Fall Decor: Rustic Silk Leaves and Feathers Wreath

 

Happy Monday all! We in America move full speed ahead to our national day of thanks and gluttony and I've finished the last of the things I'll make ( I think ) for this short season between Halloween and Christmas. Anxious to get started on some Christmas goodies so be on the lookout! 

Also humbled and excited to have been again featured in the Hometalk weekly newsletter last week! They included my Plastic Egg Acorns and Pinecones and I couldn't be more tickled. If you aren't on Hometalk, you should check it out both as a place to share your creations and to find even more inspiring ideas! 

Supplies:

• Square Wreath Form. I actually had some inserts from 12x12 shadow box frames that I used but you  could also use a square frame. 
• Silk Leaves (Michaels 80% off)
• Twig Vase Fillers (Dollar Tree)
• Feathers ( Michaels)
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

From left to right: Shadow Box Frame Inserts, Silk Leaves, Dollar Tree Birch Stumps and Twigs

The frame inserts are not the sturdiest so I glued two of them together to stabilize them. The silk leaves I found for 80% off at Michaels. I used two packages of 30 with a few left over.

These came in two sizes, the larger having some gold veining and the smaller being plain. I alternated these around the wreath. Pretty straightforward. After I glued the leaves around the frame I placed a few of the birch "stumps" , offset, "because I did" which is a technical creative term!

I have a ton of these twigs left over so may save them for next year or throw them in a vase. 

I grouped three feathers (Michaels, Art Minds or Creatology) at the base of each "stump", then added some of the twigs. 

To finish, I had some of these Acrylic Gem Maple Leaves in my stash from a past project so glued a few of those on. Living in the West, this may be another thing I leave up year round. Haven't decided yet. We don't have specifically "Western" decor but I like some bits here and there. 

Et voila!

BFF Open House

 

Welp! Happy N O V E M B E R all! We are in full production mode from here through Christmas right? And while it seems like 2020 has been one long month, the next two actual months are busy busy busy even though the number of people we host may be reduced. So let's take a look at some great ideas shared at last week's party to get some additional inspiration. 

While I don't love pumpkin, I do love PUMPKINS! The kind you make, paint, decorate etc. And Fabric Pumpkins are both a great way to use up scraps and add to your festive decor. Hello Sewing has a fabulous pattern and tutorial to whip up a few new ones. 

If you're whipping up say, some Hot Cocoa neighbor gifts, why not throw in a few coasters for the mugs like these No Sew Buffalo Plaid Coasters from Satsuma Designs? 

When you're ready to wrap presents, you'll want this fabulous Paper Bow shared by Priyam from Simple Joys. 

Finally, knowing how many pumpkin lovers there are, these Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Muffins from The House on Silverado just HAD to be shared! 

Thank you as always to everyone who linked up and now let's see what you've all been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Fall Decor: Leather and Feather Hoop Wreath

Happy November everyone! Or as I like to call it , the eighth month of "Marchvember" because...2020. I hope you all had a safe Halloween, and now we Americans gear up Thanksgiving, our annual gluttonous feast which for many will be a little different this year. 

I think I tell this story every year, but when my son was little he got VERY frustrated that things went from Halloween to Christmas while Thanksgiving seemed to be treated as an afterthought. So trying to be a good mom, I made sure to decorate sufficiently for Thanksgiving month! When he left for college and wasn't going to be able to come home for Thanksgiving, he made sure that I kept the tradition which went without saying! During undergrad and grad school we've been lucky to get him for a few weeks at Christmas so ironically, he's never even here for Thanksgiving decorating makes me feel like he's here. 

I found these Mum bushes at JoAnn for 80% off which were the inspiration for this wreath. 

Supplies: 

• Silk Mums 
• Embroidery Hoop (10 ")
• Feathers
• Leather Scraps
• Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

I had the feathers on hand from Michaels for a project I thought I was going to do last year. I decided to use the spotted ones. Pheasant, I think? 

The leather scraps were a happy accident. Before we moved from Seattle, my husband wanted to check out a store that made a lot of their own leather goods. I went with and they had these bags of scraps for sale. When he said "She makes things" they gave me one free! You can find bags of scraps at craft stores or check around if there are places that make leather goods. You never know! 

The first step was to cut the "mum head" from one of your bushes, and hot glue it to the bottom center of your wreath. I used the claspy thing at the top as a guideline. 

The next step is to add your feathers. I pulled ones from the pack that more or less went the same direction and laid them out on each side before gluing. Once I was good with the way they looked, I hot glued them to the hoop on either side of the center mum and then trimmed the stems. 

For the leaves, I just grabbed some similar sized scraps and freehand cut leaf shapes. Glued these atop the feathers, and then in the space between the leaves and the center mum, add the contrasting colored mums on either side. 

To finish, I made a "bow" of leather strips that were in my scraps. If you don't have these, you can cut your own from other straps, use leather cord, ribbon, yarn...

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BFF Open House

 

Hi friends! Not only can I not believe it's Friday Eve again, I can't believe it's Halloween Weekend already even though it will be a different Halloween this year for sure. I know that it will be creative! Some great ideas from last week's party. Let's take a look at a few! 

I can't wait to try this fun Eyeball Plant that Jennifer from Stuido 27 shared. I saw some similar pre-made ones but think of all the possibilities making your own in whatever colors you like! 

Not only is this Mudcloth Pumpkin Pin Cushion from Sara at Birds of a Feather pretty and practical, she shows you how you can make your own mudcloth fabric! A two in one. 

After Halloween, it's full speed ahead to Christmas and these Vintage Ornament Wood Blocks from Lisa at Fresh Vintage by Lisa S are filled with retro goodness! 

Finally, check out these Pumpkin Mocha Latte Bath Bombs from Jasmine at Eccentricities by JVG would make a great self care treat ( we all need to be practicing that during this crazy year) or as gifts right? Love the design. 

Alright, let's see what genius creations you've been up to this week !

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Fall Decor: Reverse Faux Stained Frame Canvas

 

OK let's speak truth. Coffee is calling me all year round, whether leaves are falling or not. But I was actually looking for something else when I "remembered" (aka this SVG file popped up and I'd forgotten) I had it. And a Reverse Canvas seemed like the perfect thing to do with it so I did!

If you're unfamiliar with Reverse Canvases ( because I've learned that not everyone can keep up on every DIY trend all the time) they are basically deconstructing a pre stretched canvas that you can get at any craft store and re-imagining them using the frame you don't normally see. Let's see what I mean!

Supplies: 

• 12x12 Canvas ( Michaels)
• Vinyl ( I used a faux wood grain vinyl from JoAnn)
• Acrylic Paint
• Staple Gun
• Utility Knife

 

The first and most tedious step is removing the staples from the back of your canvas. There will be swearing involved and you will end up searching online to see if there's any kind of tool that will do this better than your mini screwdriver, letter opener, plier combo. I think I may have found one at Lowes but I need to see it in person so I'll update on my next one of these! Back to this one. 

Next, you'll need to decide what you want on your canvas. I was originally going to do another "Fall" idea and then as mentioned, this one popped up and I changed my mind. You're allowed to do this. Especially when the nice people at designbundles.net keep having amazing and free bundles which is where I got the file for this one.  

Size in Cricut Design Space if you're using an Explore Air 2 like I did, or in your Silhouette SW if you're using a Cameo. Cut. Weed. Apply Transfer Tape. Set aside. 

Set your liberated canvas aside and decide what you want to do with your frame. You can leave naked, paint it, or stain it. I didn't have stain but wanted a stained look so I thinned some brown acrylic paint with water and winged it. You don't want to use the side from which you removed the staples. Flip that puppy over and use that side. 

Thin your paint with water, brush on, wipe off with a rag. If too much wipes off just repeat. You can either leave the staples in the corners as shown or as you'll see later, I added some giant rhinestones to cover. 

Now it's time to apply your vinyl to your canvas. Sorry for how dark this pic is. Ugh. 

NOTE:

Technically, your vinyl goes on the untreated side of the canvas in which case you really will want to use a heat transfer vinyl. When I do another one of these I'll remember that. Because I didn't. And I felt dumb. So I'm telling you this because I don't want you to feel dumb. But I didn't feel dumb for long because duh...flip the canvas over to the treated side and the non-heat transfer vinyl sticks just fine. 

Now you're ready to reunite the canvas and the frame. Here's where you need your staple gun!

Position your frame where you want it and I cheated and used a couple dabs of hot glue to keep it in place for when I flipped it back over to staple the frame. Then staple around the frame ( "Didn't you just remove all those staples?" asked Mr. Chocolate? "Go away"). You want to make sure your canvas is pulled taught. Almost done. The last thing you need to do is trim your canvas. 

When you remove the canvas from the frame you'll have excess since the canvas was folded over the back of the frame. Once you've stapled the frame back on, then go around the edges with a sharp knife to trim, 

I had these large rhinestones in my stash. They were actually brads, so I cut the pokey brad part off the backs and glued as shown with hot glue. Et voila!

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Fall Decor: Striped and Quilled Dollar Tree Pumpkin Sign

Happy Saturday friends! This weeks BFF Open House link party continues here.  I'm continuing to work on some additions to my Fall decor for when I take Halloween down and excited to share this fun and I hope, elegant, sign with you today!

Supplies: 

• Wood Pumpkin Sign ( Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints (White Craftsmart and Light Gold Metallic Martha Stewart)
• Cream Cardstock
• Quilling Papers (White and White With Gold Edge)
• Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue and White Glue (Elmer's)
• White Satin Ribbon
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue

When I was at Dollar Tree last month getting some goodies for Halloween, I picked up this plain wood sign. They have different ones seasonally ( I may or may not have picked up some Christmas ones since). As I talked about in a previous post, I started Quilling this year and decided to incorporate that into this project. 

I covered the sign with a couple coats of the white paint. Then, using the crackle technique I showed in my Witch Switch Girlfriend Gifts, covered with a layer of Elmer's glue and the light gold paint. 

Apply glue, then contrast color, crackles as it dries

After my crackle layer was dry, I taped off the stripes with painter's tape then used more of the white paint to make the stripes. 

While the stripes were drying, I made my leaves by first cutting them using my Cricut Explore Air 2 with cream lightweight cardstock and chose my Quilling papers: plain white and white with a gold edge. 

I went around the outline of the leaves with the white paper (you can see this process in my Quilled Sugar Skulls post  using the Aleene's Turbo Tacky glue and then used the gold edged Quilling strips (Quilling.com) to create swirls and coils. When complete, used hot glue to adhere them to the sign. 

To finish, I made a  bow from white satin ribbon. Et, voila!

Eclectic Red Barn