5 Christmas DIY Hacks & Crafts

Tis' the Season, for hosting dinners, decorating and keeping kiddo's busy during the Christmas break. All of this can get a little hairy when you think about all that we take on every year, shopping, cooking and decorating can get the budget a little stretched out. I asked a few of my lovely friends and fellow bloggers if they could share with us some easy and not-so-costly ideas on how they make the holidays a little brighter. 

Winter Wonderland Centerpiece : By Jihane @ Onixj.com

My parents were hosting a dinner party and they asked me to create a unique centerpiece. They asked me to include the colors gold and silver. I went for a forest inspired piece using "snow" covered tree branches and combining them with some winter evergreen pine branches. Added some sparkle with a statement golden star (also made of tree branches) small snow covered ornaments, and fake snow at the bottom of the centerpiece to complete the forest inspired arrangement. Make sure you use floral dry foam to keep all the elements in place. I finished the whole thing by adding acorns, branches and lights ❄️✨at the base.

Merry Christmas Wreath: By Connie @ MommaofDos.com

In order to create my wreath, I purchased some great Christmas decorations/ornaments and a medium size green wreath. You will need some hot glue or if you have ornaments ties or ribbon would also work. Creating the wreath is very simple and takes no time at all. You can have it done in about 30 minutes depending on how much detail you want to add.

I first make a mock arrangement of my wreath and try to imagine what I want it to look like. Once I have dreamed up my perfect Christmas wreath; I start affixing the ornaments, ribbon, and bows. I purchased a pre-made bow, which is always easier, and some ribbon to tie around the entire wreath. Once I have secured all the ornaments and details to my wreath with ribbon ties or hot glue; it is ready to go on my front door and welcome our guest when they arrive on Noche Buena.

Santa & Rudolph Paintbrush Craft: By Lauren 

@ wiferellatoboymom.blogspot.com

Paint the handle red for the Santa and brown for the Rudolph. Do about two or three coats so you won't see the original color. Once dry take your felt, and wrap a around half the gold plate and glue as you go (leave enough room for the eyes and nose. Than glue your eyes and nose. Add your own touch as I did with the silver embellishment on the corner of the felt.

Once your Rudolph is done drying. Use your pipe cleaner to wrap around to make the ears. Glue your eyes and nose. You are done!

Rustic Christmas Wreath: By Amanda 

@ PositivelyBeautifulBlog.com

The first step is to cut up the log. Then I hot-glued the pieces of wood together. The next step is to decorate it. This step is the lengthiest step because your trying different things until you think it looks good. 

Overall this project took my about 30-45 minutes and that’s because I couldn’t make up my mind on how to decorate the wreath. Well, having some wine might have had something to do with it.

 Lol! This is a cheap and easy DIY project that I would recommend anyone to do.

Upside Down Christmas Wreath: By Yvonne @faithcoffeelove.com

This year I'll be hosting Christmas at my house I thought about putting together a center piece for my table but truth be told, when it's dinner time around here there is no space for a center piece! So I thought outside the box and flipped my center piece upside down. I simply took and unused wreath, spruced it up, used wire, fishing line and hot glue to add some extra ornaments. 

I used the wire to attache my wreath upside down on my light fixture, sometimes you might need a third hand to get this up there with out it falling on your head!  Then I tied fishing line to the wreath and hung a few ornaments at different lengths.

I loved how it turned out! 

DIY Christmas Swag

 My gosh this year has been a little bit upside down and backwards, this holiday season has been lined with a little bit of sorrow and it makes it just a little bit harder to get into to the Spirit of the season. Very possibly for this reason I wanted to make sure we had our Christmas decorations out and ready this year, early. I’m just like a lot of moms some years we are on the ball and some years I’m shopping for our Christmas Tree the weekend before Christmas – it happens.

Currently because of my insisting on getting everything out, my living room looks like it threw up Christmas all over, glitter, ribbon, ornaments, pine needles and all kinds of seasonal décor spreads out from my entry way through my dining room and into my living-room. It’s okay though, it’s all finding it’s place and hopefully by this weekend it’ll all be beautiful and my Christmas wonderland will be set up and I can focus on other things… like shopping!

We are that family, the ones who want a real Christmas Tree every year and when we go get our tree I always bring home with me the tree trimmings they cut off from our tree, also if you don’t know most places keep a pile of all trimmings that you can pick through and take home, so I always grab a few extra just for kicks. What do you do with said trimmings… well all kinds of stuff really? I’ve filled a tall clear glass vase with cut up branches and Christmas lights, very pretty and easy DIY.

This year I wanted to make a Christmas Swag for my house, here is my step by step process to make a quick and inexpensive Christmas decoration. 

First of you need tools, just a few: scissors, pliers, shears and thin wire.

Next with the shears cut down all of the branches and separate them into manageable pieces. 

For the swag I wanted to create, I needed a smaller piece for the top and a larger one for the bottom. I sort through all my pieces and just play around with the arrangement until I can sort them out into the two parts I feel I'm going to need to make it work. Don't worry too much this is not the final size, you can always trim off any excess later. 

Once you have both pieces tie each one with the wire to hold them in place and then tie them both together with another piece of wire to hold them both together.

I had a bow stashed away from last year that I used and I tied all three together with wire nice and tight. You can use your pliers when tightening wire because your fingertips might be to slippery.

Next I pulled out more random decorations and started to "squeeze" them into the arrangement, I ended up adding more wire to tie in some of the sparkly branches and some of the decorations had wire ends that I just worked into the branches.

Once I thought I had it figured out, I hung it out side on my front door! Ta-Da! You can see I ended up adding some more ornaments, these I tied on with some thin rope, nothing fancy. If you like to whip out your hot glue gun, you could easily glue more ornaments if you want something more elaborate than this. I like to keep it simple :) but wait, I wan't finished, I felt like it was to big and a little crazy looking, I used my shears and trimmed it down. 

Now it's done! Simple and just like that a fresh DIY Christmas Swag!

Almost Fall

This past weekend here in Houston, TX we were visited by a little taste of fall. It slipped in on Friday and by Monday morning our forecast was best described as seasonably warm. I’m more of a warmer weathered person myself but I have to admit that I was ready for the drop in temperatures just like the rest of Houston. Maybe because the weather was going to be nice or maybe because it was going to be my dad’s birthday weekend, I decided on two very fall like things to do last weekend.

Can you spot the Gator?

I joined my dad and Lety on a hiking adventure at Brazos Bend State Park for a “Night Hike”. The hike was described as a “walk in the park after dark to look and listen for things that go bump, screech, howl and squeal in the night” they also included folklore, legend and myth. It ended up being a pretty awesome experience, they had a few stops along the way and talked to us about myths and legends like “La Chusa” and they debunked the idea that bats are blind, plus how they help out by eating all those pesky mosquitoes we all love around here. In between we were able to catch a beautiful October sunset and we glimpsed a few alligators along the way. They even told a tale about a “Captain Gaucho” who haunts the lakes at night! It was a little silly but the mood was right and few alligators were hanging out listening to the story with the rest of us. The alligator sightings were our favorite part of our hike, we definitely kept on the trail after dark because we kept joking around about the possibilities of a 9 foot gator lurking around close by!

Beautiful October Sunset

Earlier in the day I decided to make a big ole’ batch of Chili for my dad, I figured it would be the perfect way to top off a beautiful fall evening and it was! It might not be your traditional type of Chili but maybe when fall really comes to Houston you might be in the mood for something warm and hearty, so I thought I would share my recipe with you. Are you ready for fall and all the yummy food that comes with this time of year? I know I am, okay so I’m never ready for colder weather but I’m always ready for some yummy grub!

Wood Working Wednesday | Pallet Wood

Welcome back to “Wood Working Wednesday” this one is brought to you by something called “spare time” - Some of you know what I’m talking about. I’m talking to the moms whose spare time consist hiding in the restroom in hopes of not having a child popping in to re-cap to you how the dog just chased the cat right into the bedroom door. Not that kind of spare time.

The kind of spare time that is very truly unplanned time all to yourself.  This past weekend we ran around like crazy people but not because of our plans, no, because of little bear’s plans. She went to two birthday parties Saturday and then spent the night at her cousin's house, this could have presented two scenarios: 1. I could have spent the rest of the evening at home laying on the floor enjoying the silence, I would have even played DM to make the whole evening more memorable. Or 2. I could out to dinner with grownups only.  So because the last time I was able to spend my evening on the carpet, enjoying the silence with grownups only was on my anniversary in May. I got dolled up a headed out for a nice night out on the town.

Sunday, little bear had another party, at this point I felt like I would never get a chance to work on my projects so I asked my very nice husband if he could take apart a few pallets for me while I escorted the bear to her friends birthday party. Then something amazing happened- The little girls' mom wanted me to come back and pick her up later. Hum what? Suddenly I had two and a half hours of time- spare time, unplanned, unoccupied time. I almost went shopping. Then I realized I had two and a half hours of wood working time without the guilt of parking little bear in front of a movie or her tablet.

So while my husband helped me out by taking apart a few pallets, I cut down wood to the size I need for various projects I’m working on and began my sanding process to make these pallets smooth and workable.

I also took this as a chance to give you a little bit more info about pallets:

I have a great friend who gets pallets for me all the time, I know that they are clean and safe because of where he works but I also know this because of the stamp on the actual pallet. This one gives me a company logo IPPC or International Plant Protection Convention. It has a registration number on it and most importantly it has "HT" stamped on it. "HT" tells me it is Heat Treated vs. Chemically treated. You can find more information here.

Many people ask how do we take them apart, my husband uses a mallet and a pry bar and goes to town. If it's just me by myself I cheat and use a miter saw cutting around all the nails- which I don't like because I like the nails holes. I also take the time to sand it down in three steps, 180 grit sand paper, 150 grit and I finish it off to 220 grit. Basically the higher the number on the grit the finer the sandpaper and the smother finish you will get. 




Although pine is low cost and it can be rough when it comes to you as pallet wood, I don't mind working with it. The nail holes and imperfections give it texture and gives it that "rustic" look. In the end some of the most rough pieces of wood have the most character.




These knots and grain are some of my favorite out this batch, I'll show you next week how beautiful these look once they have been cleaned up and stained.

Are you a Woman of Influence?

This past weekend I was fortunate to attend a Woman’s Event at my church, this year is was called “Woman of Influence”, and I feel as though it was the perfect title to the stage in life that I find myself in these days. Although truth be told, we are all in that stage in life no matter our age. During this event they had giveaways and if you won something you were encouraged to whoop and holler in excitement, a 92 year old women won something and she joined in and even gave a little dance. She dressed up in a purple flowery blouse with a purple hat and her joy of life was evident, later I glimpsed her with her walker which was also decked out.  Her personality was vibrant and all I could think about was how she was influencing so many of us in that very moment. WOW!

92 years old and loving life!

I struggle and have struggled as a mom so many times, I wonder if I’ve done anything right this whole time and if I will ever get the motherhood down or if by grace somehow I manage to be a woman of influence – mind you with the right kind of influence. I think back to my son when he was three years old and at the time he didn’t call me “mom” or “mommy” he called me “Yvonne”. As I started to go to church and change my life and my priorities, one day Chris got behind me in the crowd as we exited the church and just like that his voice cut through the crowd and he called out to me “Mommy!” The whole world stood still and my breath was caught. What a change in the influence my life was having on him.

Guest Speaker - Pam Tebow

I was able to attend this event with a couple wonderful ladies I love very much and in the moment you realize the influence they have on your life. Momma Rachel (my best friends mom) and anyone else’s mom if you so need her to be or my daughters other grandmother in my case. Her influence has impacted my life for more than 15 years showing me her unconditional love.

Connie from Momma of Dos, is a woman of influence in the blogging world leading and paving the way for so many bloggers that have followed her footsteps. In so many ways a woman of influence showing me that hard work and consistency pays off – follow your dreams and don’t let someone tell you it can’t be done or that (worse) it’s a waste of time. There is a good chance that she’ll take you up on that offer and show you otherwise.

What kind of influence are you? Do you inspire, encourage and love? Maybe you are a teacher,  protector and nurturer - I hope you are and I hope you realize that years from now you’ll step into the knowledge that you have inspired someone along the way. 

Women of Influence 2016

DIY Grilling and Chilling Caddy

Follow the link to find a workshop near you! 

A few weeks ago I came across a great post on Facebook for Home Depot and their “Free Do-it-Herself” Workshop! I love the idea of Home Depot having a workshop for the ladies! I have been painting rooms and helping my brother redo kitchens and bathrooms in one way or another for years. I have always felt comfortable with your basic power tools and I love the challenge of learning more when it comes to building and creating things.  

What does surprise me, is how many women out there do not feel comfortable with power tools or household projects. When talking to a friend about changing out a light fixture she said “I’m not comfortable with something like that” or when looking at my latest creation DIY Planter Box “How do you even make something like that?”

Earlier in the year I was able to interview Kayleen McCabe from the DIY’s Network show Rescue Renovation and she sparked a new interest in wood working for me. Giving me the encouragement to tackle the use of power tools with a whole new minds set! If she could do it, so could I. Home Depot is now giving women the opportunity to do a project and be hands on with power tools to make and create something they otherwise might not have felt they were capable of doing.

I was not able to make it to the workshop that week but I did take the image of their project and make my own that weekend. As you know I have been working with a good stock pile of Pallet wood, so I pulled out some pieces and made my very own Grilling Caddy. My husband and I do quite a bit of grilling, as soon as I saw this Caddy, I knew I needed it in my life!

Using scrap wood, I played with the size I needed and the angle of the cuts. Eventually I managed to get everything cut down to size. I used my grilling tools to figure how long and wide I needed my caddy to be. 

After sanding and staining everything I was able to put it all together. I even used my wood burning tool and stencil to customize it just a little bit :) 

Because when we get together to burn some meat, we like to call it - Grilling and Chilling time! 

Using Pallet Wood gave it that texture that I love!!

I couldn't leave off the handy dandy Bottle Opener! 

The Grilling Caddy! 

Also known as The Chilling Caddy!! 

Here is the rough draft of the cuts that you need. I am still playing with the layout of building plans - I promise they will get better with time :)

Girls Night Out with Chi

Sometimes a girls needs a break, sometimes that break consist of a glass of wine and an uninterrupted shower (mommas you know what I mean!!) Sometimes you need to go out and get pampered – whatever pampered might mean to you. Last week I had the chance for the ultimate pampering!! The Houston Latina Bloggers were invited to Chi Academy to get a little pampering and a makeover!!

They asked us to show up with no makeup and no product in our hair – Eeek! You mean all of us gorgeous ladies showing up in our true colors? I don’t wear too much makeup and lately I am lucky if I get a chance to style my hair, so this was not a stretch for me :) Before I knew it all the ladies were there and we were all swept away for our before pictures. We giggled at the idea of taking a picture of ourselves in our natural look.  

My All Natural "Before" picture! 

Truth be told ladies we are so beautiful without all that makeup and product but it didn’t hurt that we were treated like a star, after our before picture we meet our personal hair stylist and later we were asked to meet our makeup artist!

Each one of us getting our very own stylist and some needed double duty!!

Group before Picture

By the end of the night we were ready to take our after shots! We played around and ended up taking picture after picture – all of us feeling pretty glamorous!

All of my beautiful Latinas come in all shapes and sizes, some of us get dolled up daily and others not so much, but at the end of that evening the girlie girl in us came out giggling and excited to play hair and makeup!

A super Special Thanks to the ladies that worked their magic!!  Thank you Melissa & Brianna!!

For me personally, I felt super fancy, the last time I could remember getting so much attention was the day of my wedding, 7 years ago this month!  That’s a looooonnng time! Thank you CHI for making me feel so special!