DIY BALLOON TREE TOPPER USING NORTHSTAR BALLOONS!

Every year I swear our tree gets more and more awesome! This year has probably been the best yet. Our tree is full of fun ornaments, bright lights, and some vintage treasures. Growing up, my mom would always put a tree up that was probably 12ft tall. I remember we would always have to wait for my dad to string the lights on it because it was so enormous! It was full of handmade ornaments my sister and I made throughout the years, fun garland, and candy canes.. Oh the nostalgia...

This year I wanted to do something fun for our tree topper. We usually stick to the classic star but I wanted to change it up! I had a wild idea up my sleeve to use a balloon for a tree topper this year. I figured it would be fun and different. I reached out to my favorite balloon shop ever, Northstar Balloons, and like usual they had exactly what I was looking for.... (You may remember the number "2" balloon I used for Asher 2nd birthday party and if not you can see it here)... I went with a letter "L" since it is the first initial of our last name and I love how it turned out. It defiantly finished off the tree and really made it sparkle! And best of all it was SO easy to make! Here's the how to!

You will need:

A Northstar Balloon of your choice! I went with their smaller letter balloon.

Fishing Wire

-Air your balloon up. These balloons come with a straw for you to air up.. so easy! 

- Clip the loose ends. Cut any loose tags off of the balloon but be sure not to cut the balloon!

- Tie to tree using fishing wire! 

Pretty easy huh? 

I hope you all enjoyed this easy DIY post and be sure to check out Northstar Balloons on Facebook and Instagram. 

MINTED FAVORITES AND A GIVEAWAY!

I don't know about you guys but I've already started my holiday shopping. I love getting ahead of the game and most of all I enjoy it! This year I'm making it a goal to give gifts that are personalized and have a special meaning. I feel like in the past years I've been giving the same things and this year I'm gonna spice it up a bit! 

Minted is my go to for personalized gifts, cards, wrapping paper, and stationary. They always have such a lovely selection and their quality always exceeds my expectations! This holiday season, Minted has a large amount of amazing personalized art work to choose from including their new foil art collection. Im loving all of them and totally having a hard time choosing just a few! Here is a little round up of some of my favorite pieces from Minted! 

(left to right)

1. Love Print 

2. Photo State Print

3. Little Prince

4. Magnifique

5. Number Print

6. Work Hard & Be Nice Print

7. US Print

8. Photo Heart Print

9. Photo Wreath Print

10. Holiday Print

11. Monthly Gem Print

12. Gold Embellished Dots Print 

These prints are pretty amazing right?! And best of all today Minted  is giving one lucky Everything Emily reader a $150 credit to Minted.com!!! Just in time for the holidays! All you have to do is follow the prompts below to enter! Winner will be chosen next week! GOOD LUCK and remember to visit Minted for all of your holiday needs! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY CACTUS ORNAMENTS

I don't know about you guys but I am beyond ready for the holiday season. I'm usually one to wait until Thanksgiving to start getting excited, but I just can't help myself this year. I have so many fun DIY projects up my sleeve that I can hardly contain myself! 

Since we will be leaving the desert soon, I wanted to make something that would be a fun little reminded of our time spent here. You may remember my DIY CACTUS PILLOW I posted awhile back and I was inspired by that pillow to make some fun little cactus ornaments for our tree this year. These felt ornaments are SUPER easy to make and will give you tree a fun little pop! 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 

Felt (you can use whatever colors you would like)

Embroidery needle

Embroidery thread 

pen

scissors

HOW TO:

1. First you will want to start off by drawing your cactuses onto your felt. I just free handed mine, but feel free to use a stencil. You can choose any cactus you would like, I stuck with the smaller, easier to draw ones...

2. Next you will want to cut out your cactuses and begin to stitch them with the embroidery thread. I used a basic stitch and simple stitched around the cactus to give them more detail. . For the flower pieces (located at the top of the cactus) I just stitched a stitch or two through them to keep them in place. 

3. Lastly stitch a longer pieces of thread at the top. This will be where you hang the ornament. Trim any excess threads and you are ready to hang on your tree or give as a gift!

These ornaments are so fun and will make any tree smile! Stay tuned for more DIY holiday projects and in the meantime check out my HOLIDAY PINTEREST BOARD. I've been pinning like crazy! 

What are you planning for your tree this year? Do you like to do a theme or throw whatever on it?!

XO!