DIY Christmas Drink Stirrers

ok, I know I'm a little ahead of the game here, but I'm just too dang excited. IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMASSSSSSSS. I've been waiting all year for the holiday season to roll around again, partly because I have all these great Christmas DIY projects I've been wanting to show you. I figured we'd start it off easy with these Christmas drink stirrers so that we can start swizzling those Christmas cocktails and get in the holiday spirit, amiright? 

These Christmas stirrers are super easy and super affordable. You can make them in your choice of colors, but I'm always a fan of pink so I chose a more modern color palette. I had actually made these last year for the blog, but the photos came out SO BAD that I couldn't bring myself to post them (see them here). So, I knew they had to be my first project this year. I gave them a slight makeover and a new color scheme, and voila! Ready to go.

You will need:

Wooden stirrers (here)
Assorted rhinestones (similar here and here)
Assorted sparkly pom poms (from Michaels, similar here)
Glue gun (similar here)
Toothpick

Rhinestone Stirrers:

Directions: Take your wooden stirrer and put a dab of glue on the end. If your glue gun puts out a thick dollop, use a toothpick to put a small amount of glue on the back of the rhinestone or onto the stirrer. Place your large rhinestone at the top. Then, put 2 more of the small rhinestones underneath it. If you want it to look less home made, flip it over and repeat for the other side.

Mini PomPom Stirrers:

Directions: Put a dab of glue on one end of the stirrer, and pop on your pompom. Hold in place until it dries, then repeat for the other 2 pom poms. Easy peasy!

Snowman Stirrers:

Directions: Glue the pompoms onto the stirrer in size order from smallest to largest. You can also glue your pompoms in the other direction if you want it to be festive instead of snowman.

And there you have it! 3 easy ways to get festive with your drink stirrers for coffee, hot cocoa, and cocktails. These are perfect for any age, and they're disposable! You could even use them as drink markers, depending on how many people you have since each one can be different. And, since you can mix and match the colors, you can make these to match any holiday or event.

I'm SO excited for all the posts coming to the blog in the next few weeks. There are some really good ones headed your way!!

So, which drink stirrer would you grab for your drink? And what drink would it be? Let me know in the comments below!

Easy Football Party Crafts

Is it football season yet? I only know the fall for pumpkin picking, apple cider everything, and the ability to totally switch up my wardrobe. However, I know there's a whoooole bunch of people that love it for football! My fiancé is one of those people, so once in a while we hang out with the gang and watch a football game. He's a "less is more" type of guy, and I'm a "what else can we add?" type of gal, so I came up with a happy medium. 

I whipped up these easy crafts for Mariah at Giggles Galore. They're quick to make, and feature craft supplies you probably have at home. They're perfect for a mini football party. This month, I did not one, but TWO blog posts for her! You can find them here and here.

So be sure to head over to Giggles Galore now to see how to make these Easy Football Party Crafts and Football Flag Stirrers and Cups.

DIY Circus Animal Drink Stirrers

2017 is off to a wild start, huh? Call me psychic, but I see a lot of drinking in our future. It's best that we get prepared and start crafting the cutest barware, starting right here with these circus animal drink stirrers. These party animals are sure to brighten up your day, no matter what's going on. As a bonus, they're so easy to make that you can create a set for yourself, and a few additional sets to give your friends as gifts. These are easy enough to make on your own, but I had the assistance of my handy fiancé. If you've got a guy (or gal!) in your life, this could be a fun bonding experience and a cool thing to whip out at parties. You'll excitedly proclaim "we made these!" as all your friends ooh and ahh. It'll be magical. Ok, enough talk already. Let's get to crafting, shall we? ;)

*Contains affiliate links

You will need: 

Plastic circus animals (here)
Clear plastic stir sticks (here)
Glossy acrylic paint (similar here)
Drill (here)
11/64 inch drill bit (here)
Slip joint pliers (here)
E6000 glue (here)
Electric tape (here)
 

Step 1: Take your circus animal and place the drill bit against it at desired depth. Put a small piece of tape at the stop point to make sure you don't drill too far.

Step 2: Using your slip joint pliers, hold the circus animal steady.

Step 3: Slowly and carefully drill a hole in the middle of your circus animal until you hit the tape marker. Repeat for all your animals.

Here's a little behind the scenes sneak peek of my fiancé in action. He's so handy and I'm so lucky to have him! All I did was briefly explain what I needed. He led me to the garage (his version of my studio), searched around his workbench and collected a few supplies. Then we did one drink stirrer as a test and bam! It came out perfectly :)

Step 4: Paint your circus animals using glossy acrylic paint. You can also use spray paint (which would be faster and probably better coverage), but I'm in NYC and it's freakin freezing outside haha.

It took me about 2-3 coats of paint to cover them. I did one overall coat, then a thicker coat on each side. Finally, I did touch-up where I covered any missed spots, or anywhere that I accidentally touched.

This reminds me of that scene in The Lion King where all the animals gather at Pride Rock to see Simba for the first time. But the much more colorful version. The circle of life.

Step 5: Assemble your stir stick by putting the smaller side into the hole you drilled. It should be a fairly tight fit and not even need glue! If you prefer them to be in more permanently, put a tiny dab of E600 glue on your stir stick before assembling. Let dry according to directions. 

And now you're ready for a day at the circus! I think these stirrers would make a perfect gift for friends, along with a couple of cute drinking glasses. I'm also trying to stop myself from bringing some to work so that I can have a party with my morning cup of tea ;) So what day you think of these drink stirrers? How do you plan to use them?