More Fall Wreaths!

Thanksgiving is almost here, which signals the end of Fall and the beginning of the Christmas season in most people's books!

I thought I'd share the rest of my Fall wreaths before it's too late! I did so well at my first craft show that I decided to enter another one a few weeks later! They are actually a lot of fun! I am planning on doing some more shows in the Spring and again next Fall as well! Now I just need to work on restocking my inventory!

It makes me really happy and proud when someone buys one of my wreaths! I hope they cherish them for a long time as part of their seasonal décor and love them as much as I do!

If you missed my post last month about my first set of Fall Wreaths, you can see it here!

Follow my Facebook page (sweethomeindiana1) for more updates!

DIY Rustic Fall Floral Arrangement

Last year around Thanksgiving I made an awesome faux floral arrangement for the centerpiece of my Fall table. It was so beautiful and easy to make that I had been dying to make another one this year. I also wanted to make something to put on my little table at my craft shows to dress it up a bit.

This year's arrangement is a little less formal and not necessarily for my dining room table. It's more rustic Fall farmhouse style with it's yellow and red Fall flowers, orange hydrangeas, and cotton stems, and of course, it's mason jar vase!

I went to Hobby Lobby and got several different Autumn picks. If you're unfamiliar with what a pick is, it's the little flowers, pumpkins, and Fall accoutrements that have a stem or something to stick in a wreath or floral arrangement. I also got a single Ball mason jar there to put them in.

When I got home, I arranged the flowers the way that I liked them best and tied them off with a rubber band. That way, they would stay in place and not flop all over the jar. Then, I simply put them in the mason jar! That's it! Easy!

Use as many picks as you need to fill the jar and whatever kinds you like! I was going for a Fall mix and I really liked the tall berries sticking out of the flowers. It added more height. I also really liked the fact that there were some leaves in with the flowers to give it some interest. And of course, you can't go wrong with a cotton stem! 

I arranged the flowers how I liked them best.

And then I rubberbanded them together at the base of the flowers to hold them in place.

Simply put them in the jar and you're finished! A perfect Fall floral arrangement for anywhere you need a pop of Fall color!

DIY Ghost Gourd!

 Halloween is my favorite holiday and I especially love decorating my home for it!

For years I've wanted to do a gourd craft, but all the tutorials out there seemed to require a lot of work, starting with drying out the gourds for almost a year! I was so happy when I discovered that my favorite pumpkin patch sold already dried gourds!

I decided to do a ghost gourd for Halloween and it was super easy! All I needed was white spray paint and a little bit of black paint for the face.

Dried gourds tend to be very ugly and dirty looking. I tried to scrub off the dirt and flaky stuff as best I could with a scrub brush. There were still a lot of uneven areas, but it's natural and just added to the rustic, spookiness of the ghost! Most dried gourds will also have moldy looking spots on them, so I used a spray paint that covered mold and water stains. It worked perfectly and I feel okay with it in my house now!

This was really my first time using spray paint so I got a few drips and runs here and there. Afterwards, my husband told me to use short bursts of paint and don't get too close to whatever you are painting. Now I know for my next gourd!

My DIY Ghost Gourd was so quick, fun, and easy, I will definitely be making more of them! 

Gourds come in many different shapes and sizes! I dug through this pile of already dried gourds to find the perfect ones for my Ghost Gourds!

My gourd, all spray painted and ready for his face! Obviously, wait for the white paint to dry before you put the face on!

Next step, paint the face! I used this black enamel paint because I already had it. It's a bit like carving a pumpkin. You may want to draw on the face before you paint to make sure it's how you want it!

Exactly what I wanted! I love when that happens! This little guy is the perfect addition to all the rest of my Halloween decor! You can decorate both the inside and outside of your house with gourd ghosts!

BOO!

 Happy Halloween!

My Fall Wreaths

 I love a good wreath! It really makes your front door pop and welcomes guests to your home. It is the perfect finishing touch for your front porch decor!

For the past several years, I have been making my own wreaths. They are actually very easy to put together and I love to design my own. I made my first wreath about ten years ago when I moved into my very own apartment. I got a very cheap and flimsy Fall leaf garland from Walmart and fashioned it into a circle with floral wire. That was it, and it served me well for almost a decade until I decided to make a new one. Then, it was like I could not be stopped! I just kept on making more wreaths, not just for Fall, but for every season and holiday possible!

Now, I have decided to take my wreaths public and hopefully make a few extra bucks! I entered a very prestigious craft show here in Fort Wayne, The Deer Ridge Holly Days Craft Show, and they actually let me in! Making wreaths, planning out my booth, and praying that someone will buy my wreaths has consumed every waking moment here lately! That is why I have been slacking on the blogging front, so I thought it was time to do a post about my wreaths!

I did a photo shoot last weekend because I am going to have a book of my wreaths that people can order from at my craft booth. I used an old, chippy antique door we salvaged as the backdrop and it worked out perfectly! Right now, I just photographed the Fall wreaths. I have a lot of Christmas wreaths I've made and I need to make more, but it's so hard to get into the Christmas mood in September and October! I'm all about Fall! It is my favorite season after all!

Here are some of my Fall wreaths that I've done so far. I have a lot more that are half finished that I need to work on and I better get on it, because the show is in two weeks! Yikes! I am nervous and excited at the same time! If you see any you like, and are in the Fort Wayne area, stop by the Deer Ridge Craft Show on October 21 and buy one! And say hello too!

Wish me luck!!!

 

Thanksgiving Disasters and Black Friday Deals

How did everyone's Thanksgiving go?!? Any baking disasters? I'd love to hear about them!

Mine started off so good. I was positive this year everything was going to go smoothly and everything was going to turn out perfectly! Who am I kidding? I always think that. I think you have to start out optimistically otherwise you'd probably never even begin.

My first downfall was that I started my baking too late in the day. Like 8pm too late. I always do. Hopefully now that I have it written in stone I can look at this next year and remember to start earlier! (haha, yeah right!)  All I had to make was a classic pumpkin pie and some super delish cranberry fluff. Piece of cake! I wanted to make a pumpkin pie simply because I found some really cute tiny leaf cookie cutters last year and I wanted to try and replicate all those beautiful pies I see on Pinterest with all the fancy leaf work on them. It almost worked.

Libby's Pumpkin Pie (my family's go to) is super easy to make so that part was no hassle. Even doing the leaf-trimmed crust was pretty smooth sailing, especially since I didn't follow anyone's directions, I just made up my own way to attach the leaves and prayed it worked out (It did, for the most part.)

The trouble started when I sliced my finger open trying to make an aluminum pie crust protector since I couldn't find the ones I know I had somewhere. Then, as I was trying to attach it to my fragile pie crust, some of the leaves fell off into no-mans land at the bottom of the oven and immediately started burning-which I somehow promptly forgot to remove and my whole house smelled like it was on fire for two days. Then, I forgot to turn down the heat part way through the baking of the pie so the crust leaves drooped and got charred and the pie itself was looking pretty dry. At least the leaves in the middle of the pie turned out pretty good! Thank goodness I also had a Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie from Walmart to soften the blow. Those things are AMAZING!

I bet even Martha Stewart has had a few baking/cooking disasters in her day. They say practice makes perfect so maybe when I'm 80 I'll have this all down pat!

I removed some of the more burnt leaves on the crust and added my pre-baked leaves for the middle. Those turned out really well! I tried to strategically place them to cover all the cracks! It didn't really work but it actually tasted really good!

Speaking of Martha! I got some awesome Martha Stewart fall appetizer plates at Macy's! They were a steal! At $15 and $17 a piece normally, I only paid about $12 for them both! They had some other really cute items in the collection (like a white and gold pumpkin covered soup bowl!) but I had to limit myself to just these two. I love them and they made up for the fact that nothing else I set out for on Black Friday worked out! The silver (or gold in this case) lining of my Black Friday shopping excursion. Best purchase of the 2016 fall season for sure! Thanks Martha!

Turkey Wreath!

Thanksgiving, for me, is an overlooked holiday in terms of decorations. I have decided to make it my mission to decorate more than just my "left over" pumpkin decor this year. So far, everything I have done revolves around turkeys. Naturally!

I had seen some cute turkey wreaths on Pinterest, but nothing really that I just loved so I decided to create my own design! It's very easy and doesn't take too much time out of your day. I did mine in less time than it took the Colts to play a game of football.

All you will need is:

Tulle-I used five different fall colors that I thought would look good on a turkey. I also used sparkly tulle to add some pizazz, but the colors and whether or not it's sparkly are up to you. I used Red, Brown, Gold, Orange, and Green.

A foam wreath-I used a green one just in case some of it showed through the tulle, it would blend in a little better.

Brown foam board-for the body of the turkey. I found something perfect called Silly Winks foam sheets at Hobby Lobby.

Two colors of felt sheets-yellow and red for the beak and that dangly thing that hangs off (apparently, they are called "snoods.")

Eyes-I found some oblong eyes that jiggle that I liked better than just round ones.

A Glue gun

Let's get started!

First, I started by wrapping the bottom section of the wreath with the brown tulle. I folded the tulle over a couple times to get a good base color then just wrapped it tightly and tied off the ends. I left the two ends tied off to add to the feather effect.

I then took the tulle for the "feathers" and cut it to 17 inches long. I recommend cutting all the colors in the same sitting to make it go faster. I also only used the tape measure once and then based the other feathers off the first cut and used it as a template. I decided what order I wanted my colors in before I started to avoid confusion. I used two strands of each color eight times, with the exception of the brown which I only used once per rotation. So, I used 8 brown strands and 16 of the other colors.

I folded the tulle in half.

Then folded it again. Next, I tied it on the wreath.

Double knot the tulle when tying it onto the wreath for a more secure hold. Repeat with the same color and then repeat the process with the rest of the colors.

Half way done already! Push the knots towards the top and back of the wreath while working and keep them all the same. Push the colors together as tight as you like so none of the wreath pokes through. You can make it looser or tighter, but the tighter you pack the tulle in there, the more tulle you will use.

Almost done! I used a brown strand just a bit longer than the rest at the top for a hanger. This is the last chance to fix any imperfections such as making sure the colors are on the way you like them and none of the wreath is peeping out.

Next, I traced a turkey shaped body on the foam. I traced it on the back so if I messed it up it will be on the back! I made it bigger than I actually wanted it so I could do some tweaking later.

There you go! A turkey body! Don't worry if it's not perfect or slightly lopsided. It's homemade!

I cut out a square of the yellow felt for his beak. Again, I made it bigger than I wanted it, just in case I needed to do some trimming! At this point, I also cut out his snood in a willy nilly shape.

I placed all his face pieces where I wanted them before I glued them to make sure it looked good! Then, I took my glue gun and got to work! (Note: If you have never used a glue gun before-they get REALLY hot and can burn you! So be careful! And also, they are very stringy. Just a dab will do and try to get all of the strings off so it doesn't get all over your turkey.) I just glued around the top and sides of the beak and poked it out a little to create the 3D effect! Next glue the body to the wreath at the top and bottom!

All finished and hanging on the door!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Super Easy Fall Floral Arrangement

 It's no secret that I love flowers and I would love to have a fresh floral arrangement in my house at all times, but that's not always possible. Fresh cut flowers are very expensive, and although I usually get mine from the half off bin (sometimes they look just as good as the full price ones!) it's still a luxury for me to purchase them. 

I was at Hobby Lobby when I saw an absolutely beautiful pre-made bouquet. The colors were perfect for fall so I purchased it (with my 40% off coupon of course!) and figured I would put it in a vase and that would be that. 

When I got home, I came across a small, square glass vase that I had snagged from my brother's wedding. I still had the green leaf-like material that went around the outside of the arrangement and I had an idea! My new fall bouquet would be perfect in there! It looked good, but I thought two bouquets would really fill it out so I went back to "The Lobby" and got another. It now looks amazing! Some of those fake flowers look really bad, but this one is made with quality faux flowers and doesn't look very fake at all! And it could not have been easier!
 

Now I have a gorgeous centerpiece on my table all season long-or honestly, all year long if I so desire. It's perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday since it sits so low on the table. You can still pass food over it! And isn't the food the important thing?

All I did was bend the stems of the bouquets to make them fit nicely in the vase. THAT'S IT! It literally takes two minutes to make this centerpiece-but no one can tell! It looks store bought! If you want to make it more secure you can use that green floral foam to anchor the flowers in better, but honestly, it's just sitting on your table. You really don't need it. I made sure to put the flowers in oppositely so each side would be different.

View from the top!

Perfection!