​Several years ago, my sister and our two best friends decided to do a 39-mile walk for breast cancer. To participate, we had to each raise 1500.00 dollars.  My daughter was four, and I had made her DIY hats and bows to match almost every outfit in her closet. I had the supplies, and I'd become pretty efficient at whipping these pretties up for her, so I decided to make them and do custom orders to help raise my admission to the walk. 

My daughter is now 14, and I have no control over dressing her; she likes to insert her style opinions to me now. I was re-organizing my art studio and found an entire tote of beanies and hats. I also unveiled a whole box of yo-yo's made from vintage fabrics, a shoebox of hankies gifted to me by someone, and an entire bag of vintage broaches and baubles. 

In light of the recent disruptions in our regular schedules and temporary adjustments our hope is that Dave and I can spread joy and help you create meaningful memories during the coming days with your family. We feel this is an opportunity, not a crisis, or a need to panic but a chance to bond and connect at home with our four teens. We hope you will too. ​

Along with our teens at the onset of our quarantine we created a very long list of things we could do no matter if we were stuck at home or not. We’ve been checking them off each day and it has been so fun. You can find our list here.

As I was searching ideas I pulled up our “kiddos” board on Pinterest. This is 10 years worth of this mama, a lover of arts, crafts and learning pinning, pinning and pinning.

With so many friends with younger kiddos I wanted to share some favorites from the collection. Almost all our ideas for our Covid-Quarantine family learning fun can be found on our board but we are creating a list of those links for you here too to make it easy peasy.

I have a confession. I have an aversion to using traditional colors when decorating for fall, but changing the color scheme each year can get pricey. So I include DIY projects that are quick using what I have on hand in my design plan. This month I’ll share 3 easy projects to infuse fall into your home for just a few dollars.

PAINTED PUMPKINS
This year I chose a color palette of navy, pink, gray, ivory and hints of caramel. I dug out last years painted pumpkins I bought at the dollar store, picked up a $3.98 can of pink spray paint and transformed dozens of pumpkins to work into my plan.
I pulled the stems out before painting and when the pumpkins were dry I tucked a piece of jute underneath the stem and continued to hot glue it around the stem.
Supplies:
Styrofoam pumpkins Spray Paint
Jute & glue gun (optional)
And here is a little bonus for you. While I like to peruse the aisles at Dollar Tree, I often don't have the time and when I put my mind to a project I want to get my ducks in a row. DT now has an even online craft supply inventory than in the stores so be sure to check out what they offer below. 
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As school gets back into full swing this month I find myself at least attempting to get my ducks in a row. I was perusing our Clean and Organize Pinterest board for inspiration and stumbled upon many timesaving hacks we’ve tried and tested that I thought I’d share them with you. They work!

I don't know about you but I'm loving these paint colors for sooo many reasons. First, I've just about had it with below zero temps so I'm focusing my attention on visualization. Visualizing spring romance, calming colors, flowers, green grass, and warmer temps. If you are from the midwest you can feel my pain. 
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After creating this palette, I started perusing Pinterest for some cool pins using these colors. Wow! Look what I found. A little inspiration to brighten up our day and get ready for a spring restyle. BTW, if you don't follow Restoration Harmony on Pinterest, hop on over right HERE and follow our boards-- it's inspiration overload that we love. You can never have too much!

There is nothing more meaningful than a show stopping wedding favor to have guests ooo'ing and ahhh'ing about your day. And we are especially fond of really cool gifts for groomsmen and your bridal party too. So, we've rallied some of our favorite recommendations together. If you are lacking in the idea department check out these cool finds. 

Want something personalized? We are partial to these adorable  OLIVE YOU favors by Emilia. But if that isn't your thing, check out her Etsy shop. She can do just about anything. And who doesn't like something personalized? 

   I found these awesome chalkboards online (Dollar Tree online is my fav) and decided I needed to create something fun for Christmas. I loved the idea of combining a wreath and some handwriting but dang pre-made wreaths are expensive. I had some garland like THESE, lying around from another project and thought why not? As it turned out I got 3 wreaths out of one garland and a little extra left over for something else....I'm not sure what yet. Here is what you will need to create the entire project. 

…And we are in full sweet corn mode. Sweet corn is an almost nightly summer treat at our house. We love trying sweet corn from around the state and decided WE WANT MORE and we want it all year long.
Canning wasn’t in the cards so we opted for a simpler approach at preserving those golden kernels and enlisted the pro I know, my mother in law, Donita. Freezing corn has been a long time family affair. An entire day with all hands on deck was spent “putting up” corn for their family of 8 each summer. Her simple recipe is a great way to reserve those yummy kernels to be used in any recipe you wish throughout the year. And as you can see, Dave is a pro. In full disclosure this day in the kitchen was all about my husband. I served as his sous chef and official gopher.

“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me”. Ahhh! The words of Lee Greenwood get me every time. The 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays at Restoration Harmony and decorating for the holiday gives us the chance to show our patriotism and how much we LOVE AMERICA and all of those heroes who have fought for our country and each of us.  It is also time for us to gather with family, host a grill out, eat, drink and enjoy fireworks and all things SUMMER…think watermelon, corn on the cob and a big ol burger! YUM! If you are planning a 4th of July bash I’m SERIOUSLY going to make it easy for you with these simple DIY décor ideas, and red, white and blue themed apps and drinks. Enjoy!
Okay so how adorable are these? Our girls LOVE to dip chocolate strawberries, add a touch of sugar sprinkles and voila! You look like a pro and your guests will gobble them up.

If you are like me you have tote after tote of holiday decorations. I’ve hauled at least 10 totes through 6 moves and I needed to take control and liquidated. I still have all those sentimental ornaments EVERY one of my kiddos ornaments carefully stored and labeled, but I have resolved that I DON’T need to display all those gems-that is just exhausting! Instead, the kids pick out their favorites while we listen to Christmas music and reminisce about where they got them, who gave them to them and their memories of Christmas’ past. Here are a few tips on how I stay organized and repurpose my decorations for a fresh, new look each year.
Organize and Save Time and Money
I have a little obsession about designing my tree’s each year. It’s kinda like Christmas for me to open each tote and start planning. I organize my decorations by color. The first tip is FREE. Simply by taking the time to pack up your décor by color allows you to start planning your tree and where you might want or need to supplement for next year…or what to shop for during after Christmas sales. Hobby Lobby and Target are two of my favorites and I often grab deals at 75% off! I simply check out what colors I may need more of or want to add before I shop and then  put them in each tote by color theme when I get home. My own little Christmas gift to myself for the coming year.
This year, I had not only the two trees in our city home to decorate but we also have one at our acreage, an office tree and I decided to stage our latest flip house for Christmas too. By the way, the house sold in 10 days and I am confident the timing and cozy holiday decor helped in selling it so quickly. There is just something so powerful in the spirit of Christmas.
Avoid the VOID!

Take a look at these trees. For our flip house I pulled in the turquoise, red and silver from each of my totes. There isn’t anything worse than a bare tree and I’ve found that feather boas remedy the empty tree dilemma. They are super inexpensive, easy to find and you don’t need many. Oriental Trading and Hobby Lobby have a great selection. In tree 2, I used burlap rolls of ribbon I had leftover from our wedding reception. It can’t get any easier than tucking large ribbon throughout the tree. Easy Peasy!
Another favorite filler are poinsettia’s. They come in fabulous colors. I found Walmart has a clip on version in so many colors and I scooped up dozens last year on clearance. However, if you need them now and fast try the Hobby Lobby floral department where they sell large stems with 8-10 poinsettia’s per stem. I buy them during the 50% off sale and use my wire cutters to cut each one from the stem and tuck them in throughout the tree. VOILA! problemo solved.

Transform your current décor into holiday features.
I love apothecary pieces and have them throughout our homes. Think beyond Christmas specific pieces and incorporate what you already have. It saves money and storage space. I used stems I purchased this year, with what I had to create this display that coordinates with our tree. You can also “Wrap” your throw pillows? Simply take ribbon and tie a bow just like you would a package. It adds instant holiday cheer. I did add a few new pillows from Hobby Lobby and Target this year because… well.. I just haven’t found a pillow I don’t like, and they are sooo inexpensive and add so much to a room. Consider Wayfair throw pillow covers to save even more money and space.

Wrap it UP!
I have to admit, before I plan my theme for the season I check out what I have for wrapping paper. Seriously, this is the primary driver for creating my theme. Because I carefully add colors to my “totes” I always have something that will work. I find wrapping to match the tree just extends the theme, looks awesome and those pretty packages become decor all on their own.

It may seem as though I have a warehouse of holiday totes somewhere hidden away, but by organizing and planning from year to year I still have the same 10 totes I’ve always used, and pilfer from them for almost every holiday throughout the year.
Happy Decorating and Happy Holidays!