Window Christmas Lights

Putting up Christmas lights on windows ... ugghhh!!! It's soooo hard!

I had wooden window frames for years and I used thumbtacks. I just positioned them in between the wires and pressed them into the wood to hold them in place. 

When we had new windows installed, they had vinyl frames. When Christmas came around, I was like ahhhh!! How do we add lights??? I tried tape (all kinds!) ... I tried those suction cup hooks that you put on the glass ... I tried everything and they always fell down! 

Then I came across this idea a few years ago and decided to try it. And it works!!! They've been up for several years now, and it is soooo easy to put the lights up (& take them down!) every year.

Okay, so this is what you need ...

Double sided tape (I used Scotch brand)
Paneling End Cap Moulding

Scissors or razor knife to cut moulding

Plastic putty knife, or small spatula (Since I'm a crafter, I used my bone folder lol)

That's it!!!

Sooo, you start with measuring your windows to determine the length of moulding you need. I found the moulding in 8 foot pieces at my local home improvement store similar to this ...

**Make sure your windows are clean and dry**

Measure the height and width of window, and cut pieces to fit inside of window trim. Cut them 1-2 inches smaller because you don't want them to meet in the corners. Here is my first one that I should have cut a little smaller, but it still works.

After cuts are made, apply double sided tape to the back (flat side) of each piece. Position them in place on the windows and use a spatula to slide inside of the groove to press against the glass. I let mine set for an hour or 2 to make sure they adhered.

Once the pieces are in place, start adding your lights!

I used my fingers to line up the wire into the groove of the moulding, then used a bone folder to press the wire in snug. 

The first time I did this, it was a little difficult to press the wires in, I had to use a lot of pressure. But after that first year, it became easier and easier. I think maybe the moulding stretches?

Continue adding your lights until the window is complete.

I just love it! I think the best part is that when you press the wires into the groove, the lights stay uniform and straight! 

When the season is over I just gently pull the lights out and put them away, leaving the moulding in place. I do leave the moulding up all year! As I said, I've had these up for several years now. And yes - I wash my windows, put up other seasonal decorations, etc. and they stay in place ready and waiting for the next year!! And no - they don't interfere with opening and closing the windows! If they do become loose over time, I just add a little more double sided tape.

Easy peasy!! And sooo pretty!! This is probably the best decorating idea I've ever come across lol. If you give it a try, I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. Leave a comment or contact me anytime.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Until next time!!

xoxo

Dawn

Color Street Subscription Box!!

Introducing COLOR PLAY!!!!

Color Play is a new monthly subscription box available through Color Street. Content will be a mystery each month, but a sneak of the monthly theme will be provided. Each box will contain exclusive full-size sets, exclusive accents, a guide showing 3 suggested mixed mani looks, and a special bonus item.

The cost of each box is $30, which includes shipping! (Tax is based on your shipping address) To receive next months box, you must sign up before the 30th of this month. You can pause a month (or several), cancel or update your subscription at any time before the 24th of the month. 

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions ...

Q. When will I be charged for the subscription box each month?

A. Subscription box charges will be processed on the 2nd of each month, before the box is shipped

Q. When will the monthly subscription box be shipped?

A. The subscription box will ship during the second week of each month

Q. What is the deadline to sign up to receive the following months box?

A. To receive the next months Color Play box, new subscribers must sign your on or before the last day of the current month. (For example, if you want December's box, you must sign up before November 30th)

Q. What is the return policy for subscription boxes?

A. Color Play boxes are nonrefundable. If you receive a box with missing or damaged items, please contact Customer Service as soon as possible. To skip an upcoming box or cancel your subscription for future boxes, adjust your preferences in the Color Play section of your account settings before the 25th of each month.

Q. Is there a limit to how many months can be skipped?

A. Subscribers can skip as many boxes as they want without penalty

Q. Will all monthly subscription boxes offer the same value in terms of included items?

A. While the exact value may vary slightly month to month, the total value of all items included in each box falls within a standard range that exceeds the final cost of the monthly subscription

Q. Can a customer cancel their subscription and re-enroll in the program under a different stylist?

A. Yes

Hopefully this answered any questions you may have about Color Play. However, if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

Are you ready to subscribe? Just click here ... SUBSCRIBE HERE 

Thank you for stopping by today! I am so excited to receive my Color Play box to see what's in it!!

xoxo

Dawn

18+ Gifts for $129!!!

Halloween is over and it’s the beginning of November… it’s time to start thinking about the holidays! I love Thanksgiving! I cook for about 10-15 people every year and absolutely love it. Buuuut I need to start thinking about Christmas first! And gift giving! Because that takes time and forethought!!

I usually start thinking about gift giving in October, and try to jot down ideas when they pop up. If I see something that I think someone on my list would like, I try to get it right then & there. There have been numerous times over the years that December pops up out of nowhere and I know I thought of the perfect gift for someone, but I don’t remember what it was! Uggghhh that’s the worst! So now I try to write it down, or just get it when I think of it.

I don’t know about you, but I create a list of people that I want to get gifts for and that list just keeps on growing and growing! I mean, I have the typical … my husband, (adult) kids, their spouses, my grandchildren. But then you have to add in sisters/brothers, cousins, friends, neighbors, bosses. Oh, and what about the other people in your life?! Teachers, nurses, your kids pediatrician, the vet, mail carrier, UPS driver … as I said, the list goes on and on!

If you have a lot of women on your list (think co-workers, sisters, teachers, etc) I found a way to create wonderful gifts for at least 18 people for just $129!! ... Become a Color Street stylist!

Hear me out (& do the math lol) … When you sign up to join Color Street, you pay $129 and they send you a starter kit. The kit contains 13 (random) full sets of dry nail polish strips, and for the month of November they’re throwing in 5 extra sets of holiday designs! Plus in your kit, you’ll receive nail files, testers (twosie accents), nail polish remover wipes, cuticle sticks, & alcohol prep pads that you can bundle up to create little mani packages! (Plus you’ll receive a bunch of business supplies)

But that’s not all! Also included in your kit is part of our hand and nail care collection! Plus part of our new lip care collection! You can divide it all up to create some amazing gifts, put them in pretty gift bags and you’re done! You’ve just checked at least 18 people off of your list for like $7 per person!!

The starter kit includes 13 sets of nail strips, 5 BONUS holiday sets, 72 testers, hand lotion, cuticle oil, 3 lipsticks, 2 lip liners, tinted lip balm, lip primer, 20 remover pads, 100 prep pads, 2 large nail files, 2 nail buffers, 60 mini nail files, 50 cuticle sticks, 25 catalogs, 25 brochures, Stylist Launch Guide, & a tote bag

Of course, you can throw some extras in also to make it a little more special. How about some fun holiday socks? Compact mirror? Hand sanitizer? Nail clippers? Ohh the possibilities are endless! I found a bunch of great products during Ulta Beauty's 5 for $5 sale, Dollar Tree, & Target’s dollar spot … so even adding in these extras, each gift cost about $10. Where else can you get such an amazing gift for $10?! 

You can use just contents from your kit, or step it up a bit by adding little inexpensive gifts. For the extra gifts, I added some holiday socks from Dollar Tree, Holiday lip balm and nail stickers from Ulta Beauty.

I stock up all year when there's good sales. Lip balms, nail clippers, lotion, nail brushes, hand sanitizers, nail tapes, stickers, holiday nail files ... anything cute & inexpensive to add to a gift.

Wait! There’s more! (that reminds me of infomercials 🤣) After you sign up to join Color Street, you’ll have immediate access to start reaping the wonderful benefits! You can order some sets for yourself - taking advantage of the buy 3 get 1 free deal and receive 25% commissions- even on your own orders! You’ll also have access to your personal shopping website that you can share with family and friends for them to shop from. Anything they purchase from your site, you’ll receive a commission!! It’s super easy to stay an ‘active stylist’ too! You only need any amount sale within 6 consecutive months (if you have zero sales within 6 consecutive months, you become deactivated). That includes your own personal purchases and those of your customers! 

I’ll be honest … I don’t have a ton of customers or a huge social media following. But I’ve been a Color Street stylist for over 2 years and have been able to stay active with no problem. Just by using the product I love and sharing that love with others, I’m able to continue on this wonderful journey.

I would love for you to join my team and be part of this amazing adventure! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find all of my links (including the join opportunity) by clicking the link below.

Click HERE for links

Thanks for stopping by today!
xoxo
Dawn

Wedding Card Box

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my son got married this past summer!!!! One of the projects that my new daughter in law requested for the wedding reception was a card box. She showed me a few pictures of what she was looking for, so naturally I volunteered to make one!

I was trying to find a set of 3 boxes, but was having great difficulty. Then I found this set of gray/silver nesting boxes on Amazon. Even though they're a set of 10, I thought they'd be perfect! So I chose the 3 sizes that I thought would work best, and I'll save the rest for another project lol

I had a set of small, medium and large boxes with lids. Now I can visualize what needs to be cut so when it's all put together, cards are dropped in the top opening and can fall all the way through to the bottom of the large box ... 

CUTS:

• Small box ... opening in lid and bottom of box
• Medium box ... opening in lid and bottom of box
• Large Box ... opening in lid

I started with the small box lid and cut an opening for the cards to go in. I made sure to set it towards the front of the box so I can decorate behind it. The opening I decided on was 1 inch thick and 8 inches long. I used a razor knife and metal ruler to help with the cutting.

After that was cut, I placed the small box on top of the medium box lid and traced the bottom of it with a pencil. This gave me guidance on deciding where to cut the opening on the medium lid. I measured about an inch inside the traced box and used the razor knife and ruler to cut out the hole. Using the scrap cut out as a guide, I traced it on the bottoms of the small and medium boxes and the lid of the large box, then cut them all out. 

I thought about gluing them all together, but decided that it would be difficult and awkward to transport. So I came up with the idea of using binder clips inside each box to hold them together 

It really made it much easier to transport! I just stacked them all inside of each other, then clipped it together at the reception.

Once everything was cut and clipped, it was time to decorate!! I had several different ribbons on hand to choose from. I decided to use a rhinestone mesh ribbon around the card opening, and a white with silver metallic edge ribbon around each of the box lids. I thought it made it easier to apply with double sided tape than gluing all of the ribbon.

I used my Cricut to cut the word Cards out of black vinyl and attached it to the bottom front. For me, deciding on the flowers was the hardest part! Not only deciding on which flowers, but also their placement lol. I didn't want to make it too bulky so there was no damage when stacking them inside of each other. After playing around a bit, I used hot glue to finally attach them to the box. this is what I decided ...

And here's the card box on the Welcome Table at the reception (it received a lot of compliments and I was so happy with the result) ...

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed this project. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me - I love hearing from you!

xoxo

Dawn

Wedding Reception Invitations

After 10 years (& 3 children!) my son and his girlfriend decided to get married this past Summer!! But, they had a little twist! His dad & I, and her parents all live in northeast Illinois. My son and his girlfriend live in northwest Indiana. But they decided to get married in Nashville, Tennessee! Another twist was just the parents were invited to the wedding, but they planned on having the wedding reception 8 weeks later in Illinois.

So, we all drove down to Nashville and spent a wonderful weekend. The wedding ceremony was held at a beautiful little wedding venue and everything turned out perfectly. 

Once we got home, it was time to start planning the reception! Wedding reception prep starts with the invitation designing! Naturally because I’m a crafter and card maker, my son and his bride asked me if I could make the invitations. And y’all can imagine my answer lol! 

So, after some discussion about what they were looking for, my brain went to work on visualizing some designs. I knew I would be using my main go-to’s … Stampin’ Up! & Cricut products. They chose to use the colors light purple and gray, so of course I was going to use Stampin’ Up! cardstock (it's absolutely the best!). I picked out the colors Highland Heather and Smoky Slate and the bride & groom both approved.

Next was pulling up Cricut Design Space to start playing around with designs. I tried several designs that just didn't appeal to me. After discussing options with the bride, we decided on a tree shape, cut down the middle and folded over to the center. When you open up the tree, all of the reception details were on the inside. So I began designing, attaching, slicing, welding, sizing and resizing until I got it just right. Believe me, there were several failed attempts lol. It's a good thing I'm always stocked up on Stampin' Up! cardstock!

After creating the final design, I needed to figure out how to keep the invitation closed. I searched my stash and found several rolls of white ribbon that had a silver edge. However, it didn't look right using white on the gray and purple. Fortunately Stampin' Up! also carries coordinating Stampin' Blends markers!! I colored the white ribbon Highland Heather and it was the perfect touch to hold the invitation closed!

I created the inside design on the Canva app and printed it on the Highland Heather cardstock, then cut and attached them to the inside of the card base. Using the colored ribbon, I then tied them closed. I think they turned out pretty great and the bride and groom loved them! (& so did the guests!)

Thanks for stopping by today! If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or leave a comment ... I love hearing from you!

xoxo
Dawn

Halloween Witches

A few years ago, I made these witches for my front yard. Unfortunately I didn’t take pics of putting it together 😩 But I’ll do my best to explain …

I started off with 4 pieces of conduit (hollow metal pipes) for the body. Then I filled a plastic grocery bag with newspaper and shaped the head. Using duck tape, I attached the handles of the bag ‘head’ to the top of the pipe. I used a black flat sheet and centered it over the top of the head and used orange tulle to tie around the ‘neck’. For the face, I found some great witches masks and attached it with hot glue. I also used hot glue to attach a wig and the witches hat. I created all 4 witches the same way. They certainly aren't pretty lol ...

For the witches cauldron, I started with (3) 1x1x36 wood pieces to make the stand (you can use sturdy branches or whatever you have on hand). Holding them loosely together, I spread them out in a tripod form and wrapped twine around the top to secure.

I poked a hole in the top of each side of a plastic cauldron and used twine to attach to the tripod. I grabbed some sticks from my yard and stacked them under the cauldron, and used orange glitter tulle that I bunched up to create the fire.

Then I took 4 pieces of rebar (thick metal poles) around 4 feet long and pounded them into the ground to form a circle around the cauldron. I slipped each witch over the rebar and positioned them to face each other. Taking a corner from one of the witches sheets, I tied it to a corner of the next witches sheet to look like they were holding hands, attaching each witch to the next until all 4 were tied to each other.

This is what they look like in my yard this year ...

Here's a list of the items I used:

(4) plastic grocery bags
bunched up newspaper to fill each head (you can also use poly-fil stuffing, tissue paper, or plastic)

(4) 4-5 foot pieces of metal conduit

(4) 4 foot pieces of rebar

(3) 3 foot pieces of 1x1 wood pieces (or other choice of wood)

twine

plastic cauldron or pot

Orange glitter tulle, for tie and fire

twigs/sticks for fire

(4) black flat sheets, or other large material

(4) witches masks, wigs and hats of choice

I hope this made sense lol. I really wish I would have taken more pictures to help explain. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

xoxo

Dawn

New Color Street Launch

Six brand new shades of the Gem Fatale Collection has just been released!!! These limited-edition Color Street shades take the geode nail trend to the next level with vibrant colors and an array of finishes that mimic the natural beauty of semiprecious stones.

Meet these new gems ...

A Pyrite's Life - an eye-catching stone-textured black and gold design ...

Game of Stones - a silver-flecked azure agate design ...

Jadey Business - a serene shade inspired by jade stones ...

Out of Quartz - an amethyst-inspired design with mesmerizing holographic glitter ...

Pebble Rebel - a sweet marbled peachy-pink ...

Sorry Not Quarry - a rocking gold, brown and black glitter design ...

This is a limited edition collection - once they're gone they're gone! So get them while you can! Shop my website right HERE

As always, if you have ANY questions please don't hesitate to contact me

xoxo
Dawn

My Word of The Year 2022

Do you choose a word of the year? A lot of people choose one to help motivate themselves throughout the year. For example, last year my word was Create. I wanted to concentrate on Creating new relationships, Creating an online community, Creating projects, Creating consistency, etc.

For the last several weeks, I’ve been thinking about it and (unsuccessfully) trying to find a word that would help me for 2022. So, the other day I sat down and started Googling word of the year for ideas. I came across a couple of quizzes to help generate a word for you and decided to give it a try. However, the very first quiz I clicked on wouldn’t let me click past the first question! I kept clicking and clicking and nothing happened! And then it popped in my head … perseverance. I kept trying and trying and nothing was happening - that’s perseverance lol. So that is my new word of the year for 2022!

This word is perfect for me! I am totally going to use this word to motivate me this year. I have so many goals for my life and business, and this word will definitely encourage me!

I’ve been making my own planners the last several years, so I just made the cover for this years. Now I’ll get a constant reminder to persevere lol

Okay, off now to go create signs for my office walls and stickers for my planner to remind me! lol

Have you chosen a word? I'd love to hear it and know how/why you chose it! Comment below and tell me.

Until next time ...

XOXO
Dawn

Baby Onesie's & Toddler Tee's

I don't know about you, but I tend to go in spurts with my crafting. Not only do the spurts of crafting differ in time space (meaning how often I craft) but also in types of crafts. There are periods of time when I make tons of cards with Stampin' Up! products. Then there are periods of time when I make various paper crafts. And then there are periods of time when I use my Cricut. Well, let me tell you ... this has been a Cricut period lol. I feel like my Cricut has been going non stop since the end of November! I've been making tons of Christmas gifts and decor using my Cricut! 

One of my favorite (& quickest!) projects are iron-ons. I love that I can create a design, cut it out and iron it on a piece of clothing in a matter of hours! These are great if you need a quick, last minute gift!

I have a new granddaughter that I've been wanting to make some onesies for, and what better time than Christmas?!! I had a package of 5 onesies so I came up with 5 designs. The hardest part was deciding on the designs! I had so many ideas! I guess I'll just have to get more onesies and make her some more lol

Here are the one's I came up with ...

Didn't they turn out soo stinkin' cute?!! And her mom loved them, which is the added bonus lol

Since I ran out of onesies and wanted to make more, I found some toddler tee's in my stash and decided to create designs for them! (It pays so have a stash of extras lol!)  I have a great-niece, great-nephew and a friends little girl that I needed to find gifts for and these were perfect!

I decided to make coloring shirts. So, I Googled 'coloring page' until I found some designs I liked, plus I found some in Cricut Design Space. Here are a couple I used from Google ...

I uploaded them to Cricut Design Space and cleaned them up (removing all of the white spaces) before cutting them out on black iron-on vinyl. I bought some Crayola Washable Markers so they can color their shirts, mom can wash them, and they can color again and again!!

Here's the finished product ...

Aren't they just the sweetest??!! If you're looking for a quick and easy gift, this is a great project.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you try this one out. If you do, I'd love to see it. As always if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or contact me directly ...

xoxo

Dawn

Scrabble Tiles Wall Art

If you are not familiar with Jennifer Maker, you need to go follow her on Facebook, Instagram and her website! She has some ahh-mazing project tutorials! And they are FREE!! She is such a wonderful teacher and I find a lot of inspiration from her. 

I've been seeing a lot of the Scrabble Tile wall art projects and have been wanting to make one for a long time! Well, Jennifer created a tutorial and I decided to make it! The fact that she includes SVG files for Cricut is simply incredible! You just watch the turorial, download the file and make it! She makes it so easy!! Here's a link to her page ... Jennifer Maker just click on 'Libraries' then get password and enter the library. You can even search for specific projects. Plus she has them all numbered! So for instance, the scrabble tile wall art project is number 270. So you can either search for it, or scroll through the projects until you find it.

After seeing how easy it was, I decided to make one for each of my grown kids. The first thing I did was create a crossword using a list of words. Here's the free program I used ... Create A Crossword Puzzle. I just made a list of names and words and clicked create. You can scramble until you get the layout you want. I kept mine pretty simple. Here's one I came up with ...

Then I went into Cricut Design Space and downloaded Jennifer's SVG file, following her instructions and the crossword puzzle creater to create my puzzle ...

I cut everything out on black vinyl and applied to these wooden squares I found on Amazon ...

After all of the vinyl was applied, I laid out the tiles and snapped this picture to include so they can see how it goes together ...

I even included a packet of Command Strips that I found on Amazon to use to attach to the wall ...

I also made custom gift boxes to put them in! If you'd like to see how I made them, here's a link to my blog post ... DIY Boxes

I gave them as Christmas gifts and they really seemed to love them! I hope they do and I can't wait to see them hung up.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy this project as much as I do. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me ...

xoxo

Dawn