Holiday Treats and Toys!

Looking for a cute new way to spruce up the normal Christmas decorations and treats? Look no further! We’ve compiled a few cute ideas to get you started on your creative, DIY journey this holiday.

Rice Krispie Christmas Tree – Just some green food dye and M&Ms make a pretty cute—and tasty—display.

Christmas Tree Appetizers – Some guac or coloured humus on a cut of pita bread sprinkled with chopped veggies. Adorable and yummy!

Christmas-shaped Treats – Use cookie cutters to pour fudge and brownies into for festive shapes!

Easy Frosting – Pick up some cheap condiment containers at your local restaurant supply store to store frosting in for easier frosting dispensary!

Fun for the Kiddos – Make some snow slime!

Snow Men Cookies – Just a couple circle pretzels, fruit roll-up pieces, and frosting for this cutesy holiday treat!

Candy Sleighs – Looking for cheap, easy gifts for your kid’s classmates and/or teachers?

Whipped Cream Shapes – These are just a cute, easy way to glam up some boring hot coco. Make up a batch of whipped cream, spread it out on a cookie sheet, stick some cookie cutters in there, and pop it in the freezer. Then presto! Not only do they help cool down your coco, but it’s darn cute.

Cookie boxes – Plastic wrap and aluminum foil boxes make great boxes for gifting cookies!

Easy DIY Holiday Nails – Probably the easiest nail art in the world, even if you’re as inept as I am!

Hope these little treats help to make your holiday a little brighter and even more fun. Everyone here at Sweeney & Sweeney is wishing you a wonderful and safe Holiday!

DIY Fall Decorations

Fall is definitely in full swing, and what better way is there to celebrate than to come up with some awesome Fall decorations?! We’ve come up with a list of cool, quick, and easy DIY Fall decorations for you to play around with.

Festive candle holders – all you need is some Mod Podge, a jar, and a few pretty leaves from your yard.

Easiest wreath ever – You could use either real or fake leaves for this one, and a cut out from one of those cardboard boxes you haven’t taken out to the recycling yet.

Glitter acorns – Do you have an acorn tree (or one in your neighbourhood) that loves to litter the all over the place? Well, instead of being annoyed by the immense mess, scoop some of them up and add a little glitter for an awesome centerpiece or addition to another Fall piece.

Leaf bowl – Awesome twist on the paper mâché balloon project you did in grade school.

Leaf art – This one I think is best to make the kids do. Have them go out and collect some favourite leaves, press them, then paste them onto some construction paper.

Hope these little projects bring a little extra joy and beauty to your holiday season.

DIY Halloween Decorations

I’m sure like most of you, I love going to my favourite stores and checking out the new Halloween decorations. Unfortunately, they can often be rather expensive, and I may only be able to find a couple things that are really my taste. This spook season, check out these cool DIY decorations that are totally customizable to your taste and needs.

Scarecrow – With a few scrap pieces of lumber for the body and a ball—or even a balloon—for the head, you can customize your very own lawn ornament to be scary, silly, formal, or down-home; whatever look you want for your home.

Door Wreath – With a simple wire coat hanger formed into a circle, you can pick up a pretty cheap garland from just about anywhere, wrap it around to hide the wire, and add any embellishments you wish for an extra personal touch.

Haunted Hotel Sign – You can pick up an old post and corbel at a reclaimed goods/salvage store and add your own spooky sign. Your choice if you have any vacancies or not …!

Window Silhouettes – Cut out the shape of your choice from some black construction paper, adhere it to your window, and let your figures come alive when the lights come on! For some added effect, create a whole shadow-y scene!

Welcome Mats – If you have some carpet scrap lying around, you can paint a ghostly scene and a message to your visitors. If not, pick up a plain, cheap porch mat, cut out some shapes (i.e. bats, ghosts, cats, barren trees, letters) to stick to the mat, and spray paint over your now-stencils for your very own custom greeting!

Picture Frame Lanterns – Want a cute way to light up the path to your door? Try picking up some cheap picture frames, use some wood glue to form a cube (minus the top and bottom) and then some vellum paper to print some Halloween-tastic pictures and place either real or electric candles on the inside for a fun way to light up the trail to the candy.

Hope you can have fun with some of these and please feel free to share them with us! As always, everyone here at Sweeney & Sweeney hopes you have a fun and safe holiday!

DIY Halloween Costumes for your Kids

Coming up with the perfect costume for your little one can be tough. And if funds are on the tight side, that can make things even tougher. Here are a few quick, simple, and cheap costume ideas for your kiddos.

Spelling Bee – leotard, pipe cleaners, hangers … not much goes into this getup, but it sure is cute!
Rocket Man – We all know your kid is out of this world, so why not show it off with the awesome rocket man costume?
Superhero – Superman, Batman, Spiderman … They’re all so overdone. Make your kid into their very own super hero!
Butterfly – This butterfly costume’s great, especially if you have a great eye for detail. Since you’re making the wings yourself, your munchkin can be any kind of butterfly they want!
Mad Scientist – What’s cuter than a little mad scientist, come on? And really, couldn’t get much easier.
Little Miss Sunshine – Both a great movie and a pretty good adjective for your little one. Very little prep for this costume, too.
Raining Cats and Dogs – If you like concept costumes, this one’s great. All you really need is a little hot glue for the stuffed critters on the umbrella!
Angel – So maybe our kids aren’t always so angelic, but at least they can look the part for a night! These wings are ridiculously easy and look great!
Pig in a Blanket – Another great conceptual costume, I’m thinking this would be the best for kids under 2. If they get worn out from trick-or-treating before you get home, they already have the blanket to snuggle with!

For more information (and pictures!) on how to put together the snazzy costumes featured, check out this awesome site! RealSimple From everyone here at Sweeney & Sweeney, we hope you have a wonderful, safe, and fun Halloween this year!