BOO! Halloween Wreath

Believe it or not, I completed my first Halloween craft in the first week of October! It is hanging just inside my front door, scaring the pants off anyone who DARES to enter.....ah ha ha ha ha!!!!

Okay, I exaggerate juuuust a little. Anyway, moving on...

Since my "team colors" wreath turned out pretty well, I thought I'd use the same basic design. I went with some black & white printed fabric, and got some orange tulle to wrap around it.

I really would have liked the fabric to have more black than white, BUT, since it was on the clearance rack, I decided I could live with it! I started out the same way I did with the Team Colors Wreath, and just wrapped the styrofoam wreath with strips of fabric that I had torn, then hot-glued the strips to the wreath and it ended up like this:

Next came the frustrating part (isn't there a little of that in every project??) 

I had gotten the orange tulle to wrap around the wreath, similar to my other one. But when I knotted the tulle & started wrapping, it just didn't look right. So I experimented a little with making "bows"...

I tried a couple different sizes, and they just didn't do it for me. They were also kind of tricky to try and glue on. So on to Plan B. Orange felt! I knew that I would need to add something to help my wooden letters stand out (see them in the right corner of the picture there?) So I cut out 3 strips of orange felt to put around the wreath.

Here's how they look on the wreath. Much better! We're getting closer!!!

Next it was time to add wooden Hobby Lobby spray-painted letters to the wreath

I also added a cute little felt owl. (No, I didn't make it!) I feel like such a cheater, I picked this up at Hobby Lobby too! When I bought it, I wasn't sure what I would use it for. But after the letters were on, it just needed a little something more. Here is the finished wreath: 

I really like the clean look of it without that messy tulle. (But notice I did find a way to work it in to the wreath after all!)

I am going to try and get at least one more Halloween project done before the end of the month. AND get a super-awesome costume for our neighborhood fiesta. And this year, I'm vowing not to wait until the day before to pick something out :)

Linking to:

Live Laugh Rowe

Two Yellow Birds Decor

Made in a Day

One Artsy Mama

The Taylor House

Alderberry Hill

The Dedicated House

Keeping It Simple

The Blackberry Vine

The Rustic Pig

Navy Wifey Peters

Ric Rac Rose

UPDATE! 8/16/12:

Just found out this morning that my Ric Rac Rose was featured on Two Yellow Birds Decor AND The Taylor House! Wow! Thank You Jill & Chrissy! Go check out their awesome blogs & the other features for this week:

   

Tonight I found myself at home with no kids or husband around, so I decided to work on this cute little Pinterest-inspired flower idea. I have had the supplies (Ric Rac and hot glue) sitting around for at least a month, so I figured it was about time!

I started by cutting a circle out of cardstock, and just slowly wound the ric rac from the outer edge into the middle and fastened with hot glue.

It was a little messier than I thought it would be, but thank goodness for fingernails. Most of the hot glue came right off. Next time I will be a little more careful not to let it show! I glued the obligatory bling into the middle of the flower, and that was it.

I wasn't exactly sure what to do with the rose when I finished, until I remembered my one and only 4th of July decoration (of course still hanging on the kitchen wall!) Now, you must promise not to laugh out loud at my complete tackiness. But this little basket is missing something. It's not terrible and you might not even notice it, but once you see it, it's one of those things that just completely stands out.

Um, yeah...so basically because I didn't feel like getting anything new (and since the 4th of July craft I had all planned to do is STILL sitting unfinished on my dining room table), I threw this ugly thing up on the wall with complete disregard for tasteful home decorating.

But never fear...its Ric Rac Rose to the rescue!

TA DA! After removing one more star and doing a little re-arranging, I now have a perfectly symmetrical basket with a pretty new rose. (And for anyone who knows me well, unbalanced decorating really throws me off! No pun intended) :)

I think it turned out very nicely. And since the Olympics are still going on, I think I'll leave my red, white & blue up just a little longer! Let's say, until Halloween maybe? LOL :)

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Valentine Wine Printables

Here are some Valentine Wine labels I whipped up yesterday on Picnik for my mom. I don't think I'll be having any wine tonight (going to a church meeting...I doubt if there will be much drinking going on there!) but if you are enjoying some spirits tonight to celebrate, feel free to use one of these!

Valentine Collage

Over the weekend, I made the finishing touches to my Valentine mantel display. Sooooo last minute! I had been thinking about these for more than a week, but just didn't quite have the full idea until Friday.  I do think they turned out pretty well, and were so simple to make. I'm definitely keeping this in mind for other holidays. They would also be a great gift idea!

I started with a two-pack of 8x10 canvases from Hobby Lobby. (Promotional special for $3.99 - SCORE!)

Then I placed a heart shape I cut out from scrapbook paper on the canvas, along with a strip of red & pink scrapbook paper that I had stuck some "Thickers" on (remember those from my Christmas Monogram Art?)

Here's the other one:

Then I got out the good old Mod Podge and put a layer over the whole thing. 

Once it dried, it needed a little something extra, so I painted over everything with a coat of "Metallic Champagne" acrylic paint. Champagne for Valentine's Day - how appropriate!

Extreme close-up:

Next time I might look for a little lighter color paint, I wish the red background for the letters stood out more.  But overall, I really liked how they turned out, and they were such a thrifty project, too!

Here they are on the mantel:

(See what I mean about that orange wall? What was I thinking??)

And here they are alongside some of my favorite Valentine decorations - "sculptures" that my kids made in preschool!

I have one more Valentine's post coming up tomorrow.  And don't forget to check back for my giveaway winner!! Tomorrow is the big day!! You can still enter tonight, just click here.

Linking to:

The Blackberry Vine: Tuesday To Do Party

DebbieDoo's: Newbie Party

Sew Can Do: Craftastic Link Party

Alderberry Hill: Make the Scene Monday

Craft-O-Maniac: Monday Link Party

Michelle Paige: Rockin' Valentine Link Party

I Heart....

The Valentine display on my mantel is (very) slowly but surely coming together! Earlier this week, I put together a little wooden heart "bouquet." I'm not ready to show the whole mantel yet, but I hope to have it finished tomorrow! And I'm quickly realizing that the pukey lovely orange color we painted around our fireplace doesn't really go with red & pink Valentine's decorations (or red & green Christmas decorations, or anything else for that matter!) I loved the color when I first painted it, but now I'm thinking something a little more neutral would have been the way to go! So for now, no mantel pictures! I did take a few of the hearts sitting on my piano - the one thing in the house that always seems to looks good in photos!

I just used some wooden heart shapes I had in my craft stash and glued a wooden shish-ka-bob skewer to the back.

Then painted them with red, pink & white paint from the trusty stash and stuck them in a vase with glass beads...so easy!!

By the way, have I mentioned how bummed I am that Picnik is closing? Does anyone else use another photo editing site that they can recommend? I tried Photobucket but it seems not quite as user-friendly...guess I might just have to learn to deal with it!

Linking to:

Blackberry Vine: Tuesday To Do Party
Ginger Snap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday
A to Zebra Celebrations: Tuesday Craft & Party Linky
It's Overflowing: Overflowing with Creativity

Lil Pink Pocket: Show & Share
Southern Lovely: Show & Share
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursdays Temptation Party
The Sasse Life: Crafty Sasse Wednesday
One Arsty Mama: Shine On Friday
Michelle Paige: Rockin' Valentine Link Party

Valentine Polka Dot Wreath

I have to admit - Valentine's Day isn't one of my favorite holidays. I've never really gotten into it that much, and I certainly don't do a lot of decorating. (Maybe because I usually have half my Christmas things still out? LOL.) Anyway, our entire collection of Valentine's decorations are in a shoe box. A kid-sized shoe box. I don't really feel the need for much more, but I have seen a few cute ideas on Pinterest & other blogs, so I decided to make this heart-shaped wreath.

I started with a foam heart from Hobby Lobby (Using the 40% off coupon, of course!)

Then I took some scrapbook paper & cut it into strips:

Added a little Mod Podge:

And wrapped the heart up with the paper strips:

And then I added a cute little fabric flower. 
(If you're new to my blog, I have a tutorial here on how to make the flowers).

I also had a little fun with these photos on Picnik before it's gone. (So sad about that!)

Linking this post to:


Alderberry Hill: Make the Scene Monday
Debbiedoo's: Newbie Party
Life Made Lovely: Life Made Lovely Monday
Keeping it Simple: Motivate Me Monday
Skip to my Lou: Made by You Monday
C.R.A.F.T. : Making Monday Marvelous
Sew Can Do: Craftastic Link Party
Craft-O-Maniac: Monday Party
Sugar & Dots: What I Whipped Up Wednesday
Michelle Paige: Valentine Link Party
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Bacon Time: Crafting & Cooking from the Heart
I Heart Nap Time: Sundae Scoop
Sumo's Sweet Stuff: Market Yourself Monday
Thrifty Decor Chick: February Before & After