Lemon Thistle - Rad DIY and design for 'the rest of us'

Oct 09

DIY Minimalist Halloween Wreath + Decor

Oct 09

This DIY minimalist halloween wreath and decor is perfect if you want to celebrate halloween while still keeping with modern decor- plus it cost only a few dollars to pull together!

In Canada, Thanksgiving comes before Halloween and I love Thanksgiving so don’t usually pull out the Halloween decorations for another week or so BUT that all changed when I started blogging. Because blogging is confusing and happens on a whole different calendar. So today I’m excited to join up with some amazing bloggers to share DIYs for Halloween! I created this DIY halloween wreath and some coordinating halloween decor… and the best part is, they all cost only a few dollars to make!

I shared my fall home tour a couple weeks ago and the wreath I had on my door is made from a holiday garland that I curled into a wreath. I love how minimal and kind of wild it is so when I saw those orange leaf garlands at the dollar store- I knew I wanted to make it over into a modern halloween wreath with a similar aesthetic.

One of the reasons I haven’t always decorated for all holidays is because the extra ‘stuff’ stresses me out. But because I hate to miss out (especially now with kids!), I’ve started making simple swaps in my decor instead of adding things in. So the letterboard gets a spooky quote, the wreath becomes seasonal and the branches I have throughout my vases? Well, they got a spooky makeover too.

Oct 08

Painting Patio Doors Black!

Oct 08

We painted the french doors to our patio black and it totally changes the feel of this space! Sharing how we did it using our paint sprayer as well as the before and after (and in between).

So we did a thing… we painted our patio french doors black! And I’m obsessed with it! When we moved into our house last summer, we painted over the green walls with a nice bright white. Then we ended up replacing all the floors after our kitchen flooring issue (see alllll about that here if you like, and the finished space here). We love how this looks but this one wall in our living room seemed ’empty’ even though it was full of a window and door. I added curtains over the window but it still felt so plain.

So today I’m excited to share the transformation (before, in between, and now!) in partnership with Wagner Spray Tech. I’ve made a video of the process, but will also share some photos here in the post! This is one step closer to having our living room ‘made over’. This room has been seeing small changes all year and I can’t wait to wrap up my office remodel so I can start painting that fireplace to get this ‘makeover’ complete! You can see what I’d dreamed for the space back in this post here and I think we’re getting pretty darn close to it! Continue Reading…

Oct 03

All We Have is Now – October Tech Backgrounds

Oct 03

It’s time for your October Monthly Tech Backgrounds in beautiful hand lettered quote (All We Have is Now), calendar, and monthly script versions for your phone, ipad and computer!

October is HERE and fall is in the air and I feel like it was just summer yesterday but somehow… Christmas is right around the corner. Isn’t this a wild season? So full and fast but also slow and magical. Fall is my very favourite season and of all the months- October is my favourite. It’s my birthday month (woohoo!) it’s thanksgiving here in Canada (family dinners and stuffing!) and I get to start wearing boots again.

This month, I’m using one of my fave scenes- foggy mountains. And for the quote, I used the words, ‘All we have is now’. Lately that’s been made so clear to me- we really are only promised today. I hope that these words can serve as a beautiful reminder of that to you every time you see them on your screens!

If you’re new to Lemon Thistle, every month, I create free handlettered tech backgrounds for you to download. I make each a quote version, a calendar version, and a monthly script version in each desktop, phone, and tablet sizes. You can take your pick! I also create a free printable 8×10 version of the quote for my e-mail friends. If you’re not yet signed up for my list, you can get in on the updates and freebies right here!

Enough with the chatter, am I right? JUST GIVE ME THE GOODS! Just click the linked words below to download the tech wallpapers!Continue Reading…

Oct 02

How to Use Cricut SnapMat – Silhouette vs Cricut series!

Oct 02

Today I’m talking about Cricut SnapMat- the feature that lets you take a picture of your mat and place your designs exactly where you want to (you know, for scraps of materials or cutting out photos!).

It’s been a while, but Alexis and I are back with another Silhouette VS Cricut series video! And this is one feature that I hadn’t spent too much time playing with before diving in for this video. I’ve learned so many things and hope that you do from this video too! For this video, I wanted to try a bunch of different applications that I could think of- and some that I was asked. I cut on scraps (my fave way to use the feature!), drew on already shapes/items, and cut photos in silhouettes and shapes.

Cutting scraps is something I’ve used SnapMat for a bunch of times, but beyond that? This was fun to test out. It’s really only ONE function. But applied in different ways. The photo is the one that gets a bit tricky. I shared my different attempts at that in the video- and then I share the things I’ve learned (tips, tips, tips!) along the way.

If you haven’t been following the Silhouette VS Cricut series is just a challenge where Alexis and I take on different functions, features or materials that the Silhouette and Cricut can take on- and then we test them out. I’m team Cricut so use my Cricut Maker for all of these projects. Alexis from Persia Lou will be using her Silhouette for all of her projects. The feature? Being able to move your designs around on your mat to place them exactly where you want them- on the material of your choice. Cricut calls it SnapMat and Silhouette’s is called PixScan.

SO Let’s talk about SnapMat. What is it? How does it work?

Oct 02

Easy DIY Vertical Shiplap Wall

Oct 02

The easiest way to create a DIY vertical shiplap wall in your home! Skinnylap nordic style with a shortcut and tips on which fillers to use, working with walls that aren’t level and how to shiplap around plugins.

This is one of those tutorials that is so simple it hardly feels like a tutorial. But at the same time, there’s definitely some tips that help make the job go quickly and give such a great finish. This is also one of those tutorials that I’ve said ‘it’s coming!’ about for a long time. So it sure feels good to get this out to you guys and answer the questions I’ve been asked about this DIY vertical shiplap wall since I shared the reveal this spring! If you missed the reveal, we made over our boys’ shared bedroom (and this skinnylap wall!) for the spring One Room Challenge… which means we did this whole space in 6 weeks! You can see that right here.

Since we were on a timeline for this room and we were starting from total scratch (like, removing a valance, reflooring, new doors etc) while Shane was working on the entryway at the same time, I wanted to find the easiest way to get the vision in my head into that room. I knew I’d be on my own making it happen and that my time without kids underfoot is so so limited. I asked my mom to come and hang out with the kids one evening and got the vertical shiplap wall put together. So if I can do this solo in one evening, I promise that it’s an easy one!

What makes it easy? Can you guess just by looking at it?Continue Reading…

Oct 01

Free Printable Last 90 Days Tracker

Oct 01

A free printable 90 day tracker specifically for the #last90days challenge with Rachel Hollis and Dave Hollis.

Today’s October 1st… the first day of the #Last90Days. Have you heard of that challenge? It’s a Rachel Hollis challenge to make lifestyle changes in the last 90 days of the year so that you’re on a roll when it comes to the new year. It takes you through the busiest and hardest season and for me is a total challenge. I started with it last year but by the holidays had forgotten about my commitment. This year, I’m determined to do better. So I made myself a printable tracker (I needed more than just my 30 day one!).

The 90 day challenge has 5 elements (5 to thrive): drinking half your body weight in ounces of water each day, waking up an hour earlier and taking that time to yourself, 30 minutes of exercise/activity each day, writing 10 things you’re grateful for each day, and giving up one food group/type of eating. All good things, right?! But hard. For me, anyways ;)

So since I couldn’t find a tracker I loved and wanted to have on my fridge, I took that first early morning (today!) and made myself my own tracker. Ha! And wrote a blog post for it. So if you’d like to track your progress in the last 90 days along with me… Continue Reading…

Free Printable 2020 Calendars Are Here! (5 Formats!)

Fall DIY Acrylic Sign

Modern Entryway Reveal

DIY Minimalist Halloween Wreath + Decor

Painting Patio Doors Black!

All We Have is Now – October Tech Backgrounds

How to Use Cricut SnapMat – Silhouette vs Cricut series!

Easy DIY Vertical Shiplap Wall

Free Printable Last 90 Days Tracker

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