DIY: Faux Starfish Garland

Not so long ago, I shared how to make faux starfish. I originally made them to decorate my son's birthday party, little accents to put on the table and on the shelves, but I ended up liking them so much that I started making other things with them. Like this new faux starfish garland!

Last year, I decided to change my living decor with each season. I've been working on different color combos and experimenting in the past year, and it will definitely evolve over time (what doesn't right?) but for this summer, as you noticed from my brushstroke wall art, I decided to go with a beach/ocean theme with peach/orange and mint/green as my accent colors. 

I really enjoy decorating and creating new pieces for my home. The process is slow because of everything else I need to do in the little time I have, but every time I sit in my living room, ideas just keep coming.

What color combo have you chosen for your living room decor? Do you go for bright colors or more neutral ones? Do you like changing things up once in a while? 

Materials

Faux starfish
Rope
Tule ribbon
Thread

When you're making the starfish for this project, make sure that you poke a hole through one of the legs of the star so you can hang them. You can do this with a toothpick.

Steps

Put the rope and the tule side by side and attach the starfish (through the hole!) at set intervals. You can measure about where you'd like the stars to be using a ruler. Then you hang it! I have little nails on my fireplace where I usually hang our Christmas stockings so I use those to attach the garland at every star, if you don't have those, you can simple add little push pins that you can remove later, or just hang it from each end (it'll give a slightly different look, but still fun!).

There you have it. I seriously love the end result.

DIY: Easy Brush Stroke Abstract Wall Art

Perfection. Is there even such a thing?

This weekend, I finally mustered up the courage to paint some abstract art for my living room decor. Courage you ask? Sounds silly doesn't it. The truth is, I often put projects aside because I worry it won't be "perfect" and I don't want to throw away my money making something I may not keep or love. Writing it down makes it seem pretty futile.

Ok, not wanting to waste money is pretty admirable in this day and age, but how can you learn anything, if you never try it? 

Do you guys remember this wall art I made for my son's room? Oh, and this mobile? It's been a while since I tried making some fun art to decorate my home and I missed it. It's so much fun and so easy.

Materials

Acrylic paints (your choice of colors)
Brushes (different types)
Foam board
Empty palette

I chose to use a foam board because it's cheaper than buying a huge canvas. This one is 20x30 inches. Before I commit to something, I like to try it out first and this seemed like the perfect way. I got the acrylics at the dollar store a long time ago and craft wise, it was probably the best investment I made. Sure, they aren't the best, but all the projects I've made with them have lasted a long time and the colors have not faded. Plus, the sizes are relatively big, so I get to use them on a lot of projects.

Steps

1. Select your colors and brushes.
2. Starting with the biggest brush and your main color, paint simple strokes randomly.
3. Lighten your colors and add some more strokes with the same brush. Make sure you clean your brush between each color.
4. Using a different brush, add a simple pattern in a neutral color (I chose black dots).

And voilà! Pretty easy and it took me a whole 10 minutes to make. Not bad right?

Personally, I like to contrast colors. Blue and yellow, orange and green... you get the idea. I find it adds a fun twist to any kind of art. I chose orange and turquoise for this piece because those are the accent colors I'm hoping to use for my summer decor. I'm a bit late starting I know, with all that's been happening around here I haven't exactly been inspired to do anything, but it's ok, because there's always next year.

I'm really excited to try decorating with different color palettes for each season. That way I don't have to commit to anything and we won't get tired of seeing any particular decor. I'm keeping all my main items neutral in color, white, black, dark brown and gold, so that it's easy to dress up.

Do you have any decor tips?

DIY: Acorn Mobile

After I made my fall garland I had some acorns left over and I had some empty space above my fire place so I made a cute little decorative mobile. It's super easy to make.

Materials

Acorns
Branch
Thin gold wire
String

Tools

Scissors
Pliers

Steps

1. The first thing I did is wrap the gold wire around the branch. This is to add a little bit of color and at the same time, it allows to hang the mobile. See how I made one of the hoops a bit bigger?

2. After preparing the branch, I tied all the acorns together. Don't forget to glue the tops so the acorn doesn't fall off it's top!

3. Lastly, I tied the acorn string to the branch and added a few of the extra attached one (from the fall garland) to each side.

Isn't it just cute? You could even paint them if you want, to add a punch of color, or maybe even add some beads between the acorns. I might end up making different variations of this over the next few years; something fun to do with my kids in the fall. :)