Friday, October 18, 2013

{Autumn Paper Crafts} a curated collection for looksi square

Hi Friends!

I curated a collection of Autumn Paper Crafts for looksi square this week and thought I would share them with you!  I found some really fun projects.  Take a look at the photo sneak peak below- and please click on over to looksi square to find the actual tutorials and blog posts!  Have a great weekend!



















Monday, October 14, 2013

Halloween Decor {Boo REVAMPED}

I love saving stuff from the dump- especially something that has sentimental value.  But, ONLY if I can put it to good use!

My mom was SOOO good at making each and every holiday special for us kids in some way (which I've written about before), and I love thinking back on my childhood and remembering those things she did (mostly VERY cheap, or even free things) to make each little holiday special, in some way.

Most of the time those special feelings were created with the use of crafty decor.  I'm not sure where she came up with this Halloween Sign- but it isn't half bad, really.  And I couldn't stand to let it get tossed into the "dump" pile as we were cleaning out the garage last week.


I remembered that I purchased a BLACK feather wreath on 75% off clearance at Joann's last winder and then knew exactly what I would do with them!  



I cut it all apart and ended up with these three "BOO" letters that were in desperate need of painting.


After some "Vintage White" spray paint (about 6 coats to cover up the splatter paint), they were beautiful.


I used some black sturdy ribbon, strategically hot glued to the rear of each letter to tie them on the wreath individually.  I paid close attention to what direction I wanted my letters hanging out to figure out which direction to glue on the ribbon.

My mom, is MASTER of bows--- she can make them big and beautiful or small and beautiful- unfortunately a skill I have yet to learn from her, but I love to watch each time- hoping I will learn.
She made me a beautiful bow with some vintage style black and white striped ribbon to adorn on the wreath.


It turned out simple and beautiful, exactly what I wanted.



A little something to add to my so-far small collection of Halloween decor to assist in making Madisyn's holiday a little more special.

Did you make a wreath this year for Halloween?  I'd love to see and hear about it- please leave links in comments!


Linked Up At:
Wow me Wednesday at Ginger Snap Crafts
Wonderful Wednesday at Ducks in a Row
Show and Share Wednesday at Mostly Homemade Mom



Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Book Page Wreath




How I spent my 31st Birthday....

My lovely sister Emily of {LOLA FLORAL}, graced Madi and I with her presence for my birthday.  Kyle is on a big hunting trip in Wyoming and was gone for my birthday, and is STILL gone---we miss him so much.
So, with all that's been going on and Kyle being out of town, I was kind of a grumpy mess on my special day =(  Having Emily here was a breath of fresh air.  I love talking business with her and bouncing ideas off of each other.  

So, she asked me what I wanted to do the morning of my birthday, and I decided it would be fun to drive into Port Angeles (we are currently calling Sequim, WA home) and do a little Antiquing.  So, we got ourselves a Pumpkin White Chocolate Latte', and drove the 20 minutes to the town next door.  It was Sunday, so we weren't counting on a lot being open in a small town, but we had a great time!

We ending up pulling some inspiration from the best (only 3 half-way descent booths to draw from) booth inside an Antique Mall.  The artist had done some working with paper and made a beautiful wreath from old book pages.  I decided making one of those wreaths with my sister would be the perfect Birthday Afternoon, so we finished our Antiquing there, and stopped in at Joann's on the way back home to pick up a few supplies.  


Supply List

  • Old Book/Hymnal/Sheet Music- I have a stash that I cherish {see how I've used them before here}
  • Foam Wreath Form
  • Greening Pins (50-100)
  • OPTIONAL- Floral Ribbon, embellishments

The Process

Emily and I chose different books- and it is amazing how different our wreaths turned out- we decided sheet music would have been a fun approach, or even spray painting the edges of your book black or even a funky color before you start tearing pages out would create a unique look.

All you do, is tear a page out of your book, fold it in the middle and crumple, then push one of the pins through the middle and shove it into the wreath form.





My book pages were way thinner and way more fragile than the one Emily chose... so take that into consideration- I had to be very ginger when folding and pinning in order to not rip the pin right through.

Just repeat this process over, and over and over keeping a close eye on holes created from not putting the pages close enough together into the form.


I did put some in the "inside" of the ring and "outside/bottom" to make it look super full.




Emily wasn't happy I wanted to take her photo while she was working, because neither of us had showered, or cared what we looked like that day (perfect birthday)... but I did it anyways, and isn't she cute?!


Here's us together with our finished products- I absolutely LOVE mine and found a beautiful mirror to hang it on.  [Do make sure, you only use this wreath indoors--- the paper will soak up moisture if it is outdoors and it will be ruined]






I'd love to see photos of your's if you make one and see how you chose to embellish!




Linking Up At:









Blogging tips