Autumn Wreath Revamp

One way to love my home is by creating a happy front door. I made this wreath a few years ago, but I was never completely thrilled with it. I liked it, but didn't love it. It needed something a bit more.

Have you seen these half pumpkins at Michaels? This was the perfect thing to use for my wreath because it wasn't going to stick out from the door,. It was also going to create a focal point, but now I had figure out how to attach it to the wreath.

Thankfully it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I was able to use a knife to make a small hole to push through a wire.

The wire easily wrapped around the wreath to attach it! YEAH!

My wreath has a fresh new look and now I love it! This was an easy and cheap way to use what I already had. This revamp project was less than $5. That is my kind of deal for a girl on a budget. Even though it was a small project, I took something I didn't like and made it into something that I love!

Welcome Halloween

This has to be my favorite wreath that I have created. It definitely takes some time to complete. It is definitely not the cheapest DIY wreath either. But the finished product looks great!

Of course, the inspriration came from Pinterest. The best thing about this is how easy it is. Each part takes time, but not a lot of brain power. I cut my ribbon around 5 inches. My hot glue gun got quite a bit of use as well. I went through quite a bit of glue. As I have done a few of these types of projects, I have realized that the repetition of these projects is really relaxing for me.

I went with a black, orange, purple and green scheme. There was also a little white and yellow to add some contrast to the dark colors.

I tried to keep everything separate. I didn't want to clump the patterns together. This made it easier to make sure that I was using a variety of ribbon.

Adding all the ribbon to the wreath form was time consuming, but it was easy to see the progress being made. It felt like I was moving forward with this project.

While the wreath looks done from the front, I need to finish off the sides. But I ran out of glue and I wanted to enjoy it all of October.

On Etsy, I have seen a similar wreath be sold for up to $100. After doing this wreath myself, I can definitely understand that. I easily spent over $30 in ribbon alone.

I might do another one of these wreaths for St. Patrick's Day. It is super cute and I have gotten a lot of compliments on it.

Autumn Welcome

A change in the seasons opens up the opportunity to update seasonal decor whether it is inside or outside of the house or, in my case, apartment. It is fun to do a little bit of both. It helps set the mood of the new season.

This past year, through the help of Pinterest, I have started making my wreaths for my front door. I can be as creative as I want when I make them. They don't take a ton of time and they are fun to do. And no matter what the final outcome looks like, it is never wrong. Changing the stuff on my front door is one of the first things I do when a new season arrives.

I saw ribbon at Hobby Lobby over Memorial Day weekend that I knew I wanted to use for a fall wreath. I worked at The Container Store for almost 6 years and in that time one of the greatest things I learned was how to make a bow. It was become an invaluable tool. I use that skill all the time!

The pumpkin burlap ribbon, along with some fall leaves and sunflowers, made a really pretty wreath. It is a welcoming sight when I come home.

Too Many Projects, Too Little Time

Can I just say that my job is getting in the way of me finishing up the projects that I really want to do? This time next week, I will be on my way to Wisconsin to see my niece for the first time. I am beyond words excited! But I am trying to finish up some projects before I go. Being gone from home for 5 days is going to put a crimp in my motivation, so I am trying to finish as much as I can now.

There is really only one project that I have to finish before I go. It is a knitted baby blanket. I have been working on this blanket for months. Even before I knew if Brynley was going to be a boy or girl, this blanket was in the works. The finished product is green, white and pink. I started with green since I could go either boy or girl from there. Once I found out the baby was going to be a girl, I had to choose between pink and purple as the other main color. I am pretty girly, so my choice was easily swayed to pink. It so happens that this blanket coordinates perfectly with the colors in Brynley's room. I am the aunt....so I know all!! :)

Another project I want to finish before I head out is for my mom. She is turning my brother's old room into a Steelers theme bedroom. I am sewing two valances for her to put up. I have already started them, but need to finish them up. It won't take too much time to do, but they are still sitting on my to-do list. I wanted to finish them before my mom was here a couple of weekends ago, but they just didn't get done.

My last two projects are for me. One I could have done a very long time ago, but of course, I am waiting until the last minute. The other one is a time consuming project.

I have a small landing with a window that leads up to my apartment. My mom bought me a little table and I decorate it seasonally. Right now, my fall stuff is up. October is right around the corner and I want to change up my decorations for Halloween. I bought Halloween fabric last year, but didn't make my valance.  Again, not a huge project, but another one that needs to be done.

To go with my valance, I am making a Halloween wreath. This is the time consuming project. Of course, it was another Pinterest find and I know the end result will be great. Getting to the end result is what is so hard. Since it is taking the most time, I want to spend more time on it. Which then takes away from the other things I want to finish. I will be posting about making this wreath later in October.

Instead of being able to dedicate a large amount of time on finishing all this up, I sit for 8 hours at work stressing over everything that I want to get finished. And to be the responsible adult, I should probably throw some cleaning in there somewhere. But with all the busyness, at least the time will go fast until I can hold my beautiful niece!