$20 Fall Wreath Challenge

I was just a tad excited to get started on my fall decor this year! In fact, I wouldn't even technically say that it's fall yet here in So. Utah, but nevertheless... My decor made its way up! 

I was really excited to make a new wreath this year, after browsing hundreds of ideas all year via Pinterest! So one fateful night when my sweet Mom had my kids, and the husband was out hunting, I very kindly handed myself a $20 bill (Thank you, Self) and marched into Joannes on a mission. I was going to do my whole wreath for under $20. And By-Golly. I did it!

I wish I took more pictures of the 'During' process, but I had a friend over and we were too busy chatting and chasing kids to worry about cameras! But I'll give you a little run-through...

What I had on hand:

Grapevine wreath (but these are really only like $4)

Yellow flowers

Twine

Orange and Yellow Polka Dot Ribbon from the Etsy shop Hairbow Supplies Etc.

(seriously, I can't tell you how many times I've used this ribbon pack!)

What I bought:

most things were on sale at Joannes

Welcome Friends Sign - on sale for around $3.00

Burlap - about $2.00 worth

Green Tulle - $2.50

Acorn picks - .99 and 1.50

Moss Roll - $2.50 with coupon

Berry garlands -  $1.50 each

cream polka dot ribbon - $2.00

Autumn leaves - $1.50

So total - around $17.50... give or take. I estimated due to sales.

I started by weaving the tulle in and out of the wreath, and then did the same with the ribbon. You'll notice I ended up not using the yellow, I had to edit a little. It was getting too busy.

After I had all the tulle and ribbon I wanted, I glued chunks of the Moss onto the wreath, then proceeded to add things here and there until I reached the fullness I was looking for! 

I did separate the acorn picks into smaller sections, and I cut up the berry garlands to makes them more like berry 'sprays'. Lastly, I glued the sign to a piece of scrap ribbon, and tied that around the wreath to secure it. I tried gluing it directly onto the wreath, but that wasn't happening, so I improvised!

All in all, I am super happy with how it turned out! And I am even more happy that it only cost me $20!! 

I think I might make this an "Every Holiday Challenge"! What do you think!? Want to see more of these!? 

What are your favorite ways to save on holiday decor? 

DIY Chevron Hair Ties

Have you noticed these hair ties ALL over lately!? And I mean A-L-L over! Last night I was even at Old Navy, and they had them! You got 3 there for around $4. FOUR DOLLARS!? I was shocked, because they are SO easy and inexpensive to make! If you know where to go! 

The Etsy shop Hairbow Supplies Etc. is literally your one stop shop for all things hair bow! And that's where this super cute elastic came from! Isn't the chevron print to die for!? They don't just have chevron though, they have glitter and polka dot too! (coming up in another post!) 

These hair ties are so easy to make... here's how you do it!

You need two things...

Elastic & Scissors.

You can handle that... right? ;)

Here's the hard part... ;) 

Cut your elastic into 8 inch strips, fold in half, and tie ends in a knot.

THATS IT!

You can get 9 hair ties out of a yard, so suppose you bought THIS pack of elastic... you could make FOURTY FIVE hair ties!! for $3! 

That will make you think twice about paying $4 for 3 elastics! Now, won't it! ;)

**Elastic for this post was provided by the Etsy shop Hairbow Supplies Etc.

All opinions are my own, however.**

Fold Over Elastic Flower Headband Tutorial

If you haven't noticed by now, I am a little beyond obsessed with making headbands for my Quinn. They are such a fun way to change up her outfits, and if you know a few key Etsy shops, they can also be a VERY affordable, and dare I say cheap, way to add to your little lady's wardrobe!

When I found out I was having a baby girl last year, I immediately went into to headband mode, and with the help of my Sister in Law, learned about lots of Etsy shops to help me keep my cost under control! Elastic by the Yard quickly came to be one of my very favorite shops! I love the quality and colors of the elastic they have, and their packaging is so cute an convenient! They are wrapped neatly around spools, instead of just floating around in my box! It does wonders for my OCD! ;)

You need:
Colored FOE (Fold Over Elastic) about 20 in.
White FOE
2 -- 2" felt circles
A medium button
Scissors and a glue gun

1. cut 12 1" strips of elastic, and hot glue the ends together, making the petals.

2. glue 6 petals around the felt circle.

3. on the OTHER side of the felt, glue the remaining petals in the open spaces.

4. attach your headband.

5. Glue the other felt circle over the elastic.

6. Glue your button to the top.

SUPER CUTE! Right!? That's what I thought and REALLY easy! 

Happy headband making!!

All elastic was provided by the Etsy Shop Elastic By The Yard. However, all opinions and ideas are 100% my own.

Rolled Fabric Flower

Seriously... is she not the cutest little nugget you've ever seen!? I can't get enough! There's a joke amongst our family that this girl never wears the same headband twice. And while that's not entirely true... it isn't far from it!

But I just can't help it! Headbands are SO much fun! And a really in-expensive way to accessorize! ;)

Fabric flowers are one of my very favorites! They are so easy and cheap and fast! You can make one for every outfit for just pennies! You can even use scrap fabric!

You'll need:

Fabric (1 strip = 1.5 inch x 3 feet)

scissors

hot glue

felt (or more fabric)

elastic headband material (or a clip)

 

 1. Tie a knot in the end of your fabric strip.
2. Begin rolling the fabric around the knot. As you roll, add small dots of hot glue to keep the coils in place. The tighter you roll, the smaller the 'coils'.
3. Keep rolling... and rolling... and rolling.
4. Once you have about 2 inches left, glue your coil around the back, and once its dry, cut off the excess.
5. Glue a circle of felt onto the back, to keep the coils in place.
6. There you go! All there is left to do is add a clip, or an elastic headband (you can find those on etsy or, even at walmart and joannes!)

 

What are your favorite headband's to make?

DIY Felt Heart Garland

I've had my Valentines decor up for some time now actually! In fact, the day after I took down Christmas I pulled it all out!

If you are on Pinterest, chances are, you've seen this garland (or one like it) all over the place! They've become quite popular! And for a good reason, they are very easy to make!

Step 1. Choose your felt. Now, lets talk felt for a second... if you were to ask me which felt to buy a month ago, I would of told you to just go pick up the cheap stuff from walmart and you'd be fine. I will not tell you that now however. Wool felt people. WOOL. Yes, its a tad more pricey, but if you can find it, it's softer, its not so puffy, it cuts a million times easier and it doesn't fray. I got mine at Joannes next to the regular bulk felt. I think I payed like $1 for 1/8 yard.

Anyways, so as you can see, I chose red, grey and white.

Pin your fabric over about an inch and a half (NOT exact, just guessing) and go ahead and cut hearts to your hearts content!  (pun intended)

I think I cut like 25 in all or something.

 Once you have all your hearts cut, bust out your sewing machine. Or, if you are like me and have been doing countless baby girl projects, it will already be set up on your kitchen table :)

 

 Take your first heart, and sew a straight line down the center, then, when you are almost to the edge, grab your next heart and start feeding it through immediately behind it. It take a little pushing, and once in awhile I had to lift the machine foot to get it under there, but it's really quite simple after you get the hang of it!

Then just repeat with all your hearts!

Another Plate Makeover

I've been making a lot of color changes around our house for spring! And these green plates just weren't doing it for me anymore...

Luckily, I found 5 more of that EXACT same plate that I used in the previous plate makeover at a yard sale for $1! Yup! 5 plates for $1!

This time though, instead of just spraypainting them, I primed them with spraypaint, and then used a regular house paint for the blue. Sorry I cant give you an exact color, I started with a blueish and then added greans and tans and whites till I got what I was looking for!

Then I used my cricut to cut some vinyl and I was good to go!

I love how they look! they are SO much brighter and match my house way better than they did before!

Reindeer Block

We made these cute little guys for our Thanksgiving craft night. My sister in laws, mother in law and I try and get together around the holidays and do a few crafts, and this year I brought these cuties to make! They were SUPER easy! And they look adorable!

You need:

wooden block 5 1/2 x 6 1/2

bead board square 3x4

tan, red, white, and black paint

tan and pink felt

 sandpaper

2 small branches

hot glue gun

Paint your large block tan, and your bead board red (leaving the indents white). Once those are dry, sand the edges to create the worn look. Glue the bead board onto your large block. Drill two holes on top of the block about an inch or less apart from each other. Paint the face on the reindeer with the black and white paint. Cut ovals out of the felt, making the pink ovals a bit smaller than the tan. hot glue them together, and fold the bottom in thirds so the ears stand up. Hot glue them to the hot of the block. Insert branches into drilled holes, if you want, you can secure them with a little hot glue.

 Enjoy your cute new Christmas Decor!

Baby Family Album {Free Download}

My little boy loves to look at pictures! He will point over and over to different people when you ask him to! I had been wanting to do a little album like this after I made this one for my little brother to take on his mission.

It was so easy and cheap and he LOVES it! It keeps him entertained at church, and even at home!

All you need is:

24 Photos of your child with family members

Cover (I just printed mine as a 4x6 photo)

plastic 4x6 album (I got mine for like .97 at walmart)

Just print your photos (I use costco) and add them to the album. The Covers are always a bit bigger than the 4x6 print, so I added some cardstock behind it.

Now since I'm sure all of you dont want photos of my little cutie on your album, I whipped up a simple little printable cover. They are both 4x6, so you can either print them along with your photos, or just on your computer.

Download blue cover

Download pink cover

Snowman Family {Guest Post by Tasha}

Snowman Family

So I had some extra wood lying around, and my sister and I decided to make a snowman family. They turned out PRETTY cute! 

You will need: 

*Fabric for the head wraps, and scarves. I probable used a 1/3 of each. 

(at Joannes they had a 4 pack of christmas fabrics for 10 dollars, so I bought that.)

*Glue Gun

*Twin, string, anything that you can tie the top of the hat with.

*Orange, White and Black Paint

*Wood. Depending on how tall you want your tallest one, then cut an inch or 2 off of the second, and an inch or 2 off the 3rd.

When I cut my blocks I didnt measure how tall they were, I just sorta guessed how tall I wanted them..so I cant give you exact measurements.. It just depends how tall YOU want your cute snowman's to be! I painted my blocks white, let them dry, then tied the head wraps on. I hot glued the fabric to the snowman blocks, then with twin I tied the top of it. Wrapped my scarfs around each one. Then painted the faces on. you can use your creativity and use buttons for the eyes, felt or fabric for the nose, I just had paint in the closet, so that's what I used! I painted my cute little nose, and eyes. Once they were all made, I set them on my porch! 

Happy Snowman Making!!!

Tasha Bracken

Double-up your frames! {DIY}

Sorry I've been slacking on the posts! My little brother just left on an LDS mission to the Dominican Republic, so the past few days were spent helping him pack, and spending time with the family! But now it's back to the blog! With a project none the less!

Awhile back, in this post, I mentioned that I had made this frame...

Well this frame because more popular on Pinterest than the frame I did the actual post on! So I thought I'd do a post on how to 'stack' frames.

I started with 2 frames, one was an 8x10 that I have had forever, the second was somewhere in between an 8x10 and an 11x14, it was a yard sale find. They were both just fine on their own, but I can't even leave anything alone.

All you really need to look for is that the top frame will cover the back frames opening. Make sense?

 Then, using a strong adhesive ( I used Emler's Glue-All) glue your top frame to your bottom one. Allow to dry overnight.

 Please please please make sure your frames are straight! I used a ruler to measure the distance from all sides.

 When it was done drying, I spray painted mine white, actually white, then brown, then white again. Make sure you get it covered well, because most likely your frames wont be the same color underneath.

 Here's the fun part, for me at least! Distress!! Bash and bang that baby up to your hearts desire!

I used sandpaper and get this... a KNIFE! Yup, I just took a cheap serrated steak knife and used it to (lightly) carve grooves into the wood, and chip off some of the paint. ALL of the dents and dings and lines you see were done with the knife, and then ran the sandpaper lightly over the whole thing.

 then all you have to do is dust it off and hang it! Sorry for the horrible lighting, I wasn't patient enough to wait till tomorrow when the sun was higher.

I think thicker, bulkier frames look so much nicer than the thin ones that are in most stores, and this way, you don't have to pay $45 a frame at a boutique!

I hope this gives you some inspiration to look at your frames in a new light and start stacking them up! Trust me, you'll be amazed at the difference!