Easy & Elegant Christmas Wreath for under $15!

I put this little beauty together over the weekend for less than 15 bucks! I started with a 24" fresh cut fir wreath from Lowes. I bought the same wreath last year on Black Friday & had to have another one this year. Not only does it look great & smell amazing but at $12.98 the price is perfect! It already had pinecones, tiny berries & other greens worked in so I just added a simple burlap bow with extra long ties. I already had this one (reused from last year!) but it is just plain old burlap with a raw edge. Since that was exactly what I did last year I wanted to add a little something new. I was buying a bunch of Dollar Tree plastic ball ornaments for another project when I came across the gold glittery reindeer. It reminded me so much of my grandma so naturally it came home with me & ended up being the perfect finishing touch.

Natural. Rustic. Glam. ...exactly what I'm going for this Christmas.

Supplies:
- 24" Fresh Cut Noble Fir Wreath
$12.98 from Lowe's
-2" Raw Burlap Ribbon
$.99 a yard on Ebay
-Gold Reindeer Ornament
$1 for 2 from Dollar Tree

I always have to have something on the front door or I feel like the house is naked! How about you, what's on your door this holiday? I'd love to know! Don't forgot to visit again tomorrow, I'll be sharing the untraditional way I displayed our stockings this year. :)




I'm linking up with Inspiration Gallery, All Things Thursday and Inspire Me Please!

High Five For Friday!

1. Our new dining room chairs came this week! (Half of them at least, I'm waiting on the bench) How cute is this shipping box? I opened my door to see "Looks like someone's decorating"...cue my squeal.

2. On Monday I had my first pumpkin latte of the season...happiness in a cup. :) I also worked on a few fall projects. Those metallic gourds in the picture? I'll be sharing how I made them on Monday!

3. I shared how I made this pretty (and easy!) fall wreath on Wednesday. I haven't actually put it on the door yet, it kind of clashes with my pink petunias which are still blooming out of control... {wreath post}

4.Right now I am in the middle of It Starts With Food. There has been so much buzz about this book and the paleo diet lately. While I do not follow the paleo lifestyle I do 100% subscribe to the idea of picking whole foods over processed ones as much as possible. That definitely isn't always easy in our society...and I'm fairly certain my above latte does not fall into that category...

5. My sister talked my whole family into doing a fantasy football league. Never in a millon years did I think I would do fantasy football, but I couldn't say no to her! I proudly present: Team Unicorns&Glitter (and of course, my team logo is pink - I won the award for best helmet!). I'm actually kind of excited about it - this week I go head to head with my hubby's team.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! :)


I'm linking up with:

Fall Wreath with Glittery Gold Monogram

Are you ready for fall? I sure am! I decided to get a jump on things and start some fall projects this weekend. First up - some new fall door décor!

Here's how I did it:

I used an 18" grapevine wreath form, a package of faux leaves from JoAnn Fabrics and a glittery antique gold R I had in my stockpile. The burlap bow was already on the wreath form. Want to know a secret? I reuse my wreath forms since I almost never reuse a wreath. This form started as my fall wreath last year, then was my Mossy Monogram Wreath this spring & summer. In the end this project cost me a whopping $1 for the leaves.

I layered the leaves, hot gluing as I went. I wanted the leaves to fan out from where the monogram would be so I picked a center point and worked outwards in each direction.

Then I simply hot glued the letter to the leaves and trimmed up the burlap. Ta dah! Not too shabby for $1.

Do you decorate for fall? I know I can't be the only one!

I'm linking up with Liz Marie Blog and Design, Dining & Diapers

Yellow Doors & A Flip Flop Wreath!

I've been visiting my mom in Michigan for the last week and wanted to share one of my favorite projects she recently did. Last summer my parents bought a lake house here which will eventually be their permanent home. The previous owners were really into grey. Like really. Every single wall is painted the same shade of grey, the carpet and flooring is grey, the siding is (can you guess?)...GREY. My mom has been hard at work trying to infuse some color in the place!

Since the exterior is all grey with white trim she decided to paint her entry doors yellow! She picked a Dutch Boy color called Sweet Corn and used an Exterior Paint & Primer blend. I wasn't here for the actual painting but she said it went on easily and dried really fast.

Isn't her flip flop wreath adorable?! She just glued cheapie little girl's flip flops to a wreath form and added a few silk blossoms. So perfect for lake living! Here is a close-up:

Since the "front" of the house faces the lake there isn't a true entrance from the street. The doors above are on the side of the house and when you enter from the street you go right in to the garage...so she painted that door too! Doesn't that door just beg for a cute "Welcome to the lake" sign??

Here is a quick before shot. See the white door behind us? Looks much cuter now doesn't it?! Even though I'm sure you could imagine what the doors looked like before I had to share an Instagram of me and my cutie cousin from the 4th of July. She helped me with the Sundae Campfire Cones post and I promised she could be on the blog. :)

Moss Initial Wreath - Tutorial

I've received a few questions about how I made the mossy monogram wreath I shared in last week's Summer Porch post. While I don't have many pictures of the process I figured I could still put together a little tutorial for you. :)

Supplies:
-Grapevine wreath (full size, not mini)
-Sheet moss (I picked mine up at Joann's- Panacea brand)
-Wooden initial (I used a thin plywood one from Michael's)
-Burlap ribbon
-Hot Glue Gun
-Twine
-Scissors
-Sharpie

First thing is first - lay out an old sheet or trash bag. The moss is messy! Unfold your sheet moss, it looks like this:

Flip the moss sheet over. The kind I used had a sticky back so it was covered in paper. That was perfect because I was able to just lay my R down and trace it with a sharpie. Be sure to trace a piece to fit the front! That means you'll want the letter to look backwards while tracing. Cut out your letter then peel off the paper backing. Even though the moss is a little sticky I hot glued it to the letter since this was going outside. Work in sections so your glue doesn't cool before the moss is stuck. I could recommend cutting a little outside of your traced letter, that way you can fold the moss around the edge of the letter. I didn't think to do this, so I ended up using scraps to cover the edges. Either way works!

I didn't cover the back of my letter, it is just facing the door so I figured there was no need. I hot glued a few twine ties to the back and used them to attach the letter to the grapevine. This worked great because I was able to weave the twine into the grapevine for a good {yet hidden} hold.

Finally I tied a burlap bow. I attached the bow as well as the long ribbon ties. By attaching the ties it has helped keep the burlap from fraying, a lesson I learned from my Christmas wreath. I've had my wreath outside for several months now and it is holding up really well. I believe this is in part to the sheet moss opposed to loose moss. As my wreath has been outside the moss has changed color a bit, you can see the difference from the first & last pictures. It started out bright green and is now a muted green-brown. I actually prefer the latter, I feel like it looks much more natural!



I'm linking up with: Glamorous, Affordable Life, Liz Marie Blog

Adding Summer Curb Appeal to a Cookie Cutter Condo

We live in a condo and there are lots of rules about what you can and can't do to the exterior.
-Everyone must have the same exact front door, porch light, fire alarm, etc...
-"Decorative" items are to be kept to a minimum.
-No planting of perennials allowed!
I was able to come up with a few small touches to take our entrance from stark & impersonal to warm & welcoming. First up, a little burlap garden flag. Cute, no?



My solution for the "no planting" rule - I filled an urn! At first I was skeptical about how a single urn would look but our porch is too small for a pair. I actually really love the look...symmetry schmmetry. I've seen potted hostas all over the web this spring and decided to try one. I wanted to add some color so I framed my hosta with hardy wave petunias. They are flourishing even though the area is pretty shaded!



To dress up the front door I made a mossy monogram wreath. I actually made this a few months ago as my spring door décor but I love it so much I decided to keep it out for summer. I just added the pink blossom to tie it into my potted flowers. I've had the wreath outside for a few months and it is holding up really well!



Considering what I have to work with I love the results! :) I hope this gives you some inspiration to dress up your apartment, condo or house. Even if its a rental it doesn't need to be blah! How do you make your entrance welcoming?



I'm linking up with: Project Inspire{d} at Setting for Four, Tutorials & Tips @ Home Stories A to Z, Give Me The Goods Monday @ Rain on a Tin Roof, Liz Marie Blog

DIY Valentine Wreath with Felt Flowers

Today I want to share my new Valentine Wreath with you! I put this together in about two hours using only a few inexpensive supplies.



Supplies:
Wreath form -I used a 14" form
Yarn - I used about a quarter of my skein
Felt
Hot glue gun
Ribbon (I ended up skipping this)

I tied the yarn around my wreath form and started to wrap the yarn around, and around, and around. Since I wanted the yarn to look nice and uniform I wrapped it really tight. The wrapping took about an hour, good thing I had a handsome helper!


How am I doing, Boss?

I searched around for felt flower tutorials and the best one I found is from The Crafted Sparrow. Using her easy Looped Mum tutorial I put together different sized flowers. These were so easy to make, I can't wait to try the other styles she shows!



I made a little pennant banner from leftover felt and yarn scraps to finish it off!





I'm linking up with: Design, Dining & Diapers, Clean & Scentsible, Tatertots and Jello, bloom designs