Happy holidays guys!
Having touched down in Australia a few days ago, it feels good to finally be able to take a deep breath, pause and relaxxxxxxx. It’s been an amazing year, with so many fun and new experiences, and a few not so great ones thrown in there to highlight how great the good times are. As I’m sure you know, in this industry, there’s often no such thing as really shutting off, but this year I decided it was about time to use the holiday season properly – as a time for rest and recharging, knowing just how 24/7 the rest of the year is. Not that I’m complaining – this is a dream job for me, but once in a while, you need to recharge your batteries because, from experience, creativity tends to go into hiding when you don’t give it any space to grow. I’ll be reminding myself to put down my phone, switch off my work brain and really be present. Wish me luck! To close out the year, we’re sharing a DIY and some highlights of the year, scroll down to read more!
Before we clock off for the year, I wanted to share with you a really quick and easy project I did at my parent’s place – this DIY card display that I made using LED bud lights and hooks from Bunnings. A little tip? Always choose warm lights for your indoor projects as they have a much nicer glow. These ones by Lytworx are gorgeous, and the transparent cables mean all you really see is the twinkling of the lights!
Over the past few years home projects have increasingly become a big focus for me (I guess a precursor to something major that’s happening next year), and there’s no better time than Christmas for decorating, even if it means moving all your parent’s furniture and enlisting your mum to help take some snaps. She did good right?
You need
- Warm LED Bud Lights
- Command Decorating Clips
- Twine or string
How to
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1. Place a hook on the wall where you want the top of your tree to sit. Then, take a long piece of string and hang it off the hook, attaching it on both sides of the wall with tape in a triangle shape. - 1. Place a hook on the wall where you want the top of your tree to sit. Then, take a long piece of string and hang it off the hook, attaching it on both sides of the wall with tape in a triangle shape.
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2. Use this shape to guide where you place the rest of your hooks, putting them on the wall at 15cm intervals. - 2. Use this shape to guide where you place the rest of your hooks, putting them on the wall at 15cm intervals.
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3. Once all your hooks are placed, add your lights, stringing them from the top, across the hooks all the way down. - 3. Once all your hooks are placed, add your lights, stringing them from the top, across the hooks all the way down.
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6. Finally, add all your Christmas cards using pegs! - 6. Finally, add all your Christmas cards using pegs!
You’ll probably remember this project as another take on the String Light Christmas tree I did a few years ago, but this one is a little more simple and can be thrown together very very quickly. You’ll notice that I used a few presents and flowers to cover up a few plus and other things on the wall, showing that you don’t have to have a perfect space to build something pretty!
Highlights of 2017
Most Read Posts of 2017
As I mentioned it’s been a big year, so here’s a few favourite posts of the year (and most popular according to google analytics) in case you have some downtime.
Healthy Reboot Series (Stay tuned for more in early 2018!)
Lessons From 7 Years of Blogging
An Easy Guide to Travel Journaling
Tessa Perlow’s Amazing Embroidery
A Guide to Neutral Wardrobe Colours
How to Plan and Pack for Your Trip to Sri Lanka
Plus Popular DIYs to Try These Holidays
4 Ways to Cut Off Your Denim Shorts
And, at the risk of sounding cliché, I really wanted to thank you all for being part of this community. I couldn’t be more grateful to have you as readers, and friends… if I can say that without sounding like a creep! I feel like we’ve grown into such a strong community of creativity seekers and it’s you guys that always bring out the best ideas in me, and the whole APAS team! 2018 is shaping up to be a monumental year (more on all that soon), so for now, let’s press pause. Take a deep breath and relax. We’ll be taking a blog break for the rest of the year and will be back here on January 4, 2018. Wishing you and your loved ones the perfect downtime filled with simplicity, love, laughing til your belly hurts, and every delicious treat you can lay your hands on. And maybe the odd family argument because they’re inescapable!
P.S. We have some pretty exciting (and terrifying) news coming in the new year that I can’t wait to share. Until then my friends!! xxx
