Bag of Jellybeans: Such a Sweet Costume

Take a large clear garbage bag and cut arm and leg holes. Get a bag of multi-colored balloons and blow them up.  Stand inside the bag, and fill the bag with the balloon "jellybeans." Just look out for those party goers who want to "pop" your jellybeans!

Person in an Old Black and White Photo

It's easy to dress up like a person in an old black and white photo; all you need to do is wear vintage black and white clothes, then paint your skin a cool shade of gray. If you want to take this costume to the next level, dress up like your favorite black and white movie star.

Person in a Hurricane

This is a good costume for someone who decides to celebrate Halloween at the last minute. Grab your umbrella, flip it inside out and then slick back your hair like you're caught in a wind storm. Tell everyone you're a person caught in a hurricane!

Starbucks Rainbow Drink Girls

Ladies who plan to attend a party with a few friends will enjoy this costume. Have your girlfriends all dress in a different colored dress. Use a headband and green card stock rolled into a cylinder to create a "straw" to wear on your head. Also, use the green card stock to print a large copy of the Starbucks logo to pin on the dress.

If you're planning on hosting the party, you'll want to make an impression on your guests by inviting them to the best apartments in Flagstaff, Arizona. At Highland, there are five different floor plans to choose from, with studio, one-, two-, three-, or even four-bedrooms. Contact us today to see which floor plans are available. 

The post 3 Clever Halloween Costumes appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.

DON’T try to declutter your entire apartment in one day. It takes time, and it takes consistency.

DO break up your decluttering sessions into smaller pieces. Work on one room at a time. You can even break the room down into smaller sections: the closet, the dresser, the bed, etc.

DON’T be clingy. Yes, you used to love that sweater/album/book/coffee maker, but if you haven’t used it in the past year … it’s time to let it go.

DO donate! Instead of just throwing away the things you no longer need, head on over to the local thrift shop and make your “trash” someone else’s treasure.

DON’T go overboard. We love those colorful decorative storage bins as much as anybody, but try to avoid heading to the store and investing in a ton of new storage items before you even know what you’ll be storing. That said …

DO make use of cabinets, bins, and boxes. You might have a hard time keeping all your magazines in order, but sticking them into a bin makes them look tidy instantly! The same goes for crafting supplies and knick-knacks that might not exactly have a “place” of their own.

DON’T stress yourself out. Trying to declutter your apartment can be stressful, especially if you get overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of STUFF surrounding you!

DO make it fun! Give yourself 15 minutes to clean one spot in your apartment. Have a reward planned if you get it done. Put on some upbeat music and do a little dance as you declutter. Cleaning may be a chore, but that doesn’t mean it also has to be a bore!

The post The Do’s and Dont’s of Decluttering! appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.

Formal Dining Rooms

The traditional six chair dining table has been making a strong comeback. Most people believed that the age of the dining table and room has been phasing out, however, the newer generation seems to be realizing traditional values of family bonding and the formal family dining room and table has made it to the list.

Statement Mirrors

An often overlooked and monotonous aspect of home décor is the kind of mirrors used on dressing tables and in bathrooms. The statement mirror has outdone that. For instance, people now place vanity mirrors in bathrooms. Be on the lookout for a larger, and more decorative mirror to add to your living room, mantle, or master bedroom.

Rustic Lighting

Industrial and rustic lighting accents to any room are a popular trend for any interior. Using bulbed lights, mason jar lanterns, steel-wire ledges, and subtle lamps are a great way to add both light and style to a room. Experiment with string lights, end table lamps, and other rustic lighting that will evenly disperse light throughout your rooms.

Less is More

 Getting back to the basics and approaching your interior design with a more minimalistic goal in mind is a modern way to make a statement. Keeping colors neutral, adding pops of color with natural accents like plants and flowers, furniture made of repurposed wood, and glass materials are just a few of the ways to implement these styles. Less is more, and focusing on the simple and classic beauty of interior design rather than overdressing your interior will go a long way.

Mixing Textures

Combining textures is another amazing trend that can be applied to many different areas of your apartment. To give you some examples, try adding a fuzzy throw blanket over your smooth, down comforter in the bedroom. Place a furry, asymmetric rug overtop an even, pattern rug. Or, add both suede and silk pillows to your living room sofa. Mixing and matching textures is a great way to combine more than one style preference to a room. 

The post 5 Interior Decorating Trends in 2016 appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.

Christmas Tree Wire Ornament Holder

For this project, you’ll need crafts wire, an old frame, plenty of ornaments, and a handful of other accessories and craft tools. We love that this untraditional “tree” gives you the chance to take something old and make it new! It also makes a wonderful tree alternative if you don’t have a lot of space in your apartment for a full-sized tree. Hang your tree in a central spot in your home, or lay it wherever you’ll be doing your holiday gift exchange! For a full tutorial, pack up your crafty sleigh and head on over to Better Homes and Gardens!

DIY Pallet Christmas Tree

Looking for an easy decorative piece for your patio or balcony? Check out this easy guide to making a Christmas pallet tree. This is a project that you can size to meet your needs; if you want a bigger tree, just get bigger pallets, or go small for a corner tree for your living room. You’ll need several pallet slats, paint, tools, and maybe some holiday lights and ornaments to make your tree extra festive! Get all the supplies and instructions you’ll need to bring this project to life at Hometalk.

Paper Christmas Tree

We’ve seen this project done a few different ways, but one thing they all have in common is that they are super easy! For a homemade paper tree, all you’ll need is tape, several pages from old books or sheet music, twine, and something decorative to serve as your tree’s star. We’ve seen folks use empty frames, wooden cutout stars, favorite family photos, and more. Simply hang your pages in the general shape of a tree, securing them with tape (or adhesive putty) to the wall and each other. Decorate your “tree” with twine, lights, or any other décor you’d like (just keep in mind … your tree is made of paper, so avoid fire hazards). Hang your “star” at the top, and lay your gifts at the base. You can find a ton of tutorials for making a paper Christmas tree, but we used this one from My Sweet Savannah!

Upcycled Sparkly Christmas Tree

This tree DIY calls for the use of cemetery vases, but you can easily replace them with paper mache cones or doll cones, which can be picked up at almost any craft store. The project has you wrap the cemetery vase in craft paper, but with our craft cone alternative, you can easily skip this step! The main craft supplies you’ll need are hot glue and strands of gold beads! You can find the beads you’ll need at a craft store or a Dollar Store (just head to the party section). This is an easy tree to place on your table or bookshelf. Just set it down as it is, or place it on top of a pretty matching candlestick! For easy to follow instructions, visit Vintage News Junkie … and scroll all the way down for a ton of other fun DIY tree ideas!

“From Trash to Trees” Book Spine Tree

Unless you’re a diehard book junky who thinks dismantling a book is sacrilege, we think you’ll love this project as much as we do! All you’ll need is a pallet wood or other sturdy craft background and pretty spines from some vintage books (head to a second hand or consignment shop to find some if you don’t have any of your own), plus some craft glue. (If the idea of taking an old book apart is giving you heat palpitations just scroll down on the tutorial page for a tutorial for another tree project; it calls for vintage book pages, but you can easily replace them with craft paper or old newspaper!) Check out the full tutorial from Vintage with Laces.

In these final days until Christmas, we wish you happy crafting, and much joy!

The post Five Nontraditional Christmas Tree DIYs appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.

1. The Mini Tree Advent Calendar

Make a list … and don’t forget to check it twice! Your list might be made up of fun holiday-related activities, favorite memories from Christmases past, a to-do list of tasks to get your home ready for the holidays, or anything else that will make each day leading up to Christmas merry and bright. This DIY calendar has you then put each item from your list in a small box with a cute ornament on top. You’ll need small brown boxes (enough for each day leading up to Christmas or New Year’s), mini pine trees, glue, scissors, and this tutorial from Oh Happy Day!

2. Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Calendar

If you’re like us, you always wonder what you could use those empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls for rather than just throwing them away. Or maybe that’s just us … But if it’s not, this craft project is the answer for you! We love that this idea is both a neat way to recycle and a beautifully crafty way to countdown to one of our favorite holidays! Check out the tutorial from Morning Creativity here!

3. Easy Envelope Advent Calendar

Want to keep it simple? All you need for this calendar are envelopes, decorative paper, and a poster board! Cut out envelope liners from the pretty paper you pick out (try simple red and green craft paper, or some of the many holiday prints you can find at a craft store!). Fill the envelopes with tiny, quirky holiday treats, number each envelope’s lip with your countdown, and mount each envelope to a poster board! (Hint, hint: try a “reverse” advent by adding money to each envelope each day leading up to Christmas or New Year’s … it’s a great way to get a head start on your New Year’s Resolution to save!)

4. (Slightly More Complicated) Geometric Advent Calendar

Maybe “simple” isn’t a word in your vocabulary. If not, give this slightly more complicated calendar a try! The creator describes it as “simple, minimal, [and] with just enough festive sparkle,” so maybe it’s not as hard as we think, but we see the word “geometric” and get a little nervous. Unfortunately, the designer didn’t share how to make the geometric boxes, but fear not; we found you this video tutorial! Or try this awesome template maker that will automatically design the template for a box to your specific measurements. The rest of the tutorial on making this calendar can be found here.

5. DIY Punch Box Advent Calendar

So, we all know the holidays can be stressful … Here’s a calendar that will help you get a little frustration out, and you even get to enjoy a sweet treat as you do it! You can adapt the design to however many days you’re counting down, and the decorations of your box to whichever holiday you’re celebrating. The key, though, stays the same no matter what: Have fun makin’ it, and have fun breakin’ it! Get the tutorial from Studio DIY!

Enjoy your crafting! Enjoy your calendars! And enjoy your holidays! Ho-ho-ho!

The post 5 Fun (And Utterly Merry) DIY Advent Calendars appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.

Our theme for October is Fall Into Autumn! We’ll be bringing you everything from tasty treats for the season to décor ideas that will “leaf” you inspired to deck out your home in the colors of the season! We’re lucky to be in a four-season town, so we’re excited to “fall” in love with Autumn with you!

Harvest Vases

All you need for this beautiful table topper are a few cylinder vases (we like these from Michael’s), a few handfuls of shelled nuts (think pecans), wheat bunches, and a sheet of autumn-colored scrapbook paper (brown, deep red, rust, gold, etc.). First, roll a strip of scrapbook paper and tuck it into the top of your vase as a decorative cuff. Stick a wheat bunch or two (you can also pick this up from Michael’s!) into the vase, and surround it with a big scoop of nuts! These make beautiful coffee table centerpieces, or you could hang them in wall sconces!

Twine Pumpkins

Have any extra toilet paper lying around? Turn it into a beautiful DIY pumpkin! You’ll need a roll of toilet paper, a skein of twine, scissors, a hot glue gun, and a stick. Secure one end of your twine to the inside of the toilet paper tube with a dab of hot glue. Wrap the twine around the toilet paper until the full roll is covered. Once the full roll is covered, glue the other end of your twine into the center of the roll to secure it, and stick your stick through the center to make the stem! Voila … an easy, beautiful autumn decorative piece!

Burlap Leaf Wreath

A wreath is a beautiful and simple statement piece to make your home’s exterior a little more welcoming. For this project, grab a straw plain wreath (you can snag one for under three bucks at Jo-Ann’s), a half- to full-yard of burlap, and either various colors of crafting felt, craft leaves, or head out to the Flagstaff forests to pick up some real fall foliage. If you go with craft felt (think greens, reds, yellows, and oranges), cut out some leaf templates on the felt—you’ll want at least twenty! You’ll also need some scissors and a glue gun. Cut strips of burlap; use hot glue to secure one end to the wreath frame, then wrap the full wreath with your burlap, gluing down the other end when needed. Once the full wreath is covered, begin placing your leaves on the wreath, securing them with hot glue. Make sure you leave some of the burlap exposed; it’s a beautiful fall textile, so let people see it! Once you’re happy with the look, hang your wreath on the door to welcome friends and fall to your home!

Mason Pumpkin Jars

For this craft, raid your cabinets for mason jars; you’ll also need brown and orange acrylic paint, wood pegs, scissors, glue, and fall-colors card stock. First, paint your mason jars orange (you can get a variety of shades for not a lot of cash at any craft store). Paint the lids brown. You can also paint the wood pegs, or leave them their natural shade of brown. While the jars and lids dry, cut leaf shapes from the card stock. Cut thinner strips of your card stock to curl as vines. (All you need to curl your strips is either the edge of a scissor blade—to curl like curling ribbon—or a pencil to wrap the strip around.) Secure a leaf and a few paper “vines” to each wood peg with glue, and then secure the peg “stem” to the jar lid with more glue. Simply screw the lids on to finish your project. These are great as centerpieces, or as candy jars! You can also use them as beautiful fall gift containers if you don’t mind giving up your beautiful craft!

Pine Cone Place Cards

Make beautiful pine cone place cards or card holders with pine cones you can find right here in Flagstaff! First, hunt for some pine cones with relatively flat bases. Secure them to a drink coaster with hot glue. To create a holder for your place card or stand for your greeting card, use sturdy craft leaves or dried real leaves; secure the leaf to the pine cone by tucking the stem into the pine cone and securing with hot glue. Secure the place card or greeting card to the leaf with either hot glue, foam tape, or double sided tape. Place these beautiful pine cone card holders on your table, bookshelf, or window sill!

Happy Crafting!
 

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