Family Craft Boutique

Country homes are some of the simplest to decorate, in part because they lend themselves well to a mix-and-match style of design. This might not be the case with a townhouse or city apartment, where one might expect to see a uniform theme running through the place. To gather ideas for redesigning the interior of your country home, crack open a few homemaking magazines – Better Homes and Gardens is a safe bet that will probably be available at the local library.

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of redesigning your rooms from scratch – you most likely won’t need to. Some of the best primitive home décor is inspired by pre-existing elements in the house. If you find some old antiques lying around, make a few trips to local thrift stores to try to find complements. Family heirlooms – such as old portraits and furniture – provide excellent center pieces; you can design entire rooms around them.

Genealogy, or the practice of tracing your family tree, is a great way to teach children about their ancestral roots. I started just such an ambitious project a few months ago on a rainy afternoon. My two sons had been asking questions about their family heritage with more frequency, so it seemed like a good time to fill them in. We started by naming all the relatives we could think of and sketching out a rudimentary tree.

After that, I dug out a pile of old photo albums and went to the attic to search for any old family paperwork. My sons retrieved some scrapbook paper and began to create pages for each family member. We eventually filled in each page with photos, handmade drawings and small kitsch items that could be pasted to the paper. It’s a project that might occupy many rainy days to come.

For obvious reasons, summer is the season rife with parties. Look no further than your own datebook or calendar for proof. Many people attend a wedding here, a Fourth of July bash there, and maybe even a few graduation parties in between. With these parties come telltale signs of fun: cars parked in long lines down residential streets, the smell of barbecue grills flaring to life, and latex balloons floating in the breeze.

Balloons serve as one of the most popular indicators that a party is under way. Party guests travelling from great distances need a way to find the proper driveway. Sometimes, as is often the case with children’s parties – balloons take on another role entirely. What other item can be twisted into the shape of any animal known to man?

Designing a space can be an intimidating endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right blend of creativity and ingenuity, anyone can come up with a winning combination of design elements. The most effective interior design work involves thoughtful selection, not grandiose spending.

If you’re shooting for a warm, rustic quality in a room, try exploring primitive home decor. This school of design calls for a mix of antiques and other familiar household items. Without much effort or cost, it’s possible to put together a cohesive design that truly ties a room together. Start by taking a look at what’s lying around the room, then shop to match that theme.

Because they don’t technically have any structural purpose, a barn star can be understood as a decorative object used to enhance the look of a barn. As the name would suggest, barn stars typically come in the form of five-pointed stars. Sometimes, however, these products come in the shape of a wagon wheel or other figure, and it is technically still known as a “barn star.”

Historically, they are most popular among German-American families, but as they are becoming increasingly popular, they are cropping up on many different farms and in many different communities. Often, these barn stars are considered lucky, and in this way, they are roughly equivalent to a horseshoe. Around for many years, they were particularly popular during the Civil War. In modern times, these decorations are often intentionally rusted or distressed to look older than they actually are.

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Melissa (luvredford)

Balloons can add a festive feeling to just about any party or family gathering, and in order to get more bang for your buck, you’re going to want to choose a material that will last. Standard balloons might last for the day, and that’s great if that’s all you’re looking for. But if you want your balloons to last a bit longer, make sure that you purchase Mylar balloons. Mylar is known for its tensile strength as well as its dimensional stability.

Known by other names, the material is sometimes called boPET, or biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate. Because that’s a bit of a mouthful, it is most commonly called Mylar or Melinex. A relatively new material, it has only been around since the 1950s. It was developed by a company known as DuPont and Imperial Chemical Industries. Before it was widely used for commercial reasons, NASA utilized this material in a 1960 and 1964 launch.

When we age, we often like to reflect on our past memories, and we also want to ensure that all our favorite memories are preserved.  Scrapbooking is one hobby that can preserve a lifetime of fun memories in one place.  Scrapbooking has existed for centuries, long before there were even photographs, but as technology has advanced, scrapbooking has become much more popular.  For those who might not know, scrapbooking involves taking pictures, papers, clothing, and other objects that bear some significance, and placing them in a book.  This often involves cutting, pasting, and more than a little bit of design.  However, the end result is a scrapbook that preserves memories of past and present and makes a wonderful conversation piece for others to look at.  The best part about scrapbooking is, anyone can do it. 

You can find all kinds of scrapbooking tools at retailers that sell arts and crafts supplies.  But the best part about scrapbooking is discovering a personal preference for compiling all the most precious memories. 

Halloween is more a holiday for the children than it is adults, and when it comes to decorating the home for Halloween, it’s best to involve the kids.  Instead of parents decorating the home, have the kids do it.  You might even think about letting them make a haunted house in the basement or garage.  There are all kinds of creative ways to have children involved in Halloween.  For example, with the amount of leaves on the ground during the fall, chances are there’s a few that need raking up in the yard.  Purchase the Halloween style pumpkin bags and have kids fill them with leaves from the yard, then place them on the porch.  Let the kids decorate the exterior of the home too on Halloween; it’s a great activity that will foster their creativity and their love of the holiday. 

Make it a point to purchase a couple new Halloween ornaments every year; it doesn’t have to be an expensive purchase, but just something fun that the kids will enjoy.  With a little practice, kids might even want to help more around the house on other holidays.