Everybody loves twinkling lights. So, let’s have fun and get creative with some great DIY ideas for decorative string lights for home decor and parties! #StringLights #DIY #Craft
18 Decorative String Lights DIY Ideas
Get creative for any occasion or just because!
Light is an essential part of decorating. It sets a mood, creates ambiance, and delights. So why not add some pizzazz to ordinary string lights for your home decor, outdoor living spaces, entertaining, and more. Decorative string lights are perfect for everyday life or special occasions and holidays.
I have collected a roundup of amazing DIY ideas to awe and inspire you. Enjoy!
So many creative, fun, and festive ideas, right? I hope you have been inspired, and I would love to hear about any ideas you have for decorative string lights.
A collection of 10 beautiful container garden ideas that you’re sure to love! Popular planters for versatility, space, lovely to make any setting a garden!
Well, folks, I have a right-hand crush injury. So, I am incredibly thankful to my friend, Michelle, for putting together this awesome guest post for me. Do be sure to stop by her lovely blog, Our Crafty Mom.
10 Beautiful Container Garden Ideas
Get creative and turn any space into a garden!
Hi! I’m Michelle from Our Crafty Mom and I’m happy to be guest posting at Life With Lorelai today. With Spring in full swing and Summer on its way, I put together a collection of 10 beautiful container garden ideas that I am sure you will just love! One reason I think container gardens are so popular is they are so versatile. You don’t need to have a huge space for container gardens and they look lovely in all kinds of settings. Let’s take a look at these gorgeous ideas from some of your favorite home and garden bloggers.
So many different options, but all beautiful! I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to visiting with you at Our Crafty Mom. Have a great day!
Thanks again, Michelle, for this beautiful roundup of container garden ideas! Be sure to see more from Our Crafty Mom on her social media: Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest/ Hometalk/ Instagram
Find creative inspiration for your own Easter Chalkboards DIY, or get a printable! Holidays are always fun for decorating, make this Easter special.
16 Easter Chalkboards
Creative Inspiration for Holiday Decor
I love holidays. So, I am always looking for creative inspiration and holiday decor ideas. And with my love of chalk art, I decided to gather some amazing Easter Chalkboard ideas for you. I hope they will inspire you and add a little holiday fun to your home decor.
Aren’t these the cutest chalkboards? So pretty! I hope you have enjoyed the festive display and are inspired by these to bring a little chalk art into your Easter decor. Embrace the holidays!
Gardening is a fun and productive way to de-stress. Discover wonderful garden ideas and tips to plant, maintain, decorate, and beautify your gardens.
Garden Ideas
Tips and Tricks for Spring Gardening
Spring is fast approaching, and that means it is time to start thinking about your garden. So, I thought I would pull together a roundup of gardening ideas, tips, and tricks to help you along the way.
You will find a wide variety of information from planting; trellises; indoor, outdoor, and container gardens; disease prevention; pest deterrents; and more.
Learn how to grow healthy Lilac Bushes. Lilacs are a gorgeous and fragrant addition to any garden and are one of the most carefree shrubs for maintenance.
Looking for quiet and tranquility? Take a cue from Japanese culture and create a Zen experience in your garden or a small Zen garden for inside your home.
This post gathers a multitude of information and is a fantastic resource for garden ideas, tips, and tricks! PIN it to come back to for future reference.
I hope this spring and summer your gardens will be filled with beautiful flowers, shrubs, herbs, and vegetables. Take pleasure in the gardening experience, relax and enjoy!
Give summer a last hurrah by throwing an end-of-summer party! Find great tips and ideas from our regular contributor, Megan Wild.
Tips for Throwing an End-of-Summer Party
Say Good-bye to Summer with a Festive Bash!
Summer is starting to wind down. It may seem like it’s only been here for about three days, but you can still squeeze a few small drops of summertime fun out of it! While Labor Day has already passed, we still have a few more weeks of reasonable temperature left, so get your friends together to go out with a bang!
Go With a Summery Theme
You don’t have to choose a theme, of course, but it does make the whole party feel a bit more cohesive. Tropical is a pretty clear choice, too, but you can always branch out some. Beach themes, rainbows, flowers or even something different, like fairies, can make for a really fun summer party.
Even if you don’t want to do an actual theme, try to pick a color scheme to stick to. It’ll wow guests without making too much extra work for the hostess (or host)!
Make Use of the Summer Produce
The end of summer is prime time for a few choice food options. Melons are always a big hit now, and tomatoes are ripe for the plucking. This is also the best time of year for things like zucchini and peaches. Try making dishes with these options, like Watermelon, Blueberry & Feta Salad, or perhaps some of these End-of-Summer Recipes. A seasonal produce guide can help you plan your menu for the summer party, especially since produce that’s in season will be cheaper!
Make Serving Simple
The key to simple self-serve is to space things out. Try and place things around so that people can pick and choose where they’d like to go. A table by the grill, one near the fire pit, drinks by a flower bed and a few appetizers close to the door or gate should do it. It keeps everyone from having to crowd around one area and gets the conversation flowing as everyone has a chance to talk.
You can even set up a kids’ area near some toys to keep the little ones entertained! If you plan to have lots of kids for a birthday party or some other family-friendly event, make eating fun, too! A big box of crayons and a tablecloth made of paper means little ones can spend their time playing instead of asking for the next activity.
Create the Right Atmosphere
There are really two aspects to creating a fun-going atmosphere: music and lighting. No matter what, you can’t go wrong with lanterns and string lights, or even this DIY Solar Lamp. When evening starts to set in, break out a few candles, and don’t be afraid to use the citronella ones! If you already have outdoor lighting, such as solar-powered garden lights, those should help add a dreamy atmosphere to your fun.
Of course, lighting isn’t everything. Music sets the mood before sunset, and even before you can see the festivities! Birthday parties should be fun, with dance music for adults or kids’ music to get little toes tapping. A swanky garden party will sound elegant from the driveway with classical instrumentals, and a laid-back barbecue will always be fun with a classic rock playlist.
Keep Bugs at Bay
No one likes to spend a party swatting away mosquitoes or fishing bugs out of their drinks. The end-of-summer always seems to be when the bugs get the most aggressive, as well, so do what you can to keep people bug-free. The most common idea is citronella candles, and they do work wonderfully. However, you can also offer other options.
Put out Bug Umbrellas, paper cupcake wraps to cover drinks, and try to incorporate some insect repelling herbs, like mint and rosemary, into the food. Insects don’t care for those smells, and it’ll help drive them away. Besides, there’s nothing as good as a honey-mint drizzle over fresh fruit salad! You can also check out these 35 Plants That Repel Mosquitoes.
Show off the Last of the Flowers
While autumn does bring some beautiful colors, nothing really beats the flowers from summer. Use this last shindig as an excuse to show off the last of the blooms around you.
If you’re lucky enough to have plenty of flowers still in the garden, plan to have some of the gathering spots around them. Place food and drinks near your late bloomers to draw people close to them. If your flowers aren’t nearby, then snip off some blooms and place them around. A few small, scattered arrangements add an air of whimsy without making the florals seem over-the-top–a perfect touch for your summer party.
Label It!
Many people don’t automatically announce a food allergy, especially if it’s not life-threatening. Others might be trying to stick to a specific diet. For those reasons, try to label things. It doesn’t have to be laborious, but some kind of simple system can be very helpful. A few different groups of things like “Vegetarian,” “Vegan” or “Allergen-Free” can save everyone an enormous headache, and keep them all safe. If that doesn’t fit with your setup, try a simple menu instead.
An end-of-summer bash is the perfect way to say goodbye to the warm weather. Remember to consider it from the guests’ point of view. The biggest factors are food, music and entertainment. Everything else is just gravy. So get outside and soak up the sun!
Think a rose is a rose? Find out from regular contributor, Megan Wild. She brings us another beautiful post to bring the glory of roses to your garden.
If you’re keen on including a climbing rose in your garden, make sure you have a sturdy structure for it to grow skyward on. The perennial will need space to grow as it will spread and cover over the years.
Here’s how to build a trellis that will provide the structural support the plant requires while adding visual flare to your garden space.
You can keep your costs down if you use wood from around your yard. Some people may tell you that you need willow, but if you’re pruning trees around your property, the small trimmed branches will do the trick.
Dimensions:
The completed trellis will be 7 feet, 4.5 inches tall and 3 feet wide.
Materials:
As you will be cutting wood, hammering nails and more, be sure to use the proper tools for optimal safety.
Box of 13/4-inch nails
Hammer
Floral wire roll
12 straight branches (approximately one inch in diameter)
3 pieces (3 feet in length each) [A]
1 piece (6 feet long) [B]
2 pieces (5 feet in length each) [C]
2 pieces (each 25 inches in length each) [D]
2 pieces (22.5 inches in length each) [E]
2 pieces (39.5 inches in length) long [F]
Steps:
Place [A] pieces horizontally on a flat surface.
2 pieces should be 18 inches apart
1 pieces should be 16 inches above the center piece
Place [B] vertically across the [A] pieces. The end at the bottom of the structure needs to overlap the bottom [A] pieces by 4.5 inches.
Secure the [B] to all of the [A] pieces with nails along the center joints.
Place [C] vertically at approximately 3.5 inches in from the ends of the crosspieces.
Secure the crosspieces to the joints with nails.
Put [D] and [E] pieces diagonally, slightly covering the horizontal crosspieces.
Secure with nails at the junction.
Put [F] behind [B] and atop the [C] side pieces.
Wrap floral wire around all of the main junctions to reinforce the structure’s strength.
Once you have the trellis built, choose a location for it and the rose plant. Roses can flourish in full sun as well as partial shade. It’s important to consider factors such as trees that can increase shade or metal roofs which can reflect sunlight more than traditional shingle roofs. These types of factors can greatly effect how much you need to water your roses to keep them healthy.
Now that you have the desired location for your rose plant picked out, place the trellis into the soil. Ensure it is low enough in the dirt that it will be able to stand on its own once the plant has grown and established.
When planting the rose, dig a hole where you want the flower to bloom. A good rule of thumb is to create a hole twice as wide as the roots and 2 feet deep. Once the rose is in place, water extensively. Cover the roots with soil and water again.
Rose plants are great addition to any garden as they provide vibrant color year after year. With a trellis to grow on, they’ll create visual interest through the added levels and dimension.
Megan Wild loves planting flowers in the spring. When she’s not in the midst of her garden of tulips and daisies, you can find her writing tips and ideas for her blog, Your Wild Home.
These beauties opened up on Christmas Day in my yard. Aren’t they gorgeous? I wanted to share them with you, and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
As stated last week, the Home Matters Linky Party is taking a two week break to enjoy the holidays with our families. We are planning a fresh new look for the party, and hope you will join us on January 9th when we return.
Returns January 9th…
I have lots of fun stuff planned for Life With Lorelai in 2015. Take a moment to sign-up to Get the News so you don’t miss a thing!
