At the end of the year/beginning of the new year, we always like to share some sort of recap of the previous year whether it’s a list of the top posts or writing about our resolutions for the upcoming year. This year I wanted to try out something different and share a bit of this and that–highlights for Team Lars, things we loved, and things you loved. We’re calling it our 2023 Lars Wrap Up. Consider it a list of things to bookmark as some of our top recommendations.
Let’s start with some highlights from the blog and work our way down.
Most viewed blog posts of the year
These are the most read posts from the year. Some are a few years old that magically got seen again. You went most bananas for our DIY flower pounding tutorial!
- DIY flower pounding
- Guide to thanksgiving napkin folding
- Family heirloom ornaments
- Christmas Bulb Advent Calendar
- How to make a heart friendship bracelet
- Becoming jennifer tran
- DIY bookmark tassels
- Paper candle christmas tree ornament
- Holiday napkin folding
- Things I regret about our kitchen renovation
Top projects from the year
Our home projects that were featured in our episode of In With the Old were definitely the top posts of the year.
- How to make an alcove bed
- A fridge made to look like a cabinet
- Before and afters of our home renovation
- Painting our brick house white
- Antique tile turned into wallpaper
Top moments of the year
2023 brought a few life highlights that I will never forget.
- Decorating the White house for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend. I didn’t get a chance to blog about it this year because I was sick for pretty much all of November and December but I did make a few reels to share about why I was there and who I was there with. You can see them here, here, and here.
- New website. I’ve been wanting a really beautiful website that really made our content sing and this was the year that it all came together in the best of ways.
- Our TV show! We were featured on an episode of In With the Old on Magnolia Network in February. Home renovation shows are not for the faint of heart (in fact, if you’re ever approached to do it, write me–I’ve got some thoughts 😉 We spent the majority of 2022 working on it and honestly, still haven’t recovered. I haven’t done a thing to our house since!
- Lars x Lime Ricki–A major highlight for our team was the launch of our Lime Ricki swimsuit collection in March. It was the first time we’ve had an in-person event since before the pandemic and it reminded me of the reason we do what we do–our great community. The collection was a success (would anyone like a round 2?!?)
- Our partnership with Spoonflower. We’ve been lucky to work with our friends at Spoonflower for a number of years now and this year was particularly fun because we got to use our own patterns in a number of settings like on a bed, in my kitchen, on our walls, and try out some new things too. We love them so much!
Top Instagram posts
As any Instagram user knows, reels are what we mostly see these days and to be honest, I’m both tired of them, but also excited by them. I think they are so fun to make. Here were the top Instagram posts this year:
- Our kitchen cabinet refrigerator
- Christmas ornaments
- A little intro video
- My birthday party
- Jasper’s bedroom
- Our favorite dress patterns (this is one of those that I can’t believe I put out into the world)
Favorite creative books and magazines
We love curating a great library of inspiring books and magazines in our Lars Library. Here are some that were our staples this year.
- Architectural Digest
- World of Interiors–I splurged a couple of years ago and haven’t regretted it
- British Designers at Home–Hallelujah for cottagecore right now. It’s brought back color and coziness and I hope it never leave.
- The Cottage Garden–Claus Dalby’s new book is perfect for the cottage garden lover, which I’m attempting to do to my house right now.
- Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom–essential for every flower lover
Favorite crafts for kids
- Customizable Father’s Day portraits–this was the most popular craft from our site for kids this year!
- Camp Lars: Summer activities
- Our Frida Kahlo course is our most popular class from our Great Arists! course.
Best creative resources:
- Create Academy–my favorite classes are from this platform.
- Great Artists and Drawing Flowers from our School That Lars Built
- Oh Joy! Academy
Top podcasts
What we listen to when we’re working
- Say More by Dr? Sheila (Amy Poehler’s new podcast! It’s hysterical)
- Hive Mind
- Smartless
Top Pins
These were the top ones from our Pinterest boards:
- Painted mini pumpkins
- DIY Family Photo Ornaments
- Natural dye in every shade of the rainbow
- DIY Jingle Bell Balloons
- Printable Paintbrush Valentines
Favorite things bought on Amazon
I have to admit that I find these very boring. Ha! But they were used for specific projects so I’ll excuse it.
- Command strips from our spider decorations
- Photography backdrop
- Tea towels from our flower pounding tutorial
- Balloons
Favorite things from our shop
Top products sold from our shop
- Lars Flower Club t-shirts
- Heirloom Ornament e-book
- Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Tablescape
- Christmas Song Bingo
- Retro Ornaments
- Crayon Hat Template
- Christmas Bulb Advent Template
- Customizable Father’s Day Template
Favorite Clothes
With our new website, we started a page called Things We Love, which might be my favorite thing on here. It’s where we share…our favorite things. It’s an affiliate program where we make a small percentage from each sale. Here’s what you loved the most!
- Colorful metallic dress
- This adorable pink sweater which I own too!
- These classic pjs for kids