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DIY + Design + Crafts

My Favorite Amazon Holiday Decor

holiday decor

Before you read: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I’m always on the hunt for holiday decor that doesn’t break the bank and packs a big punch on the festivity meter (if this is a thing). And, with its instantaneousness, what better place to find said festive decor than on Amazon.

Holiday Decor under $20

Real Wood Wall Hooks

For years we didn’t have a mantle and so we needed to get creative when hanging our stockings for Santa. These real-wood wall hooks would work perfectly hung on the wall next to the tree and add a rustic vibe to the holiday decor!

Green Felt Holly Leaf Red Bells Garland

Anything with felt adds a textual element to holiday decor, and this garland with red bells (that look like berries) adds a whimsical touch to mantle, railing, doorway, or centerpiece.

Wool Felt Ball Garland

I love the look of these felt ball garlands – they’re great strung from a mantle or in archways. We have some for halloween as well!

Handmade Hemstitch Table Runner

This table runner is a great layering piece, either over another table cloth or directly on a table itself. The open hemstitch allows for the under layer to show through and the red is perfect as a backdrop for other festive decor and centerpieces.

Buffalo Check Table Runner

Buffalo plaid is a festive decor staple. This table runner is good on its own or as a layering piece for a more rustic holiday vibe.

Buffalo Plaid Pillow Cover

More buffalo plaid! BONUS: These pillow covers are neutral enough to work beyond the holidays!

Buffalo Check Dish Towels

Because doing the dishes should be festive too…

Retro Red Truck Christmas Pillow Cover

This pillow cover with an iconic red truck and pine trees adds a vintage touch to any holiday decor.

Rudolph Swivel Night Light

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is easily one of our top five favorite Christmas movies. What better way to bring holiday decor to the kids bedrooms than by swapping out their regular nightlight for this festive and sweet version.

Battery Operated Fairy String Lights

These fairy string lights are so versatile – use them to decorate mini trees, inside vases, throughout centerpieces, etc. They come in cool or warm white for endless possibilities!

Holiday Decor $20+

‘The Stockings Were Hung…’ Poem Wooden Box Sign with Buffalo Plaid

A wall hanging with this classic Christmas excerpt gives me all the nostalgic feels… and… buffalo plaid so, duh.

Mantle Christmas Stocking Holders

I love these cute little houses for hanging stockings from a mantle or shelf! You could even get those battery operated fairy lights from above and feed them into the houses so they glow!

Handmade Christmas Gnomes

This is as close to “elf on a shelf” that I’ll get!

Holiday Decor $30+

‘Tis the Season Christmas Trivia

While technically not “decor”, this game would look super cute on a shelf or as part of a table scape. BONUS: it’s interactive – who doesn’t love a good game of trivia?!

Eucalyptus Wreath

This is a different take on a traditional holiday wreath and could be kept up all year round. Add some battery operated lights and it’s ready to add to your indoor or outdoor holiday decor!

Berry Twig Wreath

Another wreath that is perfect for the fall and winter months.

18 inch Knit Stockings

Stockings are a personal thing, but if you’re just looking to start your stocking collection these knit stockings add color and texture to your decor. And you can easily personalize them. (If you’re looking for what to fill them with – check out my list of stocking stuffers!)

Vintage Mistletoe Framed Wall Art

Vintage sign + mistletoe… need I say more?

Holiday Decor $40+

24 inch Wreath with battery operated lights

A more traditional wreath that is pre-lit! Just add batteries and hang!

20 inch Olive Wreath

Olive branches are personally my favorite green and what better way to welcome guest that with an olive branch wreath!

Rattan Christmas Tree Collar

If you know me, you know I love a good rattan… anything!

16 inch Felt Leaf and Holly Berries Wreath

Something to add to the kids area holiday decor!

15 inch Ceramic Lighted Hand Painted Tree

Talk about nostalgia…. I think most of us had these as kids!?

Battery Operated Flicker Window Candles with Remote Timers

We have these candles for each of our windows and I love the remote function – it’s one of the kids’ “holiday chores” to turn the candles off every night and all it takes is one click per room to turn them off. But if we forget, there’s always the timer option!

Holiday Decor $50+

9 Foot Pre-lit Garland with Cedar Leaves and Red Berries

The garland on our mantle is one of my most favorite holiday decor items. I plan on getting on for our railings too!

Galvanized Tree Collar – clip and save 5%!

How amazing is this tree collar?

Lighted Set of Gold Glitter Cone Trees

We have a single lighted tree, but I would love this whole set!

I hope you are as excited about the holidays as I am, and I hope you found something here to add to your holiday decor. Because we celebrate Christmas, all of these items tend to fall into that category, so please let me know what holiday decor I am missing!

DIY Fire Starters

DIY Fire Starters

Before you read: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you’ve ever been a Girl/Boy Scout, you’ve probably made these DIY fire starters at some point. And if you haven’t, your’e in luck, because I’m going to show you just how easy it is. I decided it was time to make them because 1) we’ve recently (FINALLY) welcomed Fall here in Maryland and 2) we dug out our fire pit from the basement for driveway s’mores and didn’t have any newspaper (and consequently struggled a smidge with getting the fire going).

With a few supplies that you probably already have around the house, and a few minutes, you’ll be prepared for your next campfire with these diy fire starters!

(We didn’t have any leftover candles so we ordered this wax from Amazon and it was the perfect amount!)

  • DIY Fire starter
  • DIY Fire Starter
  • diy fire starter
DIY Fire Starters
Print

DIY Fire Starters

Struggling to find a way to start your campfire? Here's a quick and easy (and free-ish) DIY craft for you and the kids to make in preparation for your next camping trip or at-home fire pit.
Prep Time20 minutes
Active Time10 minutes
Course: Craft
Keyword: DIY
Yield: 12 fire starters
Cost: Free-ish

Equipment

  • Glass jar or measuring cup (used ONLY for craft purposes)
  • Scissors

Materials

  • 1 sandwich baggie lint If you laundry like we do, it doesn't take long to collect this!
  • 6-7 oz wax This a great use for all those candles with a little bit of wax in the bottom. Or, you can buy wax.
  • 1 cardboard carton from a dozen eggs

Instructions

  • Put wax in whatever container you are using to melt it, then place the container in a pot of water over high heat. It will take 20 minutes or so for the wax to melt. You do not need to stir it.
    diy fire starter
  • Meanwhile, cut the egg carton into 12 individual cups.
    DIY Fire starter
  • Fill each cup with a little bit of lint. A sandwich baggie full will be plenty for 12 fire starters.
    DIY Fire Starter
  • Once the wax is melted, pour a little into each cup. Make sure you have something covering your table in case you spill a little.
    diy fire starter
  • Let them cool and harden, then they're ready to use! I use 2-3 for a large campfire. And in case you need pointers on building a fire: create a teepee shape with your kindling (small pieces of wood) and place 2-3 of the fire startes inside. Light the fire starters. Sometimes it's easier to light one outside the teepee and then place it inside. Once the kindling is lit, add larger pieces of wood until your fire is as big as you want it.
    DIY fire starter

These diy fire starters came in handy on our recent camping trip and they were fun to make with the kids (obvi I did all the steps involving the wax). Do you camp? Or are you more of a home firepit fam?

Summer Learning Bingo Boards

Two summers ago, when I was feeling especially motivated to make sure everything Benny had learned in school didn’t fall out of his head during the summer, I created these Summer Learning Bingo Boards. And every year since, as the end of the school year approaches, the boys ask if we are doing them again.  

  • Alex’s Board
  • Benny’s Board

To say that the children are equally motivated by knowledge retention (i.e., summer learning) as I am would be a stretch (when someone gets “bingo” they can choose from a bag of matchbox cars or something similar, so there’s a tangible reward) but completing reading/writing/math activities – and a few chores sprinkled in, just for funsies – is something they don’t fight me on. 

 And THAT, folks, is a huge win in my book (even if they are being bribed).  

Summer Learning Bingo Boards
Excited to see what his squares say this summer! Hooray for summer learning!

The best part? I spent zero dollars making them.  Using random pieces of cardboard and leftover supplies from various craft projects and my scrap-booking days, I was able to piece together a functional bingo board that will serve us for as long as the boys are willing. (I imagine I’ll need to make Em one soon!)  The boys made name signs to put on each board and I used 3 x 3 inch scrap paper for the squares.  I used photo corners to mount each square so that they can be removed when completed (and changed out completely as needed).

  • Some squares are the same on each board so the boys can do those activities together.
  • As an activity is completed, we take off the square and reveal the “bingo marker”.

Each square includes activities ranging from “complete a math worksheet” (we print out at a stack of both math and reading worksheets at the beginning of the summer – this site has so many to choose from) to “help mommy or daddy with a chore inside/outside” to “pick a new art medium and create something”. 

 I try to include things that they generally enjoy – the things they came home from school excited about – but also things that I know they need to work on (hence the “play a game with your brother” square.

I should have written “play a game NICELY with your brother”…). It may sound counterintuitive, but I limit the boys to 3 squares a day to prevent them from rushing through activities just for the end result.  When they’ve completed a few bingos, we switch up the cards and start again (I have a bag of extra clipped to each board).

  • Used the back of squares we aren’t using anymore to create new and advanced activities.
  • Each square has an initial to be sure they don’t get mixed up.

I cranked out this summer’s squares in 20 minutes while waiting for the boys to get home from their last day of 2nd grade and Kindergarten (insert cry face emoji) and we are ready to rock. Although I haven’t mentioned to them that I have yet to get the “treat” bag… oops!  Cheers to a relaxing summer! 

Design Plan + Vision Board for Em’s Room

Before you read: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One of my favorite things about our house is all the natural light – which is why when we moved in Scott and I decided to only put blinds on 12 of the 30+ windows.  One of my least favorite things? (side note: we are blessed to have the home we have and I love every inch of it, but I still have things I would love to improve – who doesn’t? It is ever evolving.) Because it’s a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood… it’s just like every single house in the neighborhood.

My design aesthetic (look at me using fancy words) is pretty eclectic –

I like a mix of brightly colored art, vintage accents, a monotone look paired with textural elements, modern and graphic touches – pretty much anything. I find things that I like and make them work anywhere I can at home (which is why I have a lot of things collected just waiting for the right spot to make sense).  Themes and matchy-matchy just aren’t my thing and besides, I’ve found that if you collect the things that bring you joy (thank you, Marie Condo) they all end up meshing together perfectly.

And if you stick to what you love and avoid following what’s “on trend”, you’ll design a home that you’ll never grow tired of.

Design Plan
Switching up something as simple as a light fixture can make a big statement.
Chandelier from Wayfair
Design Plan
Don’t be afraid to mix and match your dining “sets”!
Table from Crate & Barrel; chairs from Magnolia Home for Value City.
Design Plan
Keeping a relatively monotone color palette and adding texture is a great way to keep things interesting without it being too busy.
Ottoman and lamp shade from Target; baskets from Crate & Barrel; curtains from anthropologie; chair is vintage from Scott’s grandmother and one of my favorite things
Design Plan
Collect the things that bring you joy and they will more than likely work perfectly together.

So while we did bring the first floor to a level of “complete” that makes it feel like home, I’m diving into each room individually starting with Little Girl’s room –

and it’s mostly because she is now potty trained and I don’t need a changing table anymore (stay-tuned: DIY changing table to dresser conversion).  If it were up to Emily, it would be pink princess flower glitter ballerina trolls everything. We’ve decided to compromise on the design plan.     

Design Plan
Design Plan

The starting point for my vision board is the Fusion Mineral paint color “little teapot”. This will be the color of her bed, the changing table-turned-dresser DIY, the cube bookshelf, and the step stool and I will closely match the wall/ceiling color to the furniture (yes, I paint ceilings).  Em’s room is the smallest bedroom and having the light-monochromatic base color will help it feel light and open. From there, I will be keeping some of the existing elements, changing some elements (like the changing table), and adding some elements (the DIY princess canopy because #basic and I found the CUTEST felt potted plant that I’m in love with).  Below is the information for the products in the vision board as well as a picture of Em’s room now. Come along with me as I dive into this project!

Design Plan
Design Plan
  1. Paint: Behr – Morning Sky
  2. Princess canopy DIY – stay tuned!
  3. Letter I made for her first birthday
  4. Target: Pillowfort Cloud Sheet Set
  5. Rose drawer knobs
  6. World Market Velvet Pillows: green and pink
  7. Fusion Mineral Paint: Little Teapot
  8. Etsy Cloud Pillow – sold out but this one is similar
  9.  Ikea black and white striped throw – sold out but this one looks AMAZING
  10. Modway Rocker Lounge Chair
  11. Lambskin rug
Design Plan

Questions? Comments? Suggestions!? I’ll take ’em all!

Hello world!

Cate before a mirror was born out of a need for a creative outlet, a way to reach beyond the day-to-day and do more. It is time to look in the mirror and love what I see, and time to encourage that in others. I’m not just a regular mom, I’m a — no, I am. I am just a regular mom. I’m also a wife and an artist. A beauty and fashion junkie with a love/hate relationship with shopping. An aspiring DIY project finisher. A foodie and a traveler. May you find whatever you are looking for here.