Crafting Archives - Insanity Is Not An Option

Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Ribbon Wreath Tutorial

Make your door the envy of the neighborhood for Mardi Gras when you put this DIY Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Ribbon Wreath together in just 11 super-simple steps. Very forgiving, this DIY wreath tutorial is your new best friend for all of the seasons! Just so you know, I did receive fun decor from Oriental Trading® to facilitate this post, but all opinions are entirely my own.

For once in my life, I’m not going to talk too much (I probably will). I’m going to let this bad a$$ Mardi Gras Ribbon Wreath speak for itself and just tell you how to make it. It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it’s so much better than anything you can find at your local big box store. Plus, you can use this ribbon wreath tutorial to make wreaths for all of the special occasions you want to celebrate. Are y’all ready for this? Seriously, if I can make this, YOU can make this. I’m just not that crafty, so here goes.

Supples to make a Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Wreath:

18″ Wire Wreath Frame
Purple Mesh Tube Ribbon
Green Chenille Stems
Gold Mesh Deco Roll (I used 20″ by 10 yards, but have a lot of length left over for other projects)
Mask of Choice (I used smaller masquerade masks for one wreath and a large jester mask for the other – both shown here.)
Large string of Mardi Gras Beads
Various embellishments like peacock feathers or clip ons

Making your Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Wreath

Cut your mesh tubing to the size of your chenille stems and thread the stem through the tubing. I used eight on the inside ring and eight on the outside ring, but you can adjust that for the fluff factor you’d like.

Simply tie the ribbon-covered stems around the inside wire where you want them, then repeat for the outside wire. It’ll look something like this, but I did remove some of the outside stems before weaving in the deco mesh because I felt like there were too many. Use your creative judgement as you move along. You’ll see!

Once you’re satisfied with the number and placement of your stems, get ready to start adding your deco mesh. Start by gathering the end of the mesh in your hand as shown.

Using the attached stems, tie the end of the mesh to the first one, bunch the mesh as fluffy or flat as you’d like, and tie it down into the next stem. Continue that until the entire inner ring is covered, fluffing as you go.

Once you’re done with the inner ring, repeat those steps for the outer ring. When you’re done with both, your base deco mesh ribbon wreath is done. Time to decorate for the occasion…in this case, Mardi Gras!

Here’s where you gather your masks, beads, peacock feathers, whatever you’ve decided will make this wreath uniquely yours.

First, start with your string of beads (or tinsel if you prefer) and, using the same stems, tie them down in the pattern you prefer. If you’re using beads, make sure the heavy ones are on the bottom, of course!

Now, take the ends of the stems and twirl them around the end of a pencil, remove them from the pencil, and fan them how you’d like. Those stems are a super integral part of this wreath. Not only did they hold everything together, but they’re decorative items all on their own.

Last, but certainly not least, decide how you want your masks and other embellishments to fit into the pretty picture. For one, I chose smaller masks to give a simple and festive look. You can use a little hot glue to tack the masks on, or you can tie them down with the ribbons. Either way works great.

Since we live in Galveston, Mardi Gras decor is pretty much abundant and I found the coolest jester mask at a local drug store and eatery. I knew this had to be my centerpiece for my main wreath. It’s pretty bad a$$, dontchathink?

There’s a little piece of ribbon attached to the back of this mask so we simply attached it to the wire wreath frame with a small piece of wire. I clipped on a couple of sparkly peacock feathers…and done. I love the outcome and how shiny and festive the whole thing is!

Pin this Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Ribbon Wreath for later!

This whole project is really forgiving and simple to make. Once it’s all put together, all of those little imperfections mean nothing. NOT A THING…do you hear me? The outcome is nothing short of breathtaking and you can make this for a fraction of the price (literally, about $50 bucks as opposed to HUNDREDS at specialty stores, Etsy, or even the big box stores) and you have bragging rights this way, so there’s that.

For this Mardi Gras Deco Mesh Ribbon Wreath, I got 90% of my supplies through Oriental Trading® like I always do and you can too! Think it’s too late for a Mardi Gras Wreath (not really, we still have a FULL WEEK)? That’s OK too because this same, simple tutorial can help you build your Easter wreath, welcome spring wreath (seriously, hurry up spring!), or whatever other wreath you can image! What are you waiting for? Let’s get to crafting! Happy Mardi Gras, Y’all!

DIY Beachy Christmas Mantel + Wreath

By Christy 2 Comments

If you love all things beachy and want your passion for Christmas to match your home decor, you’ll love this economical DIY Beachy Christmas Mantel + Wreath set up kindly facilitated by my friends at Oriental Trading®. As always, all ideas, opinions, and photos are entirely my own.

Y’all! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s getting colder outside (for the record, not really cold enough for the fireplace to be lit here, but still, it’s pretty and we can turn the AC on too), Christmas is coming, and I am so beyond excited for my favorite decorating season and holiday in general.

All the magic, all the lights, all the music, all the elves, all the snowmen, all the feathers! Wait. What? Yes, this year while decorating my hearth, I wanted something a little unique, still beachy, and full of fun, so I got some inspiration from Fun 365, and I made a boa wreath the center of my Christmas mantel set up.

DIY Beachy Mantel + Wreath

Making the wreath was relatively simple. If you know me, you know nothing I do is just plain simple because I tend to overthink things, but this was a quick DIY once I really sat down to do it.

I got one large white foam wreath ring, one large blue feather boa, two smaller white feather boas, and my handy-dandy hot glue gun (and this time I didn’t even burn my fingerprints off!). I simply glued one end of the blue boa to the back of the foam ring and started wrapping it all the way around, leaving even-ish amounts of foam exposed so I could weave the white in between later. Once I was satisfied with the way I had the blue laid out, I glued the other end. I then tied the white boas together, glued one end in the back, weaved that in a double row in between the blue, then glued the end in place where it left off.

Fit like a glove (yea, I was surprised too!). I love the beachy, bright color combo and it set the mood for the rest of the mantel so I got to work on that!

Some green garland at the back of the mantel adds a little bit of a traditional touch and ties in nicely with the greens I already have throughout the house. Some festive snowflake lights, a few sparkly trees, ornaments, and mason jars with blue marbles in them added so much festivity without a whole lot of money.

Shells, ornaments, and sparkly reindeer…OH MY! It’s the simple things, some you already have in those bins in the attic, that really perk up a mantel when you pair them up just right.

This year, I bought some new stockings because our mismatched leftovers just didn’t seem right. I mean, if you’re going to hang them by the chimney with care, you ought to love them, right? A little embellishment is always a good thing, so I found sparkle letters for all of us to add a little more glitter to the mix. You really can’t have enough sparkle during the holidays, can you?

Now, your hearth can’t stand alone as the only decorated part of your house. You need a tree, surrounding decor, all that jazz. You can find just about everything you need at Oriental Trading®, so start there first. But when you realize something is missing, that perhaps your tiki bar isn’t dressed up enough, head to your local dollar store to fill in the blanks, stay on budget, and still make your house a happy and sparkly holiday home!

A couple of decorating tips before I go, and these are important:

You can NOT decorate for Christmas without Christmas music. The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.
Do watch the Hallmark Channel as often as you can.
You aren’t really celebrating the season, or living life to its fullest, unless you watch Elf at least five times during December.

From my house to yours, I hope you enjoy the season of magic every chance you get. Whether you live on an island, or in a super cold climate (I’m sorry), be sure to deck the halls with all things sparkly so that everyone who enters feels all of the love and magic of the season. I still believe, do you?

Spooktacular Budget Halloween Home Decor

By Christy Leave a Comment

Decorating for Halloween doesn’t have to be expensive. You can have the scariest house in the neighborhood without breaking the bank when you build your own Spooktacular Budget Halloween Home Decor with Oriental Trading® and these tips!

I’m a little obsessed with Halloween. Not quite as obsessed as I am with Christmas, but obsessed just the same. Other than the coming of fall and cooler weather, I look forward to it all year long. Although I always say that I’ll wait until October 1st to start decorating, I really never do. This year was no exception. I started on September 23rd this year and began the process of building my Spooktacular Budget Halloween Home!

What was a little different this year from the past years is that little budget word I had to toss in there. See, if you’ve been following along at all (especially on Facebook), you already know that our family grew recently and we have two extra mouths to feed for awhile. All good! It’s a happy chaos and I’ve done this budget thing before; I got this! If you’re looking to turn your home into a haunted house on a budget this year, here are some tips that may help you out!

Spooktacular Budget Halloween Home Decor

Tip 1: Know where to shop! You don’t have to go to one of those big fancy-pants Halloween stores (although, they are super fun) to build your Halloween home decor arsenal. Each year, I set a budget and see what’s new on Oriental Trading’s Halloween Headquarters. Greta here was last year’s big ticket item and she’s pretty darned creepy standing on our front porch with her glowing red eyes and blood smeared everywhere. Isn’t she PERFECT?! This brings me to my next tip.

Tip 2: Build your arsenal up over time. Don’t think you have to go all out the first year or two. Buy a little each year (dollar stores are your friends here too), and within a few years, you’ll be amazed at how much stuff you’ve accumulated!

Tip 3: Do buy an assortment of noisy stuff! The more spooky noises coming from your walkway, yard, and house…the better. All of those spooky noises coming from everywhere actually up the fear factor quite a bit (don’t expect the toddlers to be overly thrilled though!). This year, I added this fantastically frightening Gargoyle Door Knocker to “welcome” our guests into our home. Doorbells are so overrated, dontchathink?

Tip 4: Always make your trick or treaters feel welcome! Come on in, my pretties, let’s take a look at the inside now, shall we?

Tip 5: You can never have too many gargoyles during the Halloween season.

Tip 6: Backdrops are your friends. They’re cheap, they’re easy to put up, they make for great decorations, and they’re prefect for pictures at all of your parties. Everyone loves standing in front of a great scene and taking a selfie. Provide the perfect corner for your party guests!

Tip 7: More is more. Look, I’m all about the less is more concept. I apply it with my makeup, my hairspray (except for in the 80s because…BIG HAIR), spices in my recipes…but that concept doesn’t apply here. Ever walked into a haunted house that just had a little stuff scattered here and there? No, you say? Of course not! Make sure to drape spooky cloth wherever you can. It adds to the ambiance and it’s SO cheap. It’s seriously your best friend!

Tip 8: Don’t feel the need to remove your normal decor from the equation. It’s YOUR house. Make it your own, but creepier. Leave the beachy touches as they were and dress them up for the occasion!

Tip 9: Little DIY projects from last year’s leftover party favors are your friends. I had some skeletons left over. I strung those boney guys up on some fishing line…insta garland for the tiki bar. FOR FREE.

Tip 10: Leave surprises throughout your home. See that guy up there? He’s kind of hidden out and it’s super funny in fact. Once you get past the yard, the entrance, the living room fright fest, you turn the corner, and he starts screaming away. It’s priceless to scare your guests over and over again. That’s what Halloween is all about, right?

This last one isn’t a tip, just a fact actually. You want to use all of the cool lighting that you possibly can…inside and out…but you need to know that said cool lighting (especially strobe lights) will not photograph well so be prepared for that. However you choose to decorate for Halloween this year, or any other holiday in fact (and you should totally decorate for ALL of them because…FUN), be sure to be kind to your wallet. Visit Oriental Trading® today, build up your spooky arsenal, and just have fun. The world is so full of stress these days. Kick back, relax, and make people scream (in a good way) for a change. There’s so much fun to be had. Who’s with me? Happy Halloween, y’all!