Stress

When I stress out I tend to procrastinate... And eat. Hence, my house is a mess and I've gained 10 lbs since Baby 2 was born. However, much of my crafting is procrastination at its finest. I can sit, craft and pretend that the world is exactly as I wish it to be. This is exactly what happened when I made this Pinecone Wreath.

I was browsing my local Dollar Tree when I saw bags of pinecones for... you guessed it-- a dollar! I intended to make a pinecone garland from them but once home inspiration struck, (that, and I didn't have all the stuff to make the garland), and I came up with this wreath. 

Here's what you need:

-wreath form (I bought mine at Michael's for $4.99 plus a 50% coupon)

-pine cones

-burlap

-your handy dandy glue gun

Yep, that's really it. 

Here's what you do:

1) Lay the wreath form flat

2) Put glue on the bottoms of the pinecones

3) Adhere the pinecones to the wreath form

Yep, that's really it. Easy, peasy... and quick! (And cheap!)

Ok, no more procrastination. In the words of my brother-in-law, "I'm a new [wo]man." At least for the next few hours... I hope... 

Chalkboard Cups Tute

Ok, so when I found out I was hosting Thanksgiving at our hacienda I was tempted to bust out the silo cups and permanent markers to keep from rewashing glass after glass... Then I remembered something I'd seen plastered all over Pinterest. However, with the kiddos and such I knew wine glasses wouldn't be a good idea so I came up with this idea to match the more rustic table setting I was planning. Here it is.... Wait for it.... Ok, I'm impatient... It's mason jars (used as cups) with chalkboard paint.

Here's what you need to make the magic happen:

-Jars

-Chalkboard Paint (which by the way is stinky)

-Paint brush (although I think it would be easier with a sponge brush)

1) Take your jars and paint outline

2) Glob on the paint by dabbing it

(I tried painting layers on each but each layer would come off when I painted the anything on top of it.)

3) Let the paint dry then write the names on them

Just a side note, don't put them in the dishwasher, even on the top shelf. It melts the paint right off.

I hope you all enjoyed your Turkey Day! We had a blast around here spending time with family. I somehow even conned the Hubs and my Father-in-Law to put my Christmas lights up!!

27 Days til Christmas!!

1 Down 986 Million To Go...

...Christmas presents, that is...
We celebrate Christmas with the in laws on Thanksgiving, so all weekend long I've been frantically trying to get it all together. I'm impressed. 3 days to go and I've got it all done (and even wrapped)!! Hooray me!

I think people are going to like gifts from us this year, if I do say so myself. It might just be the energy I've put into homemaking them, but still, I think they're pretty cool. Just a head's up, this blanket tutorial I'm about to give might end up under your Christmas Tree, so just act surprised when you see it. ;)

FLOWER BLANKET TUTE

I took some flowers that I had handy and arranged them.

Then I glued them to a piece of felt.

Here comes the tricky part... (haha totally kidding)... I put glue all over the back of the felt then placed it on the blanket. 

What an easy way to spruce up your average, run of the mill throw blanket, huh?!?

Before                                              After

Handprint Wreath Tute

So much has happened in the forever since I've blogged.

Most importantly, Baby #2 arrived!!

World, meet Evi.

She gorge, isn't she?!?

Well, Christmas is only 36 days away, can you believe it? Since I hate dealing with the crazy shoppers, I make many of our gifts... Especially wreaths (if you hadn't guessed by the name of the blog or my other postings and comments).

Today we debut the Handprint Wreath. 

Here's what you need:

-flour

-salt

-water

-cute, little grubby hands

-oven

-burlap

-scissors

-wreath form

-hot glue gun

-pretty flowers

First, I found the Homemade Grits tutorial on Pinterest and followed her instructions to a T, getting these beautiful handprints of my girlies.

Then, I cut strips of burlap about 4 inches wide, wrapped them around the wreath form, and glued them in place.

  

Next, you take your flowers and your handprints (I try to keep a few pre-made ones handy, although, if you don't have any, here's an easy tute on how to make them) and play around with the placement until you find one you like then glue, glue, glue. 

Well, looky there... The finished product, guaranteed to be uber loved by the Grandmas in your life. 

Hopefully it won't be so long until the next time I post, although, I'm not gonna' lie, it's been wonderful doing nothing but holding Evi. I hope you have a spectacular day!!!

I'm excited for this giveaway where I could win a Silhouette! Can you imagine how crazy crafty I'd be then? But, really, you should check out Little Miss Momma's Blog, it's great-- she has awesome tutorials and stories.