DIY Ornament Wreath

I have been planning out my Christmas mantel early this year, and I wanted a wreath to be the centerpiece.  Only, I didn't like anything I found in my price range and I didn't want to spend a fortune.

Finally, on Pinterest, I stumbled across this tutorial from Live, Love, DIY.  Here is the link and a picture of one of hers:

http://www.livelovediy.com/2013/11/how-to-make-christmas-ornament-wreath.html

 

 

 

So, I took my happy butt down to the Dollar Tree today, just like the blog tutorial woman did, and bought about 150 various red and gold ornaments, (large, medium and small.)  I also bought some ribbon and a Styrofoam floral wreath form from Joann Fabric.  I probably spent about $20 total.  Still worth it, compared to the high prices of wreaths I had been scoping out.

 

Here are my pictures and the final product!  I am going to make a fancy bow closer to Christmas with this Bow maker thing I got at the church penny auction last year. 

 



Fall / Winter Accent Pillows

And because the sewing machine was already out, and I seem bitten by the fall / winter bug super early this year, I stitched these up...

One set for Autumn, and one set for Winter.  Both fabrics came from Jo-Ann.  The autumn one was entitled "Leaves and Postcards" and the snowflake one didn't seem to have a name.  Both are soft, lightweight, pillow case materials as opposed to the standard home décor fabric I normally use for throw pillows.  But since these are small accent décor pieces (14 x 14), I thought I would make them more comfy as Micah complains that some of my heavier weight jacquard or burlap or twill pillows are "scratchy." 

Have to please the kiddos sometimes.  These will be appropriately sized for Micah's little 4T head as he lounges on the couch watching his "shows".

 

this gives you a little view of the back (envelope style, easy to remove and wash)

 



Soft Purple Baby Nursery Pillows

So, Jen is doing a light purple / butterfly theme in Eva Marie's nursery.  Joel actually picked out this fabric: I have to give him all the credit.  It's perfect and soft, and because these are covers, they can be washed when the inevitable mishaps, happen.

I was up sewing these at 3 a.m. last night.  Insomnia! 

I had too much excess on the sides this time, so once two sides were secure, I just trimmed the edges up with my pinking sheers.

 

 

 

 

 

Magazine Crate Project

My collection of home décor magazines is growing: this isn't all of them.  I subscribe to Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens, plus I pick up House Beautiful whenever it catches my eye at the check out stand.

I have been storing my magazines in various places, but this wooden crate at Jo-Ann Fabrics over the weekend caught my eye.  It was raw wood and on sale for $8.95.  So, I snatched it up.

I felt that we needed more pops of red in the living room to balance the overabundance of teal that has worked its way in, so Red Chalk Paint from Folk Art was the choice for this one (with a stenciled white chalk paint detail on each end.)   I hope you like it!  I love these super easy projects.

Jane Austen Lovah...

So, it's no secret that I love all things Regency England.  I will get over the pond someday to see my homeland.  It's on the bucket list.

In the meantime, I will have to settle for watching "Austenland" and the BBC "Pride and Prejudice" on repeat AND adding little touches into my home that remind me of my fandom.

Mom picked these up for me.  They had come into the Methodist church thrift shop that she works at.  For one dollar, I was able to prettify these with some chalk paint and make them modern.  I especially like Pipe Man, as I have dubbed him.  That old timey British farmer looks like he knows how to relax.

Such a happy Sunday afternoon project.

The Miscellaneous M Shop Inventory

I owe a big thank you to my brother in law David, of Whitney Productions (see his website here http://whitneypro.com/) who is actually a wonderful videographer, but he knows how to take pictures leaps and bounds above my ability.  So, one of the reasons I have hesitated to actually make my Etsy page go live is because I couldn't take a decent picture of my product to save my life.

But Dave really helped me out and we did a super quick photo shoot.  Here is a taste of what I will be displaying at the Winsted United Methodist Church Craft and Vendor Fair on Saturday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Main Street, Winsted CT.)

I have been building up a variety of crafts for my inventory for awhile (hence the name "Miscellaneous" M.  I couldn't possibly commit to making just one thing!  I just want to be a Maker, period.  :)

First, here are the facial cloths I made in a variety of colors, from 100% cotton (prewashed, preshrunk.) 

Then the Polish stars (these still make me so happy to look at.  It will be Christmas before we know it.  Would also make wonderful all year round décor in a bowl on a coffee table, etc, if you buy colors to match your décor.)

Here are the earrings I made:

Here are the mug cozies and the scarf (I have another scarf done too in red and white that I didn't get a picture of yet)

Here are my paintings and home décor projects for sale

I made these ceramic mug art projects using oil based markers.  These were super fun and came out really pretty.   (FYI, I forgot to have Dave take a picture of these, so these are MY photos as if you couldn't tell.)

Back View

 

Front View

 

Front View ("Hot and Steamy")



Back View

 

And last, but definitely not least, the pillow covers I worked on (of course there are 2 of each pattern made and I am selling them as pairs)

Anything that doesn't sell at the vendor fair (again, 9 to 2 this coming Saturday at the Winsted United Methodist Church along with a bake sale and tag sale) will be posted to my Etsy page going live soon.  Unless I sell everything which would be great.  Wish me (and the Church Raise the Roof fundraiser) luck!