Yarn Wrapped Reindeer {Secret Santa Blog Tour}

Yarn Wrapped Paper Maché Reindeer Head Tutorial

Yarn Wrapped Reindeer {Secret Santa Blog Tour}

But first – Hellooo, DIY friends! I have the pleasure of participating in a fun secret Santa blog hop organized by my sweet friend, Dria at DIO Home Improvements. Dria is a hard working, generous and talented blog friend with a big heart. 

DIO Home Improvements

I was lucky enough to be Dria’s randomly chosen secret Santa. Here’s the DIY gift I made for her, hand-wrapped with love:

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer head @diyshowoff

A yarn-wrapped paper maché reindeer head. Isn’t he cute? I loved the earthy tones in the super soft acrylic/wool blend yarn. I think he’ll be a great holiday decorative accent in her beautiful home.  DIY secret Santa gift @diyshowoff

Materials: purchased from Michaels Craft Store

  • 1 skein of yarn (the thicker the yarn, the less work)
  • paper maché reindeer head 
  • hot glue

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoff

Tutorial: It’s pretty self-explanatory. I started with wrapping the reindeer face, securing where needed with hot glue. The curved areas are a little tricky!

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoff

Then moved on to the antlers and ears, wrapping a large vertical portion then coming back and doing smaller areas. 

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoffDIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoff 

I hot glued any loose ends, adjusting yarn to cover paper maché where needed. And voila!

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoff

Then I simply added a gift tag, tucked in a few Yankee Candle pine scented ornaments, packed him up and shipped special delivery. 

DIY yarn wrapped reindeer tutorial @diyshowoff

Giving is the best part of a secret Santa gift exchange, isn’t it? Getting a gift in return is icing on the cake and boy oh boy does my secret Santa know how to create, if you know what I mean.

Thank You

Along the same reindeer theme, Christy from Our Southern Home whipped up this beautiful chevron reindeer accent pillow. Just for me, you guys! Metallic gold chevron. Reindeer silhouette. I love it!

reindeer pillow

Follow the entire Secret Santa blog tour for some DIY gift inspiration. 


Ideas for Hosting an Essential Oils Holiday Open House

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

I love holiday hosting, entertaining and getting together with friends! As you know, I love essential oils too. 😉 I recently hosted an essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House for my team (along with their guests). We had a great time! Here are a few ideas for hosting: 

Invitation: 

Holiday Open House

As you can see, I charged $20 per person. Most guests supplied their own Young Living essential oils if they had them. I shared my own supply with a few guests not signed up. And one guest who didn’t have her kit yet created the recipes without essential oils (which she added at a later time). While $20 didn’t cover my cost of materials, snacks and prizes, it did help tremendously. My goal wasn’t to make money but to provide a ‘thank you’ and fun interactive learning environment for my team. Create the same on a smaller scale, balance cost with expense. Have a good time! {For out of town guests/those who are unable to attend, email recipes & ideas.}

Food…I added peppermint essential oil to gluten free brownies, cinnamon bark essential oil to pumpkin bread, had lime essential oil on hand with organic/non-gmo chips and salsa and tossed some popcorn with melted coconut oil, sea salt and a few drops of lime essential oil. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Drinks: I supplied a flavored water station with icy cold bottled water, citrus essential oils (tangerine, orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit and Citrus Fresh) with glass bottles and festive paper straws. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

As well as a hot chocolate bar with organic cocoa mix, peppermint essential oil, marshmallows and candy canes. 

Ideas for Hosting an Essential Oils Holiday Open House @diyishowoff

Door prizes: (Thieves hand sanitizer, essential oil bottle labels, lip balms) were drawn every half hour (winner had to be present for this). Entries included name, email, phone# and check boxes for hosting a class or interested in business building. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Raffles: I sold tickets for raffle prices. This was a huge hit and ticket sales covered the cost. I purchased a few Young Living holiday items in advance and set up a raffle. Winners were drawn at the end of the day. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Diffuse Young Living’s Christmas Spirit essential oil blend. Crank the Christmas music!

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Holiday DIY gift Make & Take: Each guest paid $20 to make 10 gifts. I supplied everything but the essential oils. Most (and most are organic) ingredients and ‘tasting spoons’ (good for mixing, cute tied to a jar) were purchased in bulk from Amazon. Containers (tins, bottles, jars) were purchased from the bridal favor section at Michaels. Trays are from Target. Bowls from the Dollar store. Spray bottles from AbundantHealth4U. Other supplies: measuring spoons, funnels, measuring cups, medicine droppers, paper towels, gift bags for guest to take home their treasures)

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Set up at the dining room table: 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff 

You may need to adjust ingredients to fit your container. Everyone had fun playing “chemist”. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffThere was a Decorating Station in the family room. Ribbon, labels, gift tags, washi tape, etc. for making gifts pretty!

It was a fun filled day of hearing testimonials, answering questions, reviewing the Essential Rewards program and business side of things. It was a great time getting to know local team members and getting excited about essential oils. 

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoffYoung Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

Happy Holidays, oily friends!

Young Living essential oils Make & Take Holiday Open House ideas @diyshowoff

I love my essential oils! I love my oily team! Want to join the fun (not to mention the movement for healthier living, natural options and a chemical free home)? Let’s talk! 

Young Living at diyshowoff.com

Check out my essential oils page for more information on how you can get these amazing oils in your hands too along with helpful freebies, a gift from me, and tons of support. 

 

Casual Winter Fashion

What’s on your holiday wish list this year? 

Just because I mainly blog about do-it-yourself home improvement/decorating and my ‘work’ uniform mostly consists of yoga pants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, paint clothes doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy ‘cleaning up’ too. Most days:

DIY clothing

I’m definitely a girl-y girl with a love of clothes, fashion, make up, jewelry and shoes. Some days:

Roeshel

In fact, since my purchases throughout the year mostly consist of home decor, home improvement projects materials, craft supplies and of course my essential oils and gifts for others, holidays are reserved for adding a few pretty non DIY related gifts to my wish list.

And since I no longer have the need for a business or business casual wardrobe, my style has evolved into something more casual and fun. Instead of heels with a business suit, now I’m loving my heels with jeans (distressed are my favorite) and a warm sweater, fun jewelry and pretty accessories. THOSE are my winter must haves. 

So when Macy’s sent over this Casual Winter Outfit inspiration and I could totally see me wearing this, I knew I’d love to share it and to be able to pin it to my wish list Pinterest board. This year when I opened my closet to dig around for cold weather appropriate attire (brrrr…it’s snowing, you guys!), I felt as if my summer clothes outnumbered the cooler weather ensembles. Shuffling seasonal wardrobes around is definitely on the to-do list. 

funky-casual fashion

Inspired by Macy’s winter fashion guide

  1. Fringed Cardigan
  2. Green Necklace
  3. Floppy Hat
  4. Dior Lip Glow
  5. Distressed Jeans
  6. Clinique Mascara
  7. Suede Booties

LOVE the look! What about you? Gathering ideas for your holiday wish list? Thinking you need a few more cooler weather options in your wardrobe? I’d love to hear what’s on your wish list. 

*This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Macy’s. The opinions and text are all mine.