Halloween Home Tour

Since It is almost that time, I thought I would share a few pictures of Halloween at our house. I don't do a ton of decorating, but we do have few things on the front step, and a little display inside the front door.

Here's the front doorstep (yesterday I finally switched out the Hawkeye team colors wreath for the BOO! wreath - at least until Halloween. Not too happy with those Hawkeyes lately!)

This ghost is made from an upside-down tomato cage. It also lights up at night, but I haven't been able to get a very good picture yet...

And look at this spooky ghost-dog checking out the scenery!

Onto the inside of the house. Here's a little display inside the front door. Notice my wine bottles from last year? You can find the how-to link here.

One of my favorite decorations on the front step is a little gargoyle I found at Target a few years ago. I've always thought gargoyles were cool. Maybe it's just the word "gargoyle" is fun to say!

And here's a "new" favorite (I'm calling it a Halloween decoration, but my son thinks we should keep it up year-round! Yay Harry!)

First we have to start out with the far-away shot. It will make sense very soon...

And the close-up...

Last but not least, a BIG thank you to Kim at Made in a Day, Claire at The Rustic Pig AND T'onna at Navy Wifey Peters for featuring my new Halloween Wreath! How exciting!

If you hadn't noticed, I am having a lot of fun with the new PicMonkey Halloween effects!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Team Colors Wreath (Hawkeye Version!)

Welcome back! (I'm not really sure if I'm saying that to everyone reading...or to myself!) I think I have finally come to the realization that I'm not cut out to be one of those big-time bloggers. I just don't have the time, which for me is probably a good thing! So I will no longer fret over the huge gaps between posts :) Anyway....

I have been wanting to make a black & gold wreath for a while. Mainly because:

A) It's Hawkeye football season;

B) It's too early for Halloween decorating;

and 

C) It has definitely been SUMMER until just today! So it's not quite time for a fall wreath.

(Yesterday 91 degrees, today 68!) NO ONE has really been in the "fall" mood just yet!

So here's what I came up with:

It all started with a styrofoam wreath, some bandanas & silk flowers (mums to be exact, there's a little history behind those. More about that later) I had 2 yellow bandanas & 1 patterned. As it turns out, you probably only need one of each color.

I started by tearing a yellow bandana into strips about 2 inches wide:

After hot-gluing down the end, I started wrapping the strips around the wreath

This was to make sure all the white was covered up before doing the second layer

The next layer was more strips with knots tied every few inches. I was looking for a way to add some texture, and I think this did the trick...

Next I made some strips with the polka dot fabric, and wound it through the spaces between the yellow knots:

The last step was adding some yellow silk flowers (mums!)

And the finished wreath...I still feel like it might need something else, so look for an update next week.

And now, if you're still curious, the mums...these are an old Hawkeye football tradition. It's not something you see much anymore, but back in the day, REAL mums with a little black cardboard letter "I" in the middle were all the rage. I remember my dad would get one for my mom every year to wear to the game. Haven't seen them for a while - I'm not even sure the florists sell them anymore. But if Dad is reading this (ok, Mom, you may have to pass on the hint...tell him to go out and get you a mum this year!)

And oh by the way...GO HAWKS!

UPDATE - OCTOBER 6TH:

I did find something to add to the wreath! The "I" was just what I needed for a finishing touch. I actually put it on shortly after this post back in September, but have just now gotten around to adding the picture. Here it is:

Linking this post to:

Alderberry Hill

Craft-O-Maniac

Destination: Craft

DIY Home Sweet Home

The Blackberry Vine

Stringtown Home

Keeping it Simple

The Winthrop Chronicles

DIY By Design

The Stuff of Success

The Crafty Blog Stalker

Navy Wifey Peters

One Artsy Mama

The Taylor House

Made in a Day

Watering Can Flower Pot

I was recently inspired by my neighbor, who had the genius idea to plant a geranium in a watering-can-turned-flower-pot. (Actually it looked like an oversized tea pot, but whatever - it was a great idea!)

I have had this watering can that I used for many years around the house, but about a year ago, the handle came off. Being the hoarder thrifty saver that I am, I kept it under my kitchen sink, just in case I took up welding some day and decided to put the handle back on.

See, no handle!!

After seeing my neighbor's creation, I immediately thought of this can. I thought it would be perfect with some of the wild marigolds in my front yard. (BTW, I have what I call "perennial" marigolds under my mailbox. I seriously have not planted new ones for at least 4 years, and they come up every summer! The tricky part is I never know exactly where they'll sprout up. This year, one started growing in the crack of the pavement in the street!) Anyway, I dug up one of the stray ones and put it in the watering can.

I'm looking forward to a little more beautifying of my deck - remember that my big project is still underway? (Notice the still unfinished patio chairs in the background of this picture?) I hope to have some more painting & planting done this weekend! Wish me luck! :)

Garden Markers

Sigh....so I have finally come to the realization that until school is out, sports schedules slow down, graduation parties end, travelling is done....I may be posting a little less often. But that's life, huh? So for now, I'm accepting that I'll just have to be satisfied with the infrequent sharing of my creative projects! I hope you can bear with me. I do have a few (I think) very cool tricks up my sleeve for future craft projects!

Anyway. Here is a little preview of what I've been working on lately. The weather here has finally settled down, so I recently started planting my garden. I was very excited to get it going, since last year's attempt at a garden was a total disaster. Let's just say the weeds got completely, totally a little out of control!

So far, I have planted cucumber, zucchini, cilantro, tomatoes, green peppers and jalapenos. The tomatoes and peppers I bought already sprouting. The cucumber, zucchini and cilantro I started from seed. So to help remember which is which until they start growing (and just because I thought it was a cute idea!) I made these little markers.

This was literally a 1-minute craft project...wooden skewer + wine cork + Sharpie marker. How much easier could it be?! And right now a 1-minute project fits perfectly in my schedule! 

Hope you are all having a GREAT spring and I'd love to see your garden progress too! 

This post linked to:

The Kurtz Corner: Tuesday Tutorial Link Party
DIY by Design: Swing into Spring
Uncommon: Uncommonly Yours Link Party
Gingersnap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday
Polka Dots on Parade: Wow Me Wednesday
The Stuff of Success: Success U
The Taylor House: Taylor House Thursday
Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursday's Temptation
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Too Much Time on My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday

Flower Headbands and Fiesta!

Believe it or not, I have NOT fallen of the face of the earth! Things have been a little hectic, as springtime usually is for anyone with kids! It seems like all the sports seasons and end of the year concerts are overlapping right now. This week our family has 2 softball games, 2 soccer games, a concert, and a 5k run! When will it end? 

Anyway, the concert on Sunday is also a fundraiser for my son's church choir trip this summer. So I've been busy making headbands and putting together a gift basket for the silent auction they have. The church is always looking for a wide range of items for people to bid on, including some lower ticket items for kids. I thought these headbands were a great idea, and hopefully some people like them enough to buy them for their little girls!

I used the same technique as I did with my fall floral wreath (click here for the tutorial), which has now become my old standby for making any kind of flower crafts!

Here they are!

And some close-ups:

I also put together a Mexican "Fiesta" gift basket. After looking around on Pinterest, I thought this would be the perfect, easy basket to assemble. But...you know...when you're NOT looking for something, you see it everywhere?? And then you go to the store looking for it later and those things are NOWHERE to be found? That's what happened to me. I had visions of cute little margarita glasses and a bright chip & dip bowl set, but none of those things materialized at the store! Here's what I finally put together.

You might remember I found a basket last winter at a thrift store. It was filled with pinecones & ribbon that I used to make a pine cone wall-hanging. Well, I still hadn't found a use for the basket, so I spray-painted it bright red and lined it with a chili pepper bandanna from Hobby Lobby. Then I filled it with some salsa, queso dip, spices, chips, a hand towel & a bowl. Here's a cell phone picture of the basket, sitting on the seat of my van because I forgot to take a picture before I dropped it off at the church! :)

It was fun putting it together, even if it didn't turn out exactly how I planned!

Now I just have to make sure I run FAST in the 5k on Sunday morning so I can get to church for the auction...can't wait to see all the other goodies!

Cute Clipboards

Since I've been soooo anxious to do something crafty, I put together these cute little clipboards last night. They were quick & easy - just what I was looking for!

It all started when I was looking for something in my closet yesterday. I found these two old mini-clipboards that our kids took to church with paper & colored pencils when they were younger & had a hard time sitting for an hour!

I have also been wanting to put together a pre-printed grocery "shopping list" that I can use. Hmmmm....sounds like an idea is forming!

So here's how I did it:

Materials: 

Wood Clipboard (any size)

Scrapbook paper

Mod Podge & foam brush

Fabric flowers (optional!)

First I cut the scrapbook paper. My clipboards are 9" x 6", so I cut the paper just a little smaller than that. I also used my scrapbook corner rounder to round the edges:

So that the clip part wasn't in my way while I worked with the Mod Podge, I took a paperclip & looped it through the holes to keep the clip "open":

Then I painted the clipboard with a coat of Mod Podge. With me so far?

Next, I centered the scrapbook paper onto the clipboard and painted another coat of Mod Podge over the top: 

There WILL be air bubbles under the paper at this step - don't be afraid to smooth them out & paint some more!

After everything dried (I let them sit overnight), I added a fabric flower to one (for a tutorial, click here) and a ribbon to the other. 

All ready for the grocery list!

By the way, I edited all these pictures with PicMonkey and I have to say....I like it...A LOT!! If you are a Picnik user and are looking for something new, PicMonkey is a great alternative. Very similar. Simple and easy to use. Just what I was hoping for!

Linking up to:

The Kurtz Corner: Tuesday Tutorials

Jillify It: Party #3

Polkadots on Parade: Wow Me Wednesday

The Stuff of Success: Success U Wednesday

Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursdays Temptation

The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday

live.laugh.rowe: live laugh linky thursday

One Artsy Mama: Shine On Fridays

Creation Corner: Friday Link Party

Serenity Now: Weekend Bloggy Reading

Too Much Time on My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday

I Gotta Create: Spring Fling Week 1

Sew Can Do: Craftastic Monday

Serendipity and Spice: Manic Monday

Carolyn's Homework: Inspiration Board

Uncommon: Uncommonly Yours

Destination: Craft: Cutesy Monday

Springtime Hair Clips

Well hello again! It's been such a long time, I've missed you! The last couple weeks have just been very busy with family activities! None of which involved crafting. BUT, I did get to have lunch with my son's scout troop, spend the night with my daughter at a church sleepover, have my nieces visit for the weekend, and go out to dinner with 20 of our friends! 

Anyway. I do have a couple of really cool things I want to do that I haven't even started yet in the works. One easy little project I did manage to complete recently were these hair clips, thanks to the endless source of inspiration that is Pinterest.

I started with my fabric scrap pile:

I picked out some colorful springy patterns, then used pinking shears to cut out different sized circles. (Ever wonder where that funny name "pinking" shears comes from? I do. I think I will investigate & do an update post. You just wait!)

At first I tried to make the circles as perfect as possible by using a compass. But then I decided they would look better "not so perfect," so I just eyeballed it. (Much easier anyway!!!)

Then I stitched them together in the middle with a button:

And it was all downhill from there...very quick & easy:

Here in Iowa, we've had a very mild winter (I actually miss the snow!) but I'm tired of the ugly brown-ness everywhere. This is one step in my path toward Springtime! Yippee!

Linking up to:

                                        

Alderberry Hill: Make the Scene Monday