DIY: Rose Wreath

A very dear friend of mine (hey Mary Ann!) sent me a link a while back with a DIY for a wreath. When I saw it, I knew I was in love and had to do it. A couple months later I finally finished and I'm ready to share! Hope you love it!

Need:

18" wreath

25 (9x12) felt sheets

glue gun

scissors

cd

Directions:

1. Fold felt sheet in half, and then half again. This creates four layers. 

2. Trace cd (with a pencil) and then cut out the circle traced. This will yield four separate circles. 

Tip: The cd was slightly larger than the folded felt, but it didn't make a difference. 

3. Repeat this until all felt sheets have been cut. 

Tip: If you have nice scissors, you might can layer two of the folded felt sheets to cut eight circles at a time and speed up the process.

4. Layer four circles at a time and spiral cut them.

5.Once cut, begin from the center and start rolling the felt by following the cut you made. 

Tip: Be sure to keep this side flat so that gluing on to the wreath is easy.

{bottom of rose | top of rose} 

6. When you finish rolling your roses, place a bit of glue at the end to keep the rose together. 

7. Once the roses are finished, cover the flat side of each rose with glue and then place it on the wreath. 

Tip: Position a few of the roses to where you want them before gluing, just to make sure it fits and looks good.

This is an extremely inexpensive and easy project that anyone can do! It is a bit tedious and time consuming, but I wasn't in a rush to finish. I would cut and roll roses while watching tv until I finally accumulated enough roses to cover the entire thing.

I'm absolutely in love with this wreath. It's adorable, girly, and has this soft, romantic feeling to it. Now I just have to decide which room in our home will be graced with its presence.

BEV: DIY Moss Covered Letters

Early in the wedding planning I knew I wanted to incorporate a couple moss-covered "J" letters into our special day. I also knew I wanted to make them myself.  These can get quite pricey if you purchase them already made, so making them yourself can help you to save quite a bit of cash. 

I ultimately decided to make two 12" J's and two 24" J's. I had the 24" letters placed on the two windows at the top of the stairs at the church, and I had the 12" letters hung on the doors of the country club. 

{via}

Need:

Mod Podge ($7)

Small-Medium sized foam brushes ($1)

Large sheet of plastic ($3)

Scissors (already have)

Paper mache letters ($4-$10)

Paper plate (already have)

Moss ($2.50)*

Directions:

1. Lay out your large sheet of plastic on the surface you will be using. You want a large area to work on as you will be making a mess - moss pieces will get everywhere and you will need extra space to leave the letters to dry.

2. Pour some Mod Podge onto a paper plate. You'll want to do this because as you start covering your letter, your sponge will most likely get moss on it and if you are dipping back into the Mod Podge bottle, you'll get those pieces into the jar. 

3. Start with the top of the letter and work in small areas. I'd  spread the glue on a 2x4" area and lay down the moss. 

4. Continue working in small areas down the front of the letter until it is completely covered.

5. Once covered, use scissors to trim around all edges.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each side of letter until it is completely covered. 

7. Once completely covered, use scissors to snip away any remaining pieces that are sticking out.

8. Set aside to dry over night.  

After finishing all four of my letters, I noticed a four-leaf clover on one of the J's. Lucky me!

A couple days before the wedding I gave the completed moss covered letters to my florist and she hung them for me using a navy colored ribbon that perfectly matched my bridesmaids' dresses. This ribbon was also used to wrap the bridesmaids' bouquets and used around a couple vases on tables. 

If you find that you do not have the time, patience , or whatever else to make these yourself, I would suggest heading over to Etsy and checking out the selection of moss covered letters. Purchasing letters online will cost you anywhere from $25-$150+ depending on size of letter, moss material, and person selling. 

Check out other ideas for using moss covered letters!

*You can get moss at Walmart or at any craft store. The craft stores, like Michaels or JoAnn, will have more of a variety of moss, so pricing will depend on what moss you want. I purchased six bags of the Walmart moss and had one bag left over after doing all four bags. 

DIY: Empty Frame Collage

I can't even begin to tell you all how many pictures I have saved on my computer as inspiration for this DIY. One of my most favorite home decor looks is a collage of empty frames. In living rooms, hall ways, dining rooms, bedrooms... anywhere! I love it! And I knew I wanted to have it in my house. And now I do!

Need:

5-20 empty picture frames (be sure to get a variety of sizes, shapes, and designs around the edges)

2-4 cans of white spray paint in semi-gloss finish*

Nails

Hammer

Directions:

Before painting your fames, go ahead and lay them on the floor and play with the arrangement until you get it the way you want. Then snap a photo to reference back to when you begin the hanging process. (My arrangement changed a bit. I broke one and then another one wouldn't take the paint)

Lay out a large piece of cardboard to lay your frames on for painting.

Spray the frames with 2-4 coats of paint or until they are completely and evenly covered.

Once dry, begin hanging your center frame(s) and work your way out. Be sure to refer back to the photo you snapped earlier. Or feel free to hang as you please for a less uniformed look. 

                          

*As always, I like to mention that you can pick any color that you prefer or that may better suit the room you are doing this project for. Same applies with the finish of the paint.

Glittery Pumpkins

Not too long ago I posted on a Martha Stewart craft that turned boring orange plastic pumpkins into glittery and beautiful decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Early last week I tackled the project and I'm ready to share!

I bought a large white pumpkin and two smaller orange pumpkins. As far as the glitter, when I walked into Michaels there was a basket stand full of $1 goodies. One of the $1 goodies was a pack of four different fine, colored glitter. The colors were gold, purple, dark pink, and pink. I decided to buy seven of these and I essentially got a decent amount of four different colors for seven bucks. Quite the deal. The pay off was great, but it was a pain to open each packet to pull out a color every time I ran out. And the tops to each little container just sat on the top, it wasn't secure. And I spilled a lot. And made a mess.

 But the task is over and I think they look fantastic! I'm not completely satisfied with what I've done with the centerpiece. I think this particular set up would look great on a hallway table or the top of a entertainment center that's under a hanging flat screen, but not the dining table. It's not dramatic enough. So I'm either going to completely move it somewhere else and find something better for the table OR I'm going to try out some candle sticks to give it some height. Whatever happens, I still absolutely love the results!

                                

 

Guest Post

Today I am sharing a guest post with everyone! One of my great friends, Tyra Dee Minton Phillips (hey fraaaand!), from graduate school, has been working on a DIY project of her own. She was telling me about it and I asked her to send me some pictures of and directions for the project so I could share it with all of you! And she did!

She was also married over the summer and was one of the many weddings I attended throughout the summer. So she and her hubby (also referred to by Chris and me as 'Keif an'dem') have been working on turning an old dresser into an entertainment center for their living room. Well they've finished and it looks great!

Tyra's Directions:

1. First, cover the gaping holes, that were originally used as handles, with wood putty. 

 We picked this up at lowes (you can see it in some of the pics). We had a little trouble with the putty. I assumed that we should just fill in the holes, scrape off the extra, and let it dry. Well....we let it dry outside and the putty sunk down some and cracked. I think it is likely due to the NC humidity! So, we put on another layer (literally, just glopped it on) and left it inside to dry. This seemed to work much better, it was much harder and dried a lot faster!!

2. Then sand down the extra putty (which was not too hard!)

3. Paint the drawers and actual dresser. 

We decided to brush paint this so it would have those brush strokes and we did not use primer. It worked great. we used two layers of black paint. 

3. Then we distressed - we just distressed this a bit, around the edges, and a little on the top and sides so the original wood would show through. 

4. Finally, we added handles over the old puttyed holes! Keith did this, and he used his electric drill and drill bit.

I love projects that turn an item or piece of furniture into something completely different. "Double Duty" I like to call it. I love the finished project Keif an'dem came up with and it really looks like something you would purchase as your own entertainment center!

If you have done a project (past or present) I'd love to see it and share it on my blog! Just shoot me an email or message!

Thank you, Martha.

Oh Martha, so good at what she does everything.

Because Chris and I do not yet have little ones running around, I don't feel compelled to do extreme decoration come holidays like Halloween and Christmas - you know bright orange pumpkins, neon green and electric purple witches or colored blinking lights covering every inch of the house. However, I like getting into the spirit of whatever holiday or season is lurking and provide a subtle, classy decor.

So Martha Stewart has made this extremely easy for me come Halloween (and I even think this particular project can hold up through Thanksgiving).  What is it? Glittered Pumpkins. Ah.

Don't they just look fabulous! Can you imagine buying these things? They would set you back quite a bit, but you can make them yourself! 

Need:

- Bottles of loose glitter powder (the orange and pink look beautiful, but I also think white, silver, and gold would be fabulous as well - and very sophisticated!)

- Adhesive (glue, spray, mod podge)

- Foam brush

- News paper

- Plastic pumpkins of varied sizes

Directions:

- Sit pumpkin on laid out newspaper.

- Use foam brush to apply thin layer of glue - I'd recommend doing small sections at a time

- Add glitter to glued section

- Continue these steps until entire pumpkin is covered. 

- Let dry, decorate!

I've yet to actually do this project, but by the end of next week I hope my house will be filled with glitter-covered pumpkins. I think they'd look so good on candlesticks on a shelf, in the middle of the dining table, or on the coffee table. 

{images via}