Yarn Tassel Garland

Looking for a fun garland idea for your NYE party? How about making this super easy tassel garland, I made for my mantel. It's my twist on the popular tissue tassel garland, except this one won't be ruined if it accidentally gets wet. Speaking from experience here. ;) 

 Here is a list of the supplies you will need.

Extra thick or fluffyYarn (I found mine at Joann Crafts and Michaels Craft Store)

Scissors
Lace (Just another option)

Tape measure

First you will cut strips of the yarn and lace. I cute mine to about 14 inches. You can make yours as long or short as you'd like. To make mine extra fluffy I used 15 strips of yarn per tassel. 

Next you will just fold the strips in half.

 Then cut an extra piece to tie around the bundle. Then you end up with a tassel.

You can trim pieces as needed. I would make at least eight of these to make a tassel garland. Last step is to just string them together with a long piece of yarn. 

There are so many great yarn choices out there now, that you can really create some beautiful garlands. You can make one for NYE, a birthday party or shower, or a pink, red, and white one would be gorgeous for Valentines, which is just around the corner. I made several of these for gifts this year, they are just so fun!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you feel inspired to create a yarn garland of your own.

XO~Gretchen

OH Deer

As promised here is the post about the recent deer artwork that I made for our mantel. It is really an easy piece to make, and you can size it accordingly. Maybe make one for yourself and one as a gift, because faux deer heads are all the rave right now. :)

So here are the supplies that you will need:

• A canvas, you can choose the size. Or I used scrap boards and painted them white, and had my husband attach them together from the back.
• Pencil to sketch out your deer head
• Paint color of your choice
• Scrapbook paper
• I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the flower shapes and the Joyeux Noel. I use my machine often, it really comes in handy. Maybe if you don't' have one, you can ask Santa ;)
• Paint brushes
• Glue and double sided tape

I painted my boards white, if you are using a canvas, this is not necessary. Then I sketched a deer head on the board. I did this free handed, with a pencil and eraser. Feel free to look for a downloadable stencil if you do not feel comfortable just drawing by hand. Silhouette has some great designs to download. 

Once I felt like I had all my proportions correct, I then painted my deer gray. Feel free to paint your deer, whatever color will work with your decor.

Next I used my silhouette cameo to cut out the words Joyeux Noel. You can find that design here.

 I used good old Elmers glue to glue it to my board. Next I used my cameo again to cut out flowers in various colors. You can find that here. It made it so easy to cut and assemble the flowers, and I love paper flowers, you can get really creative with your colors, and they never need to be watered. ;)

 I used double sided tape to assemble the flowers into a crown on the head of the deer. It was really simple to do. And there you have it! My artwork is displayed on a mantel in our master bedroom. I really love the whimsy it adds.

Hope you feel inspired to make one for yourself. Happy Holidays, see you back here soon.

XO~Gretchen

Holiday Mantel

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. It certainly is a busy time of the year. I spent some time this weekend and worked on our holiday mantel in our master bedroom. I've been dreaming of having a mantel in our bedroom for some time now. I didn't think I wanted an actual fireplace when we built, just a fun mantel to decorate. My husband and I decided to take a trip downtown to a local Architectural Salvage store. We walked through many rooms filled with all kinds of antique treasures, from old door knobs, to trim pieces, several different gorgeous old hand carved mantels, but they were huge. I wasn't looking for anything grand, just a quaint fireplace surround with character, and an extra bonus if it had an arch. We were instructed to look outside too. Low and behold, there it was, the perfect fireplace surround that I had envisioned in my head. My husband and I were both excited, sometimes things are just meant to be. This is an old iron fireplace that had been painted over, and sitting out in the weather, so it was going to need some TLC. I was certainly up for the challenge. Here is how it looked when we found it.....

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the top was filled with rust spots since there were all kinds of metal rusty pieces sitting on the top, and it was just plain dirty. So with a scrub brush, and some cleaner I was able to clean it up and here is how it looks now in our bedroom...

I styled the center with old vintage books, something I've been collecting for years. The artwork I made, and I will have a DIY post about it, later this week. So grab you some boards, or a big canvas will work too. The garland I also made, it's my twist on the popular tassel garland design. I will also have a separate blog post showing you how to make this, so collect some ribbon and yarn. :) Everything else came from shopping around my own home. I really do love this mantel, it makes our room seem so cozy and charming. I told my husband that I feel like we are at a bed and breakfast every night now. Mantels are my favorite thing to decorate, I think if we ever build again I may have to add one to every room. ;) 

Hope you feel inspired to decorate your mantel, or a bookshelf, or furniture piece. These are all ideas that could easily be incorporated. Stop back by later in the week to get those tutorials on how to make the deer sign, and the garland. Have a blessed day!

XO~Gretchen

How to make a vintage bottle brush ornament wreath

Hello everyone, can you even believe it's Christmas time? Our tree is up, and I am in total Christmas craft making mode. There is not enough time in the day to complete all the projects I have stored up in my brain. Well today is one of my favorite projects that I'll be sharing with you this holiday season, and it was inspired by my mom. Creativity runs in the family. You may have seen these gorgeous holiday wreaths, but often times they are priced really high, in fact I recently saw one priced at $225.Yowser! Here is the one that I created.

You can make one for a lot less by following these simple steps. First here is a list of the supplies you will need.

• A wreath, this wreath my mom found at Joann Crafts
• Ornaments, new or old
• Glue gun
• Vintage bits and pieces
• Fingernail polish remover if you want to make ornaments look old
• 
  

I started by placing the bigger ornaments and pieces around the wreath, so that they would be evenly distributed. I'm a kinda symmetrical girl. (wink)

Carefully glue them in to place using a low temp glue gun.

Then fill in the extra spaces with the smaller ornaments.

Want to make them look old and vintage? Simply use the fingernail polish remover and lightly wipe across them, and it will take the color finish off. Your new ornaments will now look vintage.

This project doesn't take much time. I finished it in about 45 mins. These are perfect to make as gifts for your vintage loving friends, or put one out on your table with your favorite candle as a centerpiece. I even think it would be lovely hanging on a mirror or door. You can find the video tutorial here. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you feel inspired to make one for yourself. Wishing you happy holiday, and be sure to stop by again soon, more Christmas projects are in the works. FALALALALALALAAA!

XO~Gretchen

Snowy Days

Excited to annouce a new segment I'll be posting about from time to time. I'm a girl who loves fashion, so I thought it was important to include a little fashion in my blog. I want to show you how to style outfits, and feel glamorous in whatever you have on. Speaking of glamour this first post is all about glamour, gold, and icy weather. My boys asked if I was dressed like a Disney princess, I had envisioned that I was dressed for a romantic carriage ride through the snow with my husband. :)

Details for my outfit:

Skirt: purchased from Shabbyapple I fell in love with this skirt the moment I saw it online. My advice is if you are in between sizes, then I would size up. I think it runs a tad small.

Scarf: Target

Ear muffs: JC Penny has them

Lace top: You can find a similar one at H&M

I layered a white button down shirt underneath it, because it was freezing out. 

Thank you to my husband for helping me with this photo shoot, and braving the cold to take photos. 

I hope you feel inspired to get dressed up this holiday season. There is no better time of year to dress your best, and glam it up, then the holidays.

XO~Gretchen

Thanksgiving Table Setting

So when you think of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner table setting, what do you think of? Maybe pumpkins, mums, plates with turkeys on them, maybe some burlap? Well I wanted to design a table setting with a different twist on those themes. So I set out to design a table with eclectic elements that I already had, with the theme, "You mean the world to me." Thanksgiving is about getting together with those you love. It shouldn't be a stressful time spent looking everywhere for the perfect plates, or table cloth, how about instead you look around and use what you have, and make it special. I admit, I do have an issue collecting plates, but I generally choose ones that can be used any time of the year. I buy them in groups of six or eight. I can't always find more than six, and that's ok because I don't mind mixing from time to time. Here is my table setting, all I need are my guest. Hope you feel inspired to create an eclectic table setting, and have family and friends over to celebrate during this holiday season. Details throughout the post.

 I found the table runner fabric at Hobby Lobby. I love the wood grain design on the fabric. I think it's perfect for this time of the year, because it makes me think of stacks of wood and our fireplace. I simply glued the pom poms on the end of the table runner, and it finished it off. You can create your own table runner by simply measuring the length of your table, then getting that amount of fabric. I folded the fabric in half, long ways, sewed it up the side, then added the trim on each end. Super easy and cost effective. This is a great way to really customize your table setting.

I found the place cards in the Holiday section at Target. They are meant to be chalkboard place cards, so you can use chalk to customize them, but I chose to use a pretty gold pen instead, since I have a reoccurring gold them throughout.

The bird dishes were found at Homegoods, I was bummed that I could only find four of them. The bee dishes and tea cups are from Anthropologie. They both have a great selection of dishes and cups, and check the sale room, sometimes you can get a great deal.

The napkins were made from fabric I picked up from Hobby Lobby. I loved the design and the mustard color. I feel like they also help to make the table setting feel more autumnal. 

My cousin Natalie painted on the globe, and I love that it says "You are my whole world." I think that phrase sets the tone for your dinner. I added vintage vases, tins, and books to add a little fun and whimsy to the table. 

 You can find paper straws just about anywhere now. These gold and white ones are from Target.

There you have it. I hope you feel inspired to host a gathering at your nest for the ones that mean the most in your life. Look inside those cabinets, think outside of the box, and know that what is most important is spending time with loved ones.