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DIY

Whether you’re looking for a DIY project for a Christmas gift, a home improvement project, or your wedding, you’ll be able to find something right here. This category features all of our DIY projects rolled up into one, easy location. We cover everything from wedding to Christmas to gift guides to Halloween. Our projects are budget, family, living-on-your-own friendly and easy to make! We’ve made every project featured here and our posts will let you know how we liked making it. Let’s be honest, we’ve loved pretty much everything. Leave a comment if you have one. If you’re looking for something more specific use our search bar or check out one of our niche categories. Thanks for stopping by, hope to have you back soon!

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Halloween Suncatchers

October 10, 2023
Halloween Suncatchers

I love that my kids love the fun and cooky crafts I give them. We try to do crafts all year, but spooky season gives us a special opportunity to get crafty. This weekend, we made these Halloween suncatchers. Growing up, I lived for the holiday window stickers. When Autumn began, I loved going to the store to pick out a new Halloween-themed sticker sheet. When we would take out…

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DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Ghost Handprint Halloween Cards

October 4, 2023

Growing up, I made so many crafts for the holidays. Tissue ghosts for Halloween, cards for Valentine’s Day, and ornaments for Christmas. And thirty-something years later, I’m still crafting! Parents love handmade gifts. And you know what? Grandparents absolutely love handmade gifts from their grandkids. I will shower my parents with handmade gifts from my kids for as long as they’ll agree to make them. The first thing we’re making…

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Celebrations/ DIY/ Halloween/ Side Dishes

DIY Floating Candles like in Hogwarts Great Hall

October 3, 2023

The last time we had floating candles in our house, we were throwing a Harry Potter-themed Halloween party. That was one of my favorite parties to-date. For spooky season, we’re trying some out of the box floating candles and having a lot of fun along the way. This year, we bought this set of floating candles on Amazon. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small…

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Celebrations/ DIY/ Halloween/ Side Dishes

Paper Bats: Halloween DIY

October 1, 2023
Paper Bats

A previous version of this post for Paper Bats: DIY Halloween was published in October 2013. We took new photos and updated some of the written content. Bats are everywhere!  Need a quick idea to set up your Halloween entertainment space?  Make some paper bats to adorn your walls and ceilings.  I can’t take the credit on this one.  Our friend, and Lilies and Loafers blogger, Ashley, did this last…

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DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting

Disney Vacation Goody Bag

July 19, 2023
Disney Vacation Goody Bag

We went on our first family vacation via a plane! We were anxious, excited, and we’re mentally prepared to parent in a different city. We were excited mostly for the destination: Disney World! As the family trip planner, I set up everything, including a special surprise for everyone. I gave everyone a Disney vacation goody bag. This trip was to celebrate Liam’s 5th birthday. A big milestone. Huge! So part…

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DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Food Photography Boards

March 29, 2023
DIY photography boards

As we grew the blog, I needed to elevate our photography mis en scene. Since you eat with all your other senses before you taste food, our photos needed to look good. Eventually, we bought some backgrounds. I love them, but I could not justify their cost when I wanted to change them out. So I made these DIY food photography boards; some with wallpaper and some with paint. I…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert/ DIY/ Gift Guides/ Side Dishes/ Valentine's Day

DIY Gift: Cookie Jar

December 21, 2022
Cookie Jar

A previous version of this post for DIY Cookie Jar was published in February 2013. We took new photos and adjusted the recipe. Valentine’s Day (and the week leading up to it) gives us a sweet excuse to make delicious treats.  This DIY cookie jar is a perfect gift to hand out to your friends and loved ones. Although Fatima and I would love to hand out jars of MarquisRitas, we…

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Celebrations/ Christmas/ DIY/ Side Dishes

Chalkboard Ornament

December 5, 2022
DIY Chalkboard Ornament

A previous version of this post for DIY Chalkboard Ornament was published in December 2013. We took new photos and updated some of the written content. Here’s a thought, let’s make a chalkboard ornament! Take all that chalkboard paint you bought earlier this year and spray your ornaments. We got these ceramic ornaments from Michaels for about $1. Let them dry and write a message or draw a picture! This…

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Celebrations/ Christmas/ DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Faux Gingerbread Houses

November 30, 2022
DIY Faux Gingerbread House

A few weeks ago, an Etsy ad jumped into my Pinterest feed pushing a faux gingerbread house to me. These weren’t just any old gingerbread houses. These were dollhouse-sized replicas of historical homes. They were gorgeous and way out of my price range. But they gave me an idea. Can I make these in real life? And then I saw a video of someone making faux gingerbread houses on Pinterest.…

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Celebrations/ DIY/ Family Fun/ Halloween/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Boo Baskets

October 29, 2022
Boo Baskets

What are Boo Baskets, you ask? They’re like Easter Baskets. Instead of a ‘bunny’ delivering them, a ‘ghost’ delivers these baskets. Boo Baskets are just another excuse to fill something up with candy and goodies to give to kids. This year, I was feeling extra festive and wanted to send my nephews and niece some goodies for Halloween. Target’s Halloween pails were only $1 and we found a lot of…

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DIY/ Family Fun/ Halloween/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Fall Crafts for Kids

October 21, 2022
Fall Crafts for Kids

After the success of our summer crafts for kids, I needed to continue arts and crafts for Liam, but themed for the fall and Halloween. Our son has been loving the arts and crafts sessions we do on weekends, school holidays, and rainy days. We get to practice cutting, gluing, taping, and working our imaginations. But my main goal is for these projects to be fun. Here are some of…

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DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Six Summer Crafts for Kids

September 14, 2022
Summer Crafts for Kids

Liam loves arts and crafts. Throughout last year’s school year, he brought home so many crafts. We didn’t know what to do with all of them. So when camp ended a few weeks ago, we wanted his days between camp and the start of the new school year to remain structured. So in addition to reading his favorite books, writing in his workbooks, and three-thirty p.m. movies, I held art…

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DIY/ Family Fun/ Millennial and Parents/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Gallery Wall for Preschool Artwork

September 7, 2022
Gallery Wall

We are a family who celebrates everything. The first time using the potty. The first time sleeping in your own bed all night. The first time sleeping in your own bed consistently at night. Your first art project. Fatima and I want our kids to be proud of themselves; to find that inner motivation to keep going. When Liam brought home his first art project from school, we hung it…

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Birthday/ DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Liam’s Fourth Birthday: Spider-Man

June 28, 2022
Spider-Man Birthday

When we asked Liam what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to dress up as Spider-Man. Not just any Spider-Man, he wanted to be Miles Morales, aka ‘Spin’ from Spidey and His Amazing Friends. I loved that idea, so Fatima and I dove right into it. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items…

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Birthday/ DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Spider-Man Cake Toppers

June 18, 2022
Spider-Man Cake Toppers

For Liam’s fourth birthday, he wanted to be Spider-Man. Specifically calling out he wanted to be ‘Spin’ (aka Miles Morales) and that “daddy would be Spidey (aka Peter Parker). I told him that was a great idea, so we went all out. To theme the cake, I made these Spider-Man cake toppers. For his cake, I kept it basic. Liam wanted a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. Boxed cake mix…

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DIY/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

DIY Pacifier Clips

February 23, 2022
DIY Pacifier Clips

Some of the most useful things for a parent with a baby are pacifier clips. With our first son, paci clips seemed to be everywhere. With our second kid, I can’t find them anywhere. A new season of our podcast, Millennial and Pregnant, just launched! That can only mean one thing…we had another baby! With the second kid, it’s not quite like riding a bike, but I was definitely mentally…

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