mache tutorial and figured: How hard can it be? She makes it look soo easy. 

How wrong I was. I am not an artist. The features of a horses face doesn't come easy. I will not even show you the during pictures- they are that funny! My husband still claims he looks like a moose and I will not deny it. He is not at all what I wanted him to look like. It's like one of those Pinterest "Nailed It" images. haha. I was convinced I wasn't going to use it. But then after I spray painted him white, added a gold shiny horn (oh yes, this is very important) and some girly eyelashes, it magically transformed. The power of WHITE SPRAY PAINT is still going strong! :)

Floral Crown DIY HERE
  (Chalkboard made by my sister and her husband: Check out their Etsy shop! They only have a few chalkboards left!)

To make the eyelashes, cut two strips of felt (I used grey) about 2-3 inches long. Slice into it to look like fringe, being careful not to cut too high. Then gently tug at it to separate the "lashes". Attach with hot glue.

After that, it was a matter of hanging the horse/unicorn head and displaying it in a playful, girly way. I loved the idea of a wallpaper backdrop but since I don't have a wallpaper wall,  I covered a thin wood plank with craft sheets (18X18) that I got at Michael's. Perfect solution! (Watch for their sales! These were .20 each sheet!). I attached them to the wood using spray glue adhesive. This made it lay flat without any wrinkles and also gives me the option to take off the paper if I want to. I also hung up a chalkboard behind the head so it didn't look so small againsit the huge backdrop.

The ice cream cones dipped in white chocolate made for crunchy and oh so yummy unicorn horns :) Also, you must as a rainbow of some sort, right? 

PS. Those are kid friendly jello shots. Just, FYI. :)

It was a wonderful day, filled with family and joy. Getting all emotional thinking about how my baby girl turned one and my big girl is already 4! Their birthday's will be here again before I know it. No theme in place yet but I am sure my design director will inform me soon enough :)

 To make those goofy unicorn party hats for all your unicorn guests, here is the simple how-to, using thick cardstock paper:

Or add a pom pom on the top and you have a cute party hat in any print you can imagine!

Hope you all are enjoying the summer weather we are having here! Cherish those days before they slip away! I know I will be missing my boy as soon as he's off to school again!!

Thanks so much for reading! Would love to answer any questions you have! Until next time...

With Love,

Viktoria 

Pssstt: See Em's Kitten/Puppy Birthday Party from last year HERE!

Summer Shorts: Gingham

Hellllloooooooo!

I don't know what it is, but I am all about shorts this summer. The usual desire to wear dresses and skirts are just gone (for now) but I think it has lots to do with chasing around a busy (and FAST) one year old :) That being said, I also don't feel comfortable with the length (or lack there of) in shorts from the store these days. But what an easy DIY! My new favorite is the rolled up look. Bonus: No need to hem and super cute! No need for a sewing machine either. :)

I had thrifted these gingham capris a while back because I am so loving this print this year. Nothing says summer like GINGHAM! Ok, maybe picnics. And watermelon. And fireflies. :)
I also love the high-waisted look of these pants/shorts. The thrift store is overfilling with this style. Just take your pick of fabric pattern and you have a new pair of shorts!

 1. Have your pant/shorts/capris that you want to chop. This works for jeans as well!

2. Trim to your desired length plus about 2 inches. (Depending how fat of a roll you want) Make sure they are the same length on both legs.

3. Fold once. Fold once more.

4. Iron the folded part! This is an important step. It keeps the fold from unfolding.

Final Step: To also  keep the shorts from unrolling, I did a simple thread on the outside edge of the shorts using a needle and thread. Knot the thread, pull it through the inside to the outside, pull it back into the shorts and repeat 3-4 times. Than knot the back end and you're done! (Use a thread that matches so you can't see it)

 

Little behind the scenes: :)

Pack a picnic basket and go to your nearest park (or your backyard!) and enjoy the NOW. I have to make myself stop sometimes and just dwell and pause in the moments to remind myself to enjoy the kids. In the age they are right now. In the stages of discipline we are at RIGHT NOW. There might be tough things going on. You might be in a stage of waiting or a stage of praying or you might be in a praising stage. Let us enjoy the every moment..

Do you have a tried-and-true shorts DIY that you do every year? Would love to hear it!

Thanks so much for reading! Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

With Love, 

Viktoria

1st Birthday Party: Little Flower

Happy Monday, Friends! ( It's Monday, AGAIN??)

My sweet baby niece turned ONE a few weeks ago and I am so happy I was able to be there to witness this special day in her life. Although she is not my sister's first child, this is the first baby I have actually got to cherish and see grow. My sister used to live in FL and our babies didn't get to see each other much! This niece is also very dear to me because she is only about half a year younger than our youngest, Lily. Seeing them grow up and play and love (and already fight! haha) has been so much fun! I hope we get to see MANY more birthdays and play-dates and sleepovers in the future for these little ones :)

I was able to shoot a few pictures of this Little Flower's First Birthday party and it was just perfect. Only complaint: too much yummy sweets. The dessert table was overfilled and I didn't even get to try it all! Looking back at pictures has me feeling all "HOW DID I NOT TRY THAT?!?" haha..

Hope you enjoy! And I apologize in advance if you get all hungry and stuff... :)

(I will post a VERY EASY Diy on that floral hanging wreath soon!)

That chalkboard is beyond amazing. Can't help you make one of those (Although my sisters probably could!) But I can help you make those tissue paper flowers like from this post - A baby shower we did a few years ago!

Handmade by my sister - LOVE

Some of the other flowers at the party :) - How beautiful are those floral head pieces!?! Raise your hand if you want my sister to open an Etsy shop to sell those! ME TOO! So in love with them.

Lady-like cake eating. :)

And the sweet birthday girl even shared her birthday cake. :)

And I had to share pictures of the little BFF's on the table, enjoying too much candy. They are just SO FUNNY together. We are always nonstop laughing when they are together.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Now excuse me while I go wallow in self-pity because I have officially ran out of Cadbury Mini Eggs....

Thanks so much for reading!

With Love,

Viktoria

Put A (Floral) Crown On It

Hi!

So I am sure you have seen the floral crown craze all over the internet (and Pinterest) but I wanted to add yet another tutorial to the many out there.. Just because everyone seems to do it a little different. Although there is no wrong way to make a floral crown, mine is the right way. Haha! Kidding of course.

I tend to over-simplify things. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. But I made my crown with only two things: fake flowers and floral wire. I didn't even use floral tape because I wasn't worried too much about the messiness of it- I felt it adds character :) But if you want to be all proper-like, get some floral tape too.

Everything I used I got from the Michael's Craft Store. The flowers are the inexpensive ones and they also were on sale. Pictured above is all I used (and have some left over) For adult size crown, buy 1-2 more stems than pictured. (Also check your thrift stores! I always see fake flower arrangements there that would work great!)

1. Wrap the floral wire a few times into a circle shape. Measure the head that will be wearing your handiwork and adjust as needed.

2. Pull or cut off your flowers from the main branches.

Keep some of the double stemmed flowers to add some dimension to your crown. (They will lay in a more natural way). That is actually the one I started with but any bigger size flower would be a good start.

3. Wrap wire around to secure the flower to the circle. I pre-cut little pieces of so they are ready for grabbing.

4. Start adding more flowers.

 

Alternate which way your flower stem is attached to make it more thick. You don't want to see gaps into the wire (mess). If you are using floral tape, wrap around the wire to cover the parts sticking out.

You can stop when you are half/ three-quarters of the way if you would like! It looks just as cute.

Or continue all the way around..

You're done! Keep an editorial eye on it, pulling it away and at eye-level to see where there are gaps. Add anywhere you feel has too much space between flowers but don't overthink it! You can also add long strips of ribbon to the back side and loop them through (like this: the way I made the shabby-chic streamer). Your princess will enjoy the way the ribbon blows in the wind :) I didn't add it to mine but it still got the approval from my princess.

NOTE: This isn't safe for little babes. The wire that is trimmed can scratch a grabby, curious baby. Please be careful! If you are making for baby photoshoot purposes, use floral tape to cover the tips.

Hope you enjoyed the photos of my (not-so-little) girl! We used the floral crown for Em's Birthday back in November but she wasn't the one wearing it. Hehe- hope to share photos of her birthday party soon!

Thank you so much for reading!!

Love, 

Viktoria