The way a Pinterest Challenge works is that we have one inspiration photo from Pinterest. Then, each blogger creates something similar that works with our own style. This month, our inspiration photo comes from Jill over at Create Craft Love. The garden hose wreath is so creative. Specifically, Jill encouraged me to think about using different items as a base for a wreath.
Today, I am sharing an easy, Spring inspired DIY wreath that I made with a few things in my decor stash! Specifically, I am creating a wreath with a small tobacco basket.
Supplies Needed:
You can use any kind of faux flowers or greenery. For instance, I am using three white faux flowers from The Findery and 3 string of pearl succulents from AFloral. Tip: Use groups of three or five depending on size of basket. This white tobacco basket was only $3 from Hobby Lobby’s Spring decor clearance.
First, arrange faux flowers and greenery to your liking. I like an asymmetrical style. Therefore, I staggered the succulents and the flowers on the right side of the basket.
Then, pull the end of the greenery stems through different openings in the basket. Tie in place with floral wire.
Next, stagger the faux flowers in front of the greenery. Pull the ends through the basket and tie with wire.
The last thing to do is to hang it on your front door!
Need more DIY wreath and door hanger ideas? Follow my Pinterest board here or check out this DIY Faux Herb wreath. But first, save this blog post to your DIY Pinterest board.
Now, head to the Cloches and Lavender blog. Be sure to check out the rest of the creative DIY wreaths on the blog hop.
Welcome to the Spring Home Tour blog hop hosted by Anne & AnnMarie at Simply2Moms blog! If you are coming from Stacy’s blog at BricksNBloooms.com, welcome y’all! But first, grab your coffee!
Now, I can’t wait to share the Spring touches that I have added into my home. At the end of the blog, be sure to tour 12 more beautiful homes styled for the season by my inspiring blogger friends!
First, let me share some of my favorite home decor trends of 2020! Then, see if you can spot them in my home!
Modern wood paneling – Hello, new wall above my fireplace! Simple, clean lines.
Natural woven materials – Think about amazing cane detailing, rattan mirrors, wicker baskets and trays, and jute rugs…it adds so much texture to a room.
High contrast – All white kitchens will always be classic. However, contrast is currently on trend! So, keep your kitchen white but repaint the kitchen island and polish up the butcher block for warmth.
Navy blue plus shades of green – Y’all know that blue is the 2020 color of the year. However, green is playing so well with neutrals that we have to let green ‘sit with us.’
Vintage finds – I think it is true what they say… ‘what goes around comes around.’ Actually, don’t we just find new old things to love each year? My current love is this organically shaped wood bowl.
Spring Home Tour
Living Room
The living room is currently my favorite space in my house. It is bright and refreshing, yet filled with lots of warm wood tones and natural elements. Consequently, it gets the best light in the house.
You can’t go wrong with green plants to make your home feel alive, especially for Spring. However, I am not a plant lady. Therefore, most of my plants and flowers are faux. Just kidding, they all are.
Dining Room
Blue and green with neutral colors seem so natural and so calming to me. It will always be my favorite color combination to use any time of year. However, these colors really makes my happy during the Spring.
I recently shared the details of this simple Spring tablescape on my blog, here.
Kitchen
For Spring touches in my kitchen, I added some color and pattern with a new rug. Then, I pulled out some favorites from my decor stash like the Magnolia wall art and a woven hyacinth tray for my coffee bar station.
More natural elements like wicker and woven hyacinth are used in my family room. It adds the much needed texture and warmth amongst my blue rug and sectional. Even though, I could swim in a sea of blue.
Since blue is the color of the year, there is an abundance of blue home decor available. For example these light blue pillows are a recent find from Kirklands.
The Spring Home Tour continues…
Now head to French Creek Farmhouse to see how she added Spring touches to her farmhouse. Be sure to check out the rest of the Home Tour!!
I hope you feel inspired for the new season ahead! Most importantly, thank you for taking the Cuter Tudor Spring Home tour. Please save this post to your Pinterest board by tapping the top left of the pic below.
DIY Pressed Plants: How to Press Plants, Flowers or Herbs
Since I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do in the Spring time is to press plants in between stacks of old books. Growing up in the country, there was always an abundance of wildflowers in the pasture and along the county road where I lived. Pressing plants and flowers became a favorite past time in the spring and summer months. For instance, I remember collecting wild flowers for a middle school science project. In addition, my neighbor gifted me a couple of flower identification books that helped me learn the names of many plants native to Texas. With this easy pressed plant DIY, you can learn how to press plants, flowers or herbs and capture the essence of Spring for months to come. This year, instead of wildflowers, I decided to press herbs into beautiful wall art. I featured this easy pressed plant DIY in the current issue of Modern Texas Living magazine. Certainly, check out the article and more in the online magazine at ModernTexasLiving.com. With a magazine deadline fast approaching, I did not have weeks to wait for the herbs to flatten, so I found a way to press plants in a matter of minutes! The key is the microwave oven! Whether you intend to press leaves, flowers or herbs, I believe that this pressed plant DIY will become your next favorite spring time activity with kids. You can press most plants with items from your kitchen, vintage books and the microwave oven. Therefore, it is fun to experiment with a variety of techniques, but just ensure you are being safe and only using microwaveable items in the microwave oven. To get started, gather your materials.
Here is what you will need for DIY Pressed Plants.
Flowers, herbs, any small plants
Vintage books with glued spines (no staples)
Microwave and microwavable Glass Bowls
Paper Towels or Parchment Paper
Masking Tape, Pencil
White Cardstock or Matteboard
Picture Frames
First, gather and cut your plants. This can mean that you cut herbs from your garden, take a walk to collect wild flowers or pick up a bouquet of flowers from the florist. Plants can be pressed with or without the roots. Remove any unwanted blemishes, leaves and or the roots with garden scissors. If you use the roots, shake any excess dirt off and rinse thoroughly.
How to Press Plants, Flowers or Herbs
Next, arrange plants face up in the pages of an old book. You want to place the plant the way that you want it dried. Therefore, pay attention to the way the stems, leaves or petals face and lay. Then, close the book. NOTE: Ensure that the book is adhered with glue and not staples or any kind of metal before placing a book into the microwave oven.
After that, place the book in the microwave oven in 30 second increments. Meanwhile, you can place microwave safe bowls on top of the book to weigh it down. Each plant is different, so you may have to work with timing. Some herbs were flattened in 30 seconds and some took 1.5 minutes. However, I do not recommend leaving the book in the microwave for longer than a minute at a time. I did not try that, so I only want to recommend techniques that safely worked for me. OPTIONAL: You can sandwich the plant between two pieces of parchment paper or a folded paper towel to draw out moisture. However, it is not necessary. Old book pages will draw out the moisture either way. Laying the plant between parchment paper or a paper towel between two plates also works. I actually misted the paper towel with water prior to microwaving it so that there was some moisture. To clarify, I just wanted to be on the safe side and ensure the paper towel didn’t burn by applying heat repeatedly. After heating, wait a few seconds for the plant to cool before opening the book and trying to remove it. The plant will be very delicate. Therefore, sliding it on paper to keep it well supported works best. Masking tape or spray adhesive works to hold the plants onto cardstock. Lastly, label the flower or plant with its common and or scientific name. Use a plant identification book or google to identify any unknown plants. In addition, I wrote the names of the plants on the card stock with pencil, but you could use a thin tip sharpie, or label maker depending on the style that you prefer.
Ready to Display your DIY Pressed Plants!
You can display pressed plants into a collection of picture frames. For example, I chose to frame these pressed plants in a variety of reclaimed wood frames. Similarly, DIY pressed plants look great in floating clear glass frames. For this technique, you do not have to mount the plants onto card stock. Simply, insert pressed plants into the double sided glass frames. I think these pressed herbs will look great hanging in a kitchen. However, pressed flowers will look great in any room where you would hang botanical prints. Another suggestion is to keep your pressed flowers in a blank journal or vintage book.
Take the Spring DIY Blog Hop!
If you loved this Spring DIY, check out the rest of the Spring DIY Blog Hop! For instance, there are lots more creative ideas to help you decorate your home this Spring. The blog hop is hosted by one of my favorite home decor bloggers, Jen at NotingGrace.com. Be sure to check out her spring DIY! Most importantly, special ‘thanks’ to The Findery in downtown Waco for letting me borrow the wood tray, galvanized cups, chippy picture frames and vintage books for this project. Consequently, these items and the pressed herbs are currently on display at The Findery!
Christmas Home Tour Blog Hop: A Cozy Christmas Living Room
Y’all, it is the most wonderful time of the year, isn’t it? You add a few holiday touches in a room and the magic of Christmas takes over to make your home feel so cozy and festive. I am excited to join some talented blogger friends to share our homes decorated for the holidays. At the end of the post, I will link up more holiday homes to visit on the Christmas Home Tour Blog Hop. For now, I am sharing one of my favorite rooms in my home to hang out!
The Cozy Side of Christmas
How do you make your home feel cozy and inviting this time of year? Pillows and throws, throws and pillows, pillows and throws!
Holiday pillows are my favorite, y’all! The blue and white buffalo check pillows were on my wishlist for a long time, but wishes do come true. They are from a female owned and operated small business called Returning Grace. I love all the pillows from Returning Grace, and that is evident by the additional grey and white holiday pillows from there too. I love the “O come let us adore him” pillow because it reminds us of the real reason we celebrate Christmas.
Another way to turn up the heat in a cozy Christmas living room is to light the candles up! If I don’t already have all the candles burning during the day, I can count on my daughter to get them going! We both love the smells of the holiday season, and believe in the power of smell. Smells can evoke particular memories or just add wonderful fresh scents into a space that make you feel calm and relaxed. Therefore, candles are always included in my styled trays on the coffee table. Also included are a pair of wooden trees from Homegoods, and a tiered tray from Curtis Creation filled with pinecones, ornaments, bottle brush trees and a mini sign from Krumpet’s Home Decor If you shop at Krumpet’s, use code CUTERTUDOR for 10 percent off! All Christmas items from Krumpet’s are 40% off December 5-16, 2018.
Behind the sofa, is a large chalkboard. Using 3M hooks, I hung two wreaths and a glittery ‘merry christmas’ banner. I usually create some chalk art for the board, but preferred to keep it simple this year.
Intentional Living Spaces
You may be wondering where the television is since I previously stated this is where we love to hang out… Well, we haven’t had a tv in our living rooms in almost a year. I think my husband misses it during football season, but I don’t! Hehehe! We do have tv’s in our bedroom and in a media room upstairs, but not in our living rooms! I blogged about our formal living room decorated for Christmas last week. You can check out the post to find more ideas to create a cozy Christmas living room, here. If you are wondering why there is a chandelier in this space, well, it used to be the dining room. I want to create intentional spaces without worrying about anything but what works for my family during the present time that we are in. You can see the Merry and Bright Home Tour of our dining and sitting room, here.
So, the dining table was replaced with my husband’s grandmother’s antique writing desk and a big comfy, cozy couch. My daughter is currently homeschooling, so we use this room a lot to do her studies, play card games, listen to Christmas music or lounge on the couch with hot cocoa. I think my daughter and I love this room most, because it has the most light coming into the house!
If you want to see how I created this advent calendar in less than 10 minutes for under 10 dollars, check out this DIY blog post, here. It isn’t too late to start your Christmas countdown!
The Christmas Tree
This is the King of Christmas 7.5 foot Prince flocked artificial unlit tree. I love the trees from King of Christmas, because it takes me less than 2 minutes to fluff the branches and achieve a full look. The branches are so full, and the flocking is a lot less messy than other flocked trees I have had. I placed the tree in front of our bay window as to be on center stage in our holiday home.
An vintage inspired crate from Decor Steals holds wrapping paper and ribbon to make wrapping presents easily accessible by all family members. I used to store the wrapping paper with the unwrapped gifts, but my kids would try to sneak a peak when taking their turn at gift wrapping. Now that my kids are older, they like to give gifts to family and friends, too, so I keep the wrapping paper on display in a shared room. Plus, if it is pretty, I might as well let it be part of the decor. If you love the gift wrapping under the tree, I shared some tips in the latest issue of Modern Texas Living magazine. You can check it out, here.
For the top of the tree, I placed cotton stems from The Findery and faux blue berry stems from Hobby Lobby. Next, I used a wide burlap ribbon printed with white holiday scenes down the tree. Then to add a pop of color, I added blue and white ticking stripe ribbon. I started with about 18 inches of ribbon, folded it into two loops, leaving a tail to hang. Lastly, I stapled the creases of the ribbon together and cut a ‘v’ shape on one end. Both ribbons are from Walmart.
The Ornaments on the Christmas Tree
Here are some of my favorite ornaments from the tree. The top three are from Cracker Barrel. The wood slice is an easy DIY with a gold paint pen. The other bottom two are from HEB, that is a grocery store in Texas, if you are not from here. I like to add ribbon, like the blue and white gingham, to some styles of ornaments to dress them up and add more color on the tree. Ribbon is an easy, affordable way to bring in color or pattern when you are working with a particular theme.
Also, notice the mix of textures of ornaments that add contract and interest to the tree. For example, some are made of wood, metal, glass and faux fur. Obviously, if you use more wood, you will have a more rustic, woodsy style as opposed to the more glamorous look of real glass ornaments. Just for fun, I added some glittery stars too!
I am so happy that you stopped by the Cuter Tudor, today! You can follow me on Instagram @cutertudor to find more holiday home decor ideas. If you loved what you saw, please save your favorite photos on your Cozy Christmas Living Room Inspiration Pinterest board! Most importantly, continue the cozy Christmas Home Tour blog hop this week with some of my talented friends below!
Tips to Create a Cozy Holiday Home Sponsored by Mohawk Rugs
‘Tis the season to be cozy! I am excited to partner with Mohawk Home Rugs to share my favorite tips to create a cozy holiday home just in time for the holidays! It is part of the Mohawk Home Holiday Home Tour with ten more talented home decor bloggers. We welcome you into our homes this holiday season and hope you find some inspiration to make your home feel inviting for your holiday guests and family. Grab yourself a hot cup of coffee or hot cocoa, read my tips to cozy up your living room, and then continue the Holiday Home Tour with the bloggers linked at the end of this post!
Add some warmth underfoot!
As the temperatures drop outdoors, make sure that your home stays warm for family and friends gathering inside, because no one likes cold feet! A plush rug is a great way to add warmth to hardwood or tile floors. The rug I chose for my formal living room is the Mohawk Home Berkshire Paxton Area rug in blue; you can purchase it here! It is on major sale right now, a perfect time to snag a deal and update your home for the holidays.
I chose this rug for the beautiful pattern and the comfort of a shag rug. The extra-long fibers of a shag rug create a deep and textured pile for ultra-plush comfort. Therefore, it is perfect for sitting around the Christmas tree, sipping hot cocoa and playing cards with my family. Wonderfully woven with the soft touch and premium stain resistance of the exclusive Everstrand fiber, the Paxton is consciously constructed with up to 100 percent recycled post-consumer content from plastic bottles. This rug is so soft, y’all! With kids and a little weenie dog running around, I love that this rug is stain resistant and hides any accidents.
Rugs also make a space feel cohesive by bringing the room’s color scheme together and anchoring the furniture. I centered the coffee table on the rug and pulled the front feet of the furniture onto the rug. The silky soft touch of shag showcases alluring variations in color of blues and grays. The traditional medallion pattern is mixed with a contemporary color scheme which work together for a versatile look. Bits of navy blue and aqua blue show up in this bluetiful rug, and inspired me to use the color combo in this space. In addition, I love that this style of rug complements a range of decor styles and can work in many rooms in my home. It blends both traditional and contemporary styles, which is great because I love to mix vintage finds with new decor.
Pile up the Pillows and Throw Blankets
Have you seen that meme that reads ‘pillows are the stuffed animals of grown women?!’ I know I have quite the collection! For a cozy home in the winter, think of warm and snuggly textures. For instance, soft velvets, chunky cable knit, and faux fur for pillows and throw blankets are perfect! However, I added a nice leather pillow for visual warmth and contrast. Drape throw blankets over pillows and couches that invite family and friends to snuggle up!
Baby, Light my Fire!
If you have a fireplace, light a fire inside! The warm glow and heat will instantly create a cozy home vibe. If you don’t have a real one, bring in a faux fireplace mantle. It may not provide the same level of comfort, but it will evoke feelings of nostalgia related to being home for the holidays.
Display your family momentos!
Speaking of nostalgia, one way to make a space feel cozy and inviting is to display meaningful pieces into your decor. Think family photos, family heirlooms, and momentos from time spent together. I chose to display silhouettes of my two children as a classic spin on portraits. I simply printed a picture of their profile to use as a template to cut a silhouette on blue cardstock. Then, I laid it on ticking stripe wrapping paper and framed it. Another item that I display each holiday season is my family’s collection of Wallace sterling silver sleigh bell ornaments dating back at least 15 years.
Mix it up with metallics!
Similarly, warmer metals like gold, copper, bronze and brass will make a space feel cozy by creating a warm metallic glow! It contrasts beautifully with cooler colors, especially blues and silvers! Don’t be afraid to mix up your metals or choose your favorite as an accent color to a space.
Holiday Cozy Home Tour
Thank you to Mohawk Home for sponsoring this blog hop! You can find more tips on choosing and styling a rug in your home at the Mohawk Home Homescapes website. To clarify, all opinions here are my own! I do encourage you to take advantage of the quality, beauty and affordability of Mohawk Home rugs! Like I mentioned before, you can snag some major deals on these rugs right now! But first, head on over to see the wide selection of rugs, from traditional to modern, that some of my favorite blogger friends chose for their home and more ways to create a cozy holiday home.
Thank you for stopping by the Cuter Tudor! Follow me on Instagram for more home decor ideas and save this post to your holiday home Pinterest board. Most importantly, have a wonderful holiday!
This year, instead of wildflowers, I decided to press herbs into beautiful wall art. I featured this easy pressed plant DIY in the current issue of Modern Texas Living magazine. Certainly, check out the article and more in the online magazine at
