Coffee Filter Wreath

I saw an adorable coffee filter wreath on a blog, http://thelittlebrownhouse.us/2010/04/08/frugal-friday-coffee-wreath/ and decided to put my own spin on it.  I think this is adorable but I wanted a fuller wreath.  I folded the coffee filters in quarters, put three filters together, and attached them to the foam wreath using a straight pin.  I tried the u-shaped pins but that was a craft fail for sure.  The coffee filters fell out.  The pin works much better.  After I tightly packed the filters in, I fluffed them. 

I added a ribbon, before completing the wreath, so it was nicely hidden by the filters.  My favorite part of the wreath is the flower rosettes. I will be doing a tutorial on making them soon.  Believe me, I am no seamstress. These were easy and are adorable! I think the end result is wonderful!

Easy and Cheap Decorating with Branches - A Tutorial

I am all about making seasonal decorating easy and cheap.  I have a Lenox vase that I've had for years and have had no idea what to do with it.  It's neutral so very practical. This spring, inspired by my blooming cherry tree, I decided to get some branches and glue cardstock leaves and pink blossoms to them.  It looked fabulous! I've decided to make it a habit to seasonally change the vase.  It's fall... so guess what... I have leaves, in fall colors, hot glued to branches.

1.  First, I gathered branches, from my yard.  The best thing about this is they were free!
2.  Then, I took 6 different pieces of cardstock in Autumn colors.

3.  I found a variety of leaves in the online Silhouette store and added it to my library.
4.  I cut the leaves.

5.  I hot glued them on to the branches.
6.  I added the branches to the vase.

This was an easy, quick project.  Now, I realize that my branches are very unrealistic.  I know one branch doesn't have 6 different leaves.  I just liked the way it looked so I went with it. If you want to be my naturally correct, keep the same kinds of leaves on each separate branch.  I am already thinking about the branches for my winter vase!  Holly maybe?

One of My Favorite Thanksgiving Decorations

Another repost from last year....It's too good not to share again!

....and yet another copycat turkey craft!  While visiting http://undermypolkadotumbrella.blogspot.com/ I saw she had a guest post of another fabulous little turkey.  http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/11/creative-guest-2x4-turkey-by-craft.html  Here's my version:

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An Easy, Inexpensive, and Festive Thanksgiving Decoration

Once again, I am reposting a perfect Thanksgiving craft.  I've got mine on my front porch, welcoming guests.

I was flipping through the Lowe's Creative Ideas catalog for November/December 2010.  I found the cutest Pilgrim Planter. http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/WAGI_Pilgrim_Planter_1110.aspx I, of course, made some changes to what they did to make it my own.  I painted my clay pot, very lightly, with black paint.  I used black grosgrain ribbon, instead of black duct tape.  They didn't have the gold washers at our Lowes.  I took a silver one, scratched it up with sandpaper, and lightly painted it gold.  I planted pansies in my pot.  I do like their flower arrangement better.  It's easy and adorable.  It's very versatile. You could get little pots and use them as place holders.  You could arrange multiple pots together for a fantastic arrangement.  So cute!

A Couple More Fantastic Thanksgiving Decorations

This is another repost from last year.  From what I understand, makia creations no longer exists; however, you can still easily create these great projects!  I hope you are as inspired as I was!

One of my favorite crafty blogs is http://howdoesshe.com/ I must admit, I am a follower of this one.  I have been inspired by their ideas, so many times! Two of the girls that created the blog have started a business, selling craft kits for their projects.  This is a fabulous idea!

For one of their projects, I ran to a dozen stores looking for the necessary materials.  It was at the beginning of my crafting frenzy and I didn't realize that it was okay to substitute.  Save yourself the trouble.  Substitute when necessary! Anyway, their site was my inspiration for the "Turkey Feather Photo Stand" and "Truly Thankful" board I copycatted.  http://www.makiacreations.com/thanksgiving_kits Because they are selling the kits, they don't offer tutorials.  Because it's a copycat craft, I didn't set up a tutorial either; however, it's pretty simple.

    I free handed the turkey body and turkey head on mdf.  My lovely husband cut them out with his jigsaw.  He also made little triangles for the waddle part.  I used his belt sander to smooth all the edges. (Have I mentioned how wonderful it is having a supportive husband with all the right tools?) I picked out the perfect papers (this is a time consuming task for me).  I mod podged them on.  When they were dry, I re-sanded to blend in the edges.  I stained the edges to better blend. I wood glued them all together with that wonderful Elmer's wood glue. After it was dry, I drilled 9 holes to the top of each turkey.  I cut 9 pieces of six inch wire for each turkey.  I bent the top of each wire with pliers so they would act as photo holders.  I then wood glued the tips into the holes I drilled. I probably didn't need to wood glue them because they fit pretty tightly; but, decided to anyway to keep from losing them when I pack the Thanksgiving stuff away each year.  I made two different turkeys.  One for me, and one for my mom.  Now, I just need to take some pictures to put in these little guys.

  Now for the "Truly Thankful" boards.  I made two different ones that are very much alike! That darling husband of mine cut scrap wood into 11x16 pieces for me.  The wood was already eleven inches wide, so we went with that. I chose 16 inches because I like the torn paper look on the edge of the board and I think it makes a great wall hanging size.  I sanded the wood and rounded the corners, using that belt sander. I selected my paper (another tedious task!). I had to use two sheets since the paper comes in 12 inch squares and I needed 16 inches.  I tore the second piece to give it that rugged finish. I mod podged it and let it dry.  I re-sanded it and stained it to blend in the edges. (Do you see the mod podging pattern?) I drilled the holes on top for hanging.  I decided on cranberry vinyl to give it a punch of color.  I spent forever picking out what I thought were the perfect fonts.  I cut the words on my Silhouette SD.  Jill and I both have a Silhouette so you'll notice we use them on many of our projects.  They are HUGE time savers!  I applied the vinyl using transfer tape.  I added the ribbon around the wood and through the holes to add a little girly touch.  I then attached handles for hanging.  You will notice that each frame hangs differently.  Lesli got a steal of a deal on the hanger style one and picked it up for me.  I only had one.  So, I improvised on the second hanging (again for my mom) and used a piece of the wire I used for the photo feathers.  I twisted the edges around a pencil to give it the spiral look and worked the ribbon around it. I think it turned out nicely too. Voila!  Two more copycat crafts completed!

Thanksgiving Advent Calendar

This is a project we shared last year. It's up again in our house. Some things are too good not to share (or share again)!
Advent calendars are great teaching tools for our children.  Santa leaves notes to my daughters, in our Pottery Barn advent calendar. http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/telluride-advent-calendar-new/ My older daughter really got the concept of "Counting down to Christmas" using this calendar.  I've decided it's important to do this with other holidays too.  We found an Thanksgiving advent calendar that reminds us to be grateful for the things in our life.  Another wonderful lesson for our children. http://jellybeanjunkyard.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/tuesday-tutorial-give-thanks-gratitude-board/ This is adorable, reusable, and not accomplished in two and a half hours like she says.  At least not for me.  I'm thinking it's more of a four hour project.  Of course, maybe I was hung up too much on the font and paper choices.  Could be!  A couple of hints.  I used vinyl for the title and the numbers.  It works wonderfully and you get to skip the gluing on step.  I recommend putting the numbers on last.  I mod podged mine.  When you mod podge paper, it tends to warp a bit.  Because the vinyl was on, it shriveled in some places.  It still turned out well, but would have been better if I applied the vinyl at the end.  I also decided to make bows on mine instead of just the ribbon ties.  Something that helps, keep all the bows in the same place, is making a template.  I just decided where the holes worked best, punched them in the template, and used the template 30 times to punch the holes in all the cards.  Since I am not good at eyeballing, it kept everything in the same place and was easy! You could use this idea for every holiday.

Breaking Out the Thanksgiving Turkey

This is a repost from last year.  I was so excited to get my Thanksgiving decorations unpacked.  This gal is one of the main reasons why.  She is so stinking cute! What do you think?

I admit it.  I LOVE other peoples' ideas.  What's more perfect than seeing what someone else made and adapting it to fit your needs?  I am so lucky to have Jill and Lesli, my blog following gals, to send me great ideas.  From time to time, I do a little craft seeking too, but I usually let them do all the research!

I want to share some of the Thanksgiving crafts I've been working on.  Most of these are inspired by others and adapted by me.  I'll definitely let you learn from my mistakes by making suggestions.  Since these are not my originals, I don't plan on including tutorials; however, if you have any questions, I will be happy to help.

Thanksgiving Turkey
This was my inspiration piece... http://undermypolkadotumbrella.blogspot.com/search/label/Thanksgiving

Here is my final project:

I did a few things differently. First, my little gal is a lot bigger I think.  I did look at her pattern, but freehanded the turkey body and feet on mdf.  So, it turned out big, but so cute!  I also blushed her cheeks with a red stamp pad. I just used a stencil brush to dab into the ink and then put it above her beak.  I painted a white stripe on the top of her beak for a little more dimension.  I also added little white dimples and white dots in the eyes, with my white paint.  I love how this turned out!

Crock Pot Pear Butter

Recently, my house has smelled wonderfully of Fall, twice!  I had Pear Butter (much like Apple Butter) cooking away in the crock pot.

Shannon and I are members of a produce co-op.  Lately we've had an abundance, wait over abundance of pears.  Our family couldn't possibly eat all the pears that we've gotten!  That made me start thinking of what I could do with all these pears.  I perused some apple butter recipes and came up with my own version.  I hope you enjoy this recipe!

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Iced Pumpkin Cookies

These Iced Pumpkin cookies are simply delicious!

Doesn't it make you want to make some, IMMEDIATELY?

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Jill's Fall Decorations

A few weeks ago,  I mentioned that I was decorating for fall.  I had a couple people ask to see what my decorations looked liked in order to get some ideas.  I wanted to share them with you.  I hope that my pictures and ideas might spur you on to add some new decorations.

I love Fall.  It is one of my favorite seasons.  There is nothing like the crispness in the air and time to cuddle up under a blanket.   I don't love winter, but I love all that leads up to it!

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A Pumpkin Wreath

And yet another Fall Wreath....

This pumpkin wreath was made by tying tulle around a foam wreath form. I just cut strips of orange and green tulle, and tied it in knots.  I tied the strips closely together and got a fun, full wreath!

Halloween Ideas Recap!

It's almost time to start decorating for Fall.  We started the blog in November of last year.  This didn't give us time to highlight many Halloween items. Let me share a few previous ideas in this recap post.  I hope you enjoy!  More Halloween ideas will be coming up soon!

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Crocheted Candy Corn

On our trip home to Kentucky, I finally got to make these cute decorative candy corns.  These have been on my list of things to make for about two years.  One nice thing about blogging about crafts is it makes me commit to making things I've been procrastinating on for years.  I think these will look cute amongst my mantle decorations next year.

Now that I finished these, I can end my obsession with candy corn for another year.  If you would like to make these, they are super easy.  Here is the link to the pattern:  Candy Corn pattern  If you make them, let me know.  I would love to hear about those of you who are equally obsessed with Candy Corn.  My second child seems to have the same affliction.  He took off a piece of it from my wreath when I was packing things away.  I guess the clear sealant didn't stop a 2 year old!

Bye Candy Corn, we look forward to seeing you next year!

Kid-friendly Turkey Craft Tutorial

While the kids are off school for the Thanksgiving holiday, it is the perfect time to get crafty with them.  This is an easy craft so you can enlist the help of your children and allow them to personalize it as well.

Supplies needed:

2 Styrofoam balls (one small and one large)

Toothpicks

Brown paint and a sponge brush or Brown spray paint

Popsicle sticks

Red, white and yellow scraps of felt

2 Push pins (any color, mine were yellow)

Various colors of construction paper

Hot glue gun

Glue Stick

Scissors

Instructions:

1.  Take your plain styrofoam balls and prop them up on toothpicks so that you can easily paint them.  I used three to help prop each up.

I used brown acrylic paint and a sponge brush, but if you have brown spray paint it might be easier and faster.  I used quite a bit of brown paint as you have to push the paint in the ball to cover all the crevices.  Allow the balls to fully dry.

2.  While you are waiting for the paint to dry, cut out feathers from your construction paper.  There isn't a pattern for this, just cut a long oval shape.  If you would like the kids to personalize these, they can write what they are thankful for on each feather.  Using your glue stick, take a popsicle stick and glue it  to the back of each feather.

3.  Now cut out two circles from the white felt.  Cut out one triangle from the yellow felt and two long ovals (the gobble gobble) from the red felt.

4.  Once the paint is dry, stick a popsicle stick in the large ball and connect the smaller ball to it.  (This is the neck support).  I used a toothpick at first, but it wasn't enough support.

5.  Using the hot glue gun, glue on the eyes, nose and gobble gobble to the face of the smaller ball. Push in your colored push pin into the white felt circles to create eyes.

6.  Stagger the colors of your feathers and push them into the larger ball.  Make sure the popsicle sticks are facing back.

That's it!  I hope that you and your children will enjoy this craft and maybe make a few for friends.  This would also be a great item for your Thankgiving table.  You could have your kids make one for each of your guests and personalize the feathers to what they are thankful for or like most about that person.  

Have a Happy Thanksgiving spending time with those you love!

Making Subway Art- A Tutorial 2

The journey to the finished project was really quite simple. This is a great starting project for beginning mod podgers!

1. I started with a wood board.  Usually, I get my husband to cut scrap wood for me.  This time I picked up a plaque from Wal Mart for $4.

2. I lightly sanded the board.
3. I stained the edges and a couple of inches all the way around (the rest would be covered with paper).

4. I picked out the perfect paper for the project and cut it to the size of the board.  I suggest cutting it slightly smaller than the board.  It will make it easier to blend it nicely.

5. I spread mod podge on the board generously.  I made sure to be careful to make it smooth.
6.  I placed the paper on top of the mod podge.

7.  I used a roller to smooth the paper out as much as possible.  I then place boards on top of the board to keep the paper as flat as possible.  I let it dry completely (at least thirty minutes).

8.  I removed the boards and spread a coat of mod podge on top of the paper.  Make sure you use enough to make a smooth finish, without using too much.  Too much will make it lumpy. Let it dry completely.  The wet product goes on white.  It dries clear.

9. Once the board is dry, use a belt sander, or a piece of sand paper, to sand the edges and blend the paper into the board. Then, apply stain to the project.  This will also help blend the paper into the board.
10.  While the stain is drying, work on your vinyl lettering. I have a Silhouette.  I chose to do every name in a different font and arranged them in a "free" way.

11.  I cut the vinyl and carefully removed any vinyl I wouldn't use on the sign.
12.  I put transfer tape on top of the vinyl and transferred it to the sign.
13.  Honestly, sometimes it's a challenge to get the vinyl off the transfer tape.  Be patient. The end product is worth it.  I removed the transfer tape and voila...almost finished.

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14.  I drilled two holes in the top of the board.

15.  I cut a piece of wire to hang the board.
16.  I used a pencil to twist the wire ends around to give it a little design.

17.  I had a completed project I can treasure for years!

Mantle Ideas

Mantles seem like the thing to decorate. I've seen many examples.  I just thought I'd share my Halloween mantle and Thanksgiving mantle.  Look closely.  I'll bet you see some familiar projects!

CopyCat Crafting 5

I love Subway art.  You can find different interpretations of what Subway art is. I've decided it's things, randomly arranged, in one place. I spend huge amounts of time choosing fonts and arrangements of things.  Thank goodness there's a wonderful blogger that's done that for us! http://bunchofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-subway-art-printable.html She has it all ready for you to download and print. Voila!  How easy is that.  For $3 (the cost of the frame) I have this beautiful decoration.